Australia 31 South Africa 33

The Springboks scored their first win of the 2002 Tri-Nations thanks to a try from Bok fullback Werner Greeff on the stroke of full-time.  South Africa led 14-9 at half-time and won 33-31 thanks to Greeff's conversion of his own score.

In the process, the Springboks wrested the Mandela Cup, which is played on a bi-annual basis, from the Wallabies, whilst the All Blacks were crowned as the Tri-Nations champions for the fourth time in their history.  The Wallabies were in search of their third Tri-Nations series in a row.

Greeff, who came flying in from fullback at the perfect angle, took a neat pass from replacement scrumhalf Johannes Conradie and broke through desperate tackles from Wallaby forwards Nathan Sharpe and Matt Cockbain before diving over next to the uprights.

With the scores tied at 31-all, the courageous Western Province fullback, who had a nightmare start in the goalkicking department, stepped up and calmly slotted the match-winning conversion under huge pressure from a horde of storming Wallabies.

Maybe a draw would have been a fair reflection of the match -- a ding-dong affair if ever -- but the joy on the Boks' faces was plain to see and it was a much-needed win that can only bode well for the future.

This is a good young team with a lot of promise, but after running into a 26-9 lead they very nearly gave the match away when the Wallabies stepped out of first gear and took the lead three minutes from full-time through a spectacular try from Brendan Cannon, which was set up by George Smith.

Smith burst away from a line-out thanks to a stray Ollie le Roux throw and beat attempted tackles from Jannes Labuschagne and Lawrence Sephaka, before setting off on a brilliant solo run into South Africa's 22.  There, he beat tackles from Conradie and Breyton Paulse, before passing to replacement hooker Brendan Cannon, who fell over for the try.

Matthew Burke missed the conversion, but at 31-26 it seemed all over for the brave Boks, who conceded tries to Mat Rogers and Toutai Kefu just before their classy midfielder Marius Joubert was shown a red card for a high tackle on Rogers.

Joubert's centre mate De Wet Barry had also spent some time in the sin bin for a punch on a Wallaby player, while, to make matters worse for them, their captain Corné Krige had left the fray in the 50th minute after taking another bang to his sternum.

But credit must go to stand-in skipper Bob Skinstad for rallying his troops one more time in the dying moments of the match after they won a scrum in Australia's 22 just before the final hooter.

Skinstad made the initial burst off the base of the scrum, Labuschagne carried further and when Greeff came screaming up to collect Conradie's pass, Ellis Park erupted.  It was comparable to scenes from the 1995 World Cup Final at the same venue.

There were similar scenes of joy for the Ellis Park contingent when the Boks eventually woke up close to half-time thanks to tries from their pocket-sized battle-ships Breyton Paulse and Brent Russell.

Paulse's try, his first at Test level since he scored a double against Italy on 30 June last year, was preceded by a neat dart from Marius Joubert, who managed to pass the ball off the ground to a rampaging Sephaka, who hit the Wallaby defence with vigour.

The ball was re-cycled one more time after some other Bok heavies did the hard work and Paulse danced straight between front rankers Jeremy Paul and Bill Young for the five-pointer.

Greeff kicked the conversion from right in front and the Boks were just two points down -- Burke kicked three penalties after some silly Bok errors within striking-distance -- close to the break.

A two-point deficit soon became a five-point lead when Russell, a late replacement for André Pretorius -- who went down with a knee injury at the captain's run on Friday -- spun out of tackles from Daniel Herbert and Stirling Mortlock before turning on his after-burners and leaving Chris Latham in his wake.

Paulse's second try, scored shortly after the break, put the Boks in control at 21-9, but some tigerish defence (on one occasion Joe van Niekerk and Dean Hall combined to deny Toutai Kefu a try in the corner after a brilliant burst from a scrum) and Van Niekerk's second try at Test level -- just before the final quarter -- seemed to be the final nail in Australia's Tri-Nations and Mandela Cup coffin.

Van Niekerk's try, courtesy of a clever pass from Bob Skinstad, was reminiscent of the latter's match-winning try against the Wallabies in the 1998 Tri-Nations, was probably the best of the day, until Smith nearly stole the thunder from the Boks with his 70-metre dash in the lead-up to Cannon's seemingly match-clinching try.

It would have been cruel for the Boks if they had been denied again, but this is Test (at its best we might add!) rugby and sometimes the harshest lessons are the best.  The Boks will feel it was a season of "what-if?" or "could have", but if they are honest with themselves, they contrived to throw away all of their previous matches.

At one stage it seemed as if this match was headed in the same direction.

Acting NZRFU CEO Steve Tew collected the Tri-Nations trophy on behalf of the All Blacks, South Africa's elated skipper Corné Krige collected the Mandela Shield from the former President's son.

It was hard to wipe the smile off Krige's face.  "This one is for you," he said to the Ellis Park faithful after collecting the shield.

