Try-scorers: Scott Higginbotham and Will Genia both touched down
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Australia bounced back from their shock loss to Scotland with a morale-boosting 27-19 win over Wales at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday.
What a difference four days makes, as the hosts dug deep to prove their doubters wrong and take a 1-0 lead in the series against this year's Six Nations Grand Slam champions.
Wales, who at one stage trailed by fourteen points (20-6), managed to claw their way back into the match and cut the deficit to one (20-19) in an absorbing encounter.
But a try by centre Pat McCabe in the 67th minute proved to be the killer blow as the Welsh slumped to their fifth straight defeat to Australia.
The Wallabies' win takes the heat off under-pressure coach Robbie Deans, whose side rebounded impressively from Tuesday's Scottish disaster with an enterprising ball-in-hand game plan at their Brisbane fortress.
Wales - desperate to end a 43-year drought Down Under - were forced to play catch-up rugby throughout, and it all started when Berrick Barnes opened the scoring with a straightforward penalty kick in the ninth minute.
Australia looked to have created a certain try when Rob Horne darted to the left, but Alex Cuthbert - outstanding for the visitors - prevented the scoring pass with a crucial tackle.
However, just moments later the Wallabies crossed following a series of drives from their forwards that ended with number eight Scott Higginbotham crashing over for his first Test try.
Barnes added the extras and Australia led 10-0 after 16 minutes.
Wales finally got themselves on the scoreboard courtesy of a Leigh Halfpenny, but the men in red were struggling to find any momentum against a Wallabies outfit playing with their tails up.
The tourists then suffered a major blow on the half-hour mark when destructive winger George North was replaced with a quad injury to put him in doubt for next week's second Test in Melbourne.
Trailing 10-3 at half-time, any thoughts of a second-half respite by Australia was extinguished immediately by Will Genia who needed less than a minute after the break to grab his team's second try.
The Wallaby scrum-half exploited space expertly and then effected an outrageous side-step to negotiate the last line of defence. The finish was a moment of individual brilliance and highlighted Genia's running threat as he dived over for the converted try to extend Australia's lead even further (17-3).
Another Halfpenny penalty was then cancelled out by a Barnes drop-goal, but Halfpenny again nudged Wales closer with a third penalty (20-9).
As the game went on, it was evident that the hosts began to tire in the second half and were not as effective at controlling the ball at close quarters. And as the game grew looser, Wales came into their own.
Ashley Beck replaced centre Scott Williams and with his first touch of the ball, put Cuthbert over for his fourth Test try. Halfpenny converted and added an excellent penalty from out wide to cut the deficit to 20-19 on 63 minutes.
Wales were eying a remarkable turnaround, but Australia showed their clinical edge when they needed it most. Genia was again the creator, picking his pass to McCabe who crashed over with thirteen minutes remaining.
Barnes converted and Australia were once again eight points ahead.
Twice Cuthbert threatened to break clear for a second try that Wales desperately needed, but was denied as Australia recovered to hold out for victory.
Man of the match: Alex Cuthbert was Wales' standout player,, while David Pocock, Scott Higginbotham, Berrick Barnes and Adam Ashley-Cooper all made significant contributions for Australia. But it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who gets our vote - Will Genia take a bow. Apart from his try, Genia looked every bit the general in the number nine position.
Moment of the match: Genia's try... pure magic.
Villain of the match: No malice to report!
The scorers:
For Australia:
Tries: Higginbotham, Genia, McCabe
Cons: Barnes 3
Pens: Barnes
Drop: Barnes
For Wales:
Try: Cuthbert
Con: Halfpenny
Pen: Halfpenny 4
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, Dave Dennis, 18 Michael Hooper, 19 Nic White, 20 Anthony Fainga'a, 21 Mike Harris.
Wales: 15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Scott Williams, 11 George North, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (c), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Luke Charteris, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements: 16 Matthew Rees, 17 Paul James, 18 Alun Wyn Jones, 19 Ryan Jones, 20 Lloyd Williams, 21 James Hook, 22 Ashley Beck.
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Comments
Waz4before says...
Wales were very disappointing and looked like the side they are: potentially a very good young team, capable of running the ball from almost anywhere but nowhere near world beaters. It will be very interesting to see how they respond next week after so much talk before this game about how they would win; they can't afford to capitulate, they can't afford to lose at all, so the pressure will be huge..
Great response from Australia though - Will Genia, probably the best half-back in world rugby at the moment?
Posted 14:20 09th June 2012
anotherfarce says...
2 points
When were oz ever on side in this match.Th refe even pointed out to the Oz forwards they were off before the welsh scrum half touched the ball, after he played the ball they were still off & play continued???????
How many times is Pocock going to handle in the ruck before he is ever pinged???
Joubert blew Wales off the park in the 1st half whenever they were in an attacking position. It speaks volumes when George Gregan says he liked the ref post match.
For some of you clue-less keyboard warriors on this site who have never played the game. If a side tours the SH there needs to be an assurance we have a reasonable & consistant ref. (fat chance)
Sure Wales didn't take their chances in the 2nd half in the last 20 minutes, but we shouldn't be put under the kosh by number 16. Watch the game again quite plain to see!!
They will come back next test, but if we cop the same kind of crap from Joubert or Lawrence whats the point.
Only point I agree on here is that Genia was man of the match. I think he will be marked a lot tighter in the next.
Posted 14:19 09th June 2012
Ramage says...
The pace of the game which was controlled by the OZ team apart from a long period in the second half was one of the telling items of the game. This comes about, not by accident but, from the way Super Rugby is played. Too often people from the NH rubbish Super Rugby. It is the speed at which the game is played that causes the divide in International rugby.
