Wallabies wallop Welsh

Welsh side well beaten by second-string Australians in Cardiff

Last updated: 26th November 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Wallabies wallop Welsh

Cross: Too good for Cardiff

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A second-string Australia side had no problem disposing of Cardiff Blues as they came away with a 31-3 victory in Wales.

Australia's second non-Test fixture of a six-match European tour delivered another comfortable win, after they beat Gloucester three weeks ago.

First-half tries by centre Ryan Cross and wing Kurtley Beale meant there was no way back for the Blues from a 17-3 interval deficit.

Luke Morahan touched down and Beale added a second in a disappointing second half, with full-back James O'Connor converting all four tries and booting a penalty, while Ben Blair kicked Cardiff's only points.

The Blues, playing their first game against a major touring team, fielded scrum-half Gareth Cooper and flanker Sam Warburton after they were released from the Wales squad preparing to tackle Australia on Saturday.

Cross crossed

Only Cross was played for the Wallabies in their 9-8 defeat at Murrayfield, and he took just five minutes to make an impact as touched down on their first attack.

O'Connor added the conversion and then kicked a penalty before Wallabies coach Robbie Deans made two substitutions in as many minutes, sending on prop Salesi Ma'afu for Peka Cowan and flanker Smith in place of Mitchell Chapman.

New Zealander Blair spilled possession almost on half time, and Beale rounded off a concerted counter-attack by cutting inside two attempted tackles for a try that O'Connor converted, making it 17-3 at half-time.

Cooper was replaced by Richie Rees at the interval, while Blues' regular captain Paul Tito also made an appearance off the bench, yet there was little immediate sign of Australia losing their grip.

Even when number eight Richard Brown was sin-binned for deliberate offside, Australia were never seriously threatened by a Blues outfit high on work-rate, but lacking finesse.

The second period never took off, with neither side able to find their cutting edge in attack, although flanker Matt Hodgson collected Australia's second yellow card for a technical offence.

There was just enough time for Australia to make their winning margin an emphatic one. Morahan crossed following impressive work by his fellow substitute Richard Kingi, then Beale sprinted clear in injury time to complete the Blues' misery.