Anscombe too nervous to be tired as Wales beat Australia at last
Gareth Anscombe says he was “too nervous to be tired” during the frantic final minutes of Wales’ first victory over Australia for ten years. A dour arm-wrestle of a match ended in dramatic fashion, with Wales’ 9-6 triumph ending a 13-Test losing sequence against the Wallabies.
Seven minutes from time, Wales lost goalkicker Leigh Halfpenny after he was on the receiving end of a high challenge from Australia centre Samu Kerevi that went unpunished by referee Ben O’keeffe.
It forced Halfpenny from the pitch, then Wallabies replacement Matt Toomua kicked an equalising penalty before Wales substitute Dan Biggar, who was on for Halfpenny, delivered a winning 77thminute strike.
Six of Wales’ defeats against Australia had been by five points or less but there was to be no gut-wrenching repeat as Anscombe and company closed the game out.
“I was too nervous to be tired,” stand-off Anscombe said. “When we turned them over and did not get the ball back, in the last two or three games we have been in those positions and given the Wallabies the chance to win it. But we closed the game out.”
Victories for Wales in their final two games of their autumn series – against Tonga on Saturday and South Africa in 12 days’ time – would make it nine games unbeaten since losing to Ireland in Dublin earlier this year.
0 Gareth Anscombe: Winner.
Conor Murray will be “firing on all cylinders” if he makes his first appearance of the season against New Zealand, according to Iain Henderson. The scrumhalf has not played since injuring his neck on Ireland’s summer tour of Australia, but could yet face the All Blacks on Saturday.
Ireland omitted Murray from their 42-man autumn Test squad, but boss Joe Schmidt has now admitted that was mainly to not put undue pressure on the British and Irish Lions halfback to return this month.
Now though, Ireland lock Henderson insists Murray can return in peak condition and form if pressed into service at the Aviva Stadium this weekend.
“If Conor were to come back in, I have no doubt that he would be back firing on all cylinders,” said Henderson. “But we have to wait and see how his fitness is, how he slots back in to the training regime.
“And if that’s going to happen, brilliant, but if it doesn’t, we’ve got three scrum-halves there, any of whom will step up to the challenge if selected.”
Ireland ground past Argentina 28-17 in Dublin on Saturday, spluttering into life in a bid to kickstart their autumn schedule proper. Kiwi boss Schmidt rolled out all his frontline players to take on the Pumas, but the hosts produced a ring-rusty showing. Sean O’brien broke his arm during his first Test match in 12 months, and will miss the hugely-anticipated All Blacks encounter. Robbie Henshaw tweaked a hamstring and was withdrawn in the warm-up, while Bundee Aki and Kieran Marmion also wound up with minor niggles.
Aki and scrum-halves Marmion and Luke Mcgrath bagged Ireland’s tries, with Will Addison making a reasonable fist of his full debut as a lastminute replacement for Henshaw in the centres.