Man of the match:  There are tons of contenders here.  For the Wallabies, Nathan Sharpe, George Smith and Toutai Kefu were exemplary, as were George Gregan, Stephen Larkham and Matthew Burke.  For the Boks, Lawrence Sephaka showed his worth and ability, locks Jannes Labuschagne and AJ Venter were hard and never took a backwards step, whilst Joe van Niekerk continues to play better each week, especially in tandem with Bob Skinstad.  Amongst the backs, Neil de Kock, Brent Russell, Breyton Paulse and Werner Greeff deserve praise, but in the end we have settled for a forward.  The lucky man?  Loosehead prop Lawrence Dumisani Sephaka, who at 23, played the match of his life.  He scrummed well, carried the ball strongly (He featured prominently in the build-up to both of Paulse's tries) and defended as if his life depended on it.  He just edges Van Niekerk to this award and wins one back for his fellow prop forwards, whose hard work often goes unnoticed!

Moment of the match:  Brent Russell's try was a wonderful moment as was Joe van Niekerk's burst down the touchline en route to his try, whilst George Smith's burst away from a stray Bok line-out throw, in the build-up to Cannon's try, was brilliant.  But in the end, one cannot ignore Greeff's sensational try.  He took the ball at pace and broke through the attempted tackles from Nathan Sharpe -- the Wallabies' best forward again -- and Matt Cockbain before coolly slotting the conversion (his fourth of the day).  This is a young Bok side with character and verve, and Greeff personified it with his heroics.  Who will forget stand-in skipper Bob Skinstad's celebrations?

Villain of the match:  In a match like this, choosing a villain is not the easiest exercise.  AJ Venter deserves a mention here when he rucked close to Owen Finegan's head, Nathan Sharpe punched a Springbok player and De Wet Barry was penalised for a nifty punch on a Wallaby.  The winner then?  Marius Joubert, who was shown a red card for a high tackle on Mat Rogers.  The Boks were guilty of three other high tackles on the day.

The teams:

Australia:  1 Ben Darwin, 2 Jeremy Paul, 3 Bill Young, 4 Justin Harrison, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 6 Owen Finegan, 7 George Smith, 8 Toutai Kefu, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Stirling Mortlock, 12 Matthew Burke, 13 Dan Herbert, 14 Ben Tune, 15 Chris Latham
Reserves:  Brendan Cannon, Matt Cockbain, Rod Moore, Mat Rogers, David Lyons
Unused:  Elton Flatley, Chris Whitaker

South Africa:  1 Willie Meyer, 2 James Dalton, 3 Lawrence Sephaka, 4 Jannes Labuschagne, 5 A.J. Venter, 6 Corne Krige (c), 7 Joe Van Niekerk, 8 Bobby Skinstad, 9 Neil De Kock, 10 Brent Russell, 11 Dean Hall, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Marius Joubert, 14 Breyton Paulse, 15 Werner Greeff
Reserves:  Faan Rautenbach, Hendro Scholtz, Bolla Conradie, Ollie Le Roux, Stefan Terblanche
Unused:  Adi Jacobs, Victor Matfield

Attendance:  63000
Referee:  O'brien p.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Cannon B.J. 1, Kefu R.S.T. 1, Rogers M. 1
Conv:  Burke M.C. 2
Pen K.:  Burke M.C. 3
Drop G.:  Gregan G.M. 1

South Africa
Tries:  Greeff W.W. 1, Paulse B.J. 2, Russell B. 1, Van Niekerk J.C. 1
Conv:  Greeff W.W. 4

New Zealand 30 South Africa 23

A late try from centre Aaron Mauger gave New Zealand a hard-fought 30-23 win over South Africa in Durban and a crucial bonus point to put them in pole position for the 2002 Tri-Nations title, although the game will be remembered for all the wrong reasons after a fan raced on to the pitch and assaulted referee David McHugh midway through the game.

Mauger's late try in the second half secured the Kiwis' bonus point -- after they had scored three tries in the first half -- and put all the pressure on the Wallabies ahead of their meeting with the Springboks at Ellis Park in the final clash of the 2002 tournament.

While one has to feel sorry for the Boks, who had their chances in the second period, which they did not take, and some refereeing decisions going against them in the first half, the All Blacks held their nerve and finished the stronger of the two sides after a bizarre and embarrassing incident threatened to leave its mark on a match that proved to be very exciting at times.

The incident in the 43rd minute -- when a crazed fan ran onto the field and tackled Irish referee David McHugh as a scrum was about to form -- nearly soured the entire afternoon as play had to be held up for some time as McHugh was picked up from the ground and eventually replaced by England's Chris White, who, before then, was one of the touch judges.

Springbok skipper Corné Krige kept his troops in a huddle, trying to get them to put the incident of their minds, while All Black skipper Reuben Thorne and his team-mates tossed a ball about in the hope of staying focused on the match.

The scores were tied at 17-all when the oversized -- and clearly drunk -- fan managed to get onto the field of play, but the Boks seemed to be the stronger of the two sides after the hold-up.

A penalty from André Pretorius put the Boks ahead at 20-17 some 10 minutes after the hold-up, but an Andrew Mehrtens penalty, virtually from the re-start tied the scores at 20-all.

Springbok coach Rudolf Straeuli introduced Brent Russell and Johannes Conradie into the game -- shortly before the final quarter.  Russell came on at fullback -- with Werner Greeff moving to inside centre and De Wet Barry leaving the field -- while Conradie replaced his provincial colleague Neil de Kock at scrumhalf

A sweetly struck drop-goal from Pretorius put the Boks back in front by three points, but Russell's dynamic running from the back set his fellow backs on fire soon after his arrival, only for the Boks' poor finishing let them down at crucial moments.

