Opening try: Israel Dagg
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New Zealand opened their Rugby Championship account with a 27-19 win over Australia at ANZ Stadium in Sydney on Saturday.
In a tale of two halves in an overall scrappy game, the All Blacks did enough in the opening forty minutes of the match to bag four competition points as they kicked off the inaugural championship with a hard-fought victory.
The world champions raced to a commanding lead after scoring 18 unanswered points which left the Wallabies with a mountain to climb.
However, the hosts clawed their way back after trailing 18-10 at half-time and continued to stay in touch with their trans-Tasman rivals who had to work a little harder in the second half before Dan Carter sealed the deal with his fifth penalty goal on full-time.
Carter's three-pointer after the siren also denied the Wallabies a losing bonus point, which could prove vital in the overall standings later down the line.
Australia drew first blood after Berrick Barnes opened the scoring with an early penalty with barely three minutes gone on the clock, before Carter leveled matters in the 10th minute.
Three minutes later the All Blacks struck from a scrum outside Australia's 22. Two decoy runners in midfield allowed Carter to feed full-back Israel Dagg who stepped out of a tackle and then beat Kurtley Beale on the outside to score the opening try. Carter added the tricky conversion and the All Blacks were smiling with a seven-point lead (3-10) after 14 minutes played.
Australia were found wanting again after New Zealand's relentless pressure and masterly forwards overwhelmed their hosts who coughed up another penalty that Carter dualy converted into three more points.
Whilst the visitors' attack was giving the Wallabies a throbbing headache, so too was the All Blacks defence as Robbie Deans' troops hammered at New Zealand's tryline in a bid to narrow the ever-increasing scoreline but to no avail.
A dropped pass by Scott Higginbotham with Australia hot on attack and then another by Beale didn't help matters for the Wallabies either - the moans and groans from the home crowd becoming a regular feature.
The well-oiled black machine continued to rumble forward and with the Australians' defence once again stretched, Cory Jane finished off superbly in the corner for the world champs' second try of the night - Beale once again exposed out wide.
Carter's conversion missed by inches, but his team-mates wouldn't have been too concerned with an 18-3 lead. However, the same couldn't be said of their hosts, who looked down and out with eight minutes of the first half still remaining.
Finally, Australia struck gold when Digby Ioane made the intitial inroads after the wing found a chink in the All Blacks' armour only to be tackled inches short of the line. Nathan Sharpe wasn't to be denied from close range though, and the soon-to-be retired lock powered over. Barnes converted and the hosts headed into the half-time sheds with some restored confidence.
The second half became a battle of the boots as Carter and Barnes exchanged penalties. But, even after drawing the second half 9-9, the Wallabies weren't able to bridge the gap.
The result also means Richie McCaw and his merry men have taken a giant stride towards holding onto the Bledisloe Cup which has been in their possession since 2003.
Man of the match: All Blacks flanker Liam Messam repaid his coaches' faith by carrying his impressive Super Rugby form to the Test arena, while halfback pair Aaron Smith and Dan Carter proved once again to be a lethal combination. But the player who stood head and shoulders above the rest was Israel Dagg. The star full-back caused havoc whenever he touched the ball, bagged a try for his efforts and set up another.
Moment of the match: You just can't keep a good Dagg down! With only centimetres to work with, Dagg's 13th-minute touchdown after skinning his opposite number on the outside takes the cake.
Villain of the match: Despite an improved second half from Australia, they were unable to atone for Kurtley Beale's critical blunders in what was an error-prone performance by the full-back who will carry some self-inflicted psychological damage to Eden Park after letting in both of New Zealand's tries.
The scorers:
For Australia:
Try: Sharpe
Con: Barnes
Pens: Barnes 4
For New Zealand:
Tries: Dagg, Jane
Con: Carter
Pens: Carter 5
Australia: 15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Anthony Fainga'a, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Berrick Barnes, 9 Will Genia, 8 Scott Higginbotham, 7 David Pocock (capt), 6 Dave Dennis, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Sitaleki Timani, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Tatafu Polota Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements: 16 Stephen Moore, 17 James Slipper, 18 Rob Simmons, 19 Radike Samo, 20 Michael Hooper, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Drew Mitchell.
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 (capt), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements: 16 Andrew Hore, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Brodie Retallick, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Ben Smith.
