Match Details

Qantas Wallabies

VS

All Blacks

20

MCG, Melbourne Kick off times: 8:00pm (Local) Sat 30 Jun 8:00pm (AEST) Sat 30 Jun

15

The Qantas Wallabies have come from behind with two second-half tries lifting them to a stirring 20-15 victory over New Zealand in the first Bledisloe Cup match of 2007 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday night.

Both sides made numerous handling errors in a pressure-packed contest, but their adventurous and attacking play kept the crowd of 79,322 enthralled throughout.

Twice the Wallabies came up just centimetres short of tries and at least twice the All Blacks knocked on when a five-pointer seemed almost a certainty.

But after falling behind 6-15 when Rico Gear scored New Zealand's second try on 26 minutes, the Wallabies showed amazing resolve to hold the visitors scoreless from that point.

In the midst of a fierce battle, the turning point came just past the hour mark when referee Marius Jonker sent All Blacks prop Carl Hayman to the bin and while he was off the home side crossed twice.

The All Blacks got off to a flying start when Tony Woodcock barged over from a metre out after just three minutes to cap off the opening forward thrust of the match, which came after Australia's kick-off went out on the full. Dan Carter had no trouble adding the extra two points.

Australia nearly came up with an immediate response when Stephen Larkham put through a perfectly-weighted grubber which Stirling Mortlock was in the process of gathering when Joe Rokocoko collided with the Wallabies skipper over the tryline knocking the ball loose.

After missing his first attempt at a penalty goal from 40 metres on 12 minutes, Mortlock put his team on the board two minutes later from close range, but Carter restored the seven-point advantage on 17 minutes after George Smith was penalised for going offside.

Mortlock closed the gap on 20 minutes when he made it two-from-three with the boot, but five minutes later the All Blacks made the most of a penalty from a scrum deep into Australian territory and Gear was on the end of a copybook backline movement, diving over on the right. Carter missed the conversion leaving the score 15-6 after 27 minutes.

New Zealand looked set to extend its lead five minutes before the break but, with an overlap to his right and the tryline beckoning, Rodney So'oialo knocked on and after Mortlock just missed a penalty-goal attempt from distance on 38 minutes, the half-time margin remained nine points.

Three minutes after the resumption, the Wallabies put together their most promising attack of the game after Mortlock broke the All Blacks line just into the opposing half, but after a series of clean and clinical passes Guy Shepherdson took a shot at getting across close to the left upright only to be penalised by Jonker for a double movement.

The All Blacks looked set to score on 50 minutes when they had a three-man overlap on the left heading inside the Australian 22, but Aaron Mauger knocked on when they decided to straighten and Matt Giteau closed them down.

Just past the hour mark, Hayman was shown a yellow card after Jonker lost patience with repeated All Blacks infringements at the breakdown and the Wallabies took full advantage as Lote Tuqiri punched through the middle before the ball was spun left where Adam Ashley-Cooper slipped three would-be tacklers to dive over in the corner.

Giteau steered through the conversion to bring the home side within two points, 13-15, after 64 minutes.

Six minutes later, Carter missed a penalty-goal attempt and the Wallabies went straight back on the attack, Mortlock side-stepping and breaking tackles as he galloped 50 metres through the middle before flipping the ball over the last of the defenders to the surging Scott Staniforth, who crossed under the posts to give Giteau the simplest of conversions for a 20-15 lead on 72 minutes.

The Wallabies showed great forwards execution to keep the ball in hand for the remaining few minutes to seal the victory and keep the challenge for the 2007 Bledisloe Cup alive.

Qantas Wallabies 20

Tries: Ashley-Cooper, Staniforth

Conversions: Giteau 2

Penalties: Mortlock 2

All Blacks 15

Tries: Woodcock, Gear

Conversions: Carter

Penalties: Carter