'Would've let teams back in': Robertson pleased with All Blacks' second half progress

The All Blacks completed their 11th straight win over the Wallabies at Optus Stadium in Perth with a 28-14 victory, beating the previous streak from 2008-11.

The current winning streak extends back to 2020, when Dave Rennie’s Wallabies last beat the All Blacks in Brisbane in the final game of the year.

The home side looked composed in the opening half hour in Perth building a 9-7 lead off the back of three penalties to flyhalf Tane Edmed.

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“We made a lot of tackles at the start, a little bit of ill discipline, but we stayed in it,” Robertson said of the first half struggles.

But the All Blacks were able to arrest momentum from the scrum platform, first winning penalties and then getting into a flow from their launch plays.

A freakish header from Jordie Barrett after Harry Potter failed to clean up the grubber kick led to Quinn Tupaea’s first try, with the centre calling it a ‘hongi’ play as a falling Barrett used his head to propel the ball forward.

Tupaea put one more kick in before getting the dream bounce in front of the try line.

His double came minutes later after a set piece scrum play caught the Wallabies offside, and a quick tap from Will Jordan kept the play rolling. Tupaea powered through the retreating defence to score again.

“Really pleased for him, he was great. He was robust, tough, physical,” Robertson said of his centre.

“It was great to see him in his ball carry. He’ll be better for that Test.”

The late surge to end the first half gave the All Blacks a healthy lead at half-time, one they were able to protect for long periods in the second half.

It wasn’t a pretty second half, with two penalty goals to McKenzie and a late try to George Bower, but it got the job done.

Robertson conceded that his All Blacks have let teams back into the game from a similar position.

“We took our opportunities, we got ahead on the scoreboard. It was really important going into that second half, just the mental toughness in the group that we showed, the ability to stay in the whole match. In past games, we probably would’ve let teams back in.

“The bench that came on made a big difference, managed to finish it in a really tough game.”

Captain Scott Barrett pointed to an inability to adapt in the first 30 minutes as a problem. The conceded numerous penalties, including three to the captain himself.

“I think we were a bit too eager at times around the breakdown,” Barrett said.

“Both teams wanted to put pressure on there, particularly the first 30, we were slow to adapt to the decisions.

“But I think we adapted and were able to put some pressure on their breakdown and got the reward later in the game.”