Australia 19 South Africa 18

Wallaby wing Stirling Mortlock landed a penalty goal ten minutes into additional time to give Australia a thrilling 19-18 victory over South Africa, as well as the Tri-Nations crown for the first time in their proud history.

Only minutes previously, South Africa stand-off Braam van Straaten had slotted a monstrous 52-metre penalty that set up the almost unbearable tension at Durban's Kings Park.

However, while there may have been tension, there was very little evidence of flair and excitement.

When both the Australian and South African camps warned that this Tri-Nations would not be as spectacular as last week, they certainly weren't kidding.  No one realistically expected another dazzling 10-try bonanza, but neither were they prepared for the grim slog that followed.

In stark contrast to the Ellis Park game a week before, this was a game dominated by myriad mistakes and turnovers, some pretty mindless kicking and an extraordinary high number of scrums and set pieces.

Amidst all that, the Springboks had a wonderful opportunity to finally win against Australia this week.  They pinched three lineouts from the mighty Wallaby locks and had the advantage of playing a man to the good when Australian replacement Matt Cockbain was sin binned for a bit of thuggery.

He had been on the field for less than 60 seconds during the second half when he was sent to the sin bin for unleashing a flurry of punches at the fallen Rassie Erasmus.  However, whereas last week against New Zealand when fate smiled on the struggling Springboks, they found the going substantially tougher today against a solid and uncompromising Australia.

For South Africa, the clever overhead kicks bounced awry, the grubbers ended up in Wallaby hands and the gaps that Robbie Fleck and Co. had surged through in Johannesburg were just no longer there.  They were discovering that Australia were a far tougher proposition that New Zealand.

Unlike the fireworks at Ellis Park, the opening half of this Tri-Nations was a dour affair.  South Africa were awarded a penalty as early as the third minute when the Wallabies went off-side, and Braam van Straaten converted.  The Boks, though, were lucky to get the three points after an official failed to notice Fleck's ridiculously late challenge on Joe Roff after the whistle had gone.

From the kick-off, the 'Boks were penalised and Stirling Mortlock levelled the score.  He put Australia in the lead minutes later when Werner Swanepoel and Thinus Delport made a hash of clearing the ball in their own 22.

Matters could have been even worse for the home side were it not for desperate tackling and the clever footwork of Breyton Paulse in his own in-goal area.  On the other wing though, Chester Williams' senses temporarily took leave of him.

Having won a penalty, Williams took a quick-tap and tried to run out of his own half.  Alas, he succeeded only in knocking on.  In the mad-rush to defend, the Boks went off-side, but Mortlock somehow construed to hook the penalty left of the poles from virtually point blank range.

To add to the home woes, Charl Marais' lineout throwing went AWOL again, squandering vital attacking opportunities.

The tide almost turned though when Rassie Erasmus pounced on a stray George Gregan pass and surged towards the line in a tangle of bodies.  TV ref Jonathon Kaplan, however, decided against a try and instead the action moved to the Bok side of the field.

Then just before half-time as Wallaby eplacement hooker Jeremy Paul took a quick tap, rumbled forward and put fullback Chris Latham away in the left corner for what would turn out to be the only try of the corner.  Although Van Straaten pulled a penalty back, South Africa trailed 13-6 going into the break.

The Springbok stand-off slotted another penalty immediately after the break and then the Boks achieved the unheard of;  they won a lineout on Wallaby ball.

So upset was Cockbain, who had been on the field for an entire minute, that he decided to vent his frustrations on Rassie Erasmus' face.  Erasmus had taken over the captaincy when Andre Vos failed to emerge from the tunnel after the break, and he in turn had to hand it over to Corne Krige in order to have his face cleaned up.

Cockbain received a yellow card for his efforts, but the Boks showed that they were not adverse to the rough stuff straight after the kick-off following Van Straaten's penalty.

When the maul cleared, Jim Williams was prone on the turf, and Mortlock extended the lead to four points once more.

It was back to one point when Van Straaten slotted an effort from 45 metres out, before lining up the monster penalty that almost denied Australia their victory.

However, Stirling Mortlock who has been such a points scoring machine all season, stepped up, held his nerve and slotted a kick over from a tricky angle to hand Australia the win and the title.

Man of the match:  A close-call between Rassie Erasmus and Mortlock, but the Aussie gets the nod -- not only because Australia won, but mainly because it took enormous nerve to slot that penalty in front of a baying Kings Park grandstand.

Moment of the match:  That penalty from Mortlock.  At last the Wallabies proved that they could win a test in South Africa.

Villain of the match:  Probably Matt Cockbain who did his reputation, in South Africa at least, no good by indulging in the rough stuff.  His attack on Erasmus could have cost the Aussies the Test and could arguably resulted in a red card instead of the yellow.

