All Blacks triumph in 'hell of a Bledisloe battle'

New Zealand snapped a two-game losing streak with a nail-biting 31-28 win over Australia on Sept 21, holding off a second-half charge to retain the Bledisloe Cup

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Both sides scored four tries on a warm Sydney afternoon as the All Blacks rebounded from consecutive Rugby Championship defeats by world champions South Africa.

“I’m just really proud of the effort,” said New Zealand coach Scott Robertson.

“Some incredible defence at the end there, scramble D, two yellow cards. We got into a hell of a battle and found a way to win. We got the Cup.”

New Zealand took a commanding 28-14 lead into the break and, despite Australia storming back into contention, held on to retain a trophy they have owned since 2003, dominating possession, set plays and the breakdown.

“It’s a bit of a relief, to be honest,” said All Blacks captain Scott Barrett.

“In the last 15 (minutes), we found ourselves in a bit of a hole, but we hung on with a bit of scramble defence and managed to hang on...