New Zealand retained the Bledisloe Cup for yet another year with a 33 – 24  victory over Australia at Eden Park in Auckland.

Racing into a 20 – 3 lead within the opening 25 minutes, the All Blacks appeared set to do as they have done so many times after a loss and produce a runaway victory.

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Instead, the Wallabies proved once again that they are never dead and buried. Striking twice in quick succession before half-time ,the Wallabies brought the scores back to 20 – 17 at the break.

The second half would follow a similar script to the first, with the All Blacks pulling away through the boot of Damian McKenzie to take a nine-point lead into the 69th minute.

Once again, the Wallabies came back, setting a perfect maul for Carlo Tizzano to power over. Nailing the touchline conversion to close the scores to 26 – 24, James O’Connor set the stage for a grandstand finish.

Unlike the opening four rounds, the Wallabies would not end the match with the momentum. Capitalising on Australian ill-discipline, the All Blacks worked their way down the pitch. Setting up an attacking line-out inside the Wallabies' twenty-two, the All Blacks pulled off a vintage strike play for Cam Roigard to scamper in for his second of the evening.

Here are the key takeaways from Bledisloe one of 2025.

Wallabies Discipline The Difference

Conceding 15 penalties, many of which either undid their good work or gave the All Blacks attacking access, will drive Joe Schmidt mad.

Continually getting their positioning wrong at the breakdown and conceding set-piece infringements was simply inexcusable in a test match of this magnitude.

One such error led directly to the All Blacks' final try, with Harry Potter being sent to the sin-bin in the 72nd minute for yet another breakdown infringement. Two minutes later, and the All Blacks were racing under the posts through Cam Roigard.

Among the chief offenders was Captain Harry Wilson, who conceded three penalties and was noticeably in the match officials’ ears once again this week. Just two weeks removed from getting on the ire of the officials in Sydney, Wilson was once again asked to calm down.

The O’Connor Dilemma 

Let’s preface this section by saying that the Wallabies would not have entered round five atop the log had it not been for James O’Connor.

Playing some of his best rugby at 35-years-old, JOC’s career renaissance has been one of the stories of the competition thus far. Guiding his side past the Springboks at Ellis Park and dragging them over the line once again in Townsville. The Leicester Tigers’ bound playmaker has brought a steady edge to the Wallabies' attack.

Yet one area that has been a rather glaring weakness has been O’Connor’s consistency from the boot.

In Cape Town, three missed shots at goal in the final were the difference in a 30 -22 loss.

Today, two shanked touch finders were back breakers for the Wallabies. One in particular saw him overcook what should’ve been a line-out in the Kiwis’ twenty-two. Instead, the All Blacks worked their way into a scoring position in quick order. Nailing a penalty through Damian McKenzie to edge more than a score clear.

Conversely, his conversion of Carlo Tizzano’s try from the touchline was an absolute peach and brought his side back within two points with less than ten minutes to play.

On the whole, O’Connor was a net positive, but in those two big moments when his side needed territory, his errors arguably put the match out of sight.

All Blacks Stars Shine

Make no bones about it, this All Blacks side are still far from the finished article. However, when they needed their biggest stars to stand up today, they did.

At halfback, Cam Roigard’s two tries proved unequivocally why he is the first-choice nine when fit and healthy. Finishing just two meters behind Caleb Clarke as the All Blacks' best ball carrier with 67 meters to go, with his 99 passes and 5 box kicks. Roigard reminded the New Zealand public what they were missing against the Springboks in Wellington.

Two channels out, Jordie Barrett had one of his best performances of the past two seasons. Stepping up as a first receiver, beating defenders, making yards in the carry and putting in several big shots on defence. The Hurricanes' playmaker played a key role in shutting down Joseph Sua’ali’i.

Completing the pack, captain Ardie Savea was once again the standout forward for Scott Robertson’s side.

Making 16 tackles, winning a huge turnover just when the Wallabies were making inroads and topping the defenders’ beaten charts with seven. Savea was immense in every sense of the word.

Scoring Summary

New Zealand

15 Will Jordan, 14 Leroy Carter, 13 Billy Proctor, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Cam Roigard, 8 Wallace Sititi, 7 Ardie Savea (c), 6 Simon Parker, 5 Tupou Vaa’i, 4 Fabian Holland, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot

Replacements: 16 Samisoni Taukei’ahoo, 17 Tamaiti Williams, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Peter Lakai, 21 Cortez Ratima, 22 Quinn Tupaea, 23 Damian McKenzie

Australia

15 Max Jorgensen, 14 Harry Potter, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12 Len Ikitau, 11 Corey Toole, 10 James O’Connor, 9 Tate McDermott, 8 Harry Wilson (c), 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Tom Hooper, 5 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Billy Pollard, 1 James Slipper

Replacements: 16 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Allan Alaalatoa, 19 Jeremy Williams, 20 Carlo Tizzano, 21 Ryan Lonergan, 22 Tane Edmed, 23 Filipo Daugunu

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