All Blacks outjump Wallabies at Eden Park to hand Les Kiss first defeat
Les Kiss’s Australia were beaten by New Zealand at Eden Park on Saturday in a Bledisloe Cup match, handing Kiss his first loss as Australia coach. The All Blacks overturned an early Wallabies lead by winning the aerial exchanges and securing victory at the 105-year stronghold.
The Wallabies arrived in Auckland on a six-game unbeaten run, fresh from beating the world champions South Africa a fortnight earlier, while New Zealand had lost three times to the Springboks and faced a fourth consecutive defeat. More than 48,000 fans in black filled Eden Park, and a vocal section of Australians inside the ground were buoyed by belief before kick-off; one supporter even shouted, “Today is the day!” and “Today we finally give it back to these Kiwi bastards.”
Australia burst into the contest when Ben Donaldson’s deft tap-on pass sent Tom Wright through after seven minutes, igniting the visitors’ early momentum. That momentum was undermined when Donaldson’s kick for touch went out on the full from the halfway scrum, yielding a reprieve the All Blacks seized; Peter Lakai finished a counterattack to make it seven-all, Tupou Vaa’i crossed soon after to put New Zealand ahead 14-7, and a subsequent penalty left Australia trailing by 10.
Donaldson’s cut-and-run created another score before half-time when Wilson crossed, but Ryan Lonergan barely made the conversion and Australia went into the break 17-14 down. Kiss delayed the restart long after the interval and the Wallabies re-emerged on the front foot, producing a well-timed kick to the corner that Max Jorgensen chased, yet Australia then conceded an obstruction penalty in the attempt to maul the final metres.
The reprieve fuelled the All Blacks, who scored twice in six minutes and sealed what the report described as a 54th straight Eden Park win; Jordie Barrett and Will Jordan outjumped the Wallabies’ back-three in those aerial contests. “The lessons are there,” said Kiss.
Cam Roigard’s kicking game repeatedly disrupted Australia’s attacking shape, a tactic All Blacks coach Dave Rennie said worked after Len Ikitau left early for a head injury assessment. “[It] allowed us to put a lot of pressure on,” said Rennie. Len Ikitau’s likely absence for next week’s rematch in Sydney compounds the blow of Hunter Paisami’s suspension following a head-clash tackle against South Africa; his replacement, Isaac Henry, made 15 tackles on Saturday but offered little in attack.
The loss means the Bledisloe Cup is gone for another year, though Australia still have the opportunity to beat New Zealand for the first time since 2020 and end the Kiwis’ 12-Test dominance. Wilson described the defeat as “a step back,” and Kiss added: “When you get a knockback, you find out more about yourself.” He also said, “Belief is created and sustained not by just wins and losses,” and “These boys have a strong culture, a strong belief in themselves and a confidence about what they can do. We’ll go back to work and turn the dial in the right areas so we can go to Sydney and return fire.”