One instance saw Joe van Niekerk outpace the Kiwis down the right-hand touchline, after a well-timed pass from Greeff, but a great tackle from a New Zealand defender saw the ball spill forward before he could find his support.

The Boks hit the Kiwis hard for the next 10 minutes with Russell, Breyton Paulse and Marius Joubert asking questions of the New Zealand defence in their own half.  But Reuben Thorne's men kept their heads before working their way back into enemy territory.

It did not take New Zealand long to force the equaliser (AJ Venter was the guilty man for pulling down a Kiwi line-out jumper), but the Kiwis managed to work their back into the Boks' territory very soon afterwards with a powerful run from tighthead prop Greg Somerville.

Andrew Mehrtens carried it further before opensider Richard McCaw was held up just before the Bok line.  The TMO ruled a five-metre scrum and after Tana Umaga battered the Bok defence from close-in, the Kiwis recycled the ball one more time and went right, where Mauger had enough space to throw a dummy a touch down underneath the uprights.

Mauger's try gave the Kiwis their bonus point after their try-scoring account was opened early in the first half after the visitors were rocked by an early try from the home.

Neil de Kock, who was preferred to Johannes Conradie at No.9, got the Boks' try after James Dalton had created a turnover for South Africa in their own half.  Barry carried the ball on, hit a half-gap before releasing Dean Hall, who handed off Reuben Thorne before racing down the left-hand touchline.

Hall eventually passed inside to Greeff, who linked up with De Kock, and Pretorius's conversion made it 7-0 before New Zealand fullback Leon MacDonald replied with his first Tri-Nations try.

MacDonald's try was as a result of some poor first-time tackling in the Boks' midfield, while further poor defence saw referee McHugh award a controversial penalty try to New Zealand just before the end of the first quarter.

New Zealand tore the Bok defence apart again, but a high-tackle from Barry and Joubert on their own tryline was ruled to have cost the Kiwis a try, hence the penalty try, which Mehrtens soon turned into a goal.

At 12-7 down the Boks chipped away at New Zealand's score -- firstly via a Pretorius penalty and then courtesy of a wonderful try from the latter after some good hands and vision from Joe van Niekerk.

The Boks had an earlier Breyton Paulse try disallowed -- after referee McHugh ruled that James Dalton had obstructed the All Black defenders, when he clearly had not -- and they fully deserved their try, only to lose composure one more time before half-time when a basketball-style pass from Tana Umaga put Doug Howlett away for another try just before the break.

Mehrtens missed the conversion, but both teams would have been satisfied with the 17-17 scoreline at the break.  Little did they know, however, how the second half would begin ...

Man of the match:  For the Boks, flanker Joe van Niekerk was superb, lock Jannes Labuschagne was his usual consistent self and winger Dean Hall was courageous.  For the All Blacks, tighthead prop Greg Somerville, lock Chris Jack, flanker Richard McCaw, second five-eighth Aaron Mauger, and right-wing Doug Howlett were excellent.  In the end though -- and for the second time in as many weeks -- our vote goes with the No.7 flanker from the losing side.  Last week it was Richard McCaw, but this week South Africa's Johann van Niekerk wins the man of the match award.  A wonderful attacking force for the Boks -- with his powerful running and clever off-loads -- and a more-than-capable defender, Van Niekerk's mature approach is another impressive part of his make-up.  The man, known to us all as Joe, has come of age.

Moment of the Match:  The Boks' start to the game was superb.  Hall made a smashing run down the left-hand touchline and Greeff and De Kock did well to follow-up.  However, the moment of the match belongs to Kiwi second five-eighth Aaron Mauger for his late try, which was eventually the difference between the two teams.  Mauger troubled the Bok defence all day long with his probing kicks and varied play.

Villain of the Match:  There is no doubt here.  The fan who attacked Irish referee David McHugh was an absolute disgrace to South African rugby and rugby around the world.  He did not belong on the field in the first place and while we may not have agreed with all of McHugh's decisions, an act like that was just unacceptable and it does not belong in this wonderful sport.  Hopefully McHugh did not pick up a serious injury, while we can only hope that the man involved in the incident will be severely punished.

The Teams:

New Zealand:  1 David Hewett, 2 Tom Willis, 3 Greg Somerville, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Simon Maling, 6 Richie McCaw, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Scott Robertson, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Andrew Mehrtens, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Aaron Mauger, 13 Tana Umaga, 14 Caleb Ralph, 15 Leon MacDonald
Reserves:  Sam Broomhall, Daryl Gibson, Mark Hammett, Byron Kelleher
Unused:  Marty Holah, Joe McDonnell, Jonah Lomu

South Africa:  1 Willie Meyer, 2 James Dalton, 3 Lawrence Sephaka, 4 Jannes Labuschagne, 5 A.J. Venter, 6 Corne Krige (c), 7 Joe Van Niekerk, 8 Bobby Skinstad, 9 Neil De Kock, 10 Andre Pretorius, 11 Dean Hall, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Marius Joubert, 14 Breyton Paulse, 15 Werner Greeff
Reserves:  Victor Matfield, Faan Rautenbach, Hendro Scholtz, Bolla Conradie, Ollie Le Roux, Brent Russell
Unused:  Adi Jacobs

Attendance:  52500
Referee:  Mchugh/white c.(43)

Points Scorers:

New Zealand
Tries:  MacDonald L.R. 1, Howlett D.C. 1, Umaga J.F. 1, Mauger A.J.D. 1
Conv:  Mehrtens A.P. 2
Pen K.:  Mehrtens A.P. 2

South Africa
Tries:  Pretorius A.S. 1, De Kock N.A. 1
Conv:  Pretorius A.S. 2
Pen K.:  Pretorius A.S. 2
Drop G.:  Pretorius A.S. 1

Australia 16 New Zealand 14

A penalty from Wallaby centre Matthew Burke on the stroke of full-time gave his side a come-from-behind 16-13 Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup win over the All Blacks at a blustery Telstra Stadium in Sydney.

