Australia wrap up bonus point by interval
Australia 38, Romania 8 (HT)
Australia scored after just 18 seconds and secured a bonus point before half-time in their World Cup pool match against Romania, but conceded a sloppy try and were dogged by handling errors and some tardiness at the rucks.
Australia should have had a third try when Stephen Larkham burst through gap and put Wendell Sailor in for what looked a certain touchdown.
But Romanian full-back Danut Dumbrava saved the day with an excellent tackle.
However, moments later Matt Burke made no mistake as he ran onto a superb pass from Flatley, who then converted to extend his team’s lead to 24-5.
The handling demons struck again almost from the re-start as Larkham spilled a straightforward pass.
The bonus-point was secured in the 28th minute when Flatley and Stephen Larkham combined to create space for Burke to make the initial break.
Rogers was then on hand to collect a pass from skipper George Gregan down the blindside to race away and score under posts to make it 31-5 after the conversion.
Ionut Tofan knocked over a penalty for Romania just after the half hour mark.
An astute kick by winger Joe Roff nearly put Burke in for a fifth try, but Cristian Sauan got across to cover again.
With six minutes to go before the break, Australia threatened again through a backline move to the right but Rogers made another handling error – his team’s fifth of the first 40 minutes – and momentum was lost.
But just before the break, Burke grabbed his second try to send a message that he belongs in the number 13 jersey, running onto a smart pass from Gregan and breaking two tackles.
It was a half which showed a worrying slowness by the Australian loose forwards at the breakdown, with even the normally speedy George Smith at fault, while their handling often let them down.
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