Don’t make the All Blacks angry. That’s what the Wallabies found out tonight at Eden Park, as they found themselves on the end of a 36-0 thrashing by an All Black side with a point to prove.
Last weekend the All Blacks leaked a record score, this weekend it was exactly none. This was a massive statement by a team under pressure, and sent a huge warning to the rest of the rugby world that this team is far from the spent force many thought.
It only took four minutes for the All Blacks to get on the board through a Richie Mo’unga penalty, but the game evened out after the early exchanges. Christian Lealiifano had a bad miss with his first attempt, hitting the post, and the Wallabies would rue that as it was their only chance in the first half.
Mo’unga then was the beneficiary of a big tackle by George Bridge that knocked the ball loose from James O’Connor, scooping it up and running back 50 metres to score the opening try. Bridge then turned provider shortly after to set up Aaron Smith to score next to the posts to make the score 17-0 at halftime.
Under pressure second five Sonny Bill Williams started the second half with a bang, punching his way through two tackles to effectively seal the game after only 45 minutes.
Sevu Reece and Bridge then completed the rout by scoring tries to blow the score out to 36-0. The result means they retain the Bledisloe Cup for the 17th season in a row.