September 13, 2008

Defeated Australian captain Stirling Mortlock has praised his side, despite seeing them slip to a 28-24 defeat against New Zealand - in doing so losing both the Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup.

Australia had looked good at 10-7 going into half-time, and then 17-7 shortly after the break, but could do little but watch as New Zealand ran in 21 unanswered points.

Despite being hugely disappointed Mortlock could not praise his side enough for their effort in Brisbane,

"I'm almost speechless, we ran ourselves rugged out there, but hats off to the Kiwis," said Mortlock.

"The build-up this week was for a causal match, and I think both teams went at it for 80 minutes. Unfortunately we weren't on the positive side but I think the effort was great."

The game swung back and forth, as first New Zealand surged ahead, before Australia roared back only to see New Zealand turn on the style. Then Ryan Cross scored late on to ensure a frantic finish, but the Wallabies could not finish the job.

"Yeah, we were very positive at half-time," Mortlock added.

"The guys just stuck to their guns and we got some pay for that just before half-time and we came out after half-time ready to go.

"It felt like we had a bit of ascendancy but unfortunately didn't get too much pay for it - New Zealand came back.

"We had it again at the end but unfortunately it wasn't enough."

Just as Richie McCaw did, Stirling Mortlock highlighted the battle of the breakdown was crucial in the final outcome.

"It certainly is very hard to get your momentum against New Zealand's efforts at the breakdown," he said.

"I think the battle of the breakdown nowadays under the new laws is massive, and due to the speed of the game, everyone seemed to give totally everything they could.

Australia had a last ditch effort at winning the game, but New Zealand held firm and eventually the ball was turned over and Piri Weepu banged it off the field to secure the victory.

"We tried to keep our composure after Cross' try and focus on getting things right, it got very close," the Aussie skipper said.

"But I'm incredibly proud of the boys - I think this season the whole group has grown tremendously.

"Unfortunately we didn't get the points tonight and didn't get the Tri-Nations, but I think the growth with a lot of the players in this group has been fantastic, and the guys can hold their heads high." Ê Ê