Desperate Wallabies keep grand slam dream alive
By Darren Walton, 8 Nov 2009 Darren Walton is a Roar Pro
- Tagged:
- Adam Ashley-Cooper, England, Grand slam, Rugby Union, wallabies
120 Have your say
The Wallabies scored a desperately-tense 18-9 victory over gallant England at Twickenham on Saturday.
In a gripping encounter, Australia trailed until the hour mark before fullback Adam Ashley-Cooper clinched the first leg of rugby’s grand slam with a powerhouse try eight minutes from time.
Ashley-Cooper, who scored Australia’s sole try in last year’s Twickenham triumph over their old foes, was mobbed by teammates after carrying four defenders over the line and planting the ball in the left-hand corner.
Matt Giteau nailed the sideline conversion to put the issue beyond doubt.
But this Test could have ended in disaster for the Wallabies, who are bidding to emulate the 1984 Australian side which famously completed a grand slam sweep of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
With 27 players unavailable – but with Australia’s World Cup nemesis Jonny Wilkinson back for his first Test in 18 months – depleted England looked poised to spring a massive boilover after taking a 9-5 lead into halftime.
Wilkinson, incredibly also playing his first November in seven years after a storied career dogged by injuries – scored all of England’s points through a drop goal and two penalty goals.
Ultimately, though, he was upstaged by a superb man-of-the-match display from Wallabies halfback Will Genia, who was again magnificent in just his fourth Test start.
Wilkinson showed his intentions early, drilling a third-minute drop goal, the first points from their returning hero sending Twickenham’s capacity 70-strong crowd into raptures.
The veteran five-eighth doubled England’s advantage in the 10th minute after winger Peter Hynes was harshly penalised for an apparent dangerous tackle on England fullback Ugo Monye.
Australia’s first promising movement broke down when Wycliff Palu was penalised for not releasing, but it wasn’t long before the Wallabies were again on the attack.
After some patient build-up from the Australian forwards, Genia crossed for his maiden Test try, the diminutive No.9 dummying his way over from close range in the 21st minute.
Giteau’s missed conversion attempt left England 6-5 ahead.
Another Wilkinson penalty gave England their four-point halftime buffer, but Australia really should have led at the break.
England’s midfield defence looked vulnerable throughout the match, but the Wallabies continued to be their own worst enemies, either infringing with possession or turning the ball over through a lack of composure.
Close to halftime, Stephen Moore sent Benn Robinson on a storming run but, unaccustomed to find himself in such space, the Wallabies prop butchered the try when he failed to pass to Peter Hynes, who was free on his right just 15 metres from the England line.
It was more of the same from the Wallabies straight after the break when Elsom was unable to put Hynes over in the right corner after some relentless Australian attack inside the England 22.
Giteau added a 47th-minute penalty to reduce the margin to a point as Australia, with a mountain of possession, dominated the second half.
But England’s spirited defence held firm and, time after time, the Wallabies were unable to drive home their advantage.
Winger Drew Mitchell kicked away possession inside the England quarter and then, after tackle-shedding 15-metre surge, Ioane spilt the ball over the line.
Giteau finally put Australia ahead for the first time on the hour with an angled 25-metre penalty after England collapsed the scrum before Ashley-Cooper struck late .
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Lee said | November 8th 2009 @ 6:24am | Report comment
Good resuult for Wallabies but am getting sick of officials not doing their job.
The lineout that led to the Wallabes first try should have been ruled out on the full and an England throw. How do Touchies whose principle job is rasing their flag for out of bounds miss these things.
I am a neutral by the way so don’t acre who wins(probably prefer Aus to win) but still this is now the 2nd time in 2 games(tokyo) that a blatant out of bounds has been missed by the Touch judge.
Lindommer said | November 8th 2009 @ 3:42pm | Report comment
Went back and had a good look in slo-slo-mo: the ball bounced in, the TJ was very well positioned and had a good view. Correct decision.
Yes, it was close, Lee. Blatant? Pull the other one.
Lee said | November 8th 2009 @ 4:02pm | Report comment
You sure it bounced in? I have watched it a couple of times and it looked out but maybe my TV isn’t as good as yours.
