Impressive Pumas shock Springboks

A hat-trick from Juan Imhoff helped Argentina record their first ever win over South Africa in a 37-25 Rugby Championship victory in Durban on Saturday.

It's taken 20 attempts but the Pumas finally got a positive result against the Springboks after two close calls last year.  Using their domination at scrum time as a platform, Argentina created the biggest upset in the history of the Rugby Championship on the day that they commemorated 50 years since their first tour of South Africa.

The result means the Boks have now lost four consecutive Tests to different countries for the first time since 1965.

While the Pumas produced their best game of the year, tackling their hearts out, their disjointed hosts were a pale shadow of the side that troubled the All Blacks last week as they made countless unforced errors and offer very little on attack.

Argentina led 27-13 at the interval thanks to three excellent tries, including two for Imhoff, who also helped set up the opener for Marcelo Bosch.

South Africa hit back via a try from lock Lood de Jager, but the visitors were well worth their lead against an error-prone Bok outfit.

Imhoff bagged his hat-trick in controversial circumstances soon after the break and although South Africa hit back via tries from Willie le Roux and Bryan Habana, they fell well short of saving the result.

It took los Pumas just two minutes to score the opening try and silence the Durban crowd.  Imhoff sliced through the Bok defence from a set-piece move before offloading to Bosch, who cruised home.  Juan Martin Hernandez added the easy extras to cap a perfect start for the visitors.

The scrum tussle between Bok tighthead Vincent Koch and veteran Pumas loosehead Marcos Ayerza had been highlighted as key battle and it was the South African rookie who won the first round earning a penalty for Handre Pollard to send over.

Ayerza made a strong comeback however, winning the next two penalties, but Hernandez was off target with both to leave the scores at 7-3 at the end of the first quarter.

The Pumas went over for another excellent try to stretch their lead after Le Roux handed possession away cheaply with a terrible kick, which led to Tomas Cubelli putting Imhoff away a few phases later.  Hernandez added the conversion and at 14-3, the Boks looked rattled.

Strong runs from Pollard and Bismarck du Plessis forced an offside penalty, which the fly-half slotted but the Pumas would soon ber over for their third try.

A massive scrum laid the platform for Leonardo Senatore to break off with Cubelli providing the link for Imhoff to cross on the overlap for his second try.  Hernandez's conversion stretched the lead to 15 points.

South Africa hit back with a classic drive off the back of a lineout which saw De Jager stretch out an arm for the hosts' first try.

Pollard landed the conversion but Hernandez was able to reply immediately when Beast Mtawarira was pinged for obstruction.

Koch was really suffering at scrum time and another penalty against him allowed Bosch to smash over three more points from 50m out to give Argentina a 14-point lead at half-time.  Marcel van der Merwe replaced Koch in the second half, but the flow of penalties was only partially slowed.

The Pumas' fourth try came in controversial circumstances.  With a gaggle of medics on the field and Jean de Villiers in the middle of a team talk, referee Romain Poite called time back on, Hernandez took a quick tap and Imhoff pounced in the corner, much to the hosts' bemusement.

Another conversion from Hernandez left South Africa with a 21-point mountain to climb.

Le Roux started the move that would lead to his try by plucking a bomb out of the air before De Villiers and Jesse Kriel combined to put their full-back away for a long sprint home.

Pollard added the conversion but a neat drop goal from Bosch kept the Boks beyond two converted tries.

Cobus Reinach was denied a try by the TMO but Habana was able to grab a consolation try as the Boks used the extra space created by Pablo Matera's yellow card for a high tackle on Schalk Burger.

Man of the match:  There can be only one candidate.  A hat-trick for Juan Imhoff seals the gong.

Moment of the match:  The Boks would have believed they were in with a chance of making a comeback but Imhoff's controversial try took the wind of their sails.