The teams:

Australia:  1 Richard Harry, 2 Michael Foley, 3 Fletcher Dyson, 4 John Eales (c), 5 David Giffin, 6 Mark Connors, 7 David Wilson, 8 Jim Williams, 9 George Gregan, 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Stirling Mortlock, 12 Dan Herbert, 13 Jason Little, 14 Joe Roff, 15 Chris Latham
Reserves:  Matt Cockbain, Rod Kafer, Toutai Kefu, Jeremy Paul, Glenn Panoho, Ben Tune
Unused:  Sam Cordingley

South Africa:  1 Robbie Kempson, 2 Charl Marais, 3 Cobus Visagie, 4 Mark Andrews, 5 Andre Venter, 6 Johan Erasmus, 7 Corne Krige, 8 Andre Vos (c), 9 Werner Swanepoel, 10 Braam Van Straaten, 11 Breyton Paulse, 12 Grant Esterhuizen, 13 Robbie Fleck, 14 Chester Williams, 15 Thinus Delport
Reserves:  John Smit, Warren Brosnihan, Ollie Le Roux, Albert Van Den Bergh
Unused:  Jaco Van Der Westhuizen, Percy Montgomery, Joost Van Der Westhuizen

Referee:  Honiss p.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Latham C.E. 1
Conv:  Mortlock S.A. 1
Pen K.:  Mortlock S.A. 4

South Africa
Pen K.:  Van Straaten A.J.J. 6

New Zealand 40 South Africa 46

At a pulsating Ellis Park the Springboks shook off a run of poor results to record a stunning 46-40 win over hot-favourites New Zealand.

In all, the Springboks ran in six tries to the All Blacks' four, securing for the Boks their highest tally against the old enemy, and their first victory since beating England in June.

Ever since the horrors of the Antipodes, coach Nick Mallett and his players have had to endure criticism and even ridicule as they battled to convince a sceptical public, let alone SARFU, that they were on the right track.

In the build-up to the game, Mallett said that he felt that his side deserved a win.  In Johannesburg this evening, there won't be many to disagree.  The Boks played with a passion and commitment that characterised Mallett's early reign in charge.

That the Boks may not have any chance of winning the 2000 Tri-Nations is neither here nor there.  What matters is that the Boks, to all intents and purposes, are back and finally a worthy opponent in this year's Tri-Nations.

While the second half failed to live up to frantic scoring of the first (how could it possibly?) the intensity was undiminished.  For long stages in the second period it was as though the Stadium was holding its breath as the Kiwis refused to give up, always smashing their way back into the reckoning.

As expected, it was Christian Cullen who spearheaded the All Black advance and, had he not left the field midway through the second half, may have turned it around for the Kiwis.

Before the game Mallett warned that kicking a ball down Cullen's throat spelt trouble.  From the first set piece, that is exactly what Werner Swanepoel did.  The All Blacks countered and the Boks conceded a penalty which Andrew Mehrtens converted.

The Boks, though, countered immediately.  From a Bok scrum on the Kiwi 22, Andre Vos picked up from the base, creating an extra man in Swanepoel.  He slipped through a tackle, drew another defender before sending the ball wide to Chester Williams.  The right wing, starting his first Test since 1995, easily rounded Cullen to score South Africa's first try since the inaugural Mandela Cup in Sydney in June.

Mehrtens kicked the restart directly out and the Boks were on the attack again.  Cullen sliced the clearance and Charl Marais managed to find Mark Andrews in the line-out.  The ball passed down the line and Robbie Fleck nipped between the defence to give the Boks an unbelievable start and a 14-3 lead.

Two minutes later, Thinus Delport failed to gather a Braam van Straaten pass.  Mehrtens picked it up, handing on to Tana Umaga who strolled over to close the gap.

The frenetic toing-and-froing continued as Justin Marshall uncharacteristically fumbled at the scrum.  The Boks turned it over and Fleck skipped past Taine Randell without breaking a sweat to dot down for his second.

The Boks though weren't done yet.  Corne Krige made a blinding break from within his own half, almost outstripping the entire New Zealand defence before being brought to ground metres from the line.  The Boks put on an almighty push, with Swanepoel darting round the side of the maul for a 26-13 lead.

Then enter Delport;  South Africa's most exciting player of the Super 12 finally came good at his home ground.  The fullback received the ball in his own half and, ala the Cats versus Highlanders game, slipped through tackles until finally rounding Cullen.

Cullen however made up for those defensive lapses immediately, hammering through a South African gap.  South Africa were further let down when Marais let Umaga through for the simplest of tries as the hooter sounded, with the Boks leading 33-27.

After the break, Cullen turned on the pace to score a brilliant try in the corner.  It signalled a period of sustained pressure on the Bok line.  To their credit, the Boks soaked it all up and when Williams turned Leon MacDonald and Esterhuizen kicked into touch, the relief was almost palpable.

It was short-lived however, as Mehrtens sunk a drop-goal from 35m out to silence the crowd.

Down 39-40 with 10 minutes on the clock, Van Straaten set off on a wonderful break, punching a huge hole through the Kiwi tacklers.  From the breakdown, John Smit almost bulldozed over before Swanepoel once again twisted over for the try that finally gave the Boks victory.

Man of the match It was a close call between Fleck and Swanepoel.  Fleck came into particular censure and only won his place through injury to De Wet Barry.  Despite playing at inside centre, Fleck was magnificent, his darting breaks a constant thorn in the New Zealander's side.  This much-valued accolade though goes to "Smiley" Swanepoel for his two tries, his clever kicks over the top and his incredible work rate.

Villain of the match That part of the western grandstand that pelted officials with bottles.  They showed how superior they were to the Kiwis in Wellington by mimicking their actions when they disagreed with a decision.

Moment of the match For any South African.  That final whistle from Andrew Cole.  What blessed relief.

