Springboks win Loftus epic

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The scorers:

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

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

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

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

Referee:  Alain Rolland (Ireland)

Late show seals title for All Blacks

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The scorers:

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

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

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

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

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

Bledisloe staying in All Blacks country

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The scorers:

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

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

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

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

Referee:  Jonathan Kaplan (SA)