All Blacks hang on to Bledisloe Cup for another year after a riveting encounter against the Wallabies. – BY TREVINE RODRIGO IN MELBOURNE. (eLanka Sports Editor).
It was a tale of two halves as a gallant Wallabies fell short of upsetting the All Blacks in a riveting Bledisloe Cup encounter in Sydney.
It was a remarkable turnaround by the Wallabies after total demolition in the first half and All Blacks skipper Scott Barett and his deputy Ardie Savea admitted they were lucky to get away with a win against a frenzied Wallabies comeback.
The 31-28 victory put to bed the Wallabies hopes of wresting back the Bledisloe Cup in their 23rd attempt. If there was any hope of doing it, this was the year as the All Blacks struggle to regain their feared reputation of the past.
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt must be encouraged by the gutsy and spirited comeback by his never-say- die Wallabies who looked done and dusted shortly before half time when the All Blacks ran away with what looked like an unassailable 28-7 lead only to see the Wallabies claw their way back with two tries before the break. The second was through flanker Matt Faessler who darted around a ruck from five meters our to catch a bemused defence napping.
What they will also reflect on and need to remedy was the untidy line-out work that resulted in turnovers and their inability to stifle the All Blacks backs that always looked threatening in offense.
The All Blacks silenced the capacity home crowd by scoring in the opening minutes, then romping to a 21-0 lead. Tries by Will Jordan, Reiko Ione and Caleb Clarke put the Wallabies on the back foot and made it seem hopelessly one- sided.
But the shell shocked Wallabies responded with a well rehearsed move in one of their few forays inside All Blacks territory with an inside pass that saw flanker Fraser McReight breeze through untouched.
Reckless mistakes that reduced them to 14 men then 13, as Antone Lenhert Brown in the 65th minute and Caleb Clarke 70th minute were yellow carded for infringements, saw the All Blacks lose their momentum and cohesion opening the door to the opportunistic Wallabies to capatilise on their advantage in the second half.
Despite total territorial dominance for most of the game, the All Blacks were found wanting in broken play as the Wallabies opened them up with some well rehearsed moves that caught the defence flat-footed.
New Zealand were unlucky to have been denied three scoring opportunities in the 40th, 51st and 56th minutes, two that was debatable, one a clear forward pass as the TMO found itself under the microscope.
They also squandered more scoring possibilities with over adventurous passing which were intercepted by a desperate Wallabies defence.
It did nothing to deter the Wallabies change of mindset in the second half as they backed themselves to stun their dominant opponents scoring two more tries to one and nearly pulled off the impossible. A penalty was the ultimate difference.
When Tom White split the All Blacks defence in the 79th minute to score a spectacular try, Wallabies fans were delirious, but it was too little too late as the All Blacks held on to claim another facinating contest.
In front of a massive 60,061 crowd at Accor Stadium the Wallabies showed that they have turned the corner after a 67-37 walloping from Argentina in their last game of the Rugby Championship. Time will tell if Joe Schmidt has moulded a young squad into a force to be reckoned with.
Scott Robinson’s All Blacks will take an important lesson from this game about not taking the foot off the pedal when in control especially against the men from across the ditch who never give up until the final whistle.
If anything, the crowd were given the thrill of another All Blacks/Wallabies epic.
Back to Wellington for game two which would give the Wallabies comfort if they win. But not the elusive cup.
