New Zealand eke out Tri-Nations crown

New Zealand have won the Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup in one go, with a compelling 26-12 win over Australia in Auckland on Saturday.

The Wallabies kept well in touch with their hosts, and it was only the fine details which let them down;  first a silly penalty which gifted the All Blacks a half-time lead, and then one costly error off the back of a scrum on the hour mark which led to the only try of the match by Tony Woodcock.

In the face of a valiant Australian effort, New Zealand stuck manfully to their task, with Dan Carter exceptional from the tee and a significant reduction in the number of handling lapses that spoiled their efforts against South Africa last week.

It was an emotional match for emotional Byron Kelleher and unemotional Anton Oliver as they played their last Tests on home soil.  It was also an opportunity for the Southern Hemisphere to say farewell to two of rugby's greatest sons -- George Gregan and Stephen Larkham.  Kellheer and Oliver were substituted early in the second half, leaving them to trudge to the touchline.  Larkham and Gregan played out the whole of the 80 minutes and looked as enthusiastic and determined as ever they have looked.

The weather forecast had said "light rain", which must be a New Zealand euphemism for downpour.  The rain burst down onto an already wet Auckland, mercifully relenting as the match went on but still water splashed from running feet, there was steam on the breath, and the conditions were not easy.

That said, both sides handled admirably.  in a match in which there were only eleven scrums.  The All Blacks did not put the ball into a single scrum in the first half.  That was a half when the Wallabies were with the weather and dominated possession and territory but ended 12-9 in arrears.  The second half was a different matter as the Wallabies had only rare forays into New Zealand territory.

The Wallabies were better at the line-outs, winning the ball four times on New Zealand throws in the first half.  That improved for the All Blacks in the second half.  The much-discussed scrums were a different matter.  The Australians had a great first scrum but then rather fell apart.  In the second half Matt Dunning was penalised twice at the scrums, which may have been better than he deserved.  One scrum, five metres from the Wallaby line, went down four times, three times clearly with Dunning taking the lead -- what John Drake calls a swan dive.

Both sides contested fiercely at the tackle/ruck and turnovers there were rare.  But there were also trickles of blood from the contests.

The penalty count punished the Wallabies -- 13-5 against them, and there was Dan Carter's boot to turn seven of those thirteen into 21 points;  enough to make the margin of victory look comfortable.  It was not comfortable as it sounds, but richly deserved nonetheless.

There were different tactics.  The Wallabies retained possession in the first half as they went through many phases with the confidence one would associate with a dry day.  The All Blacks on the other hand did a profitable pick-'n-drive routine.  In the second half the Wallabies had fewer chances to go through phases and then when the lead stretched away from them their nerve seemed to crick while the All Blacks became more expansive as they did, in Richie McCaw's words, "the business".  "We did it right." The result of doing it right was "a couple of cups in the cupboard", an alliterative understatement.

The umbrellas were up when the Royal New Zealand Air Force Band led the anthems and Carl Hayman led the new haka, watched by distant Wallabies.  Carter kicked off and an enthralling 80 minutes ensued.

There was early emotion when Rocky Elsom killed the ball at a tackle and players became upset.  There was also an interesting moment.  Canterbury claim that the last time one of their jerseys tore was in 1976.  They have a new collar which makes it harder to grasp, but big Keith Robinson grabbed Daniel Vickerman by the neck of his jersey and it came apart.  31 years later!

The emotions subsided and Carter kicked the penalty for Elsom's infringement.

The second score was a long time coming, also a penalty, this time against McCaw for unbinding early at a tumbling scrum.  Stirling Mortlock kicked that one on a night when both kickers were on target.

Two minutes later Matt Giteau kicked a sneaky drop, and the referee called in the help of the TMO to determine that it was over, which it was.  6-3 to Australia after 25 minutes.  When Larkham was penalised for not clearing away after tackling Carter made the score 6-all but when McCaw did in like manner Mortlock restored the Wallaby lead after 32 minutes.

Giteau went off-side and Carter banged a long one over from the half-way line and then there was a silly moment.  The ball bounced up towards Adam Ashley-Cooper who was not under pressure.  The full-back tried to trap the ball with his foot but the bounce caught him unawares and he footed the ball into touch where he threw the ball away as Doug Howlett came to claim it.  The referee penalised Ashley-Cooper for his petulance and Carter gave the All Blacks their half-time lead.

Early in the second half the Wallabies conceded a succession of penalties.  The second was when George Smith was at the side of a tackle-ruck and interfering.  From a sharp angle Carter put the All Blacks 15-9 ahead.

