All Blacks captain Samuel Whitelock is tackled by Wallabies lock Lukhan Salakaia-Loto(left) and Wallabies hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa. Photo / Jason Oxenham
All Blacks captain Samuel Whitelock is tackled by Wallabies lock Lukhan Salakaia-Loto(left) and Wallabies hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa. Photo / Jason Oxenham
From the unacceptable penalty count to taking their foot off the throat and conceding three late tries, the All Blacks coaches have ample ammunition to keep their squad on edge for the return Bledisloe Cup test at Eden Park this week.
Elements of the All Blacks game eventually came together in their 33-25 victory on Saturday night - their defence of repeated lineout drives in particular - but not enough to suggest any form of complacency will creep into their ranks as they seek to lock away the Bledisloe for a 19th straight year.
While the All Blacks savoured the result, which enabled them to toast Aaron Smith's 100th test in the right fashion, attention quickly turns to the review that will highlight several areas in need of urgent improvement.
"We're a high performance rugby team and we're always looking for a higher performance," All Blacks forwards coach John Plumtree said on Sunday after beginning the process of trawling through footage.
"Even if we didn't have those moments we'd still have lots to work on. That has given us some fuel for this week which is ideal. We know we were playing against a dangerous attacking side and we saw that in the last 10 to 15 minutes of the game.
"That will give them a lot of confidence leading into next week so we know we've got a lot of work to do on our defence, the penalties and how we conceded them so there's plenty to do and it all starts tomorrow."
All Blacks first five Richie Mo'unga takes on Wallabies second five Hunter Paisami. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Having led 33-8 with 15 minutes to play, the All Blacks failed to display a ruthless edge that leaves the belief door open for the Wallabies.
With their side on the front foot the Wallabies bench added more impact than the All Blacks and the vicious cycle of giving away penalties - 18 to Australia's nine – pinned Ian Foster's men inside their own half for much of the frustrating final quarter.
That the Wallabies had 18 lineouts – losing three of those – speaks to the constant piggybacks the All Blacks offered them.
Had Wallabies first five-eighth Noah Lolesio landed more than two-from-seven, missing 12 points, it could have been a much more nervy finish.
"Clearly it's something we will address," Plumtree said of the All Blacks' discipline issues. "If you're going to concede a big penalty count, you're going to lose territory. We were lucky with the wind it was hard for them to gain kicking metres but they still had a lot of platforms to launch from. Against a side like Aussie who love attacking that's not ideal.
"In fairness the forwards did a good job putting their lineout under pressure and we disrupted a lot of their ball but that's something we don't want to have to do again next week."
All Blacks captain Samuel Whitelock is tackled by Wallabies lock Lukhan Salakaia-Loto(left) and Wallabies hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa. Photo / Jason Oxenham
From a fitness perspective All Blacks hooker Dane Coles will undergo scans after another calf flare up forced a late change on the bench with Samisoni Taukei'aho taking his place. Coles' Hurricanes deputy, Asafo Aumua, is expected to re-join the squad this week after playing for Wellington in their victory over Northland on Saturday.
Blues prop Ofa Tu'ungafasi has gone under the knife for a second time in a matter of weeks to have another knee operation. Plumtree estimated Tu'ungafasi will be sidelined for a further three-to-four weeks. Ethan de Groot will remain with the squad as loosehead cover, while Joe Moody is nearing his return from foot surgery. In the meantime, George Bower and Karl Tu'inukuafe provide the one-two punch.
Luke Jacobson impressed off the bench to press his case for a start at No 8 but Plumtree gave his loose forward trio of Ardie Savea, Dalton Papalii, in his first match for a month, and Akira Ioane a pass mark.
"I thought they all played pretty well. Dalts hadn't played for a while so he was probably a bit rusty at times but he'll be better for that next week. Aride was immense in parts of the game and Aki the same. They're a pretty dynamic loose forward trio and they're playing against some big boys so I thought they did alright.
"I was really happy with the forwards. We put them under a lot pressure with our lineout defence and one or two scrums as well but there were also moments we lapsed in concentration by giving away penalties."
