Rugby-Australia coach says pleased his players disappointed with All Blacks draw

Wallabies coach Dave Rennie was pleased with the disappointment among his players at the Wellington Regional Stadium after a 16-16 draw with the All Blacks in their first Bledisloe Cup test on Sunday. We knew it (Sunday) wouldn't be perfect," said Rennie. "We will grow our game (and) we will get a lot better.

Wallabies coach Dave Rennie was pleased with the disappointment among his players at the Wellington Regional Stadium after a 16-16 draw with the All Blacks in their first Bledisloe Cup test on Sunday. The disappointment showed his players felt they should have won the game and ended a 19-year losing streak to the All Blacks in New Zealand, he said.

The game was the first rugby union test in the world since March due to COVID-19 restrictions and while there was willingness from both teams, they also lacked the final clinical execution needed to win the game. "We are certainly disappointed because we had an opportunity to win it," Rennie told reporters, adding that the team had played with "a lot of courage".

"What I liked seeing is the disappointment in the guys in the changing room," he said. "We let ourselves down." Rennie said his side would also have to live with an error by the match officials, with Australian assistant referee Angus Gardner missing All Blacks' Rieko Ioane putting his foot into touch in the lead up to Jordie Barrett's first half try.

"You win some, you lose some," he said. "You hope it doesn't happen and there is some consistency but we're certainly not going to complain about it."

Rennie said the two weeks they spent in isolation in Christchurch had helped his side prepare but he expected there to be a lot more improvement from them. "I think we are miles away from where we can be. We knew it (Sunday) wouldn't be perfect," said Rennie.

"We will grow our game (and) we will get a lot better. The All Blacks will get a lot better too. So, for us it's about how we back up."

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