Bledisloe Cup: All Blacks put rollercoaster campaign behind them in unlikely Rugby Championship win

Considering he probably came within an ace of losing his job a few weeks ago, All Blacks coach Ian Foster is keeping his emotions in check, after watching his side dismantle Australia in a crucial 40-14 Rugby Championship victory at Auckland's Eden Park.

From where they were just four weeks ago, after Foster was confirmed in his role through next year's World Cup in France and then lost to Argentina on home soil for the first time, New Zealand somehow put themselves into a position for back-to-back southern hemisphere crowns.

Their result against the Wallabies, and South Africa's inability to claim a bonus point victory over Argentina, delivered the All Blacks another Rugby Championship crown.

But regardless of that outcome, the All Blacks have somehow strung together three straight wins, after losing six of their eight previous outings, including a historic first home series loss to Ireland. 

All Blacks reflect on their victory over Australia at Eden Park
All Blacks reflect on their victory over Australia at Eden Park. Photo credit: Photosport

He may have needed a controversial last-gasp matchwinner against Australia at Melbourne, but Foster has somehow pulled his team back from the edge of the precipice and given their supporters some reason to look forwards to next year's tournament more optimistically.

"I've forgotten about the rollercoaster to be honest," he insisted afterwards. "I'm just happy in the moment."

The All Blacks have faced some tough questions over their performances this year and haven't always dealt with them graciously, but the coach at last has some reason to smile, even if he isn't quite ready to say 'I told you so' just yet.

"Pleased," he admitted. "All you can do in those circumstances that you get dealt with is try to find a way out of it.

"I think we've owned pretty clearly that we put ourselves in that situation, but I really backed the group we've got to get through that issue. I said at the time, we're going through stuff that none of us had really gone through in an All Black jersey and it was hard.

"We had to own it and we had to be the ones to come up with the solutions, so we've done some good problemsolving. We've worked hard, and it's given this team a little bit of steel and given us some harsh lessons that we wish we didn't have to live with, but we did.

"In those situations, you either fold or you walk away, because it's too hard, or you buckle up and get stuck into work."

One particular aspect of that improvement has been the team's ability to learn and improve after setbacks. Against South Africa, Argentina and even Australia, the All Blacks stumbled in their opening encounters, but bounced back for comprehensive victories in their return matches.

That ability to adapt may be another indication of the worth of former Ireland coach Joe Schmidt, who was initially engaged to help analyse opponents, before his role on the staff was expanded.

"Pretty happy," Foster said. "You're trying to learn, aren't you, and you're trying to learn before the first game too.

"The fact is we've come through this championship and shown some growth in that aspect. It's a losable game when you play Australia at the moment, because we saw last week how good and dangerous they can be, and we saw spells of that again today.

"We had to be on our game and we had to improve. I think we highlighted some areas where we had some edges last week and I think we were a lot more ruthless how we exploited those this week."

Battle-scarred Jordie Barrett in action against Australia
Battle-scarred Jordie Barrett in action against Australia. Photo credit: Photosport

One gamble forced on Foster was moving fullback Jordie Barrett into the midfield to cover injuries to David Havili and Quinn Tupaea. Barrett has emerged as probably the team's most reliable back over a period where consistency has been hard to achieve and he replicated the kicking option offered by Havili in particular.

During his international career, he has now played at fullback, wing, midfield and even first-five without letting his team down.

"He loves playing for the All Blacks, so he loves whatever jersey we give him," said Foster. "I was delighted with Davey's growth this campaign, but I'm delighted with what Jordie gave us today.

"I thought he had a phenomenal game - he was very physical. With the ball, without the ball, he worked hard and got some kicks in, so he should be very proud of that effort."

The All Blacks now enjoy a month's break, before heading to the northern hemisphere, stopping off to face Japan at Tokyo on October 29.