Hello and welcome to coverage of the All Blacks hosting the Wallabies from Auckland.
After last week's wet 12-12 draw in Sydney, the All Blacks will look to lift the performance at their Eden Park fortress.
We bring you live streaming written commentary, video highlights (be sure to refresh your browser) and all the action. VIDEO will be available as soon as the final whistle goes.
-------------------------------------
LIVE COMMENTARY…
New Zealand 51 – 20 Australia
FULLTIME: The All Blacks showed plenty of heart and win big. Highlights up now!
80 min: TRY ALL BLACKS! Luatua runs a great line and scores under the sticks! The All Blacks get the last say and bring up 50 on the Aussies.
79 min: Conrad Smith has made a huge difference tonight being back in Black. He's slipped into the side like a violin in a marching band. It a connection that works for everyone. Just as good has been Aaron Smith.
77 min: Yellow Card! Ben Franks is off for the rest of the game after slapping the ball away on the ground. Little unlucky, it wasn't as obvious as the McCaw one in the first half.
76 min: Folau intercept! He's away with only Barrett coming across. He'll get there you know and he somehow manages to take the hit and drag Folau down! I think all of Eden Park braced for Folau to run over Barrett, but the wee fullback did enough to stop him.
73 min: Retallick gets a warm hand as he jogs off. He's worked hard and is sweating like an opera singer on a treadmill. Great shift from him.
71 min: Wallabies back inside the All Blacks 22m and can they grab a thi...or not. They've lost it. Barrett decides to hack it clear as the All Blacks play for a bit of safety.
68 min: All Blacks have gone to sleep in the last ten or so minutes. The result is wrapped up, but Hansen won't be happy with the way his side have switched off.
65 min: TRY WALLABIES! Hooper shows his wicked pace off an attacking lineout and his solo effort is enough to get to the line (at full stretch) and the Wallabies peg back another. Turning into a try feast! 44-20.
62 min: TRY WALLABIES! The Australians won't go home empty handed as Beale hits Folau with the inside ball (very 'Tahs like move) and the fullback finishes from close. 44-13.
60 min: Another lineout drive from the All Blacks and the Aussies are reeling back. McCaw has the ball as it collapses over the line. Sam Whitelock is keen to award the try and I'm surprised he didn't reach out for the refs whistle to give it himself...TRY ALL BLACKS! It goes to the TMO and it's as clear as crystal. 44-6.
57 min: The Wallabies put under all sorts of pressure again after a cheeky kick from Dane Coles unleashed the beast Savea. He's the only one within distance against three players in gold, but does enough to disrupt things on his own and slow them right down. Great energy shown from the Kiwis!
54 min: TRY ALL BLACKS! The Aussies just can't stop the All Blacks as they drive over from the lineout. It was ol Richie McCaw on the end of it dotting down. 37-6.
50 min: TRY ALL BLACKS! Scintillating counter from the Kiwis again as they turn the Wallabies ball over. Julian Savea kicks into space from the wing and Fekitoa runs on it. He looks certain to score, but the hardworking Hooper gets back for the Aussies to pull him down inches short. The All Blacks have the numbers there and it's Read who finishes it off. 30-6.
48 min: Great work from Julian Savea as he leaps to keep a Matt Toomua penalty kick on the field and avoid the lineout.
45 min: Ben Smith slipping through tackles like an eel. He's playing out on the wing as Cory Jane hobbles off to be replaced by Barrett who slots in at fullback. Sad ending for Jane's 50th Test cap.
43 min: Wallabies pile up some early second half pressure but the All Blacks win the penalty as the Wallabies are pinged for not releasing. An encouraging start from the visitors, although no points to show for it.
Second half, 41 min: All Blacks join the Wallabies (who never left) on the field for the second half and Aaron Cruden gets things restarted. One change as Fekitoa replaces Crotty who has picked up a knock to his cheek.
Halftime note - Ewen McKenzie is holding his halftime team talk on the field. Someone isn't happy.
Wallabies getting their halftime bollocking in public #NZLvAUS #AllBlacks pic.twitter.com/yNRu1TfdEr
— Kyle MacDonald (@kylemacd) August 23, 2014
HALFTIME: A solid first half from the ABs and they lead 23-6 at the half. Grab a cuppa tea and I'll see you back here in 10 mins.
39 min: Not all fans might have agreed with his selection, but Ryan Crotty is putting in the hard yards out there. He's been as unyielding as a lawn chair tonight!
38 min: Ben Smith playing quite forward and has been the number one receiver a few times already. Game has turned a bit scrappy as we approach halftime.
34 min: Australia back to full-strength, but the damage might already have been done.
