Recalled winger Doug Howlett scored three tries yesterday as New Zealand beat Australia 34-24 to hand the Wallabies their fifth straight loss and replace South Africa as Tri-Nations rugby champions.
The All Blacks scored four tries to extend Australia's losing streak to its longest since 1969.
Australian captain George Gregan took the field yesterday in his 114th test, equaling the world record of England prop Jason Leonard, and left 71 minutes later, after Howlett's third try, with his own future insecure.
PHOTO: EPA
"Tests don't get any easier, particularly against these guys," Gregan said. "But they're still enjoyable. I'm still enjoying it, I've pulled up OK so I guess I'll keep chalking them up."
Aware of the threat to their reputation and their futures, the Wallabies played with genuine spirit, scoring three tries to slash the All Blacks' 20-0 lead after 28 minutes to 20-19 by the eighth minute of the second half.
Ultimately, the severely weakened Wallabies' lineup could not stand the relentless pressure applied by the All Blacks whose bullish forward pack blew apart their scrum, rattled their lineouts and outmatched them at breakdowns.
Australia had as many as 17 players unavailable through injury and their lack of experience and lack of cohesion was reflected in the All Blacks' lead. But a rally sparked by winger Mark Gerrard made New Zealand's success hard-won.
The All Blacks were forced to replace flyhalf Leon MacDonald when his charged-down clearance in the 48th minute gave up a try to Lote Tuqiri, which brought the Wallabies within a point. Youngster Luke McAlister took MacDonald's place and, in only his third test appearance, kicked three second-half penalties to lead New Zealand to safety.
"We were pretty happy with things then [at 20-0] but we let it slip," said All Blacks captain Tana Umaga. "We must have been happy because we let them right back into the match.
"We could go on about this match all night but the thing is we've got two cups [the Tri-Nations and the Bledisloe Cup, between Australia and New Zealand] and that's pretty good."
The All Blacks prefaced the match with their traditional haka "Ka Mate," putting aside the newly-written challenge they performed against the Springboks at Carisbrook a week ago which ended with mimed throat-cutting.
The All Blacks' forwards kept their combative mood and established an advantage over the weakened Wallaby pack which was the basis of their 20-0 lead.
Flanker Richie McCaw scored New Zealand's first try after 16 minutes of rising dominance, picking up an untended ball near an attacking ruck and sawing through a wide gap in Australia's close cover. Tuqiri's try set up a see-sawing last quarter in which the All Blacks gained and lost 10-point leads. McAlister kicked them to a 29-19 advantage before Wallaby replacement Lloyd Johansson scored from his first touch in test rugby, cutting the lead briefly to 29-24.
Howlett scored his third try in the 71st minute, handling twice in an attack from broken play which gave New Zealand a 10-point margin, sealing the match and the Tri-Nations series.
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
TIGHT FINISH: Napoli only needed to do the same as or better than Inter, who won their game against Como 2-0 on the same day, leaving Napoli with a one-point lead The two players who Antonio Conte wanted more than any others secured Napoli their second Serie A title in three years on Friday. Scott McTominay scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick before halftime and Romelu Lukaku doubled the lead with a solo goal after the break in the decisive 2-0 home win over Cagliari. Conte became the first coach to win the Italian championship with three different teams. “Everyone contributed to this — but the coach most of all,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “Napoli needed him to get back on top. He’s phenomenal.” Comparing it to his three Serie A titles won
The journey of Taiwan’s badminton mixed doubles duo Ye Hong-wei and Nicole Chan at the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur came to an end in the semi-finals yesterday after they suffered a 2-0 loss to China’s Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping. Ye, 25, and Chan, 20, teamed up last year and are currently ranked No. 23 in the world. The Taiwanese shuttlers took on China’s second seeds in the mixed doubles event, but proved no match for Feng and Huang, losing the match 10-21, 7-21. In the first half of the first game, the pairings were neck and neck at 6-7 until Ye
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said
RSS