AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- New Zealand boosted its confidence and favouritism for
the Rugby World Cup when it beat closest rival Australia 30-14 in a Tri-Nations
test at Eden Park on Saturday, 75 days before the Cup final takes place at the
same stadium.
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Blacks and Wallabies are favoured to meet in the final as the worlds two
top-ranked teams and New Zealands authoritative victory, in front of 54,711
fans, awarded it a valuable pyschological edge as it attempts to end 24 years of
World Cup failures. New Zealand hasnt lost a test to Australia at Eden Park
since 1986 and lengthened its unbeaten run in all tests on the ground to 22
matches in a streak dating back to 1994. First-half tries to centre Maa Nonu and
hooker Keven Mealamu, a second-half try to winger Sitiveni Sivivatu and 15
points from flyhalf Dan Carter allowed New Zealand to retain the Bledisloe Cup
which it has now kept from Australia since 2003. Carter lifted his points tally
in tests to 1,219, improving the international pointscoring record he wrested
last week from Englands Jonny Wilkinson and increasing his lead over Wilkinson
to 24 points. He kept a perfect goalkicking record with three conversions, two
penalties and a dropped goal which was only the third of his 82-test career. The
All Blacks tenacious defence held the Wallabies scoreless at halftime -- when
they led 17-0 -- and in total for 52 minutes, until winger Digby Ioane scored
and Quade Cooper converted Australias first try. Flanker Rocky Elsom added
another try two minutes from the end, also converted by Cooper, to ensure the
Wallablies out-scored the All Blacks 14-13 in the second half. By then the
result was beyond issue. New Zealands ability to take its chances in the first
half and the aggressive nature of its defence, focused on the Wallabies
playmakers, all but settled the outcome by halftime. Flyhalf Cooper had been
billed as the key figure in the match, the ignition point of a dangerous
Wallabies backline, but the All Blacks steady pressure and suffocating defence
denied Cooper the chance to regularly set that backline in motion. Cooper played
his potentially dangerous role as a backfield sweeper, a launcher of
counter-attacks, but New Zealands shallow kicking game denied him time and
forced him to come forward into teeth of the defence. Instead, the All Blacks,
from a minority share of possession but a sound set-piece base, produced the
most incisive attacking play of the match. Nonu scored in the 10th minute after
a break down the left touch by scrumhalf Piri Weepu and a strong, straightening
run on the right by Sivivatu. Mealamu added the All Blacks second try in the
29th minute after Carter had slipped a tackle, Nonu and Keiran Read had combined
and Richie McCaw had taken the ball to the line. Ioane scored an oustanding try,
beating All Blacks fullback Mils Muliaina one-on-one in the open field but New
Zealand replied from the kickoff through Sivivatu, cementing its win. Sivivatu
left the field in the second half with a suspected fractured eye socket. "I
think our intent and purpose was there," McCaw said. "Pressure was the key. If
you get up by a few points, we put the pressure on and thats what it was it was
all about. "Defence wins these games, and we put a lot of work into that this
week. That sums up the attitude." Lineouts were relatively even, though the All
Blacks used quick throws early in the match to set a tempo that favoured them
and tested Australia. When Australia mounted a long series of attacks midway
through the first half, New Zealands defence proved more than equal to the
threat with flankers Jerome Kaino and McCaw, among others, making damaging
tackles. "They were in our face all night. There was some space there, but we
werent turning that space into points," Cooper said. "It was one of those
nights, a lot of 50-50 balls that didnt come off. You cant really win the game
when you are going backwards. New Zealand fielded the oldest and
most-experienced team in its history with an average age of 29 and an average of
51 tests per player. Some of that disparity in experience was revealed in its
ability to seize chances and Australias failure to do so. All Blacks coach
Graham Henry referred to pre-match allusions by Australian commentators about
the "maturity" of the New Zealand team. The implication, that some of New
Zealands players may be too old, was disproved by their performance on Saturday.
Henry played down suggestions New Zealand had gained a psychological advantage
from its victory. "I personally dont think it will make any difference," he
said. "Its obviously great to win and the Bledisloe Cup is very important to
Richie and the boys. "Looking ahead, it might be a good story to say we have a
psychological advantage but far too many times in the past weve had a result
like this going into a World Cup and I dont think it makes any difference at
all." The Wallabies, also, doubted they had conceded any World Cup advantage to
the All Blacks. "Were pretty disappointed with our effort," Wallabies coach
Robbie Deans said. "Tactically, we didnt help ourselves. We let the All Blacks
create some line speed in defence and stymie our attack as a result. "We left a
lot of points out there tonight but we certainly learned a lot from that. Its
not going to get any easier come World Cup time." ------ Scores: New Zealand 30
(Maa Nonu, Keven Mealamu, Sitiveni Sivivatu tries; Dan Carter 3 conversions, 2
penalties, dropped goal), Australia 14 (Digby Ioane, Rocky Elson tries; Quade
Cooper 2 conversions). HT: 17-0.
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