NZ crunches Wallabies

The All Blacks have continued their recent domination of the Wallabies with a commanding 49-28 victory at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.

Having conceded the opening five-pointer of the night, the Kiwis responded with four unanswered tries to take an unassailable 32-14 into the break.

Any hopes of a Wallabies fightback were dashed three minutes into the second stanza when winger Drew Mitchell was sent off after receiving his second yellow card for deliberately slowing down play.

And when Mils Muliaina, who celebrated his 30th birthday on Saturday, scored his second try moments later, the contest was well and truly over with half an hour still to play.

Joe Rokocoko and Corey Flynn both bagged late tries for the visitors while man-of-the-match Richie McCaw, Dan Carter and Corey Jane all crossed before the interval in the seven-tries-to-three triumph.

To their credit the hosts managed two second-half tries of their own to Adam Ashley-Cooper and Rocky Elsom, but it was not enough to avoid an eighth consecutive Bledisloe Cup defeat in front of a 51,409 crowd containing almost as many Kiwis as home fans.

The controversial Etihad Stadium surface, which was last week labelled an 'ice rink' by the AFL Players' Association, was thankfully a non-factor throughout what was an entertaining affair.

The win leaves Graham Henry's men in a commanding position on the Tri Nations ladder having amassed 15 points from three matches, with the Wallabies trailing on four after two games and the Springboks yet to open their account.

Matt Giteau and Carter traded early penalty goals to leave the sides locked at 3-all in the seventh minute, but the tries soon flowed in what was to prove a thoroughly entertaining first half.

The Wallabies were first to cross the stripe on eight minutes when Mitchell charged down Carter's clearing kick for the opening try and an 8-3 advantage.

It took Carter less than a minute to exact revenge as he charged down Berrick Barnes' kick and strolled over untouched before adding the extras to give the visitors their first lead of the night.

The All Blacks extend their advantage on 13 minutes when Muliaina cashed in on a piece of Corey Jane brilliance.

Jane received the ball on the right flank and delivered a pin-point kick as he was falling into touch under heavy pressure from Rocky Elsom leaving Muliaina to stroll over for a 15-8 lead.

Giteau trimmed the deficit with his second penalty of the night in the 19th minute, and when All Blacks prop Owen Franks was sent to the bin for a shoulder charge on Richard Brown all the momentum appeared to be with the hosts.

But the All Blacks were next to score when Richie McCaw swooped on a loose ball from a Wallaby turnover and scooted 25m down the blindside, with Carter's sideline conversion adding further insult.

Things went from bad to worse for the hosts when Mitchell was sent to the sin bin for a shoulder charge on the half-hour, and the visitors made the most of the extra man when Jane crossed in the shadows of half-time to send the All Blacks into the sheds with a commanding 16-point lead.

All Blacks 49
Tries: Muliaina 2, Carter, McCaw, Jane, Rokocoko, Flynn,
Cons: Carter 4,
Pens: Carter 2,

Wallabies 28
Tries: Mitchell, Ashley-Cooper, Elsom,
Cons: Giteau 2,
Pens: Giteau 3,
@ Etihad Stadium, 31/07/10. Crowd: 51,409