All Blacks end Tri-Nations unbeaten

Another Wallaby second-half meltdown handed New Zealand their tenth straight win over Australia on Saturday as they won 23-22 in Sydney.

After being on top for the best part of 65 minutes, Australia saw their 22-9 lead disappear in the final fifteen minutes as Richie McCaw's men turned on the class when it mattered most.

The result also means New Zealand extend their winning run in all Tests to fourteen.

What a game!  This is now rugby should be played.

As expected, both teams arrived with an attacking mindset and were keen to keep the ball alive and in hand.  Yet some sterling defensive work saw the protagonists all-square on two tries each at the final whistle.

Australia's 14-6 half-time lead was a fair reflection of a high-paced first 40 minutes.  Each side had been denied a try by mere inches and one mistake by Victor Vito was enough to allow the hosts to cross the whitewash first.

But the Wallabies were consistently half a second ahead of their visitors at point of contact, forcing the All Blacks to leak a couple of penalties.  David Pocock was once again the main instigator of the damage at the breakdown.

The truth be told, Australia could easily have been further ahead as Matt Giteau had left eight points behind (and another two in the second half) with an inconsistent performance from the kicking tee.

It was all going to plan for the men in gold, who looked to have the result wrapped up as they entered the final straight.

Was it fatigue from the long trip back from South Africa?  Burnout after three Tests in as many weeks?  Lack of conditioning?  Whatever it was, the hosts simply weren't the same side in the final quarter as the All Blacks' old tactic of turning up the heat at the death worked once again.

The Wallabies first try came from rare attack from the base of the scrum as Ben McCalman broke off, sent Vito the wrong way and found James O'Connor in aches of space on the blindside.  The fresh-faced wing's speed did the rest to give the Aussies an 8-6 lead on the quarter-hour mark.

Australia took a commanding 19-6 lead when a long pass out wide from Will Genia found Adam Ashley-Cooper, who powered his way over soon after the restart.

Piri Weepu's third penalty with half-an-hour left gave their All Blacks their first points in over 40 minutes to reduce the gap to ten.

Giteau's fourth miss prompted him to hand over the kicking duties to Kurtley Beale, who extended the hosts' lead at 22-9 going into the final quarter.

But it was all New Zealand in the run-in.  Robbie Deans lost all colour in his face as his side were unable to get their hands on the ball.

The All Black pack was suddenly a step ahead in the loose and their domination at scrum time finally paid dividends when McCaw broke down the blindside to cross the try-line unhindered.

Unlike Giteau, Weepu was able to add the extra points, giving the visitors sniff of victory.

When Kieran Read muscled his way over with six minutes left on the clock, it all took on a familiar air as the All Blacks' composure was contrasted by the dejected look on the Wallabies' faces.

Weepu's second conversion put his team ahead for good with six minutes left to play.  The rest is history.

Man of the match:  For 60 minutes we had David Pocock's name pencilled in.  Israel Dagg and Kieran Read deserve a mention, but on the day he became the All Blacks' most capped skipper, Richie McCaw gets our nod.  Not just for his try and tireless work, but for the fact that when he is at the helm, no matter what the scoreline, you can never count the Kiwis out.

Moment of the match:  It was almost in the bag until, the in the 67th minute, the Wallaby scrum went backwards (again).  It gave McCaw that half-second head start he needed to evade Rocky Elsom and break clear to score.

Villain of the match:  Nothing nasty worth reporting.  We witnessed an 80-minute advertisement for the game.

The scorers

For Australia:
Tries:  O'Connor, Ashley-Cooper
Pens:  Giteau 3, Beale

For New Zealand:
Tries:  McCaw, Read
Cons:  Weepu 2
Pens:  Weepu3

Australia:  15 Kurtley Beale, 14 James O'Connor, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Lachie Turner, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom (c), 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Mark Chisholm, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 Huia Edmonds, 17 James Slipper, 18 Dean Mumm, 19 Richard Brown, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Berrick Barnes, 21 Anthony Fainga'a.

New Zealand:  15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Israel Dagg, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Victor Vito, 5 Tom Donnelly, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Corey Flynn, 17 John Afoa, 18 Anthony Boric, 19 Jerome Kaino, 20 Jimmy Cowan, 21 Colin Slade, 22 Rene Ranger.

Venue:  ANZ Stadium, Sydney
Weather:  15°C.  Clear.  Almost windless
Referee:  Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa), Christie du Preez (South Africa)
Television match officials:Matt Goddard (Australia)

Beale wins it for Wallabies

Australia full-back Kurtley Beale kicked a 50m penalty in injury time to beat South Africa 41-39 in a dramatic Tri-Nations battle in Bloemfontein.

The last-gasp victory allowed the Wallabies to break a 47-year losing streak on the Highveld that goes all the way back to 1963, and will now finish the tournament in second place -- avoiding the dreaded wooden spoon.

Not even 38,000 booing South Africans could deter Beale in the dying seconds of the match, as the man of the moment showed some deep steel by nailing the match-winning penalty from a difficult angle on the halfway line.

The raised flags behind the posts consigned the Springboks to their fifth defeat of a forgettable 2010 campaign, completing their spiralling journey to rock bottom.  Since the start of this year's tournament, they've surrendered the Tri-Nations title, the Freedom Cup, and now the Mandela Plate.

