THERE were still 12 minutes and 4 seconds remaining and just six points in it when Kurtley Beale won a penalty under his own posts yet it was game over.

Wales had hammered away at the line of 13-man Australia without reward. At such times a 10-match losing streak can understandably nag away in the mind.

Perhaps it would have been a familiar tale anyway, maybe the Wallabies would have responded as they so often have to win Pool A and a World Cup showdown with Scotland.

But the manner of yet another defeat to a southern hemisphere big gun will have gnawed at Wales until the wee small hours of Sunday morning.

Thankfully the players will have splashed themselves in the face with cold water – they've got a quarter-final against the Springboks to prepare for, it's England who have checked out and must report for club duty.

South Africa isn't mission impossible, as they showed in Cardiff last autumn, and their defence was magnificent against the Wallabies.

But if a few things had gone Wales' way in the last 25 minutes against the Wallabies then the final on Saturday, October 31 would really have been on.

This was a massive opportunity to end the Aussie hoodoo and take a spot in the easier half of the draw, but once again they took part in a cracker and once again they were the losers being thanked for playing their part.

South Wales Argus:

And it was a sensational Test, much better than the eight-try encounter in Cardiff last autumn.

A fancy move finished off with a flourish is easy on the eye but there is nothing quite like a defensive stand. Sadly for Wales this time they were the victims of a stupendous effort by the 13 men of Australia.

The roar that greeted referee Craig Joubert pinging Dan Biggar for holding on after a big tackle by the marvellous Adam Ashley-Cooper wasn't quite as loud as the one that followed Jonathan Sexton going off his feet to bring Ireland's 45-phase attack to an end in the Six Nations, but it wasn't far off.

Wales didn't touch the ball again while within a score of the Wallabies and just four minutes later Bernard Foley banged over the killer blow to make it 15-6.

Rugby has nicked a lot of terms from American Football and here, deep inside the 'red zone', was a majestic goal-line stand.

The game is claustrophobic when everybody is pinned in close to the line and there is an art to seeing through all the chaos. Decision-making is key is such situations but execution is even more important.

In February's Super Bowl Seattle Seahawks, trailing 28-24, had the ball at the New England Patriots' 1-yard line with 26 seconds left.

They had most devastating runner in the game, Marshawn Lynch, in their side but chose to pass the ball and an interception saw their dreams ended.

It was a decision that was derided all summer long yet their coach Pete Carroll still stands by the call, it was the execution he regrets.

Wales' decision to go for the try was the right one but the way they went about trying to get it will haunt them.

Scrum-half Gareth Davies, mystifyingly named man of the match, had a bout of white line fever and around him Wales, once again in NFL lexicon, went for their 'jumbo package', when attacking teams get all their big fellas on the field and just try to smash their way over.

If Wales have aspirations of being the best then they have to judge themselves against the best, so would the All Blacks have scored playing 15 against 13?

Daft question. The art of deception was sadly lacking and the accuracy was poor.

South Wales Argus:

It all started when Aussie scrum-half Will Genia was sin-binned in the 57th minute for cynically tackling Gareth Davies from a quick tap.

Kick to the corner – penalty against Stephen Moore for 'swimming'.

Kick to the corner – hammer away, Taulupe Faletau knock-on going for the line (penalty advantage).

Kick to the corner – Dean Mumm yellow card (playing Alun Wyn Jones in the air).

Scrum – Davies bizarrely goes down a well-defended blindside, flung to midfield and Wales regain their composure to work George North down the right from the eighth phase and he is superbly held up over the line by Ben McCalman.

Five-metre scrum – Jamie Roberts, North, Alun Wyn Jones, Alex Cuthbert all hammer away before Liam Williams is held up over the line.

Five-metre scrum – penalty for not binding.

Kick to the corner – drive stopped and Biggar smashed by Ashley-Cooper, Beale gets over the ball. Pressure cleared and breathless period over.

Australia were brave and precise in their blitzing, Wales were blunt but don't completely rule them out against the Springboks, after all they took on the second best side in the world and kicked themselves for not winning.

Saturday's return to Twickenham has a lot to live up to because the Pool A decider was a sensational game despite the absence of a try.

Give me this sort of fare over incessant scoring of 'Super Saturday' in the Six Nations. This was proper Test rugby – brutal, draining, intense, awe-inspiring, heart-breaking.

Wales made a terrific start but didn't make it count and were behind 9-6 at the break after Biggar was wide with a third shot at goal, his first miss of the tournament, on the stroke of half-time.

A neck roll by Faletau, his second costly penalty of the game, allowed Bernard Foley to stretch the lead to 12-6 with a half hour left, thus setting the scene for the frustrating spell of pressure.

How frustrating it proves to be in the long-term will be determined by Saturday's events: lose to the Boks and the quarter-final defeat will be traced back to familiar failing against Australia.

Wales: G Anscombe, A Cuthbert, G North, J Roberts (L Williams 79), L Williams (J Hook 74), D Biggar (R Priestland 74), G Davies, P James (A Jarvis 73), S Baldwin (K Owens 73), S Lee (T Francis 54), L Charteris, A W Jones, S Warburton (captain), J Tipuric (R Moriarty 73), T Faletau.

Scorers: penalties – D Biggar (2)

Yellow card: A Cuthbert

Australia: I Folau, A Ashley-Cooper, T Kuridrani, M Giteau (M Toomua 67), D Mitchell (K Beale 67), B Foley, W Genia (N Phipps 68), S Sio (J Slipper 64), S Moore (captain, T Polata-Nau 67), S Kepu (G Holmes 56), K Douglas, D Mumm, S Fardy, S McMahon (B McCalman 49), D Pocock (R Simmons 60). Scorers: penalties – B Foley (5)

Yellow cards: W Genia, D Mumm

Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)

Attendance: 80,863