New Zealand powered clear in the second half to beat Australia 50-19 on Saturday, extending their remarkable unbeaten record at Eden Park and retaining the Bledisloe Cup.
The All Blacks led 17-14 at half-time before racking up five tries in the second spell as they stretched their run without defeat at the Auckland venue to 54 matches.
The hosts put the disappointment of their recent 3-1 series loss to South Africa behind them while handing a first defeat in six Tests to Wallabies coach Les Kiss since succeeding Joe Schmidt in July.
The seven-try performance means the All Blacks retain the Bledisloe Cup — the trophy contested annually between the two nations — for a 23rd straight year regardless of the result of next week’s second Test in Sydney.
The Sydney match takes on extra significance because the teams will clash there in the Rugby World Cup in a year’s time.
All Blacks captain Codie Taylor said his side “brought a bit of edge” after the South Africa disappointment.
“We were hurting a little bit,” he said.
“But it’s awesome to come home, play in front of our fans, our people.
“We’ve missed it, and to get a result like that… hugely proud of the boys.”
Wallabies skipper Harry Wilson said their display, especially after beating South Africa two weeks ago, was “a step back”.
“It’s disappointing. We came here tonight with real belief that we’d get the result, and we didn’t,” he said.
“The start of the second half we had an opportunity to get some points and really put some pressure on them, and we missed out there.
“And gee-whiz, when you give the All Blacks a bit of ball, it’s hard to get it back.”
Second-half dominance
Damian McKenzie kicked 15 points and helped spark some slick All Blacks attacks from fly-half.
However, it was his opposite number, Ben Donaldson, who created both of Australia’s first-half tries, tapping the ball on cleverly for fullback Tom Wright for the opener.
New Zealand responded smartly through tries to back-rowers Peter Lakai and Tupou Vaa’i, with McKenzie’s eye for a gap twice playing a role.
McKenzie’s penalty pushed the hosts 17-7 clear but a Donaldson break sent Wilson over just before the interval.
New Zealand took control after the break, with rapid-fire strikes resulting in tries to scrum-half Cam Roigard and captain Taylor.
Any hopes of a late Wallabies rearguard disappeared when Leroy Carter backed up the outstanding Lakai to score.
Carter appeared to injure his leg in the process of scoring, putting him in doubt for the Sydney Test.
Carter’s replacement Josh Moorby and Will Jordan both crossed late for New Zealand while Josh Nasser rounded out Australia’s scoring.
Taylor was delighted to keep the Eden Park fortress intact.
“You know, you see ex-All Blacks yourself standing on the sidelines,” he said.
“You want to do it for those men, the people that have been before you, and you just want to continue the legacy, so that’s awesome.”
