Two in a row is 'great'
Impregnable New Zealand punished Australia 22-0 in the Eden Park Test on Saturday – the first time in 50 years the Wallabies have been kept scoreless by the world champion All Blacks.
The one-sided result kept the Kiwis unbeaten after two matches in the Rugby Championship and saw them retain the Bledisloe Cup, contested between the two nations, for the 10th consecutive season.
All Black captain Richie McCaw admitted the Wallaby performance was a "step up" from the Kiwis' (27-19) win in Sydney last week.
However, he was happy that they retained the trophy that epitomises tans-Tasman superiority.
"[It was] not perfect, but we'll take it," McCaw said.
"The Bledisloe Cup for another year … very proud with the way the guys did their work."
He said they had a good week and knew the Wallabies would come back with a bit more intensity.
"I thought we showed what we were made of when we didn't have the ball," he said of his team's defensive efforts.
After taking just a 9-0 lead into the half-time break, the Kiwis raced clear and sealed the win with 13 points in 10 minutes just after the break.
"I think we were creating space, but we were half a pass away from getting there," he said of their first-half efforts.
"Sometimes just one extra ruck means the difference between scoring and not.
"At the end of the day any Test match win against the Wallabies you have to be happy – to get two in a row is great.
"Now we have a week off and then reassess [ahead of facing Argentina in Wellington on September 8]."
McCaw also spoke of his team's solid defensive effort, their ability to keep the Wallabies scoreless.
"With guys like Will [Genia] and Quade [Cooper] … they are top footballers.
"If you allow them room they can be pretty dangerous.
"You got to have good mindset, get up and knock them over.
" thought there was a period there were we defended our line well and got the turnover.
"I think [sometimes] you get into trouble if you attempt to create turnovers from nothing.
"We made sure we took the opportunities when they were on, but not force the play and I thought we did that pretty well."
