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Eden Park consolation for Wallabies

Australia won their first game at Eden Park in 25 years when they beat a poor Welsh side 21-18 in the World Cup third-place play-off in Auckland on Friday.

It was not a match that Australia and Wales would have chosen to play, but play it they did with heart and soul, a match worthy of two great teams from two great rugby nations at the greatest competition in the world in 2011. They played with enthusiasm and intensity from start to finish, and in the end the scores were properly close.

Yet again Australia have their defence to thank – 145 tackles to 74. They tackled better than anybody else at the Rugby World Cup. They also handled better than Wales and scrummed better, but they suffered two strange injuries early in the match – two leg injuries when no contact was made.

First Kurtley Beale was helped off after eight minutes when he damaged the hamstring that had kept him out of the semifinal. He came on the inside looking for a pass and suddenly pulled up. One playmaker gone.

Then Quade Cooper who was having a much, much better game than his scatterbrained performances against South Africa and New Zealand, ran with the ball, came close and then folded to ground with a knee injury. Off he went after 20 minutes. Second playmaker gone.

But Berrick Barnes went to flyhalf and was superb. He does not reach the creative heights of Cooper but also does not plunge into sudden abysses either. Ashley-Cooper went to fullback and made some telling contributions and should have scored a try late in the second half but lost the ball at the line when George North tackled him.

Then they nearly lost Nathan Sharpe after just four minutes. The great man walked out ahead of the two teams, calm and stately as ever, playing his 100th Test for Australia, a great, great player. But he fell awkwardly at a line-out he had won, had a knee attended to and played on for the next 40 minutes till Rob Simmons took his place.

The match started with great intensity and the Wallabies were the first to get close as they attacked from line-out on their right. James O’Connor and Digby Ioane were close. Luke Charteris was offside and they tapped and attacked only to knock-on.

They were close again when they were going left and Cooper kicked a brilliant kick back to his right off the outside of his boot. O’Connor was onto the ball but so were three Welsh defenders. Australia had a five-metre scrum and went left. Cooper waited and then threw a perfect pass to Barnes who raced past Jamie Roberts to score at the posts. 7-0 after 12 minutes.

Wales came back and had a scrum in front  of the posts, six metres from the Wallaby line. The scrum took over two minutes to produce a penalty against James Slipper. James Hook goaled, his only successful kick of the match as his poor kicking form persisted. 7-3 after 19 minutes.

That was the half-time score though there was no shortage of action in the half, and two players, Scott Higginbotham of Australia and George North of Wales left the field with blood. David Pocock  ended the match with blood seeping through his head bandage.

Wales took the lead for a brief period. Mike Phillips stabbed a short grubber ahead. Hook got the ball (He may have been offside) and passed to his left (It may have been forward), but it was a low, rolling pass. Shane Williams footed on, chased, grabbed the ball and scored. 8-6 after 49 minutes.

The lead lasted four minutes for Charteris was penalised at a tackle and O’Connor goaled to make it 10-8 and then Paul James was penalised at scrum and O’Connor made it 13-8 after 56 minutes.

Not for the only time Wales went through many phases without making progress against the Wallaby defence. Australia were quicker and did not keep phases going too long before changing play. On one such occasion Barnes kicked a soaring drop. 16-8 after 66 minutes but then Stephen Jones, on for Hook and playing his 102nd Test, kicked a penalty. 16-11 with 11 minutes to play.

At this stage both benches were empty.

Roberts had a run but lost the ball a long way forward. Australia went wide right with a great pass by Ashley-Cooper to O’Connor who raced down the wing and looked likely to score, but he played infield to Anthony Fainga’a who also looked likely to score but he played further infield to Ashley-Cooper who looked certain to score till North felled him.

Wales won the subsequent scrum but Lloyd Williams’s kick took play to the 22 on the Australian right. They went rapidly through phases to the left where Saia Fainga’a popped a pass to Ben McCalman who scored. 21-11 with three minutes to play.

Wales played, again through phases that made no progress till suddenly they burst and got to within five metres of the Australian line, Then Alun Wyn Jones was only a metre out. They went left and a slap-on pass produced an overlap for Leigh Halfpenny who scored after 28 phases and well beyond the 80 minutes.

Man of the Match: Berrick Barnes who controlled the game, ran well, kicked a drop that was the difference at the end and tackled as well as anybody.

Moment of the Match: One is tempted to say the pass to Romain Poite the assistant referee but really for sheer persistence in the face of defeat it was Leigh Halfpenny’s try.

Villain of the Match: Again everybody who booed Quade Cooper. Booing is ugly but when it is directed at just one player in match after match it is beyond moronic.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:
Shane Williams, Halfpenny
Con: Stephen Jones
Pens: Hook, Stephen Jones

For Australia:
Tries:
Barnes, McCalman
Con: O’Connor
Pens: O’Connor 2
DG: Barnes

The teams:

Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Shane Williams, 10 James Hook, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Ryan Jones, 7 Toby Faletau, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Luke Charteris, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Paul James, 2 Huw Bennett, 1 Gethin Jenkins (captain).
Replacements: 16 Lloyd Burns, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Alun Wyn Jones, 19 Andy Powell, 20 Lloyd Williams, 21 Stephen Jones, 22 Scott Williams.

Australia: 15 Kurtley Beale, 14 James O’Connor, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 David Pocock, 6 Scott Higginbotham, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 James Horwill (captain), 3 Salesi Ma’afu, 2 Tatafu Polota Nau, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements: 16 Saia Fainga’a, 17 Ben Alexander, 18 Rob Simmons, 19 Radike Samo, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Anthony Fainga’a, 22 Rob Horne.

Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees: Romain Poite (France), George Clancy (Ireland)
TMO: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

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