Wallabies outrun breathless BaaBaas
The Wallabies were forced to work hard for their 40-36 victory over the Barbarians in an entertaining clash at Twickenham on Saturday.
The Barbarians were right in the contest right until the last minute, but the Wallabies held out and ultimately outscored their opponents by six tries to five.
The Barbarians set the tone early on when their first line-out saw No.8 Steven Luatua launch an American Football style pass halfway across the field to Nick Cummins who could not hold on.
Both teams were clearly keen to play with some attacking flair, but that translated into some basic errors on both sides in the opening exchanges.
The Barbarians had the first real scoring opportunity and loaded a driving maul with a few backline players, and although they got the ball over the tryline twice, they could not find the finishing touch.
Despite that setback the Barbarians would draw first blood when a break from Cummins saw them work the ball wide to Frank Halai who got over in the corner.
The Wallabies turned down the chance to kick at goal twice as they looked for a response and it was Sam Carter who eventually crashed over, with Quade Cooper's conversion putting them ahead 7-5.
The Barbarians hit back straight away as a period of pressure saw the ball spun out to Adam Thomson who dived over in the corner to put his side back in front.
The Wallabies were in the lead again before long as prop Benn Robinson powered over from close range, which gave them a slender 14-12 advantage at half-time.
Australia struck first in the second half when Tevita Kuridrani brushed off a few weak tackles to race away under the poles, but the Barbarians hit back almost immediately when Francis Saili won the race to a chip ahead.
The Barbarians hit the front again when Slade slotted a long-range penalty from close to the halfway line, which set up the last half-hour nicely with the Wallabies trailing 22-21.
Both teams made a host of changes, and they worked out better for Australia as Rob Horne, Bernard Foley and Sean McMahon crossed the whitewash to give them some breathing space.
There was enough time for late consolation try from the Cummins and Marnitz Boshoff, but it was not enough to prevent a win for the Wallabies.
Man of the match: There were many impressive individual performances, but young Australian flank Sean McMahon stood out from the moment he took the field for Scott Higginbotham.
Moment of the match: There were many exciting moments, but Steven Luatua's NFL style pass from the first line-out certainly set the tone for what was to come.
Villain of the match: There were none, the match was played in a good spirit.
The scorers:
For Australia:
Tries: Carter, Robinson, Kuridrani, Horne, Foley, McMahon
Cons: Cooper 3, Foley 2
For the Barbarians:
Tries: Halai, Thomson, Saili, Cummins, Boshoff
Cons: Slade 2, Boshoff 2
Pen: Slade
Teams:
Australia: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Henry Speight, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 Matt Hodgson (captain), 6 Scott Higginbotham, 5 James Horwill, 4 Sam Carter, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Saia Fainga'a, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements – from: James Hanson, James Slipper, Sekope Kepu, Will Skelton, Sean McMahon, Nic White, Bernard Foley, Christian Leali'ifano, Joe Tomane.
Barbarians: 15 Tim Nanai-Williams, 14 Frank Halai, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Francis Saili, 11 Nick Cummins, 10 Colin Slade, 9 Tomás Cubelli, 8 Steven Luatua, 7 Matt Todd, 6 Adam Thomson, 5 Al Kellock, 4 Dominic Bird, 3 Angus Ta'avao, 2 James Parsons, 1 Matt Stevens.
Replacements: 16 Mahonri Schwalger, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Lourens Adriaanse, 19 Heinrich Brussow, 20 Matías Alemanno, 21 Sarel Pretorius, 22 Joaquín Tuculet, 23 Marnitz Boshoff.
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees: JP Doyle (England), Gregory Garner (England)
TMO: Rowan Kitt (England)
