MILLENNIUM STADIUM MATCH: WALES PACKED their bags and left their Glamorgan base yesterday the only European side with little to dread from today's 2011 World Cup draw.
After an autumn in which they claimed the only Southern Hemisphere scalp to be taken, Wales fancy their chances against three of the four top seeds in New Zealand.
Before Saturday's inspirational 21-18 win over Australia, Warren Gatland admitted his squad had talked about beating Australia by the 15 points that would have catapulted them above Argentina into fourth place when the world rankings are announced this morning, thus avoiding New Zealand, South Africa and Australia in this afternoon's draw.
They came up short, but after running South Africa close and scoring two inventive tries against Australia, Welsh ambition for 2011 is soaring.
After their best performance of the autumn Wales now have to wait until the Six Nations to push on, although they will be stronger with a trio of injured Ospreys back in action: Mike Phillips at scrum-half, Gavin Henson to marshal the midfield defence and the hooker Huw Bennett to add accuracy to a lineout that spluttered badly and cost Wales dearly just when two other Ospreys, Shane Williams and Lee Byrne, were threatening to take the visitors to the cleaners.
Inside four minutes Williams had started and finished the move which opened the scoring, thanks to the vision of Cooper, whose 25-yard pass had put Byrne and then the wing clear of the Australian defence. Then, nine minutes before the interval, he made a second for Byrne, popping up at outhalf - he was also to be found in the centre and at scrumhalf - to engineer a gap in the gold shirts.
On the back of a solid day under the high ball, brick-wall defence, scything runs and an array of 60-yard punts, Byrne was named man of the match.
Unfortunately for Wales those tries were separated by a loose tap at the lineout and a 60-yard gallop by Mark Chisholm, the Brumbies lock, which left Wales with a mere five-point lead to show for their first-half adventure and superiority.
When Stephen Jones then missed a couple of very kickable penalties, nerves began to jangle. Williams even dropped a high ball as Matt Giteau edged Australia to within two, before Jones restored the lead with a drop-goal off Cooper's worst pass and then, two minutes from time, eased the gap with a penalty made easier when Australia were marched back 10 paces after answering back.
• Guardian Service
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