Australia’s hopes of regaining the Bledisloe Cup are over for another year after defeat to New Zealand in Auckland.
The Wallabies were comprehensively beaten 22-0 at Eden Park as they failed to fire for a second successive week.
Having lost their opening Rugby Championship encounter to the same opposition in Sydney last Saturday, the Wallabies travelled across the Tasman in hope rather than expectation but their chances were all but over just six minutes into the second half.
Three first-half penalties from Dan Carter gave the All Blacks a 9-0 lead at the break before another Carter strike and a converted try from full back Israel Dagg effectively put the game out of reach on 46 minutes.
A fifth Carter penalty made it 22-0 just 10 minutes later and, although the Wallabies enjoyed some decent possession, there was no way back for the Lions’ next opponents.
With head coach Robbie Deans having faced increasing criticism in the build up to Round 2 of the newly-expanded Tri Nations, his players struggled to respond in the manner he would have liked.
Quade Copper made his first international start since tearing his ACL in the Bronze Medal win over Wales at the 2011 World Cup but the Wallabies offered very little in attack and rarely troubled the All Black line.
Having gained a reputation as the most exciting team in world rugby this time last year, the Wallabies were nilled for the first time since a 24-point defeat to Wales in Cardiff way back in 1973.
It was also the first time they had failed to score against the Kiwis in half a century and pressure is likely to mount on Deans with less than a year until the Lions come calling.
Australia will be now looking to bounce back when they face South Africa in Perth in a fortnight, with the Boks hoping to be top of the table after they take on Argentina in Mendoza this evening.
