New Zealand Claim 3rd Straight Win over Australia in Strong ANZAC Test Display
A first-half flurry combined with a resolute defensive effort has seen New Zealand beat Australia 26-12 in their first ANZAC Test win since 1998.
After taking an early lead via a Sam Thaiday try, the Australians succumbed to a rampant New Zealand side, who scored four consecutive tries to finish the first half. The Kiwi forwards were energetic, sparked by bench players Martin Taupau and Sam Moa, providing a strong platform for the backs to work from.
For their part, the Kangaroos were terrible on defence, getting out-numbered, showing little line speed and letting the Kiwi forwards gain too much easy momentum.
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Indeed the second try came on the set after a kick-off, while the first came from a scrum in which the Australians were suckered in by both Shaun Johnson and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.
It was with the score at 18-6 in the closing stages of the first half that New Zealand struck their killer blow. Johnson converted an easy penalty attempt to take the score to 20-6, then his team ran the ball with less than a minute to go, exploiting an Australian defence which seemed to have gone to sleep.
Shaun Kenny-Dowall went on to touch down after a kick inside from right winger Jason Nightingale and a defensive blunder from Australian fullback Greg Inglis.
New Zealand did not score again, but their 26 points proved more than enough.
The Kangaroos came out firing for the second 40 and the Kiwis were forced to tackle endlessly, trapped deep inside their own half. It was a recipe for a major comeback. But it never happened.
Every time Australia looked to create a chance, three or four black jerseys swarmed to the space to shut it down. That was particularly the case up the Australian right wing, where numerous times the likes of Manu Vatuvei, Peta Hiku and Tuivasa-Sheck were brilliant in their desperate attempts to stop the try.
At the same time, the Australians succumbed to the defensive pressure, seemingly finding ways to butcher tries.
As the game wore on, they looked tired, but never did they stop. To tackle as much as they did in that second half and only concede one try was nothing short of outstanding.
There was much speculation this week as to whether this Australian team was getting too old and the New Zealanders had it right picking a younger team. The way it played out, it certainly seemed that way.
Taupau and Moa provided a spark which was absent in the Australian forward pack, while Jesse Bromwich, Tohu Harris and Ben Matulino were energetic, too. At the same time you had hard workers in Simon Mannering and Kevin Proctor, making tackle after tackle.
It was that energy which gave Johnson the platform to wreak havoc the way he did, while Shaun Kenny-Dowall and Vatuvei in particular were dangerous running in space.
The same could not be said about Australia's stars. Greg Inglis was a non-factor on attack and was, not for the first time this year, exposed on defence. His poor efforts to stop Vatuvei and then to cover Nightingale's kick on half-time were put into vast contrast with Tuivasa-Sheck's outstanding effort to keep out Cooper Cronk on the line.
Cronk himself was quiet, while his halves partner Johnathan Thurston tried hard but struggled without a solid platform in front of him. That platform should have been set by the forwards, who looked lethargic for 40 minutes, by which time the Australians were playing catch-up football.
The win propels the Kiwis into a position where they can overtake their neighbours as the world's No. 1 ranked team, having now won their last three encounters with the Australians.
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