Referee: Alain Rolland (IRFU)
By Dave Morris
Comments
Wallaroo says...
@new_j4a - your comment is stupid. There is more theft in Joburg in 1 day than in Australia in 1 year.
Posted 12:17 19th August 2012
carpelone says...
7ton
I am a simple man, and I am happy with simple things.
Bk47
Now I understand. You are sometimes on receiving end of McCaw's medicine.
Posted 12:06 19th August 2012
startledwombat says...
@bigb6969 >That was the most boring top level test ever,
A large claim, and easily refuted.
If a comely young maiden ever invites you to their living room to re-live the glories of the 1987 Rugby World Cup, and then slips into the DVD drawer a copy of the Ireland-Wales pool game (Athletic Park, 25 May 1987) my best advice is to run away. Fast.
No matter what delights she may have promised for after-match entertainment, by the time the eighty minutes is up you will be a mere husk, your brain having tried to flee out your ears.
It was a dreadful game, played by two teams who simply did not want to be there and had not a skerrick of national pride. The guys in the stand next to me were placing large bets on trivial pieces of play just to relieve the boredom.
Posted 12:01 19th August 2012
carpelone says...
Ramage
I used to like your posts before the RWC. You are still pervaded by some hangover. Please go back to your earlier standards.
Posted 11:52 19th August 2012
KiwiLad says...
I do not think the AB squad will be as happy as they appear outwardly, A number of Australias front line players did not really show up, and the ABs did not really put them away.
Quite possibly as bad a performance from the ABs as the 2nd test against the Irish.
Trinats, dont be to upset, the Wallabies can not play that badly again, surely?
Posted 11:25 19th August 2012
isthatrightref says...
Rolland refed as you'd expect from any NH ref i.e. no more than 3 or 4 howlers, none of which were game-changers, otherwise technically sound but a bit quick with the whistle e.g. the collapsed scrum he reset when the ball was available to play.
I wasn't looking forward to the commentary & was therefore pleasntly surprised at how good Horan & Kafer were: none of the "that's offside/ cheating/ forward/ a knockon" crap usually dished up by Slacky, Marto & esp Kearnsy, and the absence of said crap Clarke was something like the good commentator I remember from his time with TVNZ & Sky back in the day.
Suggest that next time the wobblies spend 3 weeks in camp they spend more time practising their passing, catching, tactical kicking etc & less talking about how wonderful their passing, catching, tactical kicking etc has become during the camp...
Read looked like a bloke with not much game time of late but McCheat & Kev were awsome ditto Romano while he was on; Whitelock & Woodcock were average & will need to step up next week after the impact Retallick & Franks made.
AB 7/10 & to win by 15+ next week unless Deans makes a heap of changes which he probably won't 'cos that would be admitting he was wrong & Robbie doesn't do that.
Posted 10:28 19th August 2012
passtheball says...
Bones - using SBW and Nonu as dummy runners early on was the masterstroke that led to tries. They tied up 2 /3 defenders and left Dagg and co a free rein.
I think Foster, like Wayne Smith, will prove to a better ass. coach than head coach. Looking forward to some cool moves next game and this time maybe the centres will run.
Its not hard to imagine what sort of game it would have been if a SH ref had controlled game. The stop / start nature probably led to more mistakes than a more flowing game would.
Posted 09:41 19th August 2012
new_j4a says...
Kurtley needs to focus more on rugby and less on his defense....or is it possible that he's trying to get dropped because Quade is getting all of the laptops during the game?
Posted 08:39 19th August 2012
tha_mai says...
what changes for next week? ABs maybe rotate at hooker and lock, otherwise basically the same side. For Australia? Would it be unfair pressure to reintroduce QC at Eden after last year's shocker? As a 'confidence player' maybe better to wait for Argentina.
Good pre-game comment from Hansen here: "It's probably the difference between Australia and us, we don't talk ourselves up much. Actions speak louder than words"
And so it was to be!
Posted 06:15 19th August 2012
eccles says...
Good to see Deans reward those 8 Waratahs players for their stellar Super XV season. Can we please now get on with picking a team with players that actually want to win. I have to admit that I was wrong; I picked the AB's by 20+. Barnes was standing so far back that it was impossible for those outside him to get to the gain line; I suspect he's found the answer to his concussion problems. We might not be able to win with Cooper at 10, but we're no chance without him.