Villain of the match:  No punches thrown.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  De Jager, Le Roux, Habana
Cons:  Pollard 2
Pens:  Pollard 2

For Argentina:
Tries:  Bosch, Imhoff 3
Cons:  Hernandez 4
Pens:  Hernandez, Bosch
Drop:  Bosch
Yellow card:  Matera

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Jesse Kriel, 13 Jean de Villiers (c), 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Schalk Burger, 7 Marcell Coetzee, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 VIncent Koch, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.

Replacements:16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Marcel van der Merwe, 19 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 20 Siya Kolisi, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Lwazi Mvovo.

Argentina:  15 Joaquin Tuculet, 14 Horacio Agulla, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Jeronimo de la Fuente, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Juan Martin Hernandez, 9 Tomas Cubelli, 8 Leonardo Senatore, 7 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 2 Agustin Creevy (c), 1 Marcos Ayerza.

Replacements:  16 Julian Montoya, 17 Lucas Noguera, 18 Matias Diaz, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Tomas Lezana, 21 Martin Landajo, 22 Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias, 23 Lucas Amorosino.

Venue:  Kings Park, Durban

Referee:  Romain Poite

Assistant referees:  JP Doyle, Marcus Mitrea

TMO:  Ben Skeen

Australia win Rugby Championship

Australia have broken New Zealand's hold on the Rugby Championship trophy thanks to a 27-19 win over their trans-Tasman rivals in Saturday's decider in Sydney.

The All Blacks had won every previous Rugby Championship since the expansion to four teams in 2012, but were outscored three tries to two by their hosts in a thrilling contest at ANZ Stadium.

This is Australia's first title since claiming the Tri-Nations in 2011.  The result also means New Zealand must win next week's clash at Eden Park if they are to retain the Bledisloe Cup, which they have held since 2003.

All Black fly-half Dan Carter had a poor night with the boot but nevertheless made history by becoming the first man to reach 1500 Test points.

But it was the Wallabies' replacement half-backs who stole the show, making a telling contribution in the last quarter with Nic White scoring the winning try.

New Zealand led 6-3 at the interval thanks to two penalties from Carter opposed to one from Matt Giteau.  As that scoreline suggests, there was nothing to choose between the sides in a high-paced opening 40 minutes.

Tries after the break by Wallaby prop Sekope Kepu and wing Adam Ashley-Cooper were answered by a double by All Black debutant Nehe Milner-Skudder before White ghosted over to secure the trophy for Australia.

David Pocock made a great start with a couple of early steals, but Kepu was shown a yellow card inside the opening 10 minutes after making a tackle without retreating 10m when the All Blacks were threating to score from a quickly-taken penalty.

Carter slotted the easy three points and almost bagged the first try soon thereafter but was beaten by inches in a foot race with Giteau after the All Black pivot had hacked a loose ball ahead.

The hosts were able to ride out the sin-bin period without conceding further points as the first quarter ended with New Zealand 3-0 up.

The Wallaby scrum had made a strong start and earned a penalty that allowed Giteau to level the scores, but a ruck penalty against the home side meant that Carter could reply almost immediately with a long-range effort to restore the gap.

Giteau hit the upright with his next shot at goal and Dean Mumm fumbled a terrible pass from Nick Phipps when a try was on the cards after a break by Israel Folau.

Consecutive lineout steals by the All Blacks denied the hosts further opportunities to score and a last-gasp tackle by Michael Hooper kept Julian Savea out of the corner, meaning the visitors went into the break with a narrow lead.

Kiwi scrum-half Aaron Smith was sent to the sin bin soon after the restart for a high tackle on Ashley-Cooper.  The Wallabies immediately cashed in as Kepu showed a neat step before shrugging off two tacklers to race over.

Giteau added the conversion to put the Wallabies 10-6 ahead but Carter landed his third penalty — against Pocock at a ruck — to cut the deficit to a single point on 50 minutes.

A bad night for Phipps got worse when he too saw yellow for pulling back Conrad Smith, who had taken a quick penalty.

