There’s no sign of a silver lining ahead for Australian rugby just a dark cloud

THE gap between the All Blacks and Wallabies is now so big that embarrassing scorelines must be expected - Australia will not bridge the divide anytime soon.

The futre looks grim for Michael Hooper and the Wallabies.

THE gap between the All Blacks and Wallabies is now so big that embarrassing scorelines must be expected.

There is no point hoping the Australians will bridge the divide anytime soon. It is not going to happen.

Being wounded off the field made the All Blacks a worse proposition on it, and the Wallabies were their meek prey.

Australia’s second-half comeback must be seen in context — the All Blacks brought on reserves and took their foot off the gas.

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Sonny Bill Williams and the All Blacks ran rampant over the Wallabies at ANZ Stadium.

When they wanted to play, they were on a different level to anything this group of Wallabies players can ever expect to achieve.

It was men against boys.

The All Blacks were faster, stronger, more explosive and skilled.

The 40 days of training the Wallabies did in preparation for the match did what exactly? Coach Michael Cheika had tailored the regimen differently to last year because they came in overdone, yet they were much worse this time.

The unsavoury revelations about the affairs of Aaron Smith and Jerome Kaino did nothing to distract New Zealand from their task of annihilating the Wallabies.

Four tries in the second half brought Australia to within 20 points of the All Blacks in the end, and that is an accurate reflection of the gulf between the sides.

The Wallabies are going backwards as a team.

This was their sixth consecutive defeat to the All Blacks. They lost four Tests to England last year and one to Ireland.

In June they were beaten by Scotland and then scored a narrow win over Italy.

Their attack presents danger, but their defence undoes any threat they possess.

Australia missed 37 tackles in the first 40 minutes to allow New Zealand to head to the sheds 40-6 ahead. It was game over, and Australia were playing solely for pride in the second half.

They displayed courage in fighting back, but it was too late to salvage anything meaningful.

They head to Dunedin for the second Bledisloe Test next weekend and while Australia will want to use their second-half grit as a positive sign, the All Blacks will feel more confident in combinations that started their first game together in this one.

It has been 15 years since Australia held the trophy, but sadly that run isn’t likely to end anytime soon.

A farcical year for Australian rugby just got worse. There’s no sign of a silver lining. Just a black cloud.