The Teams:

New Zealand:  1 Carl Hoeft, 2 Anton Oliver, 3 Kees Meeuws, 4 Todd Blackadder (c), 5 Norm Maxwell, 6 Josh Kronfeld, 7 Taine Randell, 8 Ron Cribb, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Andrew Mehrtens, 11 Jonah Lomu, 12 Pita Alatini, 13 Alama Ieremia, 14 Tana Umaga, 15 Christian Cullen
Reserves:  Troy Flavell, Leon MacDonald, Greg Somerville, Mark Hammett, Scott Robertson
Unused:  Tony Brown, Byron Kelleher

South Africa:  1 Ollie Le Roux, 2 Charl Marais, 3 Cobus Visagie, 4 Mark Andrews, 5 Andre Venter, 6 Johan Erasmus, 7 Corne Krige, 8 Andre Vos (c), 9 Werner Swanepoel, 10 Braam Van Straaten, 11 Breyton Paulse, 12 Grant Esterhuizen, 13 Robbie Fleck, 14 Chester Williams, 15 Thinus Delport
Reserves:  John Smit, Jaco Van Der Westhuizen, Warren Brosnihan, Willie Meyer, Albert Van Den Bergh
Unused:  Percy Montgomery, Joost Van Der Westhuizen

Attendance:  57250
Referee:  Cole a.

Points Scorers:

New Zealand
Tries:  Cullen C.M. 2, Umaga T.J.F. 2
Conv:  Mehrtens A.P. 4
Pen K.:  Mehrtens A.P. 3
Drop G.:  Mehrtens A.P. 1

South Africa
Tries:  Delport G.M. 1, Fleck R.F. 2, Swanepoel W. 2, Williams C.M. 1
Conv:  Van Straaten A.J.J. 5
Pen K.:  Van Straaten A.J.J. 2

Australia 24 New Zealand 23

Christian Cullen and Andrew Mehrtens claimed the records but the Wallabies claimed the Bledisloe Cup through a dramatic injury-time penalty goal by their heroic captain John Eales gave Australia a 24-23 win in another blockbusting trans-Tasman rugby test at Wellington's WestpacTrust Stadium.

Three weeks after the All Blacks won the Greatest Test Ever 39-35 in Sydney, the world champion Wallabies won this one 24-23 after trailing from the 35th minute and appearing to be down and out.

But the never-say-die Aussies stole two lineouts in injury time to stay alive.  And when replacement prop Craig Dowd infringed in a ruck, the opportunity to steal a fairytale victory presented itself.

Because the team's goalkicker Stirling Mortlock had been replaced, the responsibility for one of the most important kicks in the history of the game fell to Eales.

From 15 metres in on the 22, on an afternoon when goalkicking was challenging because of the swirling breeze, Eales raised the flags -- to the absolute delight of his colleagues and the dismay of the All Blacks.

Eales hadn't landed a goal for Australia since 1998 but must have known something was coming up because he practiced goalkicking diligently at training on Friday.

So much rested on this one kick.  It secured the Bledisloe Cup, which Australia had held since 1998, it brought the Wallabies level with the All Blacks in the Tri-nations championship and, of course, it allowed Rod Macqueen's men to justify their status as world champions.

Eales admitted afterwards he thought the game was lost as time ran out.  "We got away with it, albeit through a penalty goal.  The All Blacks won in the last minute in Sydney and we managed it here.  It was another very special game and we admire the way the All Blacks are playing the game."

In the reverse of the Sydney encounter, it was the Wallabies who established the early advantage this time, leading 12-0 after 16 minutes through well-taken tries by Stirling Mortlock (who is becoming a first-try specialist) and Joe Roff.

But just like Sydney, back came the other team and in a flash the amazing Christian Cullen bagged a brace of tries to put the All Blacks in front.

Those two five-pointers give Cullen eight for the year and put him equal with Jeff Wilson on 39 Test tries, the record for New Zealand.

Before halftime, Mehrtens was also among the records, his first penalty goal taking him past Grant Fox's mark of 645 as the All Blacks' most prolific Test pointscorer.

The All Blacks were ahead 20-18 at halftime and in a desperately tight second half kept their noses in front until those frantic final few moments.

When referee Jonathan Kaplan indicated two minutes to play, the Wallabies were under their goalposts, a million miles away from the zone they needed to be in to salvage the match.

But encouraged by their captain Eales they dug deep.  When they stole a lineout on their own 22, flyhalf Stephen Larkham bravely kicked deep.

It was a calculated gamble with only seconds remaining, but he knew Australia's best chance of creating something was inside All Black territory.

Came the final lineout and once again Australia pilfered poor Mark Hammett's throw.  It gave them the opportunity to launch one last attack, at which, to the despair of an entire nation, the All Blacks infringed, allowing Eales to slot the winning goal.

The All Blacks will be enormously disappointed but they still have a chance to win the Tri-nations title, currently being locked on 10 points with Australia.

New Zealand has to play South Africa in Johannesburg while Australia will meet them (in the final game of the series) at Durban.

Australia's heroes, besides Eales, were playmaker Larkham, powerful centre Daniel Herbert and ever-enterprising fullback Chris Latham.

New Zealand's best were captain Todd Blackadder, flanker Josh Kronfeld, centre Tana Umaga and the tryscoring freak Christian Cullen.

The team, without a specialist openside flanker on the reserves bench, sorely missed Kronfeld when he limped off with an ankle injury in the 56th minute.

Man of the match:  Wallaby captain John Eales, without a shadow of a doubt.  Eales showed why he is considered as one of the best footballers on the planet when he stepped up to slot the three-pointer that gave Australia victory and secured them the Bledisloe Cup for the third successive season.

Moment of the match:  The moment Eales' kick sailed through the uprights the whole Australian team were off their feet in jubilation.  They had done it yet again, with captain Eales the man of the moment.

Villain of the match:  The two villains, in this case, were All Black hookers Anton Oliver and Mark Hammett, who both missed their jumpers regularly.  Hammett's last two throws were poached by the Wallabies and the final lineout eventually led to the match-winning penalty.