It was almost a carbon-copy of the 2001 fixture in Sydney, which Australia won 29-26 courtesy of a late Toutai Kefu try, as the Wallabies ran into an early lead before the All Blacks launched a spirited fightback, only to watch the world champions steal it at the end.

The Wallabies' win, sealed in dramatic fashion by Burke, who up till then had kicked just one from four attempts at goal, sees them retain the Bledisloe Cup for the fifth time in succession and, most importantly, it also keeps the 2002 Tri-Nations series alive with two big games coming up over the next two weeks in South Africa.

The All Blacks, who had the consolation of a bonus point, despite losing their first game in 10 starts under John Mitchell, meet the Springboks in Durban next week, while the Wallabies will know exactly what they have to do against the Springboks in Johannesburg -- the following week -- to determine the outcome of the Tri-Nations, which can still be won by either of the three teams involved.

All Black replacement Leon MacDonald was the man that conceded the penalty on the stroke of full-time -- for putting his hands in a ruck in his own 22 -- but the match was turned on its head a few minutes earlier after a sensational try from Wallaby replacement back Mat Rogers.

Rogers had replaced Chris Latham in the 60th minute, but he made his presence felt with under 10 minutes to play when he slipped through a tiny gap in the All Black defence to put his team back into the game.

The build-up to Rogers's try was wonderful as the Wallabies combined power and skill to work their way into enemy territory.  Hooker Jeremy Paul was a central figure as the Australians hit the ball up and some clever stepping from Stephen Larkham saw the Wallabies take the ball up to the All Black tryline.

Gregan fired the ball out to his backs, they sent it out to Rogers and the try was scored! But, with the Wallabies one point down (at 14-13), Burke's conversion hit the uprights and kept New Zealand in the lead.

The Wallabies fought their way back into the Kiwi 22, only for Chris Jack to turn Paul over and win a penalty, but George Gregan and his team-mates kept their cool, kept the ball in hand and forced the penalty after MacDonald's indiscretion.

The All Blacks were leading 13-8 before Rogers's try, his first at Test level, after a second-half score from Richard McCaw and Andrew Mehrtens's second penalty goal of the night.

McCaw's try came as a result of a sloppy line-out throw from Jeremy Paul on his own goalline and it put the "Men in Black" in the lead for the first time at 11-8.

Paul missed his target -- Justin Harrison -- with a wobbly throw and McCaw plucked the ball from the air and dived over without any pressure from the Wallabies.  Mehrtens missed the conversion -- he kicked only three from seven attempts at goal -- but he struck his third penalty in the 63rd minute to put some daylight between the sides at 14-8.

The first half was all Australia as the home team began the match with a furious onslaught on the Kiwis.  Burke and Mehrtens missed four kicks at goal between then in the first 40 minutes, but the difference between the two teams at half-time was Wallaby lock Nathan Sharpe's try in the 16th minute.

Stirling Mortlock and Toutai Kefu did the hard-yards for the Wallabies up the right-hand touchline, but play broke down after some poor option-taking from Jeremy Paul on the left.

The ball went loose, but Ben Tune was on hand to run it up -- and over the advantage line through some hesitant New Zealand defence -- and when Stephen Larkham turned the ball inside, Queensland lock Nathan Sharpe hit the Kiwi defence at an awkward angle to crash over for the try.

Burke missed the conversion, with the wind playing tricks with the kickers, but the Wallaby centre, who had the final say in the match with his boot, and Mehrtens, traded penalties shortly before half-time to see the Wallabies hold a slender 8-3 lead after dominating much of the first stanza of play.

Man of the match:  In the first half two men -- locks Nathan Sharpe and Chris Jack -- stood head-and-shoulders above anybody else, but the second 40 minutes belonged entirely to the dynamic All Black opensider Richard McCaw.  He followed the ball around like a trusty hound, turning it over on the ground or carrying it off the shoulders of his team-mates.  It would be rough on George Smith to say that McCaw totally out-played him, but he certainly won the one-on-one battle between two of the premier No.7s in world rugby.  Other players that caught the eye at times were "Bernie" Larkham and Tom Willis.

Moment of the match:  Mat Rogers's try in the 71st minute was a beauty, after a superb build-up, but the moment that sealed the match was Burke's penalty after the hooter had sounded.  Burke had missed a conversion kick from exactly the same spot just a few minutes earlier, but this time he held his nerve and calmly slotted the match-winning kick that has turned the 2002 Tri-Nations on its head.

