Les Kiss has challenged Australia to address their shortcomings ahead of the second Bledisloe Cup Test after the Wallabies suffered a 50-19 defeat to New Zealand at Eden Park.
Australia were competitive during the opening half but collapsed after the break, conceding five tries as the All Blacks secured the Bledisloe Cup for a 24th consecutive year.
Kiss admitted his side struggled to regain control once New Zealand established momentum.
All Blacks’ strengths evident
“Once they got their momentum it was hard to wrestle it back,” Kiss said.
“The lessons are there. If you can't get your strengths going and their strengths grow, it makes it a difficult game.”
The Wallabies had entered the contest in confident mood after beating South Africa two weeks earlier, but they were unable to reproduce that performance over the full 80 minutes.
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Improvement on deficiencies
New Zealand's aerial game and kicking accuracy proved particularly influential, allowing the hosts to dictate territory and keep Australia under sustained pressure.
“You've got to take a hat off to them, they won aerial battles and they profited off those things very well,” Kiss said.
“Their kicks were a lot more accurate than our kicks, that's for sure, so it was just hard to get a footing in that second half.”
The Wallabies coach nevertheless insisted his players would use the defeat as motivation rather than allow it to derail their progress.
The loss was Australia's first under Kiss, ending a six-match unbeaten run.
Sydney response
“We'll try and turn the dial in the right areas so we can go to Sydney and return fire,” he said.
Kiss also stressed the importance of reviewing the performance carefully before deciding what needs to change for the rematch.
“The boys always said we've got work to do, and it doesn't change now,” he added.
“We'll have a good look at that game like we always have and then get into the nuts and bolts of what we feel we need to get right.”
Getting back on the right track
Australia will face New Zealand again at Sydney's Accor Stadium on Saturday, October 17.
Although the Bledisloe Cup is already out of reach, the Wallabies have an immediate opportunity to respond and restore confidence ahead of next year's Rugby World Cup on home soil.
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