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The All Blacks with the Bledisloe Cup - Source: Reuters -
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The All Blacks have all but reclaimed the Tri Nations title and put the Bledisloe Cup safely away for yet another season with a hard fought 20-10 win over the Wallabies at AMI Stadium tonight.
It was a much-improved effort by Australia in many respects after last week's 49-28 whipping in Melbourne, but still resigned their New Zealand coach Robbie Deans to a ninth consecutive loss to the All Blacks, in his Christchurch return.
The Test once again started at a frenetic pace with three tries - two to the All Blacks and one to the Wallabies - inside the opening 15 minutes but the match returned to a more traditional arm-wrestle for the remainder of the contest.
In fact, after witnessing 10 tries in last week's clash between the two sides, tonight could almost be described as a sombre affair as the Test failed to see a single try delivered in the final 65 minutes.
This sort of footy would suit the purist just fine though. The All Blacks ate up everything thrown at them by a determined Wallabies side, with an offensive defence that executed 12 turnovers.
The All Blacks also made almost twice the number of tackles as their counterparts, as Australia enjoyed large periods of possession. Leading the charge, of course, was the one and only Richie McCaw. The irrepressible captain was everywhere as he led the turnover effort.
The whole pack was huge, in fact, as they ripped into the collision area with brutal intent ,while Piri Weepu should have finally confirmed his status as New Zealand's number one halfback with a commanding display. His wide, sweeping passes were highlights of both the All Blacks' tries as Jimmy Cowan looked sheepishly on from the sideline.
The backs showed their class in limited doses but tonight was all about the All Blacks' defence. The All Blacks have proved over the first six Tests of the season that they can score tries, and plenty of them, but Graham Henry will be pleased at how his side responded to the sustained pressure.
This is, after all, the sort of rugby that will win World Cups and 14 months out from the showpiece event this side looks the business like never before.
Meanwhile referee Jonathan Kaplan was thankfully inconspicuous, after the spectacle of six cards in the opening four Tri Nations Test.
The start to this match was anything but slow, with the All Blacks' high-octane approach of 2010 continuing from the outset.
It was recalled starting halfback Weepu who ducked down the short side and fed to Keven Mealamu and the hooker showed smart hands to set the reborn Joe Rokocoko down the sideline. The most-capped All Black winger then drew the last line beautifully for Mils Muliaina to score his third try in two weeks.
Australia responded immediately. A Daniel Carter error, as he attempted to offload the ball in the tackle, was scooped up by the ever-present David Pocock who fed to Nathan Sharpe, then to the flying Kurtley Beale for him to scoot 60 metres down the field and score.
The All Blacks struck back in stunning fashion. Carter half broke the line inside the Wallabies 22 and popped the ball up to Weepu who made a wide-sweeping play to Ma'a Nonu. Nonu had the presence of mind to pass to Conrad Smith who brushed off a weak James O'Connor effort to score in the corner.
But then the battle of attrition began. The Wallabies pressed
and the All Blacks furiously repelled as Test rugby returned to its
traditional roots. Carter's late penalty was the only score of the
second half as New Zealand's ninth straight win over
Australia equalled the All Blacks' streak from 1936 to
1947.
The All Blacks now sit on 19 Tri Nations points and
can only be passed by Australia if the Wallabies snared bonus point
wins in their last three matches, while the All Blacks must go
point-less in their two remaining games.
New Zealand 20
(Mils Muliaina 1x try, Daniel Carter 2x
penalty, 1x conversion)
Australia 10 (Kurtley Beale 1x try, Matt Giteau 1x
penalty, 1x conversion)
Halftime: 14-10 New Zealand
