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HONG KONG - At first glance Graham Henry labelled it "ugly" but deep down the staging of another stirring Bledisloe Cup rugby fight back might be regarded as a work of art by the All Blacks coach.
Down, though never quite out at Hong Kong Stadium last night,
New Zealand erased an eight-point deficit to take a much-heralded though unmemorable 19-14 win.
The manner and margin of victory will not concern Henry and his management team as they embark today on their second Grand Slam attempt in the UK and Ireland.
Their major worry heading to Scotland is a tour-ending injury to first-choice hooker Andrew Hore, who is heading home with his left ankle in plaster.
After dropping the first match of their new and intense rivalry with Robbie Deans 19-34 in Sydney more than three months ago, the All Blacks have displayed an undeniable depth of character to reel off three consecutive trans-Tasman triumphs - the most recent from positions of adversity.
In a mirror image of Brisbane seven weeks ago, the Wallabies made all the early running, built a handy lead and then frittered it away as the All Blacks finished strong.
At Suncorp Stadium the Wallabies surrendered a 10-point deficit in the final half hour to lose 28-24, and with it the chance to regain the Tri-Nations silverware and turn the first offshore Bledisloe into a decider.
And on reflection last night's effort in front of an evenly split crowd of 39,682 was worthy of more.
All they could show was two converted Drew Mitchell tries in the first half against All Blacks first five-eighth Daniel Carter's three penalties by halftime.
After the break tries to Sitiveni Sivivatu and Richie McCaw enabled New Zealand to stutter to a 3-1 series win.
"The guys would say they won ugly but they got better, they played much better in the second half," Henry said.
A drastic improvement was required after the Wallabies dominated the first spell in all facets.
In contrast the All Blacks were clumsy, lacking direction and go forward.
The ploy of playing dual playmakers was questioned by a stern Wallabies defence and only when Carter returned to his customary role at first five-eighth in the 50th minute did the All Blacks assert control.
Ma'a Nonu replaced Stephen Donald and effectively tested a tiring defence, a focal point of Henry's astute use of the bench.
Henry was careful not to criticise Donald for the All Blacks' stodgy opening half, emphasising the performance by his pack had complicated his first starting test.
Carter agreed: "The Wallabies played extremely well and shut down Steve and myself. We didn't have many opportunities - it was a pretty quiet first half," he said.
"I thought the forwards played a lot better and my job going into first five-eighths was made a easier because of the go-forward ball I was getting."
Henry's halftime dressing down achieved the desired result.
The pack gained traction and Carter applied the necessary touches of class.
"We played with more passion and urgency and it was just a matter of trying to get better tactically," Henry said.
"We put a bit of ball behind them in the second half."
After conceding two beautifully worked tries to Mitchell, Lote Tuqiri's replacement on the left wing, the All Blacks responded in kind with two tries based on using the width of the field.
Sitiveni Sivivatu strolled over to level the scores two minutes after halftime thanks to the slick hands of Cater, Conrad Smith and man of the match Isaia Toeava.
It was one of Sivivatu's easier completions but encouragingly his first in eight tests - and the first by an All Blacks wing since the June test against England at Eden Park.
Sivivatu popped up again in the 63rd minute to fling a dubious pass to McCaw who crossed in the corner to give the All Blacks the lead for the first time.
It was better late than never for the captain, who expressed both concern and satisfaction at how his side had secured their last two wins.
"We've started points down pretty much in the last two games, that's something we're going to be working on," he said.
"There was a lot of courage and nous from the guys, when you're under the pump to still believe what you're doing and turn things around."
The Wallabies, meanwhile, were left to rue another costly second half deterioration.
Their cause was not helped by the refereeing of Ireland's Alan Lewis at the scrum and breakdown, with the All Blacks benefitting from an 11-5 penalty count.
Deans would not be drawn on the referee's interpretations.
"We were more deserving," he said diplomatically.
"But still not good enough."
- NZPA