Australia haven't won in Bloemfontein since 1933 but came perilously close to ending second best for the second time in two weeks after dominating the opening quarter, but then -- like a bad case of deja vu -- let the Springboks battle all the way back to lead in the second half.

The world champions looked down and out shortly before half-time when they trailed 31-6, but a moment of inspiration from vice-captain Victor Matfield reinvigorated the hosts after he set up Jaque Fourie to score.

Further tries from Gurthro Steenkamp and Jean de Villiers added to a match haul of 24 points for Morne Steyn, helped edge the Boks in front with 90 seconds left to play.  But unbelievably, the hosts conceded a penalty in the final minute, and Australia captain Rocky Elsom asked Beale to have a crack for the unlikely win.

Australia were gifted an early three points when Bryan Habana was punished for not releasing and Matt Giteau easily slotted over the opening points.

Steyn responded for the hosts after Beale's illegal attempt to steal the ball, but the Waratahs star made amends almost instantly.  Jean de Villiers failed to hold his position, which allowed James O'Connor to send his team-mate away for the opening try after eight minutes.

Giteau added the extras, before another Springbok error, this time surprisingly at the line-out, led to another seven-pointer for Australia.  John Smit's put-in was too long enabling the Wallabies to steal the ball and spread it quickly through the hands to Adam Ashley-Cooper, whose pass sent O'Connor over.

The conversion by Giteau followed, and after Steyn put over another penalty, Stephen Moore crossed for his third Test try, set up by Drew Mitchell's break through the middle.

Australia added a bonus point-try after 24 minutes, but again had Habana to thank after the winger missed his tackle on O'Connor, who sliced through the centre and off-loaded to Elsom to score.

Giteau extended the lead to 31-6 and the score looked to be remaining that way heading into the half-time break, until the moment of genius from Matfield.

The veteran lock, who won his 100th cap last week, chipped the ball over the last defender and impressively regathered before laying the ball on for Fourie to score.

Steyn converted to leave Peter de Villiers' side trailing by 18 at the break.

Steenkamp cut that gap by five six minutes after the restart when he powered his way over and the conversion along with a penalty from Steyn further boosted the visibly rejuvenated hosts.

The upward swing in momentum gathered even more pace after 54 minutes when Jean de Villiers' angled run cut right through the Australia defence and saw the Stormers centre cross under the post.

It was a move that came from an initial Beale error and then a strong South Africa scrum.

The comeback was complete on the hour mark when a mammoth 50 metre penalty from Steyn put the home side ahead for the first time.  And Australia's woes deepened 10 minutes later when replacement hooker Saia Faingaa was sent to the sin-bin after a spear tackle on Flip van der Merwe.

Steyn extended the lead to five points, but there was another twist when Mitchell crossed under the posts with eight minutes to play and O'Connor handed the lead back to the tourists with a clean conversion.

But an error from Beale four minutes from time presented Steyn with his ninth opportunity at goal and he maintained his 100 per cent record by putting his side back ahead.

However, Beale had the final say to condemn South Africa to bottom place in the standings after a disappointing defence of their 2009 title.

Man of the match:  Could it be anyone else besides that Un-Beale-lievable last-gasp penalty kick for Australia?

Moment of the match:  Victor Matfield's individual brilliance in setting up South Africa's first try was simply spectacular, but it goes without saying that this match will be remembered for that kick from Beale.

Villain of the match:  Saia Faingaa's moment of madness that ended with Flip van der Merwe on his head in the 69th minute.  Steyn kicked the ensuing penalty and the Wallabies faced the impossible task of closing the gap with only 14 men.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Fourie, Steenkamp, De Villiers
Pens:  M Steyn 6
Cons:  M Steyn 3

For Australia:
Tries:  Beale, O'Connor, Moore, Elsom, Mitchell
Cons:  Giteau 5, O'Connor
Pen:  Giteau, Beale

South Africa:  15 Francois Steyn, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Danie Rossouw, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.
Replacements:  16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Ryan Kankowski, 20 Ricky Januarie , 21 Juan de Jongh, 22 Gio Aplon.

Australia:  15 Kurtley Beale, 14 James O'Connor, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom (c), 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Mark Chisholm, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 Saia Fainga'a, 17 James Slipper, 18 Dean Mumm, 19 Richard Brown, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Berrick Barnes, 22 Anthony Fainga'a.

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)

Springboks win Loftus epic

South Africa salvaged some pride in Pretoria thanks to a thrilling 44-31 Tri-Nations win over Australia, a Test that will go down as one of the classics.

Nine scintillating tries were scored at Loftus Versfeld in a fast and furious encounter -- five of them coming from the Springboks -- but the one that counted the most belonged to JP Pietersen who sealed the deal in the last minute of play.

The result brought South Africa's four-game losing streak to an end in emphatic fashion, and moves the Springboks one point above the Wallabies on the tournament standings.

The bonus-point win also allowed vice-captain Victor Matfield to enjoy a triumphant 100th Test on his home ground -- the first of the three Bok centurions to have this satisfaction.

With New Zealand having already clinched the Tri-Nations title last week, the best both sides could aim for was second place in the remaining games.  But while the competition may be over as a contest, the hunger to win is still very much alive as witnessed in the Republic tonight.

