DUNEDIN, New Zealand (AP) — Tries on debut to winger Shaun Stevenson and backrower Samipeni Finau helped the All Blacks rally from 17-3 down at halftime to beat the Wallabies in the second Bledisloe Cup match on Saturday, their last home test before the Rugby World Cup.
The Wallabies stunned the All Blacks with two tries in the first seven minutes and had the majority of possession in the first half while the All Blacks worked off scraps. Hard running, good offloads and quick work at the breakdown also had the All Blacks on the back foot through most of the half.
Scrumhalf Tate McDermott was influential in his first match as Wallabies captain. The All Blacks were forced to make more than 100 tackles, the Wallabies barely a third as many.
Head coach Ian Foster made a dozen changes to his match 23 after New Zealand’s 38-7 win in the first test in Melbourne last weekend which secured the Bledisloe Cup for the 21st straight year. Stevenson was one of three players on debut and there was an obvious lack of combination and communication early among the All Blacks team.
The All Blacks were lucky to limit the Wallabies’ lead to only 14 points at halftime. They came out determined to turn things around in the second half and within four minutes Stevenson had scored his first test try.
The whole tenor of the match changed and it was the All Blacks who were mostly in possession, inside the Wallabies and constantly pressing.
After winger Leicester Fainga’anuku lost the ball over the goal line in the 55th minute, replacement flyhalf Richie Mo’unga kicked a penalty for the All Blacks which made the score 17-13.
Mo’unga settled the All Blacks after a first half in which Damian McKenzie too often kicked away possession. New Zealand also ran on a new front row and that made a major difference. The All Blacks had struggled in set pieces in the first half but dominated in the second when their discipline also was markedly better.
They conceded first-half penalties which cost them momentum but when they when the Wallabies were on retreat it was the visitors who were most heavily penalized.
After flyhalf Carden Gordon had kicked three from three in the first half, he hit the post in his first attempt in the second. The All Blacks then broke out: A strong scrum, a penalty and they were knocking again at the Wallabies goal line.
After numerous phases, Aaron Smith passed to Finau at pace and he crashed across under the posts. The All Blacks led for the first time, 20-17.
It was short-lived. Quade Cooper came on at flyhalf for the Wallabies and kicked a penalty from halfway to level the score at 20-20.
But Cooper knocked the ball on in the 78th minute and from the ensuing scrum, the All Blacks won a penalty. Mo’unga stepped up and with a minute on the clock calmly slotted the winning goal.
“That was a proper test match,” All Blacks captain Sam Cane said. “That first half they fired all the shots and we were just hanging in there and they took it to us in a big way.
“I’m really proud of the composure and the way we fought our way back in the second half. That’s a great test match and it was a great test for us as a group.”
The All Blacks now have won all four of their tests this season against Argentina, South Africa and Australia (twice). Australia has lost all four against the same teams but will take some heart from their performance on Saturday.
“Credit to the All Blacks and the way they came out in the second half,” McDermott said. “It was a tough one.
“We got touched up last week in all areas but that first half showed what sort of team we can be. We just have to play longer than 40 minutes.”
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