Waratahs edge out Brumbies in Wild weather

New South Wales Waratahs adapted better to the testing conditions to wear down the ACT Brumbies 24-17 in a thrilling Super 14 Australian rugby derby here on Friday.

The Waratahs led 10-0 early but fell behind 17-10 right on halftime before scoring two opportunistic tries in the second half to wrap up the points in torrential rain and lightning.

The Waratahs have never been beaten at home by the Brumbies in seven Super 12/14 encounters and came good late on after looking at one stage like losing their record.

The home side's conservative kicking tactics in the slippery conditions gave them field position throughout the second half and tries by Wallaby winger Lote Tuqiri and lock Dean Mumm sealed victory.

Fly-half Kurtley Beale's improvisation opened up the Brumbies' defence in the 21st minute when he darted through an opening to send centre Tom Carter over for the opening try.

Beale's conversion and penalty goal kicked the Waratahs out to a 10-0 lead after 28 minutes, but the Brumbies fought back in the remainder of the half to seize the lead.

Flanker Julian Salvi scored on the blindside of a five-metre scrum win and winger Peter Playford was awarded a try by the video referee to give the Brumbies the half-time lead.

But the Waratahs, constantly kicking for territory, gained the upper hand when Tuqiri ran 45 metres unopposed in the 47th minute to level the scores.

The winning points came midway through the half when Mumm charged down a kick from Brumbies' fly-half Christian Lealiifano to gallop away to score.