Last-minute All Blacks edge Wallabies

Malakai Fekitoa scored a try in the last minute as the All Blacks overturned a 10-point deficit to beat the Wallabies 29-28 in Brisbane on Saturday.

Written off before kick-off following a tumultuous fortnight off the field, the Wallabies answered their critics in defiant fashion and looked on course to end a three-year losing streak against their rivals from across the 'ditch.'

But rugby is a game of 80 minutes.  And once again the All Blacks showed they are the masters of the fast finish.

Ewen McKenzie's side produced arguably their best performance of 2014 and willing be kicking themselves for not closing out from a winning position as they failed to match the Kiwis' intensity in the last quarter.

The result means New Zealand win the 2014 Bledisloe series at 2-0.

Australia led 15-12 at half time thanks to tries from half-backs Nick Phipps and Bernard Foley while New Zealand replied through scores from wing Cory Jane and hooker Dane Coles.

Centurian Adam Ashley-Cooper scored for the Wallabies in the second half but an Aaron Smith try for the All Blacks ensure the game went down to the wire.

The Wallabies drew first blood when Phipps scored in the 14th minute.  Christian Leali'ifano stepped inside Fekitoa to break clear and combine with Israel Folau to set up the attack.  Phipps dummied right and then sniped on the side of a ruck for the opening try.

Bernard Foley added the conversion but New Zealand replied immediately, scoring from the restart as Conrad Smith regathered the kick-off before Kieran Read's offload found Jane, who did well to evade two defenders and the touchline to dive into the corner.

Beauden Barrett's excellent conversion levelled the scores at 7-all at the end of the first quarter.

Wallaby skipper Michael Hooper turned down a couple of kickable penalties in favour of chasing a try but the hosts' set piece was not secure enough for the gamble to pay off.

When Richie McCaw was penalised for not rolling away the sensible thing to do was take the points and Foley duly put the Wallabies in front.

But once again the All Blacks hit back immediately as Coles sold Ashley-Cooper an audacious dummy before showing an impressive turn of pace to race home.  Barrett missed the conversion.

The Wallabies' were doing great work in keeping ball in hand and moving the point of attack.  Hooper was stopped just short but Foley was on hand to dive into the corner.

The fly-half couldn't convert his try though, meaning Australia led by just three points at the interval.

The hosts stretched their lead after the break though as Ashley-Cooper became the first Wallaby to score a try in his 100th Test, finishing off good work from Folau and Tevita Kuridrani.  Foley added the extras.

Barrett pulled three back following a ruck infringement but Foley could restore the 10-point margin when the All Black replacement front row buckled at scrum time approaching the hour mark.

Hopes of a Kiwi comeback were dealt a blow when Patrick Tuipulotu saw yellow for taking Rob Simmons out in the air but the visitors were next to score, despite the numerical disadvantage, as Aaron Smith took a penalty quickly and caught the Aussies napping to sneak over.

Barrett's conversion cut the deficit to three points and set up a grandstand finish.

McCaw was the guilty party once again at a ruck allowing Nic White to land a long-range penalty to give Australia some breathing room.

But six points were enough as Fekitoa found a gap after a period of sustained pressure and Colin Slade made no mistake from the tee to crush Wallaby hearts.

Man of the match:  Richie McCaw gave away a few penalties but was a tackle machine, as was Brodie Retallick.  A mention for Michael Hooper for pulling his side together and contributing massively as a ball carrier but we'll go for Bernard Foley, not only for his 15 points, but his tireless work in getting back in defence.

Moment of the match:  There can only be one candidate.  Malakai Fekitoa's try at the death broke Aussie hearts.

Villain of the match:  No real nasty stuff to report

The scorers:

For Australia: 
Tries:  Phipps, Foley, Ashley-Cooper
Cons:  Foley 2
Pens:  Foley 2, White

For New Zealand: 
Tries:  Jane, Coles, A. Smith, Fekitoa
Cons:  Barrett 2, Slade
Pen:  Barrett
Yellow card:  Tuipulotu

The teams:

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Christian Leali'ifano, 11 Joe Tomane, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Scott Higginbotham, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Sam Carter, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Saia Fainga'a, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 Josh Mann-Rea, 17 Benn Robinson, 18 Ben Alexander, 19 James Horwill, 20 Matt Hodgson, 21 Nic White, 22 Quade Cooper, 23 Rob Horne.

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Malakai Fekitoa, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Sam Cane, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Colin Slade, 23 Charles Piutau

Venue:  Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
Television match official:  Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Pumas fight back for historic win

Argentina came back from a 14-0 deficit to record their first-ever Rugby Championship victory, 21-17 over Australia in Mendoza.

Tevita Kuridrani and Scott Higginbotham went over early for Australia as they threatened a rout, but Argentina fought back with two tries of their own.

Leonardo Senatore and Juan Imhoff crossed either side of half-time, as the Wallabies paid the price for their indiscipline, losing Nick Phipps and Michael Hooper to yellow cards.

There was some controversy however as Bernard Foley missed an easy shot at goal late on that would have put Australia back in front as a result of a laser being shone in his eyes.

A year ago in Rosario it was the Israel Folau show with the full-back helping himself to a hat-trick as the Wallabies stamped all over Argentina.

Australia had made two changes for this game, with Higginbotham and James Horwill coming into the team, but the bigger news was the absence of Kurtley Beale, who is currently under investigation for an incident with a team manager on the plane trip to Argentina.

And with Juan Martin Fernandez-Lobbe absent for the birth of a child, and the odd decision to drop Marcelo Bosch and Ramiro Herrera to the bench, there were fears that it could be the same again when they conceded two tries in the first quarter of an hour.

But from there the Pumas dominated possession and territory, and were able to take advantage of Australian infringements to work their way back into the game, and they eventually came away with a famous win.

Under Daniel Hourcade, Argentina have shown a lot of ambition and a desire to play with ball in hand and they were rewarded for that enterprise in this game as they weathered an early Wallaby storm.

Argentina showed their intent from the off, running the ball out of their 22 but it was Australia who got the first try with their first possession of the game.

Hooper snaffled the ball in midfield from a forward pass and after making ground up to the 22 he fed Higginbotham who was in support.  When Australia recycled, the Pumas defence was stretched and with a huge overlap, Kuridrani was on hand to finish after being fed by Folau.  Foley, who had made his debut in this fixture a year ago, converted to make it 0-7 after just three minutes.

The game was being played a frenetic pace and while Argentina looked dangerous with ball in hand, they seemed to be at sixes and sevens in defence.

Every time Folau got the ball he made ground, and Phipps at scrum-half was getting such quick ball that Australia were constantly finding gaps.

The second try came after 12 minutes, with Phipps picking out Saia Fainga'a in the Pumas 22, and he popped it to Higginbotham outside him.  The returning number eight had far too much power and broke through some desperate tackles to dive over.  Foley was again on target from in front.

Argentina's already stretched back-row stocks were then dealt another blow with Benjamin Macome forced off and replaced by Javier Ortega Desio.

Australia were looking ominous, but on their first incursion into the visiting 22, Argentina earned a five-metre scrum.  The first set-piece saw an infringement from the Wallabies, but they got a let-off at the second when Higginbotham forced Martin Landajo into a knock-on.

Nicolas Sanchez had the chance to get Argentina on the board when Higginbotham was penalised at a ruck, but his effort from 45 metres out fell short.

And there was more frustration when Hooper produced a vital turnover on the Australian line after Sanchez had got the Pumas on the front foot in Australian territory.

Still, Argentina had clearly weathered the storm and they were able to set up in the Australian 22 once more when Rob Horne, who had come on for a groggy Matt Toomua, failed to roll away at a ruck.

The Pumas then produced 13 phases of ferocious charges, with bodies flying all over the place.  In the end the try came with Australia's players sucked in tight and Argentina spread it wide to Senatore for a simple finish in the corner.  Sanchez's conversion from the touchline was well wide.

Australia were struggling to cope with the intensity of their hosts, and after another penalty conceded by James Horwill, Sanchez slotted three points to make it 8-14 at the break, with the Wallabies facing the threat of a yellow card for persistent infringements.

