Australia have secured third place in the Rugby World Cup with a 21-18 win over Wales in the Bronze Final tonight.
The win marks the Wallabies' first on Eden Park since 1986 and ends their disappointing World Cup campaign on a high.
Each side ran in two tries, but it was an assured kicking performance from Australia that secured the win in the error-ridden match.
Wales, who were missing their captain Sam Warburton through suspension, looked a shadow of the side that excited New Zealand crowds throughout the tournament and produced 10 handling errors in a tired looking effort.
Meanwhile the Wallabies had to deal with adversity early in the match with star backs Kurtley Beale and Quade Cooper limping off injured in the first half.
Playmaker Berrick Barnes produced an outstanding performance filling in for Cooper, winning man of the match and will leave many asking why he wasn't used more during the tournament.
First points to Australia
The Wallabies opened the scoring with a well worked scrum move in the 12th minute.
James O'Connor was a decoy runner on the inside, deceiving Jamie Roberts allowing Cooper to put Barnes into a hole to score under the posts.
However Wales hit back eight minutes later when James Hook kicked an easy penalty after the Wallabies' scrum went down right in front of their own posts.
Both teams showed a desire to move the ball throughout the first half, but the execution was lacking as there were a number of handling errors and penalties conceded both ways.
Leigh Halfpenny had a chance to close the deficit to a single point before half time, but his long range effort went wide of the posts.
Hook wasted another opportunity, when he missed a much easier attempt just after half time, badly pulling his kick left of the uprights.
Williams goes over
However Wales finally hit the front in the 50th minute through a try to wing Shane Williams. It came from a brilliant breakdown turnover from Ryan Jones which allowed Wales to spread the ball wide.
A dubious pass found the left foot of Williams who hacked the ball down the line and used his outstanding pace to regather and score the try.
Hook's conversion was unsuccessful and the score remained at 8-7.
Australia took the lead back five minutes later with an O'Connor penalty. He added another moments later to give them some breathing space at 13-8.
Barnes increased the lead 12 minutes from time when he cleverly slotted a dropgoal to put the Wallabies eight points ahead.
However that was negated by a well struck penalty by Stephen Jones to keep Wales within striking distance with 10 minutes to go.
Australia looked to have sealed the deal when O'Connor broke on the right hand side and found Adam Ashley-Cooper with an inside ball who looked sure to score.
However George North produced some amazing cover defence to rip the ball free and prevent the try.
The Wallabies finally got their second try when they forced an overlap on the left hand side with the forwards lining up to dot down.
It was Ben McCalman who got the ball and strolled over to seal the game.
Wales finished their tournament on a high when Leigh Halfpenny scored a try on the final whistle to end the game three points behind.
Australia: 21 (Barnes, McCalman tries; O'Connor con, 2 pens; Barnes dropgoal)
Wales: 18 (Shane Williams, Halfpenny tries; Hook, Stephen Jones pen, Jones con)
Half-time 7-3
