Australia pulled off a shock win against arch rivals New Zealand at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane. In a highly entertaining Bledisloe Cup match, the Wallabies held on despite some late frightening onslaught from the mighty All Blacks.
The Wallabies were clearly fired up for this one, and after their narrow defeat in Dunedin, they were inspired. And they got off to the perfect start when Reece Hodge intercepted a pass from stand-in All Black fly-half Lima Sopoaga on six minutes.
Reece Hodge touches down to put the Aussies in front
With the All Blacks pressing up in the Wallabies half, Hodge intercepted the ball and sprinted for the line. The All Blacks turned and chased, and with over 60 metres to run Hodge was slowing as he neared the line, but he went in under the posts to put Australia 5 up. Bernard Foley put the conversion over to make it 7-0.
The All Blacks weren’t behind for long, however. Just before the quarter hour mark and with pressure building, Aaron Smith threw a dummy pass on the five-metre line to find Waisake Naholo on the wing, and the back gladly ran down the line to cross the line unopposed, and Sopoaga put the conversion over to make it all square.
Waisake Naholo scored All Blacks first try
Some Australian indiscipline and the boot of Sopoaga was the difference for the next 20 minutes as the No.10 put a couple of penalties over to see the All Blacks into a 13-7 lead. And from that point on you would have put your money the All Blacks doing what they’ve been doing to all-comers for the last eight years or so.
But Australia who have been on the receiving end of most of those defeats the All Blacks have been handing out, had other ideas.
Man of the Match Israel Folau was at the heart of everything
Just before the break, they reminded the All Blacks that they weren’t there just to make the numbers up. The mercurial Israel Folau made scoring against the All Blacks look easy as he came from deep.
A quick show-and-go dummied the All Blacks defensive line and created space for the winger to finish off a textbook move by the Wallabies. Foley missed the conversion but the Aussies were right back in it at 12-13.
Folau touches down to just before half time
The second half began just as vibrantly as the first ended. Australia were matching the All Blacks in intensity, and with some elegant offloads, counter-rucking and lightening speed from both sets of backs, it became clear the next score was crucial.
Captain Michael Hooper turned down the chance for an easy 3 points and instead kicked to the corner. Australia duly won the lineout and some heavy mauling pressured the All Blacks defence, and then with some fine passing the men in gold spread the ball wide left to Rugby League convert Marika Koroibete, and the wing powered over the line to put the Wallabies back in front 17-13 on 56 minutes. Foley missed the conversion again and it was clear he was feeling the pressure.
Action from the Suncorp Stadium
The kicking duties then went to Hodge, who slotted a penalty to give the Wallabies a crucial 20-13 lead.
The last 20 minutes is when the All Blacks do most damage in a game and they started to play at a frenetic pace. The Australia defence were persistent, however.
Then with the All Blacks just a few yards from the line, Sonny B. Williams was tackled, but a sumptuous late offload found Kiwi Rieko Ioane and the speedy winger did enough to see himself over the line to bring the score within 2 points. Crucially Damien McKenzie missed the conversion and the score remained 20-18 to the Wallabies.
Rieko Ioane was in blistering form again
The All Blacks again pressed, but some basic errors at vital times gave the momentum to Australia, and when a penalty from just inside their own half was awarded to the Wallabies, Hodge had no hesitation in kicking for posts. It was a monster hit and the ball sailed over the posts to put the home side into a 23-18 lead.
Some frantic late pressure saw the All Blacks gain a penalty, and they kicked for the lineout. They won the lineout and were pressing the stout Aussie defence.
The atmosphere was haunting, and with the All Blacks building phases and pressing the Wallabies inside their own 22, there wasn’t a person inside the Suncorp who could breathe easily. Then a knock-on gave possession to the men in gold and they duly kicked the ball out to hand the Wallabies a first win against New Zealand since 2010.
Wallabies celebrate after finally beating the All Blacks
This win for the Wallabies is massive for, not only the men in gold, but the world of rugby. New Zealand have been dominant for the last 8 years, and have been considerably better than the rest of the world. But with this defeat, a defeat to the British Lions in the summer, and a loss to Ireland late last year, it seems the rest of the world are catching up.
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