New Zealand struck right away as a half-break from Carter allowed Ben Smith to escape before the full-back found Milner-Skudder up in support for the young winger's first Test try.

The Wallabies moved back in front when Ashley-Cooper collected Matt Toomua's chip ahead and barged through Ben Smith to finish wonderfully in the corner, with Giteau adding the conversion.

A first-phase attack from New Zealand got the ball quickly to Milner-Skudder, who did brilliantly to get the it down depsite the attention of three tacklers.

Carter missed the conversion meaning that when White hit the target from 48m out following an offside penalty, Australia led 20-19.

White would be the hero of the night as, in the dying minutes, he sold the Kiwi defence a dummy before slipping past Codie Taylor for the winner.  White's conversion sealed a deserved win for the Wallabies.

Man of the match:  A mention for David Pocock, who was excellent once again, but we have to go for Nic White, who only needed 15 minutes on the field to change the complexion of the game.

Moment of the match:  The All Blacks are usually the ones who produce a fast finish but White's try will long be remembered as it sealed a memorable win.

Villain of the match:  No nasty stuff to report.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Kepu, Ashley-Cooper, White
Cons:  Giteau 2, White
Pens:  Giteau, White
Yellow cards:  Kepu, Phipps

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Milner-Skudder 2
Pens:  Carter 3
Yellow card:  A. Smith

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 David Pocock, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 James Horwill, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore (c) 1 Scott Sio,

Replacements:  16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 James Slipper, 18 Greg Holmes, 19 Will Skelton, 20 Ben McCalman, 21 Nic White, 22 Matt Toomua, 23 Kurtley Beale.

New Zealand:  15 Ben Smith, 14 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Luke Romano, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Tony Woodcock.

Replacements:  16 Codie Taylor, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Nepo Laulala, 19 Samuel Whitelock, 20 Sam Cane, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Malakai Fekitoa.

Venue:  ANZ Stadium, Sydney

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)

Assistant Referees:  Nigel Owens (Wales), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)

TMO:  Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Bonus revenge for Australia

Australia outscored Argentina by four tries to none, gaining revenge for their 2014 defeat by winning 34-9 in Mendoza on Saturday.

Adam Ashley-Cooper scored a try with the final play of the match to secure the bonus point for the Wallabies, whose bench played a major role once again.

Argentina often sparkled individually but never showed enough control or composure when it mattered most, committing basic errors that undermind their efforts.

For a while the Wallabies were sucked into an attritional battle without making much progress.  However a special try for Dean Mumm, the Australia lock who recently returned from a stint in England with Exeter Chiefs, proved to be a finishing blow that killed off the hopes of their hosts.

Soft penalties meant that Australia made harder work of the contest than required, particularly with off the ball incidents that cancelled out their penalty advantages.

Quade Cooper's yellow card in the second half was inevitable and if they leak penalties against New Zealand in two weeks time Australia will be in real trouble.

Despite that the Wallabies greater structure shone through as Argentina relied on moments of individual magic, espeically from the livewire full-back Santiago Cordero, to make any real progress without aimlessly kicking the ball away.  After that thrilling finish to last year's Rugby Championship with their first win in the competition, Argentina have started 2015 very slowly.

Israel Folau was lucky not to see yellow for a mid-air challenge on Nicolás Sánchez in the opening minutes, with a penalty against the Wallabies ending a dominant opening period from the visitors where they enjoyed 90 percent possession.

Australia lost Matt Toomua to an early concussion, forcing a re-shuffle in the backline with Quade Cooper replacing him as Sánchez pushed a long-range drop goal attempt narrowly wide.

More loose kicking then cost Sánchez and his side when Folau returned one with interest, combining with Bernard Foley to release Joe Tomane down the touchline for the opening try.

Excitement was never far away when Cordero was involved for the home side but Argentina lacked that final touch to finish off some promising early moments.

They were lucky the Wallabies persisted to squander their advantages like when Will Skelton saw a penalty reversed for grabbing a player around the neck at the bottom of a ruck.

