New Zealand crushed Australia 50-19 at Eden Park to retain the Bledisloe Cup, and the result has moved the All Blacks closer to the top of the World Rugby rankings. They now sit just over a point behind South Africa.
The Wallabies arrived at Eden Park on a five-match unbeaten run and full of confidence, but Dave Rennie’s men were outplayed on Saturday. Tries from Tom Wright and Harry Wilson kept Australia in touch at the break, and the All Blacks led 17-14 at the interval. New Zealand then pulled away in the second half.
Peter Lakai and Tupou Vaa’i scored for the All Blacks in the first half. In the final 40 minutes, Cam Roigard, Codie Taylor, Leroy Carter, Josh Moorby and Will Jordan all crossed the whitewash. The victory extended New Zealand’s unbeaten run at Eden Park, which stretches back to 1994.
How the Bledisloe Cup impacted the standings
With a 31-point winning margin, New Zealand added 0.66 to their rating, rising from 91.15 to 91.81. That leaves them just over a point behind South Africa, who sit on 93.09.
The gap stood at almost four points after Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry concluded. The back-to-back world champions won three consecutive Tests to beat Rennie’s side 3-1 in the series. The gap has since narrowed significantly following the Wallabies’ win over the Boks in late September and the All Blacks’ victory on Saturday.
If New Zealand come through next weekend’s Test unscathed, they may fancy their chances of finishing the year as the top-ranked team in the world. South Africa have a tougher run on paper in November, with trips to Ireland and France during the Nations Championship.
Australia hold sixth place despite the heavy defeat. They dropped from 85.55 to 84.89, just 0.11 ahead of Scotland, who are seventh. Another defeat next weekend would see the Wallabies slip behind the Scots. Australia could have moved into fourth with a win by more than 15 points, which would have been their highest ranking since November 2021, but they fell well short.
World Rugby men’s rankings
- South Africa 93.09
- New Zealand 91.81
- Ireland 88.08
- France 87.43
- England 85.68
- Australia 84.89
- Scotland 84.78
- Argentina 82.24
- Japan 77.28
- Fiji 76.81
- Wales 76.38
- Italy 76.30
- Georgia 73.94
- Portugal 69.39
- USA 67.58
- Chile 66.94
- Spain 66.83
- Uruguay 65.75
- Tonga 65.14
- Samoa 64.73