Live updates: Bledisloe Cup/Rugby Championship - All Blacks v Australia at Auckland's Eden Park

All Blacks - 40          Australia - 14 

FULLTIME - Dominant outing for the All Blacks in perhaps their best effort of 2022. Click here for a full wrap and highlights.

82nd min - TRY WALLABIES to Jordan Petaia

Consolation try for the Australians, easy skips pass from the ruck puts Petaia in under the posts.

77th min - Whitelock happy to take three more points and make the equation for the Boks even harder. (NZ 40-7)

75th min - Another sweeping counter attacking movement by the All Blacks, which began with a brutal bump-off by Clarke on opposite Tom Wright. Wallabies turn it on their own line and scramble it into touch.

70th min - It's finally RTS time at The Garden and the Blues faithful love it! B. Barrett departs after a superb outing from fullback.

68th min - Sneaky chip and chase from Akira Ioane ends with Koribete bungling the grounding and a 5m scrum for NZ.

65th min - TRY ALL BLACKS to Samisoni Taukei'aho

The replacement hooker wants in on the action and he gets his wish, steering another clinical maul from a 5m lineout. Mo'unga misses the conversion. (NZ 37-7)

63rd min - Here comes the 5m lineout drive, this time with Taukei'aho at the helm. Australia do well to hold the ball up and force the scrum turnover.

Sloppy at the back of the scrum and NZ win a penalty. 5m lineout time yet again.

59th min - TRY WALLABIES to Folau Fainga’a

Samu breaks down the left edge from a lineout, throws a hopeful ball infield as he's bundled in touch which falls fortuitously for the replacement hooker. (NZ 32-7)

54th min - TRY ALL BLACKS to Codie Taylor

Beautifully engineered rolling maul by Taylor and he cashes in with ease. Mo'unga can't convert.

It's officially ugly for the Wallabies. (NZ 32-0)

51st min - Penalty NZ, and to another 5m lineout, we go. Taylor's throw is crooked, scrum Aussie.

Mammoth shunt ABs, Lomax is making a statement tonight. Penalty NZ, and back to the 5m lineout.

46th min - Another attacking raid by NZ led by Clarke and Lomax. Ends with a penalty right in front of the posts. Mo'unga will accept the easy three. (NZ 27-0)

43rd min - TRY ALL BLACKS to Sam Whitelock

Whitelock launches himself at the line from a close-range ruck and crashes over under the black dot. Appears to have been held up, but the referee wants a look upstairs.

This is incredible. Whitelock has contorted his arm behind him to place the palmed ball on the ground in the tackle. Never een anything like that.  Great start to the second half and it's officially dangertime for the Aussies. (NZ 24-0)

42nd min - NZ attacking scrum at the Aussie 22m. Jordan wrapped up in a try-saving tackle by Koroibete. Still only a metre out...

41st min - Jordie Barrett clears from the restart and comes inches away from a 50/22. 

Second half underway...

HALFTIME - Encouraging half for the All Blacks, who have threatened to blow the game open on several occasions, only for the Aussies to scramble and hold on. They'll need to be the first to score in the second half or this may still get ugly.

39th min - Some breathless back and forth, as Foley's intercept saves a try, then B.Barrett finds acres of space with a kick. Ends with Mo'unga chipping for his wing but Callloway claims the mark. Boots it into touch to take us to the sheds.

38th min - Wallabies now back to 15 men after ther second yellow card. They clear with a box kick and Clarke soars to reel in the bomb, then peels off 10m.

37th min - Taylor breaks clear on the counter again, finds Barrett. Jordan gasses through a hole and links with Smith. Samu does brilliantly to get over the ball and save his side, 8m from his own line. Aussie really clinging on here.

35th min - NZ turn the ball over and then look to counter from deep. B. Barrett slams the ball inside the Aussie 22m, huge chase blows the Aussies off the ball. They manage to scramble it into touch, ABs lineout at the Aus 10m. 

34th min - NZ turn the ball over but are immediately hit with a penalty for holding on. They tap and go again from 8m out.

32nd min - All Blacks defence scrambles well and they hold up the ball over the line, then clear from the goal-line dropout.

Australia return with some heat and win themselves a penalty. 5m lineout and more defending comeing up fo the ABs.

30th min - Koroibete crosses in the corner but a review reveals a foot in touch. Back for the penalty for Australia. They tap and go from 5m out.

27th min - PENALTY TRY ALL BLACKS

Decision to take the lineout pays off as the Wallabies collapse a fast-rolling maul and lose a player in the process to a yellow card. Dangertime now for the visitors. (NZ 17-0)

27th min - Whitelock turns down a very kickable penalty in favour of a lineout.

