'Bring back Bill'

Aussies start World Cup campaign with win

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Posted: Monday October 04, 1999 05:40 PM

Toutai Kefu of Autralia scores on one of his three tries during a match against Romania. Michael Cooper/Allsport

BELFAST, Ireland (CNN/SI) -- The Wallabies, who have irreverently dubbed their campaign to recapture the William Webb Ellis trophy "Bring back Bill," got off to a smashing start Sunday, when they overwhelmed Romania 57-9.

Tim Horan scored Australia's first try of the tournament within 90 seconds of the start. This earned the Australian center 10,000 pounds (US$16,000) off the World Cup sponsor Guinness. The brewer had set the amount aside for the first player of the tournament to score a try within 119.5 seconds, apparently the time it takes to pour a perfect pint.

Australian No. 8 Toutai Kefu grabbed a hat-trick of tries as the Wallabies scored their record World Cup win with a 57-9 victory over Romania on Sunday.

It was the first time Australia, the 1991 champion, has scored 50 points in the four World Cup tournaments, but it was tested at times by a Romanian team that never stopped running the ball.

Australia will face a much sterner test next Sunday when it faces Ireland at Dublin's Lansdowne Road. The Irish beat the United States 53-8 on Saturday.

At times Sunday the Wallabies, who scored nine tries, were allowed to run as free and untouched as the three Aussie streakers who came on late in the game and pranced around for several minutes whilst ignored by security staff.

Australian fans dominated in a crowd of about 20,000 at Belfast's chilly, basic Ravenhill Ground. While Cardiff's Millennium Stadium almost wasn't finished in time for the World Cup's kickoff, Ravenhill looks like it was almost never started.

It was a scene a long way remote from the Wallabies' previous test, a win over New Zealand in front of a world record 107,000 fans at Sydney's plush new Olympic Stadium.

The fans, boosted by copious pints of the local Guinness, tried to make Australia feel at home, singing their rallying "Waltzing Matilda" before the kickoff.

Nineteen Romanian players opted out of the tournament over a pay dispute, and Sunday's starting team had a second-rate look at the start.

Horan's try was like a training drill, taking the ball two passes off the scrum and slicing through untouched.

Kefu got his first try on eight minutes when scrum-half George Gregan played a clever reverse flick which allowed the Tongan-born No. 8 to run straight over.

Romania did start to warm to the match, and their prolific scorer Petre Mitu almost sparked a try when he kicked dangerously behind Australia's defense but was brought down by Kefu.

Mitu's penalty goal cut the margin to 12-3 before Australia reasserted itslf with Kefu's second, from a pushover try on 25 minutes.

Australia got its fourth try in the fourth minute of first half injury time thanks to some quick thinking by Horan, who kicked wide towards winger Jason Little after Australia won a penalty.

Romanian winger Cristian Sauan spilled the ball behind his tryline and Little got to it first for the try and a 24-3 halftime lead.

Wallaby coach Rod Macqueen made three changes at the break and replacement Roff, on for Ben Tune, scored with his first touch, going straight through a gaping hole in the Romanian defense.

Roff, whose first of 16 test tries came against Romania at the 1995 World Cup, added a second after more disorganized play in the Europeans' line.

Romania was down 36-3 but still fighting. Hitting the Australian line for a 10 minute period during which the Wallabies were lucky to keep it intact.

But after all the attacking exertions, Romania's defense let it down again as Australia went on a 60-meter raid which resulted in a try for replacement hooker Jeremy Paul.

Fullback Matt Burke got the seventh try on 68 minutes and added his fifth conversion. Kefu ran in the final try to cap a strong match.

Australia had one setback. Flanker Matt Cockbain hurt his knee in the warmup and was replaced in the starting lineup by Owen Finegan.

Australia

Romania

 

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