McAlister was penalised for being on the wrong side of a tackle and in the way and Mortlock made the score 15-12 after 46 minutes, the last time the Wallabies looked like scoring.

On their left the All Blacks tapped a penalty and kicked the ball over to the right where lurking Howlett came forward to collect it.  Mortlock was judged to have tackled Howlett high and, difficult though the kick was, Carter banged it over.

The All Blacks were not the only ones getting the rub of the green for McCaw was adjudged to have knocked on in a move which seemed to set up a certain All Black try.  But from the ensuring scrum Brendon Leonard intercepted a pass between Stephen Hoiles and Gregan and the next thing the All Blacks were battering at the Wallaby line.  Keven Mealamu went for the post's padding but the TMO decided that it was inconclusive whether he scored a try.  This led to a five-metre scrum which collapsed four times.  The third was allowed to play out and Leonard darted for the line before Tony Woodcock picked up and plunged.  This time -- another difficult decision -- the TMO advised that a try had been scored.  23-12 with 22 minutes to play.

Most of that belonged to the All Blacks who even had the confidence to run from their own 22.

With eight minutes left Giteau was again penalised for being offside and Carter finished off the scoring.

Man of the Match:  Daniel Vickerman had a lot to do with Australian ascendancy in the first half and Rodney So'oialo played with great energy and determination throughout, but our Man of the Match is Daniel Carter back in form with the boot, back in form with his tactical appreciation of the match and back in form with his running and passing.

Moment of the Match:  There were not many great moments but there was that moment when Drew Mitchell received the ball and Doug Howlett charged into him and flattened him in what has become a trademark tackle for the wing.

Villain of the Match:  Nobody really, though Matt Dunning may well have come close at scrum time.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Try:  Woodcock
Pens:  Carter 7

For Australia:
Pens:  Mortlock 3
Drop goal:  Giteau

New Zealand:  15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Doug Howlett, 13 Isaia Toeava, 12 Luke McAlister, 11 Joe Rokocoko, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Byron Kelleher, 8 Rodney So'oialo, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 Jerry Collins, 5 Chris Jack, 4 Keith Robinson, 3 Carl Hayman, 2 Anton Oliver, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Neemia Tialata, 18 Reuben Thorne, 19 Chris Masoe, 20 Brendon Leonard, 21 Aaron Mauger, 22 Nick Evans.

Australia:  15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Mark Gerrard, 13 Stirling Mortlock (captain), 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Stephen Larkham, 9 George Gregan, 8 Stephen Hoiles, 7 George Smith (v/c), 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Dan Vickerman, 4 Nathan Sharpe, 3 Guy Shepherdson, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Matt Dunning.
Replacements:  16 Adam Freier, 17 Al Baxter, 18 Hugh McMeniman, 19 Mark Chisholm, 20 Phil Waugh (v/c), 21 Scott Staniforth, 22 Chris Latham.

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Touch judges:  Craig Joubert (South Africa), Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
Television match official:  Johann Meuwesen (South Africa)
Assessor:  Brendan McCormick (Australia)

All Blacks struggle past SA second-string

New Zealand set up an all or nothing Tri-Nations finale against Australia next weekend, but only after struggling to overcome a supposedly weak South Africa side 33-6 in Christchurch on Saturday.

Once more the New Zealand performance was beset with errors, while the Boks, although limited in attack, defended gamely, but couldn't find anything to match the impact of New Zealand's replacements.

All three New Zealand tries came late, two from replacement players and one from a simply ridiculous mistake by the Bok defence, giving the scoreline a satisfactory look for the home team -- deeply flattering for the neutral -- by the end.

But the pressure is very much on New Zealand after this match, with the standards of last year not being met by a long stretch and the Rugby World Cup now only one more match away.

33-6.  There will be Springboks turning in their graves, from PK Albertyn to Morris Zimerman, at such a defeat of the Springboks, and yet it was not the worst of them all and not without virtue from this side cruelly labelled the B Boks.

For New Zealand it was a victory which Richie McCaw said was not to be scoffed at, but not at all smooth, thoroughly deserved though it was.

South Africa were competitive in the first half but spent the second half clinging on.  Finally their clinging slipped and New Zealand scored 21 points in the last 11 minutes, the last seven after the final siren had gone and the game was in chaos.  Daniel Carter was just the last man left running with the ball.

For the All Blacks there was a "setback" before the kick-off.  Sitiveni Sivivatu pulled a calf muscle in the warm-up but his replacement was mighty Joe Rokocoko.

