Carter leads All Blacks to Bledisloe win

Yahoo!Xtra Sport / Mike Kilpatrick - August 23, 2009, 12:01 am

The All Blacks have bounced back from two test losses in South Africa with a 19-18 win over the Wallabies in Sydney which keeps them in the Tri-Nations hunt and secures the Bledisloe Cup for another year.

The Wallabies had a handy nine-point lead at the break, but the All Blacks dominated the second period and could have had at least two tries before replacement Ma'a Nonu finally crossed.

Fittingly it was the returning Daniel Carter, who had the ball on a leash for the most of the night, who clinched the victory with a last-gasp penalty from wide left.

The Wallabies took advantage of All Black indiscipline and errors in the first half to take control, but faced with wave after wave of New Zealand pressure in the second half they finally buckled.

Few could grudge the All Blacks the win as the boring kicking games witnessed in the republic were banished by two teams prepared to run the ball.

But it wasn't only the win which will give New Zealand fans hope for the future - the second half showed an increased level of accuracy and discipline that hasn't been seen this season.

And the game was on right from the very first second.

Rocky Elsom made an instant impact on his return to the Wallabies by taking Richie McCaw out from the kick-off giving the All Blacks early territory.

And they made it count in just the third minute when Matt Giteau was caught offside and Carter celebrated his return with the three points.

But the Wallabies hit back straight away through Giteau after Jerome Kaino was pinged at the breakdown despite being the tackler, on his feet and entitled to go for the ball.

Referee Johnathon Kaplan's next decision was equally perplexing with McCaw penalised in similar circumstances and memories of the horrific penalty counts in South Africa must have been in the All Blacks' minds.

Giteau put the Wallabies in front after yet another penalty in All Blacks territory as the home team had the best of the early exchanges.

A second penalty against Elsom for taking a player in the air allowed the All Blacks ball in the Australian half, but a pass from Carter to Luke McAlister drifted forward and the flow was halted.

It took 15 minutes for the first scrum to be set and the next five minutes saw reset after reset as both teams looked to gain the upperhand in the set-piece.

As the first quarter ended the All Blacks started to seize control of the contest and, despite having McAlister's kicking options in the back-line, were content to mainly play the ball in hand.

Robbie Deans made a brave move with 30 minutes on the clock by hooking Al Baxter, who had been under all kinds of pressure from Tony Woodcock, and the Wallabies immediately got a free kick from the scrum.

Joe Rokocoko, who'd started brightly, was then penalised for sealing the ball off in the ruck. Brad Thorn gave the referee an earful and the All Blacks were marched back 10 metres and Giteau converted from out in front.

The All Blacks were getting plenty of possession in Wallabies' territory but too many passes went either behind the player on the crash or to ground and the defensive line held strong.

And the frustration continued for the visitors after the half-time hooter when Australia kept the ball alive and Jimmy Cowan didn't role away.

The half-back was perhaps lucky to avoid a yellow card for deliberately slowing the ball and Giteau gave his side a handy nine-point lead as the teams headed back to the sheds.

The All Blacks started the second period brightly and were handed the advantage after flanker Richard Brown was yellow-carded for lifting Owen Franks' legs above the vertical and letting him go.

Carter missed the resultant penalty but made amends a minute later after Sitiveni Sivivatu's break led to another breakdown infringement.

But Ma'a Nonu, on at centre to replace the injured Conrad Smith, held on to the ball in the tackle in the next passage of play and Giteau made no mistake with his penalty.

With players lying injured all over the place Stephen Donald came on to replace the dazed McAlister as both teams went to the bench.

The All Blacks were then denied as Dan Carter went over in the corner, but Rokocoko's final pass looked like it drifted forward although the classy pivot didn't hold the same opinion.

And seconds later Kaplan denied the All Blacks again after ruling Kaino blocked a Wallabies' defender as Cowan dived over.

The pressure from New Zealand was incessant but they only had another three-pointer from Carter to show for a 10-minute plus period in Wallabies' territory.

After a brief sojourn for the Wallabies into All Black territory the try that had been threatened for the entire second half finally came.

McCaw stayed on his feet in the tackle and fed Nonu. His run across the defence committed an extra Wallaby defender and he then fed Read.

Sivivatu got the ball and broke a tackle and with Nonu on the wrap-around he had the easiest of runs to the line. Carter converted.

But the All Blacks lead only lasted a couple of minutes. Replacement Rodney So'oialo was pinged out in front for going off his feet and Giteau landed his sixth penalty.

And that seemed to wake the Wallabies up from their second half daze and they suddenly looked interested in the game again.

With the clock kicking down Australia was content to try and hold on to the lead by pushing the All Blacks back into their own territory, but a kick from Drew Mitchell went too long and handed All Blacks a scrum on the 10-metre line.

The visitors kept the ball well and set up Carter for a drop-goal attempt, but the pivot made his first real mistake of the night with a shocking effort from out in front.

But with just over a minute on the clock Carter had the final say with a penalty after the Wallabies made a couple of mistakes on their line and were penalised for holding on.

The Wallabies pushed after the hooter for the win, but a knock-on brought the game to an end and the All Blacks celebrated in style having made sure the Bledisloe Cup stays on this side of the Tasman for another 12 months.

Australia 18 (Matt Giteau 6 pens)
New Zealand 19 (Ma'a Nonu try; Daniel Carter 4 pens, con)

H/T: 12-3