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An outstanding effort from the Wallabies on Saturday night has given them the Rugby Championship and a 1-0 lead in the Bledisloe Cup.
In what was a very physical match, the Wallabies came out on top, scoring 27 points to 19.
The Wallabies started off shakily, with Sekope Kepu sin-binned in the 7th minute for being offside after a quick-tap was taken close to the Wallaby try line.
The penalty let Dan Carter put the first points on the board, comfortably converting just to the right of the posts, making it 3-0 to the All Blacks after eight minutes.
The Wallabies defended extremely well for the next ten minutes, only conceding three points during the time Kepu was off, which were just a result of the penalty.
Australia got the chance to put points on the board in the 27th minute, with prop Tony Woodcock penalised for illegally turning in the scrum right in front of the posts. Matt Giteau leveled the scores at 3-3.
Carter struck back three minutes later, converting a penalty goal 43 metres out after Stephen Moore was caught offside at the breakdown, putting the All Blacks ahead by three.
They went to half-time with the All Blacks leading by three, a testament to the Wallabies’ defensive work, with sloppy passes from the halves, in particular Nick Phipps, costing the Wallabies their chances to attack many times throughout the course of the first 40 minutes.
The start of the second half saw an early sin-bin for Aaron Smith, hitting Adam Ashley-Cooper with a nasty-looking high tackle as he made a break down the right side.
The Wallabies capitalised on the All Blacks being down one man, with Kepu busting through the line and going over for his first international try, converted with ease by Giteau, putting the score up to 10-6.
Dan Carter again dragged the lead down, converting a penalty from about 20 metres away.
Nick Phipps’ performance went from bad to worse, poor passes and poor work at the breakdown now a minor blemish.
After an obstruction penalty was conceded by Hooper, Conrad Smith took the ball from Phipps and took a quick penalty, Phipps coming after him while offside and getting sent off for his offence.
The All Blacks seized the chance with the loss of Phipps, an offload from Carter to Ben Smith put them through the Wallabies line and a pass to Milne-Skudder secured the All Blacks’ first try of the match, and Milne-Skudder’s first international try on debut.
This gave the All Blacks a lead of four points, Carter unusually missing the conversion of Milne-Skudder’s try.
Toomua was brought on to replace Foley, and Giteau had slotted into scrum-half while Phipps was in the bin, and they quickly started to have an impact on the flow of Australian ball, moving far smoother and faster.
More good work from the forwards put the backs into a good position inside the All Blacks half, a grubber kick from Toomua sent Ashley-Cooper over for his second try of the night in spectacular fashion.
Giteau converted the try, putting the score at 17-14 to Australia with 19 minutes left.
The All Blacks bounced back quickly, Milne-Skudder going over for his second try of the night off the back of a set play, New Zealand got their nose in front by two.
Another missed conversion from Carter helped boost the Australian supporters, and Nic White was brought on after the sin-bin period ended for Phipps, Giteau dropping back to the centres again.
The introduction of White onto the field had an immediate effect, his long-range kicking skills converting a penalty from 48 metres out, directly in front of the posts.
The Wallabies looked dangerous as they pushed into New Zealand’s 22, an 11-phase advance allowing White to slip through the All Blacks’ defence and score in the 72nd minute.
White added the two conversion points, putting the lead out to eight points with six minutes left on the clock.
Australia held on to the lead for the last six minutes, securing a great win from a hard-fought contest.
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.