Wallabies coach Michael Cheika bemoaned the amount of turnovers his side conceded in their 40-12 defeat to the All Blacks at Eden Park on Saturday.
All four of Beauden Barrett’s tries came from turnover ball and broken field play, with the All Blacks exploiting the tired legs of the Wallabies from deep once the game had opened up.
“The same areas killed us, that’s turnovers. Last week it was turnovers … that killed us and it was the same again tonight,” Cheika told Reuters.
“When we do cough the ball up we do know they will come with it and you have to get up, work extra hard and get the ball back otherwise they will hurt you.
“The rest of the game we worked our butts off and it was those five or six key moments on turnover that really cost us.”
Meanwhile, All Blacks coach Steve Hansen believed his side’s ability to play the situation was crucial to their success.
“They play what is in front of them and we try to drum that into them,” Hansen said. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s from deep or not.
“If it’s on to run you have to run and we have players that can punish you when they do.”
Hansen admitted he had to be “incredibly pleased” with the result, especially because the Wallabies were an improved outfit this week.
“They (the Wallabies) were better,” Hansen added. “They played particularly well and it took us a lot longer to get on top.
“It was an improvement from last week. We were a lot more accurate in some of the things we were doing. There’s still a lot of room for improvement, but we have to be incredibly pleased.”