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All Blacks Bledisloe demolition overshadowed in bizarre rankings twist

The All Blacks may have demolished the Wallabies at Eden Park 36-0 on Saturday night but their 10-year dominance at the pinnacle of world Rugby came to an end.

New Zealand made sure everyone in the rugby world new they were still favourites ahead of the World Cup after a ferocious performance against the Wallabies at the graveyard which is Eden Park.

But despite their dominant display, Wales usurped the All Blacks as the No.1 ranked team in the world ending a 10-year New Zealand occupation.

Wales' rise to the summit comes just 34 days before the World Cup kicks off in Japan.

The All Blacks celebrate during The Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup Test match between the New Zealand All Blacks and the Australian Wallabies at Eden Park on August 17, 2019 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Renee McKay/Getty Images)
The All Blacks celebrate during The Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup Test match between the New Zealand All Blacks and the Australian Wallabies at Eden Park on August 17, 2019 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Renee McKay/Getty Images)

It was an impressive warm-up performance for the global tournament as they reeled off an 11th successive home win.

A fired-up Wales, fielding a near full-strength side against a more mixed England line-up for the second game in a row, scored the only try of an error-strewn encounter through winger George North.

Fly-half and man-of-the-match Dan Biggar, in the spotlight following injured Gareth Anscombe being ruled out of the looming World Cup, impressed with a smart cross-field kick for North's try after England's Anthony Watson had been yellow-carded.

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Wales head coach Warren Gatland was pleased with the character shown by his side in the match.

"I said to the boys in the changing room we have to show massive character as we had to dig pretty deep and lost two second rows, so we had four front rowers on," Gatland said.

"We showed some brave character and that's what we're about. If you want to beat us you have to play pretty well."

When asked how he thinks Wales will fare away from Cardiff in the World Cup, the New Zealander added: "I think we've done a good job of winning over the support of a few Japanese fans.

Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones played down reaching the rankings summit and said he was "just" satisfied with the performance against England.

"We're a team of 3.3 million, so we can be happy with that," Jones said of the ranking.

"Satisfied - just. The first half was a definite improvement (on last weekend). There were probably patches in the second half where we dropped a little bit.

For England, the main positive of a stodgy performance will be the fact they emerged unscathed on the injury front, apart from the pre-game withdrawal of winger Ruaridh McConnochie.

And their captain George Ford said he won't read too much into the result with the World Cup just around the corner.

"I can't fault the effort of the lads. What we have to do is to come back. That was a proper Test match. Very physical, not much time and space on the ball," he said.

"It's good for us to play at a stadium like this with the roof closed. We will keep working.

"I don't think many people remember these games. What happens at the World Cup in a few weeks' time will be completely different."

With AAP