Brisbane, Australia
A week after losing by a record margin to concede the Bledisloe Cup, Australia rebounded with a 24-22 win over New Zealand on Saturday to give Dave Rennie his first win as Wallabies head coach.
It was described by some as a dead-rubber match, but there’s no such thing when it comes to a trans-Tasman contest.
A brutal first half contained two early tries and two red cards for dangerous tackles, ending with the score locked at 8-8 and New Zealand holding a one-man advantage with 14 against Australia’s 13. The second half featured three tries — including one for each team in the last five minutes — and ended with 14 Wallabies on the field against 13 All Blacks. What it lacked in skill execution, it made up for in intensity. Replacement prop Taniela Tupou burrowed over for a match-clinching try and Reece Hodge converted to give Australia a nine-point cushion with five minutes to play.
It was far from over, though, and Tupou Vaa’i crossed to reduce the gap with less than two minutes remaining before Australia finally ended a winless streak against the All Blacks.
The New Zealanders clinched the Bledisloe Cup for the 18th consecutive season last weekend with a thumping 43-5 win in Sydney, giving them two big wins over the Wallabies after the series-opening 16-16 draw in Wellington. They made wholesale changes for the fourth Bledisloe test, which also doubled as the second in a Tri-Nations series that also involves Argentina.—AP
