A-team gets the eighteen to seal record
OVER 47,000 jammed into Eden Park on a balmy Auckland evening, the vast majority of whom anxiously expecting to witness history with another polished All Blacks performance. Half of that came true. The All Blacks were forced to work harder than they have all season by a tenacious Wallabies outfit. But it still wasn’t enough to halt a tier one world record being knocked off.
This night will be remembered fondly, even more so over time when the pages of history are reflected upon. No team has ever won 18 tests in a row against topclass opposition. Not before now, anyway. And you get the sense it will be bloody difficult to overhaul this record by the time the All Blacks are finished.
But, for the most part, this 37-10 victory was anything but A-grade All Blacks. Their defence was broken more times in 80 minutes than it has almost all season. Their passing wasn’t as slick. They dropped pill. Optiontaking was poor at times. So, too, discipline.
Beauden Barrett also caught another bad case of the yips off the tee, missing all three conversion attempts, and he was hooked just after halftime for Aaron Cruden.
It all came from pressure. The Wallabies came for a scrap and deserve credit for fronting in a big way. But, like so many, they were eventually blown away. The All Blacks absorbed, absorbed, absorbed and then threw their familiar knockout punch through a mixture of their bench and attacking brilliance.
In the end the difference between the two teams was finishing. The All Blacks enjoyed very little time inside the Wallabies 22 but what they did have they made count. Six tries to one told the story. Julian Savea stole the show with a typically bulldozing run to seal the victory 10 minutes from time.
Wallabies coach Michael Cheika is sure to go off about a controversial decision by TMO Shaun Veldsman to deny Henry Speight a second-half try. After referee Nigel Owens awarded the try, Veldsman told him they needed to review the footage. Dane Haylett-Petty was ruled to have changed his line to deny Savea the chance to make a tackle – and the try was scrubbed out.
As fate would have it, two minutes later Savea scored the first of his brace and the Wallabies were appealing for a foot-trip on prop Scott Sio. Owens was confident it was accidental.
Dane Coles was the everywhere man for the All Blacks. He made tackles galore. He chased through kicks. He offloaded. He almost had a fight with Michael Hooper. And he earned a standing ovation when he left the field. Brodie Retallick put in a similar effort. Jerome Kaino had a big contribution. And Anton LienertBrown had some nice early touches. But, on the whole, this was a true collective showing.
It looked bleak early for the Wallabies. Bernard Foley missed what is, for him, a regulation penalty from 40m out, bang in front. With slick ball movement the All Blacks struck twice through Israel Dagg and Lienert-Brown inside first 10 minutes – and another cakewalk seemed inevitable.
Savea, a wing, threw off Dean Mumm, a blindside flanker. And the All Blacks defensive line speed pressured the Wallabies into mistakes. It was, initially at least, all too easy for Kieran Read and co.
Cheika flashed up on the big screen belting out messages to his troops – and the local crowd stood to applaud in mocking fashion.
To their credit, the Wallabies showed character to regroup after that onslaught. They had to overcome losing centre Samu Kerevi, who limped off in the 24th minute. Sefa Naivalu came off the bench and wing Henry Speight was pushed into the unfamiliar midfield role.
The Wallabies controlled much of the first-half possession and territory, depriving the All Blacks of attacking opportunities. They had ample time in the danger zone, and should have come away with more points than Rory Arnold’s sole try.
Dropping Quade Cooper and moving Foley into his favoured first five role worked well. The Waratahs playmaker took the ball to the line and regularly made space for others, though his goal kicking under pressure was found wanting.
But unfortunately for Cheika his men now have the ignominy of being first Wallabies team in more than a century of test matches to suffer two 3-0 series losses in the same season, after being humbled by England in June.