(THE GUARDIAN, REUTERS, AFP) - Wales never take the easy route at Rugby World Cups and their breathless 29-25 triumph on Sunday (Sept 29) was no exception.
Having built an 18-point advantage early in the second-half, they had to withstand a spectacular Australian comeback before sealing one of their most significant victories of the modern era.
The result puts the Wallabies on a potential collision course with England in the quarter-finals, while Wales are now looking at a possible last-eight clash with France or Argentina as they are likely to finish top of Pool D.
Warren Gatland's side were indebted to well-taken tries by Hadleigh Parkes and Gareth Davies but they also had an unlikely hero in replacement fly-half Rhys Patchell, who scored 14 points after Dan Biggar failed a head-injury assessment in the second quarter.
"I'm pretty happy with the character we showed in the second half," said Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones, playing a record 130th Test.
"We had a great first half but were tentative in the second. We will have a look at that but I'm pleased with the result. Credit to the guys in gold who really came at us in the second half."
Coach Gatland said: "It was a tough Test match. Very pleased with the first half. We didn't have a lot of ball in the second half and Australia kept coming at us and putting us under a huge amount of pressure. But we were able to hold on thankfully."
Australia captain Michael Hooper said the game "came down to the wire". "Some big calls there. Some went our way, some didn't," he said.
"We've got to pick ourselves back up. We'll review it. Probably right now recovery's key. We've got a six day turnaround. This sort of format, competition, you've got to move on pretty quick."
It was a gripping contest from the outset, with Biggar requiring just 35 seconds to register the fastest drop goal in World Cup history.
Wales looked sharp and purposeful and put Australia under persistent early territorial pressure. With penalty advantage already being played, Biggar hoisted a teasing kick towards the right corner and, with Marika Koroibete all at sea, Parkes rose superbly to gather the high ball and score.
The Wallabies badly needed some kind of foothold in the game and a stolen line-out and a messy Welsh scrum finally offered some encouragement.
With space materialising to his right, Bernard Foley put in a neat cross kick and Adam Ashley-Cooper, playing in his fourth World Cup, cut back inside to score.
This was always going to be a night of fine margins and the ongoing confusion over high tackle sanctions was again underlined.
First, Hooper received no punishment for a late shoulder hit on Biggar before Samu Kerevi, Australia's most threatening back, was penalised for what the referee Romain Poite eventually decided was a forearm to the head of Patchell.
It has hard not to feel sympathy for Kerevi, however, given Patchell's upright position at impact which left the ball carrier unable to do much except brace himself.
Given Reece Hodge's three-week suspension for getting into a not dissimilar defensive position against Fiji, the search for consistency over tackle heights at this World Cup is proving distinctly elusive.
Wales, though, had rather more immediate priorities. Patchell, back on his feet following the Kerevi collision, landed his second penalty of the night via a post to put his side 16-8 ahead and worse soon followed for the Wallabies.
From a juggled restart they regained possession only for Will Genia's attempted pass to Foley to be intercepted by the fleet-footed Davies, who outpaced the despairing cover to increase Wales' interval lead.
Their 23-8 advantage widened by a further three points when Patchell slotted his side's second drop goal four minutes after the restart, leaving Australia seemingly staring down the barrel.
But within a minute of Matt To'omua replacing Foley, however, the Wallabies had grabbed a try back, a lovely offload from Pocock putting Dane Haylett-Petty over. To'omua's conversion made it 26-15 and, with Kurtley Beale also on the field in place of Ashley-Cooper, Wales' supposedly substantial cushion began to feel significantly less comfortable.
Hooper ratcheted up the tension even more with a 62nd-minute try and a conversion and a penalty from Toomua made it a one-point game with 12 minutes to go.
It all made for wonderful entertainment on another warm, humid evening, with so much red and gold in the stands it could have been full of MCC members.
To'omua's conversion ramped up the tension even more but, ultimately, it was Wales' night with Patchell's third penalty success in the 71st minute. They will be hoping this is just the springboard to something even more special.
