HONG KONG: Winger James O'Connor converted his own try in the third minute of stoppage time to give Australia a 26-24 win over New Zealand in a Bledisloe Cup rugby test Saturday, snapping the Wallabies' 10-match losing streak against the All Blacks. Australia led 12-0 after 23 minutes but trailed 17-12 at halftime and was behind 24-19 when O'Connor scored wide out after the final hooter to tie the score. He then added the winning conversion from the sideline. O'Connor was the third goalkicker used by the Wallabies Saturday - Quade Cooper and Matt Giteau had jointly missed four opportunities - but O'Connor calmly slotted conversions of his try and another by fellow winger Drew Mitchell to give Australia victory. Australia's long losing streak against New Zealand seemed likely to continue when the All Blacks overhauled an early deficit and led 24-12 in the 10th minute of the second half. But the tries to Mitchell and O'Connor and mistakes by the All Blacks under pressure turned the match. New Zealand made the decision to substitute flyhalf Daniel Carter after 59 minutes, after Carter had slotted four of six shots at goal, and his replacement Stephen Donald helped Australia with a series of elementary errors. Donald missed a penalty in the 75th minute which would have given the All Blacks a comfortable eight-point advantage, then missed touch with a clearing kick moments from the end which led to a turnover and O'Connor's winning try. “We showed a lot of character,” Wallabies captain Rocky Elsom said. “We've been building slowly through the Tri-Nations but I couldn't fault that effort and the character of the guys shone through there. I don't think there was any crucial turning point. Obviously, Drew (Mitchell's) try was the crucial one but we got off to a good start, they hit back pretty strongly but we came back again and that was the crucial point for us.” The match was highlighted by a contrast in styles between the Wallabies, who wanted to play the ball in the open field and were immensely dangerous with turnover possession, and the All Blacks, who sought to dominate through set pieces. The All Blacks dominated scrums and could maintain possession when they had it from that source but the Wallabies attacked continuously and dangerously from misplaced kicks and other turnovers. Flanker David Pocock was the Wallabies' best player and provided a constant and invaluable source of possession from breakdown turnovers. The All Blacks directed sporadic attacks at Wallabies flyhalf Quade Cooper who was too yielding in defense and whose tactical kicking was wayward. Cooper was still an attacking threat and combined in a brilliant offensive backline with scrumhalf Will Genia, center Adam Ashley-Cooper, O'Connor and fullback Kurtley Beale. Had Australia been more accurate in its kicking, more stalwart in its scrum and more rigid in its defense of inside channels, its win could have been emphatic. It dashed to a 12-0 lead with tries to Cooper after nine minutes and Ashley-Cooper after 23, both brilliant examples of attacking backline play. Australia passed up an easy penalty to launch the move that led to Cooper's brilliant darting run and try. Ashley-Cooper slashed open the All Blacks backline, beating center Ma'a Nonu, then wrong-footed winger Cory Jane to score at the end of a 40-meter dash. New Zealand commanded possession from scrum domination and held it to create a try to scrumhalf Jimmy Cowan in the 28th minute. It hit the front with Jane's try six minutes later and led 17-12 with a Carter penalty a minute from halftime. Captain Richie McCaw made a superb break down the right flank, brushing off tacklers, to set the foundation for Ma'a Nonu's try in the 50th minute which gave the All Blacks a 24-12 lead. The All Blacks coaches then made the decision to ring changes in their lineup, pulling Carter from the field, and Australia regained an asendancy. Mitchell scored from a well-worked scrum move in the 60th minute, cutting the lead to 24-19 and the Wallabies steadily pressed the All Blacks through the final quarter. Berrick Barnes and Mitchell went close to creating the winning try before O'Connor scored at the end of a period of relentless Wallabies pressure. Australia had a series of penalty advantages before it worked the ball to right-winger O'Connor for the decisive score. His final conversion was unerring.
