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All Blacks wallop the Wallabies because of course they did

19th August, 2017
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Rieko Ioane of the All Blacks (L) celebrates with Beauden Barrett (R) after scoring a try during The Rugby Championship Bledisloe Cup match between the Australian Wallabies and the New Zealand All Blacks at ANZ Stadium on August 19, 2017 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
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19th August, 2017
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The All Blacks have kicked off their Bledisloe Cup and Rugby Championship defence with a resounding offensive display, piling on 54 points against a hapless Wallabies defence.

The All Blacks racked up eight tries to four at the end of the night for a comprehensive 54-34 win in Sydney.

The scoreline is a record for these two teams, and the All Blacks’ total of 54 surpassed the previous Bledisloe Cup record set by them with 51 points in 2014.

All the wash-up from Wallabies vs All Blacks Bledisloe 1:
» QUIGLEY: Bledisloe a damning indictment
» LORD: Rugby is an 80-minute game
» What changes should Australia make for Bledisloe 2?
» Vote in our DIY Wallabies player ratings
» WATCH: Highlights from Bledisloe 1
» WATCH: Michael Cheika’s post game comments
» Re-live the match with our live blog

An explosive opening half turned the fire straight onto the Wallabies after bagging a pair of early penalty goals to take the lead.

New Zealand would go on to run in six tries to zip before half time at a point a minute.

The Wallaby defence were at the mercy of the best attacking backline on the planet and the pain continued after the break.

Another two tries inside eight minutes to kick off the second stanza had New Zealand rack up the half century just 48 minutes into the game with a real cricket score on the cards.

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It turned out to be a game of two very different half hour periods in the end though.

While New Zealand bagged all six of their first half tries in a 30-minute stage leading into the break, Australia returned serve in the final half hour of the game.

The All Blacks were scoreless for the bulk of the half, not landing another point after the aforementioned 48th minute try to Ben Smith, while the Wallabies attack finally kicked into gear with 28 unanswered points of their own.

It was far too little too late for the home side who slumped to their sixth straight defeat and their 16th loss from their last 17 games against their rivals across the ditch.

Doubles to Rieko Ioane and Ryan Crotty were four of the seven tries to come from the New Zealand backline, with Beauden Barrett and Aaron Smith the only members not to get on the board.

For the Wallabies, Curtis Rona bagged a try on debut. Kurtley Beale scored his first try on return, playing his first Test since the World Cup final in 2015.

It’s a painful start to the campaign for the Wallabies who will have to win in Dunedin to keep their Bledisloe Cup dreams alive.

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For the All Blacks, they’re on the cusp of a 15th straight Bledisloe Cup.

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