South Africa were 14-0 behind after five minutes and trailed 28-24 at the break, but came back well in the second half.  However, as memorable as the breathless battle was, the defensive performances from both sides was one of the most inept in Tri-Nations history.

The Springboks were certainly the worse of the two for much of the contest, conceding four tries in the first half alone -- three of them thanks to defensive incompetence of the very highest order.  A year ago these same players were defensive giants, granitic in nature.  Now they're being dwarfed by a younger, fitter outfit.

The Wallabies should have been ahead inside the opening two minutes when good work from their backs set up Drew Mitchell, who looked to have scored on the left corner, only to be denied by the television official.

But it mattered little as Will Genia then picked up at the base of a ruck and sold a dummy to Flip van der Merwe and ran through Matfield before crossing.

After Matt Giteau converted, the lead was extended after some exceptional manoeuvring by Kurtley Beale in his own half, which saw the full-back ghost his way past at least five Springbok defenders.  He then found Rocky Elsom and picked out James O'Connor for his fifth Test try.

Another Giteau conversion followed, but the hosts finally managed to get on the board after nine minutes when Francois Hougaard's switched pass let flank Juan Smith run in under the posts.

Morne Steyn added the extras, although, Bryan Habana did his side little favour by gifting the advantage back to the tourists -- the Stormers winger made a mess of trying to take a high ball from the kick-off, allowing O'Connor in for his second.

Giteau made it three out of three to take the score to 21-7.

A remarkable fifth try of the game came in the 14th minute when captain John Smit cleverly chose to set up a line-out rather than take the points and he was rewarded when Matfield's powerful shift allowed prop Gurthro Steenkamp to barge his way over -- with Morne Steyn converting.

A 60m penalty from the Springbok number ten then cut the deficit even further and when Beale tried to do the same thing and missed, there was a sense from the home crowd that their luck was about to change.

However, it was again not to be -- Wallabies lock Dean Mumm landing the bonus-point try for his side after 26 minutes.  Mitchell's kick in-field from the left put Habana under pressure for the second time and the ensuing tap-and-go penalty led to the Waratahs lock powering his way over.

But the tries didn't stop there.  Nine minutes before the break Hougaard latched onto a pop pass, slipped through a gap and then found Pierre Spies who went over under the posts.

Morne Steyn reduced the deficit to four with his conversion to complete a rare 52-point half in international rugby.

The Bulls fly-half and Giteau exchanged penalties after the restart, before Habana's third blunder arised when he overran a pop pass from Morne Steyn that fortuitously bounced for Francois Steyn -- returning to the side for the first time since June -- to dot down and give the Boks the lead for the first time after 50 minutes.

Morne Steyn completed a tough conversion putting Peter de Villiers' team three points ahead (34-31).

The hosts were then put under pressure when they failed to score with a lost ball on the Wallabies' line, and the visitors ran the length of the field -- sparked by more Beale brilliance -- only to be denied by poor handling after a ruck or two on the Springboks line.

The visitors sustained the pressure and this time it took Hougaard to bring off a try-saving tackle on Adam Ashley Cooper metres from South Africa's tryline.

Francois Steyn, noted for his booming right boot, then landed a penalty from his own half to stretch the lead to six with 11 minutes to play.  And Pietersen added a late score, converted by Butch James, as the world champions closed out the win.

Man of the match:  South Africa largely have scrum-half Francois Hougaard to thank for the win.  He set up three of the Boks' five tries and made a try-saving -- even match-saving -- tackle when the home side were on the rack in the last quarter.

Moment of the match:  Nine tries!  Take your pick.  But with both sides' defence exhibiting the resistant qualities of a weathered, old barn door and the intensity of touch rugby players at the tackle point -- Hougaard's tackle on Ashley-Cooper takes the cake.

Villain of the match:  No cards, but one feels that Australia were their own worst enemies in the second half at Loftus.  The Wallabies' high error count prevented them from winning at altitude in South Africa for the first time since 1963!

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Smith, Steenkamp, Spies, F Steyn, Pietersen
Cons:  M Steyn 4, James
Pens:  M Steyn 2, F Steyn

For Australia:
Tries:  Genia, O'Connor 2, Mumm
Cons:  Giteau 4

South Africa:  15 Francois Steyn, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Janie du Plessis, 2 John Smit, 1 Gurtho Steenkamp.
Replacements:  16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Danie Rossouw, 19 Ryan Kankowski, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Butch James, 22 Juan de Jongh.

Australia:  15 Kurtley Beale, 14 James O'Connor, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Richard Brown, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom (captain), 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Saia Faainga, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 Stephen Moore, 17 James Slipper, 18 Ben McCalman, 19 Scott Higginbotham, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Berrick Barnes, 22 Anthony Faainga.

Referee:  Alain Rolland (Ireland)

Late show seals title for All Blacks

Two tries in the final three minutes saw New Zealand secure the 2010 Tri-Nations title in dramatic fashion with a 29-22 win in Johannesburg.

22-17 up going in the game's dying embers, the Springboks had the wind knocked out of them when their visitors came good thanks to scores from captain Richie McCaw and Israel Dagg.

It was cruel way for John Smit to leave the field in his 100th appearance for his country, especially as he was the man who missed a key tackle that let centre Ma'a Nonu slip through the net.

