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
melkdave says...
@Cliffguy
I wuld certinally play Tipuric at 7 myself as his the inform player,Warburton seems to have lost his edge and a 1/2 metre ,after his long lay off .But id still have him on the field at 6 ,and move Lydigate to 8 .I would also drop Phillips to the bench ,and start Williams ,and get Evans on instead of Davies If D,Bigger was there id also start him in place of Preistland ,who has dropped in form imo,but he isnt so Preistland starts again ..A.Jones also imo has to be dropped to the bench ,he along with the entire frontrow ,has failed to gain any meaningfull and consistent dominance in the scrum at all which is very disappointing ,given the known weakness of the Australians in that aspect,and looks lost a bewilded at times in genral play as the pace of the game passes him by.I also hope M.Rees is working hard on his lineout throwing as last wekend he was poor ,it definatly needs to improve big time.
Posted 13:07 18th June 2012
Ramage says...
Hey hey Trader not too much of the old yet please, Lol.
Posted 12:38 18th June 2012
anotherfarce says...
@Trader2
I've been around a bit mate, can't say at this stage in life I would be bitter & twisted over a rugby match but still enjoy watching them just the same. However I point out facts from experience not hype & bluster like many juvenile pretenders who post on here.
You are deluding yourself if you think all ref's are of golden virtue these days with all the gambling & huge sums of money in sport. Take a look at the cricket, football, (NRL especially) as well as Union. Lots of players from many countries also involved in match fixing. As far as refs cheating of course it happens, but not necessarily to favour a team so much these days but rather a payday.
Look around you if you believe it is not happening you are either very young & naieve or an eternal optimist.
On Saturdays game the the players Moore & Kepu cheated not the ref, he just gave a bad call considering the Welsh scrum was far stronger & quite obviously wouldn't have taken it down given the scoreline & match situation.
1. Watch the scrum with Moore & Kepu going to ground underneath, then watch the players as they get up & guess who's under everyone??
2. Vuna should have been red carded instantly for his hit on Halfpenny as the Welsh were for a spear tackle in the RWC. By the way a NH ref made that call against a NH player despite quite a few players getting away with it earlier in the tournament, that was always the bone of contention amongst Welsh supporters not the decision!!
3. The "decisions made Saturday" from the ref meant that instead of a 1-1 with Australia looking down the barrel of a 2-1 series defeat they are 2-0 up, this is the power referee's have especially in tight situations, it's a fact not a gripe.
Now review the scrum in question if you doubt me.
Ole boy over & out (nuff said)
Posted 12:00 18th June 2012
MIKE104 says...
We can complain about the ref until we are blue in the face,it just does,nt make any difference now...but most of people with me watching the game could not understand how the welsh coaches did not get Priestland off when the ozzies were down to 14 men... he was making no ground with the ball in hand ,and his kicking was erratic...HOOK should have been on the field and given his head to attack...in my humble opinion Hook should have started the game after that first test...I am an ospreys supporter but dont mention Biggar please...Adam Jones makes more ground than him and priestland together with the ball in hand...next test start with HOOK,SCOTT WILLIAMS,IAN EVANS TIPURIC AT 7, WARBURTON AT 8 there is nothing to lose and a win might be a nice way to justify getting up at 5.30 am .
Posted 11:25 18th June 2012
jontheref says...
@Ramage
Good post, and I support you in supporting the editor. He should just delete posts with foul language, and not give the oxygen of publication.
Onto your point about posters with "ref" in their name. I have never said the views were any ones but mine. Like you I have been involved in many facets of the game, in many countries, refereeing, adminstrating, though never involved in the judiciary. Though I have friends who are.
At the end of the day, "ref" does not mean the poster referees. I don't recall blametheref stating he refs.
The only poster who has tried tomake a claim recently, is new_j4A, who has since failed to state what his "qualification " is.
I won't hold my breathe! I obviously touched a nerve with him about Joubert, as he has reacted with such vitriol, allowing his predijuices to come to the fore with ignorant statements.
I have been guilty in the past of being irritated by some posts with spelling and grammar making posts incomprehensible. Once I was told the poster was dyslexic, I appologised.
I planet rugby does not get a grip with the code of conduct on this forum, it will go the way of the iRB forum, and be closed.
My views are mine, coloured by my own experiences, but whether I am jonethref, or jonthedentist, they are still mine.
Pollock made his decisions, in the middle of a close encounter, like you, I have not refereed at that level. I have seen complaints on here from both sets of supporters, but as a Wales supporter, Wales had the chance to close out the game, they didn't.
You have to be good enough to negate any referee inconsistencies, or at least perceived ones!
They gave Australia once last chance, which they took.
Warburton's comments, about playing the clock down, were obviously dirrected at Priestland, so you wonder if the coaches can risk playing him this week, as some of the trust will surely be gone.
