Hansen – ‘Wallabies have always been a good side’

All Blacks coach Steve Hansen is not surprised by the Wallabies' much-improved performance as he believes they have 'always been a good side'.

The Wallabies put a much-improved display and were unfortunate to be on the losing side as they went down 35-29 to the All Blacks in the second of the sides' Rugby Championship ties.

They showed a real cutting edge as well as being far more resilient on defence but it was not to be an historic victory for Michael Cheika's side.

And when Hansen was asked if he feels the Wallabies had turned a corner after a terrible 2017 which has seen them lose to Scotland and run close by Italy, he responded:

"It's hard to tell if they've turned a corner or not. I think they've always been a good side.

"They played some good rugby tonight and they'll be disappointed. They could have easily won the match.

"Last week they played their first game for most of them for four or five weeks.

"It's really hard when you [play] a group that's battle-hardened and who have come through finals football. The intensity of that allows you to play at a certain level."