The atmosphere at the formerly-known Soccer City was electric for a number of reasons.  Firstly, it was Smit's century and he jogged out to a mass of noise at the 94,000 capacity venue -- a ground that had a huge amount of Elvis' in attendance due to a world-record being attempted.  Don't ask.

Soon after, the Haka was drowned out by that same crowd singing ''Ole, ole, ole, oleee'' and that seemed to spur on the hosts.  Hits were fierce from the wounded Springboks as they drove the champions-in-waiting back in the tackle, which was something they were simply not doing during the opening fixtures of the tournament.

And boy did their intensity upset New Zealand's rhythm which had been so impressive up until now in 2010.  They were simply knocked off their perch early on by a side hurting and in desperate need of a result, with Schalk Burger and a returning Juan Smith starring.

Captain Smit unfortunately did not have it all his own way though on Saturday, as his opening lineout was not straight and then he was penalised by Welsh referee Nigel Owens for delaying a throw soon after.  Dan Carter adding three points was the net result.

South Africa were on the board on eleven minutes though when Kieran Read was caught going off his feet but this was all while the Springboks were turning up the defensive heat in Johannesburg.  Those tackles and the general intensity brought another penalty just three minutes later when Ben Franks -- in for his brother at tighthead this week -- failed to roll away.  Morne Steyn made no mistake from the tee and that was part of his 100 per cent record.

His rival was not so assured.  Carter struck the post with almost a quarter of the game passed and if he was on-target before the break, New Zealand would have gone in ahead.  As it was they were down 16-14 after two tries, one for Burger and then Tony Woodcock.

Burger's score was down to brute force as the All Blacks found themselves on the back foot.  From close range the flank put his head down and burrowed his way over before lock Tom Donnelly found himself needing to just draw and give to his prop on 37 minutes.

The interval was always going to bring up the question whether South Africa could maintain their fire that was keeping New Zealand contained.  The answer was they couldn't as the visitors enjoyed the lion's share of and territory, with the hosts breathing heavily in stages.

Steyn did extend the lead to eight points after the hour mark however, with Carter keeping New Zealand in touching distance when he knocked over a penalty of his own.

But seven minutes from time the visiting playmaker missed a shot from straight in front the uprights and that seemed to end all hope.  The was far from dead.

Three minutes from time, McCaw collected the ball on the overlap and dived over in the right corner, despite the best efforts of three defenders and the TMO ruling.

And then came the moment that veteran hooker Smit would have had nightmares about on his special day as his missed tackle on Nonu led to Dagg going over to seal a memorable victory, which secured the title and kept their unbeaten run intact.

Man of the match:  Many of the forwards put their hand up for this accolade but it has to go to a player on the losing side.  Schalk Burger was immense in the tackle and combined well with Juan Smith and Pierre Spies at times.  Hats off also to Richie McCaw and Ma'a Nonu.

Moment of the match:  South African TMO Shaun Veldsman's decision to allow Richie McCaw's levelling try in the corner.  It was a call that no one would want to make as the captain's foot dangled dangerously close the whitewash.

Villain of the match:  A good game full of intensity with no yellow cards.  No villain today.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Try:  Burger
Con:  Steyn
Pen:  Steyn 5

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Woodcock, McCaw, Dagg
Con:  Carter
Pen:  Carter

South Africa:  15 Gio Aplon, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 5 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.
Replacements:  16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Danie Rossouw, 19 Francois Louw, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Butch James, 22 Wynand Olivier.

New Zealand:  15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Josevata Rokocoko, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Tom Donnelly, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Ben Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Corey Flynn, 17 John Afoa, 18 Samuel Whitelock, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Israel Dagg.

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees:  Alain Rolland (Ireland), Simon McDowell (Ireland)
Television match official:  Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Bledisloe staying in All Blacks country

New Zealand beat an improved Australia outfit 20-10 in Christchurch on Saturday to retain the Bledisloe Cup, but will have to wait a little longer to win back their Tri-Nations crown.

The All Blacks needed five points from this clash at AMI Stadium to bring the Tri-Nations tournament to a premature end, however they could only manage two tries thanks to some strong defence by the Wallabies who kept their hosts at bay.

Richie McCaw and his troops now require just a lone bonus point from their remaining two away matches against Australia and South Africa to make it a fait accompli following the world's top-ranked team's thirteenth consecutive Test win.

The 10-point triumph also was a record-equalling ninth successive victory over Australia, who have now gone eight years without the Bledisloe Cup.  The Wallabies delivered a vastly-improved showing on the previous week's debacle in Melbourne, but the All Blacks still had too much power and precision to deny their trans-Tasman rivals a much-needed victory.

The Wallabies continue to miss Quade Cooper, a player capable of breaking the line from the fly-half position.  While Matt Giteau disappointed, his cause wasn't helped by an inconsistent showing by this forwards, as a large amount of possession often didn't translate into ground gained.  It was a credit to the home defence and their work on the deck, but the Wallabies pack could have done better.

The All Blacks didn't have everything their own way at the tackle, often conceding penalties in their attempt to stifle the Australians.  But when they did turn possession over, a well-placed kick or incisive counter-attack earned them great territory.

The game was not without its frustrations for the Wallabies, desperate to come back from their 49-28 hiding last week, as the All Blacks rode their luck with ruck infringements -- twice they escaped with warnings but no yellow cards.

