Recap: Coverage of Bledisloe Cup Game 1, from ANZ Stadium, Sydney

IN AN act of pure class, All Blacks coach Steve Hansen put his fierce rivalry with Australia aside to offer an emotive salute.

A rough night in the office for Australia.

Bledisloe Cup

New Zealand has recorded their biggest ever victory against the Wallabies on Australian soil, thumping the home side 42-8 to claim the opening game of the three-Test Bledisloe series. Both sides suffered a number of serious injuries, with Australia losing three inside backs before the half-time break.

Read on in the blog below to see how the game unfolded.

8:00pm

First half

1st min — An early knock-on from the All Blacks gave Australia the first opportunity to attack after giving the Kiwis the ball from the kick-off. As expected, the first scrum saw David Pocock pack at blindside flanker, while Ben McCalman packed down at No.8.

3rd min — A free kick off the scrum put Australia on the front foot, with a kick from Bernard Foley seeing the Aussies regain possession in the NZ 22. All Black hooker Codie Taylor left the field for an early concussion test.

4th min — PEN GOAL: Bernard Foley got first points of the Bledisloe, with an easy penalty kick taking his personal Test points tally past 300. Aus 3 — NZ 0

6th min — TRY: Ryan Crotty scored his second Test try for New Zealand after just six minutes of play in Sydney. Simple draw and pass from the Kiwis saw Kieran Read put the winger in the left corner. Beauden Barrett converted to extend the lead. Aus 3 — NZ 7

9th min — Play stopped for a few minutes as medics treated veteran Aussie centre Matt Giteau for an ankle injury. Despite gallant efforts to stay on the field, the Toulon back was forced from the field after suffering another knock just a minute later. He was replaced by Matt Toomua.

15th min — PEN GOAL: After a period of consistent pressure from the All Blacks, Barrett kicked a penalty goal to extend their lead. Aus 3 — NZ 10

19th min — A full minute of kick-tennis eventually broke when Toomua’s kick was charged down, with the ball landing in Ben Smith’s hands. Quick hands saw the Kiwis break up the left wing for Brodie Retallick to dive over the tryline. However upon review, Smith was shown to be in front of the man that charged the ball down, and no try was awarded.

21st min — PEN GOAL: Sekope Kepu was penalised for going off his feet at the breakdown, giving Barrett another shot at goal. The flyhalf nailed it from the sideline to push NZ out to a 10-point lead. Aus 3 — NZ 13

Beauden Barrett was dominant.

26th min — TRY: Two lineout turnovers in a row for NZ got the men in black on the front foot, surging upfield as they threw the ball around like they were playing touch football. Barrett caught the ball from a quick offload to create something from not a whole lot, making it look easy as he carved through the Aussie backline to score next to the posts. He converted his own try. Aus 3 — NZ 20

30th min — Toomua left the field for a concussion test after taking a heavy knock to the jaw from Barrett’s shoulder.

31st min — TRY: The Wallabies weren’t making things easy for themselves. Foley had a clearance kick charged down by backrower Jerome Kaino, who then chased the ball the 20m to the tryline, scooping it up just before he dived over the line. Barrett missed the conversion. Aus 3 — NZ 25

36th min — Nothing was going Australia’s way as they turned the ball over at their own lineout. A long ball to Michael Hooper at the back saw the flanker knock-on, handing the scrum to the Kiwis.

37th min — A huge covering tackle from replacement Rob Horne saw him come off second best, with the inside back staying down while grabbing at his left elbow. Horne left the field, making him the third Wallaby centre to succumb to injury in the first 40.

Injury woes for Australia’s inside backs.

38th min — TRY: Australia couldn’t capitalise on a turnover from Pocock at the breakdown, with the Kiwis grabbing the ball back and counter-attacking immediately. Barrett cut through the middle of the defence, finding Waisake Naholo on the inside, who busted up the field to score the Kiwis fourth try. Barrett converted. Aus 3 — NZ 32

40th min — Naholo left the field just before the half-time breaking, having appeared to pull a hamstring as he scored his first try of the match.

9:10pm

Second half

41st min — New Zealand looked to put the game to bed early in the second half, pushing hard on the Wallaby defensive line from the outset. Eventually a knock-on saw the ball handed back to Australia at scrum time.

