The All Blacks came with a point to prove at Eden Park, and Dave Rennie’s men delivered in the second half, running out 50-19 winners to hand Les Kiss his first loss as Wallabies coach.
Despite the makings of a promising match in the first half, the All Black class that has seen them go undefeated at the fabled venue shone through, scoring four second-half tries to extend their winning run over Australia to 12 - the longest in their history.
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The visitors started ominously, with back-to-back penalties seeing them go to the corner and threaten the All Black maul; however, the hosts' defensive pressure was rewarded, a knock-on from Len Ikitau seeing the All Blacks survive the early onslaught unscathed.
But the visitors landed the first shot a few minutes later, with Max Jorgensen opening Tom Wright in space to give the Wallabies a 7-0 lead inside the first ten minutes.
When the All Blacks got possession, however, they struck back quickly: Jordie Barrett pinched a high ball to put the hosts on the front foot, and Peter Lakai finished the long effort to bring the score back level, getting the crowd into the game.
Tupou Vaa’i gave the hosts the lead four minutes later, with the aerial game proving effective and giving them fast go-forward as the Wallabies ran out of numbers in defence.
With the long-range attack from the All Blacks putting the visitors on notice, the visitors were further hindered by losing Ikitau to a HIA, forcing Suaalii into the centres.
Despite the challenges, the Wallabies found their way back into the game through the ruck, but missed a chance for points through a rare missed Lonergan penalty.
The All Blacks continued to make it clear they wanted to keep ball in play, managing a sustained period inside the Wallabies 22. The visitors' defensive pressure proved resolute, but the hosts would extend their lead to 10 points with five to play through a penalty to McKenzie.
However, the Wallabies would strike back immediately, a more direct approach and taking the line on seeing Donaldson break the All Black line, combining to put captain Harry Wilson in under the posts and cut the margin to three in the closing stages of the half.
The All Blacks would try to pinch the ball in the closing stages, but the Wallabies closed the half out well, going into the break with the score 17-14 in favour of the hosts.
The Wallabies nearly scored off the kick-off through a brilliant counterattack, but the hosts survived through a strong regather from Will Jordan.
Despite generating plenty of chances early, the Wallabies couldn’t convert on the scoresheet, with the hosts surviving six minutes of sustained pressure before getting a chance to attack.
When they did, though, they made it count, with Cam Roigard peeling off a five-metre maul to score, and McKenzie converting to restore a ten-point lead.
With momentum on their side, the All Blacks found strength in brute force, with pick-and-goes resulting in the All Blacks’ fourth try to Codie Taylor, giving the visitors a significant mountain to climb heading into the final 25 minutes.
As the Wallabies emptied the last of their bench and fell behind by 17 points, the visitors opted to have a crack, and the game opened up as a result, but the hosts benefited, with Leroy Carter putting the Bledisloe Cup back in the cabinet with his side’s fifth try.
Asafo Aumua nearly joined the party, benefiting from brute force before his try was struck off for a knock-on. However, it would prove a momentary lapse, with Josh Moorby scoring off another rolling maul just a few minutes later, the scoreline starting to look ugly for the visitors.
After being well-beaten in the second half, the visitors finally had something to cheer about in the 76th minute, a reclaimed kick-off seeing the hosts earn a penalty, the resulting maul try to Josh Nasser almost seeing the match end on a high.
However, with the clock red, the All Blacks pounced on a loose pass to see Will Jordan tidy up and put the score to 50, ending a tough night for the men in gold.
New Zealand 50 (Tries: Lakai, Vaa’i, McKenzie, Taylor, Carter, Moorby, Jordan. Cons: McKenzie 6/7. Pens: McKenzie 1/1) def Australia 19 (Tries: Wright, Wilson, Nasser. Cons: Lonergan 2/2 Meredith 0/1. Pens: Lonergan 0/1)