It took just two minutes of the second half for that threat to come to fruition, with Phipps sin-binned for kicking the ball out of a ruck in an offside position.  Sanchez converted the simple penalty to bring the Pumas back to within three points.

But that didn't stop Australia getting back into Argentinian territory, with Sanchez dropping the ball under no pressure, and Kuridrani thought he'd scored his second try after an acrobatic pass from Folau.

The full-back flipped the ball back inside as he was being pushed into touch on the right, but with no clear evidence of Kuridrani touching down after he'd scooped up the ball, they came back for a penalty which Foley slotted to stretch the lead back to six.

The Pumas clearly had the upper hand in the scrum though and after a Horne drop in his 22, they used a powerful scrum to set up their second try.

With an extra man in the backline they played the overlap perfectly, with Horacio Agulla delivering the final pass for Imhoff on the right wing.  Sanchez converted from the touchline to give Argentina the lead for the first time.

The try came just before Phipps' return, but they were nearly back to 14 men immediately when Folau was shown a yellow card for taking out Joaquin Tuculet in the air.  Nigel Owens called him back, however, after it became clear that the contact came following a push from Agulla.

Still, the Australians were getting on the wrong side of Owens, and another penalty, conceded by Scott Fardy, gave Sanchez a shot at goal, but this time his effort drifted wide.

Three minutes later it was Foley who had the chance to put Australia back in front after a Pumas scrum infringement, but his effort from nearly halfway was well off.

With 12 minutes remaining Argentina were penalised for failing to roll away when Horne carried in midfield, but again Foley was off-target with a much easier shot with clear footage of a green laser on his eyes as he stepped up for the kick.

The ball came back off the posts but Argentina were alive to it and secured possession and got out of trouble.  And when Will Skelton was penalised for a high tackle, Bosch had the chance to extend the lead, but he was also off-target from halfway.

However it got worse for Australia with seven minutes left when Hooper was sin-binned for taking out Sanchez after an up-and-under, the Australian skipper perhaps a touch unfortunate having gone for the charge-down.  To add insult to injury, Sanchez added the three points from where the penalty landed to make it 21-17.

Australia tried to come back, but came up against a wall of Argentinian defence.  A scrum on halfway proved to be their last chance, but in a rather unsatisfactory finish a succession of reset scrums ended with a Pumas penalty and they were able to kick the ball into touch to seal the win.

It wasn't enough to lift Argentina off the bottom of the table but the result marks the Pumas' first success in the Rugby Championship at their eighteenth attempt, and comes after a number of promising displays this year.

And while Australia were not at their best in Mendoza, the Pumas did enough to deserve the win with a committed display.

Man of the match:  Israel Folau was very dangerous for Australia once more, and the Wallabies probably would have won if they'd brought him into the game more.  It was a real team effort from Argentina with a number of players chipping in.  But for his leadership and cool head, we're going to give the nod to Agustin Creevy.  Very active around the park, and as consistent as ever in the set-piece, Creevy kept his head when Australia took an early lead and captained his team to landmark victory.

Moment of the match:  Australia were under pressure at the end of the first half, but the loss of Nick Phipps early in the second really proved decisive.  The scrum-half thought he was within his rights to play a ball in a ruck as the tackler, but given the warning issued by Nigel Owens just before the break, it was a gamble that didn't need to be made.  Argentina scored ten points in his absence to take control of the game.

Villain of the match:  Whoever the idiot in the crowd was with the laser.  One suggestion offered was that the kicker should be allowed another shot at goal in those circumstances.  You could go one step further and just give the team the points, maybe that will convince these knuckleheads to stop this nonsense.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Tries:  Senatore, Imhoff
Conversion:  Sanchez
Penalties:  Sanchez 3

For Australia:
Tries:  Kuridrani, Higginbotham
Conversions:  Foley 2
Penalties:  Foley 2
Yellow Cards:  Phipps, Hooper

The teams:

Argentina:  15 Joaquin Tuculet, 14 Juan Imhoff, 13 Horacio Agulla, 12 Juan Martin Hernandez, 11 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Martin Landajo, 8 Leonardo Senatore, 7 Benjamin Macome, 6 Rodrigo Baez, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Mariano Galarza, 3 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 2 Agustin Creevy (c), 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements:  16 Matias Cortese, 17 Bruno Postiglioni, 18 Ramiro Herrera, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Javier Ortega Desio, 21 Tomás Cubelli, 22 Marcelo Bosch, 23 Jeronimo De la Fuente.

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Joe Tomane, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Scott Higginbotham, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Scott Fardy, 5 James Horwill, 4 Sam Carter, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Saia Fainga'a, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 Josh Mann-Rea, 17 Benn Robinson, 18 Ben Alexander, 19 Will Skelton, 20 Jake Schatz, 21 Matt Hodgson, 22 Nic White, 23 Rob Horne.

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees:  Craig Joubert (South Africa), Leighton Hodges (Wales)
TMO:  Deon van Blommestein (South Africa)

Sensational Springboks topple champs

South Africa ended New Zealand's 22-game unbeaten streak on Saturday with an incredible 27-25 victory in Johannesburg.

The result also sees the Springboks break a three-year losing streak against the world champions and Rugby Championship winners, claiming their first win against the All Blacks at Ellis Park in ten years.

The sides scored three tries apiece but a Pat Lambie penalty from 55 metres out in the 78th minute gave the Boks an epic win and laid down a marker ahead of next year's World Cup in England.

It was hard to imagine that this year's showdown could even come close to the thriller of twelve months ago at the same venue but we were wrong.  The Boks took on the world's number-one ranked side at their own game, playing with volume and pace.

It was breathtaking.

The Springboks led 21-13 at half thanks to brilliant tries from half-backs Francois Hougaard and Handré Pollard, who scored twice.

Deprived of territory and possession, New Zealand typically converted every chance presented to them and Malakai Fekitoa's try on the half-hour meant they were still in the contest at the interval.

The second half became a much tighter affair as Richie McCaw's team concentrated on keeping ball in hand and their patience paid off as Ben Smith and Dane Coles both crossed in the final fifteen minutes to take a one-point lead into the dying minutes.

The rest is history.

The Boks kept everyone guessing over the participation of the influential Duane Vermeulen until the very last minute but the big number eight ran out with the home side as Jean de Villiers hit 50 Rugby Championship caps and McCaw set a new record for All Blacks appearances.

Kieran Read conceded the first kickable penalty for not rolling away but Pollard missed the target from long range.  Beauden Barrett had no such troubles to open the score after eight minutes.

The Boks were first to cross the whitewash, however, with a sensational length-of-the-field try finished off by Hougaard.  The hosts were rewarded for their enterprise as they spread it wide from deep inside their 22 metre area.  Cornal Hendricks collected De Villiers' chip ahead before offloading to Jan Serfontein, who provided the link for his scrum-half to race home and score under the sticks.  Pollard added the easy extras.

The All Blacks had hardly seen the ball as the first quarter drew to a close but Barrett could close the gap to a single point after Marcell Coetzee was penalised for not allowing the ball out of a ruck.

South Africa's second try was as good as the first.  Again it started in the hosts' half with Bryan Habana making good ground.  The finish was out of the top drawer as Pollard slalomed his way past three defenders to score.  The fly-half's conversion from dead in front took the scores to 14-6.  The Boks were simply bubbling with energy.

In typical fashion, New Zealand struck back as Julian Savea, chasing his own chip ahead, charged down the blindside touchline to open up the Bok defence.  Barrett found Fekitoa on a great line and he jinked his way over for a superb try.  Barrett's conversion was a formality.

Pollard had the last laugh though, beating his opposite number and twisting through McCaw's tackle to get the ball down on the line.  The young fly-half's conversion gave the Boks an eight-point lead at the break.

Conrad Smith's fingertips denied De Villiers a try in a footrace back soon after the restart but Pollard could extend SA's lead from the kicking tee after a deliberate knock-down from Jerome Kaino.