The Springboks started well and running -- the way they ended last week against the Wallabies -- but eventually they gave that up and decided that the best tactic was to transfer possession to the All Blacks, as they did for an hour in Sydney last week.  On one occasion in the first half, with the Springboks on the attack, Ruan Pienaar kicked into the New Zealand 22.  The next stoppage was a line-out in the South African 22!

The Springboks also aided in their own humiliation.  Pedrie Wannenburg incurred a regulation yellow card at a tackle and when the All Blacks were penalised under the Springbok posts Albert van den Berg took it on himself to put a boot on an All Black, presenting them with three points at a time when the score was 9-6.  That is disheartening.

Heartening must have been a vastly improved effort at the tackle/ruck where the Springboks competed.  The competition resulted in slow ball which did not make for a plethora of tries.

For the All Blacks, Carter's continued ordinariness must have been a worry and Isaia Toeava had poor judgement in the centre.  Much of the handling must be a cause for concern as pass after pass went astray.  In the first half the All Blacks put the ball into one scrum, the Springboks into eight.  The All Black scrum came after 36 minutes.

The evening was cold and dry to start with in Christchurch and got off to an excellent singing of the South African national anthem by Pete Guthrie -- for a change on foreign soil -- and the traditional kamate haka by the All Blacks.  The start had a feelgood air about it.

The All Blacks had the first chance to score but Carter missed a straight kick, but when Breyton Paulse was judged off-side, a dubious call, Carter goaled.  3-0 after nine minutes.

Pienaar tried a long kick at goal, as he did in the second half, and, as was the case in the second half, the attempt was ridiculous.  But when Ruben Thorne tackled high Derick Hougaard levelled the scores at 3-3 after 23 minutes.  Straight after that Jacques Cronjé was penalised for using his hands at a tackle and Carter made it 6-3.

For the first time a try looked imminent when the All Blacks won a deep Springbok throw into a line-out and Luke McAlister stepped inside Wynand Olivier and accelerated ahead but the passing went hopelessly awry.

The Springboks had a good passage of play with pick 'n' drive but that fizzled out with a knock-on and a scrum to New Zealand.

The second half started badly for South Africa when Jaco Pretorius,, who looked out of his depth, knocked on the kick-off and the All Blacks played advantage.  With Rokocoko on his outside Toeava opted to go for the try but was pulled down.  McAlister had another break but he, too, was pulled down.  Instead it was the Springboks who scored when Keven Mealamu was penalised at a tackle/ruck and Hougaard goaled.  6-6 after 46 minutes.

Then Wannenburg was sent to the sin bin for the second time in this Tri-Nations.  The captains had been spoken to and had had a chance to speak to their teams but Wannenburg still did his own thing right in front of the Springbok posts.  Carter goaled, 9-6 after 52 minutes.

From now on, except for one foray into New Zealand territory, the Springboks could only hang on, which they did reasonably well till their grip eventually slipped at the end.

There were two meaningful changes about this time.  Lively Brendon Leonard replaced Piri Weepu at scrum-half and made a huge difference in the speed of play, and Peter Grant came on for Hougaard and really looked the part.

Just after this Van den Berg's indiscretion pushed the score to 12-6.

That is how it stayed for the next ten minutes.  Then Paulse knocked on at close quarters and the admirable Doug Howlett grabbed the advantage to send Rokocoko racing away.  Challenged, he flipped the ball back, underhand, to Leonard who had a straight run to the line for the try.  19-6.

At this stage all manner of changes were made and the game became looser, and eventually chaotic.

With four minutes left the All Blacks attacked, switching from far right to far left where Nick Evans, on for Howlett, slipped inside Paulse and past two others with slithery speed and dived over for a try, which Carter converted from touch.

More substitutions happened.  Then Wynand Olivier had a dart down the left and grubbered ahead and chased.  At the corner flag Carter fly-kicked the ball into touch to concede a five-metre line-out.  The Springboks tried a clever move but knocked on.  That still gave the All Blacks a five-metre scrum to defend but Eddie Andrews was penalised for collapsing.

The siren had gone, there were numerous errors as both sides tried to keep the ball alive and eventually Carter picked it up for a long trot to the posts.  He converted to set the seal on an unconvincing win.

Man of the Match:  Wikus van Heerden was again magnificent for South Africa but the candidates were really New Zealanders -- strong Luke McAlister, Chris Jack and our choice -- nor for the first time -- Richie McCaw who is at the heart of so much vital possession and opportunity for his side.

Moment of the Match:  Joe Rokocoko's impish flip pass inside to Brendon Leonard.

