Australia: Steal win from Wales
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Australia's replacement pivot Mike Harris killed off Wales' hopes of keeping their Test series alive after slotting a last-gasp penalty kick to steal a 25-23 win in Melbourne.
It was a sad case of close but no cigar for the Welsh who came within seconds of winning Down Under for the first time in 43 years and set up a series decider.
However, Harris - on for Berrick Barnes - was called upon to provide the killer blow for the Wallabies after a maul was ruled to have been dragged down and Australia's New Zealand-born super sub didn't disappoint.
The defeat left a devasted Wales outfit once again reflecting on a golden chance gone begging in a thrilling encounter that saw the lead change hands nine times as the match went down to the wire.
The visitors showed their trademark fighting spirit at Etihad Stadium but the loss meant a series victory for Australia, who took out the first Test in Brisbane last week.
Wales got off to a the perfect start, launching a sustained attack after just three minutes which ended when wing George North side-stepped past Wycliff Palu and Rob Simmons to touch down.
Leigh Halfpenny kicked the easy conversion but the hosts went on to have the better of the half and Barnes kicked a pair of penalties to reduce their deficit to 7-6.
The diminuitive fly-half then made a crucial break on the stroke of half-time after slicing through a large gap between Sam Warburton and Ashley Beck, before coolly finding Rob Horne on his shoulder and the centre cruised over the line.
Barnes added the extras to make it a seven-pointer and the Welsh trailed 13-7 at the break.
However, the tourists once again started the better of the two sides after Ashley Beck and Jonathan Davies combined to show off their soccer skills by hacking the ball downfield when Will Genia's pass went astray.
Beck hit the deck, but Davies got a favourable bounce and calmly collected the ball near the line to score. Halfpenny once again added the extras and Wales were back in front (13-14).
Barnes booted a pair of three-pointers either side of a Halfpenny penalty and Australia were clinging to a 19-17 lead, but they then lost wing Cooper Vuna to the sin-bin for tackling Halfpenny in the air.
The Welsh full-back kicked the resulting penalty to put his side up 20-19 but the Wallabies went straight onto the attack and Barnes made it 22-20 when Wales infringed at a ruck.
The see-saw battle continied when the reliable Halfpenny was on target once again when Ben Alexander was penalised at a scrum 13 minutes from time before Barnes - who had been struggling with a leg injury - then put a kick wide of the posts with six minutes left.
But the Wallabies got another chance when, with the 80 minutes having elapsed, Richard Hibbard infringed at a driving maul, and Harris calmly stepped up to drill a tricky penalty straight through the uprights.
Man of the match: For Wales, Leigh Halfpenny kept his side in the hunt thanks to a flawless kicking display and perhaps would've been awarded this gong had Wales won. However, the official man of the match award went to new dad Berrick Barnes and it's hard to argue against it. Australia's number ten set up the Wallabies' only try of the match and contributed 17 points before being replaced.
Moment of the match: We're pretty sure every pub in Wales now have a picture of Mike Harris on the bullseye of their dartboards following the replacement's match-winning kick in extra time.
Villain of the match: Mike Harris - we were looking forward to seeing the series head into a decider next weekend! But we won't hold it against you... too much.
The scorers:
For Australia:
Try: Horne
Con: Barnes
Pens: Barnes 5, Harris
For Wales:
Tries: North, Davies
Cons: Halfpenny 2
Pens: Halfpenny 3
Australia: 15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Cooper Vuna, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Pat McCabe, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Berrick Barnes, 9 Will Genia, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 David Pocock (c), 6 Scott Higginbotham, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Stephen Moore, 17 Ben Alexander, 18 Dave Dennis, 19 Michael Hooper, 20 Nic White, 21 Anthony Fainga'a, 22 Mike Harris.
Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Ashley Beck, 11 George North, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Ryan Jones, 7 Sam Warburton (c), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements: 16 Richard Hibbard, 17 Paul James, 18 Luke Charteris, 19 Justin Tipuric, 20 Rhys Webb, 21 James Hook, 22 Scott Williams.