The teams:

Australia:  1 Richard Harry, 2 Michael Foley, 3 Fletcher Dyson, 4 John Eales (c), 5 David Giffin, 6 Toutai Kefu, 7 David Wilson, 8 Jim Williams, 9 George Gregan, 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Stirling Mortlock, 12 Dan Herbert, 13 Jason Little, 14 Joe Roff, 15 Chris Latham
Reserves:  Mark Connors, Jeremy Paul, Ben Tune
Unused:  Matt Cockbain, Rod Kafer, Glenn Panoho, Sam Cordingley

New Zealand:  1 Carl Hoeft, 2 Anton Oliver, 3 Kees Meeuws, 4 Todd Blackadder (c), 5 Norm Maxwell, 6 Josh Kronfeld, 7 Taine Randell, 8 Ron Cribb, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Andrew Mehrtens, 11 Jonah Lomu, 12 Pita Alatini, 13 Alama Ieremia, 14 Tana Umaga, 15 Christian Cullen
Reserves:  Tony Brown, Craig Dowd, Mark Hammett, Byron Kelleher, Reuben Thorne
Unused:  Troy Flavell, Leon MacDonald

Attendance:  36500
Referee:  Kaplan j.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Mortlock S.A. 1, Roff J.W.C. 1
Conv:  Mortlock S.A. 1
Pen K.:  Mortlock S.A. 3, Eales J.A. 1

New Zealand
Tries:  Cullen C.M. 2
Conv:  Mehrtens A.P. 2
Pen K.:  Mehrtens A.P. 3

Australia 26 South Africa 6

So concerned was Wallaby coach Rod Macqueen about his side's goal-kicking that he seriously considered using lock and skipper John Eales in Saturday night's Tri-Nations clash against South Africa at Stadium Australia.  But his last-minute decision to persevere with ACT Brumbies ace Stirling Mortlock paid handsome dividends as the youngster landed six-from-six and a try for a personal tally of 21 points in Australia's grinding 26-6 victory.

The Springboks may have come out blazing, with a stray boot opening up Wallaby No.8 Jim Williams' head in the first minute, but it was the Australians who opened the scoring, when winger Mortlock landed a penalty after two minutes.

Williams recovered and three minutes later flyhalf Stephen Larkham split the Boks' defence in a movement that eventually saw the big Wallaby No.8 bundled into touch near the left-hand corner flag.

Larkham was at it again soon after when he sent the ball wide for Herbert, who placed a well-wighted kick into the South African 22.  New Bok fullback Thinus Delport collected the ball and his opposite Chris Latham at the same time and Latham managed to drive Delport backwards for a five metre scrum.

But for all their spirit and endeavour, the Wallabies couldn't capitalise and in the 10th minute Springbok flyhalf Braam van Straaten levelled the scores with a well-struck penalty goal.  Australia 3 South Africa 3.

Throughout the week the Australian and South African press corps repeatedly sang the praises of Larkham.  Even Bok coach Nick Mallett referred to Larkham as the main danger to his side's success, while van Straaten copped abuse for his performance against the All Blacks a week ago.  Van Straaten reacted by stating that he thought he played well at Christchurch, but when during an interview on Wednesday, Larkham's name popped up again, Van Straaten stormed off in frustration.

In the early stages at Stadium Australia Van Straaten played like a man possessed.  He took the ball to the line and his forwards were at his side; time and again pressing the Wallaby defence.

Cheeky halfback Werner Swanepoel joined in on the act and his sniping around the scrumbase and the rucks and mauls proved a menace to Australia.  But as in Christchurch last week, the Boks couldn't cross the line.

The Wallabies in the 12th minute showed their intricate handling skills when Larkham twice looped and handled in a movement that ended when Latham was tackled into touch.

Two minutes later rugged Bok flanker Andre Venter (playing his 50th Test) was unlucky to be penalised for a late charge on Larkham.  Mortlock goaled for a 6-3 lead.

At this stage, the game was all cut and thrust, with neither side giving any quarter, but it was fast becoming obvious that the Wallabies were gathering some momentum and the ascendancy.

Van Straaten landed a penalty for 6-all after referee Ed Morrison ruled against Wallaby centre Daniel Herbert for a high tackle on Delport.  On reflection, the call was a harsh one, but probably evened things up for Morrison's ruling against Venter for his alleged late charge on Larkham.

The Wallabies continued to attack and their confidence increased as the game wore on.  In the 23rd minute that man Williams again charged onto the ball, only to be held up over the line.  It seemed inevitable the Australians would eventually score.

And four minutes later, Mortlock, who had been the Aussies' go-go man, did the honours after some superb lead-up work by centre Daniel Herbert.  Herbert took a pass from Larkham on the angle, committing De Wet Barry to the tackle.  Larkham doubled round and kept the movement going with a slick pass to inside-centre Jason Little.

Little handed to winger Joe Roff who found Mortlock on his outside.  Herbert's ability to commit Barry created the overlap out wide and Mortlock crossed the tryline without a finger being laid on him.  He then converted for a handy 13-6 lead.

Two further penalty goals by Mortlock saw Australia lead 19-6 at halftime.

The second half began in almost the same fashion as the first, with the Boks creating opportunities but failing to finish.  But for the most part, the half belonged to Australia.

Toutai Kefu replaced Williams six minutes into the second half and if the Boks thought they would be given some respite, they were seriously mistaken as Kefu showed just why he is regarded in many circles for being the most explosive No.8 in the world.

