ABs hand Wallabies wooden spoon

New Zealand secured second place in the 2009 Tri-Nations at Wellington's Westpac Stadium on Saturday with a convincing 33-6 win over Australia.

The daggers were out for Graham Henry and co. this week but the All Blacks answered their critics with their third victory over Australia this year, scoring three tries to none in a dominant display.

While the protagonists produced an entertaining game of rugby, the error count -- by Australia at the breakdown and line-outs especially -- made it clear to see why neither team could match the Springboks in this year's Tri-Nations.

In both regards the New Zealand were the better side.  The All Blacks line-out has come under a lot of fire of late and while they made a marked improvement, the progress made must be taken with a pinch of salt considering Australia hardly bothered to compete when their hosts threw the ball in.

But let's take nothing away from the way the All Blacks approached the game.  Three tries were just reward for their positive running and domination of possession.

Perhaps the real story here is Australia's inability to string two solid performances together.  If you're going to play a running game, ball retention at the breakdown is primordial.  The men in gold gave away possession while on attack far to easily, far too often -- in stark contrast to their win over South Africa just two weeks ago.

Two months ago, many were convinced that Robbie Deans' Wallabies would be serious challengers for the title in 2009, but just one win from six games is not the kind of return expected from a team with such promise.

"Promise" -- perhaps that is the key word here because for all their talent, this Wallaby side does not have the maturity needed to compete with the best as illustrated by James O'Connor's display in Wellington.  The young full-back's potential for greatness is undeniable, but he had a bit of a nightmare at Westpac.  You can't buy experience and one gets the distinct impression that he, like his side, are far from the finished product.

But back to the All Blacks, who looked the more dangerous side in the first quarter and their enterprise on attack was rewarded with a 9- 3 lead as Dan Carter and Matt Giteau exchanged penalties.

When Berrick Barnes slotted a drop for the visitors and Isaia Toeava was sent to the sin bin for a high tackle, the Wallabies looked set to grab control of the game.

But Mils Muliaina and Cory Jane had other ideas.  Muliaina's clever high kick placed O'Connor under pressure and Jane did brilliantly to snatch the ball from him in mid-air before making a dash for the line.

Carter's conversion gave New Zealand a 16-6 lead and that's how the scores would remain as the All Blacks finished the half with all fifteen men on the field and seven points better since Toeava's yellow card.

Speaking of Toeava, the outside centre was in sparkling form, showing why Henry had given him the number thirteen jersey.  If only his partnership with Ma'a Nonu had flourished in South Africa they way it did in Wellington I hear All Black fans saying.

In the second period Richie McCaw's men did a excellent job of closing Australia down.

Forced to play catch-up, the Wallabies grew more and more ragged as New Zealand turned the screw tighter and tighter.

With the scrums an absolute mess for both sides and New Zealand enjoying free reign in the line-outs, Australia were starved of quality possession.

When, on occasion, the visitors were able to build some kind of momentum, the home side's loose trio were at their pilfering best at the rucks- significantly stealing the ball back on their own line on Australia's only real crack at th whitewash.

The wheels came off the Wallaby cart in the last ten minutes when first Ma'a Nonu burst through Giteau's channel and then shook off three challengers to score New Zealand's second try.

Joe Rokocoko dived over in the corner in the dying moments to rub salt in the wounds and cap a deserved win for the home side.

Man of the match:  He only played 60 minutes, but Cory Jane's contribution was a telling one.  It seems like a easy choice to pick the try scorer but way Jane found his way to the try-line was significant considering the All Blacks trouble under the high ball in South Africa.  Whenever Jane had the ball, something seemed on as he injected some creative spark into his backline.  The home loose trio deserve a mention too.

Moment of the match:  Easy.  Jane's try gave the All Blacks a ten-point lead (despite being a man down).  From then on, the Wallabies were playing catch up ...

Villain of the match:  Nothing to mention here.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Jane, Nonu, Rokocoko
Cons:  Carter 2
Pens:  Carter 4

For Australia:
Pen:  Giteau
Drop:  Barnes

Yellow card:  Toeava (NZ -- 29th min -- High tackle)

New Zealand:  15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Isaia Toeava, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Joe Rokocoko, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Adam Thomson, 5 Tom Donnelly, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Neemia Tialata, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Aled de Malmanche, 17 John Afoa, 18 Jason Eaton, 19 Rodney So'oialo, 20 Brendon Leonard, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Hosea Gear.