Inaccuracies from both sides meant the Wallabies still led 5-0 approaching the half-hour mark, before Sánchez knocked over his first penalty to put the hosts on the scoresheet.

Australia though persisted to threaten with the ball in hand, a show-and-go from the captain Stephen Moore being a highlight as the Wallabies forced a penalty out of the defence which Foley was unable to convert.

Argentina had to control the scrum to have a chance of winning and after a quiet week against New Zealand they looked to have rediscovered their rhythm, with James Slipper feeling the heat as a result.

Foley rediscovered his accuracy to add a first penalty but Sánchez instantly responded with the final act of the half to leave Australia ahead by two points at half-time, leading 8-6.

A second penalty from Foley right after half-time stretched the visitors advantage to five points, even if it wasn't the cleanest of strikes from the Waratahs fly-half whose form off the tee is becoming a minor concern.

Argentina weren't short of attacks but the Wallabies, more often than not through the excellent David Pocock, were always there ready to turn over possession or slow them down.  Appropriately the openside put in an impressive run down the wing, before being bundled into touch by the cover defence.

Another penalty from Foley gave the Wallabies a comfortable eight-point lead as they welcomed back Mumm from the bench for his first Test appearance since 2010.

Argentina did receive some reward for the efforts of Cordero and Juan Pablo Socino when Sánchez added this third penalty coming up to the fourth quarter, making it 14-9 and keeping los Pumas in the hunt.

Mumm though crushed those hopes with a barnstorming run of his own down the touchline, fending off tacklers to score a fine solo try in the corner and open up the gap to ten points.

Indiscipline however kept pulling the Wallabies back into the game, with Cooper heading to the sin-bin for a high tackle, but a crucial steal from Rob Simmons prevented Argentina from attacking through their rolling maul.

Foley curled in a fourth three-pointer to make it 22-9, putting the result almost beyond doubt with ten minutes to go as Argentina's attack failed to make in-roads, capping off a frustrating night for their supporters.

There was still time for Australia to add a third try — Tevita Kuridrani the man to go over for his second score in a week after a good pass over the top from Foley and the bonus point wasn't far behind.

Ashley-Cooper was the man to finish it off but only after great input from Kurtley Beale, on his 50th cap, and Folau to make sure Australia head back home with all five points.

The bonus point also moves them level on points with New Zealand at the top of the Rugby Championship ahead of their meeting on August 8.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Pens:  Sánchez 3

For Australia:
Tries:  Tomane, Mumm, Kuridrani, Ashley-Cooper
Cons:  Foley
Pens:  Foley 4

Yellow Card:  Cooper

Argentina:  15 Santiago Cordero, 14 Gonzalo Camacho, 13 Matías Moroni, 12 Juan Pablo Socino, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 9 Martín Landajo, 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe, 6 Javier Ortega Desio, 5 Tomás Lavanini, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Agustín Creevy (c), 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements:  16 Santiago Iglesias Valdez, 17 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 18 Matías Díaz, 19 Matías Alemanno, 20 Leonardo Senatore, 21 Tomás Cubelli, 22 Santiago González Iglesias, 23 Lucas González Amorosino.

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 David Pocock, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Will Skelton, 3 Greg Holmes, 2 Stephen Moore (c), 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Scott Sio, 18 Sekope Kepu, 19 Dean Mumm, 20 Michael Hooper, 21 Nic White, 22 Quade Cooper, 23 Kurtley Beale.

Referee:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant Referees:  Chris Pollock (New Zealand), Stuart Berry (South Africa)
TMO:  Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

New Zealand edge another Bok classic

A late Richie McCaw try helped the All Blacks clinch a closely-fought clash with the Springboks at Ellis Park on Saturday, winning 27-20.

New Zealand have become masters of the fast finish and it was fitting that McCaw — in what was probably his last Test on South African soil — landed the killer blow against their fiercest rivals.

