Following the loss to South Africa the previous week in Wellington, which stirred the media and supporters into a frenzied mob, New Zealand returned to the fortress that is Eden Park and quickly raced into a 20-3 lead.
By half-time Australia had fought back to within 3 points, and the unlikely seemed very likely. However, the All Blacks are made of sterner stuff, and a late score secured the win.
Over in Durban, South African coach Rassie Erasmus shuffled his cards once again and it paid off with a resounding 67-30 victory against Argentina.
Such tinkering may become a trend with one South African friend telling me, “Erasmus will keep doing this until they retain the next World Cup.”
The game saw the emergence of the latest Springbok fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who could well be the star of the 2027 World Cup in Australia.
With one game remaining South Africa top the table on 15 points, one ahead of the All Blacks.
The final two matches both take place this coming Saturday (Oct 4), with the Wallabies taking on the All Blacks in Perth, while Argentina face South Africa in London. I’m tipping the latter to emerge as overall Championship winners.
The Global Rugby Coach, Mike Penistone, is a globally renowned professional rugby coach based in Phuket who is also an ambassador for the Asia Center Foundation, a charity for disadvantaged children. For more information visit: www.rugbycoachingconsultancy.com.