Wallabies open Grand Slam Tour with win over England at Twickenham
From Darren Walton in London, England
November 08, 2009
The Wallabies have completed the first leg of a possible Grand Slam after scoring a tense 18-9 victory over a gallant England at Twickenham on Sunday morning (EDT).
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.
However the 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 - a depleted England looked poised to spring a massive boilover after taking a 9-5 lead into half-time.
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.
"I'm proud of the boys," Wallabies coach Robbie Deans said.
"They had to work hard through the first half. We had a sense that it was coming but we haven't always shown a lot of patience in recent times, and belief, to be fair.
"But, in this instance, we showed a lot of courage. Defensively, we worked hard and we used a bit of nous just in terms of field position.
"Ultimately, that weight of territory and possession told."
Wilkinson showed his intentions early, drilling a third-minute drop goal, the first points from their returning hero sending Twickenham's capacity 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 Wallabies 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 half-time 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 half-time, 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 Rocky 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, Digby 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.
http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,...016959,00.html
Giteau: Wallabies never lost belief
November 7, 2009
Australia fly-half Matt Giteau insisted that the Wallabies always believed that they could turn things around in Saturday's 18-9 victory England.
The Aussies, who had gone into the game having lost six of their previous seven games, found themselves 9-5 down at the interval at Twickenham - despite scoring the only try of the first half, through Will Genia.
However, Robbie Deans' men dominated after the interval and Adam Ashley Cooper's 70th-minute try ultimately decided the game in their favour. Given their recent form, Giteau was unsurprisingly thrilled that the Wallabies had maintained their composure and belief after an awkward opening 40 minutes.
"It's been well reported how disappointed we were after the Tri-Nations and we put a big emphasis on this game - I think we underlined that with our performance in the second half. I think we kicked a lot better, got good field position and our line-outs functioned a lot better," the No.10 told Sky Sports after the game.
"At half time, we felt we were doing enough but we were giving away too many penalties. We were also creating chances but we just needed to be more disciplined and hold on to the ball. We knew that if we did that the chances would keep coming.
"It certainly didn't feel comfortable at any stage because I think England were threatening all game. I think it's a different England side, they're always looking to attack and they opened us up a few times. So it was never comfortable but we did create a lot of opportunities. We just didn't take them and hopefully we'll take them the next day."
While Giteau played his part in Australia's victory, kicking eight points as well as turning in an excellent defensive display, it was his half-back partner Will Genia who walked away with the man of the match award for an excellent all-round display.
Genia may be just 21 but he has already drawn favourable comparisons with Australia's legendary No.9 George Gregan. Giteau feels it is too early to be mentioning Genia in the same breath as Gregan but he has nothing but praise for his young team-mate.
"I don't want to place too much pressure because George Gregan's a legend of the game and a legend of Australian rugby but Willie's a great player, as you saw today. He's got all of the skills and, defensively, he's very strong. It's only early in his career but he's playing very well," he said.
Giteau was also reluctant to get carried away when it came to his country's chances of becoming only the second side to complete a clean sweep on a tour of Great Britain and Ireland.
"It's definitely possible but it's a bit too early to start talking about it yet. We've got Ireland to come next weekend and then after that it's Scotland and Wales so it's far too early to be thinking about it," he said.
Meanwhile, England flanker Lewis Moody that Australia's superior match sharpness had ultimately proved the difference between the two sides.
"We battled hard all game - Australia were slicker than we were. We defended a lot of the second half and the tries we conceded were quite soft in the end. But they were more clinical than us on the day.
"The ball they had, they used better. We never gave up, and it was frustrating to lose at the end when it was close with 20 minutes to go. We've just got to build on it from here."
Fly-half Jonny Wilkinson, who accounted for all England's points, was also doing his best to remain upbeat at the full-time whistle, arguing that the players deserve credit for the defensive resilience they had shown during the second half.
"We spent a lot of the game defending against a lot of momentum. When you give a very good side that kind of ball in that area of the field, to do what we did defensively was great," he said.
"The great thing is that this is a fantastic squad in attitude and energy and where we are prepared to take this. It's our first turn, and we're going to use it to bring us tighter."
England team manager Martin Johnson had no complaints about the final scoreline and is also of the opinion that there is still plenty more to come from his side.
"Overall, they deserved to win. But there were chances for us to do more. In the second half, they dominated territory to such an extent that they're going to score points," he admitted.
"But that team is playing its first time together - Australia have come straight out of the Tri-Nations and a Test match."
http://www.scrum.com/england/rugby/story/105101.html
---------- Post added at 08:27 ---------- Previous post was at 07:54 ----------
AAC SWEET TRY TIME, assisted by some nice swift passing by Will Genia and Matt Giteau....
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3g9zeojfes&feature=player_embedded"]YouTube- AAC Try[/ame]