Player Ratings: Super subs
Australia trailed 3-6 at half-time and never looked threatening until the likes of Matt Toomua and Nick White came out to spark them into life on attack to see them emulate their feat of 2011 – wining the Rugby Championship in a World Cup year.
The first-half was not the prettiest of sights, with countless handling errors stopping any and all attacking momentum but a massive defensive effort helped the home side claim the win and keep their Bledisloe Cup hopes alive.
We rate the Australian players!
15 Israel Folau
Displayed his attacking prowess can be matched with excellent work on defence and was unlucky not to grab a try in another big effort from the fullback.
7/10
14 Adam Ashley-Cooper
Excellent effort and work rate on defence but showed massive heart in grabbing a try after being on the wrong end of a high tackle.
8/10
13 Tevita Kuridrani
A rather sedate match from the usually powerful centre, however he matched to make a dozen tackles in a good defensive display.
6/10
12 Matt Giteau
Fairly quiet performance by his usual high standards, however, he did what he could with the poor service he received.
6/10
11 Drew Mitchell
His eight runs may have only gotten him 15 metres but he beat four defenders in the process and also grabbed a couple of turnovers.
6/10
10 Bernard Foley
Made no real impact in the game and sat too deep on attack but could have also done with better service from Phipps.
5/10
9 Nick Phipps
Absolutely ineffective and erratic. Made poor decisions and threw wild passes which put his team under pressure while also picking up a yellow card.
1/10
8 David Pocock
Another monumental effort by the ever consistent loose forward who was a menace at ruck time and grabbed the odd turnover.
7/10
7 Michael Hooper
A clinical defensive effort from the flank combined with being a nuisance at the breakdowns while being strong in his carries.
7/10
6 Scott Fardy
Worked well with his fellow loose forwards, held onto all of his tackles and claimed a few line-out balls.
7/10
5 James Horwill
Bagged a metre for every run he made and put in a decent effort on defence. He may have slipped one tackle but managed to hang onto nine others.
6/10
4 Dean Mumm
Managed a turnover but offered fairly little with ball-in-hand while he was fairly efficient on defence.
5/10
3 Sekope Kepu
Saw yellow in the seventh minute but made up for it by grabbing his first international try and dominating Woodcock at scrum time.
7/10
2 Stephen Moore
Won a few turnovers and had a good game in the scrums but was inconsistent at line-out time.
6/10
1 Scott Sio
Massive effort in the scrums and held onto all of his tackles, however, he did not offer anything with ball-in-hand.
5/10
Replacements:
16 Tatafu Polotu-Nau (on for Moore, 68 mins)
Not enough time to be rated
17 James Slipper (on for Sio, 58 mins)
Held onto all his tackles but did what he needed to help get the Wallabies over the line.
6/10
18 Greg Holmes (on for Kepu, 54 mins)
Had two trips to the field after being replacement when Kepu was sin binned but did not quite make the effort he would have wanted.
5/10
19 Will Skelton (on for Horwill, 58 mins)
Made his tackles and beat a defender but other than that, was pretty ineffective with his carries.
5/10
20 Ben McCalman (on for Pocock, 61 mins)
Had big shoes to fill but could not quite find his feet in the minimal time he had on the park.
4/10
21 Nic White (on for Phipps, 65 mins)
Grabbed the winning try and brought a new energy to the encounter which got the Wallabies onto the front foot.
7/10
22 Matt Toomua (on for Foley, 51 mins)
Made an immediate impact by being flatter on attack and it immediate made a difference in changing the game
7/10
23 Kurtley Beale (on for Giteau, 65 mins)
Looked for work and was busy during his brief stint on the park with his three carries making 17 metres.
6/10
By Tauriq Ebrahim
