Rugby: Grit decides All Black victory

The All Blacks celebrate with the Bledisloe Cup. Photo / Getty Images

The Bledisloe Cup is back in the trophy cabinet on this side of the Tasman.

It was secured for the seventh straight year after Richie McCaw's men wriggled out of trouble in Sydney through the generosity of several dopey Wallaby decisions and Daniel Carter's laser-like boot.

Much of the rugby was mediocre, as errors undermined both sides' intentions, but the closeness of the scoreline, the teams' struggles to find the keys to victory, the throb of the 80,228 crowd and the down-to-the-wire drama made it an absorbing occasion.

On balance, the All Blacks might just have deserved the victory. They had a spotty first half but then turned the heat up on the Wallabies for much of the second spell while Ma'a Nonu scored the only try of the test.

Both Carter and Jimmy Cowan had others rubbed out for forward-pass and obstruction rulings correctly spotted by referee Jonathan Kaplan.

Eventually it took Carter's marksmanship to seal the result as the lead changed three times in a rousing last 15 minutes.

The Wallabies eventually knocked on as they drove for the All Black line, after the final siren had sounded. It was the second Wallaby blemish in the last stages, after Lachie Turner and Drew Mitchell botched a clearance deep in their 22 which drew the ire of Kaplan and allowed Carter to kick his side into the lead.

With just a minute left, the All Blacks did their best to ditch their advantage when McCaw admitted he turned over possession deep in his 22. But in a period when there was an element of slapstick, the Wallabies eventually ditched that last chance - and the Bledisloe for another season.

This was a victory for All Black grit, for sticking to their strategies even when they conspired to damage themselves, or Kaplan disagreed with some of their manoeuvres.

"The win was a result of the mental toughness of this group," coach Graham Henry said.

He had torn more hair from his head during periods of the match, which ranged from exasperating to stupefying. He lived the test in animated style from the coaches' box, urging his charges on as they climbed back from a 12-3 deficit at the break to an eventual triumph.

"The difference between the teams? There was not much in it, really," Henry conceded. "Our guys showed intestinal fortitude and a mental toughness which was the key to winning."

The All Blacks also dominated the scrums and won their lineout throws this week, which gave them the advantage and a platform to work and win from.

Victory has given them a 5-1 advantage in Bledisloe Cup tests since the Robbie Deans-Graham Henry duels started last winter.

Without Carter, it is hard to believe the All Blacks would have won this latest skirmish.

But the remarkable five-eighths - finding his way back after Achilles tendon surgery and with just a handful of club and provincial games under his belt - looked as though he had never been away. He seemed to have oodles of time, almost as if the Wallabies were unwilling to crowd him. The truth is that Carter is such a rare sporting package that he makes everything look ridiculously easy.

And, this time, the All Blacks nailed vital chances to maintain their Bledisloe Cup run.

It was back in 2000, with Kaplan also the referee then, that Wallaby skipper John Eales nailed a late penalty for a 24-23 win in Wellington. A year later the Wallabies won again 29-26 in Sydney, as Toutai Kefu bashed over for a late touchdown.

There was another agonising injury-time defeat at Sydney in 2002 when Matt Burke kicked the Wallabies to a 16-14 triumph. The Bledisloe Cup was snared in 2003 and has stayed in New Zealand's grasp ever since.