The All Blacks thought they had a try on the hour mark but Coetzee was able to get it down in-goal at the bottom of a ruck.

The Boks were running out of gas though and when Conrad Smith split De Villiers and Serfontein to put Ben Smith over in the corner, the words Déjà vu were whispered around the stadium.

Barrett held his nerve to slot the conversion from the touchline to set up a grandstand finish with the scores at 24-20 and twelve minutes on the clock.

Three minutes latter, with the Springboks looking dead on their feet, Dane Coles crossed in the corner to give the world champions a one-point lead.

Lambie tried a drop goal with four minutes, but unlike at Newlands a week ago, he would not snatch the lead back for his team.

He was on target from his own half with the match-winning penalty though as Liam Messam paid the price for a high tackle on Schalk Burger.

Man of the match:  A mention for Duane Vermeulen, who defied injury to make an outstanding contribution.  But we'll go for 20-year-old Handré Pollard, who not only scored two tries but belied his tender years with a mature performance.

Moment of the match:  Plenty of great moments but Hougaard's try marked a new age in Springbok rugby.  Box kicks?  No, tries from 90 metres!

Villain of the match:  No one nasty enough for this award.  What an advertisement for rugby.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Hougaard, Pollard 2
Cons:  Pollard 3
Pens:  Pollard, Lambie

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Fekitoa, B. Smith, Coles
Cons:  Barrett 2
Pens:  Barrett 2

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Jan Serfontein, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handrè Pollard, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Tebo Mohoje, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Marcel van der Merwe, 19 Bakkies Botha, 20 Schalk Burger, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 JP Pietersen.

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Malakai Fekitoa, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Jeremy Thrush, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Joe Moody.
Replacements:  16 Dane Coles, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Steven Luatua, 20 Liam Messam, 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22 Colin Slade, 23 Ryan Crotty

Referee:  Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees:  Pascal Gauzere;  JP Doyle
TMO:  Graham Hughes

All Blacks win Rugby Championship

New Zealand secured a third straight Rugby Championship title on Saturday as they out-classed Argentina 34-13 with a try bonus-point in La Plata.

At times it was a joy to watch from the All Blacks as they scored the four tries required to become champions after the Boks won well at Newlands.

They will now travel to Johannesburg for their final fixture while the Pumas continue their wait for the Championship win.  The Wallabies will be wary.

Despite the prospect of silverware in the back of their mind, the Kiwis played with all the freedom of a dead rubber as they cut loose against Argentina at times in the first-half, with tries from Ben Smith and Israel Dagg sending them in 20-6 ahead.

Beauden Barrett had opened the scoring on four minutes with a penalty after Brodie Retallick was taken out at line-out time before he added another three-pointer five minutes later.  That Pumas ruck offence came after a now customary Julian Savea chip which found space in the opposition 22.

New Zealand were now showing an excellent balance of riding the physical home defence before making them bemused when they found mesmerising skills of the likes of Dagg and wing Smith, the former's run down the right seeing him switch late with the latter for 13-0.

Argentina needed something, anything, to keep their crowd cheering and Nicolás Sánchez's penalty after Dagg was pinged for blocking gave them adequate relief from the onslaught.  Had he landed a further shot instead of hitting the post seven minutes later, hope maybe?

As it was the game was instead treated to something special from the world champions as Malakai Fekitoa's pass to Ben Smith on the right wing saw him give a no-look pass to Dagg who went over for a try of his own.  The favour had been returned by the devastating duo.

New Zealand now knew they were halfway from claiming the Rugby Championship trophy in La Plata, a week earlier than last season.  But with the scoreline at 20-6 following a Sánchez penalty after Richie McCaw had swung around a ruck illegally, the result wasn't yet sealed.

The second-half would prove though that the All Blacks were confident the tries would come as they turned down shots in favour of those five-pointers.  However, their gamble would not pay off in the opening twelve minutes of the half as Argentina stood firm close to their line.

Julian Savea came closest to breaking the mini-deadlock on 55 minutes when he collected Barrett's intelligent chip over in the opposition 22.  But, for the second time, he was denied due to being marginally offside.  One sensed though the Pumas weren't out of the woods.

And that would prove to be the case as Aaron Smith's long, flat pass to the left found the powerful finisher who saw off three defenders for what was their third try.  Barrett's simple extras made it 27-6 with just over 20 minutes left at Estadio Único Ciudad de La Plata.

Steve Hansen still wanted one final try though and after a period of defending in their own 22, his men attacked through Jerome Kaino showing searing pace before Savea combined with TJ Perenara as the replacement scrum-half dived over for the tournament-sealing try.

But the Pumas would have the final say as a lovely counter attack led to Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe offloading to another substitute, Horacio Agulla, for their only try.

Man of the match:  Early on it was the Israel Dagg and Ben Smith show but for his all round performance, Jerome Kaino gets this gong.  What a specimen.  Malakai Fekitoa also shone.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Try:  Agulla
Con:  Gonzalez Iglesias
Pen:  Sánchez 2

For New Zealand:
Tries:  B Smith, Dagg, Savea, Perenara
Con:  Barrett 4
Pen:  Barrett 2

Argentina:  15 Joaquín Tuculet, 14 Juan Imhoff, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Juan Martín Hernández, 11 Manuel Montero, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 9 Tomás Cubelli, 8 Leonardo Senatore, 7 Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe, 6 Benjamin Macome, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Mariano Galarza, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Agustín Creevy, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements:  16 Matías Cortese, 17 Lucas Noguera Paz, 18 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 19 Matías Alemanno, 20 Rodrigo Báez, 21 Martín Landajo, 22 Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias, 23 Lucas González Amorosino.

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Malakai Fekitoa, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements:  16 Nathan Harris, 17 Joe Moody, 18 Ben Franks, 19 Jeremy Thrush, 20 Sam Cane, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Colin Slade, 23 Cory Jane.

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant Referees:  Jérôme Garcès (France), Leighton Hodges (Wales)
TMO:  Deon van Blommestein (South Africa)

Springbok late show downs Wallabies

South Africa were forced to come from behind to seal a 28-10 Rugby Championship victory over Australia in Cape Town on Saturday.

Trailing by two points with ten minutes to play, the home side scored three tries and a drop-goal in the dying minutes to secure the bonus-point win.

Skipper Jean de Villiers touched down twice to add to tries from Marcel Coetzee and Pat Lambie as South Africa outscored Australia four tries to one.

The Springboks were unable to put a glut of possession and territory to good use in the first half, allowing Australia to take a 10-5 lead into the interval.

Poor kicking, basic handling errors and the failure to simply pass the ball when facing clear overlaps repeatedly cut the Boks momentum, wasting a plethora of front-foot ball.

What had been a frustrating evening for the Newlands faithful turned to pure joy however as the Boks' bench came to the rescue and the men in green finally executed in the closing stages.

The hosts dominated the early exchanges and were first to cross the whitewash via a rolling maul, but seldom threatened to break through the Wallaby defence through any other method.

Australia needed just four minutes to score their ten points, including a try from deep inside their own half scored by wing Adam Ashley-Cooper.

The hosts showed their intent to keep ball in hand right from the start, taking it through 17 phases in the opening salvo but the ease with which Australia were able to defend the predictable attacking lines would have been a concern for Bok coach Heyneke Meyer.

After Willie le Roux and Cornal Henrdricks combined to get the hosts into the Aussie 22, South Africa were rewarded for turning down a kickable penalty in favour of a line-out as they set up a textbook maul to crash over after 13 minutes, Coetzee the man with his hands on the ball.

Australia got on the board via a penalty against Adriaan Strauss for taking out a man without the ball as Bernard Foley made amends for an earlier miss.

The visitors took the lead with try against the run of play as Tevita Kuridrani — who looked dangerous whenever he touched the ball — bust through the double tackle of Byran Habana and Handre Pollard to race clear before offloading to Ashley-Cooper, who finished in the corner.

Foley added the extras from the touchline to put the Wallabies up 10-5 just before the half-hour mark.

