Richie McCaw pushes aside the Australian defence. (Gallo Images)

Comment: Rob Houwing, Sport24 chief writer

Cape Town – First the very obvious bad news: the All Blacks certainly appear dead set on solidifying their current position as the top-ranked team in the world.

They were sometimes broadly irresistible, and deadly in finishing terms once again, as they deep-fried the Wallabies 49-28 in their Tri-Nations encounter in Melbourne on Saturday.

New Zealand now boast a maximum haul of 15 log points from three matches and if they don’t earn a single further point for the remaining half of their campaign (highly unlikely) it may even be enough to recapture the title.

Seven tries to three in the Aussie backyard, to go on top of successive big wins against the Springboks … it hardly gets better than that.

And in this very fact may lie a pinch of solace for embattled South Africa, perhaps also secretly relieved that they now have a better chance of ending runners-up rather than wooden-spoonists in 2010 – the Wallabies must yet play twice on the Highveld, no happy environment for them.

Are we seeing history repeating itself?

There’s the old joke, after all, of the All Blacks peaking between World Cups, and international rugby has had enough intriguing shifts in momentum in recent weeks to suggest that the see-saw could yet tilt back the other way ahead of, or at, the 2011 version.

There may even be an involuntary sense of unease - however minor right now - deep in the minds of Graham Henry, Richie McCaw and company about the situation a year out from the landmark event.

All of that noted, the All Blacks are hardly going to go out of their way to look like donkeys just because of historical trends, and they have taken their game to an impressive new level of late.

The key to it, I believe, is the way their forwards - and front five in particular - have sorted out their act in the primary phases after mostly playing second fiddle to the Boks in that area last year.

That was in evidence at the Etihad Stadium as they turned on the scrummaging heat against the Wallabies and also continued their gradual renaissance in the lineouts, where the inclusion of Tom Donnelly as veteran Brad Thorn’s lock partner has been of strong benefit to them.

The modern All Blacks have always looked purposeful and slick with ball in hand, but even more so now that there is front-foot oomph ensured by the hard-grafting and extremely cohesive pack.

If the Boks are to restart a “northward” curve in Soweto on August 21 and stave off a clean-sweep of defeats to New Zealand, it will be imperative that the men in the home boiler room come to the party.

It was also underlined on Saturday just how lethally McCaw comes into his own as both a ball-carrier and fetcher when his side have good thrust.

Indeed, he provided a classic example of the captain leading by personal inspiration, and John Smit was forcefully reminded why he has to crank his own game several notches in his likely, emotion-charged 100th appearance at Soweto.

McCaw rightfully getting man-of-the-match in Melbourne also offered a stark notice to the Bok brains trust: a genuine open-side “mole” is imperative, although the present state of affairs is not helped by Heinrich Brussow’s absence and now also injury to a potential candidate like the Bulls’ Deon Stegmann.

Speaking of loose forward issues, Juan Smith, the Cheetahs’ blindside flank firmly in the running for a Bok recall, left the field early in the second half of Saturday’s Absa Currie Cup match against the Sharks after a couple of bad bangs to the head and possibly concussion as a result – not good news for the national cause although there is still a bit of time to play with.

The All Blacks skipper completely eclipsed his opposite number David Pocock, who had been so effective seven days earlier against the Boks although he got away with some cases of near-murder from the referee on that occasion.

In fairness, Pocock came into his own a bit as the Wallabies showed some fightback spirit in the second half, and was also unlucky to be disallowed a try after the TMO’s “inconclusive” ruling on the grounding.

If there were other lessons for South Africa from this All Blacks victory, their ability to bring their wings into space was one, while some decisive line-busts by both fullbacks, the totally rejuvenated Mils Muliaina and Aussie Adam Ashley-Cooper, arguably heaped additional pressure on Bok incumbent Zane Kirchner.

He has looked too formulaic thus far in the Tri-Nations, while doing little glaringly wrong, and the time may have come to explore other avenues for the next outing.

The Melbourne match featuring all of 10 tries provided both warnings and hope to the Boks: clearly the Antipodean teams’ much-touted ball-in-hands philosophy is providing dot-down dividends, but also suggesting that defensive composure – especially by the Wallabies, mind – was not what it could have been.

That was a department the Boks prided themselves on last season, and there will be far less pizzazz from the All Blacks backs, you can be sure, if South Africa restore past stone-walling standards in three weeks’ time.

Above all, a maximum level of “gees” will be needed from the Springboks: there’s some formidable catch-up to do when you consider that they so recently lost by 17 points to the very team thumped by the All Blacks on Saturday.

Yes, it’s a formidable 38-point swing as things stand, although the same foes must first slug it out again in Christchurch next weekend.