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J. Williams (28'), T. Wright (53'), F. Daugunu (65')
Tries
J. Moorby (11', 42'), B. Barrett (16', 40'), P. Lakai (20'), R. Ioane (25'), W. Sititi (31')
R. Lonergan (29', 54'), D. Meredith (66')
Conversions
D. McKenzie (21', 32', 40+1', 43')
This told us the same hard truth as last week: give the All Blacks a sniff and they will turn it into a feast before you can fix your shape. The Wallabies opened with composure, held field position and looked organised through their carries. Then they blinked. New Zealand took two loose exits, a poor kick return and a ragged defensive edge and turned them into three rapid strikes. Add a costly yellow and a 90-metre intercept on the bell and the contest was effectively over by half-time at 7–36.
From there New Zealand did not need to be pretty. They were not, especially around the lineout and with some scruffy tactical kicking after the break, but the job was already done. Australia rallied off the bench and found a couple of smart touches to the edges, yet they were chasing a game they had handed away when it was still in their grasp.
The hinge was Australia’s inability to cash in early. They had front-foot ball, multiple phases in the red zone and even a clean break from rookie 10 Declan Meredith, but nothing on the board. New Zealand’s first real look brought a finish for Josh Moorby and the momentum swing was immediate. A messy kick battle invited Beauden Barrett onto a broken field counter and Peter Lakai then set the collision tone with a try off turnover pressure. In the space of ten minutes Australia’s control turned into chase mode, and with it came riskier width and looser decision-making.
The killer sequence arrived half an hour in. Lock Jeremy Williams had just dragged Australia back within sight with a hard, direct carry and finish, only to see yellow moments later. New Zealand went straight to a scrum, and Wallace Sititi walked in off the base with embarrassing ease. That is not about individual error; it is about clarity. The visitors knew exactly where the number disadvantage sat and executed off a stable set piece. Australia looked at the referee, New Zealand looked at the space.
And when Australia tried to manufacture something before the break, they telegraphed it. The shape was wide, the pass was read, and Beauden Barrett did the rest from 90 metres. That single play turned a manageable 14–29 chase into 7–36 and drained an Accor crowd of 73,399 that had come for a response. You could feel the shoulders drop.
New Zealand even hammered the restart with Moorby’s second just after the interval, which ended any thought of a surge. From there the All Blacks’ game frayed: a wobblier lineout with fresh throwers, mixed exits from Damian McKenzie, and a late yellow to Chay Fihaki. But their defence stayed connected enough, and their tackle completion and breakdown work remained tidy, to manage the margin to the end.
CARRIES
CLEAN BREAK
DEFENDER BEATEN
TACKLE
MISSED TACKLE
TURNOVER WON
TURNOVERS CONCEDED
PENALTY CONCEDED
YELLOW CARD
POSSESSION
SCRUMS
LINEOUTS
For the winners, this was about ruthlessness off transition and the back-three’s feel for support lines. Barrett’s anticipation from full-back was game-tilting twice, while Moorby’s brace bookended the decisive surge and punished Australia’s edge defence. Lakai’s work over the ball during Australia’s early pressure was the quiet platform: two key contributions slowed the ruck and flipped field position. Sititi’s awareness at the scrum after the bin was pure Test match savvy. There was plenty of industry up front too — Scott Barrett and Fabian Holland churned through tackles — but the second-half lineout (73% overall) will irritate them, as will some loose long kicking that handed Australia countering opportunities.
Australia’s issues were familiar and fixable, which is both consolation and indictment. They won enough ball and made enough clean breaks to be in the contest, but their red-zone efficiency in the first quarter was poor. They drifted in contact rather than punching the gain line, and when they chased width New Zealand read the passes. Williams’ sin-bin was the costliest lapse of discipline and the soft scrum try that followed will sting on review. Out wide the scramble never convinced — Moorby and later Rieko Ioane found grass too easily — and the exits fed New Zealand’s transition game.
There were sparks. Tom Wright finished well off nice tempo from the reserve nine, and Filipo Daugunu brought intent with a length-of-the-field strike sparked by a smart short dropout. Meredith had genuine Test moments — a linebreak, a deft assist — wrapped in errors that will make the Monday tape uncomfortable. That is the price of exposure at this level. Australia also produced a stubborn goal-line stand to hold up Samisoni Taukei’aho late, which at least spoke to character when the sting had gone from the match.
Does the final margin flatter New Zealand? Not really, because they created it. Australia gifted the moments, but New Zealand still had to cash them at full speed and they did, repeatedly, when the game was live. If anything, the All Blacks will feel a tidier second half might have stretched it further. Equally, Australia’s late punch trimmed what could have been a humiliation and gave the coaching group a few combinations to bank.
Context matters. The Cup was already secure, New Zealand have now stretched the Bledisloe run to 13, and a late reshuffle in midfield — Jordie Barrett out, Timoci Tavatavanawai in — did not blunt their clarity. The takeaways are simple. New Zealand can trust their transition game and back-three instincts, but the set piece and kicking accuracy need sharpening when they do not have a 30-point cushion. Australia have to turn early dominance into points, tidy their edges and cut the fatal errors. Until they do, the gap in composure — more than talent — will keep deciding this fixture.
