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The Qantas Wallabies dragged themselves out
of a four match losing streak with a well deserved and hard fought
21-6 victory over the World Champion Springboks in Brisbane tonight Ahead just 9-6 at half time the Wallabies pulled away in the second half thanks to a clever kicking game, tenacious defence and two well taken tries – one each to Adam Ashley-Cooper and James O’Connor The early rain in Brisbane on Saturday had cleared to a cool dry night – perfect for Rugby The crowd of 47,481 was in buoyant mood flowing into Suncorp Stadium with Boks and Wallabies supporters exchanging good-natured banter The Boks kicked off and Will Genia began his first starting Test well with an excellent box kick. The Wallabies chased well and Bismarck du Plessis was bundled into touch on the halfway line The Men of Gold then kept up the confident start with James Horwill confidently claiming the first line out The Boks then broke the Wallabies line with danger man Jean de Villiers again carving up the Wallabies mid-field. He got the ball on to centre partner Jaque Fourie but he took the tackle with two men unmarked outside The Wallabies then turned over the ball through captain George Smith and the Wallabies spun the ball wide with a long pass from Matt Giteau to Ashley-Cooper although the Men of Gold were just metres out from their own line Ashley-Cooper charged 50 metres down field down the left touchline before being brought down The Wallabies then picked up a penalty for offside and Giteau landed the penalty from 40 metres out. The Men of Gold up 3-0 after 5 minutes and obviously ready to take the world champions on Tatafu Polota-Nau then showed he meant business with a huge tackle on Bok scrumhalf Fourie du Preez, bringing the home crowd to their feet The Wallabies lost their next line out but claimed the Boks in their own 22 with good work by Benn Robinson turning the ball over The Men of Gold attacked dangerously before a Berrick Barnes grubber was cleaned up comfortably by South African winger Odwa Ndungane The Wallabies continued to pour on the pressure with big hits and committed work at the breakdown and it was the Springboks who looked flustered The Men of Gold then looked to be through with a slick backline move but with the Boks busted open Ashley-Cooper inexplicably dropped the ball But the Wallabies seemed to be in moments later. After quick work from Genia, Lachie Turner sprinted down the right touchline but the NSW winger was bundled into touch on the line by Bryan Habana The TMO George Ayoub was called upon and after considerable consideration ruled no try Giteau then split the Boks defence again minutes later and seemed on his way to the line but another huge tackle from Habana brought him down ten metres out The Boks then attacked but superb Australian defence turned them back with ease and Smith pulled off a huge tackle on Heinrich Brussow forcing a knock on South Africa continued to attack and they looked dangerous out wide but again strong defence from the Wallabies shut them down and this time the pass to Habana on the left wing went to ground Munster bound De Villiers again split the Wallabies soon after from a superb pass from Morne Steyn He was brought down in the Wallabies 22 but somehow got the ball away to centre partner Fourie in his 50th Test who seemed certain to score but again magnificent scrambling defence from the Men of Gold stopped him inches short The Wallabies then turned the ball over and O’Connor cleared The Men of Gold then won a penalty from speedy work at the breakdown by Smith and David Pocock and set up a line up in the Boks 22 They won another penalty and Giteau put them further ahead from a slight angle to the right. The Wallabies up 6-0 and nearly 30 minutes had flown by South Africa were on the board a minute later as they stole a line out on the Australian 22 and from 40 metres out Morne Steyn coolly slotted a field goal. Wallabies 6-3 after 29 minutes Turner, carrying his left shoulder from the big tackle from Habana, then came off to be replaced by Peter Hynes on 31 minutes It was high tempo, fully committed Test match Rugby and it seemed only a matter of time till one of the sides cracked. But who would grab the crucial first try before half time? It was already clearly the Wallabies best half of Rugby this year as they stretched the world champions to the limit A big drive at the next scrum then saw the Boks scrum dis-integrate Another change for the Men of Gold with Polota-Nau going off with a rub injury to be replaced by Stephen Moore The Wallabies then attacked again and were camped on the Boks line and just when it seemed the Boks defence would bust Giteau snapped a drop goal. Wallabies up 9-3 after 35 minutes But the Boks hit back straight away with Moore giving up a penalty that Morne Steyn landed from out on the left touchline with ease, 9-6 The Wallabies again looked dangerous but Brussow won the Boks a penalty at the breakdown. Now it was