Rugby Championship: New Zealand beat Australia 38-13 in opener in Sydney

Last updated on 18 August 2018.From the section Rugby Union186

Rugby Championship
Australia (6) 13
Try: Maddocks Con: Foley Pens: Hodge, Foley
New Zealand (5) 38
Tries: Smith, Goodhue, Barrett, Retallick, Naholo 2 Cons: Barrett 4

New Zealand scored 33 second-half points as they beat Australia 38-13 in the 2018 Rugby Championship opener.

The Wallabies edged a tight first half, but the All Blacks scored before the break through Aaron Smith in Sydney.

Jack Goodhue crossed for their second and Beauden Barrett the third as the Wallabies' set-piece buckled and Brodie Retallick secured a try-bonus point.

Jack Maddocks pulled one back on his debut but Waisake Naholo scored a late brace to cap off a clinical display.

The two sides meet again on 25 August at Eden Park, Auckland in round two before the final Bledisloe Cup Test on 27 October in Japan.

The victory was a record 13th consecutive Rugby Championship win for the defending champions.

"Credit to the Wallabies, we had to fight really hard and it was a full 80-minute game," All Blacks captain Kieran Read told Sky Sports.

"They had probably dominated the first half so to get that score [just before half-time] was crucial. The resilience of the boys was awesome."

Australia off the pace

In the 2017 Rugby Championship opener, Australia trailed 40-6 at half-time as they endured a thrashing in Sydney.

One year on, they looked more assured defensively and were set to go into the break with a 6-0 lead.

But two minutes before half-time, returning captain Read found scrum-half Smith to reduce the deficit to just one point and an onslaught of five second-half tries ensued.

Centre Goodhue finished off a length-of-the-field counter-attack, Barrett burst into life with a nice individual effort and Retallick capped off an outstanding performance with a clever dummy.

Australia, who were frustrated by the referee's calls all afternoon including a possible tip-tackle by Naholo on Folau in the first half, then lost the full-back to a possible ankle injury as Naholo twice dismantled their defence.

The Wallabies claimed a rare victory over the world champions when the two sides met in Brisbane last year in the final Bledisloe Cup match - which was not part of the Rugby Championship - but have still not won back-to-back Tests against New Zealand since 2001.

Australia: Folau; Haylett-Petty, Hodge, Beale, Koroibete; Foley, Genia; Robertson, Polota-Nau, Kepy, Rodda, Coleman, Tui, Hooper (capt), Pocock.

Bench: Latu, Alaalatoa, Ainsley, Simmons, Samu, Phipps, Toomua, Maddocks.

New Zealand: Smith; Naholo, Goodhue, Crotty, Ioane; B Barrett, Smith; Moody, Taylor, Franks, Retallick, Whitelock, Squire, Cane, Read (capt).

Replacements: Harris, Perry, Tuinukuake, S Barrett, Savea, Perenara, McKenzie, Lienert-Brown.

South Africa see off Argentina

Wingers Aphiwe Dyantyi and Makazole Mapimpi scored two tries each as South Africa rallied in the second half to beat Argentina 34-21 in their Rugby Championship opener at Kings Park.

The Springboks out-scored the Pumas by six tries to three but again made heavy work of their victory before finishing strongly.

Lukhanyo Am and Faf de Klerk scored South Africa's other tries while Nicolas Sanchez, Pablo Matera and Matias Moroni crossed for Argentina.

The Boks continued a trend set in the first two matches of their three-Test series against England in June when they went behind early and were forced to come back to win.

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186 comments

Comment posted by Ellwood Davies, at 13:29 18 Aug 2018
C'mon BBC - where is FULL report and where are the team lists. You ask how you can improve your coverage of sports events ....BUT then don't listen or react to our comments.

