Naholo, Barrett shine as All Blacks rout Wallabies

Tame old foes 38-13 in the battle for Bledisloe Cup

Winger Waisake Naholo scored a brace of tries and Beauden Barrett enjoyed a stellar return to form as the All Blacks steamrolled the Wallabies 38-13 in the Rugby Championship opener in Sydney yesterday. Trailing 6-5 at the break due to some dogged Wallabies defence, the All Blacks notched a record second half points tally against Australia in a six-try masterclass of ruthless, running rugby at Olympic Stadium.

Naholo played a huge part in the All Blacks’ 13th successive win in the southern hemisphere tournament, grabbing a late pair of tries in two minutes as veteran lock Sam Whitelock celebrated a joyous 100th test.

The Fijian-born winger also sparked their second half blitz by setting up their second try through Jack Goodhue before putting Wallabies fullback Israel Folau out of the game with a mid-air clash near the hourmark.

Aaron Smith grabbed the All Blacks’ first try late in the first half, with Barrett and Brodie Retallick also crossing after the break to bruise the Wallabies’ confidence for a third successive Rugby Championship opener in Sydney.

The match also doubled as the first in the Bledisloe Cup, the annual series contested between the nations.

The All Blacks have held the Cup since 2003 and the Wallabies will need to beat them at their Eden Park stronghold next week for the first time in 32 years to keep the series alive.