Kiwis blitz Aussies for double delight
Sat, 13 Sep 2008 14:00
Big hit: All Black flyhalf Dan Carter tackled
New Zealand retained both the Tri-Nations trophy and the Bledisloe Cup with a hard-earned 28-24 win over Australia in a thrilling match at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday.
It was a thriller. There was a time when it seemed the Wallabies were running away with it. Then there was a time when it seemed the All Blacks were running away with it. It ended with the Wallabies with a real chance to win as they came roaring back.
Coming back from trailing 7-10 at half-time and then going further behind - 7-17 after 46 minutes - the All Blacks scored 21 points, 14 of those in a five-minute blitz, to leave the home side with a mountain to climb.
And climb they did. But in the end the Kiwis held on, despite a strong late surge by the Wallabies, to retain the Tri-Nations honours (a trophy they've held since 2005) and the Bledisloe Cup (which they've had since 2003).
It was a highly rewarding thriller for the All Blacks, for they have it all - Tri-Nations (again) and Bledisloe Cup again, but it was close.
Apart from the rewards in silver, it was a match to make both sides proud. It was a match to make rugby football proud.
There was so much intensity and courage and determination. The collisions were enormous as man jetted into man, as men competed for the tackled ball, as pack drove into pack at scrum time.
The scrums were messy but the fault was not all Australia's as they scrummed better than they have in any other match in the Tri-Nations and beat the All Blacks there. Their line-outs, too, were unrecognisable from the Auckland shambles. They lost just one and that was because of a knock-on. They also won the penalty count 6-2.
It was certainly a match that the Wallabies could have won and seemed about to win after 46 minutes and the score 17-7 in their favour. Then it was all change for 20 minutes.
In the early part of the match the All Blacks struggled for possession as the Wallabies got stuck in. When the All Blacks were penalised for an air tackle in the first line-out they could have scored but Matt Giteau was just short. The first time the All Blacks really had possession came from a counterattack by Sitiveni Sivivatu off a kick too far.
From a free kick at a tackle, Jimmy Cowan darted ahead and got past Stephen Moore and beyond Rocky Elsom who brought him down. But he had given his side a good platform and quick ball to the right left a few Wallabies trying to defend against a double overlap and Mils Muliaina opened the scoring with a try which Dan Carter converted. 7-0 after 13 minutes.
The Wallabies lost a great chance down the left when Wycliff Palu, with Adam Ashley Cooper and Elsom outside him, dummied and lost the ball forward. But when Richie McCaw was penalised for side entry and Giteau goaled. 7-3 after 22 minutes. This came after the All Blacks had lost the ball at a scrum which the Wallabies wheeled and disrupted.
Ryan Cross, who had a magnificent match, broke twice to set the Wallabies attacking and forcing the All Blacks to defend tooth and nail. Nobody did better than tall Jerome Kaino who drove into tackle after bone-jarring tackle.
Cross had a third run down the left and the Wallabies were attacking. Giteau kicked a ball square across the field. Peter Hynes leapt to catch it and as Sivivatu tackled him in the air the wing got the ball back inside to Ashley-Cooper who raced powerfully between Muliaina and Conrad Smith to score far out. Giteau converted and the half-time whistle went with the Wallabies - deservedly - ahead 10-7.
Early in the second half Giteau produced two moments of magic. He darted and gave inside to Richard Brown, who was on for Palu. Brown thundered close till Ali Williams felled him. Back the ball came to Giteau with the dancing feet and it went far right where James Horwill powered over Carter and Sivivatu to score. 17-7 after 46 minutes.
The Wallabies looked like winners. Perhaps they thought they were winners and that it was all a matter of a few minutes before they would be crowned. In fact they did not look anything like winners for the next 20 minutes.
Smith broke down the left past Nathan Sharpe and gave to the wing on his left with a clear run to the line. Wing? Oh, no. The man speeding down the wing was a prop, Tony Woodcock and there was nobody to stop him in his ling sprint to the line. Over he went in the corner and Carter converted from touch. 17-14 after 50 minutes.
The Wallabies came close soon afterwards when Giteau grubbered and Elsom was close and then Sam Cordingley as the Wallabies battered at the line. But the defence was firm and Cordingley in trying to score hung onto the ball and conceded a free kick.
This was a time of many substitutions and they paid off for the All Blacks.
Carter and Smith combined well to set up an attack but Williams knocked on and the Wallabies cleared.
Then Rodney So'oialo burst away on a long telling run that threw the defences in to chaos. from a tackle/ruck Sivivatu threw a dummy and burst ahead. Tackled by Giteau the stocky wing popped a pass to Piri Weepu who scored. Carter's conversion put the All Blacks ahead for the first time in the second half. 21-17 after 62 minutes.
From a line-out the All Blacks were clever and Weepu was able to burst through the middle. Keven Mealamu raced ahead down the left and then the All Blacks came right. But the Wallabies had plenty of defenders - or so it seemed till the ball came to Carter who beat Cross, Mortlock and Ashley-Cooper to score a try that looked so easy. He converted. 28-17 after 166 minutes.
The clock kept running. The tension was great. The multitude of Kiwis in the 52 328 capacity crowd became increasingly festive and then Giteau and Cross were clever on the left. From a scrum Cross cut back. There was a black wall ahead of him abut somehow the tall centre broke through it - through McCaw and So'oialo and on towards the line where Thorn, Crater and Kahui grabbed him, but on he ploughed to get the ball down for a brilliant try. Giteau converted. 28-24 with three minutes to go.
From a kick, the All Blacks got the ball and set about keeping it with pick and go and slow pick-'n-go and slower pick-'n-go when suddenly their composure was shattered as George Smith won a turn over and the Wallabies broke out of the All Black grip. Lote Tuqiri caught an impossible pass and down the field they went. The final siren wailed the end but still the Wallabies attacked with Ashley-Cooper and Hynes prominent. The All Blacks were penalised when So'oialo went in the side and the Wallabies tapped and went till there was a tackle ruck. Muliaina led the counter-charge in to the rick and Anthony Boric was in to win the ball back to Weepu who hoofed the ball out and set the whole of New Zealand, home and away, rejoicing.
Man of the Match: How do you evaluate it all when the match has so enthralled you, overwhelmed you? You knew the things that Carter, McCaw and Kaino did and you were filled with admiration. And yet all three of those erred from time to time, for rugby football is played by human beings but our choice of Man of the Match is a Wallaby - Ryan Cross, the outstanding three-quarter on the field.
Moment of the Match: Ryan Cross's try which set up the thrill of the finish.
Villain of the Match: Nobody.
The scorers:
For Australia:
Tries: Ashley-Cooper, Horwill, Cross
Cons: Giteau 3
Pen: Giteau
For New Zealand:
Tries: Muliaina, Woodcock, Weepu, Carter
Cons: Carter
4
Teams:
Australia: 15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Peter Hynes, 13 Ryan Cross, 12 Stirling Mortlock (captain), 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Sam Cordingley, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 George Smith, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 James Horwill, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Adam Freier, 17 Matt Dunning, 18 Hugh McMeniman, 19 Phil Waugh, 20 Richard Brown, 21 Brett Sheehan, 22 Drew Mitchell.
New Zealand: 15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Richard Kahui, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Rodney So'oialo, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Greg Somerville, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements: 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 John Afoa, 18 Anthony Boric, 19 Adam Thomson, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Isaia Toeava.
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan
Touch judges: Craig Joubert, Mark Lawrence
TMO: Johann Meuwesen
