New Zealand extended their winning run against rivals Australia to nine games after a dominant 33-13 victory over the Wallabies in the battle for the Bledisloe Cup.
The victory means Australia finish last in the 2024 Rugby Championship, whilst the Kiwis snapped a six-game losing streak in Wellington as both teams now look towards the Autumn Nations Series which will be shown love on TNT Sports and discovery+.
New Zealand moved up to second place in the standings ahead of Argentina, who face table-topping world champions South Africa in the final game of the Championship later on Sunday.
The All Blacks’ back three of Sevu Reece, Will Jordan and Caleb Clarke all scored for the hosts, with Clarke crossing the line either side of half-time.
Prop Tamaiti Williams also notched a try after the interval as New Zealand cruised to a comfortable victory to conclude their campaign.
Australia took the lead early on in Wellington as Fraser McReight scored inside the opening 10 minutes.
Reece then responded with a try eight minutes later before Beauden Barrett notched the conversion from Jordan’s score to give New Zealand a 12-10 lead after 25 minutes.
Clarke crossed on the stroke of half-time, with Barrett nailing the conversion to give the All Blacks a 19-13 lead at the break.
The Aussies would fail to score in the second half as New Zealand pulled away with further tries from Williams and Clarke again.
Penalties began to mount for Joe Schmidt’s side as they looked to get back in the game, while a host of Australian substitutions on the hour mark did little to change the flow of the game.
Attention will now turn to the Autumn Nations Series as Schmidt will look to improve his Test record as Australia head coach, which currently sits at 4-5.
The Wallabies will travel to the Northern Hemisphere to face England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland in the Autumn.
New Zealand will continue a flourishing rivalry against Ireland in addition to games against England, France and Italy.
TNT Sports and discovery+ will be the exclusive home for all 21 games, which begins with England hosting New Zealand and Scotland facing Fiji in Edinburgh on November 2. Watch and stream every game of the 2024/25 Gallagher Premiership season, the 2024 Autumn Nations Series and Premiership Women’s Rugby on TNT Sports and discovery+
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