With the Springboks having crossed the Indian Ocean twice in the last fortnight, the last 20 minutes needed a big effort, but — as was the case last week against Australia — the Boks faded at the death of what was a thrilling game.

After being outscored three tries to two, the home side will rue a number of close calls having had their noses in front for most of the game.

The scores were locked at 10-all at the interval as Willie le Roux's early try was cancelled out by Ben Smith.

South Africa had led for almost the entire half and looked in control but — in typical fashion — the All Blacks struck with the last play of the half to level matters.  It was sign of things to come.

Quick-fire tries from Jesse Kriel and Dane Coles early in the second stanza kept the contest tight before McCaw's late try snatched victory for the world champions.

After a poor tactical kicking display in Brisbane last week, South African coach Heyneke Meyer was looking for huge improvement but he will have mixed feelings as the Boks mixed the excellent with the mediocre when kicking from hand.

It took the Boks less than two minutes to cheaply hand possession over to the All Blacks with a poorly directed box kick.  The ensuing ruck saw the visitors awarded a penalty, which Lima Sopoaga duly slotted for his first Test points.  The home crowd feared the worst.

However, a much better kick from Ruan Pienaar was at the origin of the first try.  Bismarck du Plessis caught Kieran Read in possession after Israel Dagg's pass, forcing the turnover.  The ball was sent wide to Le Roux on the overlap and the full-back split the outnumbered Kiwi defenders to race home.  Handré Pollard added the easy extras.

New Zealand had a golden opportunity to strike back, but Conrad Smith couldn't hang onto the snap pass from Aaron Smith, who had decided to run from a penalty dead in front of the posts.

The Boks were taking no such risks, and Pollard extended the lead with a penalty for offside play, meaning the hosts led 10-3 at the end of the first quarter.

The visitors were clearly intent on keeping the pace of the game as high as possible and avoiding set pieces wherever possible, robbing the Boks of attacking chances from lineouts with a few quick throw-ins.

Pollard fell short with a shot at goal from inside his own half before Sopoaga was also off target with a much easier effort.

The home side looked set to take a seven-point gap into the break but a brilliant run up the middle of the field from Sopoaga changed the complexion of the game as Ben Smith collected his fly-half's pass to cross.  Sopoaga added the conversion to draw his team level.

A knee injury meant that Bok prop Jannie du Plessis did not emerge from the tunnel for the second half, giving Vincent Koch his first taste of Test rugby.  Francois Louw lasted just two minutes after the restart and home-town boy Warren Whiteley was given a huge welcome.

Kriel backed up his brilliant try last week with another great score as he split Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith off Pollard's pop pass to sprint over.  Pollard added the conversion as the Ellis Park crowd roared their approval.

The counter-punch from the All Blacks didn't take long to follow though, as Coles showed incredible pace for a hooker to charge over under the sticks.  Sopoaga's extras meant it was all-square with a half-an-hour to play.

Beauden Barrett was given a run at full-back as Dagg was taken off but it was the visitors' forwards who were in the firing line.

The TMO ruled that Lood de Jager had placed the ball millimetres short of the line — much to the hosts bemusement — but Pollard was able to put the Boks back in front with a penalty as the All Blacks gave away a penalty under huge pressure on their line.

A break from Le Roux put the visitors under more pressure and Sam Whitelock was sent to the bin for his attempts to kill the attack.

South Africa opted for the scrum rather than three easy points, but Eben Etzebeth was held up after a big shove for the line.  A knock on from Koch — who had blood streaming from his face — meant that they failed at their second attempt as precious points were left by the wayside.

South African breathed a huge sigh of relief as a long-range shot from Sopoaga fell short of goal, allowing the Boks to take a slim lead into the final 15 minutes.

Koch's trip to the nurse's office meant the hosts no longer had a specialist tighthead, resulting in uncontested scrums in the last 10 minutes.

