Australia defeat South Korea 67–42 in near-perfect day two performance
AUSTRALIA vs SOUTH KOREA
Day Two – 2025 Asia–Oceania Championship, Bangkok, Thailand
Photo credit: Albin John and Wheelchair Rugby Australia
Australia continued its strong start to the Asia-Oceania Championship with a composed and agile 67 to 42 victory over South Korea on day two in Bangkok.
The match opened with tension as Korea struck first, capitalising on early pressure to score the opening try.
Australia settled quickly, and at the three-minute mark forced a crucial turnover that shifted momentum. This moment also introduced the first line-up rotation for the Steelers, seeing Lilliana Prucha, Emilie Miller, Chris Bond, and Brayden Foxley-Conolly take the court in a fully QLD-based combination that delivered immediate impact. Foxley-Conolly punctuated the shift with a stylish reverse try over the line, helping Australia stabilise and extend control.
The quarter progression reflected Australia’s growing dominance:
Q1: 15–10
Q2: 29–23
Q3: 47–33
Full time: 67–42
Throughout the match, Australia's mid pointers made a stunning impact: Josh Nicholson was commanding, repeatedly shutting down Korea’s attacking lanes, while Andrew Edmondson added flair following Foxley-Conolly's lead with another smooth backwards try.
After a fierce game on court, mid-point player Shae Graham was all smiles and agreed.
"I think we are the most important part of any line up," she laughed.
"Keep an eye on the offensive and the defensive roles that we as mid-pointers play, we try to be everywhere and anywhere to support all our team mates. If you're watching from home, I definitely think you should keep an eye on Josh Nicholson, because he is a legend. He is just a beast, he gets out there and smashes everyone.
"As a group we've been really working together and really supporting each other. It's awesome to see our lineups getting some really good time and kicking butt out there."
After a second victory at the Asia-Oceania Championship, the team is feeling positive and their cohesion is stronger than ever. Across all four quarters, the Steelers produced one of their most disciplined outings, conceding only a single turnover and delivering a near-perfect performance built on control, pressure and collective composure.
"It's nice to take out two wins leading into three more games left this competition, hopefully we can go through with clean slate of five out of five," Graham said.
"Coming really close to having a such a clean game is good. I've been on this team for a while and we've only come this close a few times, so fingers crossed maybe we can get it over this week.
"We've been working towards this competition for a while and it's nice to play some games where we can really gel as a team. This has been a great competition for us to put everything that we have learned over the year into practice.
"I just enjoy playing with this team so much, they are a joy to be around and every day I cry-laugh with happiness because someone is just making me giggle, it's a really good team and space to be around.”
With back-to-back wins, Australia move optimistically into day three where they will face Malaysia at 4:30pm local / 8:30pm AEDT on Saturday 22 November. You can catch the livestream on the World Wheelchair Rugby YouTube page.
Final score: Australia 67 defeated South Korea 42
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Emily Newton
Manager – Media & Marketing
emily@wheelchairrugby.com.au