All Blacks pass different test with flying colours - Hansen
ByReuters
Published 27/08/2016 at 13:41 GMT
The scoreline may not have been as emphatic as it was in their first Rugby Championship clash of the season, but All Blacks coach Steve Hansen was just as impressed with his side's performance in their 29-9 victory over Australia on Saturday.
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Hansen's side beat the Wallabies 42-8 last week in Sydney, with a first-half performance that was lauded as near-perfect as they raced to a 32-3 lead by halftime.
On Saturday, however, they faced a much more combative, and niggly Wallabies side but still did more than enough to blunt the Australian attack at Wellington Regional Stadium and create opportunities to score four tries.
"On the scoreboard it looks like we've done it pretty easy, but I don't think anyone would say it was easy out there," Hansen said.
"The skill level of our guys was really good ... under extreme pressure at times, and at the moment that's probably where we've got a little bit of an edge."
The All Blacks attack has been to the fore in the two games against the Wallabies, scoring 10 tries, but of equal importance has been their defence, when they have gang-tackled ball runners and knocked them back behind the advantage line.
The pressure they exerted at the set piece also disrupted the Wallabies' attacking game.
Like last week, the Wallabies' lineout was again a shambles and they lost four on their own throw. Even when they won their own lineouts, pressure from the All Blacks ensured it was not clean ball for the inside backs to utilise.
The All Blacks' scrum also had the Wallabies back-pedalling or getting twisted away from the more advantageous positions from which to attack.
While the match was not as aesthetically pleasing as last week's six-try victory in Sydney, the fact it required a different approach would only hold them in good stead in the future, Hansen said.
"They've been through it now and they know what it feels like, and they know that if they concentrate on what we have to do, then we'll come out the other side of it okay," he said.
"So there'll be a bit of trust and self-belief to come from it, as well.
"It was an ideal game for us."
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