Resolute defence sees Australia beat Wales to grab top spot

Bernard Foley of Australia tackles Welshman George North during their match

Fly-half Bernard Foley continued his impressive form at the 2015 Rugby World Cup as he scored five penalties to help Australia to a 15-6 win over Wales in their final match in Pool A at the Olympic Stadium in London. The Wallabies were aided by their defence who put in a stupendous effort to keep the Welsh out despite being down to 13 men at one time in the second half thanks to yellow cards to two of their players.

Foley had scored 28 points in Australia’s win over England last week which put paid to the hosts’ hopes of making it out of the pool stage. And he was at it again against Wales, not wavering once in the face of pressure.

The real heroes however were the Wallabies’ defenders as in the second half they repelled wave after wave of Welsh attack despite having just 13 men on the field. That happened after scrum-half Will Genia and second-row Dean Mumm were both sin-binned after being shown yellow cards about halfway through the second period.

Genia was booked when he stopped Wales from taking a quick penalty in the 57th minute while Mumm got his three minutes later for unfairly stopping Wales from getting the ball after a breakdown.

With key man David Pocock also leaving the field, the Wallabies’ 10-game winning streak against Wales looked to be in danger. However, they refused to take the points from the penalties received and instead looked to go for tries making use of their lineouts. That tactic though backfired as they just could not find a way to breach the Aussie defence.

Wales competed very well throughout the game and made it difficult for the Aussies to play their usual game. The usual backline moves that they run couldn’t quite be accomplished thanks to an inspired performance from Wales. They had to buckle down and produce some amazing stubborn defence to ensure to keep their opponents at bay.

Dan Biggar, also a hero against England for Wales, helped them keep pace with the Wallabies with penalty kicking of his own. However, he missed a crucial kick towards the end of the first half, which meant Wales failed to level and Australia went into the break leading 9-6.

Australia got off to a good start in the second half and Foley converted another penalty to make it 12-6 before the yellow cards came. After holding out for a good period, Foley added a fifth penalty to make it 15-6 to the Wallabies.

A fifth Foley penalty then steered the Wallabies towards a quarter-final with Pool B runners-up Scotland at Twickenham on Sunday 18 October. Wales will now take on Pool B winners South Africa in the last eight on Saturday 17 October, also at Twickenham.