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The All Blacks raced to a 38-7 victory against a hurting and sorry Australia on Saturday, clinching their third straight Rugby Championship championship and a significant boost ahead of the World Cup in France.
The win in front of 83,944 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground also insured that the Bledisloe Cup, the annual trophy contested by the trans-Tasman teams, would remain in New Zealand for the 21st year in a row.
"We're overjoyed," All Blacks coach Ian Foster said. "I think coming away with that kind of victory is something to be proud of." It's quite nice to go away with a couple of trophies.
Mark Telea scored a touchdown in each half for the All Blacks, who also had tries from Shannon Frizell, Codie Taylor, Will Jordan, Caleb Clarke, and Rieko Ioane.
Australian expectations that Eddie Jones would turn things around in his second spell with the Wallabies have been dashed, with the squad going winless in three games in the shortened Rugby Championship.
With the exception of a few moments of defiance at the opening of each half, it was another unruly, ragged performance by the hosts, who were smacked with two yellow cards and forced to pay.
The loss was exacerbated by veteran Allan Alaalatoa's catastrophic Achilles injury, while fellow prop Taniela Tupou appeared to have a rib trouble.
Jones called it a "terrible result," but he saw enough in areas to believe Australia can compete in the World Cup.
"I really liked how we came out in the first 20 minutes of the first half and the first 15-20 minutes of the second half," he told reporters.
"At the end of the game, we definitely ran out of gas." We had a few guys that were battling."
Scott Barrett slammed scrumhalf Tate McDermott over the try-line at a line-out, allowing Frizell to recover the loose ball and touch down before the third minute was out.
Four minutes later, the Wallabies answered, with Mark Nawaqanitawase providing the spark with a line-break, allowing Rob Valetini to crawl through under the posts following a multi-phase assault.
When winger Marika Koroibete was handed a yellow card for blatant offside, the game took another turn.
The All Blacks scored their second try while still on the ground, when Taylor rumbled over from a crisp line-out drive.
Carter Gordon, the rookie flyhalf, failed to pass the 10-metre line with his restart attempt. Alaalatoa was then injured in the scrum and had to be carried off the pitch.
The All Blacks took advantage of Australia's mistakes, with Richie Mo'unga sending a wide pass to Jordan, who danced through a nest of defenders for a touchdown in the right corner.
The All Blacks led 19-7 at halftime after to Mo'unga's conversion, and they held tight after the break, twice denying the Wallabies tries with stonewall defence on the line.
Australia received a second yellow card with Tupou on the bench when replacement prop Angus Bell was sent off for a high tackle on Nepo Laulala.
Undermanned, the Wallabies soon crumbled, giving up three tries in seven minutes as the All Blacks ran wild.
On the hour mark, Clarke began the surge with a try in the left corner. Before the All Blacks cruised to win, Telea scored his second try on the right corner, and Rieko Ioane completed a spectacular team touchdown in the 67th minute.
