‘AWESOME’ ALL BLACKS CRUSH AUSSIES
New Zealand scored 33 second-half points as they beat Australia 38-13 in the 2018 Rugby Championship opener. The Wallabies edged a tight first half, but the All Blacks scored before the break through Aaron Smith in Sydney. Jack Goodhue crossed for their second and Beauden Barrett the third as the Wallabies’ set-piece buckled and Brodie Retallick secured a try-bonus point. Jack Maddocks pulled one back on debut but Waisake Naholo scored a late brace to cap off a clinical first outing. The two sides meet again next Saturday, at Eden Park, Auckland, before the final Bledisloe Cup Test on October 27 in Japan. “Credit to the Wallabies, we had to fight really hard and it was a full 80-minute game,” said All Blacks captain Kieran Reid. “They had dominated the first half so to score just before half-time was crucial. The resilience of the boys was awesome.” Australia were set to go into the break with a 6-0 lead. But two minutes before halftime, returning All Blacks captain Kieran Read found scrum-half Smith to reduce the deficit to just one point and an onslaught of five second-half tries ensued. Centre Goodhue finished off a length-of-the-field counterattack, Barrett burst into life with a nice individual effort and Retallick capped off an outstanding performance with a clever dummy. Australia, who were frustrated by the referee’s calls all afternoon including a possible tip-tackle by Naholo on Folau in the first half, then lost the full-back to a possible ankle injury as Naholo twice undid their defence.