SYDNEY -- Maybe one day the Wallabies will absorb their repeated Bledisloe Cup "learnings" -- and then do something about it.
For Saturday afternoon's clash in Sydney quickly became an all-too-familiar Test-match car crash for Australia, as the All Blacks delivered yet another Bledisloe thrashing in a game that was done as a contest by halftime.
The inspiring victory over the Springboks in Perth last month is now but a distant memory for the Wallabies. Their collective 93-40 two-Test Bledisloe drubbing is evidence that the dream of reclaiming the famous trophy remains as distant as ever.
"We've spoken briefly amongst ourselves, but the 22 points that we just give in a small amount of time, it wasn't dissimilar to last week... it was costly, without a doubt," Wallabies coach Les Kiss reflected on a first-half that showed early promise but quickly deteriorated into yet another Bledisloe horror show.
New Zealand's 43-21 victory, their 13th straight over Australia, was an attacking masterclass, as they went a perfect 5/5 22-entries in building a 29-7 lead, before Beauden Barrett picked off an intercept and ran 60 to score his second five-pointer and complete the first half Sydney smash-up.
Earlier, Australia butchered three gilt-edged opportunities either side of Josh Moorby's opening try on 12 minutes. The visitors, meanwhile, took every chance on offer.
With Damian McKenzie sweeping around behind the front line and forwards Codie Taylor, Peter Lakai, and Wallace Sititi routinely strolling through in midfield, Australia had no answer to the All Blacks' multi-phase attack. The visitors' pass selection was superb.
Every time New Zealand entered Australia's half, let alone their 22, the result felt inevitable -- and ultimately finished with the Wallabies camped behind their own gainline.
"It was excellent, a lot of stuff that we did well last week we were able to put 40 minutes of that together," All Blacks coach Dave Rennie assessed of his side's scintillating first half.
"The quality of the carry, winning races and brutality around cleanout, and then a lot of the quality of the decision-making, the pass selection to put people in space. And when we're able to hang onto the ball, we can play quick.
"So I thought we were really clinical the first 43 [minutes]."
As it was, the All Blacks did not add to their 43-point tally for the final 36 minutes of the match.
Dan Carter, McKenzie is not. But in the past two Tests the Chiefs playmaker has looked every inch a world-class No. 10 such has been the platform his powerful forward pack has provided; the All Blacks' forwards had the Wallabies retreating and their backs cut Australia's defence to pieces off the back of it.
The fact that the All Blacks did it with a completely new midfield, after Quinn Tupaea joined earlier scratching Jordie Barrett on the sidelines inside two minutes, only added to Rennie's delight.
The All Blacks had made 11 clean breaks to the Wallabies' five to halftime, but while New Zealand turned their territory and possession into points, the Wallabies could only manufacture mistakes.
First Tom Wright threw a ridiculous cut-out pass when Australia had created a four-on-two overlap, with the play breaking down a few phases later, before Max Jorgensen then missed Harry Potter with a cut-out pass of his own when the Wallabies had opened up the All Blacks from an excellent lineout set play. Completing the trio of mistakes, Fraser McReight then fumbled a maul transfer five metres out.
When Australia could, and probably should, have been up two tries to one inside the first quarter, they instead found themselves down 17-0 after Moorby's opener, which was followed by Barrett's first score and a determined charge from Lakai.
New Zealand attacked with ease, and Australia just couldn't quite get it together.
But worse was to come as Rieko Ioane beat Wright to the corner after some more sparkling All Blacks ball movement to make it 22-0, before at last Jeremy Williams crossed for the Wallabies off the back of a clever offload from Declan Meredith.
In his fourth Test start, Meredith turned in his most promising performance yet as he attacked the line and then, later, was at the centre of a bizarre TMO moment. After a long sequence of play when both teams had chances to score, the officials came together to examine a possible cynical infringement when the Wallabies No. 10 had reached out to score after turning Barrett inside and out, only for the officials to rule that the try-saving heroics of Cam Roigard were indeed legal.
Australia continued to attack in the first half, but too often their positive play was brought unstuck by a careless offload, with wingers Max Jorgensen and Harry Potter both guilty of pushing passes they should have held, or simply just missing their targets altogether.
Meanwhile, the aerial game that was so much a factor in Auckland was a non-event in Sydney, as both teams attempted to keep ball in hand. And New Zealand simply did it that much better than Australia; McKenzie looks a different proposition at fly-half at Test level under Rennie.
After Wallace Sititi's simple scrumbase try, when the No. 8 galloped in from close range following Williams' yellow card for cynical offside, and then Barrett's intercept on the stroke of halftime, the scoreboard read 36-7.
Barrett's play was brilliant and probably a 14-point turnaround. Had he not tapped up Jorgensen's flick pass and regathered in a reflex action, Potter was probably on his way to the corner.
At that point, Australia probably wished they could have stayed in the sheds rather than suffer the indignity of further scoreboard pain. The game as a contest was gone and the hopeful throng of Wallabies fans among the 73,399-strong crowd were probably wondering why they had parted with their hard-earned amid a crushing cost-of-living crisis.
If there was a straw to be clutched, it was the fact the Wallabies won the second half 14-7 thanks to tries from Wright and replacement Filipo Daugunu, who added some spark with his mix of upper-body power and sharp footwork.
Jorgensen continued to give Aussie fans further glimpses of his immense talent as he finished with an incredible seven clean breaks, all but one of which resulted in any tangible gain for the Wallabies.
And there again is another reminder of the problem. Not the Wallabies' ability to create opportunities, but their unfortunate knack for stuffing them up completely. Had Australia converted the positive play they produced inside the first quarter, then we might have been talking about a different outcome, or at least a far less embarrassing scoreboard.
But the first half was also New Zealand at their very best. Skipper Taylor and back-rower Lakai, who was a worthy man-of-the-match, were immense for the visitors as they combined for 133 of the All Blacks' run metres, while Barrett and Moorby provided the finishes the entire Wallabies team routinely fluffed.
Australia also missed far too many tackles to be competitive, while New Zealand dominated the collisions for the second straight week. When they retain the ball for long periods their patterns of play do not fall apart and ultimately lead to tries, but the same can't be said for Australia, at least in the past eight days anyway.
Kiss must have been pulling out the hair that escapes his customary cap watching the first 40 unfold in front of him.
"The first half there was one opportunity where if we just moved the ball to the space, it's a try every day of the week, but we didn't get to it," Kiss reflected when asked about Wright's horror pass selection.
"We get held up over the line once. We're just hurting ourselves with simple errors. If we play hands a little bit more instead of a cut-out pass [we get a different result]. I know that despite those things we're still very high up in terms of how we convert in those areas, but it was disappointing today that we didn't make the most of those opportunities."
The Wallabies coach at least now has a few weeks to ponder his next assignment, a visit to London to face England at Allianz Stadium Twickenham. He is likely to have all of Carter Gordon, Ben Donaldson, Len Ikitau, Hunter Paisami, Tom Hooper, and Taniela Tupou available for selection and be able to select a far stronger matchday 23 as a result.
In the meantime, the review from Saturday afternoon's fixture will be relatively simple.
Australia simply can't afford to spurn clear try-scoring opportunities. They may get away with it against lesser teams, even one of the top five ranked nations on an off day.
But not against the All Blacks on a sunny afternoon. It was all too easy for New Zealand in Sydney. And an all-too-familiar outing for Wallabies fans who continue to long for something different.