All Blacks beat Wallabies 50–19 at Eden Park to retain Bledisloe Cup

The All Blacks beat Australia 50–19 at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday, 10 October, retaining the Bledisloe Cup after scoring five second-half tries. New Zealand led only 17–14 at halftime, but pulled clear in the first match of the two-Test series, leaving Australia to seek a response in Sydney next week.

The score ended the Wallabies’ six-match unbeaten run and gave New Zealand its first win after three consecutive defeats to South Africa. The All Blacks also extended their unbeaten run at Eden Park to 54 Tests; they have not lost at the Auckland ground since 1994. Australia’s last win there was in 1986.

How New Zealand turned a close first half into a 50–19 win

Australia made the stronger start, according to Reuters’ account of the match. Fullback Tom Wright scored the opening try in the eighth minute after the visitors controlled the early exchanges. New Zealand answered when Damian McKenzie broke through the defence and passed to Peter Lakai, who levelled the score.

Tupou Vaa’i then scored at the end of a sustained attack to put New Zealand ahead 14–7 in the 16th minute. McKenzie added a penalty, but Australia stayed close: Ben Donaldson found a gap and passed to captain Harry Wilson for a try shortly before halftime. The Wallabies went into the break down by three points, still within reach of the hosts.

Lakai, Vaa’i, Roigard, Taylor, Carter, Moorby and Jordan were New Zealand’s seven try scorers. McKenzie supplied 15 points with the boot, including six conversions, according to BBC Sport’s scoring summary. Australia’s other tries came from Wright and Wilson, while Ryan Lonergan converted two of the Wallabies’ three tries.

What the captains said about the second half

Taylor told Reuters that New Zealand had been hurting after its losses to South Africa. He said it was ‘awesome to come home, play in front of our fans, our people’ and described the result as a source of pride for the team. The win stopped the All Blacks’ three-match losing streak.

Wilson said Australia had done well to stay in the match through the first half but had missed an opportunity early in the second. ‘We blew it, and then it was tough to get the ball back for the next 30 minutes,’ Reuters quoted him as saying. His assessment reflects the shift in the score: Australia was three points behind at halftime, then conceded the first two tries after the interval.

What the result means for the Bledisloe Cup

The victory means New Zealand retains the Bledisloe Cup before the teams meet again. BBC Sport and Reuters differ on the precise count of consecutive years of retention, reporting 23 and 24 respectively. Both agree that Saturday’s win extended New Zealand’s long-running hold on the trophy.

For Australia, the defeat was its first since Les Kiss succeeded Joe Schmidt as head coach in July, BBC Sport reported. The Wallabies had arrived with six matches unbeaten and an opportunity to challenge New Zealand at a ground where they had not won for four decades. Wright’s opening try and Wilson’s score kept that prospect alive at halftime, before New Zealand’s five tries after the break settled the match.

When New Zealand and Australia play again

The second Test is scheduled for 17 October at Accor Stadium in Sydney, according to BBC Sport. Australia can still seek a win in that match, but Saturday’s result has already secured New Zealand’s retention of the cup. The immediate question for the Wallabies is whether they can sustain the early pressure they showed in Auckland for longer against an All Blacks side that scored 33 points after halftime.