New Zealand retain Bledisloe Cup for 19th consecutive year
Brodie Retallick was one of the try-scorer for New Zealand
©Steve Haag
New Zealand 57-22 Australia, Eden Park
New Zealand ran an eight try riot as they went on to defeat Australia 57-22 in the Rugby Championship opener at Eden Park on Saturday.
The win also meant New Zealand have Bledisloe Cup for the 19th consecutive year after winning last weekend's game 33-18 at the same venue. The two teams will next meet at Perth on 28th August.
Australia came into the game with a hope of breaking a 35-year Eden Park hoodoo and win on Kiwi soil for the first time in two decades but the wait continues as the All Blacks once again showed their dominance at the venue.
New Zealand took just four minutes to open their account as Reiko Ioane intercepted a pass from Matt To’omua to race for the opening try and Richie Mo'unga kicked the conversion to take them to a 7-0 lead.
The visitors bounced back through Andrew Kellaway as he went past Damian McKenzie to touchdown in the 8th minute but Noah Lolesio missed on the conversion.
Just as the second quarter started, Akira Ioane launched an attack on the Wallabies as he breached their defence before offloading to McKenzie, who in turn sent Brodie Retallick over the line in the 24th minute and Mo'unga improved it making it 14-5.
A penalty kick from Lolesio in the 31st minute helped Wallabies to make a brief comeback but New Zealand went on to get their third try in the 33rd minute with Ardie Savea powering his way over and as the break was approaching swift work from Rob Valetini allowed Tate McDermott to dot down and Lolesio's conversion ensured the opening half ended with a 21-15 scoreline.
New Zealand suffered a setback early in the second half with Ardie Savea was sin-binned for cynical defensive foul but despite the setback they got their fourth try with Aaron Smith sending an inside pass for Codie Taylor to score in the 47th minute and eight minutes later Sevu Reece also went over to make it 38-15.
Taylor went on to score his second in the 60th minute and five minutes later Jordan found himself in the clear out wide before crossing in the right-hand corner to take New Zealand's tally to 50 points. Even though Kellaway's second provided some consolation for Australia, David Havili with the eighth try for New Zealand ensured they completed a 57-22 win as they retained the Bledisloe Cup for the 19th successive year.