From the replay I have seen, looking up the touchline from slightly in field it looks obviously out.
matt said | November 8th 2009 @ 7:17am | Report comment
And all the England knock ons and other infringements?
But I agree, the standard of officials seems to be getting worse and I’m not talking about R&M time, but forward passes, offside and knock ons.
Lee said | November 8th 2009 @ 10:46am | Report comment
As I said I am a neutral, the out on the full one was just the one that stuck in my head as being a very dodgy decision.
kingplaymaker said | November 8th 2009 @ 7:36am | Report comment
I don’t know why this article calls England ‘gallant’. They were pathetic, an embarrassement to the sport.
Better from Australia, though it’s hard to tell what that means against a childrens team.
If Palu could stop knocking on he could reverse the fortunes of the Australian pack. Genia is better and better, and Ioane will get there.
However, that’s still not enough to beat New Zealand or South Africa.
Hoy said | November 8th 2009 @ 7:37am | Report comment
Few things as I sit here bleary eyed.
Again Australias opposition were lying everywhere in the ruck. Several times when Aus were on the attack (that always seemed to fizzle out), an English prop or second rower was holding onto the tackled player when they themselves were on the ground. To counter those that say Aus do the same, I noticed when England were on the attack, several Australian players were stuck and really struggled to get to their feet so they could get back into line. I am not saying that is always the case, but shows a difference I think. Lawrence didn’t ping them for it, but instead pinged Aus for holding on several times.
Lewis Moody was in everything. What Australia would give for a flanker who is on-the-ball all the time. I have been quite on the Smith/Pockock issue, however last night Smith had a poor game I thought. Several times he missed tackles that should have been made, and he just wasn’t a force at the breakdown at all.
Wilkinson’s time out of the game with injury seemed inconsequential. Jeez he is a good footballer. France has really invigorated him. His defense has always been fantastic, but last night was the first time I really think his distribution was good as well. Pity he didn’t have great backs to take the ball on.
Borthwick played very well in the first half as England seemed to dominate lineout and be in the refs ear as well. The penalty count was heavily in their favour in the first half. More on that later. I don’t know much about this bloke, but I understand he has lots of detractors. He seemed to go well.
Two games in a row now Palu has had good games. He was hitting hard, hitting rucks well, everything people have asked of him.
Our props were fantastic I thought. The pair of them dominated, and received penalties at scrum time for their effort. I know people will say they played a weak scrum, but it didn’t stop people waxing lyrical about Sheridan when he destroyed our scrum a few years ago. Contrary to this article, I believe Robinson did bloody well to make the break, and was wise not to toss the speculator, as there was an Englishman between him and Hynes.
Genia was definitely man of the match in my opinion. He was fantastic last night. Good passing, good running, causing several problems at the ruck area. He played very well.
Digby provided great direct go forward that we have been wanting for ages. Such good strength in contact from him.
Cooper also played well for his first Test start. He kicked well, and played 5/8 most times in the first half before Gits took more control in the second. He got steamrolled once, by a rampaging Haskell but he never shirked the hard yards neither before nor after that.
I suppose a real test of the midfield will be next weekend with a strong Irish midfield as opposition.
AAC was very safe and strong at 15. I hope this is where he is left now. He is Latham-esque in his strength close to the line. Latham scored a few tries that had no right being scored, and AAC nabbed on such try last night, with his palm off, and leg driving 10 m run into the line.
I couldn’t quite understand where Lawrence was coming from with some of his penalties. I am not sure if the count evened out, but it was about 9-3 at half-time in favour of the English. Some of the penalties as I said above where for holding on, when an English player was holding the Aus player (and the English player was off his feet). It is becoming a pet hate of mine now after getting so annoyed after the Tokyo test. The English dominated the ruck, but at least Australia showed some passion in contact with some solid shots being put on.
Australian backs played well as a whole, but as a team, we seemed to push passes at the last minute, either causing knock ons, or passing to a man in a worse position. We missed about three tries that should have been. Elsom will be ruing that he was facing the wrong way to pass to an unmarked Hynes, Palu (I think) knocked on from Digby as he was on the line, and there were a few other passes that went astray.
