Wales continued with their fine start to the Rugby World Cup when they notched a 29-25 win against Australia in their Pool D clash in Tokyo on Sunday.
In a fast-paced and entertaining clash, momentum between the sides ebbed and flowed throughout with Wales dominating the first half before Australia launched a superb comeback in the second period but, in the end, Wales held on for a hard-fought victory.
Wales employed an expansive game-plan which stretched Australia’s defence during the first half and they were rewarded with early tries from Hadleigh Parkes and Gareth Davies. Their other points came via a drop goal and conversion from Dan Biggar while Rhys Patchell added 14 points after also succeeding with a drop goal, three penalties and a conversion.
For Australia, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Dane Haylett-Petty and Michael Hooper scored tries while Matt Toomua succeeded with two conversions and a penalty and Bernard Foley also slotted a penalty.
Wales made a terrific start courtesy of Biggar’s drop goal just 36 seconds into the match after the Wallabies lost possession from the kick off.
Warren Gatland’s men continued to dominate the early exchanges and had a chance to extend their lead when Ashley-Cooper infringed at a ruck in the third minute but Biggar was off target with the shot at goal.
10 minutes later, Biggar made up for that miss when he launched an inch-perfect cross-field kick which Parkes gathered from under the nose of Marika Koroibete, before crossing the whitewash for the game’s opening try which was converted by Biggar.
Despite being on the back foot, the Wallabies did not panic and midway through the half Ashley-Cooper caught a perfectly weighted cross-field kick from Foley before stepping past Josh Adams on his way over the try-line.
Foley failed with the conversion attempt but that try was a shot in the arm for the Wallabies as they were the dominant side over the next 10 minutes.
And their opponents were dealt a setback in the 28th minute when Biggar was forced off the field for a HIA – which he failed – after preventing a certain try from Samu Kerevi by throwing himself in front of the onrushing Wallaby deep inside Wales territory.
Shortly afterwards, Foley reduced the deficit to two points when he succeeded with a penalty but that effort was cancelled out when Patchell, who came on as Biggar’s replacement, also added a three-pointer off the kicking tee in the 33rd minute.
Just like Biggar, Patchell was also on the receiving end of a big Kerevi hit, which was deemed illegal by referee Romain Poite, and the Wales pivot slotted the resulting penalty which gave his side a 16-8 lead by the 37th minute.
Just before half-time, Davies extended his side’s lead when he scored his side’s second try after intercepting a pass from Will Genia close to the Wallabies’ 10-metre line and Patchell made no mistake with the shot at goal which meant Wales were leading 23-8 at the interval.
FULL TIME at #RWCTokyo@WelshRugbyUnion and @wallabies left everything out there in a brilliantly brutal clash 💪
Wales took the win after a brave Australian fightback 👏#RWC2019 #AUSvWAL pic.twitter.com/5WtsvN65Xq
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) September 29, 2019
Wales continued to dominate when the second half started and four minutes after the restart Patchell landed his drop goal from 35 metres out which hammered home his side’s advantage.
The Wallabies needed a response and brought on Toomua as a replacement for Foley which proved a masterstroke as the game’s complexion changed immediately, with Toomua bringing a sharper edge to Australia’s attacking skills.
The Wallabies were soon on the attack inside Wales’ half and after taking the ball through several phases, David Pocock offloaded to Haylett Petty, who crossed for his side’s second five-pointer.
That try seemed to reinvigorate Australia and they had most of the possession and also dominated the territorial stakes over the next 20 minutes.
They spent most of that time camped inside Wales’ half and were rewarded in the 66th minute when Hooper scored under the posts after Allan Alaalatoa and Nic White went close in the build-up.
Toomua added the conversion and also succeeded with a penalty in the 68th minute which meant Wales held a narrow 26-25 lead in the game’s closing stages.
Wales eventually struck back when Patchell landed another penalty in the 72nd minute after Australia’s backs strayed offside on defence.
The closing stages were tense as the Wallabies went in search of the win but they were kept out by a resilient defensive effort from Wales, who move to the top of Pool D’s standings with this win.
The scorers:
For Australia:
Tries: Ashley-Cooper, Haylett-Petty, Hooper
Cons: Toomua 2
Pens: Foley, Toomua
For Wales:
Tries: Parkes, G Davies
Cons: Biggar, Patchell
Pens: Patchell 3
Drop goals: Biggar, Patchell
Australia: 15 Dane Haylett-Petty, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 James O’Connor, 12 Samu Kerevi, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Will Genia, 8 Isi Naisarani, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 David Pocock, 5 Rory Arnold, 4 Izack Rodda, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Tolu Latu, 1 Scott Sio
Replacements: 16 Jordan Uelese, 17 James Slipper, 18 Sekope Kepu, 19 Adam Coleman, 20 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 21 Nic White, 22 Matt Toomua, 23 Kurtley Beale
Wales: 15 Liam Williams, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Josh Navidi, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Aaron Wainwright, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4 Jake Ball, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Wyn Jones
Replacements: 16 Elliot Dee, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Aaron Shingler, 20 Ross Moriarty, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Rhys Patchell, 23 Owen Watkin
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant Referees: Luke Pearce (England), Karl Dickson (England)
TMO: Ben Skeen (New Zealand)
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