TEST RUGBY RESULTS: Saturday 25 August

25.08.2012
New Zealand 22, Australia 0 in Auckland (Bledisloe Cup; Rugby Championship)
South Africa 16, Argentina 16 in Mendoza (Rugby Championship)

Briefly
The Bledisloe Cup, the symbol of rugby supremacy between New Zealand and Australia, stays in New Zealand.

The All Blacks performance was not flawless. Dominating but with errors. Such is the skill, control and power of this team they are truly world champions. Even with more handling errors than their opponents this New Zealand side has the composure to put incredible pressure on their opponents. What will happen if they really hit the straps?

What about Australia? The good news is that their defence was outstanding. To hold off such a dominant team and to restrict them to one try was an amazing aspect of this game. But the Australians would still be very disappointed that they rarely came within try-scoring opportunities. Their addiction to kicking the ball away was greeted by a collective Australian groan surely heard across the Tasman and above the Eden Park din.

And Robbie Deans’ tenure as Australian coach? The jury is out, decision pending.

I haven’t yet seen the Argentina-South Africa test match but I honestly didn’t think Argentina were going to get that close to South Africa. But close they got and with a bit of luck could well have won it. Reports indicate South Africa played poorly whilst Argentina out-muscled, out-committed and generally out-played the visitors. An opportunist try near the end drew the scores level.There was also comment about the old-fashioned, out-dated predictable play of the Springbox.