Dan Carter: 17 points for NZ
Related links
Teams
Also see
New Zealand eased to a comfortable 22-0 win over Australia in Auckland on Saturday, which sees the hosts retain the Bledisloe Cup.
The All Blacks once again underlined their status as world champions by keeping their trans-Tasman rivals scoreless for the first time since 1962.
Last week's victory was built largely on a dominant first-half performance, this time the home side came out firing after the break after leading 9-0 at half-time.
Once again the All Blacks dominated their Australian counterparts in general play, which saw them thrive with ball in hand. But despite this ascendancy, the hosts failed to convert pressure into more than one five-pointer being scored due to a couple of knock-ons at key moments.
As a result, Dan Carter kept the scoreboard ticking over thanks to another 17-point haul from the talismatic All Blacks pivot who punished mistakes made by the ill-discliplined Wallabies as the hosts came at them.
The Wallabies enjoyed a good start to the match, and looked a far better unit than the one on display in Sydney as they kept New Zealand scoreless for 25 minutes. But a yellow card shown to stand-in skipper Will Genia 10 minutes before the break arguably was the start of Australia's downfall, as the All Blacks kicked into gear and gained control of the match.
Robbie Deans' record against the All Blacks now reads three wins from 17 fixtures. And with yet another Bledisloe out of reach and their points-less Rugby Championship campaign on life support, the pressure on the Wallabies' coach is sure to intensify.
New Zealand had the best chances to score during the opening exchanges, with only a superb cover tackle from Adam Ashley-Cooper denying Israel Dagg, while Liam Messam was held up over the line thanks to some superb work from lock Sitaleki Timani.
After missing an early first penalty attempt, Carter finally moved the All Blacks into the lead after 25 minutes and added his second three-pointer from the resulting penalty when Genia was given his marching orders.
The visitors, though, did well to restrict the All Blacks - who now had a one-man advantage - to only one more Carter penalty before the interval as Berrick Barnes took over scrum-half duties.
With the game still anyone's for the taking at half-time, Carter landed his fourth successful kick of the match with a monster 51m effort two minutes into the second half.
And the game was effectively put out of sight soon as New Zealand went through the phases before quick ball from Aaron Smith found a superb running line of Dagg for the full-back to score his second try in as many weeks.
Carter converted and then added another penalty to move New Zealand 22-0 in front.
Australia finally had their best spell and they thought they had found a way through but a desperate tackle from Kieran Read denied Barnes. From there the All Blacks reassumed their dominance, with replacement Ben Smith and Dagg both having good breaks - while Read lost the ball reaching for the line.
The hosts coughed up another couple of chances when Richie McCaw dropped the ball trying to spin over after Hosea Gear had been held up, while Carter passed to no one when it looked easier to score.
But at that stage of the game, it really didn't matter as the one-sided result kept the Kiwis unbeaten after two matches in the Rugby Championship whilst the Bledisloe Cup stays in New Zealand for the 10th consecutive season.
Man of the match: Dan Carter once again played a starring role with the boot whilst Sonny Bill Williams played a key role on attack. But we're going to give this to Kieran Read - the number eight had a quiet first forty, but was sublime on attack, defence and everything else in between after the break.
Moment of the match: 13 points in the opening eight minutes of the second half saw New Zealand take the game by the scruff of the neck, and the Kiwis didn't look back.
Villain of the match: Oh, Will Genia... so gracious in defeat after the match, but forced to hang his head in shame for the brain implosion suffered during it.
The scorers:
For New Zealand:
Try: Dagg
Con: Carter
Pen: Carter 5
Yellow card: Genia, 29th min (Australia, professional foul)
New Zealand: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Ma'a Nonu, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements: 16 Andrew Hore, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Brodie Retallick, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Ben Smith.
Australia: 15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Drew Mitchell, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia (c), 8 Scott Higginbotham, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Dave Dennis, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Sitaleki Timani, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Saia Fainga'a, 17 James Slipper, 18 Radike Samo, 19 Liam Gill, 20 Nick Phipps, 21 Anthony Fainga'a, 22 Kurtley Beale.
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Comments
olepete says...
hybrid187 - there were NZ commentators in Auckland, we received them in the UK, though I thought they were a bit biased towards Australia.....
Posted 10:53 26th August 2012
kitch says...
papachinzos..wondered who would be the first to use that tired old line .. take your patch off and watch the game again and youd see your boys did exactly the same.. add to that offsde at rucks esp when the ABs had a roll on, closing the gap in the lineout , and they were far worse at clearing people beyond the ruck than anything the ABs done esp in the first 15min!
i like what richie said when asked his opinion on the cheating allegations.. he said youve got to be smart about what you do.. you have to be quick to understand what a ref is going to let you get away with...and reading between the lines i guess most of his accusers arent that smart!!
why dont you instead first look at the skill level of your own team and then you may see the light as to why they were so crap! Teams that focus on ABs supposed cheating and consequently refs incompetance.. dont progress as a team bc they dont like the obvious reason as to why they fail!
last week deans was pretty quick to accuse the ABs of deliberately infringing when the wallabies were in the AB 22, saying that the scoreboard only went up in 3s rather than 7... whats the excuse this week!!.. i think hansen could well be justified if he made the same excuses since the ABs only scored one try!..(you do the math!)
