This time, surely, a nation can breathe easy. No one will be warier than the Kiwis of celebrating prematurely but the manner in which they tied the Wallabies down in a one-sided semi-final was deeply ominous for France. If the hosts lose Sunday's final it will be a result beyond most people's comprehension, the French included.
Because this was the All Blacks as they would love the world to see them: tough, mean, committed and ruthless in every department, save the goalkicking. Had Piri Weepu and Aaron Cruden not missed five kicks between them, the Australians would have been royally stuffed and roasted, as opposed to merely flattened. Jerome Kaino, Kieran Read, Brad Thorn and Richie McCaw do not have the air of chokers about them; behind the scrum Cory Jane gave one of the great aerial catching exhibitions and Israel Dagg again showed himself to be a monumental talent. Given the amount of tension floating around before kick‑off and the unavailability of the fly-half Dan Carter, it amounted to pure bliss, from a Kiwi perspective.
"I thought it was an outstanding performance and I'm very proud of them," said the All Blacks' head coach, Graham Henry, having left his old adversary Robbie Deans face down in the dust. "We just need to build again for next weekend and do the same thing, hopefully."
Lest it be forgotten, Henry and co have a score to settle with the French, having lost to them in Cardiff in the 2007 quarter-final. Had he enjoyed this experience a little more? "A bit better than last time," was the laconic reply. "We've got a lot of history with France in World Cups. We respect them and it's going to be another big game next week. But the job hasn't been done. It's very important we understand that."
Even Deans, though, reckons the All Blacks are on course to end 24 years of emptiness. "They'll take a lot of stopping from here," said Australia's coach, a former All Black who was once in charge of the Crusaders. "They're experienced, they're well‑versed, they're hungry and they've got a lot of support about them. They showed tonight they're more than capable of winning it." What did he say to Henry, someone asked, when the pair shook hands at the end? "Well done," Deans replied, a little tersely.
There was nothing else he could say. The first quarter was as good as anything the All Blacks have managed under Henry against the Wallabies, who have not won in Auckland since 1986. Caught in the eye of the storm was Quade Cooper, who had already received a reception from the home supporters that fell some way short of rapturous. The Wallaby fly-half's kick-off sailed out on the full, high balls were spilled and clearance kicks sliced wickedly into touch. In the sixth minute Dagg skipped outside him and threw an inside pass to Ma'a Nonu for the game's only try. To say Cooper was rattled would be an understatement.
It did not help that the Wallaby pack were getting precisely no change out of either the All Black front five or the referee, Craig Joubert. Weepu, having missed the conversion and hit a post with his first penalty attempt, located the target and Cruden, a skateboarding youth from Palmerston North, slid over a sweet drop goal to make the score 11-3. When Richard Kahui clattered the long‑suffering Cooper with a perfectly timed tackle, it was a neat summation of the first half.
Even Cooper's drop goal seven minutes before the interval was swiftly cancelled out by a soft penalty the other way, the tireless James Horwill spilling the ball forward and into the arms of an offside colleague, Adam Ashley-Cooper. The half-time stats showed that Australia had enjoyed just 32% of the territory; by the end it was only 38%. They managed to beat South Africa on defensive bravery alone but an All Black pack in this sort of mood is a different proposition.
If you wanted to pick holes you could say that Dagg's drop-goal technique needs a bit of work – he missed a hatful in the warm-up and sliced one horribly during the game. There is nothing wrong, though, with the All Black defence, nor their scrummaging. With eight minutes left, the Wallaby scrum splintered upwards again and Thorn emerged roaring and pumping the air. At that moment not a soul in the ground would have bet against New Zealand lifting the Webb Ellis Cup. The bookmakers' odds are in the region of 1‑9.
The rest was pure agony for the Australians, give or take a yellow card for Sonny Bill Williams, given for a dangerous tackle.
"Packing down at the last scrum, I looked at [the Wallaby scrum-half] Will Genia and he said, 'Well done,'" said McCaw with a grin, his injured foot apparently no longer an issue. "But we're not going to get ahead of ourselves. All we've done is give ourselves a chance. We need to be the same, if not better, next week."
Nonu suffered a neck spasm but he will apparently be fine for the final. Cooper's bruised pride may take a little longer to heal. Did Henry think the locals should lay off him? "I think Quade's brought a fair amount of it on himself," he said. "I think you've got to earn respect."
Henry and his team will be taking no prisoners until the swag is safely gathered in.
Australia Ashley-Cooper; O'Connor, Faingaa (Horne, 62), McCabe (Barnes, 47), Ioane; Cooper, Genia; Kepu (Slipper, 21), Moore (Polota-Nau, 66), Alexander, Vickerman (Simmons, 60), Horwill (capt), Elsom, Pocock, Samo (McCalman, 60).
Pen O'Connor Drop goal Cooper.
New Zealand Dagg; Jane, Smith, Nonu (SB Williams, 73), Kahui; Cruden, Weepu (Ellis, 57-69); Woodcock, Mealamu (Hore, 64), O Franks (B Franks, 80), Thorn, Whitelock (A Williams, 57), Kaino, McCaw (capt), Read.
Try Nonu Pens Weepu 4 Drop goal Cruden.
Sin-bin SB Williams 76.
Referee C Joubert (South Africa). Attendance 60,087.
