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Waratahs down Reds to claim Super W title

Kelly Defina/Getty Images

The NSW Waratahs have been crowned Super W Champions for the fourth consecutive time after defeating the Queensland Reds 45-12 in Coffs Harbour.

The Reds posted first points through a try to Liz Patu, who crashed over from a rolling maul after just four minutes .

But that was a good as it got for the Reds as the Waratahs laid on seven tries to one from there on in.

Maya Stewart, who was the beneficiary of brilliant lead up play by Arabella McKenzie and Mahalia Murphy, scored in the 12th minute before Eva Karpani and Margot Vella dotted down to hand the 'Tahs a 19-5 advantage at the break.

The second half started just as the first had finished, with the Waratahs on top.

McKenzie opened the scoring in the second half when she sliced through off a scrum play, before the Reds answered with a pick-and-go try from Bree-Anna Cheatham moments later.

It was all the home side after that however as Murphy and Emily Chancellor extended the lead with tries before Vella iced the title with her double.

Reds head coach Rama Chand said his team's inability to convert opportunities into points proved costly for the Reds, while the Waratahs experience was hard to overcome.

"We prepared well for today's match and our first 20 minutes were really good, but in bigger games the margins are small and there were a few key times were we didn't convert our opportunities into points and NSW built momentum from there.

"The Waratahs were clinical and held control of the match either side of half-time, key minutes in a final, and their experience as a squad was evident.

"Set piece was an area where we looked to build our attack from, but we didn't have the ascendancy we had aimed for and that limited our ability to execute our game plan.

"I'm really proud of our group, we introduced 12 new debutants to the side this year and as a whole, for players who all come from different clubs, cultural backgrounds and age groups, we came together really well and bonded as a unit."

The Waratahs have yet to drop a game in Super W since the competition was launched in 2018.