Posted 10:28 18th June 2012
new_j4a says...
@Ramage, best just ignore anotherfart. Nobody with any sense on this site takes anything he says seriously. The opposite is true of you. As far as I can see, your views are almost universally help in deep respect. If this community existed in the carbon based rather than the digital universe, we would walk down to the other end of the bar and grab the squirming wretches like anotherfart, FISH, makemestupid, BokvanDumb, BokAvenger, jonesy2, and the like and throw them into the gutter. Oh well, probably just as well that its digital...my probation officer does like a quiet life.
Posted 10:25 18th June 2012
new_j4a says...
@melkdave says..."Well just seen the highlights ,as it was grandaughters wedding yesterday" Congratulations on that! (You are either achieving much tighter evolutionary cycles than me or one really old bugger?). Enjoy the whole game. Absolutely GREAT stuff....the lead changes many times...edge of the set stuff even for neutrals. The only major failure is in the last 100 seconds: Priestland's strategy is flawed....and incomprehensible. I hope you stick with him though...he's young enough to learn.
Posted 10:12 18th June 2012
cliffguy says...
Can't understand people who are so gutted they can't watch next week! (e.g. magic dragon). It's very silly to say that next week's game is 'meaningless'. You can bet your life Oz will be up for it, will very seriously not want to forfeit their great record against Wales. So there's a challenge there, it's not a 'dead rubber' in that sense.
I certainly agree that Wales didn't play very well; their performance level has been well below that of the recent Grand Slam, and they haven't really played like champions. I feel that a number of players, notably Mike Phillips and Sam Warburton, look off the pace, Mike looks to be carrying a few pounds too many. But they can still end that blessed 43 year wait for a win- surely that's incentive enough! Let's see some judicious changes - Tipuric, Webb maybe, Evans in for Bradley D, and go out there and give it another big go. The annoying thing that all three tests on Saturday were TERRIFIC matches! Just wish NH had won one of them. There you go.
Posted 09:52 18th June 2012
objetive says...
A winner team finds a way to win and a loser team finds a way to lose. Harch, but true. The stats for the last 20 "close" games between Wales and the SH teams bear this out.
Posted 09:38 18th June 2012
Ramage says...
@ anotherfarce You have abused me and called me a liar. You show yourself up with those kind of statements as you know nothing about me personally or what things I have done with my life. Yet you are prepared to make those kind of comments despite your ignorance. Your proof? What you consider to be the fallacies of what I say in my posts. Your name on here says it all as you are another farce.
Seeing you are so wise and know so much about me please answer the following questions. What would my age be? What refereeing experience did I have? What teams did I play for ? What teams did I coach and What administration and management did I have in rugby? What is my job? I am looking forward to your reply. Please tell me why would I write those porkies on here? What do you think I gain by saying I refereed for 25 years if I didn't. As I have already said every one on here is entitled to their opinion even you, but to call me a liar is going to far. Did I get under your thin skin with some home truths and you come out abusing me and saying I lie.
I unlike you do not overstate, as a former referee, what I do or don't know about the laws of the game the changes in the laws or the interpretations of those laws. You miss the real point or you wont accept it, which is that if you are not refereeing the game that you are watching then most of the time you are a supporter of one of the teams.So you are watching the team from a somewhat biased perspective . Yes you see the faults of the opposition and sometimes the referee's decision irks you but you see where he is coming from. Sometimes either both you or he is wrong. I don't claim I was a great referee but a competent one. Never good enough to be an International. Your outburst is somewhat over the top and very irrational. Geez I really did get under your skin lol.
Did you enjoy NZ/Wales U20 game yesterday?
Posted 08:14 18th June 2012
Trader2 says...
@anotherfarece - ouch bitter and twisted aren't we. The fact is the Welsh lost their heads (in those last few minutes) a common thing shared with their supporters if your comments are anything to go by. I would hate to see it if you could not live with their loss. Take a pill and chill old chap.
Posted 00:43 18th June 2012
new_j4a says...
@makemehappy says..." it is hardly surprising they are called cheats. It is either that or many are utterly incapable." You have made it clear over and over again that you do not have the mental capacity to understand the Laws of the game no matter how slowly, simply, or patiently they are explained to you. You have no idea how difficult a job it is. Why don't you try it and come back when you've had a go?
Posted 22:07 17th June 2012
new_j4a says...
@Kiwilad, you are right when you say "But would it not be wise to just ignore these inbreds?? " Yes, but, its little like ignoring the guy at Loftus who physically attacked the ref. If you let this stuff go unchallenged, it creates a myth that perpetuates itself until suddenly we don't have anybody willing to take the whistle...or worse, what the inbreds are claiming becomes fact. Good people like Craig Joubert leave reffing and we get incompetents who are partisan. Then goodbye the game they play in heaven.
