This time, the All Blacks have not done it halfway. Nine days after winning Australia by tightrope (39-37), the New Zealanders met the Wallabies on Saturday, September 24 in Auckland, during the last day of the Rugby Championship (a competition also played by South Africa and Argentina). And there was no suspense: in front of their fans, the blacks won easily (40-14). The All Blacks won the competition despite South Africa’s victory over Argentina in the final match.
In order not to scare their supporters again, the New Zealanders immediately took matters into their own hands. After a penalty from Richie Mo’unga (21me) then two attempts, one by Will Jordan (23me), the other penalty for a collapsed maul (27me), the All Blacks were already well ahead (17-0) against the too undisciplined Australians, who also received two yellow cards in the first half hour.
Will Jordan 💨 🎥 @skysportnz https://t.co/tMV4VZ13XU
And, unlike their previous game against Australia, Ian Foster’s players didn’t slow down during the game and continued to widen the gap by scoring a total of five tries to clinch bonus points for offensive success. South Africa, which was playing a decisive match against Argentina at the end of the afternoon, could do nothing. To win the competition, the Springboks also had to win with the offensive bonus and a score difference of at least thirty-nine points. They ultimately won 38-21.
many faces
Still, even if they won the competition, all is still not perfect in the All Blacks’ game, as their latest results show. Hit four times in 2022, “Rarely have they shown so little control”entrusted to the World former France third row Imanol Harinordoquy (82 national teams) before the match.
This excitement was also seen late in the match when Australia scored an stoppage-time try from Jordan Petaia.
With less than a year to go before the World Cup, the All Blacks have shown several faces in this Rugby Championship. That of a victorious team in trouble, on September 15, that of the almost invincible All Blacks, today or during the great victory against Argentina (53-3), but also another, much more worrying for them, against these same Pumas, in late August (25-18 loss, the first on his soil against the Argentines), or against South Africa (loss 26-10).
Now it remains to be seen in what form they will present themselves in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis), on September 8, 2023, to face the Blues in the opening of the World Cup in France.