the Boks with the final chance to notch a try before half time With a minute left they had a scrum on the Wallabies 15 metre line The ball came wide and Brussow fought his way over but referee Wayne Barnes called the play back for a forward pass - one of four disallowed tries on the night The Boks then screwed the scrum to earn the scrum feed but before South Africa could re-set their scrum the half time sounded. A pulsating first 40 minutes ended with the Wallabies once again leading at half time, 9-6 The second half started with yet another superb kick off from Barnes hanging tantalizingly above the Boks' heads, 30 metres out from their line, and the Wallabies re-claiming the ball But the Wallabies attack was halted by a huge hit from John Smit on Moore. Then the Men of Gold turned the ball over again and had huge numbers out to the left as the Boks defence seemed to be tiring But somehow Giteau lost the ball From the scrum Steyn launched another drop but this time it went wide The Wallabies then won a penalty and had a promising opportunity 30 metres out from the Boks line but again the ball went to ground The game was delicately poised and with 32 minutes left was there to win for either side The Wallabies won a penalty for Ndungane tackling Genia in the air but again the Boks stole the lineout The Wallabies won it back as they continued to edge the breakdown contests and Drew Mitchell launched a kick deep into the Boks 22 Morne Steyn then seemed lucky not to be called for a knock on near his line and again the Boks cleared The Wallabies then looked to have scored again after Rocky Elsom made a powerful bust in the Boks 22 The ball came to Genia who charged over the line between two Bok defenders. But again Ayoub came to the Boks rescue ruling Genia had failed to ground the ball The Wallabies then went wide from the scrum and once again looked set to score but this time Elsom, standing out on the right wing, dropped the ball But the Men of Gold were on top and just needed to land the killer blow Now the Boks came up with an uncharacteristic error dropping the ball at a lineout Boks coach Peter de Villiers went to the bench with Danie Rossouw coming on for Bakkies Botha and Schalk Burger on for Brussow Burger was greeted with a massive tackle by Ashley-Cooper and the Wallabies poured in and turned the ball over The Wallabies spun the ball wide and Barnes toed the ball ahead. Adi Jacobs, still on for Habana, managed to cover but then threw a wild pass inside which Giteau intercepted Giteau dove for the line but was forced into touch as he grounded the ball and once again Ayoub was called into action and once again no try for the Wallabies But then finally the Boks defence broke And it was a play executed beautifully by Queensland hero Barnes who took the ball across field on the Boks 22 before hitting Ashley-Cooper with a pin point pass Ashley-Cooper went straight through a gap in midfield to place the ball ten metres to the right of the posts. Giteau converted and with 17 minutes to go the Wallabies were well clear 16-6 The Boks were now running foul of Barnes at scrum time and another penalty to the Wallabies gave Giteau another chance but from 40 metres out his penalty attempt drifted to the right of the posts But it was all the Wallabies, locking the Boks in their own 22, and whenever South Africa tried to get out of their territory the Wallabies returned it with interest The Boks went again to the bench with Ruan Pienaar being replaced by Francois Steyn The anti-Rugby brigade had their feet in their mouths a few moments later as the South Africans played Fijian Rugby throwing the ball around in their own 22 through ten sets of hands to try and burst free of the suffocating Wallabies defence But still the Wallabies desperate defence held firm Deans went to the bench bringing on Quade Cooper for Barnes and Pek Cowan for Ben Alexander Then the Wallabies were in again and the Boks Tri-Nations hopes began to crack An apparent Wallabies knock down was missed by Barnes and James O’Connor pounced, scooping up the ball and running 30 metres to end the Boks undefeated run in the Tri-Nations Giteau missed the conversion but it didn’t matter the Wallabies were worthy winners, humbling the world champions 21-6 and two tries to nil The Boks now travel on to New Zealand to play the All Blacks in Hamilton next Saturday where they must still earn at least two bonus points to make their first Tri-Nations title since 2004 a reality The Wallabies have a week off before finishing their Tri-Nations campaign with the third Bledisloe against the All Blacks in Wellington on September 19th Bundaberg Rum Tri-Nations Full Time Qantas Wallabies 21 (Adam Ashley-Cooper, James O’Connor tries; Matt Giteau 2 penalties; drop goal; conversion) defeated Springboks 6 (Morne Steyn drop goal, penalty) at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane (Crowd: 47,481) (Half time: Wallabies 9 – Springboks 6) |
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