Wallabies beat the All Blacks in epic Test match

After their gutsy defeat of the All Blacks, there can be no question the Wallabies are starting to assemble a world-class team.

Unstoppable Israel Folau scored his 12th try of the season.

This time there was no last-minute spoiler from the All Blacks, no heart-wrenching 80th minute score. Australia has hung on to defeat New Zealand 23-18 in an epic if untidy Test match at Suncorp Stadium tonight.

For only the third time in 25 Tests since the 2015 World Cup, the world champions have been defeated, with the Wallabies matching the feats of Ireland and the British and Irish Lions. Certainly it made the post-match celebration marking Stephen Moore final’s Test in Australia all the more special. And there was nothing fluky or fortunate in the Australian win — they outscored the All Blacks three tries to two.

Ned Hanigan, Stephen Moore and team mates celebrate victory.

Granted, the first of them came from a Reece Hodge intercept but even then the Wallabies were applying extraordinary pressure. And certainly there was no disguising the quality of the other two tries by Marika Koriobete and Israel Folau.

Jack Dempsey was a worthy winner of the Man of the Match award. He beat the first-up tackle of the All Blacks time and again and he was a genuine force at the breakdown. But he was only one of a host of Australian contributors to this memorable victory.

HOW THE MATCH UNFOLDED

His fellow backrowers Sean McMahon and Michael Hooper were unrelenting, as were locks Adam Coleman and replacement second-rower Lukan Tui. In the backs, it was the largely unheralded wingers Marika Koriobete and Reece Hodge who shone forth, the two Melbourne Rebels flyers not just doing their work out wide but also helping out in odd ways.

Sonny Bill Williams of the All Blacks is tackled by Sean McMahon.

Certainly Hodge’s two massive penalty goals ultimately provided the difference as Bernard Foley misfired off the tee, landing only one goal from four attempts. In two Tests now against the All Blacks, he has managed only three goals form nine shots but while he kicking was astray, there was nothing amiss with his courage. He ran the ball into some ferocious defence — one hit from reserve prop Ofa Tu’ungafasi almost knocked him into next year — and it was his willingness to engage the NZ defensive line that kept the Wallabies constantly on the front foot.

And fullback Folau is becoming unstoppable, scoring his 12th try of the season — leaving him only five adrift of the world record haul for a single season. Foolishly, the All Blacks fed him with plenty of kicks and he ran them all back with a vengeance.

There is no question that the Wallabies are starting to assemble the team of world-class players they have been striving towards. Their development is precisely on schedule with Australia now halfway from one World Cup to the next. And there is no doubt that they can beat the All Blacks. They know that now. The All Blacks unleashed some shuddering defence at the situation became grave for them but this time the Wallabies didn’t buckle.

Will Genia kicks ahead as Rieko Ioane attempts to charge down.

The team certainly made a good case to stick with the new indigenous jersey. It was real honour for the team to have this opportunity and I think the team has been instrumental. I hope we as a union keep that going,” said coach Michael Cheika.

“We’ve got to do our best to win the Test next year because the All Blacks will only get better. I would prefer our 90 kilo backs not to be running down those inside channels and they got dealt with accordingly. Still, you are not going to beat the world champions with 20 minutes to go, That just won’t happen.

“We’ve got to keep everything in context. It; s only two wins out of eight or nine. We worked hard, we fought for the game but we could have been sitting here having lost again. We have a huge tour coming up. Japan is going to be a huge Test so too Wales, England will be extremely difficult and then Scotland — who beat us in June.”

Australian captain Hooper, wearing a bright shiner under his right eye, admitted he had taken a deliberate risk in deciding not to kick for goal but to kick for the corner in the build-up to Koriobete’s try.

“I felt like we needed to keep the pressure on them. I thought the way to beat these guys is to do something that wouldn't expect. It paid off.”

But Hooper said from the youngest player to the oldest, the Australian all excelled. “I’m so proud of Lukam (Tui) to catch that last kick-off. That was critical. And it was a special moment for me to see Stephen up there with his family.”

All Blacks coach Steve Hansen paid tribute to the Wallabies, admitting that they were the superior side and wishing them well on their spring tour.

“They took their opportunities. We gave them seven points start and they didn’t blow any chances. They’ll be happy with themselves. Australia played well but we didn't make good decisions.

“There were a lot of penalties both ways. When it goes against your side, it has to be ill-discipline on your part. We’ll go back and review our game and the little things we’ll fix it. For some of those guys, that’s their first loss in an All Black jersey. But the sun will come up tomorrow.”

All Blacks skipper Keiran Read admitted that it was disappointing that his side couldn’t follow up their huge hits by winning a turnover. “It came down to taking their chances. They took their chances, we didn’t take ours.”

Assistant coach Ian Foster admitted that replacement five-eighth Lima Sopoaga struggled a little to provide a link between the forwards and backs but then so too did the Australian inside backs struggle. Until tonight, he had never lost a Test. It was, ironically, his 13th Test.

Veteran All Blacks Wayne Smith confirmed that this was his last Test and he took the defeat with good grace. “I’ll miss this, I’ll miss the players. But that was a tough Test match and the Aussies played well.

“The game has changed totally. There is a lot of good coaching going on all around the world.”

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