But you are right. It's not good for my blood pressure. The problem is with someone like jontheref is that I have occasionally seem him make sense...I guess when he isn't in the depth of depression/disappointment with his team having just lost a close game. Then, of course, he has the word "ref" embedded in his name which could lend some credibility. So I go after him and try to make him commit himself on exactly what mistakes the ref made (and there are some, of course, the latest being the first Bok try this weekend). But like a troll, he dodges the question and blows smoke. So I am reduced to pursuing him with ridicule....to try and discredit him so he doesn't spread venom and do his little bit to destroy the game.
But you are right. Time to ignore him.
Posted 21:51 17th June 2012
melkdave says...
Well just seen the highlights ,as it was grandaughters wedding yesterday so couldnt watch it live.A better performance overall by Wales ,but still down on their RWC and 6Ns performances imho.R.Pristland and M.Phillips had better games ,but where still bad compard to their form earlier this year.I posted at the time ,that leaving D.Bigger at home could be a mistake ,as he was the inform welsh 10,and imho it left Wales with no real option at 10 this tour.,but to continue with R,Preistland.A.Jones still looked lost and bewilded in general play and struggled to keep up with he pace of the mach again .On his showing this tour his stated aim of getting a 100 caps is just a dream .Time imo to give Bevington and Gill a prolonged stint with G.Jenkins in the frontrow.Also M.Rees was woeful 1st half his lineout throwing was just S@@T ,and allowed Austalia to keep comming at Wales ,and kick to touch ,knowing they had the edge in the lineout.Both set pieces ae vital in matches .The scrum gives you oppotunities to score points, and launch attacks and the lineout territory and possesion ,Again Wales failed to gain any really meaningful dominace in either ,and in fact lost the lineout .I said it would be 2-3 times harder for Wales to win the 2nd test ,now that Australia are confident , i feel Wales will lose all 3 tests now ,but ill continue cheering for them none thel ess
Posted 15:27 17th June 2012
jontheref says...
justice four all
If you could keep you comments alligned to the threads you post on it would help.
The mention of the 74th minute was in the thread concerning LAT weeks game.
You are so bust flitting from one thread to another, you are disappearing up your own bs.
Rather than attack my comments, you really ought to read what you write.
I have not criticed the NZ ref, as I thought he had a good game, both sets of supporters (and commentators) referenced perceived errors, but he was there, and they weren't!
Wales had the chance to win, and could not close the game out.
Good luck to him as a ref, he is certainly street ahead of last weeks!
As to my own experince, you know nothing about me, but persist in attempting to bait me, and failing miserably.
Go back to fawning over "CJ", and may you have sweet dreams about him.
FYI., I don't live in the Valleys, though visit them.
Great scenery.
Go forth and multiply.
Posted 13:39 17th June 2012
Wallaroo says...
@Ramage - it is no secret that I find you to be one of the most balanced and courteous posters on this site and applaud the intention of your post.
I'd like to add my 2c worth though.
While you are correct that mostly referees are unbiased yet make human error which has and will forever occur, it is also clear that there are occasions when some referees are blatantly biased. On these occasions, which are few and far between then the refs in question should be brought to task.
Having said this I believe that most of those that criticise the refs firstly do not understand the distinction between Rules and Laws; and the refs role with regards to the distinction.
Rugby is governed by Laws and a refs job is to enforce the Laws without impeding the flow of the game.
Rules are the guidelines for conduct and code e.g. how the scrum should be bound, while the law speaks to the collapsing of the scrum and consequence.
Laws are regulations, some are specific and measured based on precedent while others are designed to avoid consequences and based on an intention or action that cannot be specifically articulated and thus open to interpretation in the absence of specific precedent or breadth. What is true is that all contravention has consequence with penalty.
Posted 13:19 17th June 2012
RugbyLeRoux says...
Those who can't play, referee
Posted 11:54 17th June 2012
startledwombat says...
Warburton's comments are very interesting - thank you tha-mai.
Link is here:
http://www.walesonline.co.uk/rugbynation/rugby-news/2012/06/17/kicking-ball-to-australia-in-last-minute-was-wrong-admits-sam-warburton-91466-31199166/
Posted 11:31 17th June 2012
Trinats2 says...
Gutted for Wales. Deans holds his job for another week.
Posted 11:07 17th June 2012
magic_dragon says...
At the end of the day wales were not good enough,we gave possession away far too cheaply,most of it in our half which is criminal. If we had played half decently we would have won,but our lineout and kicking from hand were terrible. Next weeks game to me is almost meaningless,gutted. And I thought Australias ball retention was outstanding,they aren't the No2 side in the world for nothing.
Posted 11:03 17th June 2012