32 min: One of my favourite analogies fits in here perfectly... All Blacks tries are a bit like buses. How you ask? Well you spend ages waiting for one and two come at once! All Blacks romp out to a 17 point lead.
31 min: Turns out West Ham are watching this match over in the UK before they play Crystal Palace later on today.
PIC: Good to see #WHUFC fan @juliansavea7 (left) go over for a try for the @AllBlacks! #NZLvAUS pic.twitter.com/oIQLOUSYQb
— West Ham United FC (@whufc_official) August 23, 2014
31 min: But hold the phone! It has been turned over and here come the All Blacks on the counter attack! TRY ALL BLACKS! Cruden dummies, holds the Wallabies, and puts Savea away for the try! 23-6 lead.
30 min: Cory Jane smacks a kick down the field and Folau puts in a great return for the Wallabies as he makes at least 70 meters before he is brought down. I think he should have passed...
29 min: PENALTY TRY! The All Blacks scrum just powers the Wallabies back and Slipper is pinged for hitting the deck and stopping the momentum. The All Blacks cash in on having the man advantage to score and lead 16-6.
28 min: Close! Australia is stretched and Cruden hits Retallick with a cutback pass. The lock POWERS forward ten meters and carries three Wallabies into the in goal area. White got underneath to hold him up, but that was pure grunt from the big man.
26 min: Heave! The All Blacks turn over the resulting scrum and will advance into the Wallabies 22m and continue the pressure.
25 min: All Blacks work the overlap out wide but Messam drops it cold like he was catching a bar of soap. Could have been a chance for New Zealand!
23 min: Yellow Card! Rob Simmons is gone after lifting the leg of an All Black while the Kiwis maul moved down the park. Dangerous and dumb play as Richie McCaw comes back on for the All Blacks from his naughty chair. Cruden tees up the penalty from out wide but he pushes it wide and it stays 9-6.
21 min: The Wallabies defense is resembling a wet paper bag as the All Blacks tear through again. Palu rushed up out of line and Crotty broke away. He's scragged by Beale and the All Blacks turn the ball over with some messy play on the deck. Aussie will get out of jail again, but you feel it's only a matter of time.
19 min: Retallick pulls down the restart out of the air with a stunning grab. The drive is on and the All Blacks win a penalty as a Wallaby joined the maul incorrectly. It's almost like that yellow card to McCaw kicked the Kiwis into life and their playing smart, patient rugby now. Cruden bangs a kick away for an All Blacks lineout.
17 min: All Blacks making the running as Aaron Smith throws a dummy and scoots through from halfback. He has good support from Cruden and Savea. All Blacks 15m out before the Wallabies can pull them down. White is offside for the Aussies and gives away a penalty getting back on defense. A chant of "off, off, off" comes from the crowd, but the referee isn't listening. Cruden knocks over another penalty and the All Blacks lead 9-6.
15 min: I wonder if the Wallabies spent any time practicing with a man advantage during the week? The played against a 14-man ABs side for 20 minutes last week and couldn't crack em. Could it be different tonight?
13 min: Yellow Card! Richie McCaw is off to the sinbin for only the second time in his ABs career. He reached in on the ground with his big mitt and slowed play down. Beale knocks over the resulting penalty and we are all tied up again. 6-6.
11 min: Untidy, but the Wallabies bring the lineout down and creep into the ABs 22m...Strong combination from Beale and Folau puts them just meters from the line. The All Blacks manage to turn it over and Ben Smith smacks a kick away down the field. All Blacks survive...for now.
9 min: All Blacks a little keen on defense and Owen Franks is caught offside. The penalty is bang on halfway, but the Wallabies will instead opt for the kick for touch.
6 min: Much better running ball this week as Ben Smith spies a small gap and darts through at pace. He links up well with his namesake Conrad, who in turn finds Savea. All Blacks moving the ball quickly and they win themselves another penalty...Cruden hits another and it's 6-3.
3 min: Great intense start from the All Blacks as they press on with the forwards. They win a penalty and McCaw is keen to take it quickly and dives over for the try! Hang on though...the referee wasn't ready and blew it up well before Richie dove for the line so it'll come back. The quick tap advantage is now gone and Cruden knocks over three from the tee instead. 3-3.
2 min: Messy start for the All Blacks as they turn the ball over, but scratch that as Palu looses it in the tackle! ABs have the ball back inside the Wallabies 22m...
1 min: The Wallabies win a penalty straight from the kickoff as Conrad Smith impedes the chasers. It'll be an early shot for Beale right in front of the sticks...and he slots it. 3-0 Wallabies.
KICKOFF: Matt Toomua, who got engaged this week, gets the match underway (last bit of gossip news I swear!).
