Australia kept themselves on course for a likely quarter-final showdown against England with a clinical 55-12 win over Fiji in Montpellier on Sunday, a win that virtually guarantees first place in Pool B.
Australia grabbed the result in much the same way they had against Japan: weathering the enthusiasm of their opposition and taking a throttling control of the game, before cutting loose in the latter part of the first half.
The second half yielded less in the way of controlled Australian play though, with the heat taking an apparent toll on both sets of players, and the match rarely rose above trotting pace for much of it.
Yet the Wallabies kept the scoreboard ticking over with penalties from Matt Giteau and a sweet drop goal from Berrick Barnes, and Adam Ashley-Cooper grabbed the all-important fourth try just before the hour mark to make the game safe.
A capacity crowd of 33,000 crammed into the wonderful Stade de la Mosson hoping for an exhibition of running rugby from both sides on a day boasting perfect conditions for that style of rugby.
Instead, the Australians took some time to get their rhythm going against a Fijian side committed to the tackle, that led to the Wallabies fluffing several try-scoring opportunities.
Starved of the ball, the islanders were forced to defend, which made it even more frustrating to watch as the Fijians kicked away any ball they did get instead of playing to their natural game.
It was always going to be a tough ask for Fiji, especially with their second-stringers taking the field, but they made life difficult for themselves with dreadful play in the line-outs as well as the scrums.
The Wallabies casually stole ball after ball and were hardly ever contested on their own throw, yet Fiji still opted to kick for touch instead of just keeping the ball in hand.
Australia on their other hand kept their composure after being scoreless with fifteen minutes gone on the clock, and did everything right to keep the Fijians from getting their hands on the ball -- not that they would have done anything with it anyway.
Superb pin-point kicking from full-back Chris Latham and centre Matt Giteau forced the Islanders to run the ball out close to their own line on a few occasions. Yet the Wallabies failed to finish off with either forward passes, a foot in touch or a penalties for holding on ruining their chances.
In total, five opportunities went begging -- a statistic that will count against the Wallabies against tougher opposition and something coach John Connolly will no doubt want to fix.
But their patience paid off after another burst from danger man Wycliff Palu finally got the Wallabies on the board after the ball was flung to birthday boy Lote Tuqiri.
The Fijian-born winger stepped on the gas, but was stopped in his tracks before offloading the ball in the tackle that was nearly intercepted by Maleli Kunavore -- who instead slapped the ball in the hands of a supporting Giteau to speed over easily for his first of two converted tries.
Wallabies captain George Gregan, playing in his 137th match for Australia, was his usual chirping self -- clearly frustrated with his team's inability to get more tries on the board.
However Giteau did his talking with the boot and slotted his first penalty kick of the match ten minutes later -- which must be said, was a wrong call by referee Nigel Owens. The Fijians will feel hard done by after prop Matt Dunning lost the ball, and not stolen as adjudged by the Welshman.
But it mattered not with the Wallabies taking their second try after a neat left-footed grubber kick from Latham that caught the Fijians off-guard. But not winger Drew Mitchell, who followed up well for his first touchdown of the match. His opposite number Vilimoni Delasau perhaps guilty of not reacting accordingly on that occasion.
Giteau converted from the touchline and suddenly the Wallabies were 17-0 in front after 30 minutes played.
Australia now started to get their groove on with the backs and their forwards combining well to set up Giteau's second try of the match and his 20th for his country. It seemed all too easy for the Western Force player, who -- with Tuqiri on his outside -- simply ducked and spun his way over.
With 40 minutes up on the clock and the half-time hooter sounded, Fiji managed to put in the final attack of the half which led to a fantastic try to left wing Isoa Neivua in the corner.
And surprise, surprise -- the try was scored thanks to the Fijian backline thinking on their feet. Which showed just how dangerous these Islanders can be when the ball is spread wide. The conversion was missed, but Fiji were on the board with the halftime score reading 22-5 in favour of the Australians.
Australia played it safe early on in the second with Giteau slotting another penalty which showed the Wallabies weren't messing around.
Wallaby rookie Berrick Barnes then played to his team's advantage after a Fijian strolled off-side by nailing a monster drop-goal that sailed over from 40 metres out.
All this precautious play was ruled out after some lacklustre tackling from a Fijian line-out led to Mosese Rauluni -- a halftime replacement -- taking a dart through an open gap. The veteran scrum-half drew Mitchell superbly (no pun intended), before offloading to a supporting Aca Ratuva to touch down for his first international try -- and such a fine one at that.
Visibly rattled, Gregan instructed Giteau to kick for posts yet again after Fiji captain was successful with his touchline conversion.
With the score now reading 31-12 and with 30 minutes remaining on the clock, the Wallabies would have been concerned when their bonus point try would be scored.
