Australia 20 All Blacks 15
Australia raised questions over the All Blacks' World Cup hopes and brought the Tri Nations alive by winning a match riddled with New Zealand handling errors in Melbourne.
Scoring two tries in the final quarter and keeping the All Blacks scoreless in the second half to come from 6-15 behind, the Wallabies finished over the top of an All Blacks outfit that seemed fixated on playing the game as fast as possible without necessarily being in total control.
The fact the All Blacks had travelled from South Africa and the added fact that the past two world cup winners have lost lead-up matches will be a small consolation to Kiwi fans, including many in the 80,000-strong crowd who saw their team waste numerous chances to close out the game before being shutdown in the final five minutes.
Captain Richie McCaw's "oh well" afterwards suggested major panic is not required but with Daniel Carter still well off his best and Aaron Mauger having a disappointing game, the All Blacks couldn't turn a wealth of possession into anymore than two tries and the Wallabies have also shown how to nullify this often electrifying team.
Immediately onto the attack, the All Blacks opened the scoring in the fourth minute when Tony Woodcock barged over with Carter on his shoulder. The try was made in part by some bruising, Jerry Collins-esque runs from captain Richie McCaw, who looked as if he was taking pre-emptive action against Australia's stated plan to "get McCaw".
Much of the first half seemed to be spent getting the scrum engagement sorted out, with referee Marius Jonker penalising each team on a seemingly random basis until they eventually got it right.
One of those penalties sparked the All Blacks' second try. Byron Kelleher took a quick tap after the penalty was awarded from a 5m scrum on his own line, and sent Collins away on a surging run.
The counter-attack broke down on halfway when Troy Flavell tried a kick on the run and almost instantly Australia threatened to score themselves. But their counter insurgence was spectacularly spiked by Luke McAlister, who burst from nowhere to intercept and race into space.
After the play broke down in the Wallabies quarter, the All Blacks earned a free kick for an early scrum engagement and three phases later Rico Gear scored off McAlister's pass. Carter missed the conversion from wide out.
The period leading into halftime was completely dominated by the All Blacks. Their hyper-frantic style had the Wallabies gasping and struggling to keep their composure but equally the All Blacks kept making costly errors as a result of the breakneck speed at which they were playing and the All Blacks went to halftime leading 15-6.
Handling errors kept killing the All Blacks' ambitions for more points but in the 50th minute Carter showed an error of judgement when he scorned a three-man overlap to cut inside the last Australian defender and as a result his pop pass to Mauger was spilled.
A series of infringements at the tackle by the All Blacks tested Jonker's patience and he eventually sin-binned Carl Hayman in the 63rd minute for playing the ball on the ground.
That lifted Australian hopes and within a minute hard-running wing Adam Ashley Cooper had burst through the tackles of McCaw and Chris Jack to score in the corner. Matt Giteau's conversion turned it into a two-point ball game.
Carter, again in worryingly indifferent form, having twice kicked out on the full, missed a straight forward 71st penalty that could have given his team some breathing space.
Instead, his team started to gasp when Mauger blasted a kick out on the full and Australia answered with a try to replacement Scott Staniforth who was on the end of a burst and hook pass from Mortlock. Giteau's conversion had Australia in front 20-15 with six minutes to play.
Australia 20: (Scott Staniforth, Adam Ashley-Cooper tries; Mortlock two penalties, Matt Giteau two conversions).
New Zealand 15: (Tony Woodcock, Rico Gear tries; Daniel Carter pen, con).
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