TWICKENHAM -- London. All Blacks centre Ma'a Nonu has paid tribute to his fellow departing superstars after they managed to bow out of Test rugby on the ultimate high - a Rugby World Cup triumph.

Nonu played a key role in the All Blacks' 34-17 victory over the Wallabies at Twickenham on Saturday night, the second five-eighth scoring a try just a few minutes after half-time that took the defending champions out to a 21-3 lead.

The All Blacks could do little then as the Wallabies worked their way back into the match following Ben Smith's yellow card, the Aussies scoring two tries in the 10 minutes the full-back was off the field.

But the All Blacks steadied, with Carter, in particular, proving a key figure as for the second straight week he nailed a momentum-shifting drop goal.

"I'll back DC any day; it's a matter of him backing himself really," Nonu said post-match. "I thought he just thrived the last three weeks really, (his) self-confidence. I thought he really wanted to have a good World Cup and I think he did that."

© MARTIN BUREAU/AFP/Getty Images

Carter's 69th minute drop goal halted the Wallabies' momentum while a long-range penalty virtually killed off Michael Cheika's side six minutes from time.

Earlier, skipper Richie McCaw and centre Conrad Smith had played key roles in the All Blacks' 16-3 half-time lead - the veteran duo helping to send Nehe Milner-Skudder over just before the break.

"Yeah it has its meaning in terms of personal meaning and I've just got to thank my family for being the cornerstone of my career really," Nonu said of his second Webb Ellis crown.

"And big ups to the boys, the likes of Richie and Dan, and especially my midfield partner Conrad; we've played a lot together and may not play again together really. So we probably see each other in December or January."

Nonu, Carter and Smith will all now head off to play in France and while McCaw is yet to publicly declare his intentions, it is expected that he will bow out from Test rugby on Saturday night's high.

Nonu said it had been difficult keeping things in perspective knowing the quality of players the All Blacks would be waving goodbye to after the final.

"I think up until this week we just had the focus of just really putting everything out there really on the pitch, especially in terms of what was happening after in terms of players leaving and we didn't want that to get in the way," he said.

"Our main motivation was to play for each other."