That's how the scores would stay as the Boks again turned down an easy penalty in favour of an attacking line-out.  The gamble didn't pay off the second time as the ball was lost at the back of the maul.

Pollard score the first points of the second half for the Boks after a ruck offence from the visitors, cutting the deficit to two points.

Pat Lambie should have given the Boks the lead with a penalty from dead in front but sliced his kick to leave his team trailing with 15 minutes to play.

After his team-mates had twice wasted overlaps on the outside, Lambie finally put the hosts in front with a drop-goal in the 71st minute.

Hendricks looked to have fluffed another golden chance after Jan Serfontein's break but De Villiers collected Bismarck du Plessis's pop pass to score the corner and give South Africa some breathing room.  Lambie missed the conversion though, meaning at 16-10, Australia were still within striking distance.

But the the last nine minutes saw one-way traffic as the Wallaby defence fell apart.

First Lambie stepped his way over for try number three before De Villiers rubbed salt into the Wallaby wounds with the fourth in the final minute off Victor Matfield's pass after Cobus Reinach broke clear.

Man of the match:  Although on the losing side, Tevita Kuridrani deserves this gong for an impressive carrying performance at outside centre.  Jean de Villiers and Duane Vermeulen deserve mentions but the Wallaby back was a cut above at Newlands.

Moment of the match:  The Wallabies looked set to pinch another result until De Villiers' first try opened the flood gates.

Villain of the match:  No nasty stuff to report

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Coetzee, De Villiers 2, Lambie
Conversion:  Lambie
Penalty:  Pollard
Drop Goals:  Lambie

For Australia:
Try:  Ashley-Cooper
Conversion:  Foley
Penalty:  Foley

The teams:

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Jan Serfontein, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handrè Pollard, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Tebo Mohoje, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements:  16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Marcel van der Merwe, 19 Bakkies Botha, 20 Schalk Burger, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 JP Pietersen

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Joe Tomane, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Sam Carter, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Saia Fainga'a, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 James Hanson, 17 Benn Robinson, 18 Ben Alexander, 19 James Horwill, 20 Scott Higginbotham, 21 Nic White, 22 Kurtley Beale, 23 Rob Horne.

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees:  Wayne Barnes (England), Mathieu Raynal (France)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

Springboks fall short in Wellington

New Zealand overturned a half-time deficit to claim a 14-10 victory over South Africa in a thrilling Rugby Championship Test at Westpac Stadium on Saturday.

Only two tries were scored — one apiece — but the clash between the two best sides in the world lived up to its billing as the All Blacks were forced to hang on in a nail-biting finish to an outstanding contest.

No complaints about the officials this week, only kudos to all those who contributed to a classic clash between old foes.

The result extends South Africa's five-year drought against the All Blacks on Kiwi soil and leaves New Zealand clear at the top of the tournament standings.

Like John Smit and Bryan Habana before him, Jean de Villiers' 100th Test ended in a narrow defeat, but it was almost a very different story as the Boks produced their best performance of the year.

New Zealand dominated the territory (over 70 percent) and possession statistics in the first half but it was the Springboks who led 7-6 at the interval thanks to a try from wing Cornal Hendricks.

The hosts had uncharacteristically made a handful of errors in the opposition 22 and would have been frustrated by their lack of return from opportunities against an excellent green and gold defence.

Richie McCaw's third try of the tournament put New Zealand back in front after the break but a Handré Pollard drop-goal set up a grandstand finish as they teams entered the final quarter neck and neck.

Crucially, the South African set-piece, traditionally such an important part of the Bok game, was functioning in top gear.  The line-out that had misfired in the opening weeks was rock solid with Victor Matfield and Eben Etzebeth untouchable in the air in the first hour.

A good early scrum from South Africa offered encouragement to the visitors, but it was the All Blacks' ability to keep ball in hand that meant New Zealand enjoyed the lion's share of field position and possession in the opening stages.  Aaron Cruden got the scoreboard ticking after Habana was penalised on the deck.

However the Springboks were first to get over the whitewash as Pollard provided the platform for Hendricks to score his fifth try in seven starts.  It was the young fly-half's excellent kick into the corner that put the Boks into the red zone and it was his inside pass to put Hendricks clear in midfield that saw South Africa take the lead.  Pollard added the extras to make it 7-3 at the end of the first quarter.

McCaw was held up over the line shortly afterwards but Cruden's second penalty — against Ruan Pienaar for being offside — reduced the deficit to a single point.

Another potential score went a-begging for the New Zealand as Aaron Smith couldn't collect Kieran Read's offload with half time looming.  Cruden sent a penalty after the hooter wide, leaving the world champs trailing at half time.

South Africa lost Ruan Pienaar to a knee injury just before the break and Ma'a Nonu did not return from the changing rooms, meaning both backlines started the second half with a different look and feel.

The All Blacks moved back in front when Cruden's cross-field kick out wide found Read, who offloaded to his skipper to touch down in the corner.  Cruden's conversion effort was off target, leaving New Zealand leading 11-7.

A series of lost line-outs had the Boks on the back foot and only Willie le Roux's pace saved his team a try as he beat Aaron Smith in a footrace to dot down.

Pollard slotted a cheeky drop-goal under pressure to bring South Africa to within a point as they cashed in on a rare opportunity to attack inside the Kiwi half.

Pollard put a long-range penalty attempt just wide but Beauden Barrett made no such mistake after Tendai Mtawarira didn't roll away giving New Zealand a four-point lead heading into the final ten minutes.

Those final minutes were dominated by the visitors as De Villiers twice chose to go for a winning try over a penalty.  But the hosts resisted wave after wave of pressure to hold on to a hard-earned victory.

Man of the match:  Firstly a mention for Handré Pollard, who had a blinder, and underlined his status as South Africa's best 10.  Likewise, a mention for Victor Matfield who tackled his heart out a ruled the line-outs.  But we'll go for Richie McCaw, who scored the winning try and topped the Kiwi tackle count.

Moment of the match:  It went down to the wire, but the New Zealand's defence in the final minute was brilliant.

Villain of the match:  No nasty stuff to report.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Try:  McCaw
Pens:  Cruden 2, Barrett

For South Africa:
Try:  Hendricks
Cons:  Pollard
Drops:  Pollard

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Steven Luatua, 5 Jeremy Thrush, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Joe Moody, 18 Ben Franks, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Sam Cane, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Cory Jane.

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Jan Serfontein, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Marcell Coetzee, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Marcel van der Merwe, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Warren Whiteley, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Damian de Allende.

Referee:  Jérôme Garcí¨s (France)
Assistant Referees:  Pascal Gauzí¨re (France), Rohan Hoffmann (Australia)
TMO:  Peter Marshall (Australia)

Pumas pain on Gold Coast

Australia secured their second win of the Rugby Championship campaign on Saturday as they held out Argentina 32-25 at the Cbus Super Stadium.

It wasn't pretty as a slippery ball did not help the basics of the sides, with fumbles and stoppages a regular occurrence at the Gold Coast fixture.

However, the Wallabies got the job done against a side they also struggled against on home soil last year so they will be pleased to escape with a win.

Influential captain Michael Hooper scored two of their tries — coming either side of the break — while wing Peter Betham also crossed before a late Pumas onslaught left the home side sweating.

But they held on with a put-in delay from scrum-half Tomás Cubelli five metres out ultimately ending Argentina's hopes of their first victory.

The game started in ideal fashion for Australia when captain Hooper sliced through a hole in midfield before reaching out for an unconverted score.  That was his second try of the Rugby Championship as his speed in back play makes him a lethal running threat game after game.

Argentina hit back five minutes later though and in real style when Manuel Montero raced down the left touchline for a long-range score that saw him slip the attempted tackles of Betham, Hooper and Bernard Foley.  His stock consequently shot up in the Australians' eyes.

Unlike Foley before him, Sanchez landed his conversion to hand the Pumas a narrow lead.

Australia should have moved back in a poor first-half when Foley's break saw him dummy instead of passing to Rob Horne, who had a clean route to the line from five metres out.  From that breakdown, Nick Phipps had a score chalked off as Hooper held Juan Imhoff.

