AUCKLAND // The New Zealand captain Richie McCaw hailed his side's resilience after they recovered from two successive defeats to hammer Australia in yesterday's Bledisloe Cup and Tri Nations match at the Eden Park. Heading into the crucial encounter on the back of losses to South Africa and the Wallabies, the pressure was on the All Blacks, and the returning McCaw was delighted with the way his side responded.
He said: "We certainly weren't happy after last week. It's not very nice when you know you have been outmuscled and the boys have been hurting all week. We wanted to put together a good performance. "We talked about a lot of things that let us down last week and we worked on the stuff that often doesn't get seen. "When you lose two in a row it's a measure of how you get back on the horse and we can't afford to go back. We have to continue on from here and get better."
Tony Woodcock and Ma'a Nonu each crossed twice as the hosts outscored their visitors by four tries to one, with the rest of the points coming from the boot of Dan Carter. Graham Henry's men dominated the line-outs - traditionally a powerful weapon for the Wallabies - which was particularly pleasing for McCaw. The victory moved New Zealand to the top of the Tri Nations table with 10 points - a point ahead of Australia and five clear of South Africa.
It was Australia's first defeat in five Tests since Robbie Deans, himself a New Zealander, was hired to revive the side following their premature departure from the 2007 World Cup. The captain Sterling Mortlock was disappointed with his team's discipline, which allowed Carter plenty of goal-kicking opportunities. He said: "We gave them a lot of field positions. New Zealand travel to South Africa later this week for their match in Cape Town on August 17.
* PA Sport
