Re: [Tri] NZ 16-7 Australia
Henry hails All Blacks
Graham Henry expressed his delight at New Zealand's "superb" 16-7
Tri-Nations victory over Australia in Wellington.
The win, after a try by Doug Howlett and 11 points from Dan Carter's
boot, saw the hosts retain the Bledisloe Cup.
"The boys played with huge character and commitment and they got better
as the game went on," the coach said.
"We could have capitalised more with the possession we had, but we're
happy and I have a lot of pride and respect for the players."
The match was played out in atrocious conditions, persistent rain in
the New Zealand capital saturating the surface at the Westpac Stadium.
The All Blacks won 80% of possession but were forced to work hard,
going in at the break with just a 3-0 advantage.
But they threw everything at the Wallaby defence in a fierce second
half, when Howlett crossed on 62 minutes, to seal the win and maintain
Henry's 100% record at the helm after five matches.
"It was a hell of a difficult one out there and a superb performance
in very difficult conditions, but we we won the game convincingly in
territory and possession," he added.
And Henry reserved special praise for lock Simon Maling and flanker
Marty Holah who were drafted in in place of injured duo Keith Robinson
and Richie McCaw.
"Those two stepped up and really played well," he said. "It gives a lot
of pleasure to see guys who weren't first choice step up and play top
class rugby."
Stirling Mortlock scored Australia's try under the posts after a Joe
Rokocoko mistake, but Wallaby coach Eddie Jones refused to look to the
conditions as an excuse for his team's poor performance.
"They won 80% of possession so that means they dominated set pieces. Was
that a consequence of weather conditions? I'd probably say no," he reasoned.
"I wasn't happy at all. We showed plenty of pride but weren't in the game
so there was nothing to be happy about.
"Our defence was good, but it had to be. You can't score points if you
are on defence all the time.
"New Zealand played very well. They dominated position and territory.
We only got 20% of the possession so in a way 16-7 wasn't a bad score."
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