Some nice weather and a week to work out the kinks evidently works wonders. The All Blacks left no debate as to who would be taking home the Bledisloe Cup. From the get-go there was a different feel to the side, starting straight from the anthems and into the first ferocious collisions.
It was nice to see Liam Messam back leading the haka. Keven Mealamu does a serviceable job but doesn’t quite have the ferocity in his performance that the job demands. Can someone please tell them to get rid of those ridiculous fireworks at its conclusion? It completely ruins the effect and looks comically tacky.
The All Blacks looked confident before kickoff, having not lost at Eden Park in some 20 years it’s hard to blame them. So confident were they that Sam Whitelock decided to give the Wallabies a free shot at goal to start off by obstructing Michael Hooper on the kickoff. Kurtley Beale calmly obliged and the game got underway with New Zealand on a 3 point handicap.
As if to prove a point, within minutes the home side clinically engineered two penalty goals for Aaron Cruden, and completely shut down any Australian attacks, bar a solitary half-break from Beale. Captain McCaw got in a spot of bother at the breakdown, up to his old tricks but this time caught red-handed by Monsieur Poite and dispatched for a ten minute breather, amazingly for only the second time in his 129 test career.
Beale took the three points, but thereafter Australia had nothing for New Zealand. Cruden nudged his team ahead and just as McCaw returned to the field, Rob Simmons was sent away for lifting in the maul. With the big second row on the sidelines, the black wave smashed through the Wallaby line and obliterated the scrum to take a penalty try.
A big break from Israel Folau should have paid off for Australia, but two overlaps were butchered and instead the counter attack lead by Cruden ended in another try, this time to Julian Savea. The break couldn’t come soon enough with the Wallabies at sixes and sevens and totally unable to keep up with the New Zealand attack. Three tries in a space of ten minutes killed any hope of a comeback with a quarter of the match still to play, including one for Kieran Read and a brace for McCaw, both from the back of the heavily-populated driving maul.
Ewen McKenzie rang the changes and brought in the Waratahs halfback duo of Nick Phipps and Bernard Foley, and then dynamic Brumbies centre Tevita Kuridrani. The trio picked up the pace and with Beale bumped over to midfield the attack looked infinitely more dangerous. Quick tries to Folau and Hooper were well deserved and gave the Australians a boost, but it was too little, too late. Steven Luatua’s try on full time was the icing and brought up a record half-century.
Surely there must be changes to the Wallaby lineup. The All Black second rowers completely dominated their opposites, with Sam Carter almost invisible. Wycliff Palu made no impact with ball in hand. Nic White has failed to put any stamp on the no9 jersey, and the experiment of Beale at no10 looks dead in the water. For all of Adam Ashley-Cooper’s courage at centre, he doesn’t bring any x-factor, nor do wingers Rob Horne and Pat McCabe.
The backline that finished the match should start the next, though the troublesome wing spots remain a conundrum. James Horwill, Will Skelton, Ben McCalman, and Scott Higginbotham should all be in the running for spots up front, with Horwill’s strength and experience around the scrum and maul sorely missed. McKenzie will be desperately hoping that Nathan Charles, who went off early with what looked like a bang to the shoulder, will be fit, or it will be fourth choice rake James Hanson moving up from the bench.
New Zealand will be massively proud of their effort, with just about the only negative some lazy handling from Messam on three occasions. Dane Coles took another step up with an excellent all-round showing, and Ryan Crotty didn’t look at all out of place in his forty minutes of work. Crotty and Cory Jane both succumbed to injury mid-way through the match, though neither looked overly serious, and Steve Hansen will be keeping his fingers crossed that both were just precautionary. Aside from that, it’s happy days for the men in black after an inspired performance in Auckland.
NEW ZEALAND 51 vs 20 AUSTRALIA
Saturday, August 23, 07:35 GMT, Auckland
SCORING
01 mins – K. Beale pen 0-3
05 mins – A. Cruden pen 3-3
08 mins – A. Cruden pen 6-3
14 mins – K. Beale pen 6-6
18 mins – A. Cruden pen 9-6
28 mins – Penalty try 14-6
28 mins – A. Cruden con 16-6
31 mins – J. Savea try 21-6
32 mins – A. Cruden con 23-6
50 mins – K. Read try 28-6
51 mins – A. Cruden con 30-6
54 mins – R. McCaw try 35-6
55 mins – A. Cruden con 37-6
59 mins – R. McCaw try 42-6
60 mins – A. Cruden con 44-6
61 mins – I. Folau try 44-11
62 mins – K. Beale con 44-13
64 mins – M. Hooper try 44-18
65 mins – K. Beale con 44-20
80 mins – S. Luatua try 49-20
80 mins – A. Smith con 51-20
CARDS
13 mins – R. McCaw yellow (professional foul)
23 mins – R. Simmons yellow (foul play)
77 mins – B. Franks yellow (professional foul)
NEW ZEALAND
B. Smith; C. Jane (B. Barrett 45), C. Smith, R. Crotty (M. Fekitoa HT), J. Savea; A. Cruden (T.J. Perenara 75), A. Smith; W. Crockett (B. Franks 60), D. Coles (K. Mealamu 66), O. Franks (C. Faumuina 60); B. Retallick (S. Cane 72), S. Whitelock; L. Messam (S. Luatua 63), R. McCaw (capt.), K. Read.
AUSTRALIA
I. Folau; P. McCabe, A. Ashley-Cooper (T. Kuridrani 60), M. To’omua (B. Foley 56), R. Horne; K. Beale, N. White (N. Phipps 52); J. Slipper, N. Charles (J. Hanson 32), S. Kepu (B. Alexander 63); S. Carter, R. Simmons; S. Fardy (W. Skelton 64), M. Hooper, W. Palu (S. Higginbotham 56).
Referee: R. Poite (FFR)
Assistants: J. Peyper (SARU) & S. Berry (SARU)
TMO: S. Veldsman (SARU)
