Sun, Jun 13, 2010 page17

• Daniel Carter becomes first All Black player to surpass 1,000 Test points

  • REUTERS
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  Daniel Carter became the first New Zealand player to surpass 1,000 Test points in a 66-28 thrashing of 14-man Ireland in New Plymouth yesterday.

  Carter slotted 17 points on seven conversions and a penalty to move to 1,011 points as the All Blacks took advantage of Ireland No. 8 Jamie Heaslip’s sending off in the 16th minute for kneeing an All Black player in the head.

  Ireland have never beaten New Zealand since they began playing each other in 1905 and any hopes of a victory in their 23rd Test evaporated after Heaslip’s rush of blood.

  The game effectively ended as a contest nine minutes later when flyhalf Ronan O’Gara was sin-binned for a late tackle.

  The home side scored three converted tries, two to scrumhalf Jimmy Cowan and one to prop Ben Franks, in the 10 minutes Ireland were down to 13 men.

  This after they had galloped to a 17-0 lead courtesy of a Carter penalty and early tries to center Conrad Smith and No. 8 Kieran Read.

  Carter’s conversion of Read’s try took him past 1,000 Test points, joining an elite group comprising England’s Jonny Wilkinson (1,175), Neil Jenkins of Wales (1,090) and Italy’s Diego Dominguez (1,010).

  Ireland replacement lock Dan Tuohy scored a try with his first touch of the ball, bursting through a ruck and running 25m untouched. O’Gara converted to make it 38-7 at halftime.

  The All Blacks, who counterattacked from depth at every opportunity, continued in the same vein in the second half with Smith completing a sweeping 70m move for his second try.

  Debutant replacement lock Sam Whitelock scored with his first touch, less than a minute after coming on.

  Ireland then controlled the ball and patiently built several phases in the second half and were rewarded with tries to captain Brian O’Driscoll, winger Tommy Bowe and center Gordon D’Arcy.

  Replacement prop Neemia Tialata also scored for the All Blacks, before Whitelock added his second try late in the game.

  ■AUSTRALIA 27, ENGLAND 17

  REUTERS, PERTH, AUSTRALIA

  Australia flyhalf Quade Cooper slotted a late penalty to give his side a 10-point lead with three minutes remaining as they sneaked to a 27-17 victory over England yesterday.

  Cooper also scored two tries, while captain Rocky Elsom also crossed for the home side, who were prepared to play an expansive game and defended well, but were demolished in the scrum.

  The Australian front row of debutant loose-head prop Ben Daley, hooker Saia Faingaa and tight-head prop Salesi Ma’afu, both of whom were playing just their second Tests, was constantly under pressure, with referee Nigel Owens awarding two penalty-tries for repeated collapsing.

  The Wallabies’ up-tempo game and several breaks through a porous England defensive line and a strong defensive effort, however, proved the difference.

  “There was some great defense there,” Elsom said in a televised interview. “The fact they didn’t cross our line [in general play] was a big plus ... and there were a lot of big tackles stopping that from happening.”

  Australia’s two first-half tries were the result of sweeping moves, with Elsom finishing off after a midfield break, while Cooper took a clever inside-pass from scrumhalf Luke Burgess after cutting back across the drifting defense.

  Both tries were converted by fullback James O’Connor to give them a 14-0 lead at the break.

  Toby Flood opened England’s account with an early second-half penalty, before their scrum pressure paid off and after a series of collapses by the Wallabies, England were awarded a penalty-try, that Flood converted to bring them to within four points.

  The Wallabies, however, struck straight back with Digby Ioane making two breaks and he then managed to free his hands in a tackle to feed Cooper, who dived over for his second try.

  England then spent the best part of 10 minutes camped in Australia’s 22m area, slamming into scrum after scrum, with Owens sin-binning Ma’afu, then awarding his second penalty-try after another collapse by the Wallabies.

  The Wallabies, however, managed to creep ahead when O’Connor slotted a penalty, before Cooper took over the goal-kicking and put the match beyond doubt.
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