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Sam Bruce, Deputy Editor, espn.com.au
Wallace Sititi displayed his immense talent as the brilliance of Will Jordan and the finishing power of Caleb Clarke all combined to give the All Blacks a comfortable win in Bledisloe II on Saturday night.
New Zealand were finally able to put the “Capital Curse” to rest as they defeated the Wallabies 33-13 for their first win in Wellington since 2018, giving former skipper Sam Cane and veteran scrum-half TJ Perenara the perfect farewell on home soil in the process.
While it was by no means the perfect performance, the 20-point victory will ease some of the pressure on coach Scott Robertson after a Rugby Championship where New Zealand showed only glimpses of the full extent of their capabilities.
That was evident on transition ball at the “Cake Tin”, so too in their dogged defence that kept the Wallabies to just one try after the Australians were first to strike inside 10 minutes during a first half when they dominated possession and territory.
But a vital score from Clarke just before halftime proved a hammer blow for the Australians, who then simply could not get their hands on the ball, nor get out of their own half, after the resumption.
“I was really happy with that first half and I think that try before halftime was a pretty tough blow to take,” Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt reflected.
“If we could have gone into the changing rooms at 13-12 it would have given us a bit more impetus into that second half. But the second half, I thought that first 25 minutes of the second half, they really dominated possession and territory, and we had to work really hard to keep them out — obviously that didn’t happen all the time.
“But we missed a few chances in the first half to probably even get a bit of scoreboard separation right from the very start of the game. Jake [Gordon] almost picks it up and puts it down, it would have been great to get that one or Fraser McReight being held up down in the left-hand corner [later in the first half].
“Either of those two would have just given us a little bit more confidence, but the confidence is growing on the back of being able to put some things together; forcing a pass after breaking the line in behind them, just having the confidence to play that phase and stay on top, and play on top, which the All Blacks do incredibly well.”
The Wallabies almost made the perfect start when Andrew Kellaway ran clear after a switch behind the scrum, the winger chipping ahead to set up a race to the line. But after the ball ran beyond Jordan and Beauden Barrett fumbled, Gordon was unable to scoop up the loose pill and knocked on over the line instead.
The Wallabies did get a reward for their early endeavours, which saw them running the ball out from their own half, a trend of the first 40, when McReight burrowed his way over from close range after only eight minutes.
But that was the only five-pointer they could manage for the game as the All Blacks hit back through Sevu Reece with virtually their first attacking opportunity of the match, a scintillating counter, nine minutes later.
While Robertson hasn’t found the Test going as seamless as Super Rugby, where he won seven titles as coach of the Crusaders, he has unearthed a gem in Chiefs back-rower Sititi.
The No. 6 has brought a powerful edge to the All Blacks’ forward pack, but it was his footwork that created the opportunity that saw the hosts respond to McReight’s earlier score.
Standing up Wallabies hooker Matt Faessler, Sititi broke through the defensive line and found Anton Lienert-Brown steaming up on his outside, the centre throwing a magnificent left-to-right pass that hit Reece on the chest for the winger to run away untouched.
The All Blacks were under early pressure because of their discipline, but once they adapted to the interpretations of Georgian referee Nika Amashukeli, and shored up their defensive line, they were able to snuff out some promising Australian attacks.
Then when they did get their opportunities, the likes of Jordan, who cut through for the All Blacks’ second try, New Zealand started to look more like the team the nation hoped they would be when Robertson was named coach.
“He created a lot, when he gets the ball in hand, just his angle changes, he’s got a step, he’ll hit a lot of players with just his step, I’m really pleased for Will,” Robertson said of Jordan.
“He owned it and took his opportunities.”
But it was Clarke’s score that really did the damage just before the break, the winger hitting a hard straight line off a delightful short ball from Lienert-Brown, who has given Robertson something to consider in his centre pairing once more, to send the hosts into halftime at 19-13 to the good.
And it was largely one-way traffic thereafter, even though New Zealand could only add the two second-half five-pointers, the second of which was created by Damian McKenzie, who came off the bench to free up space for Clarke — and the winger did the rest down the left touchline.
Replacement prop Tamaiti Williams grabbed New Zealand’s earlier second-half try, which came about through the sheer weight of pressure as Australia struggled to clear their own half with any great conviction.
That will be a focus for Schmidt before he heads north with the Wallabies in late October, but there was again enough in Australia’s attack to suggest they can have some success on their spring tour.
Fullback Tom Wright again opened up the All Blacks, so too did centre Len Ikitau, while wingers Andrew Kellaway and Dylan Pietsch, the latter making his first run-on start, also had some positive moments. Meanwhile, Fraser McReight and Rob Valetini, Australia’s usual suspects up front, were tireless, while lock Jeremy Williams was also industrious, particularly in the first half.
But the story in Wellington was Sititi, who despite playing slightly out of position has taken to Test rugby as if he has been playing it for years. His raw size, strength and power make him a valuable commodity without throwing a pass or hammering an opponent in a tackle, but he has the silky skills of a Zinzan Brooke and may well end up playing just as many Tests, if not more, as the all-time All Blacks great.
Named after William Wallace, because his parents loved the film Braveheart, Sititi is fast trampling Test opponents like Mel Gibson did hapless extras in King Edward’s northern army.
“He’s a great kid, hey?” Robertson said of Sititi. “You’ve got to get to know him to really understand the value; he’s a man of faith, he believes in himself, more importantly. He trusts his skill set,, he’s really humble, but he’s tough. He can play.”
In the back-rower, Clarke and Jordan, Robertson has some mouth-watering assets to take this team towards the next World Cup, he just needs to solve his halves conundrum — which Richie Mo’unga could well be a part of from the backend of next year — and hone in on the set-piece, defensive and breakdown work that has worked only periodically throughout this season.
Given his first start of the season in the No. 10 jersey, Beauden Barrett didn’t exactly command the All Blacks like Robertson will have hoped.
Schmidt’s gaze, however, is far more immediate, with the clock fast ticking towards next year’s British & Irish Lions Series.
Australia have undoubtedly made progress under the Kiwi, but with just four Tests left before Schmidt then gets his hands on the squad ahead of the Lions’ arrival in 2025, there is loads of improvement required if the Wallabies are to truly be a chance of overturning the 2-1 series defeat of 2013.
Despite only one win in the Rugby Championship, Schmidt believes he has a team that is heading in the right direction.
“We had that one half in Argentina that was pretty tough to take, but the first half we led and Argentina are a very good side; obviously [World Cup] semifinalists last year and they won here in Wellington, which is more than we managed to do,” Schmidt said.
“But getting the win against them in La Plata, and then on the back of last week, a three-point margin is skinny enough. And even today, we probably rolled our sleeves up sufficiently to maybe deserve one more try, but you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you earn and we didn’t put it down over the line.
“But as a group of coaches, we’re pretty hard on ourselves; are we managing to get what we need from the group and have we got the right group? So there’s a number of things we’ll reflect on, but there are a number of positives over the last four weeks and even the last two weeks against the All Blacks.”