Foley though would build some bridges with his Wallaby team-mates before the break with two penalties that handed the home side a 14-7 advantage going into the interval.

Unfortunately for the watching public on the Gold Coast, the opening quarter of the second stanza did not improve in terms of entertainment, despite Hooper's second try being scored in the 43rd minute.  That score came from a Montero mistake as he failed to gather a chip.

Opposing fly-halves Sanchez and Foley would then trade penalties before the hour mark but when wing Betham slid over on 60 minutes to make it 29-13, the game seemed gone.

But then came a Pumas comeback as tries from Marcelo Bosch and Joaquín Tuculet in the 63rd and 70th minute respectively made it 29-25 with ten minutes left on the clock.  Had Sanchez landed the second touchline conversion, hopes of an upset would have increased.

As it was, three points from Foley soon after the restart gave the Wallabies a seven-point buffer before Argentina missed a gilt-edged chance with four minutes to go, with Sanchez doing a Foley earlier as he failed to pass to his wing, Imhoff, who was under the uprights.

The Pumas would have one more opportunity to claim a draw when they packed down for a scrum five metres out, but then came Cubelli's error as the Wallabies held on for the points

Man of the match:  Two tries from the captain make Michael Hooper our pick.  Another tireless performance from the openside as he continues to lead the Wallabies by example.

Moment of the match:  The try from Manuel Montero was something special as the Puma's finisher showed just what he can do, brushing off three tacklers en route to scoring.

Villain of the match:  Nothing nasty to report.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Hooper 2, Betham
Con:  Foley
Pen:  Foley 5

For Argentina:
Tries:  Montero, Bosch, Tuculet
Con:  Sanchez 2
Pen:  Sanchez 2

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Peter Betham, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Sam Carter, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 James Hanson, 17 Pek Cowan, 18 Ben Alexander, 19 James Horwill, 20 Scott Higginbotham, 21 Matt Hodgson, 22 Nic White, 23 Kurtley Beale.

Argentina:  15 Joaquín Tuculet, 14 Juan Imhoff, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Juan Martín Hernández, 11 Manuel Montero, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 9 Martín Landajo, 8 Leonardo Senatore, 7 Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe, 6 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 5 Matías Alemanno, 4 Mariano Galarza, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Agustín Creevy, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements:  16 Matías Cortese, 17 Bruno Postiglioni, 18 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 19 Benjamin Macome, 20 Rodrigo Báez, 21 Tomás Cubelli, 22 Jerónimo De la Fuente, 23 Lucas González Amorosino.

Referee:  Glen Jackson (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  George Clancy (Ireland), Mike Fraser (New Zealand)
Television match official:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)
Assessor:  Donal Courtney

Horne late show sinks Springboks

A late converted try from Rob Horne saw the Wallabies score their first win of the Rugby Championship as they came from behind to beat South Africa 24-23 at Patersons Stadium in Perth.

It went right down to the wire as the Boks, who had led for 38 minutes of the second-half were left to lick their wounds ahead of facing New Zealand.

Horne's try had to be converted by Bernard Foley however, and he made no mistake late on as the Wallabies bounce back from that Auckland loss.

The Wallabies came out of the blocks with real intent as they immediately reclaimed the kick-off via Folau's impressive leap, which ultimately led to Matt Toomua drawing a defender in a resulting play to send over the full-back for the opening try.  Recalled fly-half Foley missed the conversion.

South Africa had to wake up and fast and fortunately for them they did as number eight Duane Vermeulen pounced at the breakdown to earn Morne Steyn the chance to land three points.  Steyn, in for Handre Pollard, made no mistake as the Boks cut the deficit to two points on six minutes.

More encouragement for Heyneke Meyer came six minutes later when Cornal Hendricks finished off quick hands down the line to push South Africa into the lead.  But like Foley earlier, Steyn could not add the extra two as the visitors now had a 5-8 advantage.

Foley levelled matters soon after when centurion Bryan Habana was pinged at the breakdown as the absorbing Test match unfolded with a nip and tuck feel.

South Africa's physical presence was beginning to tell though and when two further Steyn penalties — the latter coming after good running from Habana — meant that with a Foley shot twelve minutes from the interval, the scoreline was 11-14 to the Boks as the teams went in.

The tight affair continued after the turnaround as Foley's three points a minute into the half for Willie le Roux's side entry was followed up by Steyn pushing his men back in front after a Wallaby scrum offence.  One sensed the pattern would continue right until the end in Perth.

14-17 would soon become 14-20 at Patersons Stadium on 49 minutes when the Springbok scrum continued to banish the horrible memories of Salta, with Steyn again on target.

For the next ten minutes the visitors were determined to win the territorial battle and they did just that as Folau twice sliced his responses with just five metres gained.  Ewen McKenzie would have been wary of the clock ticking down while his team was stuck in their own 22.

Further worries arrived when replacement James Horwill failed to roll away, thus handing Steyn a shot for a third straight three point effort.

Momentum would swing once again just after the hour mark, however, when Habana was shown a yellow card by George Clancy for an adjudged high tackle on Adam Ashley-Cooper.  And from that card, the Wallabies would go close to scoring as replacement Pek Cowan thought he had scored only for obstruction being called.

Fortunately for the Wallabies they would soon get the consolation of three points which made it a one-score game once again at 17-23 in Perth.

And with time running out and Habana now back on the field, it would take replacement Kurtley Beale, centre Tevita Kuridrani and that man Folau to combine before Horne did the rest, stepping Steyn to allow Foley the kick for victory.

Man of the match:  When he gets the ball things happen.  Israel Folau scored one and had a big hand in the match-winner for Horne.  Simply too good at times.

Moment of the match:  The yellow card for Bryan Habana gave the Wallabies extra momentum but it was their impressive bench that proved the difference, with Kurtley Beale, Scott Higginbotham, Pek Cowan and Matt Hodgson impressing.

Villain of the match:  Test match rugby is won on small margins and had Morne Steyn not missed touch late on, the Boks probably would have won this game.  He won't be happy on the flight to New Zealand.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Folau, Horne
Con:  Foley
Pen:  Foley 4

For South Africa:
Try:  Hendricks
Pen:  Steyn 6

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Sam Carter, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 James Hanson, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 Saia Fainga'a, 17 Pek Cowan, 18 Ben Alexander, 19 James Horwill, 20 Scott Higginbotham, 21 Matt Hodgson, 22 Nic White, 23 Kurtley Beale.

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Jan Serfontein, 12 Jean de Villiers (capt), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Marcell Coetzee, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Marcel van der Merwe, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Warren Whiteley, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Damian de Allende.

Venue:  Patersons Stadium, Perth
Referee:  George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees:  Glen Jackson (New Zealand), Mike Fraser (New Zealand)
Television match official:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)
Assessor:  Andrew Cole

Savea stars in classy All Blacks win

New Zealand were eventually convincing winners against Argentina in Napier, picking up a try bonus point in a 28-9 victory.

Julian Savea scored twice, taking his absurd record in Test rugby to 26 tries in 25 games.

At times this was closer to a chip and grubber exhibition than a Test match as both sides, forwards and backs, had their turn to try and put the opposition into a tangle.

Eventually though New Zealand broke free, as ever.  The fact that Beauden Barrett is a third-choice fly-half is bordering on a practical joke.

It was a psychological battle initially as much as a physical one.  When Sam Whitelock is forced to depart, that's all you need to know.

Napier didn't quite supply the biblical conditions that made Round One of this year's tournament such a dire spectacle, but it wasn't far off initially.  Good on the fans for toughing it out in what looked like miserable pre-match weather.

Whatever the skies supplied, the odds of Argentina achieving a first ever win over New Zealand after 22 failures felt minutely slim pre-kick-off.

It was not a night for the officials, missing a blatant pull-back on Savea in the opening minutes and then denying Leonardo Senatore a try for a nonsense knock-on.