Referee: Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
By Dave Morris
Comments
draig says...
hehe - So what your saying is that the Aussies sruggled to beat a average team.. Speaks volumes. FISHing for responses obviously or you wouldn't back your self into those sorts of corners ;-)
Otherwise - it would seem, despite our optomism, we're still a shade off closing the big 3 out - but lets face it, there were alot of nervious kiwis and aussies out there today in those last few minutes!! Although why the brain farts keep happening is a mystery to me - I mean who does big aimless midfield kicks with a minute to go with only a point in it - we don't do that against england, france or ireland in the six nations - what possessed priestland to think that these guys were the ones to try it with!!. I know its unsporting but just hold the ball and play slow for the last min and kick it out!!!!
Posted 15:32 16th June 2012
eccles says...
a
Posted 15:15 16th June 2012
Dafydd29 says...
Can't help but feel that with a NH ref the result would have been quite different.
Posted 15:05 16th June 2012
celticspirit says...
@appropriately-named FISH: Just stop going on about the AllBlacks cheating, will you? The amount of times that Pocock doesnt release when he is a tackler (ok, that law has only been there for just over a year...) or when he is off his feet is just plain nauseating. Never mind the fact that the Australian scrum can't stay straight for their lives and were only saved by the timid ref who didnt want to award too many penalties against them.
So, Australia were gritty, as were New Zealand. But if anyone today should be accused of cheating it would have to be the men wearing gold... (Not saying they should, by the way, because everyone tried to get away with stuff, some just more so than others...)
Posted 15:04 16th June 2012
hellovanite says...
My heart goes out to the welsh. Like the Irish they had the winning of the game within their grasp! At the very least this shows that the gap can be breached when you up the tempo and stay committed. Take heart Wales you have the ability to crack this one. Ireland likewise will feel a lot more confident going into game 3. Now for England to step up and deliver where the others couldn't. Competitive close fought internationals are much more stirring than runaway victories. I'm a New Zealander and I always want the ABs to win, but this weeks games were far better. I almost had a heart attack haven't felt so anxious since RWC 2012, thanks Ireland. Last week I was putting out the rubbish and talking on the mob with 15 minutes to go this week I was glued to the screen, much better. It's nice to know you have a rugby team that have great skill but it's even better when you know there is someone up to the challenge!
Posted 15:00 16th June 2012
Dangerous says...
Vuna very lucky not to be red card. Thought welsh played wrong tactics when he was off the field. Kicked it away or down middle or kept it tight. Should've been trying to exploit the man down in the line. Also with 2 minutes to go why did they kick it away again. They had it won. Very disappointed for them and I'm a kiwi.
Posted 15:00 16th June 2012
celticspirit says...
Thanks, new_j4a, cold not have said it any better. Hope that ignorant fool never returns here and watches football instead. It is an easier game to comprehend...
Posted 14:58 16th June 2012
Mayhem says...
FISH, did you really just say you were being objective!? The man who hurls racist abuse at the welsh and legislates it all by saying go Aussie? You are a cretin of the highest order! congrats to real Aussie fans, displayed once again that their team have the most important top 2 inches in the locker when it matters. The welsh? Naive unfortunately. Maybe next time I hope. @FISH... Grow up you sad little troll.
Posted 14:55 16th June 2012
startledwombat says...
Well, that was my prediction of a comfortable win shot down in flames!
A good atmosphere at the ground, a Welsh couple in front of us, an Irish couple beside us, and Australians who had played the game behind us. All good fun. One thing I like about rugby is the game is bigger than the teams or tribes.
As the last five minutes of the match unfolded my wife and I were baffled. The Welsh chose to take a scrum from a short-arm penalty even though when they did the same thing earlier in the match it had backfired on them. The Welsh also kicked possession away, and when they got the ball back they sent it out into the backs.
"Why aren't they holding onto it?" my wife kept asking.
We had just come from watching on TV the All Blacks close out the final five minutes of a test, grinding it out.
In short, Wales threw away the game in the last five minutes. Keep the ball in hand, go from ruck to ruck, keep it tight with your pick-and-drive runners, slow the game down. They did nothing of this and paid the price.
Their lack of composure was brutally exposed and I think they are very fortunate to be ranked #4 in the world. They don't deserve to be higher. There's a difference between being very good and excellent. This Welsh team are merely very good.
Posted 14:52 16th June 2012
Trader2 says...
