All Blacks front up for Bledisloe

Ali Williams and Rocky Elsom contest a line out. Bradley Kanaris / Getty Images

No matter how many new words enter rugby's lexicon, it is the cliches that continue to hold most resonance.

Like tests being won and lost up front. All the reconditioning and rotating no doubt helps to a point, but last night the All Blacks showed once again that the best way to win a test is to get the forwards to roll up their sleeves and duke it out.

It took some time for the battle to be won. These Wallabies carry a lot of self-belief but they also know that, deep down, they have effectively tried to ignore their problems up front and hope they will go away.

The efficiency of their lineout helped convince them they could compete at the nasty stuff. By the second half the All Blacks had clearly decided against kicking the ball out - they knew it was simply giving the ball away and presenting the Wallabies with the platform they needed to set loose a back division that grew more menacing as the game wore on.

Menacing, but ultimately not lethal, and that was partly because of an enormous All Black defensive effort that saw Richie McCaw pull off arguably the greatest cover tackle since George Gregan flung himself at Jeff Wilson.

There were other heroes on defence, too, and they needed to be staunch in those last 10 minutes as the Wallabies laid siege to the All Black line. Dan Carter made a try-saving hit on Stirling Mortlock and Leon MacDonald got off the line quickly enough to force Mark Gerrard into a guddle that will burn on his conscience for weeks to come. It will burn almost as long as Stephen Larkham's horrid pass to no one after 72 minutes when the numbers were queuing up to score.

The last 20 minutes were classic Bledisloe Cup tension and while no one particularly enjoys the stress that induces on the heart, it was probably about time the All Blacks had to cling on for a win.

We have seen the talent on offer, that is unquestionable. It is always good to get a wee reminder that there is heart and passion - an undeniable will to win.

Recent Bledisloe history is marred with late Wallaby wins - games they possibly should never have won if only the All Blacks had shown a little more leadership and composure when under the gun.

To see the black jerseys rally on defence. To see the rugby remain sensible and focused was encouraging. But the other reason the Wallabies came up short was because they enjoyed forward supremacy only on the touchline.

The scrum can so often be hard to assess. It definitely wasn't so tough to get a handle on it last night.

Tony Woodcock damaged Rodney Blake in the kind of way that might lead to Rodzilla lying in a darkened room telling some harassed psychiatrist about how he feels every time he sees a man wearing black and sporting a suspect moustache.

The All Blacks were just about as dominant in the loose, where their speed to the breakdown is becoming more and more what separates them from the rest of the rugby world.

The thing is, though, it's not just the back row that makes it happen. There were a few too many long flat passes thrown to men standing still. It often looked like it was going to end in disaster, a midfield turnover with no one manning the defence. But it never happened. And it never happened because every man in this All Black team is aware of the need to get into contact and protect the ball.

It was relentless stuff from the Wallabies but they are still a little bit under-equipped to sustain belief in themselves for the full 80 minutes.

That's because the All Blacks have learned patience. They have learned that if they keep grinding, just like peppercorns, what was once a solid and unpalatable foe gets crushed into manageable and submissive form.

It can't be fun having to tackle Jerry Collins at any time.

After 60 minutes of relentless battering by the world's first atomic pint of Guinness, it becomes a chore right up there with having to holiday with the mother-in-law.

And it wasn't just Collins. Ali Williams made a lot of hard yards. Richie McCaw chipped in too, as did Keven Mealamu.