All Blacks thrash Wallabies to put one hand on trophy

The All Blacks put one hand on the Rugby Championship trophy with a convincing 40-14 bonus victory over an error-prone and ill-disciplined Wallabies side at Auckland's Eden Park on Saturday.

The victory means the Springboks will also need to secure a bonus point and beat Argentina by at least 39 points in the final match of the championship in Durban later on Saturday to take the title back to South Africa.

New Zealand hammered the Australians at the breakdown and a Will Jordan score supplemented by a penalty try helped them to a comfortable 17-0 lead after a fractious first half which saw two Wallabies sent to the sin bin.

All Blacks skipper Sam Whitelock crossed for a third try soon after the break and hooker Codie Taylor and his replacement Samisoni Taukei'aho added further five-pointers to give the Springboks an imposing target.