Wales lost this game at 78:30mins. TVaddict bemoaned the Welsh kicking to the Wannabie back three but the ref called "advantage over" and really the receiver had to kick as nothing else was on. The mistake was not taking the scrum for the Wannabie knockon seconds earlier. It would have taken another 45 seconds for the scrum then the Welsh just needed to grind it out for another minute. Great victories are won with the head, the Welsh lost theirs in those precious seconds.
And@makemehappy you are still a joke.
Posted 14:47 16th June 2012
rossco74 says...
Surely you can't rate Harris as villain of the match after Lydiate tried to take Pocock out by shoulder charging him whilst he was on the ground. If Vuna's "in the air" tackle with his head was dumb and got 10 minutes, Lydiate was lucky to be on the field.
All in all a great game though.
Posted 14:36 16th June 2012
jontheref says...
Fish
So the AB's cheated, Aus didn't?
You are having a laugh!
They all cheat, just some get away with it more than others!
Posted 14:33 16th June 2012
hayj05 says...
@hayj05 - Opps sorry guys, didn't realise that the penalty was awarded for entering the maul from the side.
Posted 14:31 16th June 2012
hayj05 says...
@FISH - Sorry, I know I just said you should be ignored but you've got my blood boiling.
They infringed at important times lol when? Name the infringements & no that is not being objective by saying AB's infringements were more important. What about the Irish slowing down the AB's ball illegally all night & getting away with it most of the time & when the AB's made that break through DC & Aaron Smith I think it was & the Irish dived in the ruck 5 metres out from the try-line, is that not considered cheating at a crucial time, a try could of sealed the game. Or what about the harsh yellow card on Izzy dagg when he can't change his flight in mid air & the missed penalty by Sexton to take the lead, was that the AB's cheating again.
No doubt the Irish were unlucky to lose just like the Welsh but to say it's because the AB's cheated is absolute BS & I think you know it.
I hope the Springboks lose, not because I want them to lose but because you're such an irritational man/ woman/ sea creature... whatever you are. Or maybe I want them to win so I can come on here & claim the Springboks cheated.
Posted 14:15 16th June 2012
BackingBlackNZ says...
In NZ, we have a tendency to support underdogs, unless they are playing the All Blacks, in which case, all bets are off. Had things gone differently, it could have been Wales in the RWC 2011 Grand Final vs NZ. All this is to say - there is a lot to admire about this Welsh team.
I have to admit, even though I do not usually support Australia vs anyone, I was happy to see them pull steal a win in the last seconds, just like the ABs did tonight. Probably something to do with Southern Hemisphere Supremacy, I suspect.
Keep your heads up Wales - when you learn how to scrape through these tight games, you will truly be a force to be reckoned with.
Posted 14:13 16th June 2012
bk47 says...
Man its great to see june tests being competitive! First the irish and now wales. Lets hope england put up the same fight.
Didn't watch the entire match so can't comment on how it was but i did flick over the channel to see the last penalty kick. What suspense!
As a general fan of all things rugby I'm loving these june series. This can only be good for international rugby that NH teams stand up to the SH powers and on a consistant basis.
Posted 14:10 16th June 2012
Sharpster says...
@Fish...give up you are wrong
Posted 14:03 16th June 2012
ShamanSheep says...
All those people saying this was a great game, are you blind? There must have been some artistic license used by the radio commentators; it was terrible. Wales were awful, we deserved to lose that, yeah we showed good character but we played next to no constructive rugby. I'm getting tired of writing this, might as well be watching England.
Posted 14:02 16th June 2012
new_j4a says...
@jonthe wannabe who says "No complaints about the ref, he did not influence the result. " God that is a relief! All of Oz have been on the edge of their seats in case you came on here with your coherent analysis and completely invalidated the result. So now we can all get on with it....update the record books, the irb can adjust the rankings, Ozzies can have a pint....THANK YOU for being so quick with your stamp of approval....!
The editor says.... new_j4a: It really is a pain when we have to edit your comments to take out bad language. Next time it WILL be deleted
Posted 14:00 16th June 2012
Sharpster says...
Wales are not overrated! Just dumb, why kick the ball away keep it rolling for 2 min and they win! Utter stupidity
Posted 13:57 16th June 2012