Replacement Nic White proved the unlikely hero as the Wallabies ended a 10-match losing run against the All Blacks to win the Rugby Championship title in Sydney on Saturday.
The Brumbies scrum-half scored a try and kicked a long-range penalty goal along with a conversion in the final minutes to give Australia a 27-19 win before 73,824 fans at ANZ Stadium.
The Wallabies last beat the All Blacks 25-20 in Brisbane in 2011 on the way to winning the Tri-Nations. In between the All Blacks stretched an unbeaten 10-game run.
But in Michael Cheika’s biggest win as the new coach, the Wallabies showed plenty of resolve to beat the world champions three tries to two, just a month out from the World Cup in England and Wales.
The Wallabies now have the chance in Auckland next weekend to win back the Bledisloe Cup they last held in 2002.
“It’s probably the biggest challenge in world rugby going to Eden Park and we know that,” Cheika said.
“You don’t just say you’ve won once in quite a long time and you’ve done something special. It’s about preparation, trying to improve every day, and we’ll try and improve again tomorrow,” he said.
“The path that we need to go on if we want to be competitive. It’s nice for the lads, but it’s an abridged Rugby Championship so it’s only the three games. We want to test ourselves over more games.”
Coach Steve Hansen said his All Blacks were hurting from the defeat and were keen to hit back next weekend in Auckland.
“They outmuscled us at scrum time. They won the battle over the ball and under the body at the breakdown,” Hansen said.
“We’ve just got to go away now and have a really look at ourselves and whilst we’re hurting, which is not a thing that we’ve had to do too often. It still sucks.
“It will still build resolve within us and what we’re going to get next week is another pressure-cooker game, an ideal build up for the World Cup.
– Promising start –
Australia started promisingly pushing back the All Blacks in the first scrum and winning a couple of turnovers but they went a man down when prop Sekope Kepu was yellow carded for off-side as New Zealand pressed Australia’s try-line.
Dan Carter kicked the penalty but the Wallabies suffered no further damage during Kepu’s absence and levelled with a Matt Giteau penalty in the 27th minute.
Carter kept the All Blacks in front with a 40-metre penalty before Israel Folau sliced through only to be brought down by a last-ditch tackle from counterpart Ben Smith.
The Wallabies then botched a try-scoring chance with Dean Mumm fumbling a poorly directed Nick Phipps in the next phase.
A thundering burst from prop Owen Franks put New Zealand on the attack on half-time but a great covering tackle by Hooper on winger Julian Savea saved the situation for the Wallabies.
Aaron Smith was sin-binned for a head-high tackle on Adam Ashley-Cooper but the Wallabies hit the front through an unlikely source minutes later.
Tight-head prop Kepu steamed through Kieran Read’s tackle and another to score under the bar for a 10-6 lead.
Carter kicked the All Blacks to within a point with his third penalty to become the first player to raise 1,500 Test points.
Phipps capped a miserable night when he was sin-binned for tackling Conrad Smith in an off-side position off a quick tap kick to leave his team down a man at a critical time.
The All Blacks made the Wallabies pay when debut winger Nehe Milner-Skudder finished off a Ben Smith break to put New Zealand back in front two minutes later.
Replacement Matt Toomua put in a clever kick for Ashley-Cooper to score in the right corner for Giteau to convert for a 17-14 lead.
Milner-Skudder retrieved the lead for the All Blacks with his second try, wrestling the ball over the try-line.
White then kicked a 47-metre penalty goal and broke through two tackles close to the All Blacks line to dart over for Australia’s clinching try with eight minutes left.
