Austrlia 22 - 23 New Zealand: Wallabies left to lick their wounds after All Blacks catch them cold

New Zealand's sweep of the Tri-Nations affirmed their status as rugby's top dogs but Australia's rapid improvement in the tournament suggests an All Blacks' World Cup victory may not be a foregone conclusion.

The Wallabies' gut-wrenching 23-22 loss in the final Tri-Nations match in Sydney on Saturday condemned them to a record streak of ten defeats to the All Blacks.

It also left them with lingering doubts about their ability to land a killer blow against their bitter arch-rivals with the World Cup in New Zealand just a year away. However, despite the disappointing conclusion in Sydney, surrendering a late 13-point lead after dictating much of the play, the Wallabies emerged from the tournament with a greater resolve and the number two ranking pilfered from South Africa.

"Two out of six is obviously disappointing, but I think to play the game that we did... does show that we've come a long way and it shows that if we just keep working and keep building we'll get there," said scrum-half Will Genia. Playing havoc with coach Robbie Deans's selections, a number of injuries to key players have actually proved an unlikely blessing for the Wallabies, with their replacements stepping up and in some cases blossoming. Quade Cooper, who was given his start on the season-ending northern hemisphere tour last year after an ankle injury to Berrick Barnes, has made the flyhalf position his own and looms as a threat with both hand and foot in tandem with Genia. The losses of Digby Ioane, Rob Horne and Peter Hynes hurt Australia's back line, but also allowed youngster James O'Connor to show his versatility out wide, while Adam Ashley-Cooper's shift outside centre Matt Giteau has shored up the defence.

Meanwhile, Skipper Richie McCaw says the ability of his fellow senior players to rise to the occasion when the pressure was on proved the difference in New Zealand's win.

As always McCaw, who led the All Blacks out to battle for the 52nd time to surpass Sean Fitzpatrick as the most capped Kiwi captain in history, played a leading role in the victory after scoring the match-turning try after 67 minutes. But typically, the 29-year-old was quick to deflect the praise onto his team-mates. "When you get in situations like that out there the key is to be composed and keep believing in what you're doing," he explained."When it came down to having to get things right, the guys that you expect to do that were putting their hand up and that's what I see as pleasing."

Bemused Wallabies coach Robbie Deans was adamant McCaw should have been penalised for prematurely detaching from the scrum in the lead up to his match-turning try.

"Well there was one clever play by the All Blacks which obviously was the defining one, and they're clever, they're clever the way they stay a step ahead of the adjudication," Deans said when asked if there was a specific moment that turned the tide in the Kiwis' favour.

Asked if the All Blacks got the rub of the green, he replied: "In that instance, yeah."