Clinical New Zealand beat Australia in Rugby Championship

OPEN ROAD: New Zealand's Mark Telea runs with the ball during the Rugby Championship and 2023 Bledisloe Cup match between Australia and New Zealand at Melbourne Cricket Ground. Pic: Martin Keep/AFP via Getty Images

For a hot half-hour the Wallabies were golden. After two dismal defeats, they had rolled the dice in the biggest game of the year. This Bledisloe clash at one of the few venues where the All Blacks have a losing record, was to be Australia’s last on home turf before the World Cup and coach Eddie Jones had issued a young side licence to thrill and to “light up the MCG”.

But after leading early, everything went black. From 7-5 up at the 30-minute mark, Australia went to the break 19-7 down after New Zealand scored twice in six minutes. In the end, a crowd of 83,944 watched Australia obliterated 38-7 to give the new Jones era a dismal 0-3 start and leave the Bledisloe Cup to stay where it has for 21 long, dark years.