After a rollercoaster year that almost cost Ian Foster his job, the All Blacks’ crushing win over the Wallabies at Eden Park was embraced as a return to normal service by New Zealand’s impressed rugby media.
The Wallabies held their hosts scoreless for 20 minutes but then the same old failings of ill-discipline arose as the All Blacks put on 17 points in a seven minute spell. Another surge after halftime put them out of sight.
“It was an excellent response to the entirely unconvincing nature of the 39-37 victory in Melbourne in Bledisloe I,” wrote Marc Hinton on stuff.co.nz.
“That was the bad All Blacks that night at Marvel Stadium as they blew an 18-point lead in the final quarter and only got over the line via a contentious 79th-minute call from French referee Mathieu Raynal.
“This was much, much better. The forwards muscled up excellently, grabbing three tries off the drive, the defence showed few of the fallibilities of Marvel and there was a sharpness about the attack, led by standout performances by Will Jordan (119 metres on 9 carries, 4 defenders beaten, 2 clean breaks) and Rieko Ioane (100m on just 4 runs, with 4 tackle-busts), and excellent contributions from the Barrett brothers, Beauden and Jordie.”
The Roar’s Brett McKay, Harry Jones, Jim Tucker and Tony Harper pick through the wreckage of Australia’s 40-14 defeat in the Instant Reaction podcast
Hinton noted it had been a rollercoaster year for the All Blacks who finished their nine Tests with a 5-4 record “but could easily be 4-5 if not for a massive rub of the green their way in Melbourne. They were toast when Raynal pulled the time-wasting card on the Wallabies.”
Hinton said there were still questions to be answered around the All Blacks’ consistency.
“When they’re good, like at Eden Park, they’re very good. But when they’re bad, such as Mbombela, Christchurch and, yes, Melbourne, they’re well off the pace. Consistency remains this team’s next big challenge if it’s to be a true contender at next year’s World Cup.”
Gregor Paul, writing in the New Zealand Herald, said: “In an All Blacks season that has taken some crazy twists and turns this year, giving the Wallabies a proper, old-school thumping feels like it should be seen as a return to the familiar.
“But seeing this All Blacks team so in control of the game – so easily and quickly on top of the Wallabies and never giving them the first sniff of an upset – was a little hard to comprehend.
“It felt a little alien to go through 80 minutes with no thoughts of an upset surfacing: with the All Blacks, at no stage, looking like they might self-combust and find a weird and wonderful way to blow up and let the Wallabies back in or pull off an unthinkable win.
: Aaron Smith of the All Blacks reacts during The Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup match between the New Zealand All Blacks and the Australia Wallabies at Eden Park. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
“Alien but welcome, and whatever frailties this All Blacks side may once have had, they no longer do.”
Paul praised the home team for possessing “a world-class power game.”
“That was what smacked the Wallabies off their feet at Eden Park – this big, black machine that took to them like a combine harvester does a wheat field.
“It wasn’t an even contest at any stage. The All Blacks had way too much scrum power; a driving maul that the Wallabies unsuccessfully tried every which way to stop – legal and illegal – and a bite and grunt in the collisions that was too hard to contain.”
Liam Napier, writing in the NZ Herald, said the team had rewritten the narrative of earlier in the season, when Foster appeared on the brink of an early exit.
“After three losses at home this season – twice to Ireland, and the first home defeat against Argentina in Christchurch – the All Blacks gave a sold-out Eden Park ample reason to celebrate by crushing the Wallabies with a familiar flex of dominance against the traditional foe,” Napier wrote.
“Aside from the All Blacks’ dominant defence and continued show of strength from the forward pack – with three more tries coming from their vastly improved maul – Jordie Barrett’s excellent performance from second five-eighth stood out for the All Blacks.
“Others, such as Will Jordan, Rieko Ioane and Ethan de Groot will feature prominently in highlight reels but Barrett’s strong carries and defence in midfield was a constant theme that must at least force All Blacks coach Ian Foster to ponder using him there more often. All night, Barrett did not put a foot wrong.
“Smacking the Wallabies at their favoured fortress marked normal service resuming for the All Blacks. It is certainly a world away from the depths of earlier this year when Foster’s job was on the line and two assistant coaches were replaced.
“Since then, despite the wild fluctuations in form, their improvement in the forward pack and on attack are undeniable.”
Foster was asked about the up and down nature of his campaign in his post-match press conference.
“I’ve forgotten about the rollercoaster,” he said. “I’m just happy in the moment. We’ve come into a championship, we’ve had, in our mind, the hardest draw by having both Tests against South Africa in South Africa, got one out of two in that space, we’ve let ourselves down in Christchurch, but our response to that has been really positive.
“We look at the last half of the championship and we’re really pleased with what went in. All we can do is deal with what’s in front of us right now. I know we’ve got a buffer (against the Boks) – whether it’s enough I don’t know. But we’ve given ourselves a chance and that’s all we want.”
