The New Zealand All Blacks have cleaned up the Bledisloe Cup competition 2-0 with a last second 29-28 victory over the Australian Wallabies at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night.
Having already won the Trans-Tasman series heading into the match, the Kiwis were playing for pride on foreign soil. They did not have it all their own way in this match however as the Wallabies hung on to the ball tight, eager to make amends after a poor result against Argentina and some off field dramas.
The Wallabies applied some heavy defence early, with some crunching tackles and clean outs in general play. They withstood the initial barrage from the All Balcks and made the most of an early chance in attack. Nick Phipps scored his 2nd test try in the 13th minute after throwing a dummy pass from the back of the ruck 5 metres from the line.
Hitting back immediately after winning the ball from the restart, Corey Jane crashed over in the corner to bring the scores level at 7-7 after 16 minutes.
The Wallabies continued to put pressure on the All Blacks defence and had a number of opportunities to attack the line. The World Champions were clinical and strategic in shutting down the Australian attack. Richie McCaw was threatened by referee Craig Joubert with 10 in the bin if he continued to slow down the play. A compliment to the Wallaby attack and Bernard Foley converted the corresponding penalty to put Australia up 10-7.
The All Blacks pounced from the kick-off again. Kiwi hooker Dane Coles strolled over, dummying his way through the Wallaby back line out wide to put New Zealand back in front 12-10.
A more relaxed Wallabies did not seem fazed and were in the lead minutes later. Foley cleaned up at the ruck after a good charge at the line from captain Michael Hooper, to pop the ball on the line in the left hand corner. Missing the conversion on the hooter, the Wallabies lead at half-time 15-12.
“So far we are matching them, we just have to finish strong which we haven’t bee able to do lately,” commented inspirational backrower Scott Fardy at the break. Fardy had two turnovers and a number of strong runs in the first half.
Adam Ashley-Cooper celebrated his 100th test match for the Wallabies and iced that cake with an excellent try to open the second half.
The Wallabies continued to find good ball possession in the All Black half of the field and were rewarded with another penalty. Foley kicked the home side ahead by 10 points with 25 minutes to play.
Patrick Tuipolotu was sent to the sin bin for what turned out to be a frantic ten minutes on the pitch, for taking out Rob Simmons in the air from the kick-off.
The Wallabies were unable to convert the man advantage into points, but succeeded in stretching and tiring the All Black defense.
Aaron Smith scored for the Kiwis from a cheeky, quick tap 5 metres from the Australian line. This try pulled the scores to within 3 points (25-22) and heralded the end of the extra-man advantage for the Wallabies, as Tuipolotu trotted back on to the field.
Nick White nailed a penalty from 45 metres out that put Australia up by 6 points, after Richie McCaw was penalised again for slowing down the ruck, no further action was taken by referee Joubert.
Malakai Fekitoa scored his second test try for the All Blacks with 20 seconds remaining in the match. The ball was crashed up and spread wide by the to exposed an exhausted Australian wide defense. Colin Slade was composed and converted the try from out wide to complete a proud comeback for the All Blacks.
“The second half gets us for the last three weeks,” commented the gutted Wallabies captain Michael Hooper after the match.
“Both teams certainly came here to play,” were some of Richie McCaw’s first words when interviewed after the game.
“You have to hang in there and wait for your opportunities, and when you get it… nail it,” was the reflection of the humble champion-captain.
The Wallabies end their season with a disappointing loss, but with many positives coming from a close and well-contested game.
