Ma'a Nonu: 'New Zealand lacked passion against Australia'

New Zealand centre Ma'a Nonu has admitted that Australia showed more passion than the All Blacks during Saturday's Rugby Championship decider in Sydney.

The Wallabies won the tournament for the first time in their history thanks to a 27-19 triumph over the world champions at the ANZ Stadium.

Nonu, who missed the match with a shoulder injury, believes that the Aussies prevailed because they showed that they wanted the glory more than the three-time champions.

"They played well defensively, their kicking game was good as well and just their desire to really get into the game physically," he is quoted as saying by stuff.co.nz. "They showed the boys how passionate they were. I think we were out-passioned.

"I don't think we can hide away from what we saw at the weekend. If you look at how the Australians flew into those rucks, how physical they were, and just the way they played, everyone has seen that. That's pretty much the word I've used today."

New Zealand have the chance to get revenge over Australia this weekend when the sides face off in Auckland.