New Zealand 39
Australia 10
KEY POINTS:
When Graham Henry started high-fiving in the All Black coaches' box you could understand the relief he and the team felt from the crushing pressure.
Henry has a sardonic wit and usually keeps his emotions in check. However the past three weeks have been tough for Henry, his
staff and his players as they battled through messy performances in successive Tri-Nations defeats.
The chirpy ripostes have dwindled, the frowns deepened, the worry lines increased, the excuses have taken on an unusual trend - all signs of the rising level of inquisition about how he, his staff and his players would respond to the All Black traumas.
Some of the tension in the pressure-cooker world Henry and his crew live in was released with the All Blacks' 39-10 victory against the Wallabies at Eden Park. That much was evident by their more relaxed attitude as the test wound down through the final quarter.
Henry then suffered a yes-no-wait-maybe moment of jubilation to uncertainty then delight when Ma'a Nonu was awarded the team's fourth and final try for the bonus point.
The noose was eased around the necks of the All Black coaches and players - they had played with a far better clarity and purpose than a week before in Sydney. They had been unrelenting and had varied their play to such an extent they were encouraged to try their fortune in lineouts.
The All Blacks had not lost to any side at Eden Park for 19 consecutive tests since 1994. They had not been defeated by the Wallabies at the same venue since 1986.
It was time for the All Blacks to spit out their own version of George Gregan's "four more years" invective - the words the Wallaby legend said as he leaned over his fallen foe Byron Kelleher at the 2003 World Cup.
Robbie Deans has made a fine start to his Wallaby coaching career, but this was a decent old clobbering in his first taste of defeat since learning the words to Advance Australia Fair. A week ago, Deans undermined the All Blacks with his strategies; on Saturday, he was the one left with most of the misgivings.
The four-tries-to-one triumph extended their offshore losing Tri-Nations streak to 15 tests since 2001 with the next Bledisloe Cup duel in Brisbane on September 13.
Victory coincided with the return of skipper Richie McCaw, sidelined for six weeks with an ankle problem. His recovery allowed a better balance in the looseforwards with Rodney So'oialo back to his preferred No 8 role and Jerome Kaino at blindside where his support play, defence and lineout work mirrored his Super 14 play.
The scrum was a rock, Jimmy Cowan and Daniel Carter formed a neat combo, Ma'a Nonu was a potent threat as he lowered his mistake rate, while Mils Muliaina once again showed what a classy operator he is at fullback.
"A lot of people were under a lot of pressure and we were pretty relieved the side played well," Henry said.
Henry confessed the dressing room in Sydney last week resembled a "morgue" after the All Blacks were belted 34-19. That loss and the pressure that built all week had created an edge for the side. It had also been a matter of getting the tactics right after the staff and players fluffed their lines in Sydney.
The All Blacks had been on a fair roll in the last four years, but like rugby in New Zealand, were under pressure following the World Cup defeat and the reduced interest in the sport. The country wanted a big performance and the All Blacks delivered.
Henry was careful not to overdo the elation, though he said the new-look side had surprised him with the level of their play. This week was the All Blacks' turn, last week it had been the Wallabies', were his notes of caution.
Deans thought the Wallabies had lost momentum early, suffered through lack of quality possession and gradually ebbed away in the contest.
"I thought the front five had a helluva good game," McCaw said of his troops.
The All Black defence forced turnovers, their kickers put the ball out down the Wallaby end of the field and the All Blacks had camped down there and accrued points.
"Once we got ahead we did not let them back into the game, we kept the hammer on them and got a bonus point try which might be critical," McCaw said. "It was not rocket science what we got wrong and we had to rectify it."
McCaw's accidental hit on Phil Waugh removed him from much of the play and Deans appeared to admit post-match, that the experiment of using tandem flankers George Smith and Waugh was not for the long-haul. Another McCaw hit on halfback Luke Burgess opened the way for Nonu's first try and it was an extraordinary feat for the All Black captain to be still churning out the kilometres and hits at the end of the test.
It was also warming to see the All Blacks go to lineouts in a tactic which created one set-piece try for loosehead prop Tony Woodcock and also a flow of possession and turnovers which startled the visitors. About nine of the Wallaby throws were disrupted as Kaino and Co attacked strongly in the last half of the test.
It was a strong retort after the foibles of the last few weeks and one which keeps the All Blacks alive in both the Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup contests.