New Zealand coach Brian McClennan says his side's 38-28 win over Australia heralded the dawn of a new era.
McClennan was taking charge of the national team for the first time following his appointment as Daniel Anderson's successor in June.
"We were thinking about the future," said McClennan, who fielded three debutants in Sydney.
"We've got really good harmony in our team and I really believe every single member of our team deserves this."
The win was New Zealand's first victory in Sydney since 1959 and their first away triumph over Australia since 1991.
Although they secured an 18-0 lead early on, the visitors found themselves 22-18 down at the start of the second half.
But New Zealand hit back to score three tries in the closing 21 minutes.
Star of the show was NZ Warriors centre Clinton Toopi, who scored a fine hat-trick to guide New Zealand to victory.
"I'm over the moon," he said. "To come here, where we haven't won in so many years, and to get the win is just great, unbelievable.
"It was a tough first 40 minutes. We got a good lead, then Australia had the ball for a whole 20 minutes and we just had to defend.
"But we did that and came through. We knew we had to work hard and stay strong."
Scrum-half Stacey Jones, who has come out of retirement to play in the opening two games of the Tri-Nations, also played an influential role and kicked seven goals from seven attempts.
"Even when we gave the lead away we knew we could come back," he said. "We just had a great preparation and we knew it was going to be a great night."
The teams do battle again in Auckland next week, withNew Zealand skipper Reuben Wiki urging his side to retain their focus.
"We've got to calm down because we've got to back it up next week," he said. "We made a bit of history in Sydney but we have to keep our minds on the job."
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We've got to calm down because we've got to back it up next week
