Israel Folau returned to the try scoring table with a first half double

by Paul Cook –

Michael Cheika’s Wallabies have made it two wins from two as they downed a frustrated Wales for the 10th time in a row, 33-28, at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff last night.

Defence went out of the window for both sides in the first half as they shared six tries and 42pts, the highest tally for an opening 40 minutes in the history of the clashes between the two. But a reshuffled defensive structure and a more pragmatic approach in the second half saw the Wallabies eke out a 27-21 lead just before the hour.

Wales regrouped and used an increasingly dominant pack to work their way back into contention and a penalty try with 15 minutes remaining looked like it might be enough to see them home for a rare win over Southern Hemisphere opposition. But man of the match Bernard Foley stepped up again, slotting a drop goal and a penalty in the last five minutes to ensure both victory and a vital psychological blow ahead of next year’s World Cup where the two sides will meet in Pool A.

At the final whistle, Foley paid tribute to the Welsh effort and the way his team mates ground out the win. “Every time we play the Welsh, they always give us a battle and it always goes down to the wire and tonight was no different. They were valiant to the end and they really tested us,” he said.

“They were always going to get that momentum swing but we kept composed and crawled our way back into it and got the momentum swinging back our way for that last eight minutes and to get ahead on the scoreboard was such a great effort from the guys and we’re very proud of that one,” he continued. “The guys were tireless and the win was a team effort.”

Bernard Foley impressed again with 18pts helping him claim Man of the Match honours

Keen to arrest a run of nine successive losses at the hands of the Australians, the Welsh came out firing and took the lead after only three minutes. Captain Sam Warburton made the initial line break and when the cavalry arrived in support, scrumhalf Rhys Webb dummied, spotted a gap left by debutant Sean McMahon and raced through to the chalk unhindered.

The Wallabies struggled to find any room to work with early on as the Welsh defence swarmed as one, choking the halves combo of Nick Phipps and Foley in particular and as a result, the visitors found it hard work trying to get over the gain line.

But when they finally did, they showed just what a lethal attacking force they can be. An impressive scrum from both teams on the edge of the Welsh 22 allowed Phipps to give Foley the chance to flatten up the attack for Christian Leali’ifano to put Michael Hooper through a gap and the captain offloaded superbly in the tackle for Israel Folau to run home.

It was the star fullback’s first five pointer in 10 tests, his longest drought since switching codes from Aussie Rules but he soon reaffirmed his position as one of the game’s most dangerous weapons with a second try four minutes later.

Wales were on the attack and looking to make a disjointed Wallaby defence pay as big Jamie Roberts broke the line and made serious inroads. Two passes wide, halfback Webb was looking for the long, looping pass to release his winger, Lee Williams, but instead found the chest of a waiting Folau who strode away 60 metres downfield to claim a quickfire double.

Back came Wales in the 24th minute, George North countering from deep, stepping inside Adam Ashley-Cooper to create a three-on-one before freeing Alex Cuthbert on his outside to do the rest and make it 14-all. But their parity lasted a mere five minutes, Tevita Kuridrani continuing his fine run of form to make the most of a pop pass from James Slipper and leave three red jerseys in his wake as he raced home.

If Wales were to win this one, they would have to score more than two tries against Australia for the first time since 1996 and they broke that particular hoodoo right on half-time. Offered a gift 3pts from a penalty right in front, captain Warburton wanted more, tapped and went himself and after a couple more surges from his fellow forwards, lock Alun-Wyn Jones stretched his giant frame through the melee of bodies to find the line and send both teams to the sheds level pegging at 21-apiece.

Wales returned without the injured Leigh Halfpenny on board, the talismanic fullback replaced by Cory Allen and when flyhalf Dan Biggar was also forced from the field in the 48th minute, the home side had lost two of their key playmakers. A Bernard Foley penalty a couple of minutes prior to Biggar’s departure made it a triple blow for the Dragons and after a further 15 minutes of relatively uneventful rugby, it was Foley adding to the scoreboard again to make it 27-21 as Welsh discipline began to unravel.

Australia’s Bunnies? Wales reflect ruefully on their 10th loss in a row at the hands of the Wallabies

A brilliant effort from Ashley-Cooper held North up over the line as Wales looked to a new halves combo of Mike Phillips and Rhys Priestland to get them back into the match. But it was the revamped front row that did the damage, Welsh test cap record holder Gethin Jenkins and new hooker Scott Baldwin fronting up to force a succession of penalties in front of the posts and after one final warning from referee Craig Joubert, the Wallabies reverse gear at the next engagement could mean nothing else but a penalty try.

As the game entered the final 10 minutes, the Wallabies faced the prospect of letting yet another game go at the death, a bad habit they have picked up in 2014. But perhaps with one eye on the next time the two sides meet, at the 2015 World Cup where the result will mean so much more than the method used to achieve it, they adopted a pragmatic approach, built 20 phases to get Foley into the pocket and one perfectly struck drop goal later, they were back in front at 30-28.

However, when offered a kickable penalty with three minutes to go, the Wallabies surprised everybody when they kicked to touch. Whether that was a call from coach Cheika or captain Hooper, it flew in the face of the previous play and when they maintained possession from the lineout and earned another penalty in front of the posts, the on field brains trust came up with the obvious option and Foley obliged with three more points.

There was still time for hearts in mouths as the clock ticked over to full-time, Foley inexplicably kicking away possession when pick and drives and a kick to touch would have confirmed victory. But they backed themselves to hold firm and when a final surge from North ended with a knock-on, the Wallabies had the win and a potentially crucial mental edge 10 months out from the World Cup.

Australia 33 (Israel Folau 2, Tevita Kuridrani tries; Bernard Foley 3 cons, 3 pens, drop goal) defeated Wales 28 (Rhys Webb, Alex Cuthbert, Alun-Wyn Jones, Penalty Try tries; Leigh Halfpenny 3 cons, Rhys Priestland con) Crowd: 55,004