All Blacks overcome Australia for record 18th straight win

Nigel Owens had a shocker, far too many dubious calls on both sides. Speight's disallowed try was a massive call at 15-10 with 30min to go (would have been 15 all, possibly 17-15). 8 out of 10 refs would have given it but not at eden park v AB I guess.

No doubt the kiwis deserve the record though but tonight i just dont think they were the better team. Owens ruined it for me(very poor reffing at scrumtime in particular).

Wasn't that try initially awarded by Owens before the TMO got involved though? Didn't see the game but saw the replay of that bump on Savea. Initially from behind I thought nothing of it but then from in front it did look to me to be a bit more like dirty play. Either way I still think the wallabies have a bit of work to do to match the ABs but the game tonight from all reports showed them to have their best game for a long time.

tonight i just dont think they were the better team

Australia did play well and dominated in possession early, and the New Zealanders kept dropping the ball, but is an 80 minute game and its the points on the board that matter. In the end, it wasn't close. Dangerous, dangerous team.

Initially from behind I thought nothing of it

I was watching live and thought it looked dodgy, but then from the replays it didn't seem likely that Savea had a real chance to run the try scorer down. In any case I doubt the result was affected.

it didn't seem likely that Savea had a real chance to run the try scorer down That is not the point, because of interference he was denied the chance, hence a penalty in the eyes of the TMO. Fact, the try was scored but Haylett-Petty cost his team the chance to draw even just before half time. He run a line that was not in support but in the way of the defender. Aussies really are the worst losers in world sports, which is surprising looking at their record this century.

I thought Australia's performance was a big step up from some of their previous games. They made a match of it. The thing about the All Blacks, though, is they play as well in the last 20 minutes as they do in the first. They are consider one of the world's best sporting teams for a reason.

Australia performed well on the field but reading about how sour they are over the loss is overshadowing it for me. Really poor form in their after match commentary.

@haas, I think most of it is due to the weekend's nz herald front page on which Cheika (wallabies coach) is protrayed as a clown, wallabies jersey on and 'send in the clowns' as a headline.

I love political/papers cartoonists and found this one offensive yet funny, thing is in sports terms 'you clowns' is a pretty derogatory expression especially when you have lost most of your test matches this season. That imo explains why cheika was filthy after the game. He obviously took it literally and far too seriously/personally. Same for Moore who as wallabies captain is the de facto 'clown in chief'.

Didn't hear them whinge about the ref though, not excessively I mean. Again was imo a poor overall performance from Owens.

Yep, that's a bit rough, but the Aussie media are no saints in that way either. Remember Richety Grub? They're trying to claim a lack of respect from the ABs, but they're exactly the same in that way.

Yep agree Haaa. Plus the AB or Hansen do not control nz media anyway so why hold them responsible for what happened (most nz and oz media are fairfax owned, same group).

I'm pretty sure Chieka is attempting to deflect the woes of Aussie rugby by beating up this silly newspaper comedy piece. The real comedy is Australian rugby union - it has arguably never been at a lower point, only the 4th most popular footy code in Aus (by a loooong shot), dying at grassroots level, very little interest outside private schools and their networks, and just last week talk of a new national competition breaking away from the ARU. Chieka throws out gold jerseys like candy to complete nobodies, some of whom have only lived for a short time in Aus. Heck, theyve just chosen a rugby-league winger for the wallabies' next tour who has never played a game of professional rugby union!

Well done All-Blacks - I hope they get some serious challengers in the next few years to make the game a bit more exciting.

Des: Yeah I think Todd Greenberg must be thanking his lucky stars that despite all the crap the NRL has been thru the ARU has knocked the ball on at every opportunity. Might be time the ARU hired a Kiwi CEO to save the game. Chieka wouldn't even get a job at Super Rugby level in NZ.

37-10 with a lot of missed licks and a near try at the end. Could have been 50. New Zealand has some special players right now. Notably Ben Smith, Read, Retallic and Coles who are consistently outstanding. Is all about finishing off attacks with tries. "playing well" means doing this 4-6 times a game