Bledisloe cup in the Aussie papers

Joe Rokocoko scored the match's only try in the All Blacks' win. Bradley Kanaris / Getty Images

Australia's rugby media have lamented the absence of the Bledisloe Cup for another year, praising the strength of the All Blacks in Saturday's win.

"All bleak for Wallabies as Black magic reigns," headlined the Sun-Herald newspaper. Its back page carried a large photo of flanker Jerry Collins being crowned by teammates with the cup, under a heading, "Well, if the cup fits ... "

Rugby writer Greg Growden said while the score was close, in reality the Wallabies were a long way behind, "enabling New Zealand to remain the grand masters of Australasian rugby. The 13-9 scoreline was not a true indication of this often grim encounter because, for most of the night, the Wallabies were well off their game. Australia stayed within reach because their defence picked up in the second half, and their determination never waned".

He said the All Blacks were clearly the better team, playing to a consistent rhythm and keeping errors to a minimum.

The Daily Telegraph carried the headline: "Wallabies run into a Black wall".

Writer Peter Jenkins noted the improvement by the Australians, beaten by 20 points in their last transtasman clash a fortnight ago, to restrict the "world's best side" to a single try. "It was the first loss for Australia at a Brisbane ground they had previously maintained as a fortress with an unbeaten six-test record, and underlined how the Wallabies were still deficient in at least one crucial area.

"The scrum struggled, with the All Blacks outmanoeuvring the rookies anchoring the Wallaby front row, including Rodney 'Rodzilla' Blake."

Brisbane's Sunday Mail headlined its back page "Blacklash", with a large photo of Collins drinking from the Bledisloe Cup, next to a shot of Wallabies centre Stirling Mortlock with his head in his hands. "Heartbreaking mistakes frittered away the Bledisloe Cup last night when the Wallabies couldn't find a knockout punch for the All Blacks," Jim Tucker wrote under the headline: 'Black wall wraps up Bledisloe Cup".

- NZPA