Wales’ Rugby World Cup pool opponents Australia are in disarray as they were ruthlessly put to the sword by a rampant All Blacks side who cruised to the Bledisloe Cup and Rugby Championship title with a 38-7 win.
Despite the one-sided scoreline there were periods in the game where the Wallabies were on top but they couldn’t sustain any pressure and look like a side full of talented individuals rather than a cohesive unit. They also lost their captin Allan Alaalatoa to what appeared to be a serious and likely World Cup-ending leg injury.
The pressure is mounting on head coach Eddie Jones who has now lost his first three test matches since controversially succeeding Dave Rennie following his own sacking by England.
Of course, if recent results are anything to go by Wales aren’t in the best of places themselves, but Warren Gatland will be quietly confident his side can inflict some more pain on the Wallabies this autumn. For the All Blacks, a deeply troubling 2022 where they lost a series to Ireland and a home test to Argentina is a distant memory, with Ian Foster’s side in a good position to challenge Ireland, France, and South Africa for the World Cup.
The hosts were under pressure from the start when Jed Holloway took a lineout five metres out from the Australian try line, but just as he delivered the ball to Tate McDermott, the scrum-half got clattered by Scott Barrett. McDermott lost possession over his own try line which allowed Shannon Frizzell to touch down for the softest of tries.
But Australia hit back and were the better side for the next 20 minutes. It was lively wing Mark Nawaqanitawase who sparked them into life when he burst through a weak tackle from Aaron Smith to charge up field. The Wallabies went through the phases before Marika Koroibete crossed in the corner, but the television replays proved the big wing was in touch. However, there was a further twist when the television match official deemed powerful No 8 Rob Valetini had touched down in an earlier phase.
This was the wake-up call the All Blacks needed and they were then far more efficient at turning pressure into points than their Australian counterparts. They were soon celebrating their second try when hooker Cody Taylor touched down off the back of a well-worked driving lineout.
New Zealand’s attack was a sight to behold, and they turned around with a 19-7 half-time lead as Will Jordan crossed at the corner. The Wallabies had the bit between their teeth in the early stages of the second-half as they turned down three kickable penalties in search of more.
They laid siege to the All Blacks try line, with a terrific tackle from Barrett denying Samu Kerevi just inches from the line before Ardie Savea’s excellence at the breakdown shone through to earn the visitors a penalty.
Australia kept applying the pressure but the wind got knocked out of their sails when replacement tighthead Taniela Tupou received a yellow card for a high tackle. New Zealand made the most of their numerical advantage when Caleb Clarke powered over from short range.
The All Blacks rubbed further salt into Australian wounds with a lovely offload from Will Jordan out of contact allowing Mark Telea to sneak over at the far right-hand corner. New Zealand were in no mood to let Australia off the hook as they launched a counter from within their own half with some terrific interplay between Barrett, Anton Lienert-Brown, and Cam Roigard firing them into the Australian 22.
They quickly found the edge to release Telea who skinned the cover defence before drawing in the final defender to put Rieko Ioane over for their sixth try which put the game beyond the Wallabies.
