The All Blacks won back the Bledisloe Cup courtesy of a 21-17 win over the Wallabies in an enthralling Tri-Nations encounter -- the final one in the 2003 competition -- at Eden Park in Auckland.
This match had a bit of everything, with the New Zealanders once again impressing when they sent the ball wide, but when the weather conditions worsened, both sides kept it tight as they tried to outwit each other when handling became that much tougher.
The Kiwis were deserved winners, which gave them a Tri-Nations clean-sweep -- the fourth squad to achieve this, after New Zealand in 1996 and 1997 and South Africa in 1998, but the Wallabies certainly pushed them to the very end, with a well-taken try from George Smith just six minutes from full-time, no doubt raising the ABs' stress-levels.
Smith's touchdown, Australia's only try of the day, came after incessant Wallaby pressure in the All Black 22 had gone unrewarded. Skipper George Gregan -- as he did in the Tri-Nations opener in Cape Town -- spurned kicking opportunities at goal, opting, instead, for tries.
The All Black defence, however, which leaked just six tries in four Tri-Nations fixtures, was once again up to it, with the Kiwis even launching a wonderful counter-attack from their own 22, threatening the Wallaby defence at that late stage.
But the Wallabies turned the ball over on the half-way line and when they sent the ball wide, with George Smith sending a neat pass out to Mat Rogers, the All Black defence became brittle, with a Gregan probe and pass freeing Smith on the left-wing for a try in the corner.
Inside centre Elton Flatley missed the near-touchline conversion, leaving the score at 21-17, but the New Zealanders held out and the final whistle was sounded as the self-same Flatley managed to break a tackle, only to see his wild pass not going to hand, signalling a scrum for the knock-on, which then became full-time.
The home side ran in two first-half tries, both from speedy right-wing Doug Howlett, with the Australians once again guilty -- as they were in Sydney -- of kicking the ball at the Kiwi back three and giving them enough time and space to run it back with interest.
Howlett's first try came directly from a stray Wallaby kick, as fullback Mils Muliaina ran the ball back, hooker Keven Mealamu ran into space perfectly and popped up a pass to Howlett, who glided over for yet another Test try.
Howlett then made history a few minutes later when he became the first All Black to score more than one try against the Wallabies at Eden Park when he chased a clever kick-ahead from Carlos Spencer after Jerry Collins had stolen the ball from an Australian ruck.
Spencer's chip, from the Wallaby 10-metre line, was well-weighted, giving Howlett enough time to hunt the ball down in the Australian deadball area, beating a helpless Elton Flatley to the ball in process.
Interestingly enough, that kick from Spencer was the 20th time New Zealand had put boot to ball. It was, however, the first time that they managed to regain the ball -- and how it mattered.
Spencer's conversion attempt hit the uprights, but a penalty from the Blues and Auckland first five-eighth took his side into a 15-9 lead -- Australia's points having come from three Elton Flatley penalties.
Wallaby coach Eddie Jones made an interesting substitution shortly before half-time, bringing on debutant tighthead prop Al Baxter for Glenn Panoho, the latter seemed sluggish around the park, but it mattered little as New Zealand stepped up a gear shortly before the half-time whistle, with Chris Jack coming very close to getting over on the stroke of half-time.
South African referee Jonathan Kaplan, who was playing advantage for a Wallaby infringement, needed the Television Match Official's help, but the request was turned down and the visitors could breath a sigh of relief.
A converted try would have given New Zealand a 22-9 half-time lead, and as it turns out Spencer missed the subsequent penalty attempt, leaving the score at the break at 15-9.
Man of the Match: Plenty of contenders here from both sides. Let us start with New Zealand, where Keven Mealamu, Chris Jack, Richie McCaw, Tana Umaga and Doug Howlett impressed. For Australia, David Giffin, Phil Waugh and George Smith all stood out. Our winner, however, is a Kiwi, with all-action hooker Keven Mealamu impressing in most facets of play. His line-out throwing was a bit off-colour at times, but his ball-carrying and support-play are a joy to witness. At times he moves like a flank, but, then, with the simple drop of his head he can transform himself into a powerful front rower.
Moment of the Match: The final whistle and New Zealand's celebrations. Despite the fact that these teams play against each other so often, the All Blacks' delight was evident as they managed to win back the Bledisloe Cup for the first time since 1997. It was a superb encounter, with plenty of power and skill on show, but the final whistle was a joy to behold.
Villain of the Match: The rain! It nearly spoilt this wonderful encounter ...
The Teams:
Australia: 1 Glenn Panoho, 2 Brendan Cannon, 3 Bill Young, 4 David Giffin, 5 Daniel Vickerman, 6 George Smith, 7 Phil Waugh, 8 Toutai Kefu, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Wendell Sailor, 12 Elton Flatley, 13 Mat Rogers, 14 Lote Tuqiri, 15 Chris Latham
Reserves: Matthew Burke, Owen Finegan, Matt Giteau, Jeremy Paul, Alastair Baxter, Nathan Sharpe
Unused: Chris Whitaker
New Zealand: 1 David Hewett, 2 Keven Mealamu, 3 Greg Somerville, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Ali Williams, 6 Richie McCaw, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Jerry Collins, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Carlos Spencer, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Aaron Mauger, 13 Tana Umaga, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 15 Mils Muliaina
Reserves: Leon MacDonald
Unused: Daniel Carter, Steve Devine, Marty Holah, Brad Thorn, Mark Hammett, Kees Meeuws
Attendance: 45000
Referee: Kaplan j.
Points Scorers:
Australia
Tries: Smith G.B. 1
Pen K.: Flatley E.J. 4
New Zealand
Tries: Howlett D.C. 2
Conv: Spencer C.J. 1
Pen K.: Spencer C.J. 3
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