7:33pm - Liam Messam leads the All Black Haka, and boy, it's a fiery one! (No pun intended as the fire machines crank up at the conclusion of it).
7:31pm - Will Martin sings the New Zealand anthem, but I tell you what, if his mic went down you wouldn't have been able to notice. The anthem is belted out by a packed Eden Park singing along!
7:28pm - A huge row of fire machines blazes up along one side of the field as the All Blacks come out. That's impressive and almost a "look what we've got" reply to the fireworks the Wallabies had last week in Sydney.
7:26pm - An unchanged Wallabies side runs out onto the Eden Park track. Not as bad a reception as you would think, but maybe that's because Quade Cooper is look out of the picture.
7:24pm - We should expect plenty of running rugby in these conditions. Steve Hansen said Conrad Smith and Ryan Crotty looked good linking up during training, but we all know it's a different feel once the real game starts. Look for Cory Jane to do something special in his 50th Test cap!
7:18pm - The Aussies are the first to leave the pitch and head for the tunnels as the teams complete their final warm ups. Plenty of noise and cheers for the ABs when they depart the field.
7:15pm - The Wallabies haven't won at Eden Park since 1986 and back then it was a completely different looking stadium with none of the four stands constructed. Can a patch of grass have that much of an impact? Obviously it can. Quite a few Aussies in the stands to cheer them on and we know even a small bunch of them can make plenty of noise.
7:07pm - How we feeling tonight All Blacks fans? Confident the men in black can get up for a win? One thing is certain…the weather is a lot nicer than last weekend's game in Sydney.
We will start commentary from around 7:20pm (NZT). In the meantime check out the highlights from the day's earlier Ranfurly Shield challenge between Counties and Otago.
New Zealand: 15. Ben Smith, 14. Cory Jane, 13. Conrad Smith, 12. Ryan Crotty, 11. Julian Savea, 10. Aaron Cruden, 9. Aaron Smith, 8. Kieran Read, 7. Richie McCaw (c), 6. Liam Messam, 5. Sam Whitelock, 4. Brodie Retallick, 3. Owen Franks, 2. Dane Coles, 1. Wyatt Crockett.
Bench: 16. Keven Mealamu, 17. Ben Franks, 18. Charlie Faumuina, 19. Steven Luatua, 20. Sam Cane, 21. Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22. Beauden Barrett, 23. Malakai Fekitoa
Australia: 15. Israel Folau, 14. Pat McCabe, 13. Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12. Matt Toomua, 11. Rob Horne, 10. Kurtley Beale, 9. Nic White, 8. Wycliff Palu, 7. Michael Hooper (c), 6. Scott Fardy, 5. Rob Simmons, 4. Sam Carter, 3. Sekope Kepu, 2. Nathan Charles, 1. James Slipper.
Bench: 16. James Hanson, 17. Pek Cowan, 18. Ben Alexander, 19. Will Skelton, 20. Scott Higginbotham, 21. Nick Phipps, 22. Bernard Foley, 23. Tevita Kuridrani
Pre-match banter:
By Robert Lowe
All Blacks loose forward Liam Messam, his "sabbatical" over, is having to temper his eagerness to get back on the rugby field.
Messam was rested for the opening Bledisloe Cup clash against Australia in Sydney last weekend after his heavy Super Rugby workload for the Chiefs.
He is back for game two in Auckland on Saturday night, taking over from the injured Jerome Kaino in the No.6 jersey.
Kaino is expected to be sidelined for up to six weeks with an elbow complaint, putting him in doubt for the rest of the Rugby Championship.
Messam's last match was the Chiefs' 32-30 Super Rugby play-off defeat to the Brumbies in mid-July and he's feeling refreshed.
"Five weeks seems a long time," he said.
"I'm just chomping at the bit to get out there and I've had to pull the reins back this week because it's not game day till Saturday."
It was tough watching the 12-12 draw at ANZ Stadium and not being to get out on the field, but he trusted the plan that the All Blacks management had for him.
He quipped that, while the likes of skipper Richie McCaw, Dan Carter and Conrad Smith had had six-month breaks from rugby, "I got a five-week sabbatical".
"I think when you hit the age of 30, you start looking after your body a bit better."
Messam was the All Blacks' incumbent blindside flanker in 2012 and 2013 while Kaino was playing in Japan.
While the pair are in competition for the same position, Messam didn't see the upcoming Test, his 33rd, as an opportunity to press his claims.
Instead, he felt plenty of sympathy for a good mate.
"Any injury is tough on anyone," Messam said.
"This week is making sure I get around him, put my arm around him and be a brother first off."
3 News
source: newshub archive