Although the Wallabies controlled possession for the first five minutes it was the All Blacks who scored first in a move which started when lock Tom Donnelly snapped up a turnover ball to charge 20 metres downfield.

When he was brought down on the 22m line by Kurtley Beale, the All Blacks quickly recycled and Mils Muliaina was sent over in the corner.

Dan Carter converted from the sideline and then went from hero to zero soon after the restart when he lost the ball in a tackle which resulted in David Pocock and Nathan Sharpe sending Beale on a 65m run to the line who outpaced Carter to score in a handy position for Giteau to convert.

Scores weren't levelled for long, though, with a defensive blunder from makeshift winger James O'Connor allowing All Blacks centre Conrad Smith an easy try in the thirteenth minute.

Instead of staying on his wing, O'Connor was caught in two minds as classy inside centre Ma'a Nonu exposed the youngster's inexperience with a lovely long pass to his partner in crime for a score in the corner.

Carter again nailed the sideline conversion to give New Zealand a 14-7 lead, before Giteau narrowed the gap to four points with a 20th-minute penalty goal after the All Blacks were caught offside.

The All Blacks went to the break enjoying a 17-10 advantage following a Carter penalty in the 33rd minute after Wallabies scrum-half Will Genia was pinged for not releasing.

There was definite change of mood by the All Blacks after half-time as the Wallabies mounted wave after wave of attacks.  New Zealand put the brakes on their free-for-all running and turned more to their fly-half to kick them out of trouble as they withstood 30 minutes of pressure.

A Carter penalty produced the only points of the second half but the All Blacks were always in control as they wound down the clock.  They may have to wait a few weeks to lift the trophy, but there's no doubt the title will be returning to New Zealand.

The Wallabies need to score bonus-point wins in their remaining three games and hope the All Blacks lose their remaining fixtures without consolation ... highly unlikely.

Man of the match:  Playing at home in Christchurch, Dan Carter showcased his extensive attacking arsenal:  the darting runs, the chip-and-regathers, the probing punts, and the gap-manufacturing passes.  To cap it all, he goaled every kick.

Moment of the match:  Of all the tries scored, Mils Muliaina's effort wins our vote.  In a word:  brilliant.

Villain of the match:  Tony Woodcock's clearance of Saia Faingaa from behind at the ruck was illegal and uncalled for.  Playing in his 67th match for New Zealand, the All Blacks' most capped prop can count his lucky stars he didn't do his celebrating in the bin.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Muliaina, Smith
Cons:  Carter 2
Pens:  Carter 2

For Australia:
Try:  Beale
Con:  Giteau
Pen:  Giteau

New Zealand:  15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Jo Rokocoko, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Tom Donnelly, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Corey Flynn, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Sam Whitelock, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Alby Mathewson, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Benson Stanley

Australia:  15 Kurtley Beale, 14 James O'Connor, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Anthony Faingaa, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Will Genia, 8 Richard Brown, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom (capt), 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Saia Faingaa, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 Stephen Moore, 17 James Slipper, 18 Rob Simmons, 19 Matt Hodgson, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Berrick Barnes, 22 Cameron Shepherd.

Referee:  Jonathan Kaplan (SA)

Seven up for rampant All Blacks

New Zealand put one hand on both the Tri-Nations and Bledisloe silverware on Saturday as they crushed Australia 49-28 in a classic at Etihad Stadium.

It was simply an outstanding contest between two attack-minded sides.  Five tries in the first-half and not a single scrum reset until the 75th minute as rugby was played how it always should be.

The fine result now puts the All Blacks on fifteen tournament points in 2010, with nearest rivals Australia and the pointless Springboks swiftly looking a distant second and third in the south.

But what about this New Zealand outfit?  Call it over the top to be talking like this so soon but they have the confident and assured air of a world champion team in the making.  Calmness, ruthlessness and attacking brilliance were on show as players like Richie McCaw and Daniel Carter stood up to the plate.  They were not alone.

Yes the Wallabies were reduced to fourteen just after the break when Drew Mitchell was shown his second yellow, but in truth the game was up.

The contest itself began at quite a pace and in the end continued in that fashion.  First it was Matt Giteau -- in for the banned Quade Cooper -- who ran from his own 22 in a breathtaking play that led to New Zealand coming offside and the Brumby slotting over the opening three.

However, it only took Carter just three minutes to level matters with a penalty of his own before déjà vu, calamity, whatever you want to call it, hit the Melbourne surface.

Only a minute after DC had knocked over those points, he became the villain when his attempted clearance was too slow in leaving his boot and Mitchell capitalised for the opening try wide out, proving once again he should always remain in this Wallaby squad.

That was the first part of a rather comical sketch though as Carter promptly became a hero by charging down Berrick Barnes' almost identical clearance to score.  The visiting number ten did knock over the extra two points -- unlike Giteau -- to make it 10-8 to the blacks.

Then came a moment of brilliance from wing Cory Jane following turnover ball inside away territory.  The impressive Brad Thorn was a key ingredient in the score by drawing two gold tacklers for the overlapping Keven Mealamu to hand on to Ma'a Nonu, who offloaded to centre partner Conrad Smith before Jane's chip -- despite being held by Rocky Elsom -- dropped perfectly for the supporting Mils Muliaina to grab his first of two scores.

