The All Blacks retained the Bledisloe Cup after a thrilling 35-29 victory in Dunedin on Saturday 26 August.
The All Blacks have retained the Bledisloe Cup after edging the Wallabies out in what has to go down as one of the greatest ever clashes between the two sides.
Having raced into a 17-0 lead after 15 minutes, the Australians – and their much-improved defence – couldn’t were eventually downed by a last-gasp Beauden Barrett try.
Wow, where to start with this one? Many thought that the Wallabies would get absolutely crushed this morning at Eden Park. Having fallen off far too many tackles than I care to remember in Sydney last week, the All Blacks would have been confident of trouncing their Trans-Tasman opposition once again.
Nothing could have been further from the truth. The Australians, seemingly buoyed by their pasting last week played like a team possessed. They fronted up defensively and looked dangerous on attack even though their scrum struggled in the first half.
The Wallabies raced into an early lead thanks to tries from Israel Folau, Michael Hooper and Bernard Foley. Their 17-0 lead would be reined in before the break, however, when Rieko Ione scored off first phase ball from a line-out before Aaron Smith brought the hosts to within two five points as he threw a ridiculous dummy to wrong-foot Hooper before dotting down. 17-14 is how the sides would go into the sheds.
We’d have to wait until the 62nd minute of the match for the next score as the Wallabies’ defensive structures held firm. Foley and Beale embodied the improvement on last week’s shambles by putting in a massive double-hit on Sonny Bill Williams who looked sure to score in the 55th minute – the All Black centre coughing the ball up a metre short of the line.
That 62nd-minute try would come courtesy of Barrett who charged over on the blind side after an attacking scrum. The Aussies would regain the lead just five minutes later as Will Genia scythed through the New Zealand defence in spectacular fashion, leaving Ardie Savea for dead to dot down.
Ben Smith would swing the match in favour of the All Blacks once again after a monstrous 22-phase move saw the Highlander’s man go over in the corner. Barrett would add the extra two putting the hosts into a 28-22 lead with just 10 to go.
There would be yet another twist in this incredible Test match as Kurtley Beale – the man who begged the Australian rugby public not to lose faith in the side earlier this week – scored beneath the posts from first receiver. The Waratahs centre booted the ball into the crowd in celebration as blood streamed down his face – he thought he’d won it for the Australians too as they took a 29-28 lead into the final three minutes.
There would be heartbreak for Michael Cheika’s charges, however. The All Blacks recovered their restart following the Beale try. Kieran read ran a fantastic angle to put the Wallabies on the back foot before offloading to Perenara who fired it out to Barrett to give New Zealand a 35-29 win with almost the last play of the game.