26th min - ABs counter attack from their own 22m, Mo'unga sets Ioane free for a 40m burst. Looked to have Jordan lined up outside in support but tucks the ball and takes the tackle. Penalty advantage NZ. This may be another yellow, referee wants another look at something. Card averted.

23rd min - TRY ALL BLACKS to Will Jordan

The speedster wraps around to find himself outside his defender and he shows him a clean pair of heels, as he runs the ball in behind the posts. Mo'unga converts. (NZ 10-0)

22nd min - ABs immediately win a penalty from the restart, their 7th of the game so far. Mo'unga takes us to a lineout at halfway. 

Slick handling sees Jordan peel off 10m. Inside the 22m, they rumble.

21st min - Whitelock decides it's time to look to the posts. Mo'unga lines up a shot from very handy range and knocks it over for the first points of the test. (NZ 3-0)

19th min - Aussie punished for not rolling away at the ruck. ABs move to an attacking linoeut just past the Wallabies' 10m. Poor throw Taylor and Aussie claim it, but a knock on gives it back to the ABs.

Lomax charges inside the 22m and the All Blacks are awarded another penalty for offside.

18th min - ABs defence repels a series of phases and Foley looks to touch. NZ lineout just outside their 22m.

16th min - J. Barrett forces a knock on with an excellent tackle, NZ scrum inside their own 22m. Wallabies looking dangerous with ball in hand.

Thunderous clearance by Jordie, lineout back near halfway.

14th min - Aussie building here, two metres out and seven phases deep. Taylor wins the defensive penalty, taps and unleashes Ioane for a big run. They chip ahead, and Koroibete cleans up and does the same, regathering himself.

Nobody home for NZ, Jordan does really well to clean up and hold up in the tackle for his support to reach him. Aussie lineout at the NZ 22m.

12th min - Clarke reels in the bomb at halfway. Jordan at pace, surges to the Aus 10m. Loose pass, Aussie pounce on the ball and win a penalty, ABs not rolling away. 

Foley looks to touch, lineout 15m from the ABs line, as Holloway returns from the naughty chair.

10th min - Another penalty here. We may be approaching yellow card territory. This time they choose the 5m lineout.

Savea comes off the back of the lineout but they're pinged for going off the feet at the ruck, and Australia survive.

7th min - Penalty advantage at the scrum, NZ gaining the upperhand there early. They cash that in and opt for another one. Another dominant scrum but Savea can't control it at the back. Aussie knock on however and we'll reset again 5m out.

5th min - Huge scrum by the ABs, Savea breaks, links with Taylor. They swing it left, B. Barrett opens up the defence and chips, Koroibete just gets there in time. 5m scrum NZ. 

3rd min - Knock-on by the Wallabies, cheeky hand in the tackle. Scrum NZ at their own 10m line.

2nd min - There was a very dangerous looking clearout there on Dalton Papali'i and we'll have  a break to review this. Deja vu all over again?

Jed Holloway is the player in question here, taking Papali'i above the horizontal. He'll escape with a yellow card. May count himself lucky there. 

1st min - Foley gets us started. J. Barrett receives and his brother soon clears. Foley returns to the NZ 10m.

Holloway breaks for Aussie! Down to the NZ 22m, they go. Penalty to NZ kills off that moment for a neck roll. Lineout at halfway.

We're underway...

7:06pm - Fearsome version of Ka Mate kicks off and the Wallabies come forward with their trademark 'boomerang' in response. Let's get into it.

7:01pm - A moment of silence for Queen Elizabeth II is dutifully observed and we're into the anthems.

6:59pm - The Wallabies are the first to take the turf to a pretty hospitable welcome. Let's see how long that lasts.

The All Blacks follow suit to a predictably rousing ovation at a sold-out Eden Park. Conditions are clear and dry, ripe for some entertaining rugby.

6:55pm - Evening, rugby fans. Eden Park is looking resplendent this evening, having already been set alight by the Black Ferns in their 95-12 romp over Japan in the curtain-raiser.

Can the All Blacks and Wallabies do the same? We'll find out very shortly.

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Kia ora, good evening and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the Bledisloe Cup test between New Zealand and Australia at Auckland's Eden Park.

Of course, the All Blacks have already locked up the trans-Tasman trophy for another year, courtesy of their miraculous, controversial, last-gasp win over the Wallabies at Melbourne last week.

And wasn't it nice of them to present the silverware to the victors there on the field, while the home side tried to figure out how they lost a game they had well in hand with seconds remaining.

All Blacks fans can't feel good about the manner of victory though, with their team holding an 18-point lead midway through the second half and seemingly cruising. They should never have needed an late heroics to achieve the final result.