Brodie Retallick was held up over the line but New Zealand went for the corner and McCaw ghosted through the middle of the lineout to bump Pienaar out the way to score an all-too-easy try in the 73rd minute.

Sopoaga's third conversion of the night put the men in black four points ahead, forcing the home side to chase a late try.

But it was Sopoaga who slammed home the final nail, sending over a penalty in the last minute.

Man of the match:  A mention for Lood de Jager, who worked tirelessly but Charles Piutau booked his ticket to the World Cup with a faultless display on defence and an electric performance on attack.

Moment of the match:  How do they always do it?  McCaw's try was another example of New Zealand's clinical execution as they came back from behind once again.

Villain of the match:  No nasty stuff to report.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Le Roux, Kriel
Cons:  Pollard 2
Pens:  Pollard 2

For New Zealand:
Tries:  B. Smith, Coles, McCaw
Cons:  Sopoaga 3
Pens:  Sopoaga 2

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Schalk Burger, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Flip van der Merwe, 20 Warren Whiteley, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Lionel Mapoe.

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Charles Piutau, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Liam Messsam, 5 James Broadhurst, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Codie Taylor, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Ben Franks, 19 Sam Whitelock, 20 Victor Vito, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Malakai Fekitoa

Venue:  Emirates Airlines Park (Ellis Park), Johannesburg
Referee:  Jérôme Garcès
Assistant referees:  Romain Poite, Leighton Hodges
TMO:  Graham Hughes

Last-gasp Wallabies edge Boks

Australia overturned a 13-point deficit to beat South Africa 24-20 in an enthralling Rugby Championship contest in Brisbane on Saturday.

The TMO awarded Tevita Kuridrani a try after the final hooter, which capped a brave comeback by the hosts, who had trailed 20-7 early in the second half.

The sides scored a try apiece late in the first half via Adam Ashley-Cooper and Eben Etzebeth but two early penalties from the boot of Handré Pollard meant the Boks led 13-7 at the interval, which was a fair reflection of the opening 40 minutes.

The South African scrum was on top and their loose trio were doing well at the breakdown, although Israel Folau proved a threat every time he touched the ball for the hosts.

Test debutant Jesse Kriel announced his arrival on the international scene with a fabulous try early in the second period but the visitors were made to do a huge amount of defending as Australia swung the territory and possession stats around.

A change in front-row personnel on both sides ended the Springboks' set-piece dominance and the tandem threat of Michael Hooper and David Pocock helped the Wallabies hang onto the ball in the last half hour.

Hooper muscled his way over in the dying minutes to set up a grandstand finish, before Kuridrani managed to get the tip of the ball down on the chalk to snatch victory in dramatic style.

Two poor kicks by Pollard made for a poor start for the Boks but a great steal on the deck from Bismarck du Plessis relieved the pressure.  Those early incidents would be repeated a few times as Pollard blew hot and cold, while Du Plessis made a big contribution.

Pollard's willingness to take the ball to the line did however earn the visitors the first penalty but the young fly-half hit the upright with what should have been an easy kick.

South Africa let another chance slip after a strong scrum set up a break for Damian de Allende which put Australia under pressure.  The centre should have given it to JP Pietersen out wide and a few phases later Pollard was left red-faced when he knocked on with the visitors pressing.

The first points came on the quarter-hour mark as Pollard landed a penalty after Hooper was adjudged to be offside in a marginal call.

Scott Higginbotham would have been angry with himself for rushing a chip ahead with the Springbok midfield exposed, leaving the enterprising hosts scoreless at the end of the first quarter.

The Boks were dealt a massive blow when Victor Matfield was forced off with a hamstring injury but Lood de Jager was impressive on his return from a long injury layoff.

Under-pressure Jannie du Plessis and co. also came good to win a scrum penalty that allowed Pollard to double the lead.

Quade Cooper missed a long-range penalty against Bismarck du Plessis at a ruck but the Wallabies took the lead thanks to a slick backline move with half time approaching.

