Sonny Bill Williams grabbed two of the New Zealand tries at Soldier Field as he announced his return from rugby league with a bang, but he also picked up an injury that could see him miss this weekend’s clash with England.
Steve Hansen also saw Nathan Harris (foot) and wing Cory Jane (hamstring) pick up injuries, but the All Blacks coach had nothing but praise for his second-string of players after they had thrilled a packed house of 61. 500 with a ruthless display.
“They were tasked with setting a foundation for the rest of the tour. There’s a lot of excitement now and, when there’s excitement, things can happen,” said Hansen.
The former Wales coach was also able to give world record points scorer Dan Carter a run out in the second half – his first Test outing in a year.
The Wallabies shared 11 tries with the Baa-Baas in a merry romp at Twickenham which ended with a win for the tourists. Cheika’s men led by two points at half-time, 14-12, and stretched the lead to 18 points at one stage before being thankful to hang on to a four point advantage by the end of a game that could have gone either way.
The new Aussie coach will have been pleased to have seen Will Genia and Quade Cooper get some time together at half-back and he saw Sam Carter, Benn Robsinson, Tevita Kuridrani, Rob Horne, Bernard Foley and Sean McMahon all score tries.
“It was a tough game. They kept throwing the ball around and our defence stood strong at the end,” said Wallaby captain Matt Hodgson.
“We knew they would throw it around at the end to try to catch up and we just had to stick to our system. It’s a big step forward for us.
“We’re on a five-week tour and we needed to start with momentum – not only with a win, but with that physical style.”
McMahon, last summer’s Australia Under 20 captain, made his mark after coming on in the back row in the first half as a replacement for Scott Higginbotham. While McMahon was able to demonstrate his talent, Higginbotham is now a doubt for the rest of the tour.
The Wallabies face Wales at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday (2.30pm), when they will be looking for a 10th straight win over the home side. The good news for the Wales camp was that Mike Phillips and Luke Charteris both came through Racing Metro’s Top 14 clash with Oyonnax without any problems.
Even though the Parisian side fell to a 21-17 home defeat, Phillips played for the first 62 minutes, while Charteris completed the final 18 minutes.