Posted 05:39 19th August 2012
kakapo76 says...
Trinats- Gracious comment, kudos.
Dan73, take the ball into a mall and it collapses and the defending tackler has the right to hold the ball carrier off the ground and regain possesion. This was played to great effect by the Crusaders all season- bottom line is it is really an extension of the "use it or lose it" scenario refs have been instructed to enforce at ruck and maul time now that you can no longer legally collapse the maul- (ELV that was abandoned.)
Both sides played below par, but I reckon thats what we will see more and more of in the future- so much rugby etc etc.
Posted 05:16 19th August 2012
three6three6 says...
This match was not an epic encounter, but the better team won (again). Some of Rolland's refereeing decisions looked a tad out of place in the context of this match.... but he is a very good referee... and has been so for sometime. Referees, like players, also have bad games!
Where was the Pocock v McCaw show down? Pocock gave away no fewer than three penalties... and it was a case of the Master giving the Apprentice another lesson in playing the beautiful game.
The form of the Wallabies was very close to the form shown against Wales! Such form was never likely to be successful against an AB team, without a significant rise in intensity and pace. This ABs team can play in a variety of situations.... their greatest opponents are likely to be themselves.... and failing perpare properly.
Should R.Deans be culled during the Rugby Championship? This would be a bad move... especially given that the Wallabies are still likely to be competitive against the Pumas and Bokke.
Commiserations to Nathan Sharpe has now lost against New Zealand on 19 occasions - the most defeats by any player against another nation in Test rugby history. Meanwhile, at the other end of the scale, Richard McCaw moves to 22 wins against Australia - which extends his record as the most wins by any player against another nation in Test rugby history.
The Wallabies now have a mountain to climb against the ABs. Can they win? Well they can certainly play better than they did on Saturday!
Posted 04:05 19th August 2012
damo says...
Last second AB's wanted to kick out the ball from the back of the scrum and for no apparent reason Rolland gifted them the pen, look at the scrum again and tell me the AB's were not switched off just wanting the ball at the back to kick out and where Rolland sees the pen??? OZ got a good hit and AB's front row started to wheel under the pressure and what does dopey do he gives the weaker scrum the pen and also cost ozzies a losing BP and me a +6 handi bet - idiot
I am Irish and i hate watching this dude ref games!!!!!!!
Posted 03:06 19th August 2012
bigb6969 says...
That was the most boring top level test ever, the skills on both sides were shocking. I have never been so flat for an All Blacks test. I was not nervous at all even when Australia got back within seven. I don't think the staff writers of PR got it at all. And the referee was a shocker, his mistakes as well as ABs mistakes cost plenty of points. The two worst examples were when the All Blacks blew over the ball and Australian pack was obliterated and at 6 & 7s and the All Blacks were penalised for going off their feet, the second was when the Wallabies took the ball back into the 22, they took an age to kick the ball out on the full, the ABs where so quick in coming back for the quick throw (Smith ) and an incredibly smart thinking was ruled out while the dimwitted officials made the ABs take the thrown from where the ball went out instead of up to 5 metres from the line...Rolland pulled a crock in the world cup, and I am not talking Warburton, he gifted the French a try in the pool game, pulling players over for a chat and then letting them take a tap without blowing a whistle - major league incompetance
Posted 02:46 19th August 2012
abfixit says...
The ref was terrible. Oz did themselves no favours with the first half performance. After that, it was catch-up time and the ABs just waited for the mistakes from pressure. Would have liked the ABs to put more gas on during the second half. However as it was a first game as a team, it was a fair display. Not every team can play a perfect game first up, but Alain was not good!!
Posted 02:42 19th August 2012
Trader2 says...
I hate to admit it but had to go out to dinner last night (missus had booked us up) and listen to constant prattle about the AFL games being played. Who cares about this gormless game only played in the southern Oz states. Anyway on the pretence of having to drive home I stayed (almost) sober, looking forward to watching the game that I had recorded, only to find that the recording on my little black Foxtel Box had failed -thank you Foxtel, I suspect Kearnsey had something to do with it. Any way watched the edited version of the replay this morning. Good result for the AB's a bit rusty probably bombed at least 3 tries but always seemed to be in control and were hardly threatened. Aussies woe ful across the park really and some really stupid decision making - 13-3 down they have a penalty right in front, 23rd min, 1st half, and they run it. No need for that at that stage, take the points for god's sake. Poocock has a bit of work to become a good captain, actually hardly saw him all game. Great ploy by the AB's using SBW and Nonu as decoys, sucked in the Wannabies everytime and they never cottoned on to it all game. The scrums were a mess, as usual when the Wannabies are involved, I am still awaiting the reset scrum stats involving Wannabie games v games when the Wannabies were not involved, would make interesting reading I suspect. Has someone out there got them??
