That was too close for comfort for the All Blacks as they just about held off an Australian comeback victory to sneak a 31-28 win in Sydney.

The New Zealanders will wonder how they let the Australians in after they led 28-14 at half-time and by far looked the superior and more dangerous outfit.

But the Aussies came out swinging in the second half as they attacked with urgency and more composure to score two tries to the All Blacks' lone penalty early in the second.

The visitors' trademark killer instinct was nowhere to be found in this match as they couldn't get over the try line in the second half with silly mistakes and two yellow cards leaving their attempts to get the ascendancy hamstrung, and only gave Australia more confidence.

Damian McKenzie's flopped no-look pass with the tryline beckoning will be the overshadowing thought for the All Blacks here who were down to 13 men in the final quarter of the match.

• Read More