They had no reason to worry when Ashley-Cooper took a Barnes pass at an excellent angle and at speed for the bonus point score. Gregan doing well with quick recycling of the ball on that occasion too.
With the heat taking it's toll on all the players, replacements were fast in coming from both sides.
The Wallabies though were forced into two substitutions after Barnes signaled his intent to leave the field after limping around with a tightened thigh muscle. He had also just taken a big hit from replacement back Seru Rabeni, who welcomed the young gun to Fiji rugby.
Rabeni was certainly out to make his presence felt after sending another Wallabies player off in the form of Scott Staniforth, who was Barnes replacement. He was duly replaced by Julian Huxley who managed to stay on longer than just two minutes.
With the entire Australia bench on the pitch, the fresh legs contributed to Mitchell's second try after a promising surge by Fiji on the Wallabies tryline, was counter-attacked with a try to the men in green and gold.
Two suspect moments raised a few eyebrows for the entire length of the field try. The first coming from Latham who's slap down of the ball off a Fiji pass seemed to go forwards before he hoofed the ball ahead.
The second was the grounding of the ball by Mitchell, who put in a flawless dive but knocked the ball on in the process. Had the TMo been called in, the try would definitely not been given.
With the game now in the Wallabies pouch, the Fijian holes opened up as the tired Islanders failed to keep up with the fitter Australians.
Stephen Hoiles collected his second try of the World Cup after an initial break from Huxley saw lock Dan Vickerman acting like a centre and spin a lovely pass to the replacement back row player for a five-pointer in the corner.
With time up on the clock, Fiji again had an attack on the Wallabies line turned over to work in their favour after a chip by reserve scrum-half Sam Cordingley was collected magnificently by Tuqiri.
The winger charged a few yards before flinging the ball to Giteau on the wing who burst towards the middle of the pitch and sent a mind boggling pass to Mitchell for the winger to stroll in for his hat-trick.
Game, set and match.
Man of the match: For the Fijians, we can tip out hats to the replacements bench for their sudden impact on the match. Mosese Rauluni and Seru Rabeni are sure to cause Wales some problems when they face each other next week. For the victorious Australians, forwards Wycliff Palu, Rocky Elsom and Dan Vickerman all impressed. In the backs, Chris Latham was his usual attacking self with an added touch of class with the boot. Drew Mitchell deserves a special mention for his hat-trick, while George Gregan showed he's not over the hill just yet. But our vote goes to Matt Giteau who steered the backline along brilliantly. If he wasn't scoring tries, he was constantly involved setting them up for everyone else. He also proved he can be relied on with the boot in Stirling Mortlock's absence after missing just two kicks at goal. His pin-point kicking was a joy to watch and certainly is worth every penny the Western Force spent on him.
Moment of the match: The last play by the Wallabies showed pure class. Their ability to turn it on from their own try-line and finish off with a try at the other end of the field, just shows that this is a special group of players that are proving with every match they play that the World Cup is their's for the taking.
Villain of the match: For such a physical display of rugby, there was not one punch up which was nice to see. However, if there is any villain award to be given -- it has to be Drew Mitchell for putting in an Oscar worthy performance after celebrating his second try that was clearly not even scored.
The scorers:
For Australia:
Tries: Giteau 2, Mitchell 3, Ashley-Cooper, Hoiles
Cons: Giteau 4
Pens: Giteau 3
Drop goal: Barnes
For Fiji:
Tries: Neivua, Ratuva
Con: Bai
Australia: 15 Chris Latham, 14 Drew Mitchell, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Berrick Barnes, 9 George Gregan (c), 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Phil Waugh, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Dan Vickerman, 4 Mark Chisholm, 3 Guy Shepherdson, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Matt Dunning
Replacements: 16 Adam Freier, 17 Greg Holmes, 18 Hugh McMeniman, 19 Stephen Hoiles, 20 Sam Cordingley, 21 Scott Staniforth, 22 Julian Huxley
Fiji: 15 Norman Ligairi, 14 Vilimoni Delasau, 13 Maleli Kunavore, 12 Seremaia Bai (c), 11 Isoa Neivua, 10 Waisea Luveniyali, 9 Jone Daunivucu, 8 Jone Qovu, 7 Aca Ratuva, 6 Netani Talei, 5 Ifereimi Rawaqa, 4 Isoa Domolailai, 3 Henry Qiodravu, 2 Vereniki Sauturaga, 1 Alefoso Yalayalatabua
Replacements: 16 Bill Gadolo, 17 Jone Railomo, 18 Wame Lewaravu, 19 Sisa Koyamaibole, 20 Mosese Rauluni, 21 Gabiriele Lovobalavu, 22 Seru Rabeni
Referee: Nigel Owens
Touch judges: Christophe Berdos, Mark Lawrence
Television match official: Craig Joubert
Assessor: Bob Francis
No comments:
Post a Comment