Wallabies beat England

LONDON – Australia made a successful start to its Grand Slam tour by subduing England 18-9, while New Zealand handled Wales 19-12 in international rugby on Saturday.

The Wallabies and All Blacks were considered vulnerable on arriving in Europe after a poor Tri-Nations by their standards, but they proved too imaginative on attack and strong in defence against England and Wales teams who couldn’t muster a try between them.England deserved to lead 9-5 at halftime at Twickenham but Australia dominated the second half, with fullback Adam Ashley-Cooper producing a powerful second try and Matt Giteau booting over eight points.’I’m proud of the boys,’ Australia coach Robbie Deans said. ‘We had to work really hard in the first half. We had a sense that second half was coming but haven’t shown a lot of patience and belief in recent times. But this time the guys showed a lot of courage and worked hard. They used a bit of nous.’Injury-plagued flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson, playing his first test in 20 months, starred for an England side depleted of a whole team of regulars because of injuries.Wilkinson roused the home crowd with a third-minute drop goal and kicked England 6-0 ahead after 10 minutes.Playing only his fourth international, Wallabies scrumhalf Will Genia proved to be a spark of innovation, and finished his forwards’ hard work by dummying over to cut England’s lead to one.Wilkinson’s third successful kick sent England into halftime 9-5 up, but Australia was already starting to take control of the Cook Cup encounter. Giteau’s first two penalties put Australia in front after an hour, then Ashley-Cooper secured the result by dragging three defenders over the line in the left corner 10 minutes from time.The Wallabies are undertaking their first Grand Slam tour in 25 years, and attempting to emulate the 1984 side by sweeping all four Home Nations. They next meet Six Nations champion Ireland next Sunday, followed by Scotland and Wales.England have a week to prepare for Argentina.’I’ve said to the guys, we were playing a pretty battle-hardened team coming straight out of the All Blacks game and a Tri-Nations series and that probably showed,’ England manager Martin Johnson said. ‘That’s the first game that team has really played together and we’ll be better for having it when we play next week.’Wales coach Warren Gatland, a former All Black, stirred the build-up to the test at Millennium Stadium by claiming New Zealand had lost its aura of invincibility. But the All Blacks extended their winning streak against Wales to 21 tests and 56 years.Just as a year ago, Wales was competitive to halftime with the score at 6-6. But flyhalf Dan Carter restored the All Blacks’ lead three minutes after the break with a third penalty, and the win was put beyond doubt when the New Zealanders turned over quick ruck ball before hooker Andrew Hore made the final pick up and dove over for the only try in the 55th minute.Carter converted for 16-6 and added a fourth penalty for a 14-point haul, two shy of becoming the All Blacks’ highest points-scorer in tests. Andrew Mehrtens leads with 967.Stephen Jones kicked all of Wales points with four penalties, but despite enjoying a lot of territory, Wales couldn’t break New Zealand’s defence. All Blacks captain Richie McCaw helped to ensure they got on top of the breakdowns, and Carter was typically masterful in holding down Wales.The All Blacks, who completed a Grand Slam a year ago, move on to Italy next weekend. – Nampa-AFP