Tri-Nations Recap: Australia v New Zealand

I have yet to see a better first half of rugby from the Aussies. It was one of the best games in a long time. The Wallabies destroyed the All Blacks in the first half and managed to hold off the World Cup favorites in the second. A great try by Radiki Samo and a faultless performance from Adam Ashley-Cooper helped the Australians to their first Tri-Nations victory in 10 years under debut skipper James Horwill.

There are a few members of the Australian squad that need high fives and they are mostly the obvious choices but for me Saturday produced  some play from some old school boys which has not been seen in a while. These three players for me are Radiki Samo, Adam Ashley-Cooper and by far the biggest surprise was Daniel Vickerman. He was immense and played like a man possessed, it was good to see him back.

The home side burst into a 20-3 lead at the half time whistle courtesy of tries from Will Genia & Radiki Samo and  two conversions and penalties from Quade Cooper. Robbie Deans clearly set his team out to destroy the All Blacks as soon as possible. James Horwill lead his team well and it was very clear that the Aussies had been run off their feet in the first 40. The Kiwi's struggled up front with the loss of Kieran Reid and Adam Thomson to injury but I feel that the inclusion of Piri Weepu ahead of Andy Ellis was a mistake and stopped Dan Carter getting decent ball.
The second stanza saw a fightback from the New Zealanders which was expected and they scored 17 points from Conrad Smith and Ma'a Nonu tries (converted) and a penalty from Dan Carter. The game was all square a 20 points a piece on the 59th minute mark and your feared fort he Aussies. However, a lapse of concentration from the world number 1 side, saw Kurtley Beale run in an unconverted try a minute later.

The game settled into an epic battle for the last 20 minutes but no further points were produced and Australia win the game and the Tri-Nations.

Player of the Week: Adam Ashley-Cooper
WTF of the Week: Radiki Samo