All Blacks head coach Ian Foster has spoken of his determination to continue his team’s run of dominance, saying in the wake of last night’s Bledisloe Cup demolition of Australia that it’s imperative more gains are made this week in Dunedin.
This will require a balancing act, as he acknowledged when reflecting on the one-sided 38-7 victory over the Wallabies at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Now that the big trophy has been locked up for another year, along with the Rugby Championship following the All Blacks’ comprehensive wins over Argentina, South Africa and Australia, there will be a temptation to tinker with selections ahead of the final Bledisloe Cup Test, effectively a dead rubber, in Dunedin next Saturday.
“We know there will be more challenges ahead, there’s been some good growth,” Foster said. “We’ve been able to build some combinations and give some opportunities for some new people so that’s going to make life interesting in a week or two.”
He added: “How we balance that with change is going to be key for us. The message is clear – we don’t want to compromise on performance."
“We’re not satisfied,” skipper Ardie Savea said. “We continue to want to be better.”
Foster said he was hugely pleased with the way the All Blacks stayed patient in the face of Australian pressure at the start of each half and how they adjusted their defence after being guilty of tackling too high at times.
Despite the Wallabies laying siege to the All Blacks’ line for most of the third quarter, they came away with nothing tangible, opening the door for a withering final 20 minutes from the visitors, who scored through replacement Caleb Clarke plus Mark Telea and Rieko Ioane.
The Wallabies responded to Shannon Frizell’s early try via Rob Valetini, but that was all they could manage as the All Blacks struck again through Codie Taylor and Will Jordan to take a commanding 19-7 halftime lead.
Last year in Melbourne the Aussies staged a remarkable comeback to lead in the final minutes before Jordie Barrett’s late try but this time, thanks in part to two yellow cards for the ill-disciplined Wallabies, the All Blacks well and truly owned the final quarter, their ambition and support play ripping the tired home side apart.
With Taylor, Savea, Jordan, Telea, Scott Barrett, Richie Mo’unga and Jordie Barrett putting in excellent performances, and replacements Cam Roigard, Anton Lienert-Brown and Sam Whitelock enjoying eye-catching cameos, Foster and his fellow selectors have some interesting choices this week and part of their thinking will be an acknowledgement they probably won't be given the same freedom in the big World Cup matches.
The All Blacks are now on an unbeaten 10-Test streak and are building nicely ahead of their opening World Cup match against France in Paris on September 9 but recognise the victory is only one more step in what will be an difficult journey.
“It was a huge effort,” the occasionally inspired Scott Barrett said. “We weathered the storm of the Aussies, particularly around that halftime period. We hung tough with a few deep breaths. I’m pretty proud of a fine effort really.”
Savea said: “Aussie put us under pressure with their ball carrying. We were riding a few tackles… for us to bounce back and nullify that and win crucial moments that helped us swing was pretty pleasing.”
Wallabies coach Eddie Jones, now 0-3 since replacing Kiwi Dave Rennie, said he was disappointed the result and scoreline, saying of the All Blacks: “They’re pretty good mate, they played well. I can’t remember – maybe two passes didn’t go to hand. They were patient when they had the ball and then when they broke their support players were outstanding. I thought Mo’unga kicked well - he’s turning into a proper Test 10.”
With a potentially an eye on next Saturday, Foster added: “I think the scoreline flattered us to be perfectly honest. We deserved to win but there was enough in that Aussie performance that they will take away some good points from that but they’ll regret they couldn’t get more from putting long periods of pressure on us.”
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