Henry's blast was crucial

Joe Rokocoko and Mils Muliaina (right) pose with the trophy following the All Blacks 30-13 win over the Wallabies Bledisloe Cup, Tri-Nations rugby match. Picture / Fotopress

Some harsh words at halftime were the catalyst for the All Blacks turning in their most convincing defensive performance of the year.

Down 13-10 at the break, Henry castigated his players.

"The defence in the first half was abysmal to be frank," Henry said following the game which preserved the Bledisloe Cup for another year.

"The guys showed a huge amount of character."

Henry said he was pleased with the scrum, which completely overwhelmed the Wallabies' lightweight tight five but the All Blacks coach couldn't resist a final dig at his players.

"If we can improve our finishing we'll be a pretty good team," he said with a trademark smirk.

Henry and his team of assistants have made a point of covering all their bases but one thing he hasn't been able to get a handle on is the way the All Blacks have started so poorly in Tri Nations matches away from home.

The All Blacks were 13-0 down after 13 minutes. Henry said it was hard to travel to South Africa and back but acknowledged that couldn't fully explain the problems.

"I've been through it before so it was nothing new to me," a relieved captain Tana Umaga said. "It was deja vu I suppose," recalling the fact they were 13 points down early against South Africa as well.

Umaga was also quick to point to an improved effort on defence and a dominant scrum as the keys to success.

From a five-yard scrum forced by a Jerry Collins charge-down the All Blacks forced a scrum penalty when they skittled the Australian tight five. Umaga decided to take the three points on offer but it was a measure of their authority that he said the 'fatties' let him know "in no uncertain terms" that they wanted another crack at the line.

Richie McCaw said he felt they had an edge on the Wallabies physically, but lamented a few forced passes that could have secured the victory earlier.

Aside from the tight five the star of the show was Joe Rokocoko, who has been forced to bide his time on the sidelines while he returned to form.

- Herald on Sunday