Australia:  15 James O'Connor, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Will Genia, 8 George Smith (c), 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Mark Chisholm, 4 James Horwill, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 Stephen Moore, 17 Pek Cowan, 18 Dean Mumm, 19 Wycliff Palu, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Quade Cooper, 22 Peter Hynes.

Venue:  Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Weather:  Clear skies, still 10°C
Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Wayne Barnes (England), Cobus Wessels (South Africa)
TMO:  Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Springboks claim Tri-Nations

South Africa, back on their game after last week's blip, have claimed the Tri-Nations with a bludgeoning 32-29 win over New Zealand in Hamilton.

New Zealand fell foul to sucker-punch after sucker-punch, with Francois Steyn landing three penalties from within his own half in the first half alone, as every minute indiscretion from the home side was punished ruthlessly.

The defence functioned again, letting the All Black backs have not a whiff of space.  As the second half wore on and the All Blacks' chase of the Boks' lead grew increasingly frantic, the Boks relaxed into an all-too-familiar routine of tackling and waiting for the error to prey on.  It's becoming a mental edge they have in that area now as well as a physical one.

Then, on 53 minutes, Jean de Villiers picked off a 50-50 pass as he has done so often for his country, and raced away to finish off the game as a contest under the posts.  A minute later, Richie McCaw spilled a simple pass in midfield.  In two acts, the contrasting tales of the two teams were told:  one of patience and reward for eanest endeavour, the other of creative but futile attempts to move the immovable.

And yet somehow, they ended up clinging on for it.  If there is a worry for this Springbok team going forward, it is the propensity to concede late tries which has seeped into their season.  Australia managed it three times in three games, New Zealand managed it here to fight their way back from 29-12 down after De Villiers' effort.  It was a belting finale.

That was one which, for the first hour, you would never have predicted in a million years.  It was the usual Bok story:  stealing line-outs, tackling behind the gain-line, forcing penalties, racking up points, kicking deep for territory and chasing hard not to lose it ... just generally irritating, frustrating and battering the opposition.

Then there is Frans Steyn.  It's a special kind of weapon to have in the arsenal when you can just shrug your shoulders on the award of a penalty on your own 10m line, point to the posts and relax as the ball goes sailing over the bar for three points.  It's a hell of a thing to face as a team as well.  You could see All Black necks crane as the kicks sailed over their heads, then see the heads click resignedly into place as the flags went up.  New Zealand had all the territory in the opening quarter, yet found themselves trailing 9-6, two 50m+ penalties from Steyn and a snap drop goal from namesake Morne to two penalties from Carter.

Then came a classic Springbok try.  The ball went up, up, up, the catcher -- this time the unfortunate Joe Rokocoko -- dropped it, Bakkies Botha took it on and Fourie du Preez sniped from the ruck to dive over the line and score.  Morne Steyn landed his kick -- not a single place-kick from either team was missed all day -- and it was 16-6.

That sparked the All Blacks into action.  Within two minutes the ball was being run by Sitiveni Sivivatu from his own 22, who got a little bit of change from his run but once again found his option so well closed down that there was never any danger.  It was a feature of the rest of the half:  the most telling moment coming when Stephen Donald took a ball on a charge and found it stripped from him expertly in the tackle.

A further double-exchange of penalties rounded off the half, with another monster from Frans and a chip from Morne countering two from Carter.

But again, New Zealand were left frustrated by the Bok defence right at the half's close.  Having engineered a short line-out to good effect -- full line-outs were a catastrophe for the ABs all day -- the All Black forwards took the ball up close to the line, but it was too slow coming out and Carter's grubber was rendered ineffective by the sheer depth of the green-clad cover.  New Zealand trailed by ten at the break and without a single try to their account in a match they needed to win and score four tries in.  Only an effort akin to the infamous Paris blitz of November 2004 could have done the second-half job.

Instead, and following a televised half-time interview with Wayne Smith which had "what on earth can we do" radiating from his every syllable, it was the Boks who came desperately close to scoring.  Sivivatu mis-fielded a high kick, Morne Steyn seized upon it and set Bismarck du Plessis on his way to the line where he was tackled just short.  Had Bakkies Botha not been quite so intent on cleaning out Mils Muliaina and looked to take an offload, he would surely have scored.

