Showing little sympathy for the Wallabies, All Blacks coach Ian Foster says his team deserved the Bledisloe Cup banking successive wins for the first time this year by beating Australia in a Test match thriller.
Foster hailed his team's character after they snatched the trophy from the Wallabies' grasp with a try after full-time in Melbourne on Thursday night.
While it appeared the All Blacks got lucky with a contentious refereeing decision in the final minute that allowed them to set up the match-winner, Foster says they deserve the 39-37 victory.
It secured the trans-Tasman trophy for a 20th year in succession while also leaving them top of the Rugby Championship table.
Foster had little time for the Wallabies' plight.
He said part of game management was listening to the referee, backing the call by French whistle-blower Mathieu Raynal to ping the Wallabies for time-wasting.
Foster felt there were other decisions that went against his team so it was "swings and roundabouts".
"When a ref warns a player two or three times and they don't listen then you put everything in your own hands," he told reporters on Friday.
"Let's not forget all we won out of that was a scrum - we didn't win the game. We won the game with our next play.
"Do you feel for them? 'Course you do. It's the first time that's happened in some ways.
"That's the nature of the beast. It's nice being on the winning side of it.
"Overall in the match I feel we deserved to come out on the right side. We just did it the hard way."
Foster said while his team shouldn't have allowed an 18-point lead to slip, their resolve at the death showed the character of the players.
"There were some clear level heads that got the job done," he said.
"There was a whole lot of really good stuff in that game."
Raynal gave four yellow cards, including three to the Wallabies, in the see-sawing clash.
Foster was seething about Wallabies lock Darcy Swain, who has been cited for foul play for an ugly tackle that left centre Quinn Tupaea with a knee injury that will rule him out for at least three months.
Tupaea suffered a ruptured medial ligament and a partial rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in a knee although it is unclear if he requires surgery.
"We will wait to see if it's operable or it rehabs," Foster said.
The All Blacks are also set to be without centre David Havili for the return clash at Auckland's Eden Park next Saturday while skipper Sam Cane is in doubt.
The pair failed a head impact assessment when they clashed heads in the first half.
