The cavalry returned to spark the All Blacks to a much-needed response at Eden Park – but locking away the Bledisloe Cup came at the cost of a lengthy injury toll that will force a reshuffle for the rematch in Perth.
Damian McKenzie will be thrust into the starting playmaking duties this week as the All Blacks attempt to deliver back-to-back for the first time in this highly competitive Rugby Championship.
Beauden Barrett, favoured at first five-eighths in all but one test this season by Scott Robertson, will not travel to Australia after sustaining an AC shoulder injury that needs scans to determine his time on the sidelines.
Without surgery, the injury usually requires anywhere from two to 12 weeks to recover.
“We’re not sure but it’s a decent AC [injury],” All Blacks forwards coach Jason Ryan said as the team departed for Perth on Sunday.
Rather than call in Chiefs and Taranaki No 10 Josh Jacomb, the All Blacks are banking on McKenzie and Ruben Love remaining fully fit as their only playmaking cover in Perth.
“We’ve got a pretty short week by the time we get there and reset and get into the review. We’ll keep it pretty light so we’re satisfied with where we’re at,” Ryan said. “D-Mac, it’s a great opportunity for him now and Ruben has had a bit there too.”
Loosehead prop Ethan de Groot will also remain at home after failing his head injury assessment (HIA) following a head clash with All Blacks lock Fabian Holland. Tamaiti Williams will replace de Groot while Tevita Mafileo is travelling as cover.
Caleb Clarke impressed in his first test this year on the left wing, scoring the opening try after an emotional rendition of the New Zealand national anthem from his father and former All Black Eroni Clarke, only to reinjure the same ankle that has restricted his involvement.
Leicester Fainga’anuku or Rieko Ioane could step in should Clarke not recover but the wing indicated the setback was not serious.
“It’s feeling a lot better than it did last night. It was a bit of a scare,” Clarke said. “We’ll see how the week goes but right now it’s feeling better. I wanted to keep playing and I tried to keep going, which is a good sign. We’ll take it day by day now.
“That’s where the tears were coming from at the start of the anthem – all this build-up, the year that’s been, trying to get back into form. It all came out. Scoring that try, I was happy to cross after that, it was playing and having fun with my mates again.”
Tupou Vaa’i is another casualty, in doubt with a knee complaint but All Blacks captain and fellow lock Scott Barrett could return from his shoulder issue that sidelined him from Eden Park, providing he proves his fitness.
Cam Roigard and Codie Taylor’s respective returns from injury were instrumental in helping refine the All Blacks set piece and spark their attacking struggles. Clarke’s comeback – and lock Patrick Tuipulotu’s impact off the bench - were notable too. But with multiple changes now required, the onus is on the All Blacks to recover and reset to break their inconsistent frustrations.
The All Blacks must defeat the Wallabies – and also need the Pumas to do them a favour against the Springboks at Twickenham – to claim the Rugby Championship title after Rassie Erasmus’ World Cup champions delivered another second-half demolition to push one point clear in the tournament standings.
Arguably more important, though, is the All Blacks improving their ruthlessness to record successive wins against a Wallabies side who pushed them to the brink and will be stronger on home soil for regaining enforcers Will Skelton and Rob Valetini.
“I thought we bounced forward,” Ryan said. “There were parts of that contest where we played some outstanding rugby and there’s passages where everything shifts. Teams are scoring so fast. Australia got some good gain line on us.
“We had a lot of chaos with injuries early. Quinn Tupaea was on the wing; we hadn’t trained that. That’s where you back these boys to be instinctive and do what’s in front of them. We worked through those areas of the game so that’s progress for us.
“We’ve got to do some work on our breakdown. That’s one area we can be better at. We’ve got to go up a notch because what we’re learning in second tests is everyone gets better.
“It comes round pretty quick. We’ve got a few bodies we need to look after and an opportunity to look at everyone in our squad too potentially.”
Liam Napier is a Senior Sports Journalist and Rugby Correspondent for the New Zealand Herald. He is a co-host of the Rugby Direct podcast.