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The ugly truth facing Wallabies after record Bledisloe Cup mauling

Pictured here, Wallabies players look dejected after their record Bledisloe Cup Test defeat at Eden Park.
The Wallabies' Eden Park woes continued with a record defeat to the All Blacks in the second Bledisloe Cup Test. Pic: Getty

After the Wallabies conceded their second intercept try of the night – and their third of the series – as another Bledisloe Cup campaign turned to chowder, match caller Sean Maloney bellowed: "They won’t learn".

No, Sean, the Wallabies won't learn from past sins and, until they do, the All Blacks' 19-year hold on the Trans-Tasman contest will extend well into a third decade.

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The 57-22 victory was the ABs' biggest win at the Eden Park slaughter house, putting the upstart Wallabies right back in their place.

Australia showed plenty of enterprise and willingness to take the game to the New Zealanders but the Kiwis know to play the waiting game because cracks will eventually appear.

It's like one of those cartoon scenes when the big guy holds the little guy up in the air and just lets him furiously punch the air until he runs out of steam.

And it didn't take long for the first sign of Aussie impetuosity.

A ridiculously ambitious pass while deep in attack was intercepted by Rieko Ioane and the All Blacks were up 7-0 just seconds after being under siege.

You've got to earn the right to strut the pretty stuff in Test rugby but that concept seems beyond the Wallabies.

Don’t come bearing gifts to the All Blacks.

To their credit, Dave Rennie's men clawed their way back into the game from the early setback and only trailed 21-15 at half-time.

Wallabies fail to make most of numerical advantage

But instead of it being the catalyst for something truly meaningful, it was the beginning of a horrible end.

The unravelling began when the All Blacks lost Ardie Savea to the sin-bin two minutes after the interval and the Wallabies opted to go for an attacking line-out to cash in on their numerical advantage.

It's a sound plan…if you get the throw right.

Pictured here, New Zealand star Ardie Savea celebrates a try against the Walllabies.
The Aussies failed to capitalise on a yellow card for New Zealand star Ardie Savea. Pic: Getty

In one of those sliding doors moments you get in Tests, the throw wasn't straight and New Zealand went in for the kill, sensing Australia had chucked in a royal flush and picked up a pair of 3s.

The home side scored a try and landed a long-range penalty to go 31-15 up in the 10 minutes Savea was off.

Game over.

The All Blacks piled on a further 26 points as the Wallabies descended into a complete rabble, inflicting scoreboard pain even after the siren sounded.

It was their way of saying enough is never enough.

As the All Blacks showed off the Bledisloe Cup to what was left of a surprisingly small Eden Park crowd, Rennie was trying to explain where it all went wrong.

He disagreed that a safety-first attitude was the way to go against New Zealand and blamed poor defence – rather than Australia's risky flamboyance – for the demoralising defeat.

Whatever way you want to look at it, what the Wallabies are doing now is not working and another heavy loss in Perth on Saturday week is inevitable unless there is a dramatic change in mindset.

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