Every time he touched the ball, Kefu proved a handful for the Boks.  Then in the 60th minute he busted through a couple of defenders and popped the ball up for Little, who zigged and zagged his way past Bok winger Pieter Rossouw, only to be stopped millimetres from the line.  But that didn't matter as replacement hooker Jeremy Paul was on hand to dot down for the conclusive try.  And with Mortlock's conversion, the Australians held a formidable 26-6 lead.

Try as they did, the Boks simply could not breach the Australian line for the remainder of the match.  Once again the Wallabies' defence held firm and once again, the Boks failed to score a try for their second successive outing.

After the game Wallaby coach Rod Macqueen said:  "We have a lot of pride in our defence.  We were disappointed with our defence in our earlier games and I would have liked to see us with more ball in tonight's second half."

The cauldron Bok coach Nick Mallett and his team will walk into when they arrive home on Tuesday is likely to be white-hot.  But as always, South Africa will be a formidable opponent on their own soil when they tackle the All Blacks in Johannesburg on August 19, and then the Wallabies in Durban a week later.

Mallett's comments during the week that he didn't have to win and that he didn't see this as a "must-win" Test for his team may come back to haunt him.  Further defeat this season could cost him his job.

Man of the match:  Who else but Stirling Mortlock, who scored 21 of his side's 26 points and landed an impressive tally of six place-kicks from as many attempts.  Once again he showed that he is a powerful runner and very hard to stop with the ball in hand.  Matt Burke may be on his way back to full fitness but Mortlock's display makes life difficult for the selectors when they are forced to make a choice.

Moment of the match:  Mortlock's try in the first half showed how clinically brilliant this Wallaby backline can be.  The buildup was well-planned, Herbert took the ball on the angle, Larkham handled twice and a couple of passes later, Mortlock was in for the try.  A superbly executed try.

Villain of the match:  South Africa's inability to score tries in the big games is becoming a huge headache for coach Nick Mallett.  The Boks scored some wonderful tries against Australia in Melbourne when nothing was at stake.  But in their two Tri-Nations outings the Boks have been shown-up for their shortcomings in attack.  A big black mark that Mallett must rectify fast.

The teams:

Australia:  1 Richard Harry, 2 Michael Foley, 3 Fletcher Dyson, 4 John Eales (c), 5 David Giffin, 6 Mark Connors, 7 David Wilson, 8 Jim Williams, 9 George Gregan, 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Stirling Mortlock, 12 Dan Herbert, 13 Jason Little, 14 Joe Roff, 15 Chris Latham
Reserves:  Matt Cockbain, Rod Kafer, Toutai Kefu, Jeremy Paul, Glenn Panoho, Ben Tune
Unused:  Sam Cordingley

South Africa:  1 Robbie Kempson, 2 Charl Marais, 3 Cobus Visagie, 4 Mark Andrews, 5 Albert Van Den Bergh, 6 Corne Krige, 7 Andre Venter, 8 Andre Vos (c), 9 Werner Swanepoel, 10 Braam Van Straaten, 11 Breyton Paulse, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Robbie Fleck, 14 Pieter Rossouw, 15 Thinus Delport
Reserves:  John Smit, Warren Brosnihan, Ollie Le Roux, Percy Montgomery, Joost Van Der Westhuizen
Unused:  Jannes Labuschagne, Chester Williams

Attendance:  77048
Referee:  Morrison e.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Mortlock S.A. 1, Paul J.A. 1
Conv:  Mortlock S.A. 2
Pen K.:  Mortlock S.A. 4

South Africa
Pen K.:  Van Straaten A.J.J. 2

New Zealand 25 South Africa 12

Date:  22 Jul 2000
Venue:  Christchurch
Attendance:  38000
Referee:  White c.

Christian Cullen was the hero as the All Blacks ground out a 25-12 victory over the Springboks in a colourless Tri-nations encounter at Jade Stadium in Christchurch on Saturday afternoon.

The All Black fullback survived a fearsome collision with Corne Krige in the first minute to score two tries and use his blistering pace to deny Breyton Paulse a five-pointer at a critical stage of the second half.

Cullen's crisply-taken tries represented two of the few highlights in a game that was defence dominated, the balance of the points coming through penalty goals and dropped goals.

After the champagne rugby produced in Sydney the previous weekend, when 10 tries were registered as New Zealand defeated Australia 39-35, this was flat beer indeed, with the fans expressing disappointment as poured out of Jade Stadium.

But All Black coach Wayne Smith was smiling because his team has now won two out of two in the Tri-nations championship.

"Last week we won with exhilarating running rugby," said Smith, "and this week we proved we could grind out a victory.  It was an important result in the development of this team."

All Black skipper Todd Blackadder acknowledged that the game did not live up to the highs of last weekend:  "It was a great physical game and there were a lot more errors than against Australia.  But that is to do with pressure," he said.

Springbok captain Andre Vos said New Zealand deserved to win.

"Our handling let us down and we were turning the ball over.  The All Blacks defended outstandingly," he said.

The performances of the two fullbacks wielded a major influence on the outcome of this game.  If Cullen was man of the match, Percy Montgomery was undoubtedly bunny of the match, turning in a shocker in the No 15 jersey.

Cullen gave the All Blacks a winning break in the opening 15 minutes, but only after being knocked flat in a spectacular head-on collision with Krige, less than 60 seconds after kick-off.

Alarm spread through the All Black bench when it looked as though Cullen had been knocked unconscious.  But he was only dazed and after three minutes on the sideline returned to action.

