By Jon Page
In a game littered with errors, Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies hand Wales a ninth straight defeat aided by a Filipo Daugunu double and a dominant back-row performance.
In terrible conditions Warren Gatland’s young Wales side travelled to AAMI Park with the intention of ending their 8-game losing streak. However, this was not to be, as they fell to a second consecutive defeat to Australia after their loss in Sydney last week.
Welsh fly-half Ben Thomas kicked off to the Wallabies and they were able to exit cleanly. After a few minutes of kick tennis and some brief pressure within the Australia half, Australian wing Andrew Kellaway cleared the ball from his own 22 and regathered his own kick before feeding Fraser McReight, who in turn put Filipo Daugunu in for a try at the 6-minute mark. Noah Lolesio added the extras and Australia had a 7-0 lead with 7 minutes on the board.
After some bruising carries in the middle third by Rob Valetini and Charlie Cale, and some quick hands along the Wallaby backline, they were soon making inroads into the Welsh 22. But after Christ Tshiunza was penalized for not rolling away at the ruck, captain James Slipper pointed for the posts and Lolesio duly kicked the 3 points, taking the match to a two-score game at 10-0 with 14 minutes on the clock.
Welsh captain Dewi Lake won a penalty off the restart but Ben Thomas missed off the tee. The next 10 minutes were error strewn, with neither attack firing after two poor lineout throws from Australia’s Matt Faessler and Taine Plumtree losing Welsh possession at the back of the scrum, halting any momentum for either team. None of these errors were punished, but when Cameron Winnett dropped a box kick from Jake Gordon, the ball rolled back into Gordon’s hands before he ran in a fantastic try from thirty metres out, again converted by Lolesio to make the score 17-0.
The errors continued as a lineout offence by the Wallabies gifted Wales territory from a penalty and Lake went over for Wales’ first try, from a lineout driving maul, before Ben Thomas kicked the conversion. But, immediately off the restart McReight won a turnover penalty in front of the posts, which Lolesio was never going to miss, bringing the score to 20-7 after half an hour played.
Gatland’s men again took up camp in the Australian half and after Lukhan Salakaia-Loto was sent to the sin bin for a high tackle (bunker reviewed but remained at a yellow), Wales kicked the ensuing penalty to the corner. Those at AAMI Park likely felt a sense of déjà vu as Lake went over for another driving maul try identical to his first, with the conversion kicked again by Ben Thomas. In an identical response to Lake’s first try, McReight immediately won another breakdown penalty off the restart for Lolesio to kick over, making the score 23-14 after 38 minutes played, with the score remaining the same at the break.
Both sides ran out for the second half, hoping for a less error strewn 40 minutes of rugby. Wales came out of the blocks with a point to prove, with blockbusting work in heavy traffic by Lake and James Botham providing a platform for some slick hands that led to a Liam Williams try. After Ben Thomas’s conversion the score read 23-21 at the 48-minute mark, with Wales cutting their losing deficit by 15 points.
This was as good as the game got for Wales. Schmidt’s substitutions turned the screw and Allan Alaalatoa scored a close range try, closely followed by a second Daugunu try off the back of a Liam Williams error reminiscent of James Lowe’s error against the Springboks for Ireland last week. Neither try was converted but the score read 33-21 in Australia’s favour with just over 10 minutes to go.
Against the run of play Tshiunza charged down a box kick that Rio Dyer pounced on to score with a strong finish and even after a Sam Costelow conversion, this was too little too late for Wales. With the Welsh lineout faltering after Lake’s substitution, Australia pressed their advantage and put the final nail in the Welsh coffin with a 77th minute Ben Donaldson penalty kick. With the score reading 36-28 in their favour, the Wallabies kicked the ball out to end the game.
AUSTRALIA: 36
TRIES: 4 (Daugunu 6’ 66’, Gordon 24’, Alaalatoa 53’)
CONVERSIONS: 2 (Lolesio 7’ 25’)
PENALTIES: 4 (Lolesio 14’ 30’ 38’, Donaldson 77’)
DROP GOALS: 0
YELLOW CARDS: 1 (Salakaia-Loto 34’)
RED CARDS: 0
15. Tom Wright 14. Andrew Kellaway 13. Josh Flook 12. Hunter Paisami 11. Filipo Daugunu 10. Noah Lolesio 9. Jake Gordon 1. James Slipper © 2. Matt Faessler 3. Taniela Tupou 4. Jeremy Williams 5. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto 6. Rob Valetini 7. Fraser McReight 8. Charlie Cale
Replacements
16. Josh Nasser 17. Isaac Kailea 18. Allan Alaalatoa 19. Angus Blyth 20. Langi Gleeson 21. Nic White 22. Ben Donaldson 23. Dylan Pietsch
WALES: 28
TRIES: 4 (Lake 27’ 35’, L Williams 46’, Dyer 69’)
CONVERSIONS: 4 (B. Thomas 29’ 36’ 48’, Costelow 70’)
PENALTIES: 0
DROP GOALS: 0
YELLOW CARDS: 0
RED CARDS: 0
15. Cam Winnett 14. Liam Williams 13. Owen Watkin 12. Mason Grady 11. Rio Dyer 10. Ben Thomas 9. Ellis Bevan 1. Gareth Thomas 2. Dewi Lake © 3. Archie Griffin 4. Christ Tshiunza 5. Dafydd Jenkins 6. James Botham 7. Tommy Reffell 8. Taine Plumtree
Replacements
16. Evan Lloyd 17. Kemsley Mathias 18. Harri O’Connor 19. Cory Hill 20. Mackenzie Martin 21. Kieran Hardy 22. Sam Costelow 23. Nick Tompkins
Player Ratings: Australia 26-28 Wales
Australia Player Ratings
1. James Slipper © – 7
Led his team well and worked hard off the ball.
