Australia knew the All Blacks would be in a vengeful mood after their defeat in Sydney last weekend. New Zealand duly handed out a rugby lesson to keep their hands on the Bledisloe Cup and extend their unbeaten record at Eden Park to 34 matches in their final game before they defend the World Cup.

It was a perfect night for the All Blacks captain, Richie McCaw, who was playing his 142nd Test, a world record, and Dan Carter, in his final Test on home soil, who contributed 16 points in a commanding display. McCaw was given a standing ovation by the Auckland crowd when he was replaced 12 minutes from time.

Australia had already secured the Rugby Championship before the match but they have some problems to solve before they begin their World Cup campaign, not least who plays fly-half in England this autumn.

This was a five-try thumping. The return of Quade Cooper to Australia’s fly-half spot had been the chief talking point in the build-up to the game but it was New Zealand’s No10 Carter who sprinkled some stardust over the match midway through the first half.

Cooper and Carter had exchanged penalties in the first quarter in which the Wallabies had had the bulk of territory before Sam Whitelock turned the ball over deep in his own 22 to give Carter the opportunity for a break. Carter stepped past James Horwill and gave a perfect pass to his hooker Dane Coles, who eluded Adam Ashley-Cooper and then ran 40 metres for a stunning try.

The Wallabies were disrupted when Michael Hooper was forced to leave the field with a blood injury and was replaced by David Pocock, perhaps the best forward on the pitch last weekend. Carter and Cooper swapped penalties as the All Blacks continued to dominate at the breakdown. Dean Mumm, of Exeter Chiefs, replaced Will Skelton, the biggest player on the field, in the Wallabies’ second row as the visitors looked to turn the game around after the break. The All Blacks, though, were soon out of sight.

When the wing Nehe Milner-Skudder, the scorer of two tries on his All Blacks debut last week, made a decisive break, Cooper was forced into a high tackle on Aaron Smith. Cooper was shown a yellow card by Nigel Owens and the All Blacks were awarded a penalty try. Ma’a Nonu then took a pass from Ben Smith to dive over for the All Blacks’ third try after some more good work by Milner-Skudder. When Nonu fired out a wide pass for Conrad Smith for a fourth try, the 14-man Wallabies knew their night was going to be a long one.

Cooper did not return to the field, with Kurtley Beale replacing him once a disastrous 10 minutes had ended. Cooper was forced to watch from the bench as the unstoppable Nonu crashed over for a fifth try after Carter had created space for the centre as the All Blacks moved the ball to the blindside from a scrum.

Israel Folau scored a try for the Wallabies when he caught a clearing kick to outstrip the New Zealand defence three minutes from time but it was no consolation at all for the outclassed Wallabies.

Source: The Guardian