Australia keep New Zealand scoreless to win ANZAC Test
Last Updated: 06/05/16 4:52pm
A last-minute try by Blake Ferguson capped off a 16-0 win for Australia over New Zealand in the ANZAC Test in Newcastle on Friday.
The victory brought to an end Australia's two-year losing streak against their trans-Tasman rivals.
The visitors were missing big names such as Kieran Foran, who was dropped ahead of the match due to form, as well as Manu Vatuvei and Isaac Luke, who were not considered after being suspended by the New Zealand Warriors for breaching club protocol.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Shaun Kenny-Dowall were out due to injury, which mean the Kiwi hopes rested largely on the shoulders of Shaun Johnson.
Australia managed to keep the pressure on Johnson and his team-mates despite losing Fijian-born debutante Semi Radradra to the sin bin less than seven minutes into the game.
Radradra was given his temporary marching orders for a professional foul on Kevin Proctor when Proctor looked close to scoring. The New Zealanders were not given a penalty try, but Radradra was shown yellow.
Despite being a man down Australia managed to notch up their first points through Darius Boyd, who crashed over to score the first try of the night in Newcastle.
Johnathan Thurston missed the conversion but added a penalty as the first quarter drew to a close.
Greg Inglis then scored his side's second try, breaking through the defence and scoring despite attention from Johnson to make it 10-0 at half-time.
The Kiwi defence managed to hold off the Australians for much of the second half with the score unchanged until a late tackle by Sam Moa on Thurston gifted the Australians a penalty, with Cameron Smith converting his attempt on goal.
It took until nearly the 80th minute for Ferguson to then score the third try of the night, making it 16-0 to the Kangaroos in their first outing under new coach Mal Meninga.
