All Blacks coaches Wayne Smith and Tony Gilbert have started a major repair job on their team after their 15-23 Bledisloe Cup and Tri-Nations Test loss to Australia in Dunedin on Saturday.

Their major task was to soothe the team's extreme disappointment and get them into the right frame of mind for the next clash against the Springboks in Auckland on August 25.

"We have to regather, keep the heads up and keep working on the character and spirits, so that we go ahead with confidence to take on the Boks," Smith said on Sunday.

"It's a loss, it's a glitch but they've shown a lot of character this year. We've just got to get the spirits up. The measure of the team is how you perform after a loss."

Smith said the All Blacks traditionally bounced back after losses and he was determined to see that continue.

As the All Blacks set about fixing their battered bodies and spirits, the Wallabies flew home with the Bledisloe Cup and a win that nudged them to the top of the Tri-Nations competition with five points, one better than the All Blacks and the Springboks.

The victory gave the Wallabies their first win in 11 Tests in Dunedin stretching back to 1905. Their elation at the final whistle told the story of a memorable victory.

It also presented captain John Eales with a fitting farewell in his last Test abroad.

"We were five points down almost immediately (in Saturday's game), but no-one looked at anyone on the field to say `okay, let's change this' or `let's do that'," Eales said.

"That's the mark of a mature team. We kept calm and maintained our composure. We knew we had the right game to kick on with."

For the All Blacks, the loss was their first at Carisbrook since 1971 against the British Lions. "We quite simply made too many errors," Smith said. "They were costly errors."

Both the Australian tries, the first by fullback Matt Burke and the second a penalty try awarded by Englishman Steve Lander, resulted from New Zealand's errors.

The Wallabies won an All Blacks lineout and Burke showed his brilliance by kicking over the defence and scoring.

Then in the second half, No 8 Ron Cribb took out winger Joe Roff, who was chasing a kick over the line. That possession had resulted from halfback Justin Marshall's indecision when he handed the ball to captain Anton Oliver, who wasn't expecting it.

The hooker went into the tackle high and the Wallabies turned over possession. Flyhalf Steve Larkham kicked through low for Roff to chase.

"You've got to take your hat off to the Aussies. They were well organised and well rehearsed, and restricted a lot of our play," Smith said.

"They made us pile quite a few in numbers in the breakdown."

While the All Blacks scrum held and the lineout improved, they were beaten by the Australians on the ground at breakdowns. Australia were more efficient in recycling and adept at slowing down the New Zealand ball.

"They used the kicks very effectively, they kicked a lot more, we didn't have that," flanker Taine Randell said.

"We didn't hold on to the ball. We got penalised too much for holding on and our play around the ruck wasn't good enough.

"The person taking the ball in has to get it back properly, our clean-out wasn't great."

Oliver was also under fire on Sunday for the questionable decision to not take a penalty kick for goal in the last minute which would have given the All Blacks a Tri-Nations bonus point. He stood by the decision, saying he preferred to try and win the match.

The loss overshadowed Jonah Lomu's second-minute try in his 50th test. Andrew Mehrtens also played his 50th - off the bench.

Marshall and Cribb are in danger of losing their Test places in Auckland after yet another average performance.

But Smith wouldn't say. "We don't want to panic and make decisions in a rush," he said.

The Byron Kelleher and Mehrtens combination at scrumhalf/flyhalf looked sharper than the Marshall-Tony Brown pairing when changes were made.

The All Blacks will stay in Dunedin until Wednesday and re-assemble in Auckland next Monday.