New Zealand’s All Blacks will remain on top of the Rugby Championship standings after beating Australia’s Wallabies 29-9 in the second Rugby Championship Bledisloe Cup match in Wellington.
The All Blacks outscored Australia by four tries to none in the match so they earn a second try bonus point and lead the standings with ten points.
The result is Australia’s sixth consecutive loss and the All Blacks 13th consecutive victory and they are unbeaten in the last year as their last loss was to Australia on the 8th of August 2015.
The result also means that the All Blacks have retained the Bledisloe Cup for another year. They have held it since 2003.
In a fiery first half, the Wallabies set the tone with their defensive aggression and remained in the thick of the contest throughout the forty minutes despite conceding a double to New Zealand fullback Israel Dagg.
The home side opened the scoring in the 8th minute when Aaron Smith slipped through a pair of Wallabies defenders and found Dagg on the outside to score in the right corner.
The two sides then exchanged penalties until Dagg slid over in almost the identical spot on the field, this time finishing off a sizzling break from flyhalf Beauden Barrett.
As they had in Sydney, the Wallabies again ran into early injury trouble with veteran winger Adam Ashley-Cooper going off in the 16th minute with a head knock after getting into an awkward position in an attempted tackle on Dane Coles.
With Ashley-Cooper ruled out of the contest, Melbourne Rebels youngster Reece Hodge ran out for his Test debut and would soon be in the thick of the action.
Hodge, known for his long-range kicking ability, stepped up to a 53-metre penalty goal shot and nailed it with his first attempt in Test Rugby.
The booming strike from the Melbourne Rebels youngster in the 35th minute narrowed the gap to 15-9 in favour of the home side, where it would remain until the break.
In a second half performance which mirrored the first in many ways, the All Blacks came away with an early strike when Julian Savea crossed out wide on the back of some slick passing after Dagg had snatched an attacking high ball.
The Wallabies were forced to dig deep defensively as the home side continued to mount pressure over the ensuing ten minutes of play, but weight of possession close to the line eventually told as Sam Cane barged over for New Zealand’s fourth of the night.
Nick Phipps looked as though he’d crossed for his second five-pointer in as many matches with the clock ticking down, although he was unable to maintain possession over the line and was denied on the Wallabies only genuine try-scoring opportunity of the night.
Despite the much-improved effort by the Australians, they were unable to find the opposition tryline and when the full time whistle was blown, the All Blacks had retained the Bledisloe Cup with a 29-9 victory.
Moments of ill-discipline cost the Wallabies at key times, while their lineout struggles continued to haunt them. Lock Adam Coleman spent time in the sin bin and a more committed defensive effort was marred by some crucial missed tackles.
Next weekend the teams have a bye and they return in the Rugby Championship on September 10 when the All Blacks host Argentina in Hamilton.
Australia host South Africa’s Springboks at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
Final Score New Zealand 29 (15) Australia 9 (9)
Scorers
New Zealand
Tries – I.Dagg 2, J.Savea, S.Cane
Pen – B.Barrett
Con – B.Barrett 3
Drop –
Cards –
Australia
Tries –
Pen – B.Foley 2, R.Hodge
Con –
Drop –
Cards – A.Coleman (37th min yellow)
Match Officials
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Assistant Ref 1:Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant Ref 2:Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
TMO : Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
Teams
New Zealand
1. Joe Moody, 2. Dane Coles , 3. Owen Franks , 4. Brodie Retallick, 5. Samuel Whitelock , 6. Jerome Kaino, 7. Sam Cane , 8. Kieran Read (c) ,, 9. Aaron Smith , 10. Beauden Barrett , 11. Julian Savea , 12. Anton Lienert-Brown, 13. Malakai Fekitoa , 14. Israel Dagg , 15. Ben Smith ,
Replacements : 16. James Parsons , 17. Wyatt Crockett , 18. Charlie Faumuina, 19. Liam Squire, 20. Ardie Savea , 21. TJ Perenara , 22. Aaron Cruden , 23. Seta Tamanivalu
Australia
1. Scott Sio,2. Stephen Moore (c),3. Sekope Kepu,4. Kane Douglas,5. Adam Coleman,6. Scott Fardy,7. Michael Hooper ,8. David Pocock ,9. Will Genia ,10. Quade Cooper,11. Dane Haylett-Petty ,12. Bernard Foley,13. Samu Kerevi ,14. Adam Ashley-Cooper ,15. Israel Folau ,
Replacements :16. Tatafu Polota-Nau,17. James Slipper,18. Allan Ala’alatoa ,19. Will Skelton,20. Dean Mumm ,21. Nick Phipps ,22. Tevita Kuridrani ,23. Reece Hodge*
*denotes uncapped
1 Comment