Giteau did pull the scores back to 15-11 and when prop Owen Franks was yellow-carded for a no-arm tackle on Richard Brown, one sensed it could a route back for the Wallabies.

Unfortunately for Australia that proved not to be the case as New Zealand's fourteen men produced another seven points, with turnover ball again the catalyst.  McCaw it was who finished this time, superbly I might add down the left wing after one of those moves off of Graham Henry's midweek training paper.  It worked a treat mind on 27 minutes.

Penalties were traded by Giteau and Carter to move the scoreline up to 22-14 in favour of the All Blacks, but then came the bonus-point try before the interval.  The Cantabrian's penalty-push deep into the corner led to a slick lineout set-move that involved the mobile Thorn and Franks before a switch to the blindside saw Jane finish well in the corner.

The turnaround was a chance for Robbie Deans to rally his troops who were 32-14 down.  However, the comeback that the coach was looking for was not forthcoming as Mitchell's second yellow -- for slapping down the ball in touch -- put the game beyond doubt.

Adam Ashley-Cooper did pull the scores back to 39-21 after his opposite number Muliaina had gone over to complete his rather simple brace, but then Joe Rokocoko, Rocky Elsom and Corey Flynn rounded off New Zealand's eighth-straight win over the Wallabies.

Man-of-the-match:  So many stood out but we have gone for Richie McCaw, who provided yet again for the All Blacks.  Mentions too for Brad Thorn, Cory Jane and Mils Muliaina.

Moment-of-the-match:  No question about this one as Cory Jane's chip over the top for Mils Muliaina was breathtaking.  Despite being semi-tackled by Rocky Elsom, the 'Canes man found his full-back for an excellent score that hurt the Wallabies deeply.

Villain-of-the-match:  Maybe slightly harsh but the official who pinged Drew Mitchell for an alleged no-arm tackle.  We still haven't seen when and where it happened as Australia were attacking at the time.  Explain, anyone?

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Mitchell, Ashley-Cooper, Elsom
Con:  Giteau 2
Pen:  Giteau 3

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Carter, Muliaina 2, McCaw, Jane, Rokocoko, Flynn
Con:  Carter 4
Pen:  Carter 2

Australia:  15 Adam Ashley Cooper, 14 James O'Connor, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Will Genia, 8 Richard Brown, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom (c), 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 Saia Faingaa, 17 James Slipper, 18 Rob Simmons, 19 Matt Hodgson, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Anthony Faingaa, 22 Kurtley Beale.

New Zealand:  15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Joe Rokocoko, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Tom Donnelly, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Corey Flynn, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Sam Whitelock, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Israel Dagg.

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa), Cobus Wessels (South Africa)
Television match official:  George Ayoub (Australia)

Wallabies rampant in Brisbane

The Tri-Nations trophy is set to change hands in 2010 after the Springboks conceded their third straight defeat, going down 30-13 to Australia at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.

With a team packed with Brisbane-based players from the Reds, the national side used similar tactics to the Super 14 franchise to fracture the South African defence by moving the ball around at pace.

The sides scored two tries a piece, but the Wallabies domination of the breakdown forced the men in green and gold to bleed penalties.

As the scoreline suggests, the Wallabies were in charge from the start and two yellow cards didn't help the South African cause.  Once again there will be cries from the Republic in protest to some inconsistent refereeing but few will dispute that Australia were the superior team on the day.

The defending champions will now head from their three-match tour without a single tournament point, making a title defence near-impossible.

Its was déjà vu all over again for the Boks as they were down to fourteen men in the opening minutes for the third time in as many weeks.  Jaque Fourie was the guilty party this week -- for tip tackle -- but unlike in New Zealand the visitors were able to weather the storm and didn't concede points before the centre's return.

But even with a full quota on the field, the Springboks struggled to contain their free-running hosts.  A few too many missed tackles had Australia rushing forward and the pressure resulted in a 12-3 lead after 30 minutes with Matt Giteau faultless from the kicking tee.

As expected, David Pocock made a real nuisance of himself at the rucks and on a couple of occasions chucked a spanner in the opposition works when they looked set to strike back.

A fudged Springbok line-out on the stroke on half time allowed the Wallabies to open a healthy gap as Drew Mitchell juggled his way over the line, sending the teams to the changing rooms with the hosts up 17-3.

Australia pressed home their advantage after the break as Giteau and James O'Connor added a penalty each to stretch the lead to 23-3.

The second of those penalties saw BJ Both sent to the bin for killing the Wallabies' ball in an attacking position.  Quade Cooper was also given his marching orders for a lifting tackle and the visitors used their extra man to build some momentum.

A quick-tap penalty from Ruan Pienaar opened the way for Fourie to muscle his way over from short range but the horse had already bolted.

South Africa sparked hopes of a late comeback when Gurthro Steenkamp charged over after a line-out inside the last ten minutes.

But he hosts would have the last laugh however as Will Genia dived over after being set up by a rolling maul in the dying minutes, capping a super performance by the Wallabies and sending the world champions home to think again.

Man of the match:  Tough one to call with both Rocky Elsom and David Pocock putting in huge performances.  We'll give it to the latter for his tireless work at the breakdown.

Moment of the match:  Australia had been drifting further and further ahead but Drew Mitchell's try essentially ended the game as a contest.  It summed up the day:  The Springboks failed to do the basics right and were caught out by the pace of the Aussie attack.

