Graham Henry has paid tribute to his side's composure under pressure after the All Blacks' thrilling Tri-Nations win over Australia.
Coach proud of All Blacks' composure in thrilling victory
New Zealand coach Graham Henry has paid tribute to his side's composure under pressure following their thrilling Tri-Nations win over Australia on Saturday.
After trailing for most of the match, flyhalf Dan Carter kicked the match-winning penalty two minutes from the end to seal a memorable 19-18 victory at the Olympic stadium.
The win, New Zealand's second over the Australians in this year's Tri-Nations, ensured they retained the Bledisloe Cup for another year.
"The Australians are a very good side and they really stretched us tonight and there was just a feeling of pride after the game for what the guys achieved," Henry said.
"Our guys showed a huge amount of intestinal fortitude. It just shows the guys have got the guts to hang in and keep going."
Constant pressure
After trailing 12-3 at halftime, the All Blacks kept the home side under constant pressure in the second half and scored the only try of the match through replacement centre Ma'a Nonu.
The result sees them retain second place in the Tri-Nations behind the South Africans, who remain undefeated in the competition.
"You've just got to keep believing," added All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw.
"That was a hell of a Test match, we really had to dig deep for that. There were times at the end when we let them back in but that's what Test rugby is all about."
Australia coach Robbie Deans also praised New Zealand's tenacity but admitted that the Wallabies only had themselves to blame for the defeat.
"It (victory) was there for us but we were just not quite there," he said. "We had a great opportunity but we came up short.
"The most obvious difference is experience. They're masters at getting home and we're working hard at acquiring that art.
"We're making headway but we haven't acquired it yet."
