Australia made an impressive, and winning start to their 2003 international season when they smashed Ireland by 45-16 at the Subiaco Oval in Perth. It was the kind of opener coach Eddie Jones and their millions of fans would have hoped for.
With Australia set to host the Rugby World Cup in October and November, they showed that they will be a force and a powerful one at that on their home grounds.
As would be expected from the first match of the season there were problems, certainly enough of them. But they are the kind of problems coach Eddie Jones would be able to iron out quite easily in the weeks and months ahead.
Discipline, especially early on, was a problem against an Irish team that showed plenty of grunt. While the Australian line-outs also left more questions than answers, the Aussies' scrumming was solid.
Continuity improved as the game wore on, suggesting that even inside the first 80 minutes of the year the Wallabies were already beginning to settle. And their newcomers -- such as the centre combination of Steve Kefu and Morgan Turinui -- also showed they are a force to be reckoned with in the future.
But the early exchanges certainly belonged to the Irish, who kept the ball in hand very well and also tested the Australian defence out wide. They were rewarded for their early dominance when captain David Humphreys slotted a penalty in the fourth minute for a 3-0 lead to the visitors.
In those early stages, especially the first 10 minutes, the Wallabies simply turned the ball over far too often. Every time they came within striking distance they just coughed up possession.
But they did eventually get some hint of continuity going and after 15 minutes the Wallabies put their first points on the board.
It came through some handy picking-and-driving from the Australian forwards. No.8 Toutai Kefu and lock Nathan Sharpe were prominent in this department, with Kefu making good ground. Captain and scrum-half George Gregan picked his moment perfectly and when the gap opened he darted over for a try.
Elton Flatley added the conversion to put Australia into the lead -- 7-3.
But the Australian mistakes continued to come, with prop Pat Noriega the villain -- giving away the first three penalties going against his team, all for boring in on his opponent in the scrums.
The Irish continued with their ball-in-hand approach and often took it wide, trying to find a weakness in the Australian defence.
They certainly seemed better at keeping control of the ball and in the 30th minute they were rewarded for their effort when left-wing John Kelly went over for his team's first try. It came after several phases, where they took it from one side to the other, kept switching direction and probing.
With the Irish runners coming at pace and from depth, it was Humphreys who eventually found a gap, only half a gap, and then put the men out wide away. The self-same Humphreys added the conversion to put the Irish back in the lead.
But the Wallabies hit straight back.
They got the ball from the kick-off and it went quickly to Flatley, who dummied and then sprinted through a huge gap to go over for his team's second try. He added the conversion of his brilliant individual try to put Australia back in the lead at 14-10.
Ireland managed to narrow the gap to just one point, when Humphreys slotted a penalty in the 34th minute. This made it 14-13, which was also the score at the break.
Before the break the Irish had enjoyed 53 percent of the possession and an even bigger share (54 percent) of the territory -- but it did not show on the scoreboard.
The early exchanges of the second half certainly belonged to the Wallabies, as they started to take control of proceedings, with a 43rd minute penalty by Flatley stretching the lead to 17-13.
Ten minutes later the Wallabies went further ahead, after Irish fullback Girvan Dempsey was yellow-carded for a professional foul. It was centre Steve Kefu who scored, a well-orchestrated try from a set-piece scrum, with Gregan making the early running and giving to Flatley, who put Kefu into the gap and over for the score.
Flatley again added the conversion for a 24-13 lead.
Ronan O'Gara, who replaced his skipper at fly-half at half-time, slotted a penalty in the 56th minute to narrow the gap to 24-16.
But after this it was all Australia, as Gregan and Flatley started to dictate terms behind a pack of forwards that also managed to limit their mistakes and turnovers.
With more ball to play with, the next score for the Wallabies came soon -- in the 61st minute. It was a great little chip-and-chase from Gregan, after he received the ball from Toutai Kefu, which saw the captain score his second try. Flatley, who had a faultless kicking performance, added the conversion for a 31-16 lead.
The next score was in the 65th minute, when the Irish -- hot on the attack -- lost control of the ball. Fullback Chris Latham grabbed the ball and out-sprinted the lacklustre Irish, running all of 80 metres for his try.
The sixth and last Australian try should not have been awarded, with Welsh referee Nigel Williams awarding a penalty try to Australia for what he deemed an offence by an Irish player on Flatley. Replays showed clearly that Flatley had, quite legally, used his shoulder to push the Irish defender out the way and simply tripped over his own feet.
It was one of a number of questionable decisions made by the Welsh match official on the day, but could not detract from what was an outstanding start to the year for the Wallabies.
Man of the Match: A number of the Wallaby backline players put their hands up for this award. Captain George Gregan (two tries and a solid service at the base of the scrum) was in the front of the queue and fly-half Elton Flatley (100 percent kicking record and great decision making) also followed closely. But our award goes to centre Steve Kefu, who started a Test for the Wallabies for the first time and was outstanding on both defence and attack -- showing clearly that he has lost none of the endowment which saw him win his only previous cap as a replacement back in 2001.
Moment of the Match: There were five outstanding Wallaby tries (the penalty try should not have been awarded) and Gregan's moment of magic (chip and chase), must come close. But we go for Ireland's only try in the 30th minute. John Kelly's score came after a period in which Ireland showed how dangerous they can be when they get their hands on the ball -- carrying it forcefully with the forwards and backs, cleverly changing direction and eventually wearing the otherwise rock-solid Australian defence down. It was a great international try worthy of all the accolades it gets.
Villain of the Match: We are tempted to give it to the rather pedantic Welsh referee Nigel Williams, but Irish fullback Girvan Dempsey got yellow-carded for a professional foul and he sneaks the award.
The Teams:
Australia: 1 Patricio Noriega, 2 Jeremy Paul, 3 Bill Young, 4 David Giffin, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 6 David Lyons, 7 George Smith, 8 Toutai Kefu, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Elton Flatley, 11 Joe Roff, 12 Steve Kefu, 13 Morgan Turinui, 14 Wendell Sailor, 15 Chris Latham
Reserves: Brendan Cannon, Nathan Grey, Chris Whitaker, Ben Darwin, Daniel Vickerman, Phil Waugh, Lote Tuqiri
Ireland: 1 Reggie Corrigan, 2 Shane Byrne, 3 Marcus Horan, 4 Gary Longwell, 5 Malcolm O'Kelly, 6 Keith Gleeson, 7 Alan Quinlan, 8 Victor Costello, 9 Peter Stringer, 10 David Humphreys (c), 11 James Topping, 12 Kevin Maggs, 13 Geordan Murphy, 14 John Kelly, 15 Girvan Dempsey
Reserves: Emmet Byrne, Paul O'Connell
Unused: Guy Easterby, Tyrone Howe, Eric Miller, Paul Shields
Attendance: 40000
Referee: Williams n.
Points Scorers:
Australia
Tries: Latham C.E. 1, Flatley E.J. 1, Gregan G.M. 2, Kefu S. 1, Penalty Try 1
Conv: Flatley E.J. 6
Pen K.: Flatley E.J. 1
Ireland
Tries: Kelly J.P. 1
Conv: Humphreys D.G. 1
Pen K.: Humphreys D.G. 2, O'Gara R.J.R. 1
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