Villain of the match:  Fourie and Cooper were both guilty of lifting the man in the tackle, but neither incident looked nasty enough to merit the ''villain'' tag.

The scorers

For Australia:
Tries:  Mitchell, Genia
Con:  O'Connor
Pens:  Giteau 5, O'Connor

For South Africa:
Tries:  Fourie, Steenkamp
Pen:  Steyn

Yellow cards:  Fourie (SA -- 3rd min -- dangerous tackle);  Botha (SA -- 46th min -- cynical offside);  Cooper (Aus -- 54th min -- dangerous tackle)

Australia:  15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 James O'Connor, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Richard Brown, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom (c), 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Saia Fainga'a, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 Stephen Moore, 17 James Slipper, 18 Rob Simmons, 19 Ben McCalman, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Berrick Barnes, 22 Kurtley Beale.

South Africa:  15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Wynand Oliver, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Ryan Kankowski, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Danie Rossouw, 3 BJ Botha, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.
Replacements:  16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Dewald Potgieter, 20 Francois Hougaard, 21 Butch James, 22 Juan de Jongh.

Venue:  Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Referee:  George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees:  Keith Brown (New Zealand), Vinny Munro (New Zealand)
Television match official:  Matt Goddard (Australia)
Assessor:  Steve Hilditch

Flawless All Blacks do it again

New Zealand repeated their heroics of last week's Tri-Nations opener with another polished performance to beat South Africa 31-17 at Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Saturday.

It was a bad case of deja vu for the Boks as once again the All Blacks took advantage of a yellow card shown early on -- this time to banned Bakkies Botha's replacement Danie Rossouw -- that resulted in ten points in ten minutes.

From then on in it was always going to be a mountain to climb for the visitors.  And while they showed a lot of character to claw their way back and narrow the lead to 13-7 at half-time, the home side were just far too clinical after the break to claim successive bonus point wins over the world champions and ensure their two home fixtures yielded the maximum ten points.

Truth be told, the hosts should have buried South Africa considering the defending champions' inconsistent defensive efforts, their inability to adapt to Alain Rolland's relaxed and sometimes negligent style of officiating, and their failure to impose themselves on attack.

Indeed, Irish eyes weren't smiling on the Springboks on a wintry night in the New Zealand capital and at times, it certainly looked like John Smit's men were up against sixteen men.

The yellow card for foul play aside, there were key instances in the game that either went unnoticed or unpunished that will leave fans of the oval ball fuming back in the Republic.

South Africa now limp across the Tasman to Australia pointless and seemingly bereft of ideas after another mauling by a highly-motivated All Blacks side whose superior inventiveness, precision and individual class was a joy to watch.

The Springbok attack was unimaginative, and were often smashed back by the hungrier All Blacks who read the South Africans' unimaginative play like a book.  Needless to say, a lot of work needs to be done before next weekend's clash with the Wallabies -- their discipline and attitude no doubt topping the list.

And the Boks can certainly count themselves lucky that Dan Carter had a bad day with the boot, after the All Blacks pivot missed five shots at goal to lend the scoreline an unreflective look.

Rossouw, making his 50th Test appearance in place of the suspended Botha, was earlier the villain of the peace after a skirmish with Richie McCaw saw him sent to the sin bin just four minutes in.  Looking back on the replay, a fired up Rossouw dished out a tap kick to the thigh of McCaw that, in all seriousness, wouldn't have hurt his grandmother.

And the hosts capitalised clinically, racing into a 10-0 lead with their opponents a man down.

Ma'a Nonu opened the scoring, powering over a ruck of bodies on seven minutes and just managing to ground the ball.  Carter, who had missed an earlier penalty, was again off target with the conversion.

Smit gave his troops a stern talking to before the restart, however his words had little effect as just five minutes later the home side struck again.

A fine break from Piri Weepu sliced open the Springboks' static defence and full-back Mills Muliaina -- who showed impressive pace -- raced away down the right wing to score clinically in the corner.  Carter continued his 100 per cent failure record, however his latest effort was the toughest yet under a swirling wind at the Westpac Stadium.

Rossouw returned to the field minutes later, however the wave of attacks from the men in black refused to relent and Carter landed his first effort in four attempts on the half hour.

Despite spending the majority of the first half on the back foot, South Africa grabbed a lifeline three minutes before the break when Rossouw crashed over and Morne Steyn added the extras.

Any hopes of a comeback were soon put to bed though as Rene Ranger marked his first Test start with a try six minutes after the break.  The try followed an incident where Ranger was let off for a shoulder charge on Zane Kirchner in plain sight of the referee and his assistant Alan Lewis.  If he's cited, it will affirm the fact that the Wellington officials made a costly gaffe in failing to show him yellow.

Carter, who missed the subsequent conversion, was then taken off kicking duties as Weepu tried his luck.  The move paid dividends on 51 minutes when the robust scrum-half expertly slotted over a 40-metre effort to put the All Blacks 21-10 to the good.

A bonus-point win was sealed 14 minutes later, replacement Israel Dagg producing two sizzling sidesteps past Pierre Spies, Schalk Burger and Kirchner before touching down.

Burger barged his way over for a late consolation, however the All Blacks were full value for their second successive bonus-point win and are now in pole position to regain the title.

