Australia 21 New Zealand 38
The All Blacks shone in the Perth sunshine with a string of glittering tries to hammer Australia 38-21 on Sunday and maintain their dominant form in the Rugby Championship.
The All Blacks were a man down for 20 minutes through the middle of the one-sided clash at Perth Stadium, with fullback Jordie Barrett red-carded for putting his boot into winger Marika Koroibete’s face when jumping to catch a box-kick.
It scarcely mattered as Ian Foster’s men ran in six tries to complete a 3-0 whitewash of the Wallabies in the Bledisloe Cup, the annual series contested by the trans-Tasman nations.
Inside centre David Havili grabbed a brace of tries, while Barrett, Will Jordan, Anton Lienert-Brown and George Bridge also crossed for five-pointers as the All Blacks blew out an 18-0 halftime lead in the bonus-point win.
All Blacks coach Ian Foster, whose contract was recently extended through the 2023 World Cup, was delighted with the performance of a team missing several leading players.
“It wasn’t a picture-perfect game in many ways but I can tell you what, the attitude and the commitment to run and scramble was outstanding,” he said.
“We were open and honest about wanting to do 3-0 and we hadn’t done it much before. And it meant a lot to us.”
The win underlined the All Blacks' depth, with experienced lock Sam Whitelock and halves Richie Mo'unga and Aaron Smith home in New Zealand for the births of their children.
The All Blacks next face Argentina in Queensland, looking to notch a seventh straight win in 2021.
Australia, kept scoreless for 50 minutes, grabbed three second-half tries through Folau Fainga'a, Nic White and Tom Banks - but they never really threatened.
They botched a series of attacking moves and gifted two intercept tries after the break to quash their comeback hopes.
"We're not looking for excuses. We know we need to be better," said Australia coach Dave Rennie.
“I feel we’re moving in the right direction but we’ve got to put it together for 80 minutes as opposed to fits and starts again today.”