Villain of the match:  Compared to last week's match this game was squeaky clean.  Wallaby tighthead Pat Noriega seemed intent on getting his revenge on the All Blacks after the Bledisloe Cup opener in Christchurch, but all he managed to do was cost his team a crucial try in the first half.  Our villain then?  Kiwi replacement Leon MacDonald, who conceded that final penalty for putting his hands in the ruck ... Yes, it is rough on the Crusaders back, who had not even been on the field for very long, but it cost his team the match, the Bledisloe Cup and the Tri-Nations.  Then, to add insult to injury, MacDonald then tried to trip Wallaby No.8 Toutai Kefu when the Wallabies finally got the ball back and after referee André Watson had called out "advantage" to Australia.  A close second?  The two streakers who held up play in the 60th minute as Andrew Mehrtens was about to have a kick at goal.

The teams:

Australia:  1 Patricio Noriega, 2 Jeremy Paul, 3 Bill Young, 4 Justin Harrison, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 6 Owen Finegan, 7 George Smith, 8 Toutai Kefu, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Stirling Mortlock, 12 Matthew Burke, 13 Dan Herbert, 14 Ben Tune, 15 Chris Latham
Reserves:  Matt Cockbain, Elton Flatley, Mat Rogers, Ben Darwin, David Lyons
Unused:  Brendan Cannon, Chris Whitaker

New Zealand:  1 David Hewett, 2 Tom Willis, 3 Greg Somerville, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Simon Maling, 6 Richard McCaw, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Scott Robertson, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Andrew Mehrtens, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Aaron Mauger, 13 Tana Umaga, 14 Caleb Ralph, 15 Christian Cullen
Reserves:  Marty Holah, Leon MacDonald, Joe McDonnell, Daryl Gibson
Unused:  Sam Broomhall, Andrew Hore, Byron Kelleher

Referee:  Watson a.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Rogers M. 1, Sharpe N.C. 1
Pen K.:  Burke M.C. 2

New Zealand
Tries:  McCaw R.H. 1
Pen K.:  Mehrtens A.P. 3

Australia 38 South Africa 27

Australia, with an early try for the much talked about winger Ben Tune, survived a strong second-half comeback from South Africa before a late Chris Latham try secured a 38-27 win, and a bonus point, in a thrilling Tri-Nations Test at the Gabba in Brisbane.

The Wallabies raced into an early 24-3 lead thanks to three tries and some sub-standard Springbok defence and at one stage they looked likely to run away with things as the Boks committed one clanger after another.

Wallaby right-wing Ben Tune, who dominated the news in the build-up to this Test with his drug-scandal, powered his way over in the fourth minute after an elaborate Wallaby backline move.

Matt Burke, who had a solid game in the No.13 jersey, struck the conversion from close-in and he was on target soon afterwards when Stirling Mortlock ran through attempted tackles from Johannes Conradie, André Pretorius and Werner Greeff after Chris Latham had made the initial running when Joe van Niekerk couldn't hold onto him in a tackle.

Mortlock's try was also as a result of a poor attempted skip-pass from Pretorius flew into touch and the Wallabies used the ensuing line-out to attack the Bok defence.

Latham was the next try-scorer after Daniel Herbert had done well to retain the ball -- despite being hit from both sides by Victor Matfield and Corné Krige -- and George Gregan spun the ball to Larkham before the Wallaby fullback ghosted over.

Burke kicked his first penalty just before the half-hour mark to take the scoreline to 24-3 -- the Boks had a solitary Pretorius penalty to show for their efforts at that stage -- but the next bit of action came from the players' fists as tempers flared somewhat after Greeff tackled Latham in the air when the Boks had a rare foray into enemy territory.

The players took the law into their own hands after Greeff's awkward tackle and it ended rather ugly with Wallaby hooker Jeremy Paul and his main line-out target Justin Harrison ending up in the sin bin along with Greeff.

Paul and Harrison landed a torrent of punches on Bok tighthead Faan Rautenbach as nearly all the players got involved.  Bok skipper Corné Krige left the field shortly afterwards with a bloodied face, but it seems that his ribs were bothering him after making another one of his usual bone-crunching hits.

Krige was replaced by debutant Hendro Scholtz, who finally injected some zest into the Boks' play.  Scholtz put in some strong runs and his flanking partner Van Niekerk also started punching small holes in the Wallaby defence.

The Boks were however guilty of rushing things with their one-man overlap, but they were finally rewarded with a try after some excellent play from outside centre Marius Joubert.

The South Africans, with Breyton Paulse at the fore, ran the ball from their own 22 and Joubert found some space just inside the Wallaby 10-metre area before dummying a kick and rounding Latham for the try.

Pretorius wasted no time by drop-kicking the conversion through the uprights, but the Boks' ill-discipline came back to haunt them as James Dalton conceded three points on the stroke of half-time to leave the score at 27-10.

Joubert's try gave the visitors a sniff as they came out firing in the second stanza and it was the self-same man who cork-screwed his way over for the Boks' second try.

Bob Skinstad, who took over the captaincy from Krige, did well to pick up a bouncing ball from a wayward line-out throw before getting the ball to hard-working second rower Jannes Labuschagne.  The Boks recycled the ball quickly and De Wet Barry through a neat long pass to Joubert, who spun through Latham's brave tackle, despite having Stefan Terblanché on his inside.

Burke kept the Wallabies' score ticking over with another penalty soon afterwards, but the Boks hit back shortly before the final quarter when Skinstad showed good power from close-range.