That is about all I can think of now. Some will agree, others may not. Again, I was pretty nervous and was wondering what Channel Ten would call the coverage next week of the “Grand Slam Tour” if we lost last night.
Daniel J said | November 8th 2009 @ 8:27am | Report comment
I thought the ruck was pretty even
Parisien said | November 8th 2009 @ 9:43pm | Report comment
Fully agree with all your comments Hoy. I watched the game with an international ref at Cafe Oz here in Paris who agreed that English players were holding onto tackled players on the ground, playing the ball from the ground, and sealing off in rucks. A lot of offsides and obstructions too. Very puzzling, and glad the Wallabies stayed calm. It was clear they were dominating.
I thought England played quite well and their backrow did very well. Their lineouts were very good too. Wilko back to his best and kept them in the game, directing them around the park very well, great defence, and kept the points coming.
Great to see the positive impact of Genia, Cooper and Ioane for the Wallabies, and Giteau acknowledged Cooper’s contribution post- match.
It was great to see the Wallabies score two tries (and could have scored four more), and interesting but not surprising to see England score none but lead the kicking stats. They do admittedly kick better than the Wallabies.
Davo said | November 8th 2009 @ 7:43am | Report comment
Not sure how many of the English backline would be te first choice if they didnt have any injuries and with that in mind I thought Wilkinson was fantastic playing the way he did. The one aspect of his game that wasnt what it used to be was his line kicking but he could certainly teach Quade Cooper a thing or two about defence.
For me, it was big games by Robinson, Moore, Elsom and Palu in the forwards, Genia at half and that fine, determined run to the line by AAC that got us home. Genia was lavished with praise by the English commentary and on last night’s performance it was entirely justified. Our backs looked reasonable, everyone had their moments and made a half break at some stage but the general standard of passing was still quite poor with too many passes forcing runners to reach back or virtually halt their momentum to catch the ball. Giteau wasn’t especially great yet again at 5/8. George Smith made a few strong hits but was outplayed by Moody at the breakdown.
The game was entertaining and against my expectations, worth getting up at 1am for. I’ll give a bouquet to officials unlike above…I thought Lawrence controlled the game well even though the Wallabies were down 6-0 in the penalty count at one stage. He let the game flow, didnt nit-pick, played advantage and when scrums collapsed with the ball almost out he told the half to play it….basically he let the game take centre-stage rather than his own whilstling theatrics
kingplaymaker said | November 8th 2009 @ 7:43am | Report comment
Hoy I think the team are playing better and better, but you must remember England were risible.
Australia can certainly beat Ireland, Wales etc..with this group, but they’ll need some more high quality to get past NZ and SA.
I think Vickerman, Mcmenniman, Gasnier and Nasingayavi could make the difference.
BC said | November 8th 2009 @ 12:19pm | Report comment
Mark Gerrard?
Nick P-G said | November 8th 2009 @ 1:54pm | Report comment
Matt Carraro? I really rate him.
I agree about Gerrard. He’d easily be the 2nd best option after AAC at fullback. Excellent kicking game.
Nasingayvi? Not so much. Maybe if you had him in the squad and used him in a “horses-for-courses” fashion (i.e. playing on Bannahan).
Gasnier… maybe. In due time we will see.
Vickerman and MMM we need badly. What is the story with Dan V? Is he coming back from Europe?
And that is my two cents.
Parisien said | November 8th 2009 @ 9:45pm | Report comment
Gasnier is doing nothing special here in France. don’t believe the hype!
Nick P-G said | November 9th 2009 @ 4:42pm | Report comment
I never did but surely he is doing fine? Doesn’t he start sometimes?
Starting for Stade Francis surely puts you at least in a Super 14 22.
Maybe Link talking about them hiring players by marketability wasn’t bs.
Grandpabhaile said | November 8th 2009 @ 8:23am | Report comment
Looks like the old order is shifting. At least Leicester put on a show, but the UK teams were pretty average and Australia not much better.
They’re going to have to step up several levels if they are going to play and compare to Ireland, France, NZ and SA, next year.
