CANBERRA // Australia extended their winning streak against Fiji to 56 years yesterday, beating the Pacific Island team 49-3 in the Wallabies' first Test of the year.
Kurtley Beale, the full-back making his starting debut in a Test, opened the scoring for Australia in the 10th minute with a try and the Wallabies led 14-3 at half time. Beale added his second try of the game with less than two minutes left to complete the seven-try rout. Digby Ioane also scored twice while Quade Cooper scored one and had a hand in three others.
"It was a little bit scratchy early on, but the pleasing aspect of it was they didn't get across the line," said Rocky Elsom, the Australia captain. "We were able to turn it on straight after half time."
Deacon Manu, the Fiji captain, said he felt his team had the edge on the Wallabies late in the first half, but fell short in the second.
"We came over here early to adapt to the conditions, so no excuses today," Manu said.
The victory for Australia was dampened by a potentially serious right knee injury sustained by Ben Alexander, the prop. After a Fijian player fell on him during a tackle with 20 minutes remaining, he watched the rest of the game with crutches under his arms from the sidelines.
Meanwhile, two Fijian players - Taniela Rawaqa, the full-back, and Saula Radidi, the centre - will face Denis Wheelahan, the judicial officer on dangerous tackle charges. Rawaqa was cited for an alleged dangerous tackle/shoulder charge in the 23rd minute while Radidi was also cited for an alleged dangerous tackle in the 39th minute.
Australia play the first of two Tests with England on Saturday in Perth. Fiji play Japan in the Pacific Nations Cup, also on Saturday.
* AP
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The%20specs%3A%202024%20Mercedes%20E200
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.0-litre%20four-cyl%20turbo%20%2B%20mild%20hybrid%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E204hp%20at%205%2C800rpm%20%2B23hp%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E320Nm%20at%201%2C800rpm%20%2B205Nm%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E9-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7.3L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENovember%2FDecember%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh205%2C000%20(estimate)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: Aston Martin DB11 V8 vs Ferrari GTC4Lusso T
Price, base: Dh840,000; Dh120,000
Engine: 4.0L V8 twin-turbo; 3.9L V8 turbo
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic; seven-speed automatic
Power: 509hp @ 6,000rpm; 601hp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 695Nm @ 2,000rpm; 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.9L / 100km; 11.6L / 100km
Also on December 7 to 9, the third edition of the Gulf Car Festival (www.gulfcarfestival.com) will take over Dubai Festival City Mall, a new venue for the event. Last year's festival brought together about 900 cars worth more than Dh300 million from across the Emirates and wider Gulf region – and that first figure is set to swell by several hundred this time around, with between 1,000 and 1,200 cars expected. The first day is themed around American muscle; the second centres on supercars, exotics, European cars and classics; and the final day will major in JDM (Japanese domestic market) cars, tuned vehicles and trucks. Individuals and car clubs can register their vehicles, although the festival isn’t all static displays, with stunt drifting, a rev battle, car pulls and a burnout competition.
