Dragons in ashes

Australia squeezes Wales out of World Cup

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Posted: Saturday October 23, 1999 08:49 PM

George Gregan celebrates after scoring one of his two tries to help Australia defeat Wales in the Rugby World Cup. AP

CARDIFF, Wales (CNN/SI) -- Wales may have lost the match, but when the final whistle blew on Saturday, the crowd rose as one to cheer on their valiant soldiers long after the Wallabies left the field.

The Red Dragons who had not beaten Australia since 1987, had not been truly considered as contenders, even by their coach Graham Henry, prior to the World Cup.

The Welsh public may be disappointed that their team will not advance, but can take comfort in the fact that their team pushed Australia to the edge and that Wales' performance certainly not embarrassing.

Wallaby scrumhalf George Gregan opened the scoring in the 6th minute and crossed again on full-time as the 72,500 crowd erupted into raucous booing due to what appeared to be a knock-on in the leadup to the touchdown.

The try was the result of a vintage midfield run by inside center Tim Horan, who burst through four defenders before the ball was knocked from his hand and rolled into the in-goal area, where Gregan pounced.

The Australians defended a one-point lead for more than 30 minutes but remained composed amid a torrent of pressure from the tournament host before clinching the game with two tries in the last quarter.

With the score was poised at 10-9 after an hour, Australia's jittery form in World Cup quarterfinals was continuing.

On the way to winning the 1991 World Cup, the Australians came from behind with a try to Michael Lynagh in the last minute to beat Ireland 19-18 in a Dublin quarterfinal. In '95, the Wallabies lost 25-22 to England at Cape Town when Rob Andrew kicked a late dropped goal to break a deadlock.

But after a shaky start in Cardiff, winger Ben Tune put the Wallabies ahead 17-9 when he slid across for a try in the 63rd minute.

Flyhalf Steve Larkham took the ball from a maul on the Welsh 22-line and put a perfectly-weighted grubber kick behind the Welsh defense and Tune completed the move by beating the cover to the ball.

Burke added the conversion to put the Wallabies more than a converted try ahead.

The Wallabies crossed the Welsh line twice within minutes shortly afterwards but referee Colin Hawke called the play back on both occasions for knock-ons.

The deafening roar of the capacity crowd, a heavy burst of rain and the slippery turf combined to unsettle the Australians in the opening 40 minutes. Although the Wallabies held on for a 10-9 lead at the break courtesy of Gregan's try, plus a conversion and a penalty from Burke against three penalty goals from Neil Jenkins.

The Australians, second favorites to win the tournament, opened with an intensity the emotionally charged Welsh team matched in the opening minutes but a series of optional blunders cost the Wallabies points.

The backs looked disjointed in phase play and, although the powerful runners broke the first line of defense with regularity, the attacking movements broke down through a lack of cohesion.

Joe Roff created the first try with a run along the left-hand touchline, beating the outstretched hand of Chris Wyatt in a 20-meter burst before drawing fullback Shane Howarth and passing inside to Gregan, who dived across the line.

Burke converted from near the sideline to make the score 7-0 before Jenkins reduced the margin to four points with a penalty goal from out wide in the 9th minute.

Burke replied with a 20-meter penalty three minutes later to extend Australia's lead to 10-3 before Jenkins hit back with penalties in the 20th and 30th minutes.

The Australian fullback missed a 53-meter attempt in injury time which would have given the Wallabies a four-point buffer at halftime.

The major casualty of the first half was Welsh prop David Young, the only survivor of Wales' win against Australia in the 1987 World Cup, who limped off the field just before halftime with a leg injury.

For Wales, Scott Quinnell recovered from his poor game against Samoa with some strong runs from the base of the scrum and in broken play and a try-saving tackle on Dan Herbert in the second half. And Colin Charvis, who missed Wales' last two games due a suspension, was continually in the thick of the action in broken play.

But despite the determined effort, Wales' losing stretch against Australia extended to seven tests.

Wales has not defeated the Wallabies since Paul Thorburn kicked a late dropped goal to clinch a 22-21 victory in the playoff for third place in the inaugural World Cup in 1987 at Rotorua, New Zealand.

Australia advanced to the quarterfinal as the winner of group E following wins against Romania, Ireland and the United States.

Wales progressed to the last eight as winner of Group D but its No. 1 spot hinged on the last game of the group phase between Japan and Argentina when the Pumas could have taken top spot with a win by 69 points or more.

The Welsh opened with a 23-18 win over Argentina and a 64-15 win against Japan before their 10-test winning stretch came to a halt in a 38-31 loss to Samoa.

Wales

Australia

Referee: Colin Hawke, New Zealand.

 

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Aussie captain John Eales says his team played up to its abilities. (83 K) Wales fullback Shane Horwath thinks his team can learn from defeat. (182 K) Visit Multimedia Central for the latest audio and video
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.