Within a minute of his return he was running in his 36th test try for New Zealand, courtesy of a precision grubber kick by Andrew Mehrtens and a woeful attempted flykick by Montgomery.

Test try No 37 followed soon afterwards, this time thanks to a superb long pass from Mehrtens across the noses of Pita Alatini and Jonah Lomu.

That score -- which leaves Cullen only two short of Jeff Wilson's New Zealand Test record -- gave the All Blacks a 10-3 advantage and the crowd settled back to enjoy the tryfest.

They were to be hugely disappointed.  The remaining 66 minutes produced six penalty goals, two dropped goals and no further tries.

The Springboks had two golden scoring opportunities, one in the first minute when Justin Marshall stayed abreast of Werner Swanepoel in a desperate sprint to the goalline and managed to knock the ball away from the Springbok's grasp.

If that was an exciting race, the sprint between Cullen and Paulse (with the score at 22-12) was worthy of the Olympics.  The two fastest individuals in the game gave it everything over 40 metres with Cullen getting his nose in front, enough to nudge the ball safely over the deadball line.

Although the Springboks enjoyed an advantage in possession and territory, the All Blacks importantly secured four of the South African's lineout throws, a major achievement given their lineout woes in Sydney last weekend.

Norm Maxwell, who replaced Troy Flavell at halftime (after Flavell suffered a minor injury), was responsible for three of those steals.

The Boks, coming off losses to England and Australia, certainly had enough ball to win, recycling it well, but they were unable to break New Zealand's water-tight defence and often looking pedestrian along the backline.

The defence from both sets of loose forwards was outstanding, with Josh Kronfeld, Taine Randell, Rassie Erasmus and Krige achieving massive tackle counts.

Todd Blackadder, captaining the All Blacks in his home town for the first time, turned in a big game, as did Mehrtens.

Man of the match
Christian Cullen was the most commanding individual, by a wide margin.  Ran in the game's only two tries and denied the Springboks a five-pointer with a burst of speed worthy of the Olympic Games 100 metres final.

Villain of the match
Percy Montgomery has produced many outstanding performances for his country, but this would probably rank as his worst display.  Presented Cullen his first try with a flykick that missed and registered a fearful catalogue of blunders back at fullback.

Moment of match
The Olympic sprint between the game's speedsters, Cullen and Paulse, won by Cullen, to deny the South Africans the try they needed to get back into the game in the second half.

New Zealand 25 South Africa 12 Half-time 19-12

New Zealand:  Christian Cullen (Leon McDonald 1, Cullen 5);  Tana Umaga, Mark Robinson, Pita Alatini, Jonah Lomu;  Andrew Mehrtens (Tony Brown 67), Justin Marshall;  Ron Cribb, Josh Kronfeld (Scott Robertson 73), Taine Randell;  Todd Blackadder (capt.), Troy Flavell (Norm Maxwell 46);  Kees Meeuws, Anton Oliver (Mark Hammer 61), Carl Hoeft (Craig Dowd 48) Replacement not used:  Byron Kelleher

New Zealand:  Tries:  Christian Cullen (2);  Penalty goals:  Andrew Mehrtens (3), Tony Brown;  Drop goal:  Mehrtens

South Africa:  Percy Montgomery;  Tinus Delport, Robbie Fleck (Grant,Esterhuizen 74), De Wet Barry, Breyton Paulse;  Braam van Straaten, Werner Swanepoel (Joost van der Wethuizen 74);  Andre Vos (capt.), Johan Erasmus, Cornus Krige (Warren Brosnihan 1, Krige 6);  Andre Venter, Albert van den Berg (Jannes Labushchagne 70);  Cobus Visage (Willie Meyer 65), Charl Marais, Robbie Kempson (John Smit 34, 74) Replacement not used:  Chester Williams

South Africa:  Penalty goals:  Braam van Straaten (3);  Drop goal:  Percy Montgomery

Referee:  Chris White (Eng)

Australia 35 New Zealand 39

Date:  15 Jul 2000
Venue:  Sydney-Stadium Australia
Attendance:  109874
Referee:  Watson a.

Jonah Lomu scored a dramatic try three minutes into stoppage time to give New Zealand a heart-stopping 39-35 win over Australia in a glorious match that produced 10 tries and brought to an end the world champions' 10-match winning run.

Replacement hooker Jeremy Paul appeared to have won the match for Australia with a try with just two minutes of normal time remaining that put the Wallabies 35-34 ahead.

Then former captain Taine Randell flipped an overhead pass out to Lomu and there was no stopping him from close range to finish the highest scoring match ever between the two countries.

Australia had fought their way back off the canvas to hold New Zealand 24-24 in a sensational first-half in the opening match of the Tri-Nations rugby union series in front of a world record crowd of 109,874 at the Olympic Stadium.

Australia fought back from conceding 24 points in the first eight minutes to draw level after half an hour in a match that also counts for the Bledisloe Cup and which each team showed they were ready to die for.

New Zealand caught Australia cold with three tries from Tana Umaga, Pita Alatini and Christian Cullen -- all converted by Andrew Mehrtens -- in the first five incredible minutes.

A Mehrtens penalty made it 24-0.  Right wing Stirling Mortlock, twice, full-back Chris Latham and left wing Joe Roff hit back with tries for Australia, who drew level with Mortlock converting his two tries.  They lost a chance to go ahead when Mortlock asked John Eales to take the kick for Roff's try.  But the captain's kick drifted wide and a great first half finished all-square.  Mortlock put Australia ahead for the first time with a penalty after 58 minutes but New Zealand ran the ball at Australia from the re-start and Randell made the all-important break to give scrum-half Justin Marshall the hint of a chance.

