Australia 27-19 Wales: Wallabies banish Scots hangover

WILL Genia was back at his dangerous best on Saturday, inspiring Australia to a 27-19 win over Six Nations champion Wales only four days after a shock loss to Scotland.

The Australian scrumhalf took control of the match with two pivotal plays in the second half, darting over for a try seconds after half time and then sending center Pat McCabe across in the 67th minute to snuff out a Welsh resurgence after the visitors clawed back to 20-19 from a 14-point deficit.

No. 2-ranked Australia scored three tries and conceded one, with Leigh Halfpenny contributing 14 points for the Welsh via four penalties and a conversion.

Wales captain Sam Warburton said his team didn’t adapt quickly enough to the faster pace of the southern hemisphere game in their first test since March but he was proud of the second-half comeback.

Wallabies coach Robbie Deans expected both teams to improve before the second test in Melbourne next week, particularly with Wales desperate to end a 43-year drought Down Under and break a five-match losing streak to the Australians.

“I imagine it’ll be edge of the seat stuff,” Deans said. “We know what’s going to come the other way - it’s do or die next week.”

Australia opened a 14-point lead in the second half when Genia crossed for a solo try and Berrick Barnes landed a dropped goal to extend a 10-3 halftime lead into 20-6 margin. But Wales got back within a point via an Alex Cuthbert try in the 58th minute and some accurate kicking from Halfpenny.

Wales missed a crucial chance to go ahead when flyhalf Rhys Priestland knocked on with three men unmarked outside in the 63rd minute and the Australians made them pay.

Genia drifted across field and sent a weighted pass to McCabe, running on an angle into a gap, to give Australia an eight-point cushion that meant Wales needed to score twice to start the three-test series with a win.

After a quiet match in the wet and windy conditions of the 9-6 loss to Scotland on Tuesday night, Genia was dominant on a dry pitch and with go-forward momentum. His kicking in general play turned the Welsh back when they got into threatening positions and his probing runs cut up the defense and created plenty of scoring opportunities for the Australians.

“We had a lot of fun out there,” said Australia skipper David Pocock, who edged his counterpart as captain and openside flanker Warburton in the battle at the breakdown. “We had to put the Scottish loss behind us pretty quickly - we did that, moved on ... and won this one tonight.”

Warburton said the Welsh were outplayed in the first half.

“The game was played at a great pace and intensity,” Warburton said. “We struggled to keep up in the first half. In the second half, we played a lot better. But to be honest, it wasn’t good enough that first half. We’ve got plenty to work on for next week.”

After a disappointing performance against Scotland, which finished winless in the Six Nations tournament, the Australians went out intent on attacking Europe’s best team, even from their own quarter in the opening five minutes.

Barnes opened the scoring with a penalty goal in the ninth minute and, after a trysaving tackle by McCabe in the 10th, Australia wasted a tryscoring chance in the outside backs before blindside flanker Scott Higginbotham crashed over beside the left upright in the 16th.

Halfpenny landed a goal from 39 meters in the 23rd to make it 10-3 and the Welsh held firm for the rest of the half.

Genia darted over two minutes into the second half, getting between two frontrowers on the fringe of a ruck and wrong-footing replacement fullback James Hook on the way to the tryline.

The Welsh narrowed the gap to one point in the 58th when replacement center Ashley Beck took on the defense on the quarterline and popped up a ball from the ground for Cuthbert to sprint away into the right corner untouched.

But the resurgence was short-circuited by Genia and McCabe. The Welsh only conceded three tries as they completed a Grand Slam in the Six Nations but defense coach Shaun Edwards admitted they needed to revise the systems after being unpicked a few times by the Australians.

“I thought we showed great character and spirit in the second half,” Wales coach Rob Howley said. “We created more chances, causing Australia some problems. We just didn’t take those opportunities ... We probably left two or three tries out on the park to be honest.

“I was disappointed in our first half - we struggled with the pace of the game.”