The talented No.8 -- who performed much better than he did against the All Blacks last week -- held off a tackle from Harrison after Paulse presented the ball to him from five metres out.  Paulse had hunted down the ball after a Barry grubber and when Tune could not control the ball the nippy Bok left-wing picked it up and calmly passed it back to Skinstad.

Pretorius missed his first kick of the night, but, at 30-22 it was game-on!

Both sides made some changes shortly after the 60-minute mark and when Burke was replaced by his namesake Mat Rogers, and Mortlock had to step up to the plate to give the Wallabies another three points after yet another Bok infringement near their own goalline.

Springbok utility back Brent Russell gave the Boks a glimmer of hope in the last five minutes of play with a brilliant try shortly after replacing Terblanché on the right-wing to cut the scoreline to 33-27.

Russell showed that he has pace to burn after some great interplay from Joubert and Van Niekerk on his inside and he recovered from a desperate last-ditch tackle from Larkham before diving over.

The Boks had a few chances in the dying minutes of the game, but the Wallabies managed to keep them in their own half before forcing a penalty on the Boks' goalline with the final whistle imminent.

Gregan signalled for the attacking scrum -- when a kick at goal or to touch would have ended the match -- but the Wallaby skipper's faith was rewarded with Latham squeezed over in the left-hand corner for his team's fourth and final try, which also happened to clinch their second bonus point of the 2002 Tri-Nations.

Both teams got four-try bonus points, but Latham's second try at the end robbed the Boks of what should have been a well-deserved bonus point for finishing within seven points.

Man of the match:  There are numerous contenders here ... For the Wallabies, Bill Young was very effective up front, George Smith was brilliant on the ground, Stephen Larkham was his usual self, Daniel Herbert was at his powerful best in the midfield and Chris Latham took his chances.  For the Boks Faan Rautenbach, Joe van Niekerk and Hendro Scholtz were superb up front, while Marius Joubert was the best Bok back with his incisive and powerful running.  But, in the end our wise men opted for George Smith for his crucial turnovers and massive tackle-count.  He was evidently under pressure in the build-up to this game, but he certainly silenced a few doubters with his energetic and ultimately match-winning performance.  Van Niekerk and Joubert pushed him hard for this award.

Moment of the match:  Nippy utility back Brent Russell wasted no time in getting involved when he replaced Springbok right-wing Stefan Terblanché in the 72nd minute.  He showed pace and good determination, but the build-up to his try was superb with Joe van Niekerk the central figure.  It was also the Boks' fourth try and only their second four-try bonus point in Australasia.

Villain of the match:  We have a tie this week and it is hard to separate the two.  Wallaby hooker Jeremy Paul and his Brumby team-mate Justin Harrison were very lucky to get just a yellow card for their efforts in the 32nd-minute punch-up.  They launched a vicious attack on Springbok prop Faan Rautenbach and somehow Springbok skipper Corné Krige ended up with a bloodied face when the players were finally parted.  The fight began after Werner Greeff tackled Chris Latham in the air and the players decided to take the law into their own hands.  But, we have one question -- what more must players do before they are shown red cards?

The teams:

Australia:  1 Patricio Noriega, 2 Jeremy Paul, 3 Bill Young, 4 Justin Harrison, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 6 Owen Finegan, 7 George Smith, 8 Toutai Kefu, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Stirling Mortlock, 12 Matthew Burke, 13 Dan Herbert, 14 Ben Tune, 15 Chris Latham
Reserves:  Brendan Cannon, Matt Cockbain, Elton Flatley, Mat Rogers, Ben Darwin, David Lyons
Unused:  Chris Whitaker

South Africa:  1 Faan Rautenbach, 2 James Dalton, 3 Lawrence Sephaka, 4 Jannes Labuschagne, 5 Victor Matfield, 6 Corne Krige (c), 7 Joe Van Niekerk, 8 Bobby Skinstad, 9 Bolla Conradie, 10 Andre Pretorius, 11 Breyton Paulse, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Marius Joubert, 14 Stefan Terblanche, 15 Werner Greeff
Reserves:  Delarey Du Preez, Adi Jacobs, Hendro Scholtz, Ollie Le Roux, Brent Russell
Unused:  Neil De Kock, A.J. Venter

Attendance:  37528
Referee:  Lander s.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Latham C.E. 2, Mortlock S.A. 1, Tune B.N. 1
Conv:  Burke M.C. 3
Pen K.:  Burke M.C. 3, Mortlock S.A. 1

South Africa
Tries:  Joubert M.C. 2, Russell B. 1, Skinstad R.B. 1
Conv:  Pretorius A.S. 2
Pen K.:  Pretorius A.S. 1

New Zealand 41 South Africa 20

An 18-point blitz either side of half-time was all the impetus that the All Blacks needed to record a comprehensive 41-20 Tri-Nations win over the Springboks in Wellington.

New Zealand led 21-13 at half-time despite the Springboks running into an early 10-3 lead after a sensational individual try from fullback Werner Greeff in the sixth minute.

Greeff beat Mark Robinson, Christian Cullen and Doug Howlett en route to the tryline and André Pretorius's conversion put the visitors into a 7-3 lead after an Andrew Mehrtens penalty got the scoreboard ticking over in the second minute.

Pretorius soon added a penalty to stretch the Boks' lead to 10-3, and although Andrew Mehrtens cut the lead to four points, Greeff was on target with a drop-goal just a few minutes later to put the Boks in control at 13-6.