Posted 10:34 26th August 2012
Ferdie says...
Trader2 - re game plan; wallaby hooker stephen moore said after the game that the plan was to go out and NOT kick the ball to the all blacks. the backs kicked 27 times. maybe it was deans funny accent and the backs couldn't understand, but moore certainly did.
Posted 10:09 26th August 2012
hybrid187 says...
Savaged in all facets of play.
On another note what did people think of the Aussie commentators ? How is Kearns allowed to commentate ? Ive been asking this question for years now.. Dont even get me started on Greg Martin. We had family friends over from England watching it here in Perth with us and they could not believe some of the biased crap coming outta this guys mouth. Were viewers in South Africa forced to listen to his drivel too ? Why weren't there NZ commentators in Auckland ?
Posted 08:13 26th August 2012
Chicka says...
Deans has to go ... how long do the Wallabies have to tolerate that worthless pile of Kiwi crap ... as far as I could tell his game plan was to have the Wallabies kick the ball back to the All Blacks every time they got possession. Totally worthless. He should have cost the Wallabies his last game ...
Posted 07:46 26th August 2012
2EyedKiwi says...
Not wanting to sound like a smart arse, but I thought the Aussies defended and scrambled really well in holding the World Champs to only 1 try. Could have been a lot more dismal for them, especially if the AB's hadn't dropped so much ball.
Unfortunately the AB's defence is even better, and the Wallabies lacked, well..., anything on attack. Cooper looked like a possum in the headlights, and did his outside backs a diservice all night by passing well before the advantage line. Seems he's not liking tackles on defence or attack? When O'Connor is well, I think Cooper will struggle to make the squad.
All the Deans bashers have a point. Regardless if the Super Rugbys best ever coach is at fault it not, you can't deny the record and he simply has to go. Give MacKenzie the reins.
Trinats14 may disagree, but SBW - the best #12 on the planet at the moment - will be sorely missed by the AB's.
Posted 07:38 26th August 2012
sandal says...
@Trader2
7/31?
Sorry, I miss the reference.
Please enlighten me; I am intrigued.
Posted 07:25 26th August 2012
sandal says...
@ Craig
True, true, true.
Posted 07:14 26th August 2012
powerplay says...
lol@startledwombat
Posted 06:38 26th August 2012
tweedledee49 says...
@johnputts, you misspelled Chiefs...
Posted 06:18 26th August 2012
cuw3100 says...
May i draw a parallel from football, after watching the NZ v OZ match.
Champions League 2012 - Chelsea v Bayern Munich, Allianz Arena in Munich.
Bayern dominated (literally) Chelsea for 85 minutes of the game but managed 1 goal and then Drogba equalized. Rest as they say is history. (bayrn lost for those who have no idea about football or soccer as some prefer to call the beautiful game).
The point is that stats will show ABs dominance over OZ in almost all facets of the game; still there was only a single try (and last week only 2 but OZ also managed 1).
At the end of 80 minutes the papers will not say how much possession or territory or anything else the MIB had. Instead it will be just a scoreline and the winner and loser (or a draw too).
While this AB team is good , they need to turn dominance into points else one fine day things may go belly up and the worm may turn :)
Posted 05:22 26th August 2012
papachinzo says...
"Great, now that O'Brien is gone, we might see New Zealand get penalised at ruck time." WRONG!!!!!!!
If your aloud to dive into the ruck from whatever angle you want, and lie on and kill the ball, Your always going to win the game, no matter how hard the other team play.
The All Blacks and the IRB officials that let it happen, are killing our game. As soon as people see it, and as soon as the referee's have the cojones to penalise them, the better we'll be !!
Posted 04:35 26th August 2012
Ferdie says...
an oz site is listing best australian excuses for the loss - add yours here
I liked this one:
"Blame the waterboys they were a disgrace, I saw several players looking dehydrated"
Posted 03:32 26th August 2012
bigb6969 says...
Concerned the ABs left 4 or 5 tries out on the park, still a worry. Otherwise very satisfied with other aspects of play, and especially the NIL score !. The last time NZ scored Nil was 1964 v Scotland (0-0), Australia was actually the next best on that score, they scored NIL in a 24-0 loss to Wales (oh those were the days !) 10 Nov 1973. In the last few minutes a was hoping for a NIL much more than scoring another try. I personally would have take a penalty shot to get on the board first. I would sack Deans.
Also that was the All Blacks 11th consecutive test win, and also the 101st consecutive test where they have scored a try.
