It seems the All Blacks have reclaimed their ruthless edge

You can only beat who’s put in front of you.

Now, I might quibble about the way New Zealand beat Australia 38-7 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground last Saturday.

I thought the All Blacks kicked too much. Both teams did, for that matter.

It was just that the Wallabies’ attempts on that front were so inept, as to make New Zealand’s look effective.

When you’re demonstrably more skillful and athletic - as the All Blacks were on the night - it’s hard not to feel as if utilising your potent backline might be a better way to skin the cat. In Rieko Ioane, New Zealand boasts a ball runner of exceptional quality and yet he was largely a peripheral figure on Saturday.

But that’s my only criticism of an All Blacks team that continues to impress.

I’d like to see them ring the changes now. To explore the depth of their squad and to give others the opportunity to wallop the Wallabies.

I can’t see that being much of a challenge.

It’s upsetting to see Australian rugby where it is. For much of my life, the Wallabies were almost as good - and occasionally better - than the All Blacks.

Games were of the must-watch variety and the ultimate destination of the Bledisloe Cup uncertain.

But nothing summed up the state of the game across the Tasman than Saturday night’s Taniela Tupou situation.

When you have a talent deficit, as Australia has, then you have to get your tactics and thinking right. Execution might be a struggle, but you can’t stymie your chances of winning by dumb decision making as well.

Tupou was injured and, for reasons that make no sense, he was allowed to stay on the field.

Incapacitated, his inability to scrummage saw Australia squander an excellent attacking opportunity.

He compounds the problem by getting sin binned for an illegal tackle - in part brought on by his rib injury - and a contest turns into a rout.

The whole thing was symptomatic of a team that can’t even get out of its own way at the moment.

That’s their (hopefully) short-term problem. But as previous national coaches such as Robbie Deans and Dave Rennie will know, there’s only so much Eddie Jones can do with what’s at his disposal.

He won’t conjure a miracle this year, but he can perhaps foster pathways and programmes that make the Wallabies more competitive in seasons to come.

For New Zealand, the hype appears real right now.

Putting Australia away in largely untroubled fashion harked back to the best All Blacks teams of yore.

Many an opponent has felt in games against the All Blacks over the years. They’ve believed they were competing and that results were in the balance.

Then they’ve turned around at fulltime to see they’ve been done by 20 or 30 points.

That’s the takeaway from the All Blacks team of 2023. They have played traditional foes in South Africa and Australia, absorbed periods of pressure and then finished games by far the stronger.

It’ll be interesting to see how many changes All Blacks coach Ian Foster opts to make this week and how that affects cohesion. It shouldn’t change the outcome, though, and that’s what’s been encouraging about this side so far.

A robust and ruthless streak suddenly appears to run through the whole squad and the Wallabies are likely to feel its wrath again on Saturday.