The Wallabies were invited into the All Blacks shed after Bledisloe one to celebrate Michael Hooper's 100th game. Video / All Blacks
OPINION:
New Zealand keeps underestimating Australian rugby.
First our administrators did it, and got burned in a PR disaster which has left the game dangerously fractured.
Then the All Blacks followed suit and were made to look second rate by a well-coached Wallabies side, but one which lacked star power.
Coach Dave Rennie, captain Michael Hooper, halfback Nic White and playmaker James O'Connor were among the standout characters as the Wallabies scored an unlikely draw in Wellington.
No wonder we got cleaned up by England at the World Cup, where bewildering loose forward selections made it clear that Steve Hansen's regime had lost its magic touch.
And that has become hard to forget.
Rieko Ioane botched a certain try in the first half of the Bledisloe Cup test in Wellington. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The All Blacks jogged out of the starting blocks on Sunday, as if the feel-good factor around Super Rugby Aotearoa was enough to do the job against Hooper's Australians.
That attitude was epitomised by Rieko Ioane who bombed a try with a blatant piece of showboating. I thought the All Black tight five in particular lacked desperation and aggression.
If there was a lack of faith in new head coach Foster before the first Bledisloe Cup test in Wellington, it just got deeper.
Many of the All Blacks' most famous coaches have benefited from having a character which carried a fear factor - Sir Graham Henry, Hansen, Laurie Mains, Alex Wyllie, Fred Allen.
Sir Brian Lochore had tremendous mana. John Hart was the great communicator, a motivator.
Wayne Smith - who turned into the legendary assistant - was the professor, the man many players trusted most.
What is Ian Foster's calling card? What might make him a special coach? That's what you keep wondering.
Yes, we are probably in a different era, where young players need handling in different ways to the past.
But all great coaches need that special touch.
All Blacks coach Ian Foster and captain Sam Cane will be feeling the pressure after an unconvincing first performance. Photo / Photosport
Right now, Foster still looks like the lieutenant who inherited an army, and unfortunately for him it lacks the legendary troops.
No Brodie Retallick, Richie McCaw, Jerome Kaino, Kieran Read, Dan Carter, Ma'a Nonu, Jonah Lomu and on and on and on. Added to that, the great lock Sam Whitelock looks tired.
But even if they are down on test greats, they should still have the attitude. Yet players like Richie Mo'unga only hit the accelerator after the final hooter in Wellington, as a poor test burst into life during a spellbinding extra-time stalemate.
Foster doesn't come across as an arrogant bloke, but his selections smacked of taking the Australians lightly.
The forward pack picked itself. You couldn't have any quibbles there. But the backline involved a big roll of the dice.
Jack Goodhue, Ioane and Jordie Barrett were all needlessly picked in positions where they are not world-class test performers. Stranding Anton Lienert-Brown's gifts on the bench was absolutely baffling.
These ABs aren't good enough to ignore the ABCs. The smart play for Foster, in his first test, was to avoid the experimental, pick players in their best positions, and get the desperate test attitude right.
He failed.
The great news, of course, is that the Bledisloe Cup might be back as a riveting contest.