45th min — A grubber kick from Aaron Cruden saw Dane Haylett-Petty fumble in front of the Aussie line, with Israel Dagg stealing the ball and surging over the line, only to be held up. Back to back scrums saw Read pick the ball up from the back of the scrum, only to knock the ball on and give the home side the pill.

48th min — Good pressure from Australia in defence forced a mistake from Dagg, giving Australia yet another scrum feed, however this time they packed down 10m into the All Black half.

51st min — If Australia could have managed to hold onto the ball, they may have given themselves a fighting chance to claw back from the huge deficit. Unfortunately, every time the Wallabies began to string a few phases together, mistakes would rear their ugly heads.

54th min — WALLABY 896: Former Newington College and West Harbour prop Allan Ala’alatoa took the field with 25 minutes to go, making him the sixth Wallaby debutant for the year. Congratulations, Allan.

56th min — TRY: A mistake from Tevita Kuridrani gave Malakai Fekitoa a clear run to the line, only to be cut down by Bernard Foley. A phase later, the Kiwis pushed the stretched Wallaby defence out wide, putting Dane Coles over in the right corner. Barrett once again missed the kick. Aus 3 — NZ 37

Brodie Retallick got through a mountain of work.

58th min — TRY: Julian Savea became the fastest All Black to score 40 tries, hitting back down the right wing almost immediately off the kick off. The onslaught continued. Aaron Cruden missed his first shot of the night. Aus 3 — NZ 42

65th min — Dean Mumm forced a turnover for the Aussies with some solid pressure in defence. Gave Aaron Smith a nudge on the way past — Australia could have done with aggression like that from the first whistle.

67th min — Adam Ashley-Cooper secured a strong breakdown penalty, giving the Aussie the opportunity to kick for touch and attack with good field position. However off the lineout, Kuridrani once again dropped the ball in contact, giving it back to the ABs.

73rd min — After stringing 10 phases together for the first time in the match, Australia were handed a penalty and opted for a lineout, despite struggling at the set piece all night. After the Aussies tried to drive over from the lineout, Kiwis skipper Read was sent to the sin bin for repeated cynical offences.

75th min — TRY: The Wallabies scored their first try of the match via replacement Nick Phipps, who had been playing on the left wing after injuries to three Australian backs in the first half. The try didn’t come easy, with the Wallabies putting another six phases together before Pocock offloaded to Phipps, who bust though the last line of defence, sliding over in the left corner. Foley missed the conversion. Aus 8 — NZ 42

79th min — New Zealand were determined to have the last say, with Barrett kicking across field for Dagg to score in the corner. The try was disallowed, however, after it was shown that Kane Hames had knocked the ball on the phase previously.

80th min — After playing their penalty advantage, New Zealand took a scrum for the last play of the game. A knock-on a few phases later saw the end of the match. FINAL Aus 8 — NZ 42

7:30pm

All Blacks coach’s touching tribute

Bravo, Steve Hansen, bravo.

In an act of pure class, the All Blacks coach temporarily put aside his fierce rivalry with the Wallabies to wish Australian playmaker Christian Lealiifano a speedy recovery after he was recently diagnosed with leukaemia.

Wrapping up his pre-game interview with Fox Sports, Hansen offered a personal touch.

“Just before I go, Chris if you are out there watching this, from the All Blacks, we just wish you a speedy recovery, mate, and we are thinking of you,” he said.

It comes just days after a number of the Wallabies shaved their heads in an act of support the Brumbies back.

David Pocock and Matt Giteau were just two of a number of players who got a trim in support of Christian Lealiifano.

7:00pm

Mike Baird: “I’m all for it.”

Australia go into Saturday’s Test the underdogs against the world champion All Blacks, and New South Wales Premier Mike Baird laughed off the idea of bugging them.

“That’s awesome,” he joked with reporters when told a listening device had been found in their Double Bay hotel.

“If that gives us a chance to beat the All Blacks, I’m all for it,” he said, before laughing.

Mike Baird isn’t opposed to the surveillance bug.