Robbie Deans has come under some criticism for his tenure as coach of Australia and has had some losses that have been embarrassing. However when the elements are like they were on Tuesday or like the field at Stellenbosch in the Junior RWC the game becomes a lottery. What Deans is doing and he has not yet fully succeeded, is to bring a higher standard below the main playing squad. It is apparent that when Australia is not playing its main team the depth below it is stretching their ability. Added to this that 4 main test players are missing Beale, Cooper, O'Connor and Horwell and the problem is compounded. When NZ had Carter playing NZ happily got rid of France in the RWC after he went followed by then quickly by Cruden and you are back to Donald who was ridiculed out of NZ but who had enough experience to help see us through. So you can see that Australia were ambushed by the Scots and you could call it the Scrooge O'Neill Blunder Test. However no sympathy for him and I do recognise the Scots defended well and took their opportunities.
The Irish on the NZ report are asking how come the Irish International side does not do as well as their Provincial sides in Europe and fall back in blaming their coach, especially if they come from Leinster. What they don't seem to recognise is that the fast pace at which the SH teams play the game is born out of the way teams play in the Super 15, much maligned in the NH. Well done OZ you have weathered the week. You lost on Tuesday but the main prize is yours for the taking
Posted 14:15 09th June 2012
Mayhem says...
C'mon then fish, who do you support. Your ignorance is a clue
Posted 14:14 09th June 2012
ArmchairGeneral says...
Melkdave: Eng has many a time gone to oz with odds in their favor and lost.
FiSH: all facets. Rubbish, did you watch it. I'll let the Wales fans mention where they were dominant as its against my religion, but you don't have a score line of 20-19 after 67 mins with one team on top of everything. Looks like a good tour there but Oz have the decisive attacking edge: that's the only facet I see a big gap in.
Still think Wales are missing their magic potion. Can they play well without cryotherapy? Are there long term negatives to that as well as short term gains?
Posted 14:06 09th June 2012
hayj05 says...
Welsh fans weren't delusional, their side very much looked like they were going to run over the top of the Wallabies when they got it back to 1 point. Good composure shown by Australia though.
Maybe just a little tweak in gameplan eg. Keeping a close eye on Genia & making sure they clear the touchline to avoid quick throws & the 2nd test will be all on.
Easier said than done though.
Good game by both sides.
Now for the most brutal of the 3 tests, should be a cracker.
Posted 13:52 09th June 2012
ArmchairGeneral says...
Philjfry: are you a Wales fan? They always put losses down to a single slip up. Oz muffed a few too.
My favourite single welsh incident was the trip on Hartley (yellow card) that cost them 17 points and the game. And they wanted to drop the player... If he's worth 17 points in 10 mins he should never get dropped.
Wales have lost some creativity with their new found brawn. Wales and Oz need to swap Gats and Deans. They should both benefit.
Posted 13:51 09th June 2012
Dafydd29 says...
Quite surprised that no-one has commented on how biased Joubert was throughout the game. He clearly should not be allowed near a rugby field - at any level.
Posted 13:45 09th June 2012
philipjfry says...
@FISH: yeah....i called it.....delusional welsh fans thought they could win.....what filthy clowns hahahahha AUSSIE!!
Filthy clowns? It must be the post traumatic stress you suffered after losing to Scotland AT HOME that makes you refer to the welsh fans as 'filthy clowns'.
Posted 13:44 09th June 2012
Fatflanker says...
The most complete performance from the Wallabies pack in years. Backline really stood up too. Well done Dingo.
Posted 13:31 09th June 2012
jonesy2 says...
all the crap that was talked before the game i just ignored because i knew australia would do the talking on the field and now you all look like a bunch of idiots (you included PR). wallabies forwards absolutely monstered wales, imagine if they had beale, cooper and JOC. egg on face of all you twits
Posted 13:30 09th June 2012
rico says...
dissappointed with the result, really didn't fire as we know Wales can, was never going to be a walk in the park as Aussies good enough outfit with world class at 7 and 9 definately. still though how many times joubert shout Seven leave it!.... not once but two or three times. i know its pococks job and he's damn good at it but surely the damage is already done? several times slowed play at crucial times spoiling wales' momentum illegally, if legally why ref have to shout at him to stop?
Posted 13:26 09th June 2012
lacroix says...
wales were occasionally very poor , but australia were not exactly flawless.
joubert had yet another dreadful performance- his decisions are so inconsistent.
Posted 13:25 09th June 2012
Welshoz says...
Wales underperformed but all credit to Australia. Genia was huge and surely some credit is also due to Barnes who showed what he can do given a fair go
Posted 13:22 09th June 2012
FISH says...
hmmm the next match.....eng v.s SA might be a different story....new players , new coach eng could sneak in a win....though i still think sa will take the series
Posted 13:22 09th June 2012
Welshoz says...
Wales underperformed but all credit to Australia. Genia was huge and surely some credit is also due to Barnes who showed what he can do given a fair go
Posted 13:20 09th June 2012
rugbydaft says...
Tiger roar ,guess your an English supporter then ,Wales were poor but not rubbish .
Lets hope England can turnover the Boks
Posted 13:11 09th June 2012
crunchfit says...
Apart from playing away, the odds were stacked in Wales' favour. A bit surprised by that performance...
Hope North is back for the other tests. And Scott Williams, that was a nasty knock.
Posted 13:09 09th June 2012
FISH says...
wales, so over rated, out classed in every facet......genia man of the match for sure
Posted 13:09 09th June 2012
FISH says...
yeah....i called it.....delusional welsh fans thought they could win.....what filthy clowns hahahahha AUSSIE!!
Posted 13:05 09th June 2012