Deans case for the defence

Australia coach Robbie Deans felt his side's strong defence was the difference between the sides as they beat New Zealand on Saturday.

The Wallabies came away from Sydney with a 34-19 Tri-Nations success, scoring four tries to the All Blacks three, meaning the Kiwis have now suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time since 2004.

Despite seeing a lot of the ball, New Zealand struggled to break down a stubborn and aggressive Aussie defence - a fact not lost on an ecstatic Australia coach.

"I'm very proud of the lads," he said. "A lot was asked of them. We didn't have a lot of possession there for long periods, we had to defend for long periods, but they did that well and created turnovers.

"When the All Blacks scored before half-time and then came back out and scored again that was a pretty tough mental test but the guys got up and responded and finished well."