Daniel J said | November 8th 2009 @ 8:25am | Report comment
Knives Out? suddenly quiet…….
stillmissit said | November 8th 2009 @ 8:37am | Report comment
As his apologist he did say he didnt have a computer this weekend.
tarpo said | November 8th 2009 @ 8:41am | Report comment
KO did say he would not be near a computer for the weekend
Hermin said | November 8th 2009 @ 10:03am | Report comment
Don’t worry he’ll be back all guns blazing in a day or two. He was taken to task big time on another thread so I look forward to his proclamations of self righteousness, claims of second rate teams, poor reffing and England and Wales playing the better rugby even though they lost. I’m sure he’ll bleat on and on about Carters high tackle yet will fail to mention Leonard being clearly kicked in the head.
He will then deny that he ever said England were a better team and that the injury list will have grown to 40 players. every single player in England will rate better than Australia Genia aside maybe. He will try to shoot anyone down who has a differing opinion throw forward stats and opinions straight from knives out fact book which most of us now are not entirely true.
pothale said | November 8th 2009 @ 10:18am | Report comment
Hermin, any fair reading of KO’s posts would give a different picture than the one you venomously paint. Though that’s not untypical of your writing.
KO said he was going to Nuremberg for the weekend to watch Haye fight Valuev – looks like he picked the right match.
Hence his non-appearance here.
In my view, England were definitely the poorer of the two teams. A lot of people thought Wilkinson played well, but I thought the interchanging of role with Geraghty left him undone at times. England needed to fire more probing kicks downfield to get field position and contest the lineouts in which they did well, I thought.
Genia was superb, sniping and passing at will, and his try was nicely opportunistic, even if England were lacking in defence to let him through.
I found it a somewhat subdued game, despite the occasion, and look forward to a more lively game next week, now that Oz have a win under their belt, even thought it was against ‘plodding NH opposition’.
Australia’s position as third best in the world is steadier after this match.
NZ v Wales match was ok – nothign to write home about. It was kick dominated, and Wales weren’t good enough to get over the line. Wyn-Jones was disgracefully supported with his intercept and break towards the end – where were the speedy supporting Welsh backs? Absent. Poor decision-making in the end, when they might have got a try or at least 3 more points on the board, if cooler heads had been maintained. NZ were value for their win.
Hermin said | November 8th 2009 @ 10:58am | Report comment
The only thing venomus in this site is you and KO constantly belittling everyone who tends to disagree with you. You both have an almighty chip on your shoulder and are never far from each other. I couldn’t give two hoots where he is pothale. The status quo remains if you have actually been reading many others too are getting sick and tired of his constant self proclomation of righteousness on all things rugby. Go back and have a read mate because it never ceases to amaze how far up his butt you are and to be honest I question if you and he are the same person.
On that note I think I have summed it up pretty nicely on what his reaction will be. funny how when one has an oppossing view to you and he. It is venomous and provocative when I would say the reverse is true!
pothale said | November 8th 2009 @ 11:47am | Report comment
Hermin – have you anything constructive to say about the actual matches or is it always personal bile with you?
I don’t belittle everyone who disagrees with me. That is a lie.
I don’t have an almighty chip on my shoulder. About what? Where’s the evidence for that assertion?
I don’t accept that “many others are sick and tired of constant self-proclamation of righteousness on all things rugby” since we all like to give our views and opinions on rugby matters – strongly held or not – which is what this board is about.
I am not up anyone’s butt, as you so elegantly put it. But hey you’re entitled to your opinion.
I am not the same person as KO. You can put your mind at rest.
You gave a poor, inaccurate and purposely inflammatory summary of the viewpoint and character of a regular contributor, in their absence from this forum. And you know it.
That’s my view of what you said. Others can make up their own minds.
Hermin said | November 8th 2009 @ 6:51pm | Report comment
Read the thread buddy and you can clearly see others frustration at your man and his views.
Then run along and don’t bother me amy longer because I don’t have time for people such as yourself.
Knives Out said | November 9th 2009 @ 5:07am | Report comment
Get out of my butt, Pothale.
pothale said | November 9th 2009 @ 6:00am | Report comment
….And into my car, yeah.
