Wallabies edge Georgia to continue rugby win streak

SYDNEY – A new-look Wallabies side continued their rejuvenation under coach Joe Schmidt on July 20, as they overcame Georgia 40-29 in an entertaining one-off rugby Test in Sydney.

Australia crossed three times in an electric opening 20-minute burst and held a decisive 26-10 half-time lead on a clear but windy afternoon in front of their home fans.

But they had to fend off a determined rally from Georgia in the second half before easing to victory in a high-octane match featuring 10 tries.

It continued a perfect start to the tenure of New Zealander Schmidt after his ninth-ranked team won back-to-back Tests earlier in July against Wales.

“It is only three weeks that we have been together, and we made 10 changes. We knew there was an element of risk in that,” the coach told broadcaster Stan Sport.

“But I like the way we built our way into the game. We put a few nice tries together and built a lead, but they got back into the game and we were scrambling a little bit.

“We just have to stay focused, not get distracted by the scoreboard and deliver as best we can.”

Underdogs Georgia, ranked 12th in the world, were fresh off a narrow win over Japan in Sendai.

But they rued a slow start and struggled to cope with Australia’s speed as scrum-half Tate McDermott repeatedly dashed past Georgia’s ragged defence.

“Little mistakes in the first half cost us, but the second half was better,” said Georgia fly-half Tedo Abzhandadze. “We tried to show the world we can play against a tier-1 team. We had opportunities to win, but we didn’t take them.”

Schmidt continued to experiment for Australia’s final match before the Rugby Championship in August, when they will start with back-to-back games against world champions South Africa.

Flankers Rob Valetini and Fraser McReight scored two tries apiece and were joined on the scoresheet by centre Hunter Paisami and prop Isaac Kailea to give the Wallabies three successive wins for the first time since late 2021.

The All Blacks also made it three wins out of three in the July international window with a 47-5 romp over Fiji in San Diego, California on July 19.

New Zealand ran in seven tries through winger Caleb Clarke, scrum-half Cortez Ratima, centre Billy Proctor, loose forward Ardie Savea, winger Sevu Reece, prop Ethan de Groot and hooker George Bell.

Fly-half Damian McKenzie added 12 points from the kicking tee to continue Scott Robertson’s winning start as New Zealand coach after they swept a tough two-match home series against England.

“We talked about grinding them down, it took a bit of time to do that and we got the rewards on the end of that,” All Blacks captain Scott Barrett said.

“Fiji certainly showed up tonight in the physical areas. They were able to get their hands on the ball to turn it over at times but we created enough opportunities to turn into points.” AFP, REUTERS