2. Matt Faessler – 6
Fairly quiet, will rue his two missed lineout throws.
3. Taniela Tupou – 7
Quieter than last week, but contributed to a strong first half scrum and roared into action at the end of the first half, with three carries in under a minute.
4. Jeremy Williams – 6.5
The Western Force captain looks settled in test rugby for only his second cap, but outshone by his locking partner.
5. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto – 7
Loses points for his yellow card, but returned to the fray in the second half with a point to prove. Very physical both sides of the ball and was Australia’s best lineout target.
6. Rob Valetini – 9
Back in his regular position for the Brumbies at blindside flanker, he was immense in attack and defence, he has demonstrated why he was one of the first names on the team sheet under David Rennie and Eddie Jones, and why he will be vital to Schmidt going forward.
7. Fraser McReight – 8
Outstanding support play for Daugunu’s first try and multiple successful jackal turnovers indicate that Michael Hooper’s former 7 jersey is in very capable hands.
8. Charlie Cale – 8
Showed dynamism off the base of the scrum and didn’t shy away from collisions in heavy traffic-hard to believe this was just his second cap.
9. Jake Gordon – 8
Showed why Rugby Australia refused to let him leave their shores to join Perpignan, his box kicking in the first half dominated the air.
10. Noah Lolesio – 7
Kept the scoreboard ticking over and marshalled the backline well.
11. Filipo Daugunu – 7.5
Took his 2 tries well and was busy in defence. Was a real handful for Liam Williams.
12. Hunter Paisami – 7
Massive work rate in defence, contained his opposite man well.
13. Josh Flook – 7
Led the defence for Australia, easy to forget this is only his second cap.
14. Andrew Kellaway – 7
Brave to run out of his 22 and was rewarded as Daugunu opened the scoring.
15. Tom Wright – 7
Not able to replicate last weeks’ heroics, but did well under the high ball.
Replacements
16. Josh Nasser – 6
The son of 1991 Rugby World Cup winner Brendan Nasser, he will be pleased with his debut, albeit with limited involvements.
17. Isaac Kailea – 7
Really powerful in open play, thoroughly deserved a win on his birthday.
18. Allan Alaalatoa – 8
The former captain scrummed hard and scored a well-deserved first ever try for the Wallabies.
19. Angus Blyth – 6
Continued where Williams left off, adding grunt around the field.
20. Langi Gleeson – 6
Did not put a foot wrong, but unable to unleash his running game with limited minutes.
21. Nic White – 5.5
Not on for long, but had a kick charged down for Dyer’s try.
22. – Ben Donaldson – 6.5
The starting 10 when Wales knocked the Wallabies out of the world cup, he will be pleased with his cameo, kicking a penalty in the final minutes of the match.
23. Dylan Pietsch – N/A
Not used.
Wales Player Ratings
1. Gareth Thomas – 8
Played the full 80 minutes and consistently pressured the Wallabies’ 9 and 10.
2. Dewi Lake © – 8.5
Led from the front and grabbed 2 well deserved tries as well as multiple breakdown steals. Not a coincidence that the lineout went awry after his exit in the second half
3. Archie Griffin – 8
Hard to believe this is only his second Welsh start. Was energetic in the loose and played the entire game minus his HIA, a massive feat for a prop.
4. Christ Tshiunza – 6
Growing into his role as an international second row, after spending his time at Exeter in the back-row. Discipline needs improvement from today.
5. Dafydd Jenkins – 6
Wales captain for the Six Nations, very quiet game by his usual high standards.
6. James Botham – 8.5
Gave everything for 80 minutes, tackling anything that moved and always willing to run at gold jerseys, regardless of their size. Really deserved to be on the winning team today.
7.Tommy Reffell – 7
Defended aggressively and tried to impose himself on the breakdown, but outplayed by his opposite man.
8. Taine Plumtree – 6.5
Looks less comfortable at 8 than at flanker, but was given a herculean task to replace the talismanic Aaron Wainwright. Settled into the game more after the break.
9. Ellis Bevan – 6
Was solid at the base and marshalled his forwards well, the Cardiff man held up well in tough conditions and significant pressure from the Australian back-row.
10. Ben Thomas – 7
Looked uncomfortable in the first few minutes, but settled into the game and adapted to his new role at 10 well, an improvement on last week.
11. Rio Dyer- 7
Was kept quiet in the first half, but scored a fantastic try in the final quarter.
12. Mason Grady – 5
Tried his best to do the hard yards, but still does not look comfortable with Gatland’s inside centre experiment.
13. Owen Watkin – 5
Largely anonymous all game, Tompkins brought much more direct running after coming on.
14. Liam Williams – 5