It was one-way traffic in Sydney as the All Blacks marched to a 13th successive victory over the Wallabies in the second Bledisloe Cup Test.
Dave Rennie’s charges ran in seven tries to Australia’s three, with the hosts completely outclassed in the first half.
All Blacks hammer the Wallabies in Sydney
Prior to kick-off, the All Blacks lost the services of centre Jordie Barrett with Timoci Tavatavanawai promoted to the starting XV with Quinn Tupaea leaving proceedings during the early knockings of the encounter.
Despite the setbacks, New Zealand barely missed a beat as Josh Moorby grabbed the opening try in the 11th minute of the game, which kick-started the onslaught. Beauden Barrett finished off another brilliant flowing attack just five minutes later.
Peter Lakai made it three in the 20th minute as the All Blacks opened up a 17-0 lead, with Damian McKenzie failing to convert the first two tries but was successful with the third. Rieko Ioane rubbed salt into Australia’s gaping wounds as the All Blacks made it 22-0.
The Wallabies finally opened up their account through Jeremy Williams in the 28th minute but he quickly undid his hard work. He was sent to the sin bin after being deemed to have been cynically offside, and from the ensuing scrum Wallace Sititi scored the easiest of tries from the back of the scrum.
Australia needed a reply but Max Jorgensen forced an offload that was not on which landed in the grateful clutches of Barrett who raced away for his second try of the game on the stroke of half-time.
Moorby grabbed his second shortly after the break, with McKenzie’s conversion ultimately proving to be New Zealand’s final contribution to the scoreline.
Australia scored through Tom Wright and Filipo Daugunu in the second half, but by then, the damage was done as the Wallabies suffered a second defeat under new head coach Les Kiss.
For Australia, pride is very much on the line as they look for a response after Eden Park, which will be easier said than done with injuries hitting them hard. Recap our live coverage of the match below.