We'll miss SBW - but we shall still have a good centre pair of Nonu and Smith in two weeks.
Another concern is not sure how strong NZ really are as Australia were dire. Even when beating them Australia have always matched or bettered the All Blacks in passing and handling, Aussie backs were always slick, but this was just awful, just awful.
As for Genia yellow card - he was interview on radio after and Genia said "I new if he got the offload a try was on, so I did what ever I could to stop it" - so he was caught bang to rights
Posted 03:17 26th August 2012
Trader2 says...
The Wannabies were lucky that the AB's killer instinct appeared tp be absent, it should have been 50 zip although you have to give credit to a very good last line defence performance by them, shame they did not have an attack (Did QC play?)
@Trinats as mentioned a few weeks ago you would be in for a tough international season, I just didn't think it would be a short one also, now perhaps you will appreciate how 2011 was a one off anomaly. And you will be disappointed to see SBW leave cos the Wannabies always does so well when he plays against them.
@all Deans haters (I am sure there a few more this morning) its all about cattle, cattle, cattle or in the Wannabies case a lack of cattle. You had some injuries sure but after your 1st 22 there is nothing, young Gill will be good in a few years but you need guys like him coming through year after year, that won't happen while you continue to import players to make up the 5 Super sides. Back to Deans, does anyone in their right mind believe Deans game plan was to kick the ball back down the AB's throat the whole night. Look at those Crusader sides he coached and how they attacked, sorry but I cannot see him playing like that.
@Fox commentators, you continue to be a joke and it's catching as even Kafer (who I have a lot of respect for) is starting to sound loopy. Tim Horan is the best rugby brain they have (apart from his prediction after the 2011 Super final that we could see a long spell of Red's dominance - will excuse him as he is a Queenslander) and hopefully they will use hime a bit more in commentary. Whatever happened to the red button you could press to switch to the Kiwi (or Saffa) commentators.
@SBW thanks for the memories and come back anytime, you will be wasted in that hybrid game they play in OZ.
Posted 02:25 26th August 2012
kiwilad says...
The media in Aus will be calling for Dingos head, but surely the signs of Australias capitulation were there for all to see quite early on in the S15.
2 or 3 world class players in a team of 15 is nowhere near enough.
But lets ignore that, and blame the Kiwi coach.
The problem could not possibly lie with Oneils inability to see the big picture and work on developing the game at grass roots level, could it??
Posted 00:56 26th August 2012
startledwombat says...
@MacTavish -
No, Loe doesn't have a crystal ball. However he almost had Greg Cooper's eyeball.
Posted 00:24 26th August 2012
johnputts says...
If we increased the number of Crusaders in the backline, instead of the 'Show Ponies', tries would come so much more frequently.
Posted 23:51 25th August 2012
MacTavish says...
FIRSTLY - I dont care about the Rugby Championship. After Webb Ellis, the next most important trophy for NZ is the Bledisloe. 8 days and 3 games into the Tournament, it is locked away for another year. Magic!
SECOND - Year 5 for Deans in charge. Where are Australia? After 5 years Deans has arrived at the worst result against the All Blacks in 50 years. Scoreless. And... zero points on the Championship table after two games. Tournament Over! As a Cantabrian, who loved Deans at the Crusaders, I could not be more happy. Got what you deserved Deans!
THIRD - Calling all you Hansen haters? Ye of little faith. How many of you Kiwis out there were dissing Hansen, he was not up to the task they said. I said before on this site, and I will again. He was part of the Staff right beside Henry for 8 years. Do you think he is going to change much? Still worried?
LASTLY - Does Richard Loe have a Crystal Ball? He claimed before the Tournament that Australia will only win the one game... He might be onto something here...
Posted 23:25 25th August 2012
Craig says...
Read, McCaw, etc had great games, but the two for me were Aaron Smith and Ben Smith.
Aaron Smith, virtually no international experience, only one full campaign of Super Rugby, thrown in against world's best halfback (and Genia really really is) and A Smith dominated him. I know, halfback is a much easier place to play when you're behind the dominant pack, but A Smith is a revelation and for me would be best ABs player over both matches.
And B Smith, wow, he does that for the Highlanders, those weird breaks from nothing when he doesn't appear to be moving fast, fending, stepping, just somehow he breaks the line. Great to see him doing it in a Bledisloe. Not a bad replacement if Dagg goes down, and NZ still have Andre Taylor waiting in the wings...
Feel sorry for Deans. Lost both his captains, James O'Connor is a great player and he's out, AUst rugby doesn't have the depth to handle those losses. And it isn't Deans' job to build depth at the Super Rugby level. I really think Aust have shot themselves in the foot adding two more teams to Super Rugby, their thinner talent base is too stretched, and the conference system means they regularly play understrength sides.
And awesome defence ABs. Shame about the 5 tries left on the park, but great win!
Posted 23:02 25th August 2012