He grabbed it with both hands and ran 30 metres for a try Mehrtens converted to put the All Blacks 29-27 in front.  Mehrtens kicked the conversion and then a penalty to make the score 34-27.

Mortlock kicked a penalty to pull the score back to 34-30 and Australia missed a chance to go ahead when Umaga caught Roff as the left wing tried to make the last 20 metres.

Then Paul crashed over after Gregan had again split the All Black defence to bring the crowd to its feet.  But they had not reckoned with Lomu and the world star made them pay the penalty with a last-gasp try in an amazing climax.

"We had a great start but they came back at us hard and we had to dig deep to find that winner after Paul scored," said man of the match Justin Marshall.

New Zealand coach Wayne Smith praised his team's resolve:  "It looked as if we had thrown it away after starting so well but we showed our determination and fought to the end," he said.

Australia coach Rod Macqueen said New Zealand had made the most of the bounce of the ball in the first five minutes to go 21 points clear.

"It was pleasing to see us work our way back into the game when we got some ball.  But in the end one or two missed tackles cost us dearly," he said.

"Lomu is one of the game's most difficult people to tackle.  We've got a very good defensive side but he showed tonight why he's such a great player," said Macqueen.

Australia captain John Eales said he had never played in such an extraordinary match.

"It had everything you would want from a match of rugby.  Unfortunately for Australia the final result just went against us, but it was still an extraordinary match for a world record crowd," he said.

New Zealand captain Todd Blackadder said:  "We had a dream start, couldn't have wished for a better start.  The boys were on fire out there.

"But Australia scored some amazing tries and the game was on a knife edge and could have gone either way."

New Zealand coach Wayne Smith said next week's match with South Africa would be another physical game.

"They will want to move it around a lot and there are certain areas of our game we will have to improve.  Tonight we were not as as accurate as we could have been.  We did not shut them down eough with our chasing tackles," he said.

Wallaby full-back Chris Latham was caught napping for the first two tries as he fisted a Mehrtens high ball into the clutch of Umaga and then failed to tackle Jonah Lomu as he stormed down his left wing.  Lomu offloaded inside to Alatini, who skipped away for the try, as Australian scrum-half George Gregan hung on grimly.

Then All Black centres Alama Ieremia and Alatini combined smartly to put Cullen through a gap for another try under the posts.

Australia snapped back with a try of their own made by a quick midfield break by fly-half Stephen Larkham who sent Stirling Mortlock clear on the right.  Mortlock then converted his own try.

Australia steadied and then scored a well-worked try when Mortlock came in like a train on a Gregan outside pass after No 8 Jim Williams had almost reached the try line with a terrific charge from a lineout won by Australia captain John Eales.

Australia were finding a rhythm of their own and made 60 metres after winning a New Zealand lineout before No 8 Ron Cribb stopped Wallaby flanker Mark Connors as the New Zealand defence started to stretch.

Australia got to within five points when Latham broke free of Kees Meuws' tackle to power over from close range after Larkham, Dan Herbert and Gregan had combined quickly to set up an opening.  Mortlock converted and the score was 19-24.

Then Roff squirmed his way through as Australia again combined well to pull the Wallabies level and briefly keep alive their hopes of winning a record 11th successive Test.

The second half could not match the fireworks of the first 40 minutes but the final score delivered a record Bledisloe Cup score -- the aggregate of 74 surpassing the 60 points scored in Dunedin three years ago.  The Bledisloe Cup will now be on the line, after being held by Australia for the past two years, when the teams meet in Wellington next month.

The win also gave New Zealand a flying start in the Tri Nations series, which they are trying to win for the fourth time in five years.

Australia 35 New Zealand 39 HT:  24-24

Australia:  Chris Latham;  Stirling Mortlock (Andrew Walker 76), Daniel Herbert (Little 70), Jason Little (Rod Kafer 53), Joe Roff;  Stephen Larkham, George Gregan;  Jim Williams (Troy Jaques), David Wilson (Toutai Kefu 45), Mark Connors, John Eales (capt), David Giffin, Fletcher Dyson, Michael Foley (Jeremy Paul 40), Richard Harry (Glenn Panoho 57)

Tries:  Stirling Mortlock (2), Chris Latham, Joe Roff, Jeremy Paul;  Conversions:  Mortlock (2);  Penalty goals:  Mortlock

New Zealand:  Christian Cullen;  Tana Umaga, Alama Ieremia, Pita Alatini, Jonah Lomu;  Andrew Mehrtens (Tony Brown 65), Justin Marshall;  Ron Cribb, Scott Robertson (Josh Kronfeld 43), Taine Randell, Norm Maxwell (Troy Flavell 50), Todd Blackadder (capt), Kees Meeuws, Anton Oliver (Mark Hammett 73), Carl Hoeft Replacements not used:  Leon MacDonald, Byron Kelleher, Craig Dowd

Tries:  Tana Umaga, Pita Alatini, Christian Cullen, Justin Marshall, Jonah Lomu;  Conversions:  Mehrtens (4);  Penalty goals:  Mehrtens 2

Referee: Andre Watson (Rsa)
Att:  109,874

Australia 44 South Africa 23

Date:  08 Jul 2000
Venue:
Attendance:  34042
Referee:  O'brien p.

