FOMMER Leinster and Ireland coach Joe Schmidt’s Australia came up on the wrong side of a 31-28 scoreboard against New Zealand on Saturday.
The New Zealand native was looking for his side to bounce back after a humiliating record defeat at the hands of Argentina just two weeks ago.
And they nearly did just that after coming close to completing a stunning comeback against the might All Blacks.
New Zealand scored four tries in the first 25 minutes but held off a late Australian comeback with 13 men.
But his side will take a lot from Rugby Championship thriller at Stadium Australia after Schmidt’s team were hammered 67-27 in against the Pumas a fortnight ago.
Wallabies centre Len Ikitau had a try ruled out for a knock on in the 73rd minute before fullback Tom Wright finally touched down for Australia’s fourth try.
But the Aussies ran out of time and were a score behind with three minutes to go in the thrilling contest.
But the former Ireland coach was proud of his side for their efforts after the contest.
“We really rolled our sleeves up in the second half, but the reality is they could’ve had more of a margin on the scoreboard if they didn’t miss a couple of chances,” said Schmidt.
“We’ve got to be realistic about that. We lost the Test match. We can’t finish a close second.
“There’s some things to be proud about… the way we were building our way back into the game. But you give New Zealand a start like that, it’s too tough to overcome that.”
“Although his team came very close to clinching a victory.
“They were outplayed in most facets of play with New Zealand coming out on top of the breakdown and lineout battle while the Wallabies made nearly double the amount of tackles.
“Once it became tight, we probably had a few chances that we didn’t put away,” he said.
“But pleased with the way we dug in, to build our way back.”
A 21st Rugby Championship title will not happen for All Blacks after a home loss to Argentina and two away to South Africa.
But Scott Robertson’s side face the Wallabies again in Wellington next week in the final series of games before BOTH sides make their trip to Ireland for the November internationals.
