All Blacks coach Scott Robertson said he was optimistic his team were on the right track, but they need to rediscover their killer instinct to close out games.
New Zealand led 21-0 after 15 minutes against the Wallabies in Sydney on Saturday, but blew the advantage in a lacklustre second-half to scrape over the line 31-28.
All four of their tries came in the first-half, with just one penalty to show in the second stanza.
It was a similar scenario in other recent Tests where they held sizable leads against Argentina and South Africa, but took their foot off the floor and let them back in the game.
“We’re not shying away from areas with our bench — finishing and decision-making we need to improve,” said Robertson.
“But we’re working hard. It showed the care with our defence, but we need to start finishing games better and ride that momentum.”
The win ensured New Zealand retained the Bledisloe Cup, but with Argentina stunning South Africa 29-28 in Santiago they face the prospect of finishing only third in the Rugby Championship.
They have one more game to play, against Australia in Wellington next weekend.
While Robertson was effusive about his team’s character, he acknowledged there were areas to work on this week as they look to regroup.
“I’m an optimist but I’m a realist too,” he said. “We’ll show the clips where we need to be better. We’ll be clear on that.
“Full respect to the Aussies,” he added.
“We didn’t quite finish those opportunities we’ve been creating all year. You’ve got to keep going and get those final passes to stick but they didn’t.”
The All Blacks could be without Jordie Barrett for the return leg against Australia with the inside centre set for a scan Monday on a knee injury.
In better news, Robertson said Barrett’s brother Beauden was “feeling better” after his withdrawal an hour before kickoff on Saturday due to illness.
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