Test rugby: All Blacks claim Bledisloe Cup for another year with Eden Park victory over Australia

The All Blacks have locked up the Bledisloe Cup for the 19th consecutive year with an emphatic 57-22 win over the Wallabies in Auckland.

Photo: PhotoSport / Brett Phibbs

New Zealand powered away in the second half to wrap up this year’s series against Australia at a half-full Eden Park on Saturday night.

The win is a record high score against the Wallabies, beating the 54 points scored in Sydney in 2017.

After the All Blacks were 33-25 victors in game one at the same venue last weekend, game two was in the balance at halftime as the Wallabies trailed by just six.

But, as they so often do, the home side turned on the class in the second stanza, adding five tries to the three they had scored in the first half to seal their biggest winning margin against Australia in New Zealand.

See how the game unfolded with RNZ’s live blog here.

Hooker Codie Taylor scored two tries, while Rieko Ioane, Brodie Retallick, Ardie Savea, Sevu Reece, Will Jordan and David Havili also crossed as the hosts earned a bonus point.

The win did not just extend the All Blacks’ streak in the Bledisloe Cup. The team’s unbeaten run at Eden Park, which dated back to 1994, was taken to 45 matches, while the Wallabies had now not won at the ground for 36 years.

It was also the 15th straight year Australia had failed to beat the All Blacks in New Zealand.

Saturday night’s result meant the third and final Bledisloe Cup test in Perth in two weeks’ time became a dead rubber.

World champions South Africa, who sat out last year’s Rugby Championship because of concerns at the lack of preparation time for their players during the Covid-19 pandemic, return to the fray against Argentina in Port Elizabeth later today.

All Blacks centre Rieko Ioane dives over to score
Photo: PhotoSport / Brett Phibbs