Ben Smith scored another two tries against the Wallabies as the All Blacks claimed a 27-16 win to reclaim the Bledisloe Cup in Wellington.

by Brendan Bradford –

New Zealand retained the Bledisloe Cup for the 11th year in succession but South Africa maintained top-spot on the table after the second round of Rugby Championship matches overnight.

Despite a promising start, the Wallabies were unable to bounce back from a 17-point loss last weekend as a clinical All Blacks side punished every mistake to take a 27-16 win in windy Wellington on Saturday. The Springboks came from behind to secure an unconvincing 22-17 win over Argentina on Sunday morning to keep top spot on the table.

Going out to a 6-0 lead courtesy of Christian Leali’ifano’s boot, Australia looked promising as Steven Moore went close to scoring and the All Blacks resorted to giving away penalties. Israel Folau bundled Julian Savea into touch in a desperate try-saver and when All Black debutant Tom Taylor missed a penalty, one of the great rugby upsets didn’t seem so unlikely.

But as they always do, the All Blacks stepped it up a gear. Kieran Read was the instigator this time. In the 26th minute, the Crusaders back-rower was on hand to stop a Jesse Mogg kick from going into touch. Read passed to Israel Dagg before chasing and skilfully regathering his fullback’s bomb on Australia’s side of halfway. After a couple of phases, Savea, Dagg and impressive rookie Steven Luatua orchestrated an overlap to put try-scoring machine Ben Smith in for his fourth try in two weeks.

Christian Leali’ifano slotted 11pts for the Wallabies but couldn’t prevent another All Blacks victory

Luatua was heavily involved in the All Blacks’ second try too. The bustling Blues forward made a barnstorming break in midfield before Smith was on hand to finish off a simple overlap on the stroke of halftime.

The Wallabies didn’t deserve to be on the wrong side of the 15-6 score at the break, but with Taylor missing three attempts at goal, they were lucky not to be further behind.

The improved Australian defence held out for the rest of the match but four more penalties – three to Taylor and one to Dagg – ensured another Bledisloe Cup win for the Kiwis.

Israel Folau was quiet again and only managed to get his hands on the ball in space by pouncing on an intercept in the 71st minute and racing 70-meters to the tryline. Surely a move to fullback beckons for the impressive league-convert.

As much as Wallabies fans will point the finger at referee Jaco Peyper, it’s basic mistakes that continue to plague the team. The scrum struggled all night, the lineout was a worry right from the first wayward throw after just two minutes and Will Genia’s box-kick was pressured to great effect.

For the second week in a row, Michael Hooper was Australia’s best. Hooper is the new-breed, but with an uneven layer of tape covering his head and his socks pulled low around his ankles, he screams old-school. His hell-for-leather playing style does too. The Wallabies’ openside hurried Aaron Smith at the base of the ruck, carried the ball straight and strong and crucially disrupted a first-half Israel Dagg pass after the All Blacks fullback broke the line and seemed destined to set up a try. Ewen McKenzie faces a selection headache when David Pocock returns from knee injury – a move to the blindside for the Brumbies flanker perhaps?

Steven Luatua was impressive in his third match for the All Blacks.

Despite a couple of missed shots at goal, Tom Taylor had a successful debut in the black number ten jersey. The versatile Crusaders back slipped into the playmaking role with ease, took the line on, distributed well and even had the confidence to put a chip for Ma’a Nonu in the first half. Taylor was aided and abetted by the scintillating return to form of Israel Dagg. We saw glimpses of it in Sydney, but Dagg was at his brilliant best in Wellington on Saturday, catching everything in the air, attacking dangerously and kicking with precision into Wallabies territory.

All teams have a bye next weekend before the Wallabies host South Africa in Brisbane and the All Blacks play Argentina in Hamilton.

NEW ZEALAND 27 (Ben Smith 2 tries; Tom Taylor con, 4 pens, Israel Dagg pen) bt AUSTRALIA 16 (Israel Folau try; Christian Leali’ifano con, 3 pens)