As well as southern hemisphere bragging rights, New Zealand are also defending their Eden Park fortress, where they haven't lost since 1994 (to France) or to Australia since 1986.

NZ coach Ian Foster has made quite a few changes to his line-up, some of them forced by injury and others more based on rotation. Form hooker Samisoni Taukei'aho has been relegated to the bench, with Codie Taylor installed as the starting No.2.

Similarly, in-form forward Scott Barrett has been given the night off, with Akira Ioane starting at blindside flanker, while Dalton Papali'i replaces concussed captain Sam Cane on the openside, with Sam Whielock assuming the leadership role. Ardie Savea returns to No.8, after the birth of his third child last week.

Sam Whitelock and Ardie Savea in action for the All Blacks
Sam Whitelock and Ardie Savea in action for the All Blacks. Photo credit: Getty

With midfielders David Havili and Quinn Tupaea unavailable, Jordie Barrett has been inserted at second-five and brother Beauden starts at fullback. On the bench, only halfback Finlay Christie returns, with the most notable addition being league convert Roger Tuivasa-Sheck. 

TAB Odds: NZ $1.15, Draw $26, Australia $4.60

All Blacks: 1-Ethan de Groot, 2-Codie Taylor, 3-Tyrel Lomax, 4-Brodie Retallick, 5-Sam Whitelock (c), 6-Akira Ioane, 7-Dalton Papali'i, 8-Ardie Savea, 9-Aaron Smith, 10-Richie Mo'unga, 11-Caleb Clarke, 12-Jordie Barrett, 13-Rieko Ioane, 14-Will Jordan, 15-Beauden Barrett

Reserves: 16-Samisoni Taukei'aho, 17-Ofa Tu'ungafasi, 18-Nepo Laulala, 19-Tupou Vaa'i, 20-Hoskins Sotutu, 21-Finlay Christie, 22-Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, 23-Sevu Reece

Australia: 1-James Slipper (c), 2-David Porecki, 3-Allan Alaalatoa, 4-Jed Holloway, 5-Cadeyrn Neville, 6-Rob Valetini, 7-Pete Samu, 8-Harry Wilson, 9-Jake Gordon, 10-Bernard Foley, 11-Marika Koroibete, 12-Lalakai Foketi, 13-Len Ikitau, 14-Tom Wright, 15-Andrew Kellaway

Reserves: 16-Folau Fainga’a, 17-Angus Bell, 18-Pone Fa’amausili, 19-Nick Frost, 20-Fraser McReight, 21-Nic White, 22-Reece Hodge, 23-Jordan Petaia

 

Chasing Richie: Whitelock closes on McCaw's record as most-capped All Black

By Alex Powell

As he moves closer to becoming the most-capped All Black in history, Sam Whitelock insists he isn't paying any notice of the great Richie McCaw's record of 148 tests.

Saturday's test will be Whitelock's 140th as an All Black, moving him to within eight of the famous captain's mark.

Should Whitelock play in every upcoming test on the annual year-end tour to Europe, he'll finish 2022 with 144 appearances to move to the brink of becoming the most capped All Black ever, as Ian Foster's side bid to win a fourth Rugby World Cup next year.

As far as international standings go, both McCaw and Whitelock sit behind the all-time record of Wales' Alun Wyn Jones, with a huge 165 caps to his name.

On Saturday, Whitelock will overtake Australia's George Gregan into the outright fifth most-capped player ever, one behind Ireland's Brian O'Driscoll (141).

But for now, Whitelock's focus is only on Australia at Eden Park, where he'll also shoulder the added responsibility of being captain, after Sam Cane failed a head injury assessment (HIA) at Melbourne last week.

For the 33-year-old, any individual accolade takes a back seat to the needs of the team.

"You've just got to deal with the week in front, which is what I'm trying to do this week," said Whitelock. "I think, if you start counting tests, you get yourself into trouble.

Richie McCaw and Sam Whitelock
Richie McCaw and Sam Whitelock. Photo credit: Getty

"For myself and for everyone in the squad, you've got to perform this week and then deal with the week after. I know that's an old cliche, but it definitely comes true at the moment."

The test also comes with the added incentive of giving the All Blacks the opportunity to defend their Rugby Championship title.

The All Blacks and South Africa are level on points heading into the final fixtures this weekend, with three wins, two losses and two bonus points apiece. Only points differential separates the archrivals.

As is the case with his own personal milestones, Whitelock says the All Blacks can't look far ahead.

"You could fall into that trap pretty quick," he added. "We've got to go out there and deal with what's in front [of us].

"We've got to go out there and play Australia, at home, in a massive game.

"As the game unfolds, I'm sure there'll be some messages coming down if we need that.

"If we don't, there won't be."