Genia’s genius too much for Wales Australia 27 Wales 19

An exciting match was in prospect with the 2012 Grand Slam winners facing the 2011 Tri-Nations champions. The Welsh were chasing their first victory on Australian soil since 1969. Rob Howley, in charge of Wales in place of the injured Warren Gatland selected a similar side as we saw in the Six Nations earlier this year. Australia’s notable absences included fly-half Quade Cooper and centre James O’Connor. Berrick Barnes came in in the no.10 shirt and x filled the berth at centre.

The match started with Wales putting Australia under plenty of pressure, the Wallabies tried to play from deep inside their half. However, when they broke forward in to Welsh territory, they were able to assert their authority around the breakdown.  The sniping scrum-half Will Genia made early breaks around the fringes, showing his pace and awareness around the base of rucks.

Barnes opened the scoring with a penalty after 7 minutes of play.

Wales’ only real threat in the first half came from Leigh Halfpenny, the full back who finished as the top scorer in the Six Nations this year made a scything break off an inside ball, however, a forward pass denied Wales the chance to capitalise on his clean break.

After a fantastic break by Digby Ione from a move off the side of a line-out, Australia put real pressure on the Welsh line. Gutsy defence initially kept the Australians out, but Scott Higginbotham managed to barge his way over to score Australia’s first try. Barnes added the simple conversion to give Australia a ten point lead after 16 minutes.

Halfpenny added a long-range penalty effort to close the gap, but Wales struggled to compete at the breakdown. David Pocock was winning the battle of the open sides against Sam Warburton.

2^nd Half

Australia started the second half with a dynamic break from Genia, the scrum half burst off the back of a ruck and beat three defenders as he rocketed under the posts. The easy conversion was added by Barnes and Australia opened the gap to thirteen points to make the score Australia 20 Wales 3

Halfpenny narrowed the gap slightly shortly after Genia’s try, but the closed gap did not last long as Barnes knocked over a drop goal after fifty minutes.

At 55 minutes, there was a break of play after Tatafu Polota Nau put in a big hit on Scott Williams. The nasty collision resulted in both players having to leave the field.

Wales took advantage of the break, Halfpenny added a straightforward penalty and shortly afterwards, Alex Cuthbert popped up on the wing with a well timed run and collected a popped pass from substitute Ashley Beck. Cuthbert managed to beat the covering defence to score and give Wales a real chance in the match.  The try was converted to make the score Australia 20 Wales 16.

In a fantastic phase of the game for Wales, Halfpenny added yet another penalty to close the gap to just one point, Australia 20 Wales 19

Australia bounced back with a period of intense pressure, their forwards made inroads in to the Welsh 22 with big carries. The Welsh defence crumbled under the intensity of the ball carrying and Pat McCabe crashed over the line. Barnes added the conversion to make the score Australia 27 Wales 19

Wales needed a quick response, but their basic skills were not consistent enough. Handling errors and panicked kicks threatened any come back.

Australia dropped a kick in their own 22, however, Cuthbert was dragged down as he looked to go outside a Wallaby back-row forward. Genia cleared the danger and Australia’s kick chase was outstanding. Referee Craig Joubert penalised James Hook for holding on to the ball, however, Barnes hit the left post with his attempt. His chance to close out the game would have to wait.

Wales threw caution in to the wind in the final phases of the game, a huge break from Jonathan Davies should have released Halfpenny, yet the centre delayed his pass for too long and the chance went begging.

Final Score: Australia 27 Wales 19. Man of the Match: Will Genia (Aus.) the scrum-half put in a commanding performance, his passing was top class and his ability to make breaks and create chances stretched the Welsh defence from the first minute onwards. Wales will have to negate his impact in the next test to stand any chance of clawing the series back.

Any thoughts or comments on the game? Can Wales bounce back from this defeat? Post below or send me a message on twitter @tommyd91