I know that song.
Daniel J said | November 8th 2009 @ 10:41am | Report comment
Haha yea i figured as such, will be interesting to see the thread in the next couple of days
hayden said | November 8th 2009 @ 11:23am | Report comment
Here’s Knives here, pictured in Nurembug: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/gallery/2009/nov/07/david-haye-gallery?picture=355312441
pothale said | November 8th 2009 @ 11:49am | Report comment
LOL! Now that is funny. Can’t wait til he sees that.
OldManEmu said | November 8th 2009 @ 7:10pm | Report comment
Travis Bickle has nothing on Hemjay/Hermin
Hermin said | November 8th 2009 @ 7:13pm | Report comment
Nice to see the troll army is in full swing
Hermin said | November 8th 2009 @ 7:17pm | Report comment
Funny that how its the same three musketeers banging out the same old accusations. Whats your problem oldtimer don’t you like people being a bit up front with you and your croonies. Or is it simple that you can not accept someone having a very short sharp and blunt opinion?
This is an opinion site is it not.
Funny how you and your friend Pothale only selectively read you can clearly see in this thread alone others also have taken issue with your leaders views but funny how you only want to have a go at me. pack mentality is it not. pick a target and go for it throw all the accusations and sarcastic arrogant insults you like however when you get a few back you run crying foul.
grow up kids you really are quite juvenile
OldManEmu said | November 8th 2009 @ 8:58pm | Report comment
Hey there Hermin
What’s a croonie? Is that like when you got to McDonalds and you get a free toy….”for a limited time only with every Big Mac customers receive a minature doll of thier choice from Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Harry Connick Junior, and Bert Blackawaxsack”
pothale said | November 9th 2009 @ 6:08am | Report comment
“…Bert Blackawaxsack”
Nice one, OME.
I love the notion of you not liking ‘people being a bit up front with you’. In future, I’m gonna just come right out and, by God, I’m gonna half-tell you what I think of you. OK?
Yours in croonieship
Pothale
Knives Out said | November 9th 2009 @ 12:47am | Report comment
Cheeky bugger, Hayden. A great night… I don’t feel so great today, however.
hayden said | November 9th 2009 @ 1:15am | Report comment
C’mon, that is you, right?
Matt0931 said | November 8th 2009 @ 8:31am | Report comment
Yep the Wallabies played well. A lot of kicking in the first half but it was great to see some running in the second half.
England just about played to script with a lot of kicking, drop goals etc and generally playing their game plan completely around johnny Wilkinson, although when they did decide to run they actually looked really really good.
Monye looks like he will devlop into a great rugby player.
It was good to see Cooper playing fly-half during the game, it gave Giteau more room to play when he was out wide. I think the only real weak player last night was Mitchell…oh and the ref of course.
stillmissit said | November 8th 2009 @ 8:50am | Report comment
Great game and enough to keep the running cheer squad happy. In fact too much in the first half when we hadn’t earnt the right to run.
Pluses forwards – Horwill, Palu and Elsom had great games. Smith and Moore were very good.
Minus forwards – Ben Robinson what a total waste of time in the hard stuff, absent from most breakdowns AGAIN! This man is the perennial pillar. The other Ben absent without a ticket. These guys measure there game in 2 areas, the scrum and running around in midfield.
Generally too much one off stuff again. No lifters in the lineout and NO competing on their throw in. This running backwards and forwards combined with getting to the lineout late are my pet hates.
Wilkinson was man of the match and played all over Giteau and showed his real class. Lewis Moody was very strong as well. Some of their backs look as though they could become dangerous come RWC time.
Backs – Genia great again how much upside has this young guy got? AAC another match winning try, more than a fluke. Hynes excellent again and the mid combination looked like a work in progress but worth sticking with.
Giteau totally predictable and poor kicking in field.
Very average reffing again from Bryce Lawrence with both sides offside many times from breakdown (check 16:52 for example) and strange inconsistent calls about ball out and hands off at B/D.
Very watchable game and we have a captain to replace Mortlock.