Adjusting to the All Blacks' tempo is never easy and although Argentina's tactics were spot on, the visitors were turned inside out by Barrett's chip over the top with Horacio Agulla putting in a blatant early tackle on Savea but escaping any punishment.

Barrett couldn't find his range with his first strike for goal, nor could Sínchez's with his drop-goal attempt, but Argentina were their now customary bright selves when working in New Zealand's 22.

Pascal Gauzí¨re's scrum interpretation was met with frustration from Marcos Ayerza but it paved the way for Barrett to score the first points after 15 minutes, landing a penalty from out wide.

Argentina's maul was as effective as ever, producing a first penalty chance for Sínchez to level things up.

Errors count for double when the heavens are open and boy there were enough here, from Wyatt Crockett's charge-down on Juan Martín Herníndez to Israel Dagg hoofing the ball out on the full after great recovery work in his 22.

Appropriately it was a subtle kick that created the opening try, Conrad Smith the architect as Savea patiently waited to dot down his deflected grubber.  Retallick's ball skills in the build-up defied belief.

Sínchez struck a second penalty to maintain the tension, New Zealand taking an 8-6 lead into the break — at least that what the script said.

The unthinkable occurred.  Winning the scrum against the head, Barrett broke free up the middle and had Messam on his inside to add the second score.  Juan Manuel Leguizamí³n's shocked expression said it all.

We say it time and time again.  Against the All Blacks, never switch off.

The assault continued with Savea's second try, latching onto Barrett's perfectly weighted pass, Hurricanes intuition too smart for Argentina's midfield defence.

Not that New Zealand are perfect.  Dagg blew a wide open chance to give Ben Smith a try when his pass looped out of control into touch with the line beckoning, but the result already felt settled.

Scandalously a poor decision from the officials robbed Senatore of a try when his charge-down was interpreted as a knock-on.

Sínchez and Colin Slade traded penalties before Aaron Smith added the gloss late on with his tenth Test try, Argentina's scrum five metres out from their own line well-contained and too slow to react to Read's quick thinking.

More importantly it notched up a try bonus-point, invaluable before the All Blacks take on the Springboks.

Argentina in the end were well adrift but should take pride from their efforts as ever.  The conclusion was far from revelatory — New Zealand were just too good.

Man of the Match:  The man-mountain Brodie Retallick. Outstanding yet again.

Moment of the Match:  Has to be Liam Messam's try.  All Argentina's good work keeping the game tight instantly unravelled after the hooter.

Villain of the Match:  Really not a good night for the officials was it?  Senatore's disallowed try was a shambles.  Use the TMO.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Savea 2, Messam, Smith
Con:  Slade
Pens:  Barrett, Slade

For Argentina:
Pen:  Sínchez 3

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Joe Moody, 19 Jeremy Thrush, 20 Sam Cane, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Colin Slade, 23 Malakai Fekitoa.

Argentina:  15 Joaquín Tuculet, 14 Horacio Agulla, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Juan Martín Herníndez, 11 Lucas Gonzílez Amorosino, 10 Nicolís Sínchez, 9 Martín Landajo, 8 Leonardo Senatore, 7 Juan Martín Ferníndez Lobbe, 6 Juan Manuel Leguizamí³n, 5 Tomís Lavanini, 4 Mariano Galarza, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Agustín Creevy (c), 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements:  16 Matías Cortese, 17 Luca Noguera Paz, 18 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 19 Matías Alemanno, 20 Rodrigo Bíez, 21 Tomís Cubelli, 22 Santiago Gonzílez Iglesias, 23 Juan Imhoff.

Referee:  Pascal Gauzí¨re (France)
Assistant Referees:  Jérôme Garcí¨s (France), Rohan Hoffmann (Australia)
TMO:  Peter Marshall (Australia)

Springboks survive Salta scare

South Africa kept their Rugby Championship title hopes alive with a hard-fought 33-31 victory over Argentina in Salta on Saturday.

The sides scored three tries apiece in a ding-dong battle that saw the Boks came back from 28-16 down to snatch victory.

But did they deserve the win?  Only the most biased Bok fan could suggest so.

Unlike last week's rain-affected clash in Pretoria, South Africa could not use the weather as an excuse this time as, under blue skies, they were outmuscled and outplayed at their own game for the better part of an hour.

Behind the fired-up pack that was consistently going forward, Nicolís Sínchez and Juan Martín Herníndez were putting runners into space and keeping the Boks pinned back in their own half with clever kicks.

Expecting to be able to speed the game up from from last week's slugfest, the Boks looked rattled as it was their hosts who took the initiative and desperate scrambling defence was required to keep the blue and white jerseys at bay.

Humiliated at scrum time, the Springboks would have considered themselves fortunate to be leading 16-13 at the interval having been on the wrong end of the territory and possession statistics.

Indeed, los Pumas were the better team in the first half, dominating at scrum time and scoring the first try through Manuel Montero, only to see the Boks snatch the lead back thanks to a Bryan Habana try against the run of play.

Tries from replacement scrum-half Tomís Cubelli and full-back Joaquin Tuculet after the break saw Argentina take the game by the scruff of the neck against the shell-shocked tourists.

But the Pumas ran out of puff in the last quarter as tries from wing Cornal Hendricks and replacement flank Marcell Coetzee saw South Africa edge ahead.

Argentina were first to score when Sínchez split the uprights after Bismarck du Plessis was penalised at a ruck.  The hosts' early lead could have been doubled after Jannie du Plessis was found wanting at scrum time but Sínchez was off target.

Handrí¨ Pollard levelled the scores after Juan Leguizamí³n was caught offside but the Pumas had their tails up and Herníndez restored their lead with a neat drop-goal to give Argentina a deserved 6-3 lead ahead of the first water break on 20 minutes.

Pollard could once again draw his team level after a Bok maul was pulled down illegally but Argentina replied with the first try of the game as Montero finished off a patient build-up out wide, shrugging off Hendricks' tackle to bag his 13th try in 15 Tests.

Sínchez added the extras and Argentina were good value for their lead at 13-6.

The Boks picked up their third penalty from as many incursions into Argentine territory as Tomís Lavanini went off his feet and Pollard knocked it over, but the momentum was with los Pumas.

South Africa moved in front for the first time as Habana scored an opportunistic try.  Ruan Pienaar hacked ahead a loose ball inside his own half, followed up, toed it forward ahead again and Habana had the gas to win the race.

Pollard's conversion gave the visitors a three-point lead, but they had to defend very hard before heading to the changing rooms a relieved side.

Argentina charged ahead after the break as Cubelli sneaked between Lood de Jager and Bismarck du Plessis to touch down.

Sínchez added the conversion before Tuculet shrugged off both South Africa's centres to score in the corner and give Argentina a nine-point lead.

Another penalty — this time against Francois Louw for hands in a ruck — allowed Sínchez to put the hosts further ahead at 28-16.

The swing in momentum South Africa needed came on the hour mark as Hendricks stretched out an arm to just get the ball onto the whitewash.  Morné Steyn added the conversion from the touchline.

A textbook Springbok maul saw Coetzee touch down with Steyn's extra's sneaking the visitors back in front.

A tense finish saw Argentina regain the lead via a long-range penalty from Marcelo Bosch — for late tackle by Bakkies Botha — but Steyn replied three minutes from time after the Pumas were pinged for a ruck infringement.

It was another case of so near and yet so far for the Pumas as they remain winless after 14 matches in the southern hemisphere championship.

Man of the match:  Springboks flank Francois Louw deserves a mention for his defensive effort but the standout players were in the home side.  The front row was incredible and Juan Manuel Leguizamí³n was a huge ball carrier.  But we'll go for Nicolís Sínchez who, for the second week, was the most dangerous player.

Moment of the match:  South Africa looked down and out until Cornal Hendricks' try which swung the momentum in their favour.  It was a case of millimetres, but he just got rubber onto whitewash.