But All Black skipper Reuben Thorne rallied his troops and they hit back with a try of their own shortly before the end of the first quarter.  Kiwi hooker Mark Hammett, who had a nightmarish performance against the Wallabies last week, finally found one of his jumpers -- Chris Jack -- at a line-out, and scrumhalf Justin Marshall made some ground before Richard McCaw carried the ball further.

A third Crusader, No.8 Scott Robertson, soon arrived on the scene to make a telling forage into enemy territory and although Marshall took the wrong option by turning the ball inside to Mark Robinson, the Kiwis quickly re-cycled the ball to the right for Doug Howlett to dive over.

Mehrtens swung in a wonderful conversion from far out to tie the scores 13-all, but that was where the Boks' scoring ended for some time as the All Blacks slowly started making and breaking first-time tackles.

Mark Hammett was the man to benefit from the Kiwis' renewed vigour as he streaked over from a clever line-out move with Robertson, although replays suggest that Hammett's throw did not go five metres and both his feet were in the field of play at the time of his throw.

Mehrtens missed the conversion, but he added a penalty on the stroke of half-time and a drop-goal soon afterwards to put his side ahead at 24-13.

Then Greeff, who could do no wrong up till then, mis-judged a chip-ahead from Kiwi second five-eighths Aaron Mauger from the re-start to Mehrtens's drop-goal, which allowed Mauger to have another hack at the ball.  Caleb Ralph nailed Stefan Terblanché in the tackled and Tana Umaga, who had replaced the injured Mark Robinson, won the ball on the ground and presented it to Justin Marshall.

Marshall went right and the Boks defended bravely, but a change of direction saw Thorne crash over for the try.  Mehrtens did the necessary and at 31-13 the All Blacks had ripped the heart out of the young Bok side.

To their credit Krige's side did manage to pull one try back -- Marius Joubert won the race to the goalline after Pretorius's attempted penalty kick to touch bounced loose -- but 31-20 soon became 36-20 after Justin Marshall powered his way over for his fifth career try against the South Africans.

Marshall's try came just after the self-same Joubert had been sin-binned in rather dubious circumstances after a high-tackle on Doug Howlett and a few swats at Tana Umaga, who came to Howlett's assistance.

Scott Robertson rubbed more salt into the Boks's already infected wound with a late try after yet another well-executed line-out move close to the Bok line.

In the end a 21-point winning margin -- as predicted by the Zurich Computer rankings -- seems massive.  And, indeed it is.

The All Blacks will feel well-satisfied with their ninth straight Test triumph -- and bonus point -- that reinforces their position at the top of the Tri-Nation standings while Bok captain Corné Krige believes his team can take something out of the performance.

The Bok performance had shades of Nick Mallett's side's determination in 1998, but it also provided us with a trip down memory lane into Carel du Plessis' beleaguered side of 1997, which lost 55-35 to New Zealand at Eden Park.  Hopefully the Boks will remember next week to keep their error-rate down as the world champion Wallabies lie in wait.

Man of the match:  Springbok fullback Werner Greeff started the match like a house on fire and his captain Corné Krige did not stand back to anyone.  For the All Blacks, opensider Richard McCaw was at his brilliant best -- ripping the ball away from hapless Bok attackers and supporting his team-mates on the run -- while flyhalf Andrew Mehrtens ran things well from the crucial flyhalf spot.  But, in the end our vote goes to All Black No.8 Scott Robertson for his complete performance from the base of the Kiwi scrum.  He broke numerous Bok tackles on attack and tackled like a man possessed and for good measure he also scored the All Blacks' fifth try.  He completely out-played his opposite number Bob Skinstad.

Moment of the Match:  At first we pencilled in Werner Greeff's try -- the Boks' first in New Zealand since Pieter Rossouw's try during their 13-3 triumph in Wellington in 1998 -- but once the complexion of the game changed so did our moment of the match.  Our moment then?  Robertson's try, which came shortly before the final whistle.  It was fully-deserved by the Canterbury and Crusaders No.8 and just-reward for hard work a wonderful performance from him.

Villain of the Match:  It may be a bit rough on him, but Marius Joubert wins our vote here for his sin-binning in the 55th minute.  He cannot be blamed for the high-tackle, as he was going in the opposite direction to Doug Howlett, but his flurry of punches afterwards were unnecessary.

The Teams:

New Zealand:  1 David Hewett, 2 Mark Hammett, 3 Greg Somerville, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Simon Maling, 6 Richard McCaw, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Scott Robertson, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Andrew Mehrtens, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Aaron Mauger, 13 Mark Robinson, 14 Caleb Ralph, 15 Christian Cullen
Reserves:  Sam Broomhall, Joe McDonnell, Tom Willis, Byron Kelleher, Jonah Lomu, Tana Umaga, Royce Willis

South Africa:  1 Willie Meyer, 2 James Dalton, 3 Lawrence Sephaka, 4 Jannes Labuschagne, 5 Victor Matfield, 6 Corne Krige (c), 7 Joe Van Niekerk, 8 Bobby Skinstad, 9 Bolla Conradie, 10 Andre Pretorius, 11 Dean Hall, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Marius Joubert, 14 Stefan Terblanche, 15 Werner Greeff
Reserves:  Neil De Kock, Adi Jacobs, Faan Rautenbach, A.J. Venter, Ollie Le Roux,
Unused:  Hendro Scholtz, Breyton Paulse

Referee:  Dickinson s.

