New Zealand beat Australia 43-21 at Stadium Australia on Saturday. The result gave the All Blacks their 13th win in a row over the Wallabies.
The All Blacks scored six tries before half-time and led 36-7 at the break. They had already kept the Bledisloe Cup for a 24th year after a 50-19 win in Auckland the week before.
“I’m really proud of the boys, the way we came out on that in that first half,” said New Zealand captain Codie Taylor.
“It was a real challenge for us this week to make sure that we backed up a really good performance from last week, and I thought we were awesome in that first 40,” Taylor said.
New Zealand won despite losing two centres. Jordie Barrett pulled out before kickoff with a calf injury. Quinn Tupaea went off early with a concussion.
The visitors scored four tries in the first 26 minutes. Winger Josh Moorby, fullback Beauden Barrett, flanker Peter Lakai and replacement back Rieko Ioane all went over. That put New Zealand 22-0 ahead.
Australia hit back just before the half-hour mark. Flyhalf Declan Meredith got a pass away in the tackle, and lock Jeremy Williams scored.
Two minutes later, Williams was sent to the sin bin at the other end of the field. Number eight Wallace Sititi used the extra player at once to score the fifth try.
Beauden Barrett then picked off an intercept for his second try. That sent New Zealand into the break 29 points clear.
Moorby also scored his second try within three minutes of the restart. Australia replied when fullback Tom Wright finished a backline move.
The Wallabies looked stronger once their replacements came on. Meredith nearly scored after a sharp run up the middle. He then stopped a New Zealand try at the other end.
In the 66th minute, a clever line dropout from Wright led to a third Australian try. Replacement back Filipo Daugunu scored it, to the delight of most of the 73,399 fans.
New Zealand dropped to 14 players when Samisoni Taukei’aho went off injured. They went down to 13 when debutant Chay Fihaki got a yellow card. They still held out for the last few minutes.
“I’m gutted,” said Wallabies captain Harry Wilson. “When you give a team like the All Blacks a head start it’s tough, and it’s not good enough for this group.”
“We’ve got to be a lot better. It’s been a very disappointing series, and we’re going to have to regroup,” Wilson said.
Source: this article is based on reporting by News24. Image: News24. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Sports desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Tiyani Mathebula writes about sport for Tzaneen Voice. Tiyani covers Bafana Bafana, the Springboks, the Proteas and the PSL, along with athletics, tennis and local club sport. Match reports and previews focus on results, team news, fixtures and what each game means for South African teams and fans.