Chris Rattue: That's the way to go, boys - rattle 'em early

The All Blacks have struck a blow at the Wallaby heart which could pay off for some time.

Of course, we are still in the don't-speak-too-early zone. The Tri-Nations has only just begun, the Bledisloe Cup still belongs to Australia, even though Reuben Thorne tried to claim it on Saturday night, and there's still the matter of fronting up in Sydney on August 3.

The Australians, apparently, are rebuilding and still face some obvious selection posers in the backs alone.

A fit Steve Kefu will surely press hard to add line-breaking ability for Daniel Herbert's stonewall game, the rare gifts of Mat Rogers will get a starting chance, and Wendell Sailor lurks in the wings.

But the best way of knocking down the new Wallaby house is to crumble the foundations, shake their confidence early, and confuse their selections.

On the face of it, the All Blacks won in Christchurch on Saturday night because Andrew Mehrtens kicked all his goals, and Matthew Burke didn't.

But apart from the lineout, the All Blacks had the edge. Best of all, they held on at the end this time.

Confidence and success are close allies and when push came to shove, the Wallabies were unable to convert what was an excellent match-winning position at the death.

The Wallaby backline looked a touch more creative in a game devoid of flair, but their few breaks were well covered.

A win by a Wallaby team supposedly in the rebuilding stage, in New Zealand conditions, on New Zealand soil, against a Crusaders-dominated team in Christchurch, would have been a bitter blow. Instead, it is the Wallabies who must regroup, and after the Waratahs were crushed by the Crusaders this year, and the Brumbies seen off in the Super 12 final, the tide seems to be turning New Zealand's way.

A fierce interstate rivalry bubbles below the surface in Australian football teams.

New Zealand rugby tends to support teams from this country when facing international opponents, although Canterbury's dominance of the All Blacks has drawn out unusual parochialism, particularly at Carisbrook a few weeks ago.

The rest of the country did not always take kindly to an Auckland-dominated All Blacks team either.

But you only have to glance at comments out of Canberra aimed at New South Wales over the past few years, or the pre-match talk before the Waratahs and Reds clashed this year, to realise the strength of interstate feeling in Australia.

When the Herald quizzed a state rugby official for a prediction for an upcoming Super 12 match involving the Waratahs and a New Zealand side this season, he reckoned: "Anyone but the Waratahs will do us."

A few more Wallaby losses by a team not living up to heightened expectations might bring those rivalries closer to the surface, and leave some nice little cracks for the All Blacks to barge through.