Something in Australia's sporting psyche seemingly will not let them surrender to the inevitable, particularly when New Zealanders are involved.
New Zealand were on a roll in the Four Nations Cup amateur teams championship at Shirley in Christchurch this week.
They had beaten titleholders Canada in the first round, Japan in the
second, and they won two of the three morning foursomes against Australia in yesterday's deciding contest.
For Australia to win the tournament for the seventh time in nine editions, they had to win four of the six singles against a New Zealand team who boasted four unbeaten players - Bradley Iles, Mathew Holten, Mark Smith and Brad Shilton.
By contrast, Australia had no unbeaten players.
Their best-performing pair, Kurt Barnes and James Nitties, had lost their foursomes to Shilton and Smith.
What Australia had on their side as they tried to recover from a parlous position in the last round of singles was sheer determination when the odds were stacked against them.
Australia may have needed four wins from six; in the end they scored six from six.
Certainly a slice of luck went Australia's way - no more so than in the top singles, when the golfing gods smiled kindly on Kurt Barnes - but the never-say-die Australian attitude won through when the battle was at its fiercest.
Australia's 7-2 win was flattering, but not undeserved.
New Zealand finished runners-up, yet again. Canada took third after losing the foursomes to Japan, but winning the singles 4-2 for an overall 5-4 result.
New Zealand had done well to get the edge in the foursomes. Chris Johns and James Davis never got into the first match, but Shilton and Smith, two down after seven, won seven of the next nine holes to beat Barnes and Nitties.
Iles and Holten played their part. They were square after 13 with Luke Hickmott and Michael Sim, but Iles played some excellent approaches and Holten made several telling putts as the New Zealanders won at the 17th.
The air of New Zealand expectancy had gone by the turn, when Australia were ahead in four singles and square in two matches.
Smith and Iles were New Zealand's principal hopes as the afternoon wore on.
But Smith lost 1 down to a last-hole birdie from Luke Hickmott and Barnes bounced his second at the 18th off the clubhouse and back into bounds on his way to beating Iles 1 up.
- NZPA
