All Blacks: Grit earns Tri-Nations lift-off

All Black Captain Richie McCaw scores despite a desperate Wallaby defence. Photo / Richard Robinson

On the 40-year anniversary of astronaut Neil Armstrong becoming the first person to set foot on the Moon, the All Blacks made one small step in their Tri-Nations campaign and one giant step in the realm of self-belief.

They ground out the 22-16 victory after an opening-quarter wobble and flew out yesterday for the next leg of their campaign in South Africa with renewed faith about their chances of a title defence.

Saturday's win was a victory for their willpower as they overcame a spluttering first 20 minutes and staved off a strong wind and a tenacious Wallaby side before they squeezed their rivals in the first of a quartet of Bledisloe Cup tests this season.

Meanwhile, the Wallabies bumbled about like another astronaut, Buzz Aldrin, when he missed his step trying to reboard the Eagle ladder all those years ago.

If ever the Wallabies were going to break their 23-year Eden Park hoodoo it was Saturday as they arrived with a settled side while the All Blacks were reacquainting themselves with colleagues who had been released from various MASH units around the country.

There was little between the transtasman rivals and little between the ears of the Wallabies, which would have disturbed coach Robbie Deans. They conceded costly penalties, in the view of referee Craig Joubert did not have a legal tighthead prop, but worse still, bombed several tries.

Had they played with more composure in the opening quarter the Wallabies would have led by as much as 22-3 as they butchered two tries.

Halfback Luke Burgess threw one of his sloppy passes into touch with a huge overlap of teammates and Berrick Barnes got himself in such a mental funk deciding who to pass to for another run to the line, that he was nailed by the lone defender.

After those escapes, the All Blacks' solitary raid into the wind yielded a try to skipper Richie McCaw from Conrad Smith's incision and offload and the hosts were only three points adrift turning with the breeze behind them.

Stephen Donald won the second spell goalkicking duel, against a subdued Matt Giteau, and earned a tick from the old master-turned-commentator Grant Fox for his "best match in the All Black jersey".

Backline coach Wayne Smith was equally complimentary about Donald's return from a hamstring injury.

"He showed a desire to be there and he was under pressure because there has been a lot of public comment," Smith said. "But he came through it all and that says a lot about him."

The opening quarter wobbles were many and varied but after that the All Blacks won the rest of the skirmishes.

Initially the lineout malfunctioned as Andrew Hore and his targets failed to connect, the defence was stretched badly and there was a lack of any great rhythm. But once those issues were remedied and the pack pounded into their work and banged the visitors back on their heels, the results started coming.

It was a slow process and as a match, it was of modest calibre. The mistakes were just too many.

But victory was nectar for the All Blacks after their bad taste work in last month's internationals. They were given an enormous leg up by the Wallabies who will have nightmares when Deans makes them sit through replays. Deans will also be disconcerted by his tactical decisions and the manner in which Graham Henry's substitutions proved decisive.

Neemia Tialata and Andrew Hore were hooked just after halftime and replaced by the workaholic Owen Franks and Keven Mealamu. Even impressive halfback Jimmy Cowan was gone after 50 minutes as Piri Weepu racheted the heat up even more.

When Deans replaced Burgess with the lively Will Genia and prop Al Baxter with Benn Alexander it was too late, while alleged whizzkid James O'Connor misfired badly when he came on for the last quarter.

Meanwhile, the All Black pack produced a modern interpretation of the "big black blanket" description of yesteryear. They hunted together, they pounded into breakdowns and moved the Wallabies back, they tightened their defence and gave the visitors no room for a second-half comeback.

Blindsider Jerome Kaino gave one of his best in black, Brad Thorn's large engine bashed away all day as Isaac Ross added some starch to go with his undoubted aerial skills while Tony Woodcock dominated the scrum.

The skipper defied all sense and medical advice as he saw off the best the Wallabies could throw at him, while Rodney So'oialo clattered away until his legs were done.

A high error count and referee Joubert's vigilance delivered a match where there was little flow for either backline. The wicked wind from the west made kicking a priority and catching the new lottery sport.

There may have been, as Deans suggested, "very little in it", but the precious advantage went to the All Blacks. That advantage continued the Eden Park hex and more importantly meant they need just one victory from their next three tests with the Wallabies to retain the Bledisloe Cup.