It was an extraordinary finish to [...]]]> NSW Waratah Kurtley Beale has snatched the victory from the jaws of defeat the Wallabies clearly tried so hard to obtain. Beale slotted a penalty goal from near halfway on fulltime to beat the Springboks 41-39 in Bloemfontein to end the Wallabies 47-year drout at high altitude grounds.

It was an extraordinary finish to the match as the Wallabies blew a huge 31-6 advantage they held just before halftime before they regrouped.

Instead of despair at the death with the Springboks leading 39-38, fullback Beale turned the night into triumph. He was swamped by a tide of gold as his kick curled over the bar after he had slotted it from an acute angle from 49m out.

“I knew I hit it with the sweet spot. I couldn’t let the boys down . . . it’s a great feeling,” Beale enthused after his matchwinner.

The kick of his life, after English referee Wayne Barnes had found a penalty at the breakdown, grabbed the Nelson Mandela Plate 2-1 for the Test battles between the two countries this season.

It was a classy response from Beale who just minutes earlier had suffered the indignity of slipping and seeing a Quade Cooper pass bounce off his forehead and into the arms of a Springbok attacker.

Great credit goes to the tenacity of the Wallabies and their desperate tackling over the final 11 minutes because they played 10 of those a man down after replacement hooker Saia Faingaa had been yellow-carded for a dangerous spear tackle on Springbok lock Flip van der Merwe.

Fellow ‘tah Drew Mitchell also enjoyed a good game in his 50th Test, steaming over under the posts for a try. Even that 38-36 edge to the Australians was not enough with eight minutes to play because Steyn booted another penalty goal at the 76-minute mark to snatch it back 39-38.

But Beale’s kick on full time was the difference, with Australia taking the Mandela plate 2-1.

Australia 41 (K Beale, J O’Connor, S Moore, R Elsom, D Mitchell tries: M Giteau 4 conv, pen goal, J O’Connor conv, K Beale pen goal) b South Africa 39 (J Fourie, G Steenkamp, J de Villiers tries; M Steyn 3 conv, 6 pen goals) Halftime: 31-13 Australia

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Waratahs vs Chiefs Highlights from greenandgoldrugby on Vimeo.

Of the 40 players named today, just 11 boasted Test experience with the Wallabies prior to the [...]]]> The extended Wallabies squad was announced today, with no less than 15 injures to potential Wallabies, the squad is made up of young talent. In fact the average age of the Wallabies squad is 24.

Of the 40 players named today, just 11 boasted Test experience with the Wallabies prior to the start of 2008, when Robbie Deans started as coach.

Ben Alexander (Brumbies) – 18 caps
Adam Ashley-Cooper (Brumbies) – 37 caps
Berrick Barnes (Waratahs) – 21 caps
Kurtley Beale (Waratahs) – 1 cap
Richard Brown (Force) – 12 caps
Luke Burgess (Waratahs) – 21 caps
Mark Chisholm (Brumbies) – 48 caps
Quade Cooper (Reds) – 11 caps
Pek Cowan (Force) – 3 caps
Ben Daley (Reds) – 0 caps
Huia Edmonds (Brumbies) – 0 caps
Rocky Elsom (Brumbies) – 49 caps
Saia Faingaa (Reds) – 0 caps
Will Genia (Reds) – 11 caps
Matt Giteau (Brumbies) – 78 caps
Matt Hodgson (Force) – 0 caps
Stephen Hoiles (Brumbies) – 16 caps
Rob Horne (Waratahs) – 0 caps
Peter Hynes (Reds) – 22 caps
Digby Ioane (Reds) – 8 caps
Salesi Ma’afu (Brumbies) – 0 caps
Drew Mitchell (Waratahs) – 40 caps
Dean Mumm (Waratahs) – 20 caps
James O’Connor (Force) – 14 caps
David Pocock (Force) – 15 caps
Tatafu Polota-Nau (Waratahs) – 23 caps
Nathan Sharpe (Force) – 79 caps
Lachie Turner (Waratahs) – 11 caps
Josh Valentine (Brumbies) – 6 caps
Laurie Weeks (Reds) – 0 caps

9 Brumbies, 8 Waratahs, 6 Force, 7 Reds.

Also, congratulations are due for Damien Fitzpatrick, as well as my favourite detective crime-fighting duo Kane Douglas and Pat McCutcheon for their selection into the Australian A Squad.

Hickey guided the Tahs to a 9-4 win-loss record for the second straight season, however an improved attacking game helped the team to third place on the Super 14 ladder and [...]]]> Waratahs head coach Chris Hickey has won the Australian Super 14 Coach of the Year Award for the second year running.

Hickey guided the Tahs to a 9-4 win-loss record for the second straight season, however an improved attacking game helped the team to third place on the Super 14 ladder and a semi-final appearance.

Just weeks after heavy speculation that Hickey was facing the axe, sublime performances from the Tahs against the Chiefs and Hurricanes sealed a semi-final appearance and meant that the Waratahs would finish ahead of every other Australian team.

Kurtley Beale and Drew Mitchell were placed in the top five in the Player of the Year category which was won by Queensland’s much improved Quade Cooper.

NSW lock Kane Douglas was a finalist the Rookie of the Year after playing all 14 matches in his debut year, including 13 in the starting XV, however the award went to Brumbies back Pat McCabe.

NSW whistleblower Stuart Dickinson won the Referee of the Year Award for the fourth straight year.

Coach of the Year
Chris Hickey ( Waratahs)

Rookie of the Year
Pat McCabe (Brumbies)

Try of the Year
Quade Cooper (Reds)

Referee of the Year
Stuart Dickinson (NSW)