Wales 18-21 Australia

A tournament that promised so much for Wales a week ago, with talk of new dawns and horizons, ended in the stale familiarity of a narrow defeat to a Tri-Nations side, their second of the World Cup.

Australia left with the bronze medal, but what meant far more to them than a symbol of failure was an end to a 25-year sequence of defeats in Auckland.

The play-off is a scrap for a prize no one wants. There is an element of cruelty to it, forcing players whose minds had drifted elsewhere the week before to rouse themselves for a battle they do not have the heart for and Wales suffered a marked drop in the intensity that had characterised their previous six matches in the tournament.

They even conceded points in the final quarter for the first time since their opening group game against South Africa, and for all the gains they have made in the World Cup in terms of conditioning and a varied tactical approach they have still to find a way of defeating sides above them in the world rankings.

They have played the Tri-Nations teams 45 times in the professional era and won on three occasions, while they have prevailed against France in seven of the last 34 meetings. The combined margin of their defeats in this World Cup to South Africa, France and Australia was five points, missed kicks costing them each time.

Wales missed three kicks against Australia, including a penalty from James Hook, a player who is struggling to find his instinctive touch, and while their kickers found their range against Namibia and Fiji, matches where the result was never in doubt, when the pressure was on they became inaccurate.

Since the group stage they have missed 10 attempts at goal out of 17. Australia not only had a better strike-rate in the play-off but they were more accurate in their passing. Their defence, the staple of their campaign, was rarely stretched as Wales reverted to the predictable and even though the Wallabies lost Kurtley Beale, who aggravated a hamstring injury, and Quade Cooper, who twisted his knee as he tried to jink through the Wales defence and ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, leaving them with just five of the players who had started the semi-final against New Zealand, they were largely in control.

Wales Halfpenny; North, J Davies (Scott Williams, 69), Roberts, Shane Williams; Hook (S Jones, 50), Phillips (L Williams, 63); Jenkins (capt), Bennett (Burns, 69), James (Bevington, 63), Charteris (AW Jones, 52), B Davies, Lydiate (Powell, 63), Faletau, R Jones.

Tries S Williams, Halfpenny. Con S Jones. Pens Hook, S Jones.

Australia Beale (Horne, 9); O'Connor, Ashley-Cooper, Barnes, Ioane; Cooper (A Faingaa, 20), Genia (Burgess, 63); Slipper, Polota-Nau (S Faingaa, 53), Ma'afu (Alexander, 60), Horwill (capt; Samo, 69), Sharpe (Simmons, 45), Higginbotham, Pocock, McCalman.

Tries Barnes, McCalman. Con O'Connor. Pens O'Connor 2. Drop goal Barnes.

/ricardo