The body blows kept coming.  Sivivatu panic-passed and nearly let the Boks get away again.  John Smit put in a monster hit on Brad Thorn which even earned a handshake of admiration from the lock.  New Zealand fluency faltered under the pressure.  A Bok score was inevitable.

Finally De Villiers' sense for an intercept served him once again, in what will be his last match in green for some time, and the All Blacks could only look on distraught as he raced away, with Morne Steyn's conversion making it 29-12.  Just after the restart came McCaw's spilled pass.  It was all over?

Not quite.  As McCaw said immediately afterwards when quizzed on the last half-hour:  "I wish we could have done it from the start."

Isaia Toeava's impact as he came on for Donald was immediate, as he took on a Ma'a Nonu offload and fed Sivivatu for a quick counter-try, with Carter converting expertly from the touchline.  New Zealand's fluency upped as the Boks seemed content to sit back and try and soak it up.  Carter landed another penalty and the All Blacks were back to within a score.

The Boks stormed into action once again, hounding Rokocoko under a high kick, charging up on Cowan for the clearance and with Du Plessis so nearly creating a try with a charge-down.  A penalty was conceded in desperation and Morne Steyn restored the ten-point cushion.

Back came the home side, with flickers of 2004 in their speed and width.  Breathless stuff abounded as the ball spun from one side to the other, with the green blanket finally stretched.  Carter put in a super cross-kick and all McCaw had to do watch catch and fall for the try with two minutes to go.  It usually takes a kicker a minute to prepare for a touchline conversion with no guarantee of success.  Carter took 20 seconds and made it look nonchalant.

Still the black waves of pressure crashed, with width now the name of the game and with the forwards operating in pods on both sides.  The hooter sounded.  Carter got the ball and cross-kicked again.  Long, long it sailed, curving downwards towards Kieran Read's outstretched hands, with the green defence scrambling across once more ... but it was just too long.  About a yard.  It wasn't the hardest yard this Bok team has managed in this tournament, but it was the winning one.

Man of the match:  Kieran Read, Dan Carter, Tony Woodcock and Ma'a Nonu all shone for New Zealand, while Pierre Spies, Schalk Burger, John Smit and Jean de Villiers were all on top form in green.  But once again, as he has done so many times, Fourie du Preez controlled the game so well from the rucks, scrums and line-outs.  He was the man to provide most of the Boks' winning platform.

Moment of the match:  Many moments to consider in an excellent game.  But for sheer individuality and brilliance, we'll plump for Dan Carter's hurried late touchline conversion which gave the All Blacks a fighting chance in the final two minutes.  Twenty seconds to line-up and land a touchline conversion is awesome.

Villain of the match:  Far too much good stuff here to even consider villainy.  Even when Bakkies Botha was admonished for some skullduggery, his "thanks sir" response to Nigel Owens was too comical to remember what the admonishment was even for!

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Sivivatu, McCaw
Cons:  Carter 2
Pens:  Carter 5

For South Africa:
Tries:  Du Preez, De Villiers
Cons:  M. Steyn 2
Pens:  F. Steyn 3, M.Steyn 2
Drop goal:  M. Steyn

New Zealand:  15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Josevata Rokocoko, 13 Ma'a Nonu, 12 Stephen Donald, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Isaac Ross, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Aled de Malmanche, 17 John Afoa, 18 Adam Thomson, 19 Rodney So'oialo, 20 Brendon Leonard, 21 Isaia Toeava, 22 Cory Jane.

South Africa:  15 Frans Steyn, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 John Smit (captain), 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Jannie du Plessis, 18 Danie Rossouw, 19 Schalk Burger, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Adi Jacobs, 22 Ruan Pienaar.

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees:  Wayne Barnes (England), Stuart Dickinson (Australia)
TMO:  George Ayoub (Australia)

Wallabies end Springboks' run

South Africa will have to put their Tri-Nations champagne on ice for a little longer after succumbing to a 21-6 defeat to a much-improved Wallaby side in Brisbane on Saturday.

So much has been said and written about how good the current Springbok side is, but they met their match at the Suncorp Stadium and few would deny that Australia deserved their victory.

The Wallabies' two-tries-to-nil win means that the Tri-Nations is still far from decided as the Springboks must now travel to Hamilton in search of the two points they need to secure the trophy.

Robbie Deans and his team have come in for endless stick in recent weeks but they silenced their critics with a huge improvement at both the rucks and line-outs to provide their backs with plenty of quality possession.

