Ewen McKenzie admits it's "back to the drawing board" after the mighty All Blacks chalked up their 100th Test win over the Wallabies - a commanding 47-29 victory - to leave Australia's Bledisloe Cup hopes in tatters.
It was a sorry case of new coach, same old Wallabies as the All Blacks piled on six tries to two at ANZ Stadium in an ominous opening to the world champions' Rugby Championship campaign.
No Dan Carter, no problems with McKenzie unable to replicate the feat of his coaching predecessor Robbie Deans and mastermind a win over Australia's trans-Tasman rivals in his first Test at the helm.
After entering the McKenzie era full of hope and excitement, the Wallabies face the grim prospect of watching the All Blacks hoist the Bledisloe Cup for a 12th straight year next Saturday in Wellington.
The Wallabies haven't beaten the All Blacks in New Zealand in 14 Tests since 2001 and, even if they find a way to break the long drought, the series will be decided at Dunedin's House of Pain on October 19.
Not since 1949 have the Wallabies won back-to-back Tests in New Zealand in the same year.
On Saturday night's showing, the Wallabies can kiss the Cup goodbye with the All Blacks schooling McKenzie's men in clinical execution.
Rookie fullback Jesse Mogg had a shocker, playmaker-cum-winger James O'Connor went missing to gift returning All Blacks captain Richie McCaw five points and Israel Folau barely touched the ball as Australia's grand plan to run the world champions ragged proved fanciful.
Mogg was hooked at the 58-minute mark after All Blacks centre Conrad Smith brushed him off to secure victory.
Asked if such an unflattering scoreline demanded team changes, McKenzie said: "You go back to the drawing board. You can't be happy. I'm not happy with the scoreline".
The Wallabies actually led 12-10 approaching the half hour, but too many fundamental errors brought them unstuck.
"You've got to respect possession," McKenzie said.
"We didn't control the ball and they were able to play and do some of the things they're good at, and you pay a price for that."
Australia had conjured just one try in their four previous Bledisloe clashes under Deans and, if not for a 70-metre solo effort from halfback Will Genia and a last-minute consolation five-pointer to O'Connor, they would have gone tryless once again.
While he couldn't be blamed for the defeat, uncapped five-eighth Matt Toomua was replaced midway through the second half as McKenzie threw mercurial playmaker Quade Cooper into the fray for his first Test after 11 months in exile under Deans.
But trailing by 18 points with as many minutes remaining, Cooper's task was mission impossible and it was the All Blacks, in fact, who continued their tryscoring avalanche upon his introduction.
Winger Ben Smith completed a tryscoring hat-trick eight minutes before fulltime.
Centre Christian Lealiifano kept the Wallabies in touch with five penalty goals but his charged-down kick for a try to man-of-the-match Aaron Cruden gave the All Blacks a lead on the half-hour that they wouldn't relinquish.
Despite the mountainous task facing his side, McKenzie refused to throw in the towel.
"I've been around the rugby scene for a long time. If you look at a lot of results, you'll see 70-point turnarounds in seven days," he said.
All Blacks coach Steve Hansen wasn't counting his chickens either.
"The Bledisloe Cup, you have to win twice," Hansen said.
"So we haven't done anything yet. We've only done a small part of the job and, until we win two, we don't own it."
