The side broke the record for most consecutive wins for a tier one nation, clocking up its 18th win in a row on Saturday night, when it beat the Wallabies 37-10 in Auckland.
It was a convincing victory in the end, the game going to its usual pattern of late, when the All Blacks pulled away in the final 15 minutes.
All Black coach Steve Hansen said the Wallabies had given his side a very tough game but in some ways that was the way it should be, in breaking the record.
"If you were in our changing room then you would know the boys have been through the mill and it was a very tough game," Hansen said.
"If you want to break a record then this is the sort of game you would want, so you can be proud of the record. We are very proud we have got to 18 but we did not do it easy. It took until the 60th, 65th minute mark before we got on top."
The turning point came when Australia was denied a try for a shepherd on defender Julian Savea early in the second half.
When that try was scrubbed out, the momentum switched to the All Blacks and the home side pulled away.
All Black captain Kieran Read said the match felt like a final with the record at stake.
"It was game that had a lot on it. The boys are feeling pretty stoked, happy ... to be able to put the icing on the cake in a tough test match was the most pleasing thing about it," Read said.
The All Blacks were sloppy in the first half but led 15-7 at the break through taking opportunities and a nice charged-down kick by TJ Perenara.
The side then pulled away in the second half and big winger Julian Savea scored two tries with some strong runs down the flank.
Savea looked strong throughout, as was Perenara. Matt Todd was tigerish throughout the match while hooker Dane Coles was energetic as ever.
In response to an outburst from Wallabies coach Michael Cheika, Hansen said the All Blacks totally respected the Australians and said you had to ignore outside influences.
"You do not want to take it to heart, otherwise it will break you. We have got no control over what the media do.
"As for inviting them [Wallabies] into the changing room, there is an open invitation after every game we play. We don’t get an invite over there. If they want to come in, they are welcome to come in. In previous games they have."
Referee calls — good or bad — happened in every game.
"It is swings and roundabouts. That is what rugby is about. Sometimes decisions don’t go your way. You can’t get all sulky about it. You’ve got to man up and say that is what has happened. It is a hard game to ref. Sometimes you get things right and sometimes you don’t.
"You’ve just got to accept what happened out on the park, go away and say what can we do to get better? That is what we do every week.
"We respect them [Wallabies] immensely. Just because there is an immense contest over the years and things happen it does not mean you don’t respect them.
"We went to war with these guys. At what point does wining meaning you’re not respecting them?’"
Hansen said the next goal was to beat the winning record of 24 hames, set by Cyprus.
"That is the next horizon, isn’t it? We’ll have to win all the games between now and then the Lions series. So that is a big challenge. Cyprus should be congratulated for it. I don’t care what level you are at, to win 24 in a row is impressive."
All Blacks v Wallabies
The scores
All Blacks 37
Julian Savea 2, Israel Dagg, Anton Lienert-Brown, TJ Perenara, Dane Coles tries; Aaron Cruden 2 con, pen)
Wallabies 10
Rory Arnold try; Bernard Foley con, pen).
Halftime: 15-7. Crowd: 47,744