New Zealand edge out Australia 31-28 in Bledisloe Cup thriller

SYDNEY – New Zealand snapped a two-game losing streak with a nail-biting 31-28 win over Australia on Sept 21, holding off a second-half charge to retain the Bledisloe Cup.

Both sides scored four tries on a warm Sydney afternoon as the All Blacks rebounded from consecutive Rugby Championship defeats by world champions South Africa.

“I’m just really proud of the effort,” said New Zealand coach Scott Robertson.

“Some incredible defence at the end there, scramble D, two yellow cards. We got into a hell of a battle and found a way to win. We got the Cup.”

New Zealand took a commanding 28-14 lead into the break and, despite Australia storming back into contention, held on to retain a trophy they have owned since 2003, dominating possession, set plays and the breakdown.

“It’s a bit of a relief, to be honest,” said All Blacks captain Scott Barrett.

“In the last 15 (minutes), we found ourselves in a bit of a hole, but we hung on with a bit of scramble defence and managed to hang on...

“We were a bit wounded coming back from South Africa... but we showed tonight what we are capable of.”

The writing was on the wall with New Zealand winning their past seven Tests against Australia, heaping more pressure on Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt, whose side were humiliated 67-27 in Argentina a fortnight ago.

Despite the fightback, it proved a disappointing way for prop James Slipper to celebrate becoming the most capped Wallaby with his 140th appearance, surpassing George Gregan.

“We’re obviously gutted to not get the result,” said Australia captain Harry Wilson.

“Giving a 21-0 head start to the All Blacks was always going to make it tough for us, but I am super proud of the effort and the way we fought back. We just didn’t want to give up and played for each other.”

Schmidt was also happy with the way his team battled in the second half.

“I think we deserved what we got in the first half but we really rolled our sleeves up in the second half,” he said.

“We’re starting from scratch... I do think we’re progressing a little bit, but no progress is linear and so even in that game, it’s undulated.”

The All Blacks kept their foot to the floor and raced 14-0 clear after nine minutes, with centre Rieko Ioane collecting their second try in a move stemming from a break by Caleb Clarke.

And with Damian McKenzie nailing a fourth straight conversion, they moved into an ominous 28-7 lead, with Will Jordan, Clarke and Ardie Savea also crossing the line.

The Wallabies, though, kept plugging away and were rewarded when hooker Matt Faessler charged ahead of the half-time hooter to give them a glimmer of hope and their second try, after Fraser McReight’s 18th-minute effort.

An early second-half penalty stretched New Zealand’s lead, but it was a much better Australia that fronted up.

New Zealand had a try disallowed for a forward pass and Australia capitalised with a try of their own through Hunter Paisami to narrow the gap to 10 points with 15 minutes left.

It lit a fuse under the home side, who scored another try through Tom Wright with a minute left to set up a grandstand finish, only for the All Blacks to cling on for victory. AFP, REUTERS