Matt Giteau and Cooper combined before Ashley-Cooper came in on the angle to collect Cooper's inside ball and slip between Pollard and De Allende for a great try.  Cooper converted to put the Aussies 7-6 up.

South Africa would head into the break in front, however, thanks to an equally good try.  Bryan Habana did well to flick Pollard's chip ahead back for Willie le Roux, who drew three defenders before offloading to Etzebeth, who crashed over in the corner.  Pollard found the target with the touchline conversion.

The Wallabies survived a late onslaught thanks to ruck steal on their own tryline to keep the gap at six points heading into the changing rooms.

Will Genia was an injury casualty when the teams reemerged and his replacement, Nick Phipps, missed a tackle as the Boks grabbed a second try.

Credit to Kriel though, as he showed wonderful feet and pace to zigzag past three defenders after latching onto Habana's offload.  Pollard landed another excellent conversion to put the Boks well ahead at 20-7.

Cooper cut the deficit to 10 points when the otherwise excellent Ruan Pienaar was penalised for offside but the Wallaby fly-half was way off target after Adriaan Strauss was pinged for dropping a knee to the ground at scrum time.

Rob Simmons lost the ball in contact just short of the line but the Wallabies were rewarded for their sustained pressure after a series of strong scrums set up Hooper's try as he beat the tackle of Oupa Mohoje to get the ball over the whitewash.

Giteau added the conversion but missed a long-range effort that would have pulled the Wallabies level.

Australian skipper Stephen Moore made a brave decision to go for the corner from a last-minute penalty before Kuridrani was able to dot the ball down for a millisecond, despite the best efforts of Schalk Burger to hold it up.

Man of the match:  A few candidates on both sides but we'll go for Israel Folau, whose counter-attacking gave the Springboks zero respite and limited their exit options.

Moment of the match:  The game looked lost but Kuridrani's try at the death gave Wallaby coach Michael Chieka a win in his first Test on home soil.

Villain of the match:  No nasty stuff to report.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Ashley-Cooper, Hooper, Kuridrani
Cons:  Cooper 2, Giteau
Pen:  Cooper

For South Africa:
Tries:  Etzebeth, Kriel
Cons:  Pollard 2
Pens:  Pollard 2

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Scott Higginbotham, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Will Skelton, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore (c), 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Scott Sio, 18 Greg Holmes, 19 James Horwill, 20 David Pocock, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Matt Toomua, 23 Drew Mitchell.

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Schalk Burger, 7 Marcell Coetzee, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Victor Matfield (captain), 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Heinke van der Merwe, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Lodewyk de Jager, 20 Teboho Mohoje, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Lwazi Mvovo.

Venue:  Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees:  Glen Jackson (New Zealand), Mike Fraser (New Zealand)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

All Blacks cruise past Pumas

New Zealand kicked off their Rugby Championship campaign with a comfortable 39-18 win over Argentina in Christchurch on Friday.

Impressive at scrum time, the All Blacks showed their power in defence and attack in the first half, running in two tries through Richie McCaw and Ma'a Nonu, allowing them to take an 18-6 half-time lead.

Despite two second-half tries from Agustin Creevy, it was the All Blacks who controlled things, running in three more scores through Charles Piutau, Kieran Read and debutant Codie Taylor.

The key to the game was the difference in defence, with New Zealand able to knock back runners all day long, while the Pumas were constantly on the back foot.

With quick ball, they created plenty of opportunities, and were never really in danger, giving McCaw and Dan Carter a fitting farewell for their final games in Christchurch.

Argentina had rested a number of experienced players, putting in faith in the likes of Guido Petti and Facundo Isa, who impressed last November, as well as promising winger Santiago Cordero.

In contrast New Zealand were playing the most experienced side in Test history, despite the absence of the likes of Conrad Smith, Julian Savea and Sam Whitelock.  There was an All Black debut for Waisake Naholo, the Highlanders winger who topped the try-scoring charts in Super Rugby this season.