Villain of the Match:  Perhaps Albert van den Berg and Pedirie Wannenburg should share this title for their indiscretions.  Perhaps.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Leonard, Evans, Carter
Cons:  Carter 3
Pens:  Carter 4

For South Africa:
Pens:  Hougaard 2

Yellow card:  Wannenburg (52, South Africa, killing the ball)

The teams:

New Zealand:  15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Doug Howlett, 13 Isaia Toeava, 12 Luke McAlister, 11 Joe Rokocoko, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Rodney So'oialo, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Reuben Thorne, 5 Keith Robinson, 4 Chris Jack,3 Carl Hayman, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Andrew Hore, 17 Neemia Tialata, 18 Jerry Collins, 19 Chris Masoe, 20 Brendon Leonard, 21 Conrad Smith, 22 Nick Evans.

South Africa:  15 JP Pietersen, 14 Breyton Paulse, 13 Waylon Murray, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Jaco Pretorius;  10 Derick Hougaard, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Jacques Cronjé, 7 Pedrie Wannenburg, 6 Wikus van Heerden, 5 Johann Muller (captain), 4 Albert van den Berg, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 CJ van der Linde.
Replacements:  16 Gary Botha, 17 Eddie Andrews, 18 Gerrie Britz, 19 Hilton Lobberts, 20 Michael Claassens, 21 Peter Grant, 22 Tonderai Chavhanga.

Referee:  Stuart Dickinson (Australia)
Touch judges:  Nigel Owens (Wales), Paul Marks (Australia)
Television match official:  James Leckie (Australia)
Assessor:  Bob Francis (New Zealand)

Wallabies recover from Bok barrage

Just as they did against Wales a month ago, Australia pulled back from a shock 0-17 deficit at home to take their Tri-Nations encounter 25-17 against South Africa in Sydney on Saturday.

Two tries in the first eight minutes -- one a well-worked charge from Wikus van Heerden, the other a 60m intercept by Breyton Paulse -- both converted by Derick Hougaard, plus a penalty from Hougaard, had the Boks 0-17 ahead after a quarter of an hour.

But gradually the experienced Wallabies worked their way into the game, and a two-try flurry early in the second half swung the game their way, giving veterans Stephen Larkham and George Gregan a winning send-off from home turf.

It was a match about respect, and respect won.

There was respect for two of the greatest players in the history of world rugby -- George Gregan playing his 133rd Test and Stephen Larkham his 100th, their last in Australia.  They were in the winning team as they came back from behind for the third time in recent matches.  The respect shown to them by their home fans and by their opponents was excellent.

There was also a respectful performance from the Springboks.  Vilified and scorned, accused of treachery, threatened with eviction, they earned respect and in fact could have earned a little more than that.

Then the teams were playing for the Nelson Mandela Plate -- in honour of the most respected man in the world, and the Wallabies deservedly won that.

Respect won on that fine, cold evening in Sydney.

The Springboks had an excellent first twenty minutes and then a spell late in the second half when they went in for pick 'n' drive and put pressure on the Wallabies.  But the meat was in the sandwich between those two periods when the Wallabies played with continuity and flair as they dominated possession and so territory and opportunity.

The match had an electric start for the Springboks.  Larkham kicked off and the Wallabies won the kick off which they immediately sent wide to the left but then Gregan chipped and Paulse ran in counter-attack.  The Springboks had a penalty and Derick Hougaard hit the upright.  The ball bounced back into the field of play and the Springboks stayed on the attack with good work from Waylon Murray and Gary Botha till Ruan Pienaar fed Wikus van Heerden who scored close in.  Hougaard converted, and the Springboks led 7-0 after 7 minutes.

The Wallabies kicked off and won the kick-off and again went wide to the left where Nathan Sharpe threw a long pass towards Stirling Mortlock.  It did not reach Mortlock for Paulse nipped in, intercepted and raced through empty paddocks to score.  Again Hougaard converted.  14-0 after 9 minutes.

Would pundits be eating humble pie?

Sharpe was kind to the Springboks again when he went offside and Hougaard made it 17-0 after 15 minutes.

For the next 65 minutes the Springboks did not score a point.  They had a chance to go up 20-0 when George Smith was penalised for holding on, but Hougaard , who had an anonymous game, missed one he should have got comfortably,.In the second half he also missed a drop and a penalty kick, before being subbed.

Goal-kicking was not the only bad part of South African booting.  Early on Pienaar kicked high and well and put the Wallabies under pressure.  But as the half wore on he just kicked.  His kicking was no longer an attacking weapon but just a transfer of possession and this brought the Wallabies more and more into the game.

