Played at Oberon, the Waratahs scored a 20-14, five tries to two, win over last year’s grand finalists.

The match of the round lived up to expectations, and the two sides provided a game worthy of the top two premiership teams.

Again unable to kick a goal, the Waratahs continue to win games the hard way - lacking reliable ball control and a consistent kicker.

Good early work by Cody Cafe and an offload from Cameron Quarmby had Glenn Osgood across for the Waratahs’ first try after four minutes, but

five minutes later Oberon’s Jake Newland scored a converted try in the corner to take the lead 6-4.

Soon afterwards the Tigers extended their lead to 8-6 with an easy penalty kick in front of the posts.

Thirty minutes into the game Quarmby scored the first of his two tries for the Waratahs to draw even at 8-all.

Oberon handled the greasy ball better than the Kandos side in the slippery conditions and held a territorial advantage over the Waratahs for most of the first half.

There was a high rate of attrition as both sets of forwards battered each other.

The Waratahs’ Kyle Jenkins and Glenn Osgood were replaced with leg injuries, and Michael Gibbons from Oberon was taken from the field with a suspected broken jaw after an accidental clash.

Off the bench, Steve Madden had an instant impact for the Waratahs when he came on, lifting the intensity of his teammates and scoring a try to take the Waratahs to a 12-8 lead at the break.

Immediately after resumption the Tigers regained the lead after fullback Shaun O’Neill scored under the posts and converted his try for a 14-12 lead.

Defensive efforts of both sides were exceptional under difficult conditions, and many tries were saved with desperate last-ditch tackles.

The Waratahs began to play more strongly in the last 15 minutes of the game as their handling improved, which resulted in a Ross Tito try and the Waratahs lead again. With a tenuous hold on the match Quarmby was the last man at the end of a good Waratahs’ attack down the left side.