Man of the match:  Once again, all the All Blacks played well.  Kieran Read led another impressive forward effort, while Dan Carter was able to probe with his boot or let the ball out to the outside backs who were a constant threat.  Acting as the link, and an ideal choice under the circumstances, was scrum-half Piri Weepu.  He thrived in the conditions, feeding the ball consistently while making breaks efficiently to ensure the advantage line was continually broken.

Moment of the match:  There were a few, but Israel Dagg's superb individual try to seal the deal was the icing at the Cake Tin.

Villain of the match:  Last week it was bad boy Baakie's Botha who crippled his team in the first half with a needless sin binning and this week his replacement Danie Rossouw followed suit.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Nonu, Muliana, Ranger, Dagg
Con:  Carter
Pens:  Carter 2, Weepu

For South Africa:
Tries:  Rossouw, Burger
Cons:  Steyn 2
Pen:  Steyn

Yellow card:  Rossouw, 3 min (South Africa, foul play)

New Zealand:  15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Rene Ranger, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Tom Donnelly, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Corey Flynn, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Sam Whitelock, 19 Liam Messam, 20 Jimmy Cowan, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Israel Dagg.

South Africa:  15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Jean de Villiers, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Wynand Oliver, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Danie Rossouw, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Replacements:  16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 BJ Botha, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Ryan Kankowski, 20 Ruan Pienaar, 21 Butch James, 22 Gio Aplon.

Referee:  Alain Rolland (Ireland)

All Blacks dominate Tri-Nations opener

New Zealand retained their world number one ranking thanks to a commanding 32-12 win over South Africa at Eden Park on Saturday.

It doesn't get better than this.  The world's two best rugby teams didn't disappoint as they delivered the top-class encounter we had all expected.

However, the defending Tri-Nations champions could not match their hosts' attacking prowess as New Zealand romped home as four-tries-to-none winners.

A dominant first half from the All Blacks -- helped by a yellow card for Bakkies Botha -- saw the hosts lead 20-3 at half time.  The second half went much the same way as the home side out-muscled and out-thought the world champions.

Lethal on the counter attack, and near-faultless in defence, Richie McCaw's men thoroughly deserved their victory.

Many had predicted that the Springboks would rule the set piece but the All Blacks scrum will feel they won the day and their jumpers competed efficiently at the line-outs.

A couple of technical infringements from the All Blacks gave the visitors an early advantage as Morne Steyn slotted an easy penalty.

The lead was short-lived however as referee Alan Lewis sent Botha to the sin-bin for a professional foul when the hosts were in full attack.  Dan Carter did the job from the kicking-tee to make it all square at 3-all after fifteen minutes.

New Zealand soon pressed home their numerical advantage with Mils Muliaina launching a stunning counter-attack from deep inside his own territory to slice through the South African defence.  McCaw was up in support to supply the link to Conrad Smith, who finished in the corner.

Carter's conversion gave the men in black a 10-3 lead to end the first quarter with the momentum firmly with the home side.

Botha's return didn't prevent the Bok scrum from buckling under pressure, allowing Carter to extend the lead to ten points with his second penalty.

It was one-way traffic for the rest of the half and when Jean de Villiers went looking for an intercept rather than defend his wing, the All Blacks were allowed to strike again.  Ma'a Nonu bust through two tacklers to barge over from short range and as Carter added the extras, the writing was on the wall for the Springboks.

Seventeen points down at the break, the visitors needed to come up with something special in the second period and got off to a solid start as Steyn added two penalties soon after the restart, narrowing the gap to eleven points.

But the All Blacks crossed the whitewash for the third time with their first real attack of the half when Kieran Read made an unstoppable run to hit Piri Weepu's pop pass at pace and charge over.

The Springboks replied almost immediately with Steyn's fourth penalty but at 27-12 going into the last quarter, the result seemed beyond doubt.

Read took a quick penalty to allow Tony Woodcock to muscle his way over in the final minute to rub salt into South African wounds and secure the bonus point.

Man of the match:  A couple of names stand out.  Tom Donnelly and Ma'a Nonu trashed any doubts over their match readiness, Richie McCaw and Kieran Read ruled the battle of the loose forwards, but we'll go with Mils Muliaina, whose attacking vision is still as good as ever after all these years.

Moment of the match:  It looked pretty even in the early stages, but from the moment Muliaina set off on that run to set up Conrad Smith's try, all the momentum was with New Zealand.

Villain of the match:  Not for the first time, Bakkies Botha looks set for an appointment at a disciplinary hearing.  Within a few minutes of kick-off he was using his head -- but not for thinking.

The scorers

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Smith, Nonu, Read, Woodcock
Cons:  Carter 3
Pens:  Carter 2

For South Africa:
Pens:  Steyn 3

Yellow card:  Botha (SA, 13th min, professional foul)

New Zealand:  15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Joe Rokocoko, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Tom Donnelly, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:16 Corey Flynn, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Samuel Whitelock, 19 Liam Messam, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Richard Kahui.

South Africa:15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Jean de Villiers, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.
Replacements:16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 BJ Botha, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Danie Rossouw, 20 Ruan Pienaar, 21 Butch James, 22 Gio Aplon.

Venue:  Eden Park, Auckland
Referee:  Alan Lewis (Ireland)
Assistant referees:  Alain Rolland (Ireland), Stuart Dickinson (Australia)