New Zealand yesterday served up a Halloween nightmare for an inexperienced Wallabies side, romping to a record 43-5 victory in the Tri-Nations opener and claiming the Bledisloe Cup for the 18th successive year.
All Blacks flyhalf Richie Mo’unga scored two brilliant individual tries in six minutes in the first half, and forwards Karl Tu’inukuafe and Dane Coles also crossed as the visitors raced to a 26-0 lead in just half an hour.
The pain eased for the crowd of 25,689 at the Olympic Stadium early in the second half when Australia flyhalf Noah Lolesio scored a try on his Test debut, but Rieko Ioane and Jordie Barrett blew out the score in the final 10 minutes.
Photo: AP
Mo’unga converted five of six tries, and added a penalty to take his personal match tally to 23 points and ensure the highest victory margin for the All Blacks in 169 Tests against their neighbors.
“It’s more than relief, it’s really exciting and I’m just really proud of the group and excited about what lies ahead,” All Blacks captain Sam Cane said.
The Tri-Nations, which also involves Argentina, replaced the Rugby Championship after world champions South Africa withdrew from the annual southern hemisphere tournament, citing player welfare concerns.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The Wallabies had gone into the first Test match on Australian soil this year with hopes high, but Dave Rennie’s inexperienced side made too many errors and were ruthlessly punished for them.
The loss, combined with a 16-16 draw and a 27-7 defeat in New Zealand earlier last month, handed the All Blacks the Bledisloe Cup with next week’s fourth Test in Brisbane to spare.
Australia’s young side probably needed everything to go right for them to have a chance of beating the clinical All Blacks, but they were on the back foot as early as the third minute.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Filipo Daugunu was shown a yellow card for upending a jumping Caleb Clarke, although he appeared a little unfortunate having been nudged into his fellow winger’s path by Cane.
Two minutes later, Tu’inukuafe charged over the Australia line with players unmarked outside him and even if Jordie Barrett was also sent to the sin bin soon afterward for an elbow to Nic White’s face, the All Blacks remained in charge.
Coles and Clarke had tries rubbed out by the TMO, but there was no question of any intervention when Mo’unga swept around the back of a scrum and beat Wallabies hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa for pace to touch down in the 21st minute.
The flyhalf’s second came courtesy of a neat chip and chase in midfield, and the All Blacks pack drove over the Australia line in the 30th minute for the fourth unanswered try.
While the Wallabies cut down on missed tackles from the second Test, New Zealand were physically too strong and again exposed the frailties of Australia’s defense.
The hosts badly missed the calming presence of experienced backs Matt To’omua and James O’Connor, who were both out with injuries.
They looked dejected stomping off at halftime, but Rennie’s pep talk appeared to work and they were far more disciplined at the start of the second period.
In a hopeful sign, 20-year-old Lolesio romped over for a try a minute after the restart following a barnstorming run from Jordan Petaia, who is also 20.
However, the Wallabies continued to make too many mistakes to mount a serious comeback.
“I just don’t think we were accurate. We gave away the ball too easily and we didn’t kick smart,” Australia captain Michael Hooper said.
It was the first time since 2009 that the All Blacks had wrapped up the Bledisloe series on Australian soil and proved sweet revenge for their previous game in Australia, when they were whalloped 47-26 in Perth.
Additional reporting by AFP
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