Villain of the match:  No nasty stuff to report

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Tries:  Montero, Cubelli, Tuculet
Cons:  Sínchez 2
Pens:  Sínchez 2, Bosch
Drop:  Herníndez

For South Africa:
Tries:  Habana, Hendricks, Coetzee
Cons:  Pollard, Steyn 2
Pens:  Pollard 3

The teams:

Argentina:  15 Joaquín Tuculet, 14 Lucas Gonzílez Amorosino, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Juan Martín Herníndez, 11 Manuel Montero, 10 Nicolís Sínchez, 9 Martín Landajo, 8 Juan Manuel Leguizamí³n, 7 Juan Martín Ferníndez Lobbe, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomís Lavanini, 4 Mariano Galarza, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Agustín Creevy (c), 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements:  16 Matías Cortese, 17 Bruno Postiglioni, 18 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 19 Matías Alemanno, 20 Leonardo Senatore, 21 Tomís Cubelli, 22 Jerí³nimo de la Fuente, 23 Horacio Agulla.

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Damian de Allende, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handrí¨ Pollard, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Gurthrí¶ Steenkamp.
Replacements:  16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Tendai Mtawarira, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Bakkies Botha, 20 Marcell Coetzee, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Morné Steyn, 23 Lwazi Mvovo.

Venue:  Padre Ernesto Martearena Stadium, Salta
Referee:  Steve Walsh (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  John Lacey (Ireland), Marius Mitrea (Italy)
TMO:  Vinny Munro (New Zealand)

Australia thrashed by otherworldly NZ

New Zealand produced rugby from another planet as they bounced back from the draw in Sydney with a blistering 51-20 win over Australia.

Played out at a ferocious pace and the odd handling error aside, this was New Zealand's best rugby of the year so far.

There was even time to break a record in the final minute, Steven Luatua ensuring that New Zealand put 50 points on Australia on home soil for the first time with his try under the sticks after the hooter.

Any nagging suggestion before kick-off that Steve Hansen's men were on the slide was instantly trashed.

They simply played at an unbreathable tempo for Australia, or indeed any other side on the planet.  Cataloguing all of the brilliant individual moments will take some time.

It's a game played on a different level, a persistent hunt for space with hands always open and passes so well timed that opponents are denied the chance to play and are constantly threatened.  Like a turbocharged game of Sevens with 15 men.  New Zealand are the kings of it, mesmerising when they find their groove.

So many All Blacks were outstanding, but it would be wrong not to single out Brodie Retallick.  His work at the ruck and around the park was staggering.

The world champions were awesome and angry, conceding the first points to a penalty from Kurltey Beale but then surging forward with all the intensity that was missed in attack in Sydney.

Running with plenty of vigour and feeding off the slight of hand from Ryan Crotty and Ben Smith, the high speed start eventually slowed as Cruden added two quick penalties to put the hosts ahead.

Tremendous defence from both teams prevented early tries, but Beale underlined why Ewen McKenzie had gone for his creative streak when sliding through two tacklers before releasing Israel Folau.

Hell then froze over when Richie McCaw received remarkably only his second ever yellow card in Test rugby, the hard line towards cynical defence from New Zealand rising to the fore as Romain Poite didn't hesitate to bin the All Blacks skipper.

After the controversy surrounding Jaco Peyper, the French referee had an excellent game.

Going down to 14 men didn't damper New Zealand's momentum, Cruden regaining the lead with his third strike for a 9-6 scoreline after the opening quarter — one coincidentally without any scrums.

Stopping the All Blacks maul was proving to be a problem for Australia and Rob Simmons paid the price for lifting the leg in the maul, taking his turn to see yellow as McCaw returned to action.

A juggernaut scrum from the All Blacks delivered the try they deserved, eight against a Simmons-less Wallaby pack.  James Slipper went to ground and Poite didn't hesitate to run under the posts to award the score.

Boy this was good;  everything that Sydney wasn't.  Folau cantered through the defence but squandered a pass to the man outside before being tackled high, though it crucially and wrongly went unpunished.

The Wallabies went right but when isolated were pounced upon, New Zealand turning over the ball and countering at a canter up the right touchline for Julian Savea to go over untouched.

23-6.  How could Australia, winless on this ground for 28 years, come back from that?

Sometimes there are no answers to pure brilliance.  A break starting by Beauden Barrett from behind his own posts had New Zealand cutting and gliding their way through tacklers.

Michael Hooper did his all to stop the assault with a breakdown penalty, but the home side were in punishing mode.

Dazzling hands and a well-weighted grubber from Savea infield ended with a try for Kieran Read, his face a picture after a frustrating few months.

McCaw ensured his yellow card was just an anomaly when he crashed over for the bonus point.  If a white flag had been available you'd have understood Australia raising it at 37-6.

A second score from an almost copycat situation for the New Zealand captain brought up the 40-point mark before Folau crossed for his consolation try.  In his impressive Test career so far, this was his lowest moment.

Hooper, tenacious as ever even in defeat, finished a remarkable solo effort off the back of the line-out to add more respectability to the scoreboard at 44-20.

That sign of defiance will be something to take forward, a smidgen of salvation really.  Australia are better this and will show that, but there's no denying they were blown away here.  No side though would have coped.

Barrett's try-saving tackle of Folau in many ways was the icing on the cake, the number ten using the angle to cut him down following an interception break.

If you thought New Zealand were a fading force, think again.

Man of the Match:  Hard to look past Brodie Retallick, the monster lock who played his best game yet for his country.

Moment of the Match:  McCaw's sin-binning was a rarity, but when Julian Savea raced away for the second try the tone of the match was settled.

Villain of the Match:  Lifting the leg in the maul was pretty dumb by Rob Simmons.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Penalty Try, Savea, Read, McCaw 2, Luatua
Cons:  Cruden 5, Barrett
Pens:  Cruden 3
Yellow Cards:  McCaw, B.Franks

Australia:
Tries:  Folau, Hooper
Cons:  Foley 2
Pens:  Beale 2
Yellow Card:  Simmons

New Zealand:  15 Ben Smith, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Wyatt Crockett
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Steven Luatua, 20 Sam Cane, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Malakai Fekitoa

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Pat McCabe, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Nic White, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Sam Carter, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Nathan Charles, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 James Hanson, 17 Pek Cowan, 18 Ben Alexander, 19 Will Skelton, 20 Scott Higginbotham, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Bernard Foley, 23 Tevita Kuridrani,

Date:  Saturday, August 23
Kick-off:  19:35 local (08:35 BST, 07:35 GMT)
Venue:  Eden Park, Auckland
Referee:  Romain Poite
Assistant Referees:  Jaco Peyper, Stuart Berry
TMO:  Shaun Veldsman

Springboks battle past Pumas

South Africa got their Rugby Championship campaign off to a winning start on Saturday thanks to a hard-fought 13-6 victory over Argentina at a very wet Loftus Versfeld.

Springbok scrum-half Ruan Pienaar scored the only try of a game marred by horrendous conditions.

Those expecting the Pumas to get blown away were sorely mistaken as the South Americans fronted up, using the conditions to turn the game into a real armwrestle.

Heyneke Meyer would have been disappointed to see his team unable to create more opportunities considering he is building a gameplan around the expected wet conditions at next year's World Cup.

The Bok set piece was far from dominant, in fact they were going backwards at scrum time.  Argentina's defence against the maul was brilliant and the visitors managed to pinch a few line-outs too.

To be fair, the unseasonal rain in Pretoria caught everyone by surprise and handling was extremely difficult.

The hosts led 10-3 at the interval thanks to an early try from Pienaar.  A massive thunderstorm — complete with bursts of hail — ensured that the scores remained low.

The torrential rain slowed to a drizzle in time for the second half, but the field remained drenched and just two penalties were scored after the break.

It took just 70 seconds for the Boks to produce the only try as Pienaar and Cornal Hendricks combined down the blindside to scamper away and put the scrum-half over.

Handré Pollard added the extras for a perfect start for the home side, but highlights would be few and far between for the following 78-odd minutes.

The next six points would come as a result of Argentina's dominance at scrum time.

The Pumas scrum destroyed their Springbok counterparts to allow Nicolís Sínchez to open the visitors' account from the kicking tee.