When Pedrie Wannenburg was penalised for a high tackle, the Wallabies used the penalty to form a line-out and from it they wove patterns and Mark Gerrard was able to burst past Van Heerden to score close in.  Mortlock converted.  17-7 after 22 minutes.

As half-time drew nearer the Wallabies were getting closer and closer to the Springbok line till Wannenburg was off-side and Mortlock made the score at the break 17-10, with a penalty.

The Springboks were ahead but the writing was on the wall.  The writing grew big and bright when the Wallabies won a turnover off Wannenburg near the half-way line on their right and attacked going left.  Larkham chipped and the ball seemed to be heading out when Mortlock, with great skill, swung a left boot to fly-kick it back infield, forcing the Springboks to concede a line-out.  The Wallabies went left from the line-out and then came back in for energetic Stephen Hoiles to get over in Gary Botha's tackle.  Mortlock's kick made it 17-all after 43 minutes.

Hougaard was well wide with a drop attempt and then, when Bob Skinstad was penalised at a tackle, Mortlock put the Wallabies ahead.

Just after this the Springboks conceded the first of two expensive yellow cards.  They were winning the ball at a tackle/ruck but had nobody to pick it up as Wallabies loomed.  Lying on the ground Botha footed the ball back and was sent to the sin bin.  Later Johann Muller was reported for punching at a collapsed scrum and he was sent to the sin bin as well with five minutes left.  The lucky player may well have been George Smith who punched CJ van der Linde and was then penalised for what the referee called a swinging arm on Muller.  Smith's actions seemed worthy of at least what Botha, who hurt nobody, and Muller got.

While Botha was sitting with George Ayoub in touch, the Wallabies attacked brilliantly down the right.  At top speed Gerrard managed to kick diagonally infield where Matt Giteau, under pressure, swooped on the ball and surfed over for a try, which Mortlock did not convert.

The Springboks had the better of the rest of the match but made crucial errors -- accidental off-side, then a penalty for holding on in the tackle but after the final siren they did their best bit of attacking from their own line and but for a knock-on at the end of it by Paulse could well have scored a try which would have given them a bonus point.

It was the first of four Tri-Nations matches so far that did not produce a bonus point.

Man of the Match:  Call me sentimental but the Men of the Match are that celebrated duo George Gregan and Stephen Larkham and all that they brought to this game and many, many others -- 233 Tests between them, 85 in the same team, 75 as the half-back pairing.  And in any case they were as good as anybody in this match, and better than most.

Moment of the Match:  Breyton Paulse's intercept try.  Apart from anything else it said that the "B Boks" deserved respect.

Villain of the Match:  We had a duo for Man of the Match and a trio for Villain of the match -- Gary Botha, Johan Muller George Smith.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Gerrard, Hoiles, Giteau
Cons:  Mortlock 2
Pens:  Mortlock 2

For South Africa:
Tries:  Van Heerden, Paulse
Cons:  Hougaard 2
Pen:  Hougaard

Yellow cards:  Botha (52, South Africa, playing ball on the ground), Muller (72, South Africa, punching)

Australia:  15 Julian Huxley, 14 Mark Gerrard, 13 Stirling Mortlock (captain), 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 10 Stephen Larkham, 9 George Gregan, 8 Stephen Hoiles, 7 George Smith (v/c), 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Dan Vickerman, 4 Nathan Sharpe, 3 Guy Shepherdson, 2 Adam Freier, 1 Matt Dunning.
Replacements:  16 Sean Hardman, 17 Al Baxter, 18 Hugh McMeniman, 19 David Lyons, 20 Phil Waugh (v/c), 21 Scott Staniforth, 22 Drew Mitchell.

South Africa:  15 Bevin Fortuin, 14 Breyton Paulse, 13 Waylon Murray, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 JP Pietersen, 10 Derick Hougaard, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Bob Skinstad (captain), 7 Pedrie Wannenburg, 6 Wikus van Heerden, 5 Johann Muller, 4 Johan Ackermann, 3 Jannie Du Plessis, 2 Gary Botha, 1 CJ van der Linde.
Replacements:  16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Eddie Andrews, 18 Albert van den Berg, 19 Jacques Cronjé, 20 Michael Claassens, 21 Peter Grant, 22 Jaco Pretorius.

Referee:  Paul Honiss (New Zealand)
Touch judges:  Steve Walsh (New Zealand), Kevin Deaker (New Zealand)
Television match official:  Lyndon Bray (New Zealand)
Assessor:  Michel Lamoulie (France)