Foster hails All Blacks fighting win over Wallabies

DUNEDIN (AFP): All Blacks coach Ian Foster said their fightback to beat the Wallabies 23-20 in Dunedin on Saturday was “ugly” but showed they’re on track to challenge for the Rugby World Cup.

New Zealand surged back from 17-3 down at halftime, snatching victory with a 79th-minute penalty goal to Richie Mo’unga to make it four Test wins from four in 2023.

Just a week after crushing the Wallabies 38-7 in Melbourne to retain the Bledisloe Cup, an error-prone All Blacks were outplayed in the first half.

They needed tries to two debutants – winger Shaun Stevenson and flanker Samipeni Finau – to get back into the contest before flyhalf Mo’unga landed his winning penalty shot from 35m out.

Foster’s men had cruised through the Rugby Championship, posting healthy wins over Argentina, South Africa and Australia to extend their unbeaten run to 11 Tests.

The veteran coach said a team featuring 12 starting changes from last week would have learned a lot from being pushed close, five weeks out from the World Cup in France.

“Not every lesson’s a bad lesson. This lesson’s a good one,” he said.

“We certainly put ourselves in a hole and the Aussies put us there.

“I love the confidence we’ll get out of winning a Test that looked like it might go the other way.

“As long as I’ve been here, most years have had Tests like that. When you’ve had a great year, it’s because you’ve had a couple of ugly wins that you’re pretty proud of. We’ll take it. “

It was a heartbreaking result but an encouraging performance from the Wallabies, who remain winless under Eddie Jones since he returned this year for his second stint in charge.

A vastly inexperienced side, led by new captain Tate McDermott, crossed for two tries in the first seven minutes and threatened to produce a first win over the All Blacks on New Zealand soil since 2001.

Jones was encouraged by his team’s progress after losing all three Rugby Championship Tests.

“We don’t want to forget this feeling today. We’ve got devastated men in there but if we learn from it, it’s going to be the most potent lesson,” he said.

“As much as I hate New Zealand rugby, I’ve got great admiration for the way they keep at it, they keep playing, they stay hard in the contest.”

In a physical encounter, New Zealand lost lock Brodie Retallick and centre Braydon Ennor to knee injuries which require scans while Australian hooker Dave Porecki (shoulder) and midfield back Samu Kerevi also exited with injuries.

A turning point was the introduction off the bench of experienced halves Mo’unga and Aaron Smith, who provided direction.

Starting flyhalf Damian McKenzie was guilty of wayward kicking and was replaced early in the second half after being outplayed by inexperienced opposite Carter Gordon.

Gordon’s retention was staunchly defended by Jones in the leadup following a mixed performance in Melbourne, when New Zealand comfortably retained the Bledisloe Cup.

The visitors snatched early command and silenced a crowd of 28,265 with near-identical tries in the left corner, both converted by Gordon.

The first went to winger Marika Koroibete, before flanker Tom Hooper barrelled over minutes later following a break from fullback Andrew Kellaway.

Australia had the better of the remainder of the first half, coming close to a third try when McDermott was held up over the tryline, but the only further points were a penalty each to Gordon and McKenzie.

The passes began to stick after halftime and Stevenson crossed in the right corner before a Mo’unga penalty closed the gap further.

Gordon hit the post with a straightforward penalty shot before New Zealand hit the front when the muscular Finau barged across in the 64th minute.

Replacement flyhalf Cooper kept his nerve with a 48m penalty to level the scores with seven minutes remaining before Mo’unga stepped up for the winning goal.