A penalty from Wallaby centre Matthew Burke on the stroke of full-time gave his side a come-from-behind 16-13 Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup win over the All Blacks at a blustery Telstra Stadium in Sydney.
It was almost a carbon-copy of the 2001 fixture in Sydney, which Australia won 29-26 courtesy of a late Toutai Kefu try, as the Wallabies ran into an early lead before the All Blacks launched a spirited fightback, only to watch the world champions steal it at the end.
The Wallabies' win, sealed in dramatic fashion by Burke, who up till then had kicked just one from four attempts at goal, sees them retain the Bledisloe Cup for the fifth time in succession and, most importantly, it also keeps the 2002 Tri-Nations series alive with two big games coming up over the next two weeks in South Africa.
The All Blacks, who had the consolation of a bonus point, despite losing their first game in 10 starts under John Mitchell, meet the Springboks in Durban next week, while the Wallabies will know exactly what they have to do against the Springboks in Johannesburg -- the following week -- to determine the outcome of the Tri-Nations, which can still be won by either of the three teams involved.
All Black replacement Leon MacDonald was the man that conceded the penalty on the stroke of full-time -- for putting his hands in a ruck in his own 22 -- but the match was turned on its head a few minutes earlier after a sensational try from Wallaby replacement back Mat Rogers.
Rogers had replaced Chris Latham in the 60th minute, but he made his presence felt with under 10 minutes to play when he slipped through a tiny gap in the All Black defence to put his team back into the game.
The build-up to Rogers's try was wonderful as the Wallabies combined power and skill to work their way into enemy territory. Hooker Jeremy Paul was a central figure as the Australians hit the ball up and some clever stepping from Stephen Larkham saw the Wallabies take the ball up to the All Black tryline.
Gregan fired the ball out to his backs, they sent it out to Rogers and the try was scored! But, with the Wallabies one point down (at 14-13), Burke's conversion hit the uprights and kept New Zealand in the lead.
The Wallabies fought their way back into the Kiwi 22, only for Chris Jack to turn Paul over and win a penalty, but George Gregan and his team-mates kept their cool, kept the ball in hand and forced the penalty after MacDonald's indiscretion.
The All Blacks were leading 13-8 before Rogers's try, his first at Test level, after a second-half score from Richard McCaw and Andrew Mehrtens's second penalty goal of the night.
McCaw's try came as a result of a sloppy line-out throw from Jeremy Paul on his own goalline and it put the "Men in Black" in the lead for the first time at 11-8.
Paul missed his target -- Justin Harrison -- with a wobbly throw and McCaw plucked the ball from the air and dived over without any pressure from the Wallabies. Mehrtens missed the conversion -- he kicked only three from seven attempts at goal -- but he struck his third penalty in the 63rd minute to put some daylight between the sides at 14-8.
The first half was all Australia as the home team began the match with a furious onslaught on the Kiwis. Burke and Mehrtens missed four kicks at goal between then in the first 40 minutes, but the difference between the two teams at half-time was Wallaby lock Nathan Sharpe's try in the 16th minute.
Stirling Mortlock and Toutai Kefu did the hard-yards for the Wallabies up the right-hand touchline, but play broke down after some poor option-taking from Jeremy Paul on the left.
The ball went loose, but Ben Tune was on hand to run it up -- and over the advantage line through some hesitant New Zealand defence -- and when Stephen Larkham turned the ball inside, Queensland lock Nathan Sharpe hit the Kiwi defence at an awkward angle to crash over for the try.
Burke missed the conversion, with the wind playing tricks with the kickers, but the Wallaby centre, who had the final say in the match with his boot, and Mehrtens, traded penalties shortly before half-time to see the Wallabies hold a slender 8-3 lead after dominating much of the first stanza of play.
Man of the match: In the first half two men -- locks Nathan Sharpe and Chris Jack -- stood head-and-shoulders above anybody else, but the second 40 minutes belonged entirely to the dynamic All Black opensider Richard McCaw. He followed the ball around like a trusty hound, turning it over on the ground or carrying it off the shoulders of his team-mates. It would be rough on George Smith to say that McCaw totally out-played him, but he certainly won the one-on-one battle between two of the premier No.7s in world rugby. Other players that caught the eye at times were "Bernie" Larkham and Tom Willis.
Moment of the match: Mat Rogers's try in the 71st minute was a beauty, after a superb build-up, but the moment that sealed the match was Burke's penalty after the hooter had sounded. Burke had missed a conversion kick from exactly the same spot just a few minutes earlier, but this time he held his nerve and calmly slotted the match-winning kick that has turned the 2002 Tri-Nations on its head.
Villain of the match: Compared to last week's match this game was squeaky clean. Wallaby tighthead Pat Noriega seemed intent on getting his revenge on the All Blacks after the Bledisloe Cup opener in Christchurch, but all he managed to do was cost his team a crucial try in the first half. Our villain then? Kiwi replacement Leon MacDonald, who conceded that final penalty for putting his hands in the ruck ... Yes, it is rough on the Crusaders back, who had not even been on the field for very long, but it cost his team the match, the Bledisloe Cup and the Tri-Nations. Then, to add insult to injury, MacDonald then tried to trip Wallaby No.8 Toutai Kefu when the Wallabies finally got the ball back and after referee André Watson had called out "advantage" to Australia. A close second? The two streakers who held up play in the 60th minute as Andrew Mehrtens was about to have a kick at goal.
The teams:
Australia: 1 Patricio Noriega, 2 Jeremy Paul, 3 Bill Young, 4 Justin Harrison, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 6 Owen Finegan, 7 George Smith, 8 Toutai Kefu, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Stirling Mortlock, 12 Matthew Burke, 13 Dan Herbert, 14 Ben Tune, 15 Chris Latham
Reserves: Matt Cockbain, Elton Flatley, Mat Rogers, Ben Darwin, David Lyons
Unused: Brendan Cannon, Chris Whitaker
New Zealand: 1 David Hewett, 2 Tom Willis, 3 Greg Somerville, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Simon Maling, 6 Richard McCaw, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Scott Robertson, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Andrew Mehrtens, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Aaron Mauger, 13 Tana Umaga, 14 Caleb Ralph, 15 Christian Cullen
Reserves: Marty Holah, Leon MacDonald, Joe McDonnell, Daryl Gibson
Unused: Sam Broomhall, Andrew Hore, Byron Kelleher
Referee: Watson a.
Points Scorers:
Australia
Tries: Rogers M. 1, Sharpe N.C. 1
Pen K.: Burke M.C. 2
New Zealand
Tries: McCaw R.H. 1
Pen K.: Mehrtens A.P. 3
No comments:
Post a Comment