Wallabies mugged at their own game to leave Kiss mulling hard lessons | Angus Fontaine

Les Kiss stood forlornly in the middle of Eden Park wearing a thousand-yard stare. The past 10 Wallabies coaches had all been where he was now, shaking their heads and cursing after a failed attempt to storm the fortress of New Zealand rugby. This was Kiss’s first loss as Australia coach and the little bloke was nursing a big hurt.

His side had arrived on a six-game unbeaten streak, fresh from stomping the world champions South Africa a fortnight before. Conversely, their old enemy were facing a fourth consecutive defeat after falling three times to that same Springboks side. After 25 years of Trans-Tasman pain, the Bledisloe Cup finally looked within reach.

Even the Kiwi supporters sensed it. All over town, Wallabies fans were being treated with respect rather than pity. They had seen what Australia had done against the Boks – the aerial majesty of Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii and Max Jorgensen, the courage to hang on with 11 men at the death. This time the threat was genuine.

After the anthems, in the calm before the kick-off, a large bloke in a faded gold jersey and three sheets to the wind, stood up and did his very best Gladiator impersonation. “Today is the day!” he bellowed. “Today we finally give it back to these Kiwi bastards.” The tiny fires of Australian support in an otherwise roiling sea of more than 48,000 black jerseys at the 105-year stronghold roared in unity.

The dream was alive when Ben Donaldson’s deft tap-on pass sent Tom Wright slicing into space after seven minutes to ignite the Kiss Army’s march into history. The All Blacks knew it too and botched the kick-off, surrendering to another attack. But then a traditional failure reared its ugly head: the Wallabies’ ability to self-immolate.

Donaldson had delivered a diamond, now he coughed up a rock, wasting the halfway scrum not by feeding his weapons out wide to get them deeper into the enemy lines but instead reefing a mindless, maddening kick for touch. The ball duly plonked out on the full and the reprieved All Blacks suddenly remembered who they were playing.

Peter Lakai scored in a sizzling piece of counterattack for seven-all, then Tupou Vaa’i crossed shortly after for 14-7 and then, with a penalty kick, Australia were down by 10. They cut the margin when Donaldson’s cut-and-run sent Wilson over before half-time, but the usually reliable Ryan Lonergan shanked an easy conversion.

Behind 17-14, Kiss must have launched a piece of half-time oratory to rival that of dusty Rusty in the crowd because he kept the home side waiting long minutes after the break. When the Wallabies finally emerged, they exploded, jagging a daring kick to the corner which Jorgensen hared after and almost collected to take the lead.

But again Australia frittered their enterprise by botching the killing stroke, giving away an idiotic obstruction penalty in their haste to maul the final metres. Spared, the All Blacks went berserk, scoring twice in six minutes before icing a 54th straight Eden Park win. The big mug was paraded around the old ground, touched by fans across the fence but out of reach for Kiss’s players, who could only watch it roll by.

Australia had been beaten at their own game, the aerial assault they used to defeat South Africa. Jordie Barrett and Will Jordan outjumped the Wallabies flyers, and Dave Rennie outcoached Kiss. “The lessons are there,” said Kiss. “If you can’t get your strengths going and their strengths grow, it becomes a difficult game.”

Cam Roigard’s kicking game scrambled Australia’s attacking shape, a move that paid extra dividends after Australia’s midfield spearhead Len Ikitau left early for an HIA. “[It] allowed us to put a lot of pressure on,” said Rennie. “Receiving those kicks is difficult and our guys did an excellent job winning it in the air or picking up scraps.”

Len Ikitau’s likely absence for next week’s rematch in Sydney compounds the cruelty of partner Hunter Paisami’s suspension after an innocuous head clash tackle against South Africa. His replacement, Isaac Henry, made 15 tackles on Saturday, but offered little in attack. Kiss will have to shuffle his backline again or inject yet more rookies.

The Wallabies have returned to earth with a thud. They have a week to lick wounds and reset. The Bledisloe Cup is gone for another year but there’s still the chance to beat the All Blacks for the first time since 2020 and snap the Kiwis’ 12-Test dominance. “When you get a knockback, you find out more about yourself,” a defiant Kiss said.

His heroic captain, Wilson, called this Test defeat “a step back” but Kiss sees glimmers of gold even in a 41st year of mud, blood and tears at Eden Park. “Belief is created and sustained not by just wins and losses,” he said. “These boys have a strong culture, a strong belief in themselves and a confidence about what they can do. We’ll go back to work and turn the dial in the right areas so we can go to Sydney and return fire.