Dominant second half performance powers New Zealand to 13-38 win in Rugby Championship opener
Waisake Naholo scored a double at the end of the game
©PA
Australia 13-38 New Zealand, ANZ Stadium
Scorecard
New Zealand came up with a strong second-half performance as they kick-started their Rugby Championship title defence with a 13-38 win over trans-Tasman rivals Australia at ANZ Stadium in Sydney on Saturday.
The World Champions were late to kick-off as they trailed by 0-6 for the most part of the first half but came up with a better resilience in the second half to trounce the Wallabies and draw the first blood in the 2018 Bledisloe Cup series.
Reece Hodge got Australia off the mark with a 10th minute penalty goal after Kieran Read infringed at a ruck and two minutes later the All Blacks suffered a blow with Ryan Crotty leaving the field following a clash with his team-mate Jack Goodhue.
Another infringement from New Zealand through Liam Squire saw Bernard Foley kicking a three-pointer to take Michael Cheika's men to a 6-0 lead by the end of the first quarter.
The Wallabies failed to up the ante that could have further stretched their lead at the end of the first half but instead Aaron Smith crossed over at the stroke of half-time to reduce the gap to one point heading into the break.
New Zealand were quick to get off the block in the second half when Ben Smith defeated a couple of defenders and eventually Jack Goodhue went over the line but this time Beauden Barrett landed the conversion to take the scoreline to 6-12. It was also Goodhue's first Test try.
A knock-on from Dane Haylett-Petty was pounced by Barrett as he kicked the ball deep into Wallabies' half in the 52nd minute and he ensured there was no looking back with his converted try as Steve Hansen's men began to flex their muscle.
Israel Folau's departure with an ankle injury in the final quarter did not help the home side's cause but just before that New Zealand managed to find their fourth try in the 63rd minute from Brodie Retallick.
Even though Jack Maddocks with a try in the 67th minute tried to reduce the gap to 13-26, Waisake Naholo had other plans as his back to back tries in the 74th and 75th minute completed a 13-38 win for the All Blacks and a winning start to the Rugby Championship 2018.