The Argentine front row jumped the gun just before the end of the first quarter though and were penalised for pushing too soon.  Pollard made it 10-3.

Both sides came close to scoring tries before the break but Manuel Montero couldn't hold onto Sínchez's pass with the tryline begging.

Likewise, Willie le Roux was unable to control the slippery ball as he tried to gather his own chip ahead — although he would have left a little aggrieved after being held back.

Immediately after the restart Sínchez hit the target from long range — after Lood de Jager didn't roll away — but Morné Steyn, who took over from Pollard early in the second half, replied in kind to restore the seven-point gap soon afterwards.

It was the Pumas who finished the stronger side and the Boks would have been relieved to see their defence hold up against sustained pressure in the final quarter.

With six minutes left on the clock the visitors earned a penalty and kicked for the line where they set up a line-out five metres out.

The Boks managed to get out of jail and managed to avert the second Rugby Championship draw of the day after New Zealand and Australia played to a 12-12 stalemate earlier on Saturday.

Argentina remained undeterred and continued probing and again the visitors came close to scoring when a Steyn clearance kick was charged down before debutant Damian de Allende snatched the ball from the hands of Jeronimo de la Fuente inside the goal area.

Just short of a minute from time Argentina again formed an attacking line-out five metres from the line and launched attack on the line but a handling error brought the match to a dramatic end.

Indeed, although los Pumas would probably have been happy to take a losing bonus-point before kick-off, in retrospect they'll be disappointed to not have snatched a draw.

Man of the match:  A hard choice as there weren't many highlights.  Ramiro Herrera deserves a mention for his scrummaging and Nicolís Sínchez was the most dangerous player with ball in hand.  But the game was won in trenches, where Juan Martín Ferníndez Lobbe worked tirelessly.  Marcell Coetzee topped the tackle stats, tackling his heart out alongside Francois Louw.

Moment of the match:  Only one option here, Pienaar's try put Argentina in a difficult position from the start.

Villain of the match:  The idiot doing a rain dance in the car park before kick off.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Try:  Pienaar
Con:  Pollard
Pens:  Pollard, Steyn

For Argentina:
Pens:  Sanchez 2

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Damian de Allende, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Marcell Coetzee, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Teboho Mohoje, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Morné Steyn, 23 Jan Serfontein.

Argentina:  15 Joaquín Tuculet, 14 Horacio Agulla, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Santiago Gonzílez Iglesias, 11 Manuel Montero, 10 Nicolís Sínchez, 9 Martín Landajo, 8 Juan Manuel Leguizamí³n, 7 Juan Martín Ferníndez Lobbe, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomís Lavanini, 4 Mariano Galarza, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Agustín Creevy (c), 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements:  16 Matías Cortese, 17 Lucas Noguera Paz, 18 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 19 Matías Alemanno, 20 Leonardo Senatore, 21 Tomís Cubelli, 22 Jeronimo de la Fuente, 23 Lucas Gonzílez Amorosino.

Venue:  Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Referee:  John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant Referees:  Steve Walsh (Australia), Marius Mitrea (Italy)
TMO:  Simon McDowell (Ireland)

All Blacks miss out on record, again

Australia and New Zealand couldn't be separated in a wet slugfest of a game in Sydney, battering each other into a 12-12 draw.

This was the second time in less than two years that these two sides have finished all square, after an 18-18 draw in Brisbane in October 2012.

Once again, in a cruel twist, the All Blacks missed out on the 18-game winning record thanks to a draw, only the seventh ever in 150 Bledisloe matches.  Six of those have come in Australia.

Kurtley Beale and Aaron Cruden both landed four penalties each, with New Zealand spending 20 minutes down to 14 men after yellow cards for Wyatt Crockett and Beauden Barrett.

The whistle of referee Jaco Peyper dominated proceedings in a manner that will have frustrated many, with some of his decisions up for debate on a tough night for officials.

Surprisingly given Australia's struggles in the first half the scores were level as full-time approached, in a frantic finish with the All Blacks down to 14 men.

Neither side truly touched their highest level;  disappointing given the build-up to the occasion but the weather was a monumental hinderance.

Pre-game showers aren't uncommon but this was more like a neverending bucket being tipped out of the sky onto the Olympic Stadium.

Conditions therefore were always going to be difficult, even for these two sides regarded as the best attacking outfits in world rugby who enjoyed the chance to perfect their sliding technique around the Sydney turf.

There was no shortage of blood spilled though, with Israel Folau and Brodie Retallick noticeably sporting plenty of claret.

The pace of the game though didn't suffer, nor did the physicality as Folau clattered his way through Jerome Kaino.  With a score to settle, Kaino's thumping tackle on Beale was a decent reprieve.

New Zealand seemed to execute all the small details that little bit better early on.  Winning the favour of the officials at the scrum, with their kicking, the defence, breakdown — they more or less emerged on top in every category on the scoring card in the opening half.

Their power defensively and intensity to keep the Wallabies out shown by the All Blacks was crucial.

So much had been made about Kurtley Beale's selection;  was it politics?  Or a double bluff involving Matt Toomua?  Whatever Ewen McKenzie's masterplan was, it failed to manifest itself clearly for all to see.

Basic penalties — running in front of the kicker, trying to play the ball after the tackle was made — undid any progress early on as New Zealand built up a lead.

Trying to play wide and force opportunities too early, with the Australian back three subdued, was another major error from the home side given the conditions.  Nic White's box kicks were charged down consecutively and with worrying ease, in a poor game from the Brumbies scrum-half.

Still, the Wallabies only trailed 9-3 counting down towards half-time.  A semblance of hope, perhaps a little lucky as the All Blacks failed to capitalise on all of their territory.

Hearing a sharp blast of Peyper's whistle after only 15 minutes is never a good sign, as Aaron Cruden converted two penalties left another out wide to the right.

Beale countered with a long-range penalty of his own and the Wallabies were left sat on three points for most of the first half until the final moments, when Crockett was sent to the bin.

Michael Hooper's high-risk gambles were madness, turning down kickable penalties for scrums in conditions where a more pragmatic approach was needed.  The fact that Beale missed from a harsher angle when Australia did go for the posts was fitting.

Australia's best passage of play after half-time did produce three points from a Beale penalty, cutting the score to 6-9, for some rare points as passes went loose.  One of White's best kicks, one that trickled towards the corner, had Julian Savea under pressure and ended with another three from Beale to tie things up.

Another poor kick from White handed the All Blacks a chance to counter-attack, Cruden curling in his fourth penalty to restore New Zealand's lead.

It took outstanding defence to keep out Pat McCabe in the corner, huge tackles stopping drives from Folau and Sam Carter before the ball went wide.

Barrett's sin-binning for cynical play helped Beale level things up again with his fourth penalty to set up the tense finish, and the very real possibility of a draw.

So it duly finished, the All Blacks missing out on the world record as these two couldn't be separated.  One to forget in the grand history of matches between these two, but a massive chance missed for the Wallabies in the end.

Man of the Match:  Lots of big innings, but the effort of Nathan Charles especially caught the eye.

Moment of the Match:  Forcing their attack wide a little early when straightening may have made more space, Pat McCabe was easily bundled into touch.  Crucial.

Villain of the Match:  Peyper's interpretation of the scrum was quizzable, but the atrocious conditions destroyed the spectacle.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Pens:  Beale 4

For New Zealand:
Pens:  Cruden 4
Yellow Cards:  Crockett, Barrett

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Pat McCabe, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Nic White, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Sam Carter, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Nathan Charles, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 James Hanson, 17 Pek Cowan, 18 Ben Alexander, 19 Will Skelton, 20 Scott Higginbotham, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Bernard Foley, 23 Tevita Kuridrani.

New Zealand:  15 Ben Smith, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Malakai Fekitoa/Ryan Crotty, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Joe Moody, 19 Steven Luatua, 20 Sam Cane, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Malakai Fekitoa/Ryan Crotty.

Referee:  Jaco Peyper
Assistant Referees:  Romain Poite, Stuart Berry
TMO:  Shaun Veldsman