The Springboks beat Argentina in the later game but not by enough to prevent the All Blacks from lifting the trophy.
“All you can do, in the circumstances you get dealt, is try and find a way out of it and I think we’ve owned very clearly that we put ourselves in a situation,” said Foster. “But I back the group we’ve got to get through an issue.
“I said at the time we’re going through stuff that none of us had really gone through in an All Blacks jersey and it was hard. We just had to own it and we had to be the people who came up with the solutions.
“We’ve done some good problem-solving. We’ve worked hard, and it’s given this team a little bit of steel and it’s given us some harsh lessons we kind of wish we didn’t have to deal with, but we did. In those situations you either fold and walk away because it’s too hard, or you buckle up and get stuck into work.
“The work of the players has been phenomenal, and we’re growing belief. But we’ve still got some steps to go.”
Foster was pleased with the “attack, the strength, and the set piece” in the win, and singled out Jordie Barrett for how he performed in his first Test start at No. 12.
“I was delighted with David Havili’s growth this campaign, and I’m delighted with what Jordie gave us today. I thought he had a phenomenal game. He was very physical, with the ball and without the ball, he worked hard, and he got some kicks in. He should be very proud of that effort.”
“You’re trying to learn … you’re trying to learn before the first game too. The fact is we’ve come through this championship and shown some growth in that aspect. It’s losable when you play Australia at the moment. We saw last week how good and dangerous they can be, and saw spells of that again today. We had to be on our game and we had to improve.”
Overthehill
Roar Rookie
If you didn't bother watching the test what's the point of your gripe?.....can only assume you you watched it later (just so you can disseminate and whinge) so why watch it at all.....
Malotru
Roar Rookie
And who really cares GoldenEye?
Malotru
Roar Rookie
Back to your cave Grotto.
Ruckit
Roar Rookie
Barrett doesn't compare. They have entirely different skillsets
Dirk
Guest
I'd say that paper thin skin you have is quite a health issue. Grab some sorbolene bro. mana, ego, ego, mana, cliche`
WEST
Roar Guru
Foster had a lot of issues! Losing a record amount away is one thing.. losing twice at home is historical, losing against Argentina at home is a huge blow.. something we’re not use to. The ABs still aren’t at the level we expect, winning against the wallabies and claiming the rugby championship is cool! But we have a long way to go to claw our way back to the top.. There’s actually a lot of characteristics in the Wallabies struggles at the moment that are or were the ABs struggles
Two Cents
Guest
Other than stroking the New Zealand ego and maintaining what is albeit an impressive record at home (39 years and counting), there's something about the tests played at Eden park especially in recent years that really makes it feel like a dead match. That's not intended to take anything away from the ABs or be a sleight to them; there just isn't anything of substance that either team gains from this fixture. There is literally nothing that the Wallabies can gain from a performance like that. Unless they completely change their focus to that particular game and come bringing all the same intensity and aggression as their opposite number, they will never win there. Far more skilful sides have played there over the years than the one Australia can currently field and they haven't managed to produce a different result. With the only constant factor being the program they have to contend with, the answers must lie somewhere there. For the ABs, defeating Australia, even destroying them, as satisfying as it may, gives them no insights regarding how they will perform against any other team, especially when they still turn over the ball, commit a very high number of penalties and miss tackles. Only scoring 40 points with so much all-round dominance, giving up 2 tries and turning over so much ball to a team that everyone is calling second-rate must be of concern. Also, the loss earlier in the year to Ireland at home has still got to be hurting. Even if New Zealand got lucky in that game with calls going their way or potential foul play being missed, the bottom line is that Australia were never in the contest and even though the opening 20 was without a meaningful score, it clearly depleted the Aussies of too much so when the ABs finally clicked into groove, it was all one-way traffic from there. Very similar in fact to the last 2 times that they have met at this ground, with the men in black prevailing very comprehensively on both occasions. Only time will tell whether the All Blacks under Foster have truly turned a corner. For the Wallabies, they have to lick their wounds both physical and psychological, which get deeper with every performance as the injuries and points against stack up. It's hard to see where Australia goes from here other than to continue sliding down the world rankings. For New Zealand, while the sky is the limit, the coming Spring Tour will obviously be crucial to setting up a successful campaign in France. On a personal note, as an Australian, rather than being upset by these continually poor results against your guys and your apparent disdain for the Wallabies, I take it as a point of pride and great respect that you feel such a need to emphatically crush us every time we play over there and especially at Eden Park. To me, that shows how dangerous any Australian side still is in your minds that you have to always bring that extra intensity, aggression and focus to this fixture just to guarantee the result. It doesn't make the game interesting or exciting, but it does show how important beating Australia is to you and explains why you can consistently lift for the Bledisloe when we continue failing to fire a shot.
