What could have been.
For a 23rd consecutive year the All Blacks retain the Bledisloe Cup, while the Wallabies walk away from Eden Park defeated once more for a 38th straight year. But it came so very close to being a different story.
With 12 minutes on the clock, the raucous blackout crowd in the Eden Park stands fell silent as Wallabies back-rower Carlo Tizzano burrowed his way over the line at the back of a rolling maul to get the Wallabies within four. A James O'Connor conversion closed the gap to two.
Live shots of All Blacks coach Scott Robertson inside the coaches box showed just how nervous the coaching team was as the Wallabies edged their way towards what could have been a historic victory.
But Eden Park is their fortress for a reason. Just as the Wallabies looked to be gaining the ascendancy, closing the gap with the All Blacks, and reaching out to put one hand on the Bledisloe Cup, New Zealand found a way -- as they always manage to do -- arresting momentum with a spectacular Cam Roigard try to shut the Wallabies down once again and iced the match 33-24 with minutes left on the clock.
While the Wallabies will be leaving Eden Park contemplating what could have been, they'll take consolation out of the contest knowing they came within touching distance of pulling off an incredible upset and looked the better team for much of the encounter.
Once again Len Ikitau produced a standout performance for the side, clearly one of the best on the park with two influential touches leading to two scores, while Tom Hooper was immense over the breakdown, and James Slipper produced highlight reel tackles in his 150th Test while Fraser McReight was mighty in defence, leading the stats list with 24 tackles.
While the All Blacks looked vulnerable, their big guns stood tall too, with Roigard phenomenal in his return while Ardie Savea was once again a game breaker, earning a crucial breakdown penalty to end an incredible Wallabies movement that had them metres away from the tryline.
Meanwhile Italian referee Andrea Piardi will be put under the microscope after his performance that saw both sides wear several questionable decisions, especially throughout the second half which saw the Italian lack consistency with his breakdown decisions.
In what could be close to identical incidents, All Blacks lock Tupou Vai'i was awarded a breakdown penalty early in the second half, doing just enough to get his hands on the ball before he was cleaned out. Minutes later McReight appeared to do the same but was instead penalised for his actions, with the Wallabies struggling to get any decisions from the referee within the breakdown area. It would finally result in a yellow card to Harry Potter for hands in the ruck with many questioning if a ruck had formed.
"It's really hard because what we've perceived is inconsistencies and that that makes it that makes it difficult," Schmidt told Stan Sport after he was questioned about the refereeing decisions. "And then players are asking us questions and we get clarification afterwards.
"But I do think that we've got we've just got to be better at it at adapting to how the referee is refereeing and if you don't do that then you pay the price as we did today."
But while many will look to Piadri's interesting interpretation of the laws -- there will no doubt be some questions asked from Wallabies camp -- it simply can't be ignored that once again, the Wallabies were their own worst enemies in crucial moments of the match.
Two missed kicks for touch and a restart out on the full; schoolboy errors that are simply unforgiveable on the Test pitch. From Wallabies hero just weeks ago to villain -- how quickly things change -- James O'Connor will leave the Eden Park turf wondering what could have been if those simple, but crucial, moments had gone his way.
While he'll wear those calamitous errors, the Wallabies must also face a crucial issue that has plagued them all year.
As has been talked about endlessly, the Wallabies have battled to come out of the blocks firing, allowing their previous Rugby Championship opponents to shoot out to strong leads in the opening quarter. They did that once more as they struggled to get on the right side of Piadri early and allowed the All Blacks to dictate terms as Caleb Clarke, Leroy Carter, and Roigard crashed over within the opening 25 minutes to make it a 17-point deficit.
The Wallabies were sluggish, opening the door for the All Blacks to dominate the contact zone and while they struggled to find possession, the All Blacks played smart, patient rugby and maintained a stranglehold on the ball and territory, repeatedly marching their way up the park and into the Wallabies' red zone.
Joe Schmidt noted on Thursday that chasing the game was a position the Wallabies could ill-afford to find themselves in if they were to give themselves a chance of turning Perth into a decider. And he was exactly right as the Wallabies clawed their way back into the contest to sit 20-17 at the halftime break, only to fall short at the final hurdle once more.
"I'm proud of the way we stayed in the fight," Schmidt told Stan Sport postmatch. "I thought two points in it with 10 to go we're right in the fight. And after being 20 points to three down again early on again, it was on the back of a number of penalties when we got our chances, we didn't quite find touch with a couple of them which are our access points, but we put a couple of really good attacks together, great driving maul at the end to get within two points and other positives.
"We've got to keep building on those positives. The negatives, we're just going to look back at some of those. Some of those penalties really, because that one really hurt us.
"I think we missed a couple of opportunities not to allow them the breathing space to respond at 20 points to 17 at halftime. I honestly felt that if we could put some pressure on and get in front, their mental pressure would be something that they'd have to cope with. We never quite did that. Damien [McKenzie] built a little bit of breathing space for them and then we got within the two points as I mentioned."
While their courageous play and gritted determination is encouraging, they must also show they can adapt and change if they're to prove they're a world class team.
For now, it's 10 straight losses for the Wallabies against the All Blacks and another year of Bledisloe heartbreak.