An Australian Rugby Union spokesman made no comment about the incident, but ARU CEO Bill Pulver told The New Zealand Herald there was no way his organisation had anything to do with the device.

“Of course (the ARU is not involved). It is completely ludicrous. I just think it’s a ludicrous concept that there are listening devices being placed in team rooms. I don’t know how that could happen,” Pulver said.

“I’m utterly disappointed the story would break on match day and frankly, that’s all I’ve got to say. We are going to focus on a game of rugby that we’ve got tonight and we will deal with this matter after the rugby.”

The device - described as similar to that used by law enforcement and spying agencies - was found inside a chair in the hotel on Monday, a day after the All Blacks arrived.

The foam of the seat appeared to have been deliberately and carefully cut to make way for the surveillance device and then sewn or glued back together to be almost undetectable, according to The New Zealand Herald.

The Herald said it had been told that hiding the device “was a highly skilled and meticulous act and whoever put it there would have needed a significant amount of time to have pulled off such an accomplished job.”

— AFP

6:45pm

Listening bug drama: Police taking “very seriously”

Police said Saturday they were examining a listening device found in the All Blacks’ Sydney hotel ahead of their clash against the Wallabies, as Australian rugby reportedly rejected as “ludicrous” the idea they had bugged the New Zealanders.

The device was planted inside a chair and found during a routine security sweep of an All Blacks’ meeting room in the lead-up to the opening Rugby Championship clash on Saturday night, New Zealand Rugby (NZR) said.

“The hotel immediately launched an investigation, we have informed the Australian Rugby Union, and jointly we have now decided to hand over the investigation to the Australian police,” NZR chief executive Steve Tew said.

Police leave the Intercontinental Hotel in Double Bay where the All Blacks are staying.

“We are taking this issue very seriously, and given it will be a police matter, it would not be prudent to go into further details.”

New South Wales Police said they were investigating, but had only been made aware of the find on Saturday — five days after the device was found and just hours ahead of the Test between the trans-Tasman rivals.

“Any delay in any investigation is always tough,” Rose Bay commander, superintendent Brad Hodder, told reporters.

“That will be looked at in our investigation.”

Police could not say what range the device may have had or how long it had been in place, but Tew said there had been an All Blacks team meeting in that room earlier in the week.

“If the device was working properly, and we don’t know that for sure, then they would have overheard that,” he told reporters outside the team’s Double Bay hotel on Saturday.

“But we don’t think it’s a catastrophic issue for the game tonight. We’re going to get on with it.” Tew said he has spoken with Australian Rugby Union chief Bill Pulver who was “just as shocked as I was”.

“We haven’t made any accusations of anybody so there’s no room for denials,” he said when asked if Australia had denied involvement in the incident.

— AFP

6:30pm

Teams

Plenty of experience will take the field at ANZ stadium, with more than 800 Test caps in NZ’s 23 alone. The Wallabies have just one uncapped player in young Brumbies prop Allan Ala’alatoa, who will start on the bench.

Fellow prop Kane Hames will also be looking to grab his first cap for New Zealand, while flankers Liam Squire and Ardie Savea will be hoping to pick up their second and third, respectively.

Allan Ala’alatoa will wear the gold jersey for the first time.

Australia

Israel Folau; Adam Ashley-Cooper, Tevita Kuridrani, Matt Giteau, Dane Haylett-Petty; Bernard Foley, Will Genia; David Pocock, Michael Hooper, Ben McCalman; Rob Simmons, Kane Douglas; Sekope Kepu, Stephen Moore (c), Scott Sio

Reserves: Tatafu Polota-Nau, James Slipper, Allan Ala’alatoa, Dean Mumm, Scott Fardy, Nick Phipps, Matt Toomua, Rob Horne

New Zealand

Israel Dagg; Ben Smith, Malakai Fekitoa, Ryan Crotty, Waisake Naholo; Beauden Barrett, Aaron Smith; Kieran Read (c), Sam Cane, Jerome Kaino; Sam Whitelock, Brodie Retallick; Owen Franks, Codie Taylor, Wyatt Crockett

Reserves: Dane Coles, Kane Hames, Charlie Faumuina, Liam Squire, Ardie Savea, TJ Perenara, Aaron Cruden, Julian Savea