Australia 25 Wales 23:WALES CAPTAIN Sam Warburton was left "speechless" after his side saw victory in the second Test against Australia snatched from their grasp.
The final hooter had already blown when Mike Harris, who had replaced Berrick Barnes in the 73rd minute, kicked the winning goal for the Wallabies to seal a 25-23 win in Melbourne after Wales had been guilty of pulling down a driving lineout.
“It’s so demoralising to come so close and I’m speechless. I’m just gutted,” admitted Warburton.
“It’s difficult to stop a team when it gets momentum at a lineout drive. Now we have to pick ourselves up for next week. That won’t be difficult, though, because we’re desperate to get a southern hemisphere scalp.
“We have shown good character all season and this result will motivate us even more.”
Wales caretaker coach Rob Howley blamed a lack of composure for his side’s last-gasp defeat.
“We spoke in the changing rooms about lacking composure. We gave Australia the opportunities, not just in the last 10 minutes, but at other points in the game when our emotional intelligence and composure wasn’t good enough,” said Howley.
“We are hugely disappointed having outscored Australia two tries to one. Our defensive effort throughout the game without the ball was outstanding and we negated a lot of their strengths.
“We stopped Will Genia doing what he did last weekend and we negated a lot of their power runners. But those are the fine margins that make the difference in international rugby.
Australian man of the match Barnes almost missed the match after being called back to Sydney for the birth of his first child.
The Waratahs outhalf flew from Melbourne to Sydney on Friday afternoon after his wife, Bec, was taken into hospital. The baby was induced and arrived six weeks early overnight.
Barnes eventually caught a 4pm flight back to Melbourne on Saturday and just made it in time for the team meeting at 6.30pm ahead of the 8pm kick-off. He went on to make a try for Rob Horne, land the conversion and kick five out of six penalties for a match tally of 17 points.
“It was very much up in the air whether or not I’d make the game because at first they said Archie would probably arrive on Saturday.
“But something happened overnight and I left knowing both mother and baby were doing well,” said Barnes.
“It has been an emotionally-draining few days and it is something I will always remember.”
AUSTRALIA: Ashley-Cooper; Vuna, Horne, McCabe, Ioane; Barnes, Genia; Robinson, Polota-Nau, Kepu; Simmons, Sharpe; Higginbotham, Pocock, Palu. Replacements: Moore for Polota-Nau (50 mins), Dennis for Palu (54 mins), Alexander for Robinson (64 mins), Hooper for Simmons (69 mins), Anthony Faingaa for Vuna (70 mins), Harris for Barnes (72 mins).
WALES: Halfpenny; Cuthbert, Jonathan Davies, Beck, North; Priestland, Phillips; Jenkins, Rees, A Jones; Bradley Davies, AW Jones, Lydiate, Warburton, Ryan Jones. Replacements: Webb for Phillips (65 mins), Hibbard for Rees (66 mins), Charteris for AW Jones (67 mins).
Referee: C Pollock (New Zealand).
