Rugby World Cup: Wales 18 - 21 Australia: Injury-hit Wallabies deny Wales

The Wallabies lost fly-half Quade Cooper and full-back Kurtley Beale inside 20 minutes at Eden Park. Cooper could face six months out with suspected knee ligament damage, while Beale appeared to suffer a recurrence of hamstring trouble that sidelined him for last weekend’s semi-final defeat against tournament favourites New Zealand. But they still had enough in the tank to deny Wales a best World Cup finish since they beat Australia to take third place 24 years ago.

Wing Shane Williams marked his final World Cup appearance with a try – albeit a lucky one when a blatant forward pass was missed – and full-back Leigh Halfpenny also touched down.

James Hook and Stephen Jones kicked a penalty apiece, with Jones also converting Halfpenny’s score, but the third-place finish that Wales coveted eluded them.

Australia manufactured tries by centre Berrick Barnes and No 8 Ben McCalman, while Barnes also dropped a goal and wing James O’Connor kicked eight points.

Wales, though, sorely missed suspended skipper Sam Warburton, plus injured pair Rhys Priestland and Adam Jones. They will return home today after losing three of their seven World Cup games – by a combined total of five points – but Wales are guaranteed to be a top-four seed for the 2015 tournament hosted by England.

Wales could feel relieved to still be on level terms after ten minutes, yet it did not last long, despite Australia losing Beale. Quickfire passing enabled centre Barnes to dash across for a try that O’Connor converted, and a 7-0 lead was no more than the Wallabies deserved. Wales needed a quick response, and it came in the form of a close-range Hook penalty that opened their account.

Australia’s injury woes continued after 22 minutes when Cooper exited the contest. He was replaced by Anthony Faingaa, with Barnes moving to No 10, but the Wallabies continued punching into the heart of Wales’ defence. Wales gained a penalty but Halfpenny sent a long-range attempt wide, and Australia preserved their narrow advantage.

Hook should have cut the deficit to one point four minutes into the second period, but he missed from just 30 metres. It was a poor performance by Wales but they responded, albeit with a highly fortuitous try from Williams after English referee Wayne Barnes and his French assistant Romain Poite missed a blatant forward pass from Hook.

Hook could not convert and two O’Connor penalties put Australia 13-8 ahead approaching the hour-mark.

O’Connor missed a chance to increase Australia’s lead, but Barnes dropped a goal 12 minutes from time and it looked bleak for Wales at 16-8 adrift.

Gatland made changes off the bench, but Wales could only manage a Jones penalty in reply, leaving them five points adrift with under ten minutes left.

Australia centre Adam Ashley-Cooper was denied a try by a Jamie Roberts tackle, but the Wallabies held territorial control as the clock ticked. They secured the win when McCalman powered over three minutes from time to secure third spot, although Wales had the final say with a late Halfpenny touchdown converted by Jones