Australia racked up the biggest score of this World Cup thus far as they ran in 11 unanswered tries against Uruguay. Michael Cheika’s side now sits in pole position in Pool A, and will be confident of advancing to the quarters after the events of last night at Twickenham.
The Wallabies showed no mercy against Uruguay, who remain the only side to have failed to score a try during this tournament.
There were three braces in this match, with Drew Mitchell, Ben McCalman and Sean McMahon each running in two apiece.
Joseph Tomane, Dean Mumm, Henry Speight, Matt Toomua and Tevita Kuridrani each scored one while Quade Cooper contributed 10 points from the tee.
It was a poor afternoon in terms of kicking from the Aussie Number 10, after converting just five from 11. A 10-minute spell in the bin in the first half did not prove costly for his team, but the fly-half was instrumental with his creativity, and he played key roles in many of his side’s tries
On six minutes Australia spurned a glorious chance. Kurtley Beale sprinted free down the left wing but had a man closing him down. His offload was fumbled forward by Drew Mitchell, who would have run in unopposed.
However, the did not have to wait long for the breakthrough. An unstoppable driving maul allowed a chance for Sean McMahon to sneak around the back and put the men in gold 5-0 up.
Cooper failed from his first kick to add the extras, but the Number 10 made amends just seconds later, offloading to Joe Tomane ro finish from close range to double the Australian lead.
This time, Cooper made no mistake with the conversion.
Uruguay finally advanced towards the Aussie 22, but a promising move was abruptly halted by a knock on.
The South Americans received a boost on 15 minutes when Cooper was sent to the bin for a dangerous takedown around the neck.
Australia did well to hold out against a Uruguay maul and turned over the ball to get the put-in at the scrum.
The Wallabies ought to have scored a third try midway through the half, but Henry Speight miscalculated his pass that was intercepted, and Australia missed the chance with two men over.
A late tackle from big Aussie lock Will Skelton allowed Uruguay fly-half Felipe Berchesi the opportunity to get their first points on the board, and he duly obliged from the tee.
The second row Dean Mumm replied just seconds later to leave Australia just one try away from the bonus point. Cooper’s dismissal had not proved costly, but he failed to make it a seven-point score.
Speight scored the fourth and his first international try on the 30-minute mark, following great work and fast hands from Australia. This time, Cooper was able to add the extras to give them a commanding 24-3 advantage.
Ben McCalman added a fifth converted try with four minutes to play, and the tough tackling flanker needed his head bandaging up moments later.
Uruguay ended the half courageously in search of a try, but their efforts were in vain as they lost the first half 31-3.
The South American looked to be making inroads just after the restart, and they enjoyed an early spell of sustained pressure.
View image | gettyimages.The comAny
Any lingering hope of a revival was soon quashed however as a great step, combined with a couple of dummy passes allowed Drew Mitchell to power over for Australia’s sixth.
Mere moment later he had completed a brace to score his 12th Rugby World Cup try. Only Jonah Lomu and Doug Howlett have scored more.
Cooper’s mixed afternoon from the tee continued, after missing another conversion to set the day’s tally at just three from seven.
A textbook overlap was easily ran in by McCalman for his second of the afternoon after 62 minutes. Cooper finally made one stick to make it 48-3 with the Wallabies scoring at will.
Try number nine meant that Australia had past the 1000 point mark in the Rugby World Cup, with yet another brace, this time for McMahon.
The 10th soon followed with Matt Toomua rounding off a sweeping move to make it 58-3.
Uruguay came close to a consolation try with four minutes to go, but referee Pascal Gauzere indicated that the ball had been held up.
The final act of the game saw substitute Tevita Kuridrani to score his seventh international try after being on the field for just two minutes.
What comes next
Australia have taken a commanding position atop of Pool A and they have sent a huge warning shot against England and Wales with the biggest win of the tournament. All the pressure will be on the home nation next weekend, but the Wallabies will not rest on their laurels against England and they will look to eliminate their old rival at the group stage.
Uruguay remain the only nation to not have scored a try at this World Cup, and they face another tough test next up against Fiji. The South Americans have over a week to recuperate for that bout, but they remain second favourites against the flying Fijians.
Man of the match: Sean McMahon
Young back-row Sean McMahon was one of a trio of players to score two tries in this match. The 21-year-old made a case for himself to start against England next Saturday, as he was immense in both attack and defence. The Melbourne Rebels flanker beat five defenders, made five carries over the gainline and completed nine big tackles. He also now possesses a strike rate of three tries in five internationals, which is remarkable for a back.
Australia: 15. Kurtley Beale; 14. Joe Tomane, 13. Henry Speight, 12. Matt Toomua (Tevita Kuridrani 78), 11. Drew Mitchell, 10. Quade Cooper, 9. Nick Phipps, 8. Wycliff Palu (Rob Simmons 40), 7. Sean McMahon, 6. Ben McCalman, 5. Will Skelton (Kane Douglas 56), 4. Dean Mumm, 3. Toby Smith, 2. Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1. Scott Sio (Sekope Kepu 48)
Replacements: 16. Stephen Moore, 18. Greg Holmes, 21. Will Genia, 22. Bernard Foley,
Uruguay: 15. Gaston Mieres, 14. Leandro Leivas, 13. Joaquin Prada, 12. Andres Vilaseca (Alberto Roman 70), 11. Rodrigo Silva, 10. Felipe Berchesi (Alejo Duran 70), 9. Agustin Ormaechea, 8. Juan Manuel Gaminara (Fernando Bascou 70), 7. Matias Beer, 6. Juan De Freitas (Alejandro Nieto 54), 5. Franco Lamanna (Diego Magno 54), 4. Santiago Vilaseca, 3. Mario Sagario (Nicolas Klappenbach 53), 2. German Kessler (Carlos Arboleya 40), 1. Mateo Sanguinetti (Oscar Duran 53)