All Blacks too much for Wallabies at Eden Park

New Zealand pulled ahead in the Bledisloe Cup stakes with a dominant 27-7 win over Australia at Eden Park on Sunday. A three-try blitz to start the second half put the All Blacks well ahead and the Wallabies had no reply to the delight of the 46,049 in attendance.

Richie Mo’unga knocked over three points to start the scoring after a lung-bursting opening quarter of the match. The points seemed to wake up the home side, and within a couple minutes Josh Goodhue powered his way close to the line. Aaron Smith was there to pick and drive the last meter for the first try.

Australia responded with a try of their own through via Marika Koroibete. It was blindside flanker Ned Hanigan who broke through to set the move in motion, with Matt To’omua stepping in as halfback to clear quickly and create the overlap for Koroibete to touch down. James O’Connor’s conversion made it a three-point game at the break.

The All Blacks came out quickest after the break. Mo’unga kept the ball alive as he was bundled into touch, and Caleb Clarke made two charging runs down the left side to set up an overlap on the right. Jordan Barrett needed no second invitation to take the corner untouched.

Clarke was again the inspiration soon after with a sensational run down the middle of the park. This time there were five attackers with only one defender remaining on the left side, with Ardie Savea opting to go it alone and score the third try.

The Wallabies nearly got a second from Koroibete but Mo’unga produced a try-saving tackle to hold the ball up. Instead it was captain Sam Cane, who featured prominently throughout, that got the honors on another overlap created with some help from a Patrick Tu’ipulotu offload.

That concludes New Zealand’s match allocation for the remainder of the year, with the next Bledisloe encounter to take place in Sydney on October 31. It will double as the opening match of the Rugby Championship, which has now been reduced to just three teams following the late withdrawal of the World Cup-winning Springboks due to concerns over player welfare.

 

SCORING

NEW ZEALAND 27
Tries – A. Smith (22’), J. Barrett (42’), A. Savea (46’), S. Cane (54’)
Cons – R. Mo’unga 2/4 (23’, 55’)
Pens – R. Mo’unga 1/1 (19’)

AUSTRALIA 7
Tries – M. Koroibete (29’)
Cons – J. O’Connor 1/1 (30’)

 

TEAMS

NEW ZEALAND
1 Joe Moody (17 Alex Hodgman 31’), 2 Dane Coles (16 Codie Taylor 51’), 3 Ofa Tu’ungafasi (18 Nepo Laulala 51’), 4 Patrick Tu’ipulotu, 5 Tupou Vaa’i (19 Scott Barrett 52’), 6 Shannon Frizell (20 Hoskins Sotutu 65’), 7 Sam Cane (capt.), 8 Ardie Savea, 9 Aaron Smith (21 TJ Perenara 55’), 10 Richie Mo’unga, 11 Caleb Clarke (23 Damian McKenzie 67’), 12 Jack Goodhue (22 Peter Umaga-Jensen 61’-69’), 13 Anton Lienert-Brown (22 Peter Umaga-Jensen 18’-24’), 14 Jordie Barrett, 15 Beauden Barrett

AUSTRALIA
1 James Slipper (17 Scott Sio 55’), 2 Brandon Paenga-Amosa (16 Jordan Uelese 52’), 3 Taniela Tupou (18 Allan Ala’alatoa HT), 4 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 5 Matt Philip (19 Rob Simmons 55’), 6 Ned Hanigan, 7 Michael Hooper (capt.), 8 Harry Wilson (20 Liam Wright 52’), 9 Nic White (21 Jake Gordon 58’), 10 James O’Connor, 11 Marika Koroibete, 12 Matt To’omua (22 Jordan Petaia 34’), 13 Hunter Paisami (23 Reece Hodge 67’), 14 Filipo Daugunu, 15 Tom Banks

 

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistants: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand) & Paul Williams (New Zealand)
TMO: Mike Fraser (New Zealand)

 

Attendance: 46,049