It might be too early to pop the champagne corks just yet, but judging by the Wallabies performance in last night's opening Bledisloe Cup test, Australia's trophy cabinet should at least get a token run over with the feather duster this week.

The resounding 34-19 thumping of the All Blacks at ANZ Stadium had it all; superb tries, epic defence, controversy and injuries aplenty, but the most important thing Australia showed was character.

The epitome of this was the Wallabies ability to go forward without inspirational captain Stirling Mortlock, arguably a bigger loss than his opposite Richie McCaw.

Six players were making their Bledisloe Cup debut, but who would have known?

Across the park Australia were outstanding, particularly loose trio George Smith, Rocky Elsom and Wycliff Palu who simply blew their opponents off the park.

All Black openside Daniel Braid, playing his first test in five years, must surely have wondered whether it was worth the wait.
The best is yet to come.

Ryan Cross had a dream run at centre, filling Mortlock's massive boots, scoring the opening try and making a number of strong runs in the second half.

The league convert was admittedly marking fellow rookie Richard Kahui, in only his second test, but his performance last night indicated he could easily hold his own against some of the world's best centres.

Cross, like a true league trooper, never shies away on defence but it was his attacking nous that impressed many pundits.

His uncanny knack of being in the right place at the right time was evident in his opening try but even when there were no tries to be had he was forever making chances for his outsides.

In tandem with Berrick Barnes, Cross became part of a very efficient, dangerous looking backline that can only get better.

That, in fact, was the scary message right across the park from Robbie Deans' men.

They're only just starting to get to know each other and combinations are only just starting to click and yet in the last two weeks they have comfortably beaten the world champions and had a 15 point win over the mighty All Blacks.

The best is yet to come.

In comparison the All Blacks were simply awful last night, producing easily their worst performance under Graham Henry.

Flyhalf Dan Carter was absolutely outstanding but fought a lone and ultimately losing fight.

New Zealand made far too many handling eras and missed an exorbitant number of tackles.

It was an uncharacteristic performance but one that suggests, at least for now, the All Black juggernaut has hit a large speed bump in its quest for world dominance.

Without McCaw, they struggled for leadership, structure and heart and next week will be no easier, even at home, against this rampant Wallabies outfit.

The world has been warned; Australia is back.