All Blacks lock away Bledisloe Cup for another year after comprehensive first half showing against Wallabies
The Wallabies have endured a Halloween nightmare to hand the All Blacks the Bledisloe Cup for an 18th straight year.
New Zealand piled on six tries to one, with five-eighth and man-of-the-match Richie Mo’unga bagging a brilliant double and a 23-point personal haul as the All Blacks took an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the four-game series with a record-breaking 43-5 rout on Saturday night.
Wallabies coach Dave Rennie handed Test debuts to five-eighth Noah Lolesio and inside centre Irae Simone, marking the first time in 73 years that Australia had blooded a rookie 10-12 combination against the All Blacks.
But the daring move backfired, Mo’unga’s mastery schooling Lolesio as the 20-year-old’s forgettable first half helped the All Blacks bolt to a 26-0 lead at the break.
Defending at fullback, Lolesio struggled with his positional play as the All Blacks, armed with more than 60 per cent possession and territory, mounted attack after attack.
Lolesio’s kicking game was also poor.
But the young playmaker was far from alone in having an off night.
Three-Test winger Filipo Daugunu crashed back to earth from the highs of his Wellington debut in the series-opening draw, a succession of handling errors and his early stint in the sin-bin also hurting the Wallabies.
Daugunu vowed pre-game to put a hit on his All Blacks opposite and Bledisloe II chief destroyer Claeb Clarke but got his timing badly wrong, leaving the Wallabies with 14 men in just the third minute after taking out his opposing winger in mid-air.
The All Blacks wasted no time making the Wallabies pay, prop Karl Tu’inukuafe crossing two minutes later for the first try of the night.
An explosive opening 13 minutes hasn't been enough to stop the All Blacks from stamping their authority over the Wallabies in the first half of Bledisloe Cup III in Sydney. #BledisloeCup #AUSvNZL https://t.co/MfT5CZxk3z
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 31, 2020
In an action-packed opening quarter of an hour, New Zealand winger Jordie Barrett was sent to the sin-bin for elbowing Wallabies fullback Dane Haylett-Petty before the TMO Angus Gardner denied the All Blacks two more tries in the space of four minu tes.
First, hooker Dane Coles was deemed to have knocked the ball on over the line after showing great foot speed to reel in Mo’unga’s probing cross-field kick.
Then Marika Koroibete miraculously forced Clarke dead in goal with a brilliant, George Gregan-esque, trysaver.
But there was no let-up from the All Blacks and they inevitably claimed their second try when Mounga switched inside and beat Wallabies hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa, then Nic White and Lolesio for pace to dive over in the corner.
Mo’unga was in again shortly after when he collected a lovely chip kick from Beauden Barrett and raced 70 metres to score.
Coles wasn’t denied for a second time when he cashed in on the All Blacks’ deadly driving maul on the half hour.
A destructive solo run from fellow young gun Jordan Petaia led to Lolesio charging over for Australia’s only try of the game two minutes into the second half.
But further five-pointers to Rieko Ioane and Jordie Barrett completed the drubbing, the All B lacks’ winning margin the biggest over the Wallabies in 169 trans-Tasman Tests stretching back to 1903.
All Blacks 43 (Tries to Karl Tu’inukuafe, Richie Mo’unga (2), Dane Coles, Rieko Ioane and Jordie Barrett; 6 conversions and penalty to Mo’unga; yellow cards to Barrett and Shannon Frizell)
Wallabies 5 (Try to Noah Lolesio; yellow card to Filipo Daugunu)
TEAMS
Wallabies: 1. James Slipper 2. Folau Fainga’a 3. Allan Alaalatoa 4. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto 5. Matt Philip 6. Ned Hanigan 7. Michael Hooper 8. Harry Wilson 9. Nic White 10. Noah Lolesio 11. Marika Koroibete 12. Irae Simone 13. Jordan Petaia 14. Filipo Daugunu, 15. Dane Haylett-Petty
Reserves: 16. Jordan Uelese 17. Scott Sio 18. Taniela Tupou 19. Rob Simmons 20. Fraser McReight 21. Tate McDermott 22. Reece Hodge 23. Hunter Paisami
New Zealand: 1. Karl Tu’inukuafe 2. Dane Coles 3. Ofa Tuungafasi 4. Patrick Tuipulotu, 5. Samuel Whitelock 6. Shannon Frizell 7. Sam Cane (c) 8. Hoskins Sotutu 9. Aaron Smith, 10. Richie Mo’unga 11. Caleb Clarke 12. Jack Goodhue 13. Anton Lienert-Brown 14. Jordie Barrett 15. Beauden Barrett
Reserves: 16. Codie Taylor 17. Alex Hodgman 18. Tyrel Lomax 19. Scott Barrett 20. Dalton Papalii 21. TJ Perenara 22. Ngani Laumape 23. Rieko Ioane.
Comments on RugbyPass
This has the makings of a good match. That’s Leinster’s second team but its a good one (stronger than the teams in SA recently). Ulster are really turning a page. Ryan back is huge, and Keenan too. This could be a cracker.
