Steve Hansen’s side went behind early to two Wendell Sailor tries, but showed grit and perseverence to come away with a creditable preformance. After the early setbacks, Wales contained the home side, and Stephen Jones’s 20th minute penalty gave Wales a presence on the scoreboard.
The Australians rallied, but stout defending from the visiting front eight kept the Wallabies in touching distance, with Chris Latham’s try in the corner making the half-time score 18-3 to Australia.Â
Wales came out fighting in the second half, and when centre Jamie Robinson’s early second half try narrowed the gap to eight points, the visiting supporters found an extra notch of volume, and for a moment, the belief that a victory was possible. However, late efforts from Wallaby hooker Jeremy Paul and replacement centre Nathan Grey gave the home side a twenty point victory they will be satisfied with.
For Wales, Pontypridd forwards Robert Sidoli and Gethin Jenkins produced immense games, while the back row of Colin Charvis, skipper Martyn Williams and debutant Jonathan Thomas worked well together. Wales move on to play New Zealand, who lost 13-15 to England today, in Hamilton next weekend.
