Huge defence sees All Blacks clinch Bledisloe

Rico Gear looks for support. Chris McGrath / Getty Images

All Blacks 13 Australia 9

BRISBANE - Another mighty All Blacks defensive effort helped them seal the Bledisloe Cup with a match to spare as they quelled a fired-up Wallabies 13-9 in an intense Tri-Nations rugby test tonight.

The All Blacks kept the Wallabies tryless before a screaming full house of 52,500 at Suncorp Stadium, with left wing Joe Rokocoko's 10th minute try proving the difference, along with a Daniel Carter dropped goal midway through the second half.

The Wallabies, much improved from their 12-32 loss in the series opener in Christchurch three weeks ago, threw everything at the visitors in the dying minutes but the defence stayed watertight. Three Stirling Mortlock penalties was all they could manage.

It was the All Blacks' 13th consecutive win and shortened their odds to microscopic for another Tri-Nations title this year, while for the Wallabies it was their first loss in seven matches at the rebuilt stadium.

It was an electric opening before a ground record crowd but the intensity and speed saw plenty of early errors, while Irish referee Alain Rolland did his bit with numerous penalties for both sides at the breakdown.

The All Blacks' scrum had an edge, their lineout was jittery at times, but they again were tough at the breakdown with standout captain Richie McCaw named man of the match.

After all the pre-match fuss over the new haka, the All Blacks reverted to their traditional Ka Mate, led by Rico Gear, to loud booing.

The Wallabies, intent on not letting the All Blacks gain a flyer, responded cheekily by bringing out the tackle bags and cones for some warmups as their opponents waited for kickoff.

The All Blacks did plenty of defending in the first half as the Wallabies threw everything they had, but the tackling was ferocious, none more so than when Carl Hayman upended George Smith like a rag doll.

Any promising raids were snuffed out and the All Blacks had superior numbers to the breakdown as they forced Wallabies errors, one of which led to the first try in the 10th minute.

Just seconds after Mortlock opened the scoring with a penalty, the centre dropped a kickoff and the All Blacks pounced.

Halfback Byron Kelleher worked it blind to Jerry Collins who barged in, slipped a neat pass to Rokocoko 30m out who brushed off Rocky Elsom then turned on the afterburners and finished by stepping past Chris Latham with ease.

Carter, again a key man on attack and defence but had an off night with his kicking in general play, converted from the left touchline and added a penalty seven minutes later for a handy 10-3 lead.

Mortlock closed the gap to four at halftime when Rolland again penalised the All Blacks at a ruck.

Both sides conceded to the other's standout defence by trying clever variations and cross kicks but the game started to open up after the break.

Mortlock made a rare line break through the All Blacks midfield and sent Mark Gerrard into the clear but lively Gear covered well and his teammates scrambled the turnover 5m out.

With both sides hammering away but struggling to finish off, Carter made it 13-6 with a sweet 25m dropped goal with just over a quarter left, but Mortlock replied four minutes later with a 40m penalty.

The Wallabies lifted for one last charge at the All Blacks' line in the final 10 minutes but they couldn't nail the final movement, Gerrard dropping one and Stephen Larkham throwing a wayward pass with the line beckoning.

"We got a couple of vital turnovers, stopped them getting attacking ball, and with the backline the Wallabies have got you've got to stop them getting that," a relieved McCaw said. Wallabies captain George Gregan paid tribute to the All Blacks' defence.


"We created a number of opportunities in that second half, you only get limited opportunities against quality opposition and you've got to take them."

New Zealand 13 (Joe Rokocoko try; Daniel Carter con, pen drop goal)
Australia 9 (Stirling Mortlock 3 pen)

- NZPA