LONDON - A controversial last-gasp penalty by Bernard Foley earned Australia a 35-34 victory at Twickenham Sunday that broke Scottish hearts and sent the Wallabies into a World Cup semifinal against Argentina.
Scotland had been on the verge of a stunning upset with 79 minutes on the clock after an epic quarterfinal but South African referee Craig Joubert awarded Australia a penalty for offside, despite the ball appearing to come off a Wallaby shirt.
Amid a cacophony of boos, flyhalf Foley kept his composure to split the posts and ensure the World Cup would have four southern hemisphere semifinalists for the first time.
New Zealand and South Africa will meet in the other semifinal, both at Twickenham next weekend.
"They go to the TMO for everything else. It was such a big decision, why didn't they go to the TMO for that?" Scotland captain Greig Laidlaw said after the game, describing himself as "lost for words".
"It's the toughest defeat I've ever had to take," added the scrumhalf, who kicked 19 points.
Ever-calm Australia coach Michael Cheika, asked about the incident, said: "It's a penalty and that's the way it works. You've still got to kick it."
The battle between the winners of the Rugby Championship and the side who finished last in the Six Nations after losing every game looked a mismatch on paper but there was nothing between them in what developed into a monumental see-saw battle.
Earlier, Argentina pushed into an early 17-point lead and produced a late flourish to beat Ireland 43-20, reaching the last four for the second time.
The Pumas set up a semifinal against Australia after scoring two tries in each half at Millennium Stadium, with winger Juan Imhoff — a star of the tournament — crossing either side of the break.
Beside 23 points from the boot of Nicolas Sanchez, the other tries come from center Matias Moroni and fullback Joaquin Tuculet, providing more evidence that Argentina is no longer just reliant on its traditional strength in the forwards.
The injury-hit Irish, who have still never reached the semifinals, will rue a slow start when they fell behind 17-0 after 14 minutes and then 20-3 after 22 minutes.
It's the third time they have been eliminated from a World Cup by Argentina, and another blow for the northern hemisphere, after losses for Wales and France Saturday. — Reuters
