Wallabies, All Blacks power to wins

LONDON (AP) Australia made a successful start to its tour by subduing England 18-9, while New Zealand handled Wales 19-12 in international rugby on Saturday.

The Wallabies and All Blacks were considered vulnerable on arriving in Europe after a poor Tri-Nations by their standards, but they proved too imaginative on attack and strong in defense against England and Wales teams who couldn't muster a try between them.

England deserved to lead 9-5 at halftime at Twickenham but Australia dominated the second half, with fullback Adam Ashley-Cooper producing a powerful second try and Matt Giteau booting over eight points.

"I'm proud of the boys," Australia coach Robbie Deans said. "We had to work really hard in the first half. We had a sense that second half was coming but haven't shown a lot of patience and belief in recent times. But this time the guys showed a lot of courage and worked hard. They used a bit of nous."