Composure and defence were the key elements for the Wallabies, who beat New Zealand 34-19 in a thrilling Tri-Nations/Bledisloe Cup encounter in Sydney on Saturday.

The All Blacks twice came back — from 0-10 and later 5-17 — to lead 19-17 with half-an-hour to go at the ANZ Stadium.

But Australia scored 17 unanswered points to race to the top of the Tri-Nations standings and stretch their victory run under new coach Robbie Deans to five matches.

They have now beaten Ireland, France, World Cup champions South Africa and New Zealand since Deans took over as head coach.

And stand-in captain George Smith put their victory over trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand down to composure under pressure.

"I'm very proud of the boys," Smith said in the immediate aftermath of the four-tries-to-three victory in Sydney.

"They (the players) really dug deep," he said, adding that the calming influence of the new coach, Deans' helped settle the nerves when the Kiwis staged their magnificent fightback.

"Robbie (Deans) just told us to keep our composure, we recycled the ball and stop them behind the advantage line. He told us to be patient and stay composed. We did that and got some momentum — it worked out in the end," Smith said.

The Wallabies captain, standing in for the injured Stirling Mortlock, admitted the two tries the Kiwis scored — one just before the break and the other early in the second half — showed there is work to be done for Australia.

"Those were a couple of soft tries, but we'll learn from that in future. All round it was a great effort from the boys, they really stepped up after that and we came back to win it."

Smith was also full of praise for the defensive effort of the Wallabies.

"You saw the possession stats there," he said of New Zealand's dominance in the possession stakes.

The All Blacks had 73 percent possession, but 23 turnovers and 18 handling errors — most as a result of the pressure from the Wallabies' defensive efforts — saw most of that advantage eradicated.

"It was a great effort from the boys and I'm really proud of them," he said of the many tackles they made in a first half totally dominated by the Kiwis, adding: "It is great to get a win here in front of a great crowd."

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