The All Blacks have reduced the gap to the Springboks at the top of the World Rugby rankings after completing a convincing Bledisloe Cup series victory over Australia.
Dave Rennie’s New Zealand side beat the Wallabies 43-21 in Sydney on Saturday to secure a 2-0 series success. They had won the opening match 50-19 in Auckland.
The victory earned New Zealand 0.46 ranking points, taking them to 92.27. They are now 0.82 points behind the Springboks, while Australia lost 0.46 points and fell to seventh in the overall rankings.
The result gave the All Blacks a strong response after they lost the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series 3-1 to the world champions.
New Zealand had the match under control by half-time in Sydney, scoring six tries to lead 36-7. Rennie said the performance showed the character within his squad after a difficult series against South Africa.
“That was excellent,” he said.
“A lot of stuff that we did well last week, we were able to put 40 minutes of that together.”
The coach highlighted New Zealand’s physicality, ball-carrying, work at the breakdown and decision-making as key factors in their dominance. He also felt the All Blacks could have extended their advantage further if they had maintained their first-half accuracy and clinical finishing after the interval.
“I’m proud of the character and the courage,” Rennie added.
Barrett makes his opportunity count
Beauden Barrett was one of New Zealand’s leading performers, scoring twice in Sydney after having limited opportunities during the series against South Africa.
The 147-Test full-back came into the side partly because of injuries elsewhere in the squad and made a significant impact. Rennie praised the experience and communication Barrett brought to the team.
“It just highlights how fortunate we are,” he said.
“Beauden’s experience, communication, the quality of his decision-making is excellent. It’s great having him in the mix.”
New Zealand’s immediate improvement has restored confidence, but Rennie still faces selection difficulties before the All Blacks’ European fixtures next month.
Ardie Savea, Leroy Carter, Caleb Clarke, Ruben Love and Richie Mo’unga were already unavailable for the Sydney Test. Shannon Frizell and Samisoni Taukei’aho then sustained knocks, with the seriousness of those injuries set to affect the coach’s plans.
Captain Codie Taylor said the squad had conducted an honest assessment after the disappointment of losing to South Africa. Although the 3-1 series defeat had left the players “pretty gutted”, he said there had been encouraging aspects to their rugby.
“We had an honest look at ourselves after that RGR, and you know, as always, you’re never satisfied and we probably walked away from that pretty gutted,” he said.
“But also knowing that we were playing a brand of rugby that we could be really proud of and really grow on.”
Taylor added that retaining the Bledisloe Cup and producing another emphatic display had helped rebuild belief, while acknowledging the challenge of meeting the standards expected of the All Blacks.
“I thought we did that for majority of the game, so really proud of the lads,” he said.
New Zealand’s European campaign will provide a further test of whether their progress against Australia can be sustained against stronger international opposition.