Points Scorers:

New Zealand
Tries:  Howlett D.C. 1, Hammett M.G. 1, Marshall J.W. 1, Robertson S.M. 1, Thorne R.D. 1
Conv:  Mehrtens A.P. 2
Pen K.:  Mehrtens A.P. 3
Drop G.:  Mehrtens A.P. 1

South Africa
Tries:  Greeff W.W. 1, Joubert M.C. 1
Conv:  Pretorius A.S. 2
Pen K.:  Pretorius A.S. 1
Drop G.:  Greeff W.W. 1

Australia 6 New Zealand 12

The All Blacks, playing the last few minutes with only 14 men, held onto a six-point lead with the Wallabies attacking relentlessly to win this Tri-Nations/Bledisloe Cup clash by 12-6 at a cold and wet Jade Stadium in Christchurch.

It was the first tryless encounter between New Zealand and Australia since 1991, but what the game lacked in attack, the two teams more than made up for with superb defence.

The Wallabies, after being pinned back in their half for most of the game, changed that trend in the final 15 minutes and launched the one attack after the other.

And when outside centre Mark Robinson was sent to the sin-bin with less than 10 minutes left on the clock, the tide seemed to be turning for the visitors.

But the Australians miscalculated the All Blacks' resilience in defence, and every time they got a promising move going, the home team tackled them into the ground and won back the ball.

The miserable conditions turned the game into a kicking contest between All Black pivot Andrew Mehrtens and the Wallabies' Stephen Larkham and Chris Latham, a battle Mehrtens won in the end.

The outside backs saw very little ball as both sides elected to mince it up in the forwards, and it is here where the All Blacks laid the platform for their win.

The home team had the upper-hand up front, and with Richard McCaw and Scott Robertson leading the charge, they had the Wallabies under pressure at rucks at mauls.

McCaw, despite the few penalties he conceded, was brilliant, and the turn-ver count of 28-19 in New Zealand's favour shows that he had the acsendancy on the ground over Wallaby opensider George Smith.

Chris Jack and Greg Somerville also had good games for the home team, while Toutai Kefu and Nathan Sharpe were the Wallabies' best forwards on the night.

But the All Black General Andrew Mehrtens was the biggest thorn in the Wallabies' side.

His tactical kicking was superb and he constantly had the Australians turn around with probing kicks downfield.  In total, the All Blacks kicked the ball almost 90 times, with Mehrtens doing the honours most of the time.

From there Larkham and Latham were forced to find touch, and although the All Blacks struggled at the line-outs (the Wallabies poached five of their throws), the enjoyed territorial advantage to such an extent that, before the last quarter, the Wallabies had less that 40 percent of the ball.

It was clear that New Zealand coach John Mitchell had told his team -- and Mehrtens in particular -- to keep Australia away from their 22, something the All Blacks did with clinical perfection.

And although the Wallabies had 60 percent of the ball, there was nothing they could do with it as the All Blacks drilled into them every time they tried to get an attack going.

The Wallabies also made life difficult for themselves with too many handling errors.  And as Australian coach Eddie Jones rang the changes in the second half, Mitchell stuck with the team he had sent onto the field, not disrputing their rhythm, a tactical move that paid off towards the end as the All Blacks stuck to their game-plan that eventually won them the match.

Man of the match:  Richard McCaw was good, as was Toutai Kefu.  But Andrew Mehrtens, the man who did most of the pre-match talk in the media, played his part to perfection, keeping the Wallabies as far away from the All Black try-line as possible.  He was also successful with all his kicks at goal under difficult circumstances, while Wallaby kicker Matt Burke missed two penalties.

Moment of the match:  The last movement of the game was quite special.  The Wallabies got a penalty, which Chris Latham stabbed into touch on the New Zealand 22, with 45 seconds left on the clock.  They did get the ball back, but the All Blacks applied so much pressure that when the Wallabies finally lost possession, they were on their own 10-metre line.  Justin Marshall kicked the ball into touch and the final whistle went.

Villain of the match:  Seeing that the game was quite clean, Mark Robinson, who got yellow carded for an early tackle late in the game, wins this dubious award.

The teams:

Australia:  1 Patricio Noriega, 2 Jeremy Paul, 3 Bill Young, 4 Justin Harrison, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 6 Owen Finegan, 7 George Smith, 8 Toutai Kefu, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Stirling Mortlock, 12 Matthew Burke, 13 Dan Herbert, 14 Ben Tune, 15 Chris Latham
Reserves:  Matt Cockbain, Elton Flatley, Mat Rogers, Ben Darwin, David Lyons
Unused:  Brendan Cannon, Chris Whitaker

New Zealand:  1 David Hewett, 2 Mark Hammett, 3 Greg Somerville, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Simon Maling, 6 Richard McCaw, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Scott Robertson, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Andrew Mehrtens, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Aaron Mauger, 13 Mark Robinson, 14 Caleb Ralph, 15 Christian Cullen
Unused:  Ben Blair, Sam Broomhall, Joe McDonnell, Tom Willis, Daryl Gibson, Byron Kelleher, Royce Willis

Referee:  Kaplan j.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Pen K.:  Burke M.C. 2

New Zealand
Pen K.:  Mehrtens A.P. 4