Gareth Anscombe (centre) scores during Wales' record 40-6 win over Australia. Photo: PA/Andrew Matthews
First of all, it must be emphasized that Wales demonstrated a coherent and disciplined performance to claim their third World Cup victory. Jack Morgan and Nick Tompkins played superbly and Warren Gatland secured his place in the quarter-finals. He must be confident that he can at least repeat his achievements in the 2011 and 2019 tournaments, where Wales reached the last four.
In contrast, the Wallabies endured a historically disastrous night in Lyon. The game exposed their naivety as a team, although experienced players also made mistakes and hinted at extremely poor planning and coaching. Australia's suffering can be summed up in 14 moments.
0:12 — first missed penalty
Let's talk about setting the tone. Ben Donaldson takes the opening kick and Rob Leota leads the chase, succeeding in dismissing Will Rowlands to keep Wales from being mauled. But then Dave Porecchi, the stand-in captain, intervened and conceded an avoidable penalty after spinning towards Wales. Morgan deftly pins his opponent to the ball to warn Wayne Barnes:
Australia 1 2:15 — The charm of the lineout takes Australia by surprise.
Dan Biggar makes contact as Wales sets a trap for the Wallabies. From the first lineout, Tompkins plays a short pass towards George North:
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From the second, a little over a minute later, they perform a similar pattern. Thompkins again holds north outside but turns in the opposite direction to find the attacking Morgan:
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The back rower splits between Donaldson and Samu Kerevi to bring out Gareth Davies and give Wales a 7-0 lead.
17:19 — Shocking discipline begins to take over
Australia seemed to calm down for the rest of the match. in the first quarter and should have taken the lead when Donaldson burst forward, the midfielder intercepted the ball to his left rather than look at his nameless colleagues to his right. Moments later, however, after Taulupe Faletau's thunder, Tom Hooper crashed into the ruck for another soft penalty:
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Gareth Anscombe hits the post off the tee, but Hooper's rush of blood reflects his side's shocking discipline . Anscombe makes another throw to make it 10-6 when the Wallabies crash in the 19th minute.
24:50 – Lineout collapse
A huge turning point. Having earned a penalty deep in the Wales 22, the Wallabies opt to play lineouts from close range rather than add an easy three. To begin with, Donaldson's touch viewfinder is actually losing ground. Plus, the standard choreography is so chaotic that their lifter, Richie Arnold, never leaves the ground. Morgan can gather himself and deliver a fantastic blow 50:22:
HUGE 50:22 from Jack Morgan takes his team into the hallway!#RWC2023 | #WALvAUS pic.twitter.com/VDgjWAejI6
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) September 24, 2023
With this field position, Wales committed yet another offense against Australia. Morgan, without hesitation, asked Anscombe to score the points.
34:19 – The ball is thrown straight into touch
Australia are starting to run out of ideas in the face of a hard-working and tough Wales defence. They fail to gain momentum over a number of phases until a long period of phase play ends in a comical fashion. Marika Koroibete steps up to the first receiver and passes to Andrew Kellaway, who misses the target and goes harmlessly into touch:
Aus 5 37:07 — Valetini fouls Barnes
In February 2022, World Rugby issued a clarification to the law that players are not allowed to dive on the ball until it is more than one meter away from the ruck. Rob Valetini may be unlucky here, because the distance between the shot and the ball is probably more than a meter:
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Either way, Wayne Barnes punishes him and Wales' lead grows to 10 to 16. -6.
38:48 — First half ends in farce
The half ends horribly for Australia. Donaldson's restart goes all the way and the Wallabies' scrum falls apart on Wales' subsequent halfway entry:
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There is at least some resistance as the Gold Jerseys return to hold off Louis Rees-Zammit.
40 :12 — Repeat offenders
Having started the first half with a silly penalty, Australia immediately apply early pressure. second. Thompkins makes a brilliant run around the lifting platform to force the maul to capsize…
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…before Wales force another attack from the Wallabies in the scrum as they turn.
47:35 — Errors lead to appearances another Wales. try
More mistakes follow: Donaldson intercepts the ball to Davies, and Poretsky misdirects a throw from the lineout. The latter indirectly leads to a Thompkins try after Anscombe has determined that Kellaway has moved to the wing, leaving the back field empty and vulnerable to a chip. Lack of cohesion in the back three is hurting Australia:
50:15 — High selection gives three more points
Wales won't have to work as hard to get the next three points. Thompkins runs into midfield from a lineout but Kerevi cuts him off at the chops, the Wallaby center hangs his arm out and incurs the wrath of Barnes.
Aus 9 57:57 — Horrible ups and downs lead nowhere
Scrum problems persist and with Australia needing to kick the ball out of their own 22, Tate McDermott tries to get a chip for Mark Navaganitawase. He cuts the ball mid-air and Barnes whistles again, with the Wallabies offside and unable to get 10 meters back from the landing zone:
Aus 10 63:02 — Ball kicked straight into touch
Another fault thrown on kick With the team in defeat, Navaganitawase cleared the ball into touch after Koroibete passed the ball back into the 22.
67:15 — Kerevi's double fault led to a goal
Wales' fumble gives Australia a chance to hit back. Then there's the edgy look of Kerevi, who is at his best among the world's most skilful and explosive centers, throwing the ball cold under minimal pressure:
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Anscombe's goal eventually comes from the ensuing scrum and soon after this, Kerevi's deserted walk continues with a deliberate attack.
74:44 — Gordon's intervention doesn't pay off
As for Donaldson, Carter Gordon does bring some urgency and Thompkins throws him off. Then, to sum up the whole episode, not least because the 22-year-old was selected as a starter ahead of the World Cup, he sends the ball over the dead-ball line using a touch device:
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Attack at the lineout allowed Wales to gain field position for the third try — a kick maul. Although the Wallabies eventually get their own result, Suliasi Vunivalu is delayed. The nature of Australia's inept outburst meant the 40-6 win did not flatter Wales. Portugal will believe they have a chance to add to the Wallabies' woes this weekend.
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