From the very start, South Africa put any suspicions that would "play it safe" to bed as they matched Australia's eagerness to spread the ball around, but the home side produced far more on attack.  Three times the Wallabies were denied a try in the act of scoring by a last-gasp tackle.

Was a deviation from the kick-and chase game that worked so well in the Republic the right call for the Boks?  While it produced the goods last week, the visitors only seriously threatened the Wallaby try-line on a handful of occasions.

Whether the Springboks' choice of tactics were appropriate on the night will be matter for debate, but it certainly produced an entertaining game of rugby, so we won't complain.

While the Wallaby backs provided all their team's points, the gold-clad pack laid the platform for victory by matching the Springboks' physicality at the breakdown.

While South Africa's scrum produced a better display than a week ago, for the most part it the Aussies had the upper hand when asked to crouch and engage.

A high-paced game got off to an intense start, but unlike their previous Tri-Nations matches this year, the Springboks were unable to build a lead as the Wallaby defence stood up to the early blitz.

Matt Giteau had given Australia a 6-0 lead from two penalties when Morné Steyn slotted a drop goal on the half-hour mark.

But it was clear that Australia were going to match their visitors in the contact situations and as the Wallabies grew in confidence, they started asking more and more questions of the Springboks, significantly actually competing at line-out time, unlike earlier in the game.

Not that Victor Matfield and co. were given a huge headache at the set piece, but the best line-out in the world were not able to dominate their hosts in the fashion they did in the two previous encounters.

Giteau replied in kind to Steyn's drop a few minutes later (from a movement started on solid line-out possession) to restore the gap only for Steyn to find the mark form the kicking tee on 37 minutes.

The first half might have been tryless but it wasn't for lack of effort from both sides -- Australia were denied a try by a brilliant tackle from Bryan Habana on Lachie Turner above the whitewash while Heinrich Brüssow had a try disallowed for a forward pass with half time beckoning.

The threat for the home side was coming from South Africa's midfield with Jean de Villiers and Jaque Fourie twice combining to break through.

The teams headed for the changing room with the hosts 9-6 up and Habana off the field injured.

Twice Australia came within inches of scoring in the third quarter as they began to assert themselves, only to be denied by brilliant tackles in the final inches (Du Preez ripping the ball from Will Genia's hands and Fourie bumping Giteau into touch in the corner).

Australia finally broke the deadlock when Adam Ashley-Cooper ran a great angle on Berrick Barnes' outside to slice through the Bok midfield.

Trailing by ten points the South Africans were forced to kick more and more, but with Habana nowhere to be seen the effectiveness of their chase had disappeared.

It was all Wallabies in the final ten minutes as the Springboks began to run out of options on attack and were succumbing to the pressure on defence and in the scrums.

James O'Connor provided the icing on the cake when Rocky Elsom blocked a Du Preez clearance and young flyer pounced on the loose ball to seal the win.

Man of the match:  The home pack deserve a collective pat on the back for their engagement, illustrated by a couple of crunching tackles from Tatafu Polota-Nau -- if he had lasted more than half an hour, he would have been in the running for our gong.  But we'll give the award to Berrick Barnes, whose return made a huge difference to the Wallaby back-line with the extra options he provides to Giteau.  The two regularly swapped places to share the kicking load and Barnes' pass to put Ashley-Cooper clear was class.

Moment of the match:  It was pretty much all square until Ashley-Cooper's try gave the home side a ten point lead -- they never looked back.

Villain of the match:  Not a villain to be seen.  This match was a true advertisement for the game as a whole.

The Scorers

For Australia:
Tries:  Ashley-Cooper, O'Connor
Con:  Giteau
Pens:  Giteau 2
Drop:  Giteau

For South Africa:
Pen:  Steyn
Drop goal:  Steyn

Australia:  15 James O'Connor, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Will Genia, 8 George Smith (capt), 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Mark Chisholm, 4 James Horwill, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 Stephen Moore, 17 Pek Cowan, 18 Dean Mumm, 19 Wycliff Palu, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Quade Cooper, 22 Peter Hynes.

South Africa:  15 Ruan Pienaar, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 John Smit (c), 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Jannie du Plessis, 18 Danie Rossouw, 19 Schalk Burger, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Adi Jacobs, 22 Frans Steyn.

Venue:  Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees:  Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand), Vinny Munro (New Zealand)
TMO:  Chris Pollock (New Zealand)