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Eddie Jones might have done all the talking throughout the week, but the sight of Scott Barrett telling Nic White to shoosh after the All Blacks scored the fourth try of their Bledisloe Cup opener said it all.
A 38-7 victory in front of 83,944 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground saw the All Blacks lock up the Bledisloe Cup, again. Twenty-one and counting, having not let slip of the famous Cup since John Mitchell’s side won it back from Jones’ Wallabies in 2003.
After repelling a series of Wallabies raids after half-time, Caleb Clarke’s try in the 59th minute was the moment that dashed Australian hopes as the All Blacks scored three tries in 10 minutes to drive home their superiority.
Jones, who took “full responsibility” for the defeat, said the Wallabies’ inability to turn pressure into points early in the second half was a key period of the game.
“Obviously very disappointed about the result, the scoreline – that’s a real negative for us,” he said.
“Big crowd. We wanted to show that this is a new team but, and there is always a but, our first 20 minutes showed what we are capable of…
’If you arrived from Mars and watched the first 20 minutes, you would probably think the gold team was the stronger team – that is the reality. But you’ve got to be able to do it for 80 minutes and when you have teams under pressure you have to convert that to points and that is a step we need to take.”
Will Jordan scored a first half try for the All Blacks in his side’s big win over the Wallabies. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
The All Blacks’ second-half blitz came after Taniela Tupou, who came on early after Allan Alaalatoa’s devastating injury after 38 minutes, was shown a yellow card for a high tackle that was picked up moments after he was replaced with a rib injury.
Down to 14 players, the All Blacks needed no second invitation as they showed the polish and precision in their attack that the Wallabies missed.
Indeed, the Wallabies had their chances.
They led 7-5 after 33 minutes, but as so often is the case the All Blacks flexed their muscles in the minutes before half-time and made their opponents pay.
After Codie Taylor scored from a rolling maul, Carter Gordon’s kick restart failed to go the required 10 metres.
From the resulting scrum the All Blacks forced a penalty and forced Alaalatoa off, before Will Jordan scored his 23rd try in as many Tests out wide to land a huge blow on the stroke of half-time.
Allan Alaalatoa looks set to miss the World Cup after being stretchered off at the MCG. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
The Wallabies started the second half the stronger.
Three times English referee Wayne Barnes awarded the Wallabies penalties on the All Blacks’ line, but on each occasion the All Blacks showed their resilience in defence.
First, Samu Kerevi was held up out wide. Next replacement hooker Jordan Uelese failed to release as All Blacks skipper Ardie Savea got on the ball.
Then the All Blacks forced a scrum after legally bringing down the Wallabies’ rolling maul denying substitutes Nic White and Quade Cooper the chance to free the home side up.
There was no looking back from that point in time, as the All Blacks made the Wallabies pay with backs Clarke, Mark Telea and Rieko Ioane scoring in quick succession to break open their opponents.
After Clarke crashed over from close range, Barrett, who made it known that the All Blacks were in town by smashing Tate McDermott in the process of passing and forced an error to lead to Shannon Frizell’s opening try after three minutes, put his finger over his mouth to silence White and the Wallabies camp.
The All Blacks celebrate after locking up the Bledisloe Cup for a 21st straight year at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on July 29, 2023. (Photo by Morgan Hancock/Getty Images)
The 31-point defeat came after Jones had attempted to plant some seeds of doubt in the opposition camp over the previous fortnight.
After originally warning the All Blacks to “look out”, he continued his antagonistic approach on Thursday by saying the New Zealand economy would collapse if they lost the Bledisloe Cup.
Few ever believed that, but Jones, ever the fighter, tried to pump the tyres of his men and inject some much needed confidence in the group after starting The Rugby Championship with consecutive defeats.
That number is now three after their heavy loss in Melbourne, which came after Jones made seven changes to his side and gave chances to his young halves McDermott and Gordon.
Carter Gordon on starting debut for the Wallabies against the All Blacks. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Both had their moments, but their frailties were on show too with McDermott’s pass still his Achilles heel and Gordon’s kicking failing to stand up too.
Jones said his halves were “still a work in progress”, before he went into bat for his young 22-year-old fly-half who had a mixed first-up showing in the No.10 jersey.
“I think he’s [Gordon] the best young 10 in Australia,” Jones said.
“And I’ve seen Richie Mo’unga play Tests like that. And Richie Mo’unga if you look at his first 45 Tests, he had a bit of up and down in it. He wasn’t good enough, then he was good enough. And sometimes you’ve got to go through a bit of pain to bring young players through and I’m prepared to go through that.”
Returning loose-head prop Angus Bell was outstanding, while winger Mark Nawaqanitawase was once again fantastic.
While there were some positives out of the Wallabies’ showing, Alaalatoa’s suspected Achilles injury is a devastating blow.
The acting captain is not just one of the Wallabies’ regulars and experienced tight-five forwards, but no international side can win big Tests without two world class tight-head props.
Nor did Tupou finish the match either, with the returning tight-head prop eventually replaced midway through the second half with a rib injury.
It leaves the Wallabies short up front ahead of their looming trip to Dunedin, with James Slipper an option to switch sides.
“When it rains it pours,” Jones said.
“Dunedin is going to be fast. But the opportunity’s there. When you win you become more vulnerable. And when you lose, you become more desperate. Whether we can turn our desperation into something that gives us an advantage over vulnerability. And we intend to do that. We’ll do everything we can.”
All Blacks coach Ian Foster, who ensured he won’t become the first New Zealander to let the Cup slip through his fingers, said he was “delighted” with the victory but gave hope to Wallabies fans.
“I think the scoreline flattered us, to be perfectly honest,” he said.
“We clearly deserved the win but I thought there was enough in that Aussie performance they will take away some good points from that. But they will regret they couldn’t put prolonged periods of pressure on us.”
Bell, meanwhile, summed up the glum feeling following the loss.
“It’s hard,” he said. “We let down all the Melbourne people. We’ve let down Eddie and we let down Australia. They’re a great side. To beat them you have to be brilliant.”
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.