The New Zealand All Blacks have demolished the Australian Wallabies at Eden Park on Saturday night to hold the Bledisloe Cup for another year.
The Wallabies travelled to New Zealand hopeful of pushing the World Champions and reclaiming the Cup, which has been out of their grasp since 2003. But the All Blacks smashed their way to a 51-20 victory.
Richie McCaw was yellow carded in the 13th minute after breaking down play illegally. The Wallabies could not capitalise on the one-man advantage, dropping the ball on each of their first three touches, and losing a man themselves as McCaw re-entered the match after 20 minutes.
The All Blacks pushed to a 23-6 halftime lead, with a penalty try from the scrum and a quick try from the counter attack to Julian Savea.
Israel Folau summed up the feelings of the Wallaby squad heading off the field at halftime, “We let ourselves down with simple errors. There’s a lot that we’ve got to do, but we have got to stay positive.”
Unfortunately for the Wallabies, this positive response required simple ball handling, and it was that which was lacking throughout the game. The All Blacks made the most of their possession, with a try to Kieran Read and a double to Captain Richie McCaw.
The Wallabies strung together some good possessions and countered with tries to Folau and Captain Michael Hooper, but it was not enough to quell the mighty Kiwis.
Steven Luatua scored right on full-time to push the margin to 29 points, the All Blacks stampeding to a 51-22 victory and Bledisloe Cup honors in front of their home fans, with a game still to play in a fortnight at Perth.
The All Blacks now shoot to the top of The Rugby Championship, with Argentina playing host to the Springboks Saturday night.
