Rugby: Skipper Kieran Read keeps cool to spark dramatic All Blacks win over Wallabies

An exhausted All Blacks captain Kieran Read after beating Australia 35-29 in Bledisloe Cup test. Photo/Photosport

He didn't get the series victory over the British & Irish Lions he wanted to stamp his own authority as All Blacks skipper in the post-Richie McCaw era, but a case could be made for Kieran Read coming of age as the team's leader in this dramatic test against the Wallabies.

Read missed a tackle on Michael Hooper that allowed his Australian counterpart a try in a helter-skelter opening quarter of the match, but he did pretty much everything else right, including setting the scene under his posts for how the All Blacks would win the match and then making two crucial interventions for Beauden Barrett's match-sealing try for the 35-29 win.

It was Read who called for the short re-start by Lima Sopoaga, which the big No 8 then claimed for his team, and it was Read who burst through for the break that led to Barrett going over.

Interestingly, referee Nigel Owens played his own part in Read's re-start, clearly asking replacement first-five Sopoaga which way he was kicking it (to the right was the response).

Owens then motioned for the All Blacks to his left to remain behind the kicker, as if to suggest that was the way the kick was going.

It was probably an insignificant act on Owens' part, but the bluff would probably have further angered Wallabies coach Michael Cheika, who was already unhappy with several decisions and then watched as Owens reminded Sopoaga to tap the final penalty, before kicking the ball into touch after the final siren.

A straight kick to touch would have resulted in a Wallabies lineout.

But by far the most significant figure on the pitch was Read and All Blacks coach Steve Hansen today said that he would expect nothing less.

"That's what you want from your skipper," Hansen said. "In moments like that, you just need people to be really specific about what jobs you need them to do.

"Under the posts, he said 'right, short kick, I'll get up and get it and we're going to do this and you'll do that' ... and bang. He made it really simple for people to know what their role was, rather than everyone panicking, saying 'gee, we've got to score to win'.

"The focus went on the individual and what was his role in the moment, and everyone did it.

"There's no point in rocketing them," Hansen said of his coolness at halftime, as his side recovered to go to the break 17-14 down. "Sometimes there is, but in this case, we didn't think there was a lack of attitude - we were probably too keen.

"When you look at the three tries they scored - a missed tackle by Reado in the maul and he doesn't miss tackles, a scrum going back at 100 miles an hour and instead of attacking the halfback, Aaron [Smith] drifted off him.

"And an intercept pass - if we had thrown that over the top Ben [Smith] would have scored. We were doing enough things well, but we were just rushing them.

"Sonny [Bill Williams], his timing wasn't quite right. He started to get physical, rather than using his skills, with four errors in a row, which is very unlike him.

"I think that's just because we were pretty keen to get the job done."

Hansen's main injury concerns ahead of the test against Argentina in New Plymouth a week on Saturday are the concussions suffered by flanker Sam Cane and midfielder Ryan Crotty. Both will be monitored during the week.

And the All Blacks coach gave short shrift to opposite Michael Cheika's claim that Brodie Retallick should have been punished for a so-called tip tackle on flanker Ned Hanigan. The incident was viewed again by Owens, but no penalty given.

"No, and I don't think there should be either," Hansen said, when asked whether Retallick had been cited. "When someone falls on top of you, and you get up on your knees and he falls off, that's an accident.

"It's not a deliberate act."