Australia made a stuttering start, but hit their stride with four second-half tries to overcome Italy 32-6 in their opening World Cup match at North Harbour Stadium yesterday.
The Tri-Nations champions were held 6-6 after a dour first half, but scores from Ben Alexander, Adam Ashley-Cooper, James O’Connor and Digby Ioane saw them secure a bonus-point win in Pool C, which also includes Ireland, Russia and the US.
Italy’s huge pack had severely tested the Wallabies in wet conditions in the first half, when the only scores came from two penalties apiece for Australia’s Quade Cooper and Italian Mirco Bergamasco, but a three-try blitz in 10 minutes soon after halftime ended any hopes of an upset.
Photo: Reuters
Australia have a habit of following big wins with poor displays and no victories come bigger than beating the All Blacks as they did two weeks ago to win a first Tri-Nations title since 2001.
Any complacency should have disappeared in the opening 10 minutes when, under a shower of rain, Cooper had to race into his own dead ball to prevent Andrea Massi grounding a Luciano Orquera kick.
Italy’s hopes of an upset, and first win over Australia, rested with bullying the Wallabies forwards and depriving their sometimes brilliant back line of ball.
The experienced Italian pack, inspired by skipper Sergio Parisse and prop Martin Castrogiovanni, did their part, but the 1991 and 1999 world champions conspired in their own frustration with a string of poor decisions.
Cooper put Australia ahead with penalties in the 17th and 27th minutes, but Bergamasco hit back with two for Italy just before halftime, the second awarded when the Australian flyhalf opted to run the ball out his 22 and was left isolated.
The mercurial New Zealand-born standoff had waltzed out of defense in the 36th minute only for his brilliant run to come to nothing when center Anthony Faingaa was penalized for crossing.
It was Faingaa who gave way when James O’Connor came on seven minutes into the second half and within two minutes the winger had helped the Wallabies score their first try.
O’Connor, who lost his place in the side after sleeping through the World Cup squad announcement, made an athletic attempt to dive across the line after a sweeping move, but was stopped short and it was left to prop Ben Alexander to wrestle himself over seconds later to break the deadlock.
Six minutes later, Cooper’s shimmy and delayed pass allowed center Ashley-Cooper to charge through a huge gap in the Italian defense and double the try tally.
O’Connor added the third on 58 minutes, scything through the defense to score after Cooper spotted his friend’s late run on the inside and switched the ball to him.
The Australians in the 25,731 crowd had to wait another nine minutes for the next try with winger Ioane taking the honors after coming off his wing to finish a clever set move off the back of an attacking scrum.
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