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From Jim Tucker in Cardiff, Wales
November 30, 2009 There was no Grand Slam for Rocky Elsom's Wallabies, yet the irresistible display against Wales proved the Aussies are capable of impressing at the 2011 World Cup.
It seems ludicrous to suggest it just a week after the pants-down embarrassment of losing to Scotland but there was a turning point to the way the Wallabies clicked with a blazing attitude and four excellent tries to stun Wales 33-12.
The Irish rejoiced because they toppled world champions South Africa and backed one new face, Johnny Sexton, to do so from flyhalf.
The Wallabies buried Wales with a wave of them beside the classy Matt Giteau.
Dynamite halfback Will Genia soared brilliantly for a high ball to trigger one try and snapped his passes superbly.
Standout flanker Dave Pocock slam-dunked the ball over the tryline for another, prop Ben Alexander helped bully the Welsh scrum into conceding five full or short-arm penalties and Quade Cooper is suddenly making tackles like Dallas Johnson, not Mickey Mouse.
That quartet were invisible as Test players a year ago. Their rapid rise is the measure of this tour's success, not the bare results - convincing wins over England and Wales, a win squandered in the 20-all draw with Ireland, the mindless waste of Murrayfield and a repetitive loss to the All Blacks in Tokyo.
If the Wallabies are to take the next step, the victories over Wales and South Africa, in Brisbane, must become the standard, not twice-a-season lightning strikes in response to savage public and media outcry.
Coach Robbie Deans has constantly spoken of how close he felt the Wallabies were to clicking with a clinical display, composure and the killer quality of being able to construct big back-to-back scores.
"We're stoked with the step this group has taken today. We've been working hard for it and waiting for it to come. We've been close but until you do it, it's not done," Deans said.
"Yes, we scored those three tries in the first 30 minutes but Wales picked up penalty goals and we still had to close it out.
"We kept coming, got benefit from some good kicking."
Deans will now head into next month's Australian Rugby Union review of the Wallaby program with positive ammunition.
Even with seven reserves on the field by the end, the Wallabies kept their line intact with often ferocious and scrambling defence of the highest order.
Lock Dean Mumm knew what needed to be bottled from Cardiff for the first outing of 2010: "100 per cent attitude and execution".
"It's wonderful to be proud of a performance and it's probably been a little while since we could say that," said Mumm.
"The key is once you get it back, to maintain it. I think there have been moments, maybe, this year where we've struggled with that."
Australia's two props, Alexander and Benn Robinson, were outstanding, not just with their dominant scrummaging but also with play in the loose, like their passing interchange for the James Horwill try.
http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,...016959,00.html
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