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All Blacks tested by superb Welsh
SYDNEY, Australia -- New Zealand survived a superb display by Wales to win a World Cup Pool D thriller 53-37 in Sydney to clinch top place in the group. That earned the All Blacks a quarterfinal against South Africa and the Welsh a Brisbane meeting with England. Wales came from 24 points in arrears to lead 34-28 early in the second half before being worn down. Two late tries by Doug Howlett and Aaron Mauger turned the match back the All Blacks way after a feast of attacking rugby for the 80,000 fans at the Olympic Stadium The Welsh had not beaten the All Blacks for 50 years, since a 13-8 victory in Cardiff, and their prospects did not look bright when New Zealand scored in 90 seconds. After a knock-on by Welsh hooker Robin McBryde deep in his own half the All Blacks moved the ball swiftly to the left with fullback Mils Muliaina making the last pass for Joe Rokocoko to go over in the corner for a converted try. Wales drew level in the 12th minute when Alix Popham and Tom Shanklin broke through and back row Jonathan Thomas neatly fed center Mark Taylor who had plenty of space to run to the line. Jones kicked the conversion and it was 7-7. The All Blacks regained the lead through another converted Rokocoko try. Lock forward Brad Thorn made the break, released the winger out to the left and Rokocoko weaved inside to outpace the covering defenders. Jones landed the first penalty goal of the game but New Zealand took a quick tap-penalty close to the Welsh posts for McDonald to go over for the third try with 20 minutes gone. He then converted to make it 21-10. The All Blacks scored a fourth try after a turnover in the 30th minute, Carlos Spencer hoisting a high kick across the field and Ali Williams climbing above two Welshmen to catch the ball skillfully and dive over. McDonald converted and the New Zealanders were starting to move well away at 28-10. But the Welsh hit back with a brilliant 34th minute try when Shane Williams danced between the two All Blacks locks and sprinted 30 meters with an amazing burst. He found Shanklin with a pass outside and New Zealand-born Sonny Parker went over in the corner against his countrymen. Jones kicked the conversion and the All Blacks lead was cut to 11 points. Another tryThe Welsh scored another try to cut the lead to four points when All Blacks back row Jerry Collins was penalized in his own 22 for a high tackle and the Welsh went for the lineout. They won the ball, formed a maul and Colin Charvis dived over the pile of bodies for the try. Jones converted and the All Blacks went into half-time leading only 28-24 at the end of a first-half thriller. Carlos Spencer uncharacteristically spilled a simple pass and the blunder led eventually to Jones landing a 48-meter penalty to trim the lead to one. Amazingly, a minute later the Welsh went ahead. Ceri Sweeney and Charvis burst clear and, although they were both halted close to the line, the move continued out to Williams on the left and the speedy winger went over for a fourth Welsh try. Jones' conversion made it 34-28 to the Welsh. Having conceded 24 points in a row, the All Blacks restored some normality when they broke through the Welsh line and Doug Howlett raced through for a fifth try. This time McDonald missed the conversion attempt and the Welsh led by one point with 30 minutes remaining. Jones increased it to four with a simple penalty in front of the posts and the game moved New Zealand's way when they had a spell of pressure close to the Welsh posts and they worked a clever move, with Richie McCaw making the pass for Spencer to charge through for another try. McDonald missed the conversion and this time the All Blacks led by one with 20 minutes to go. The All Blacks maintained the pressure and Howlett scored their seventh try by going over in the corner after a suspiciously forward pass from scrum-half Justin Marshall who was being double tackled as he let it go. McDonald again missed the conversion but the lead was up to six points with 10 minutes remaining. It became nine when Welsh prop Gethin Jenkins was penalized at a ruck and McDonald kicked his first penalty and then Aaron Mauger, who had done little in attack on his World Cup debut, took a short pass from Spencer to score the eighth try. Copyright 2003 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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