What is the matter?
Comment posted by dickemery, at 14:34 18 Aug 2018
one of the few teams in the world of sports,that show passion for the game and towards their team mates, a credit to the game
Comment posted by BigAl62, at 14:13 18 Aug 2018
As usual a lot of negativity about the AB's - offsides, spear tackles, useless ref etc. The truth of the matter is the AB's are a very good team and what separates them from other teams is their positivity. They always take to the field to play positive rugby, take risks and try and win by scoring tries. And usually it works. Not many other teams approach the game with the same attitude.
Comment posted by Seen it all before, at 01:15 19 Aug 2018
@ 99. Posted by Fred1978 "McCaw was a very, very average player ( he wouldn't have made the England "B" team" . Can't stop laughing ! The world rugby "player of the year" 3 times would not have made the England "B' team ! Are you having a laugh !!
Comment posted by sharp, at 00:31 19 Aug 2018
WOW so much ridiculous jelousey here about the A,B.s cheating!
As a proud englishman I feel ashamed to see my fellow country men living up to there well known cultural heritage of WHINGING!!!
Why cant we just accept they are an incredible team and stop this conspiracy nonsense of them having referees in there pocket.
The referees are audited too and there career depends on there performance!
Comment posted by Rt Hon Cabbage, at 14:00 18 Aug 2018
Am I the only AB fan hoping for a game when calls obviously go against them, just so the HYS is more informed and the win would be put down to superiority? Putting wins down to referring decisions alone is ignorance and sour grapes. Can't blame the players, not even crickters 'walk off' these days...
Comment posted by Kiwi_apl, at 19:22 18 Aug 2018
I see some of the conspiracy theorists are out on day release again. The refs are all biased, the haka is unfair, The jersey is just too black. McCaw is Darth Vader’s successor as the commander of the Dark Side using mind control to infiltrate World Rugby. He probably shot JFK too. Meanwhile the Home Nations prepare excuses rather than gameplans and polish their halos in the absence of trophies.
Comment posted by BillJ, at 14:34 18 Aug 2018
You could say the ABs get away with a lot, but there is a lot of inconsistency in the way that offside is refereed these days across the board. But take nothing away from them, they're in a league of their own at the moment.
Comment posted by Owain Glyndwr, at 23:56 18 Aug 2018
Been a huge fan of the AB's since the 1963-64 tour of the UK, Ireland and France. They have to be lauded as the most consistent and professional team in all sports. The only matches i don't support them in, are the ones versus my beloved Wales.
Comment posted by Angry Beast, at 13:22 18 Aug 2018
Another predictable procession from the All Blacks. It looks like this year's RC will be a scramble for second.
Comment posted by llareggub, at 14:20 18 Aug 2018
NZ are able one of the only teams in history to maintain pretty much constant pressure for 80 mins. A few teams can hold them for 40/50 mins but usually they come out on top. Puts the last Lions display into perspective .. they did bloody well!! . Cannot see anyone at present 'de-throning' the ABs next year. Yes they play on the edge of the rules, but that is why they are winners.
Comment posted by SteelerBull, at 14:36 18 Aug 2018
This result just goes to show how well the Lions did in drawing a 3 test series. AB"s set the standard, up to the rest to catch up. Ireland the only team close at the moment, England have regressed in the last 18 months. Interesting to see how a rebuilt SA do in the next few weeks. A genuine challenger to the AB"s crown would be good for the game.
Comment posted by donone, at 14:08 18 Aug 2018
Offside Offside Offside! Its a complete joke NZ are a great team and produce enviable consistency, but its time they got consistently 'pinged' for their continual rule breaking!
Comment posted by Iron Rose, at 13:39 18 Aug 2018
I'm English and I can't see England beating the All Blacks. There is only Ireland who have the passion and desire to pull it off.
Comment posted by Tims Toys, at 17:14 18 Aug 2018
@81 We have heard of Football it's just that some people prefer rugby mainly because it's a more entertaining game with respectable fans it's also has you on the edge of your seat for the full 80 minutes you're lucky if football has you on the edge of your seat for 5, and unlike football rugby hasn't been ruined by money
Comment posted by Itsnotpersonal, at 15:26 18 Aug 2018
I see the ABs are being slated for Jaco Pyper's poor reffing.
If the ref makes mistakes in your favour your not going to stop and say "hang on we were offside lets go back" or "Well actually ref that tackle may have been a bit dangerous lets have one more review!"
Every good International side plays to the ref that's something Eng need to learn again if they want to get anywhere.
Comment posted by U3246151, at 14:01 18 Aug 2018
What are the BBC doing? I fail to see what any of this has to with Danny Cipriani?
Comment posted by Leo, at 13:47 18 Aug 2018
What I find most amazing about the All Blacks is how they maintain a level of consistency even when rebuilding has to be done after retirements. It speaks volumes for the quality of their national rugby authority, national level competition, grass-roots rugby, and coaching at all levels. Eng should take note, but the RFU is far too conservative.
Comment posted by Trytastic, at 23:27 18 Aug 2018
ABs are simply the best team in any sport in the world right now, nobody else comes close.

They may play to, and beyond, the laws but they know how to play any given ref. They adapt, unlike say England, to the ref and the opposition like no other team in any sport currently.

The spectacle is just worth watching for the mastery alone, other sports dream of such excellence.
Comment posted by Rocketeer54, at 19:31 18 Aug 2018
They’re winning ergo they must cheat, the usual suspects with their typical idiotic conspiracy theories LOL.

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