Defending champions Australia broke Welsh hearts with a second half comeback to triumph 25-21 at Ravenhill and claim third place in the IRB Under 19 World Championship 2007 in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Australia had actually enjoyed an early territorial advantage in the match, spending long periods in the Welsh 22. However it was Wales who took the lead against the run of play when Australia captain Brett Gillespie’s kick was charged down by Rhys Webb.
The scrum half gathered the ball and broke down the right wing, slipping the ball inside to centre Tom Williams just as Australian replacement Peter Betham moved in for the tackle on Webb, allowing the supporting Welshman to run in unchallenged.
Leigh Halfpenny kicked the conversion to give Wales a 7-0 lead after 16 minutes, but that advantage proved short-lived as Rob Simmons won the lineout ball and the Australian forwards surged through the parting defence for hooker James Hanson to touch down.
Poor execution
The conversion by Jason Ryan levelled the scores, but another Australian error resulted in a second try for Wales, wing Alfi Mafi on the counterattack choosing the right option to chip the advancing defence, but poor execution left his side badly exposed.
Williams recovered the ball and threw a long pass out to Gareth Owen on the left wing, the fly half having the pace to round Betham and sprint in for the try. Halfpenny held his nerve to slot the conversion after a lengthy delay for running repairs to referee Philip Bosch’s radio pack.
Wales though were not finished, working the ball along their backline for centre Rhys Williams to draw final defender Betham before feeding wing Jimmy Norris to race clear. Halfpenny’s conversion stretched his side’s advantage to a commanding 21-7.
Australia though had the final say in the first half, Ryan kicking a penalty to cut the deficit slightly to 21-10 and keep alive the outgoing champions’ hopes of salvaging some pride by finishing third in the tournament.
They emerged a different side in the second half, clearly benefiting from the words of coach Phil Mooney during the break, but it was Wales who should have stretched their advantage after the usually reliable Halfpenny missed with two penalty attempts.