The Sunday News
AUSTRALIA denied New Zealand a record 18th straight Test win as they fought back to earn a 12-12 draw in the opening game of the Rugby Championship.
Kurtley Beale and Aaron Cruden scored four penalties apiece as wet conditions produced a try-less contest in Sydney.New Zealand led 9-3 at half-time as Australia struggled to gain momentum.
But the Wallabies dominated the second period and missed chances to win the match at the death. Australia had been on the receiving end of three heavy defeats in their last three meetings with New Zealand, but slippery conditions made a repeat of those high-scoring matches unlikely.
Cruden and Beale traded penalties in the early exchanges, before the New Zealand fly-half twice punished moments of ill-discipline from the Wallabies. But a yellow card for New Zealand prop Wyatt Crockett allowed Beale, a controversial selection ahead of Bernard Foley at fly-half, to draw Australia level after half-time. The kickers landed another penalty apiece before New Zealand lost replacement Beauden Barrett to another yellow card, but despite exerting huge pressure, Australia were unable to find another score.
The draw means that Steve Hansen’s side fail to surpass the record of 17 consecutive wins set by the All Blacks of 1965-69 and the South Africa team of 1997-98. It is also the first match that New Zealand have failed to win in the Rugby Championship since the tournament was rebranded from the Tri-Nations in 2012.
Australia and New Zealand meet again in Auckland next week. Results from matches between the sides count towards the Bledisloe Cup, a trophy which New Zealand have held since 2002.
Yesterday’s Test was the 150th time that Australia and New Zealand faced each other.
Australia have 41 wins compared to New Zealand’s 102. This was the seventh draw.
New Zealand were on a winning streak of 17 matches that started with a victory over France in June 2013.
The first Test match between the two teams was in Sydney, Australia, in 1903.
New Zealand won 22-3 that day. Australia had to wait until their seventh encounter for their first victory, winning 11-0 in 1910. —BBC Sport