Argentina struggled to make inroads early on, and when Nicolas Sanchez was charged down by Read, the All Blacks swarmed to the ball with McCaw earning a penalty that Carter converted to make it 3-0.

However after winning the first penalty of the game, the All Black skipper was then penalised for killing the ball in a ruck, allowing Sanchez to level the scores after 11 minutes.

The All Blacks had barely touched the ball in attack, but once they finally did, they started to cause Argentina problems.

First Carter added his second penalty before McCaw popped up for the first try of the game.  After a long period in the Pumas 22, New Zealand won a penalty which they kicked to touch.  They produced a clever maul, shifting the point of attack to send McCaw up against two backs, and he wasn't going to be stopped from close range.  Carter was off-target with the conversion but New Zealand led 11-3.

On debut, Naholo had looked dangerous, and he made a searing break on the half-hour, sprinting past halfway after getting the ball in his own 22.  Argentina were impressing at the breakdown though, and produced a stunning counter-ruck to earn a penalty.

Marcelo Bosch missed from just inside his own half, but Sanchez made no mistake a minute later to cut the deficit to five.

Carter was then just wide with a penalty from the left, but it seemed poetic justice after a very harsh call on Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe.

As they so often do, New Zealand finished the half with a flourish, thanks to some great individual work by Nonu.  The in-form Hurricanes centre got the ball out wide and held off two tackles to power over, with Carter's conversion making it 18-6 at the break.

One of the few issues for the All Blacks in the first half had been Carter's kicking, and he missed a third shot at goal right at the start of the second half, albeit from halfway.

Argentina then failed to chase their 22 drop-out though, and New Zealand needed no second invitation, opening up the space for Piutau to dart over.  Carter's extras made it 25-6 to the hosts.

It could have got even better for the All Blacks, but Naholo knocked on and stepped into touch when he looked certain to score after some good work from Sonny Bill Williams.

By this point it was one-way traffic, and when Argentina were again caught in their own 22, Read popped up to nick the ball off Horacio Agulla and race over untouched to stretch the lead even further.

Finally New Zealand started to concede the odd penalty, allowing Argentina to set up camp in the All Black half.  And when they kicked to the corner, Creevy went over for his first Test try in similar fashion to McCaw in the first.

The rolling maul was working for Argentina, and when they got another opportunity, Creevy went over again, with Sanchez converting to make it 32-18.

The comeback wasn't really on, and any slim hopes were killed off when New Zealand went back up the field, with their replacement front row making a big impact.

After winning a scrum against the head, Taylor, on debut, popped up to burrow over from close range, with Carter adding his fourth conversion of the game.

That was how it remained until the end, with New Zealand setting themselves up nicely before next week's trip to South Africa.  Argentina will hope to bounce back at home to the Wallabies, with a number of players set to return.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  McCaw, Nonu, Piutau, Read, Taylor
Cons:  Carter 4
Pens:  Carter 2

For Argentina:
Tries:  Creevy 2
Con:  Sanchez
Pens:  Sanchez 2

The teams:

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Ma'a Nonu, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Charles Piutau, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Brodie Retallick, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Codie Taylor, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Nepo Laulala, 19 Jeremy Thrush, 20 Liam Messam, 21 Andy Ellis, 22 Colin Slade, 23 Ryan Crotty.

Argentina:  15 Joaquin Tuculet, 14 Horacio Agulla, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Jeronimo De la Fuente, 11 Santiago Cordero, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Tomas Cubelli, 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, 6 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 5 Guido Petti, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Agustin Creevy (c), 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements:  16 Julian Montoya, 17 Lucas Noguera, 18 Nahuel Chaparro Tetaz, 19 Benjamin Macome, 20 Javier Ortega Desio, 21 Martin Landajo, 22 Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias, 23 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino.

Venue:  AMI Stadium, Christchurch
Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Angus Gardner (Australia), Stuart Berry (South Africa)
TMO:  George Ayoub (Australia)