Sharpie had a great game, I love the way this guy plays is he one of the young brigade Trinats?
Well on to next week where another loss for the Wannabies could almost finish their season for them. What chance of them winning at Eden Park - anyone???
Posted 02:40 19th August 2012
2EyedKiwi says...
Possibly the worst match I've seen between AB's and Oz. While Rolland was poor and seemingly on a mission to ensure neither team could get any sort of flow on, its not his fault when players drop such simple passes or pass it forward.
As for the scrums - really, why do we bother? For me the only excitement was seeing Dagg back to some sort of attacking form with ball in hand, although Beales performance would have made Trinats6 look good.
Posted 01:42 19th August 2012
startledwombat says...
>Finally, Australia struck gold when Digby Ioane made the intitial inroads after the wing found a chink in the All Blacks' armour
That chink involved the Aussie forwards holding McCaw down away from play while play moved on a couple of phases. Unfortunately for Australia that tactic didn't work too often. It seems you can't keep a good man down.
I was impressed at how the All Blacks back row complemented each other so very well. Everyone seemed clear on their job and how they fit into what the team aims to do. I didn't get the same sense of combination from the Wallabies pack. Messam will soon come right - first time jitters. Mealamu's still got a lot of fire in him. Andrew Hore played just three minutes and got a magnificant crucial heartbreaking turnover when the Wallabies were having their last sniff on attack.
I thought Rollaind reffed as well as the teams allowed him. Both teams showed that the break between the June tests and August was too long, so this game had a "first test of the year" look about it with lots of spilled ball and other basic errors that can't be ignored. I think the All Blacks left four or five tries on the park. By reffing the rucks and mauls even-handedly it turns out that the Wallabies stayed in the contest for a surprisingly long time.
I've read a lot of comments below that come across as venting on this message board. At this early stage of the season, and at the extremely fast pace the All Blacks forced on the game, errors and the whistle were inevitable.
Such a fast game. The Wallabies were exposed.
Posted 23:55 18th August 2012
kpe12 says...
Not a bad start for the ABs, their set plays from set piece look solid. Defensive line looks brutal.
Kurtley Beale played like O'Conner today, coming off the last man and leaving the outside channel open. Watch Jane on defense, he never leaves his man and turns inside out following his player before tracking down the inside attacker (if they get free).
MoM had to be Mealamu, Dagg makes the break but his brain explodes after, if he has to pass the ball he's useless (this guy needs to learn how to pass left, cause his fundamentals are WEAK). Give me Taylor (Hurricanes) or Robinson (Chiefs) any day.
During the game, moment of the match had to be the Australian penalty when Read cut Pocock in half. I'm sure Pocock won't forget Read in a hurry (and welcome back big fella!).
Finally Messam had a good game but still has the lowest rugby IQ on the field (which is saying something considering Australia was playing). His conceded that allowed the Aussies get onto attack for the Sharpe try was an excellent example of a talented player playing at the top of the game with little understanding of the rules and finer points of the game (also wan't impressed with his offload to Gear when he should have ducked his own head and straightened)... I miss Kaino already.
Bring on Eden park.
Posted 23:51 18th August 2012
jontheref says...
7 ton said
"For me Rolland was way too pedantic against both sides but to be fair maybe he was instructed to be such but it really slowed the game down and does not make for attractive rugby "
my thoughts too.
Apart from the brain farts, and all refs have those, he told the players what he wanted, and penalised them if they did something els.
Perfect example was Genia going to 10 at a lineout, being told to stay back, and quite rightly PK'd when he advanced.
Didn't agree with his consistency on going beyond the ruck, and taking players out, which he allowed Aus to do repeatedly, and then pings McCaw for the same late on.
I think we may see more games like this, if Jutge has told them to apply the laws.
Posted 23:00 18th August 2012