The Wallabies cruised to a hard-fought 32-8 victory over Wales this morning in Cardiff.
Fly-half Bernard Foley was awarded man of the match finishing with 12 points, two line breaks and 69 total metres. Foley got the Wallabies off to a good start when he slotted an easy penalty goal in the opening minutes. The Welsh responded with Leigh Halfpenny kicking a penalty goal. With the scores 3-3, it was tight, and the rowdy fans thought they were in for a grinding encounter.
In the 16th minute, Welsh fly-half Dan Biggar was sent to the sin bin for holding Wallabies winger Dane Haylett-Petty back from supporting the rampaging Israel Folau. For the Welsh, the sin-binning didn’t help as the attacking prowess of the Wallabies proved too hard to handle. In the first 20 minutes, the Wallabies were able to maintain 80 per cent of possession and territory. Wallabies skipper, Stephen Moore got the first five-pointer of the game when he powered through the flimsy Welsh defence.
Following the try, the Wallabies’ confidence continued to grow as Foley came into the mix and set up Reece Hodge for a try in the 26th minute. The onslaught continued and the Cardiff fans were left stunned as Wallabies enforcer Tevita Kuridrani found himself on the score sheet.
The second half saw the Wallabies restricted to only two tries as the Welsh tried hard defensively. Bernard Foley scored a magical runaway try after a Welsh turnover. A late inclusion for the injured centre Johnathan Davies was Scott Williams, who provided the goods with Wales’ only try of the game. Haylett-Petty scored in the late stages of the game to earn the Wallabies their 12th consecutive win over Wales. David Pocock came off with a concussion, he will be assessed through the week if he can play next week.
The next task for the Wallabies for the spring tour will be when they head to Edinburgh on Sunday against Scotland.
Ireland ends All Blacks winning streak
Ireland has done the unthinkable, defeating the All Blacks 40-29 in Chicago for the first time in 111 years. The luck of the Irish was certainly on the agenda as Ireland also ended the iconic 18-game consecutive win streak. In the first half, the Irish went on to score 25 points to 8 to close the half. The All Blacks tried to fight back in the second half but Ireland managed to secure the historic victory. – Jesse Mullens
Photo of Bernard Foley scoring his try from the Wallabies Twitter feed.
About the author
I am the sports editor for the Macleay Newsroom. I enjoy cooking and watching sport intently.
