KEY POINTS:
It wasn't so much the actual defeat that ought to trouble New Zealand rugby. Hard as it may be to grasp for All Blacks' supporters, teams do lose games - especially teams shorn of much experience.
But the most concerning element of defeat at Sydney on Saturday was the reappearance of an old "bete noire" among New Zealand rugby men.
When the match was in the balance, when cool heads and firm strategic direction were required, the All Blacks again came up short. They looked bereft of cohesion, control and judgment at the height of the storm - just as they had done in 1999, 2003 and 2007 World Cups.
This trait, which constantly seems to attack the whole structure of All Blacks teams at critical moments, is a disturbing fragility. We saw it again on Saturday, even though it should have been the younger, new-look Wallabies who panicked after seeing a 17-5 lead evaporate into a 17-19 deficit.
That New Zealand recovery, bulked up by tries either side of halftime, should have been the precursor to a smooth takeover of the game.
Robbie Deans' side is high on enthusiasm but short on experience. They should have been the ones falling apart under the pressure, and they would have done, had they faced a settled, formidable All Blacks outfit.
Alas, the 2008 version is far from that. The chief trouble is that intensive pressure, both physical and mental, finds out those of lesser quality. Only the supreme best emerge to demonstrate their skills under the searing heat of high pressure.
Saturday night reminded us that this New Zealand squad contains players not able to perform under those circumstances.
Sione Lauaki's handling skills and Conrad Smith's suspect tackling were not of sufficient quality for this level. Lauaki had replaced Daniel Braid, unable to handle such a high-speed contest, and Smith had come on for the one-dimensional Ma'a Nonu.
Throw in a tendency throughout the side to make crass mistakes - Mils Muliaina's shocking early clearance kick which led directly to Ryan Cross' try and Brad Thorn's continuing indiscipline which cost another three points and put him in the sinbin, and you understand the extent of the All Blacks' self-destruction.
There was an alarming lack of cohesion, structure and accuracy within the New Zealand side. Daniel Carter did his best to pull the whole thing together but the All Blacks, like the Springboks the previous week in Perth, lost the match on turnovers.
At Perth, the South Africans had conceded 26 turnovers. Here, the New Zealanders turned over possession 25 times, more than double the Wallabies' figure. Given the fact that the breakdown has now become the most crucial phase under the Experimental Law Variations (at the expense of the lineouts), this was tantamount to rugby suicide.
To see a side confronted by adversity make a roaring comeback only to fall away, subsiding quietly and ineffectively to defeat, was bizarre. The defensive alignment collapsed completely for the tries of both Peter Hynes and Rocky Elsom. There was no lack of endeavour but far too little subtlety, accuracy and deadly execution.
To see New Zealand so short of real class at halfback was just one of the concerns. But remove the collective experience of Justin Marshall and Byron Kelleher and this is the reality. The cupboard suddenly begins to look bare.
Undoubtedly, Australia benefited from the mayhem at the breakdown tolerated by another inefficient referee - this time South African Craig Joubert was the culprit.
It was the same in Perth last week: players were allowed to go off their feet, dive over the top, handle on the ground and transgress the offside line. Until referees get to grips with all this, the breakdown will continue to be a rugby jungle.
Joubert also erred in failing to ask the video referee whether there was any reason why he should NOT award a penalty try, for Hynes' clearly illegal tackle on Sitiveni Sivivatu. But Joubert never gave the impression he was in control, especially not at scrumtime.
Yet his failings cannot mask all the New Zealanders' deficiencies. Class and composure are urgently needed qualities in this All Blacks side. The trouble is, who can provide them, apart from the obvious one or two?
* Peter Bills is a rugby writer for Independent News & Media in London.