1 Go to commentsThe Farrells are one of the great father and son combinations. Andy was an RL great, and had he played Union as his first sport, I would be sure he would have been avery significant forcewas in League. And Owen, a Union great, who had he played League, would could have been a great there too i all probability. I feel my attitude to Owen has mellowed as he has aged, and in the post Jones era, evolved and shown his full range of talents. He really is an all round player, and I have wold hope his move to France will be successful. He may even be the piece in the jigsaw that Racing need to rise to challenge Toulouse and LAR. He is ofc now approaching 33 years of age but should still have enough left to make a big contribution in France for at least2/3 years.
45 Go to commentsI reckon it may be Jordan at 10 and Nohamba at 9, both players have played together alot and both have been on the Radar for a long time. After Pollard got injured in 2022 with Elton sidelined on a path of self destruction Erasmus and Nienaber indicated that the other options in the country at the time were thin but that Jordan and Manie were the 2 they were looking at. In the end Frans steyn played flyhalf, Willemse slotted in there on the end of year with Libbok as back up. Jordan was right there in the thinking back then so expect him to take the Jersey either as the starter.
1 Go to commentsHaha did he also* say it in a sarcastic teacher sort of manor or was it the petulant English snob sort of wail?
45 Go to commentsWell said Mils. It is a big boost at last having Fergus Burke back at 10 for the Crusaders. Had a great season last year as the article says. Mils is also right about captain Codie Taylor’s performance in his return to the Crusaders last week. He was all class.
4 Go to commentsLet’s make them both Capt. I think we'd get the best of both of them and it would help alleviate some of the pressures of the role. They'd have to confer over on field decisions which should lead to “ learnings “ for both. They are our two best consistent performers.
16 Go to commentsOur best player by far..but not a good Captain..poor tactician cost the AB'S and Canes games by not taking the easy points and going for tries when the lineouts were a shambles..can he read a game? And his throat slitting gesture should disqualify him from the AB Captaincy..it is not the appropriate behaviour of an AB Captain.
16 Go to commentsForget what was said or how many players said it. TONY BROWN IS THE NEW ATTACK COACH. That’s the only story worth freaking out over. The springboks are going to grow their game an awful lot over the next cycle and it’s not just the 19 disgustingly arrogant Irish players who refused to shake Ebens hand and said “see you in the final if you can cheat your way past France” who will find that out first hand.
124 Go to commentsOn one hand I think it's a bit ridiculous that this gar into the season and with only 2 wins the Crusaders may make the finals. On the other hand if it was only top 4 or 5, then that last several weeks may be mainly dead rubbers. Nope, 8th place after round robin shouldn't be able to lift the trophy.
4 Go to commentsI do think the media in NZ treated him badly. Sam is a legend. He is humble, a great rugby mind and leader. What happened in the final could happen to anyone. The margins is so fine these days. I lay blame at the feet of the coaching staff and NZ rugby. The stats tell’s all. The AB’s was the worst disciplined side in the WC with more red and yellow cards than anyone else. Problem is NZ rugby is not training their players to play safer. And thats the danger a fast game brings. More yellow and red cards. But Sam Cane in my eye was and still is a great ambassador for the game, that just had a stroke of bad luck.
6 Go to commentsI hope Jim and co. Add this to their list of icebreaker questions they can ask all their guests going forward. So we can eventually hear what everyone thinks about this subject. “What do you think Ireland meant…”
124 Go to commentsHe’s a dominant personality. That might be both a good and bad thing in team dynamics. Certainly it ruined Smith’s first crack at 10 with Owen at 12. BTW, Bristol flatter to deceive. When things really matter, they tend to deliver less rather than more. Farrell would have been good for them
45 Go to commentsGot a lot of over the top abuse from Crusader fans, in particular, who thought every 7 they had was miles better. Now we will see if anyone is better? Laid his body on the line every game so finishing early makes sense. A lot of life left after rugby.
6 Go to commentsA poor decision to appoint Carley as not only is Pearce a better referee but also importantly speaks French.
2 Go to commentsHe is 100 % on the mark. Malicious arrogance with a lack of respect for the other teams mostly the south. they must learn from True rugby nations like the Boks and Kiwis
124 Go to commentsThis Outiniqua boy has played sublime rugby and deserves a spot in BI LIONS team. Well played son
4 Go to commentsI don’t like to see players miss big matches but this ban looks to be tailored to allow him to compete in the final. In principle a suspension for a very dangerous tackle in a semi should warrant missing the relevant final. Done now. One the flip side having both teams with very strong squads/teams available for the final will add to the occassion hopefully.
1 Go to commentsTalent to burn and a huge engine..hope he gets a shot at higher honours
2 Go to commentsIf anything like his dad he has a bright future, Soane was the best ball carrying props ive ever seen using a combination of pace power and footwork.
1 Go to commentsThose who saw Sharks vs Clermont and Ox N'Che vs Rabah Slimani should have a good idea of the best scrumagers… May be not the best props…
2 Go to comments