Under-fire Jones and Gregan get breathing space

THEY may have won pulling up but Australia left the majority of the Lansdowne Road crowd feeling distinctly underwhelmed.

To be fair, nothing less than a virtuoso performance was going to top off the events of the previous seven days when the All Blacks swaggered confidently on to the stage.

The arrival of Graham Henry’s men was the cue for the last whiff of gunpowder on the Brian O’Driscoll affair but they still managed to melt hearts in Ramelton before destroying their hosts with a display of breathtaking power, precision and pace.