Grant Manning
Guest
The thing I enjoyed most was seeing my team playing like a team. Well done ABs.
Jokerman
Roar Guru
That’s right. The whole front row (what a massive difference!) Mo’unga, J Barrett at second five. Ryan and Schmidt… Sort the loosies, balance the back three and put Fakatava on the bench (he needs an opportunity at least) and we’re nearly there! I knew all this before way before the Irish…Ryan and Schmidt is getting Foster up to scratch !
Jacko
Roar Rookie
Agree about JB at 12. he has everything except fast feet and he doesnt need them. Very solid display and if I was Havili Id be a very worried boy. JB has every skill Havili has and more....
Jacko
Roar Rookie
Haha refuse to play where they lose a lot. Thats lots of grounds all around the world the Wallabies are going to refuse to play at. Maybe just do your own world rugby comp Grotto. Name every team Australia and you are guaranteed to win. Go it alone!!!!! You can do it!
Jacko
Roar Rookie
I get the impression Rennie like flash over dependable. Surely a guy like the reds 12 gets a look in at some stage.
Jacko
Roar Rookie
Seriously KiwiHaydn try giving credit where its due. He picked this squad BEFORE the extra guys came in. He picked the extra guys and HE developed the gameplan. There is zero evidence that others are doing this behind the scenes for him to take all the credit for. Im happy to see this evidence if you want to show it to us all. Coaching at this level is a team effort and you wont win 4 out of 5 trophies with a team thats not working together to achieve the same aim.
Pilferer
Roar Rookie
To be fair KH I think Christie needs more game time but would like to see Webber back. Agree with Akira think he was pretty average and may jave squandered his last chance, only injuries keeping him in the squad.
GoldenEye
Roar Rookie
To be fair the AFL Grand Final was a bigger one-sided flogging of the two best sides than the 4th & 9th best sides..
Carlin
Roar Rookie
A couple of things that stood out for me where: 1. Jordie Barrett’s efforts at 12. He had a strong game and showed that he can play this position well and is worth having another go with. His physical presence on attack and defence was there to see. 2. Codie Taylor played well and repairs the selectors faith. In saying that Taukei’aho came on and the All Blacks didn’t lose anything. 3. The Wallabies did some silly things with their discipline and also their skill accuracy which never got them in the game. The All Blacks managed to stop any roll ons they may have got.
Jokerman
Roar Guru
You just lost for the 20th year in a row, Pete and you’re gloating! Or is that floating? In the illusion. It was only a few weeks ago you were saying I’d have health issues if the All Blacks lost! Haha I don’t think so. It’s you who puts the negative energy into your own body (it does do damage) - projection. Just a Fantasy Pete and you can’t back it up. I see also you jumped onto other teams …anybody vs All Blacks. Doesn’t count, you follow the Wallabies. Great AB victory. Commiserations to the kind Australian fans.
Lara
Guest
ABs had scrum n lineout dominance….you should not lose with that advantage n throw in couple of yellows n you are set. The Wallabies were always chasing. The ABs played to their abilities, players like JB , SW, Ardie, the props, Reiko had notable games. JB was the surprise package, will not really, he was always capable, but Foster has stated he was not a fan of JB at IC….so who made the call or was it due to lack of replacements. The ABs record is very poor , the Wallabies are even worse…the NH tour will hopefully answer more questions , sort out selection issues n game plans for both teams. The ABs have the stock , the Wallabies do not…DR needs to dig deep for solutions n devise a game plan to suit his players, Foster was just given an option n probably doesn’t have any idea how he got it.
KiwiHaydn
Roar Rookie
To be fair, Foster’s game plan seems to have finally been binned, most of the players are not his first picks in most positions, and the assistant coaches aren’t his first picks either.
KiwiHaydn
Roar Rookie
I was a bit nervous before the game, thought NZ had picked the wrong loose forwards trio and that our line out may struggle. In the end, I don’t think it was a vintage display by the ABs - definitely the better team on the night, but on the front foot for all bar the first quarter, due to the Wallabies mistakes and I’ll discipline (plus some referee misses). All the ABs played reasonably well except Akira (at least three turnovers against him in the first half, plus generally ineffective with ball in hand), Christie is not the answer as back up half back (time for Weber to come back and Fakatava to get some more time), Sotutu (needs to add another 5kg for a bit of grunt), and Vaai and RTS who didn’t get enough game time. Still some work to be done, but hopefully they’ll keep building for the end of year tour - England the big test of any progress. That backline last night though - wow! JB is exactly what we’ve been looking for at 12 - big, powerful, skilful and a monster kick. Attacking threats from 9-15. Reece good when he came on. The ABs starting to develop some real depth at prop, lock looks good enough, hookers ok but could do with someone else to support Samisoni, Papalii much better this week, Ardie is a workhorse, just need a back up for Frizell at 6. Good progress, with many of Foster’s 2nd/3rd/4th pick players.