Wallabies coach Michael Cheika has lambasted his side's defending in the 54-34 defeat to the All Blacks in their Rugby Championship opener in Sydney on Saturday.

The All Blacks blew their trans-Tasman rivals out of the water in the first half with a dazzling display of attacking rugby to lead 40-6 at the break.

And after 48 minutes, the score was 54-6 but the Wallabies gained some respectability in the final half-hour with four unanswered tries.
But Cheika believes his side's defensive effort was 'simply not good enough'.

"It was pretty plain to see that our defence wasn't good enough at all," Wallabies coach Michael Cheika told IOL.
"The adherence to the way we wanted to defend plus the tackling in itself has got to be better.

"That first part of the game is not at the level that you can be at all."