James O'Connor steals win for Wallabies with last-gasp converted try against the All

[travelling_gerry]

James O'Connor steals win for Wallabies with last-gasp converted try against the All Blacks

• By David Beniuk
• From AAP
• October 30, 2010 9:32PM

Australia looked to have blown another good start after leading 12-0 early and then putting in an error-riddled second half before a final attacking fling saw O'Connor cross in the 82nd minute and then coolly slot home.
The youngster's heroics were reminiscent of Kurtley Beale's hoodoo-busting penalty goal in Bloemfontein just weeks ago and the breakthrough confirms the Wallabies have turned a corner as they head to Europe to further hone their build-up for next year's Rugby World Cup.
Australia celebrated rapturously as the kick went over after throwing off a monkey which had clung to their backs since July 2008.
The win is just their second over New Zealand since coach Robbie Deans took charge.


Again the Wallabies took a good lead - 12-0 after 23 minutes - and again they let it slip to trail 17-12 at the break before cruelling most of their second half opportunities.
They scored four tries to three and O'Connor was the only Australia goalkicker who looked possible of making the crucial conversion after failures by Beale and Matt Giteau.
Australia's goalkickers managed just three kicks from eight attempts but O'Connor said he'd practised the scenario at training.
"Robbie's said a fair few times 'this is the last kick to win the game' and I think that's the only one I've hit,'' the 20-year-old Western Force star said.
"I just went through my motions and my little triggers that I've been working on and it was just like every other kick.''
Deans said he'd had complete confidence in O'Connor, who had put his hand up earlier in the match when the previous kickers began getting the wobbles.
"James is one of those blokes who wants the ball in those moments as you saw with his carry (for the try to lock the scores up at 24-24) and that's what you want.
"The bloke who's got the ball you want to want to have the ball.''
Australia began brightly and, after being unable to convert their territory to points when Beale missed two penalty goal attempts, scored the first two tries of the match through Quade Cooper in the ninth minute and Adam Ashley-Cooper in the 23rd.
But converted tries to All Blacks halfback Jimmy Cowan in the 31st minute and winger Cory Jane three minutes later put NZ in front 14-12 for the first time in the match.
It was 24-12 when All Blacks centre Ma'a Nonu, who had wreaked havoc all night, ran around Stephen Moore to score in the 54th minute after a strong Richie McCaw bust.
Australia hit back when Beale made a bust from a scrum, capitalising on an All Blacks defender slipping on the suspect Hong Kong Stadium playing surface, and offloading for Drew Mitchell to score out wide in the 61st minute.
O'Connor became the Wallabies' third kicker and converted from out wide to make it 24-19.
The Wallabies put a final attacking fling together, which looked to have been repelled by the New Zealand defence, before O'Connor found enough space to weave his way through and touch down.
After the game a disappointed All Blacks coach Graham Henry praised his opponents.
"The Wallabies played particularly well and they scored to win the game. They kept the ball and we gave away a few penalties which made it difficult for us,'' he said.
"The Australians played some really good football and it was a great spectacle I would imagine.''
A crowd of 26,210 turned up to the 38,000-seat venue for the second Bledisloe clash in Hong Kong.

http://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/wa...-1225945590908

[travelling_gerry]

James O'Connor has now come of age

* Iain Payten in Hong Kong
* From: The Daily Telegraph
* November 01, 2010 12:00AM



James O'Connor

Match winner ... James O'Connor. Source: AFP

AS teammates jumped on him to celebrate his 83rd minute try, two things happened to James O'Connor. His heart started to beat like a racehorse and two words popped into the 20-year-old's head.

"I looked at the scoreboard and went, 'Aww, great'," the youngster recalled yesterday.

After a remarkable last-quarter comeback, the scoreboard showed the Wallabies and All Blacks now locked at 24-all. With Matt Giteau off the field, O'Connor knew the near-sideline conversion to win the match was his.

"It didn't really click when I first scored but then I thought - well ... this is the stuff I have always dreamed about doing ever since I was a kid," O'Connor said.

Attempting to calm his breathing on the walk back, teammates offered encouragement to O'Connor before lining up arm-in-arm on the halfway line to watch.

The youngest player on the field went through mental triggers as taught by Force kicking coach Daryl Halligan: aim for an advertising sign beyond the posts, smooth run-up, kick through the ball and keep the head down.


He'd booted a few post-siren attempts to win games as a junior and got none of them.

" I could definitely feel my legs were a bit heavier and my heart was pumping but I knew if I got a solid contact I was a good chance," O'Connor said.

The rest is history: The kick sailed through the posts and the Wallabies snapped their 10-match Bledisloe Cup losing streak in a famous win.

But a day after his match-winning heroics, O'Connor was taking it all his stride in Hong Kong despite being plastered across the front pages of the newspapers and being stopped for photographs.

Like his teammates, the overwhelming emotion for the Wallabies wing appeared to be relief at finally throwing the monkey off the back by toppling the all-conquering All Blacks.

Victory over the world No .1 side was a major confidence boost and an affirmation, particularly after letting an early lead slip to trail 24-12 with 20 minutes left but then rallying. It was the second 11th-hour win in their last three Tests, following a similar victory over the Springboks.

The character shown was immense but even more impressive was the composure.

Several mistakes in the final 10 minutes could have seen the Wallabies drop their heads in resignation, but they stuck at it and finished on top.

"They put a stake in the ground and said, 'We can do this', and they got it done," said coach Robbie Deans.

"It is fair to say there is a significant sense of relief.

"I am just pleased for them, because when you are on the inside you can see the progression but until you get confirmation, you can talk until you're blue in the face.

"The step that we took, particularly in the last 20 minutes, was not only evidence of the progression but also their realisation that they've progressed."

O'Connor's record aside, goal kicking will be an issue Deans will look to resolve ahead of Saturday's Test against Wales in Cardiff.

Australia left plenty of points on the park after Matt Giteau and Kurtley Beale missed five shots between them.

O'Connor said Giteau was the still the side's best kicker.

"At training he slots more than any of us but, yeah, if the opportunity comes I'd love it," the young winger said.

The Wallabies flew on to Cardiff last night with no major injuries concerns.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/spo...-1225945829844