World Champions Australia fought back from a 23-17 half-time deficit to beat South Africa 44-23 in the inaugural playing of the Mandela Challenge at the indoor Colonial Stadium in Melbourne, inspired by two tries and five penalties from wing Stirling Mortlock.

South African coach Nick Mallett declared before Saturday night's Mandela Challenge match against Australia in Melbourne that he wanted his side to throw caution to the wind.

Mallett called for enterprising, attacking rugby.  Rugby that to many diehards, was the antithesis of Springbok tradition.  Play they did and entertain they did.  But unfortunately, it wasn't enough as the Australians proved too classy to record their 10th successive win in a compelling 44-23 victory.

The Boks outplayed the world champions in the first 30 minutes.  Not only did they show they were eager, they also showed they were keen to impress Mallett in the leadup to the first Tri-Nations encounter against the All Blacks at Christchurch on 22 July.

The Wallabies pushed too many passes and they dropped too much ball, so it didn't surprise when the new-look Boks scored the first try of the match after just 13 minutes.

Halfback Werner Swanepoel, a surprise replacement for the mercurial former captain Joost van der Westhuizen, strolled across after a clever passing interchange with flanker Rassie Erasmus for an 8-3 Springbok lead.

Stirling Mortlock landed his second penalty to bridge the gap to two points, but six minutes later the Wallabies' impatience cost them dearly.  Inside centre Rod Kafer threw a gift intercept to Bok winger Breyton Paulse near the South African quarter.  The speed machine bolted like a startled rabbit untouched to the other end of the field.

South Africa 15 Australia 6.

The Boks at this stage looked well in command.  Cool, calm and collected.  But Mortlock's accurate boot kept the world champions in the game and by the half hour mark, the ACT Brumbies' sharpshooter landed his fourth kick for 12-15.

But three minutes later, Paulse struck again.  Springbok flyhalf Louis Koen chipped ahead and Mortlock received the ball and lock Albert van den Berg at the same time.  Mortlock lost control and the ball spilled backwards for Paulse to collect and scamper across for the simplest of tries and a handy 20-12 advantage.

Australia finally showed they could play when Larkham made a scything break through the Bok defence.  Gregan retrieved the ball, sent it wide to Kafer, who flicked it on to Latham.  The Queensland fullback flung it wide to Mortlock, who touched down in the corner to bridge the gap to 17-20.  Koen landed a penalty in the shadow of half-time for a 23-17 South African lead at the break.

South African rugby history has been one dominated by huge forwards and goal-kicking flyhalves -- a combination that has created a Test record second-to-none.  But Springbok coach Nick Mallett wants to change the way rugby is played in the republic and he wants to alter the way South African fans think.  He wants to convert them to the virtues of playing an enterprising, vibrant style, one he believes is the way of the future.

Mallett is not aiming at dispensing with a powerful forward pack, only to make sure the backs are involved in the game, as well.  But to play such an expansive game, aerobic fitness levels must be first class and unfortunately for the Boks, their lack of oxygen cost them dearly in the second half.

Australia showed just why they're the reigning world champions.  And they showed why this could well be the year they finally break through for their first Tri-Nations championship.

They played with composure, patience and ruthless efficiency as the tiring Boks faded into oblivion.

Five minutes into the half, Joe Roff launched an audacious breakout from his own 22 and with Larkham, Daniel Herbert and Mortlock handling, the ball reached replacement Jason Little, who lost forward with the tryline in his sights.

Australia continued to attack, but the Boks' defence held true and the score remained 23-17 until Mortlock goaled in the 69th minute to bridge the gap to just three points.

The inevitable finally happened when in the 70th minute Larkham spotted a gap in the Bok defensive line between forwards Ollie le Roux and Andre Venter to streak through for a fine individual try.  Further tries to Toutai Kefu, who showed he was serious about winning his No.8 spot back from Jim Williams when he took the field midway through the second half;  Jason Little and Mortlock sealed a clinical victory.

The indoor clash at Melbourne's brand new Colonial Stadium was the first meeting between the two sides since their epic World Cup semifinal at Twickenham last year.

And while the Wallaby gold once again prevailed, the Boks showed tremendous courage and skill to begin a bright new era of attacking rugby.  May it continue.

Man of the match
Much has been made of Stephen Larkham's remarkable match-winning dropped goal in last year's World Cup semi at Twickenham, but he showed his full range of skills in the inaugural Mandela Trophy clash.  He ran, he passed, he set up his outsides and he varied his play.  He even kicked on occasion and surprise, surprise, attempted a droppy, which careered to the left of the uprights.  His try had the mark of genius on it, and his ability to break the line almost at will showed that he is going to be a key man in Australia's Tri-Nations campaign.

Moment of the match
There were plenty of worthwhile moments in a match that many deemed would be a fizzer because it was seen as nothing more than a cash-cow.  But the players threw caution to the wind and provided one of the best matches in recent memory.  Some of the tries were spectacular and it was so good to see the Boks doing their best to emerge from the shadows of their usual dour, one-dimensional style of rugby.  May it continue.

Villain of the match
The ARU for expecting people in a non-rugby city to pay up to $130 for a ticket to what was essentially a 'friendly' international.  Little wonder there were so many empty seats in a stadium that holds a little over 50 000 fans.  Imagine if they had of taged it at the 95 000-capacity MCG?

The scorers

For Australia
Five penalties, two conversions to Stirling Mortlock.  Tries to Stirling Mortlock (2), Stephen Larkham, Toutai Kefu, Jason Little.

For South Africa
Tries to Werner Swanepoel, Breyton Paulse (2).  Conversion, two penalties to Louis Koen.