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The wasteful Wallabies rued soft lapses last night as the All Blacks stormed to a fourth straight Tri-Nations title with a ruthless second-half comeback at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium.
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A drought-breaking Tri-Nations title slipped out of the Wallables fingers as they gave up a 10-point advantage before losing 28-24 in a pulsating series-decider.
The New Zealanders effectively retained the tournament trophy and Bledisloe Cup by punishing turnovers and soft defence with three straight converted tries after Australia grabbed a 17-7 lead.
While the All Blacks took their chances, the Wallabies bombed theirs.
“I think they took advantage of their opportunities significantly better than we did and that was the difference,” said downhearted skipper Stirling Mortlock.
“That’s what we have to do to get home in a grand final.”
The four-point defeat was yet another example of Australia, who last held the Tri-Nations in 2001 and Bledisloe Cup in 2002, failing to close out close wins in big matches.
Two outstanding Matt Giteau-inspired tries – well finished by bustling fullback Adam Ashley-Cooper and stand-out lock James Horwill – within five minutes either side of halftime took the Wallabies from 3-7 down to 17-7 ahead.
But a comedy of Australian errors from an ill-conceived Dan Carter chip led to a counter-attacking try, finished by seagulling prop Tony Woodcock, opened the door for the visitors.
They waltzed right away with Piri Weepu and Carter five-pointers midway through the second half as they cut the home side to pieces for a 28-17 lead with 12 minutes left.
Both camps pointed to Woodcock’s unlikely five-pointer as the turning point.
“The majority of our points were hard-earned and both their tries to get into the lead were quite soft,” Mortlock said. “They were defensive lapses and they got their tails up.”
Proud All Blacks coach Graham Henry said: “It boosted us and I think the Aussies may have dropped their heads a bit.
“They (NZ) showed guts and togetherness to come back from that.”
Australia coach Robbie Deans also lamented his side’s inability to take gilt-edged chances, with Wycliff Palu bombing a certain first-half try and three times giving up the ball on the line after failing with repeated pick-and-drive tactics.
A Ryan Cross try and a last-minute attack did have the Wallabies inside the visitors’ quarter on the last play of the game but they couldn’t produce the dream finish that most of the 52,328-strong crowd wished.
“To put ourselves not only in the final of the Tri-Nations but within a shot of winning the game itself is a great performance when you consider there’s one side that is considered the best in the world and the other is the world champion, and we were more than competitive,” Deans said.
Weepu was one of a handful of Henry substitutions who also helped to rejuvenate the All Blacks, including Stephen Donald’s injection at five-eighth, allowing Carter to move to inside centre where he sealed the match by bumping off a poor attempted shoulder charge by Cross.
Save for the forced replacement of a tenacious Richard Brown for the injured Palu (knee), Deans waited until late before calling for reinforcements.
Palu limped off in the 34th minute with a medial ligament injury which may cost him his place in the 33-man tour squad to be named on September 23.
Giteau had a significant hand in all three Australian tries but started the match poorly, failing with his boot in general play which cost his side significant territory as NZ held the early ascendancy.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.