All Blacks end Tri-Nations unbeaten

Another Wallaby second-half meltdown handed New Zealand their tenth straight win over Australia on Saturday as they won 23-22 in Sydney.

After being on top for the best part of 65 minutes, Australia saw their 22-9 lead disappear in the final fifteen minutes as Richie McCaw's men turned on the class when it mattered most.

The result also means New Zealand extend their winning run in all Tests to fourteen.

What a game!  This is now rugby should be played.

As expected, both teams arrived with an attacking mindset and were keen to keep the ball alive and in hand.  Yet some sterling defensive work saw the protagonists all-square on two tries each at the final whistle.

Australia's 14-6 half-time lead was a fair reflection of a high-paced first 40 minutes.  Each side had been denied a try by mere inches and one mistake by Victor Vito was enough to allow the hosts to cross the whitewash first.

But the Wallabies were consistently half a second ahead of their visitors at point of contact, forcing the All Blacks to leak a couple of penalties.  David Pocock was once again the main instigator of the damage at the breakdown.

The truth be told, Australia could easily have been further ahead as Matt Giteau had left eight points behind (and another two in the second half) with an inconsistent performance from the kicking tee.

It was all going to plan for the men in gold, who looked to have the result wrapped up as they entered the final straight.

Was it fatigue from the long trip back from South Africa?  Burnout after three Tests in as many weeks?  Lack of conditioning?  Whatever it was, the hosts simply weren't the same side in the final quarter as the All Blacks' old tactic of turning up the heat at the death worked once again.

The Wallabies first try came from rare attack from the base of the scrum as Ben McCalman broke off, sent Vito the wrong way and found James O'Connor in aches of space on the blindside.  The fresh-faced wing's speed did the rest to give the Aussies an 8-6 lead on the quarter-hour mark.

Australia took a commanding 19-6 lead when a long pass out wide from Will Genia found Adam Ashley-Cooper, who powered his way over soon after the restart.

Piri Weepu's third penalty with half-an-hour left gave their All Blacks their first points in over 40 minutes to reduce the gap to ten.

Giteau's fourth miss prompted him to hand over the kicking duties to Kurtley Beale, who extended the hosts' lead at 22-9 going into the final quarter.

But it was all New Zealand in the run-in.  Robbie Deans lost all colour in his face as his side were unable to get their hands on the ball.

The All Black pack was suddenly a step ahead in the loose and their domination at scrum time finally paid dividends when McCaw broke down the blindside to cross the try-line unhindered.

Unlike Giteau, Weepu was able to add the extra points, giving the visitors sniff of victory.

When Kieran Read muscled his way over with six minutes left on the clock, it all took on a familiar air as the All Blacks' composure was contrasted by the dejected look on the Wallabies' faces.

Weepu's second conversion put his team ahead for good with six minutes left to play.  The rest is history.

Man of the match:  For 60 minutes we had David Pocock's name pencilled in.  Israel Dagg and Kieran Read deserve a mention, but on the day he became the All Blacks' most capped skipper, Richie McCaw gets our nod.  Not just for his try and tireless work, but for the fact that when he is at the helm, no matter what the scoreline, you can never count the Kiwis out.

Moment of the match:  It was almost in the bag until, the in the 67th minute, the Wallaby scrum went backwards (again).  It gave McCaw that half-second head start he needed to evade Rocky Elsom and break clear to score.

Villain of the match:  Nothing nasty worth reporting.  We witnessed an 80-minute advertisement for the game.

The scorers

For Australia:
Tries:  O'Connor, Ashley-Cooper
Pens:  Giteau 3, Beale

For New Zealand:
Tries:  McCaw, Read
Cons:  Weepu 2
Pens:  Weepu3

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

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

Venue:  ANZ Stadium, Sydney
Weather:  15°C.  Clear.  Almost windless
Referee:  Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa), Christie du Preez (South Africa)
Television match officials:Matt Goddard (Australia)

Beale wins it for Wallabies

Australia full-back Kurtley Beale kicked a 50m penalty in injury time to beat South Africa 41-39 in a dramatic Tri-Nations battle in Bloemfontein.

The last-gasp victory allowed the Wallabies to break a 47-year losing streak on the Highveld that goes all the way back to 1963, and will now finish the tournament in second place -- avoiding the dreaded wooden spoon.

Not even 38,000 booing South Africans could deter Beale in the dying seconds of the match, as the man of the moment showed some deep steel by nailing the match-winning penalty from a difficult angle on the halfway line.

The raised flags behind the posts consigned the Springboks to their fifth defeat of a forgettable 2010 campaign, completing their spiralling journey to rock bottom.  Since the start of this year's tournament, they've surrendered the Tri-Nations title, the Freedom Cup, and now the Mandela Plate.

Australia haven't won in Bloemfontein since 1933 but came perilously close to ending second best for the second time in two weeks after dominating the opening quarter, but then -- like a bad case of deja vu -- let the Springboks battle all the way back to lead in the second half.

The world champions looked down and out shortly before half-time when they trailed 31-6, but a moment of inspiration from vice-captain Victor Matfield reinvigorated the hosts after he set up Jaque Fourie to score.

Further tries from Gurthro Steenkamp and Jean de Villiers added to a match haul of 24 points for Morne Steyn, helped edge the Boks in front with 90 seconds left to play.  But unbelievably, the hosts conceded a penalty in the final minute, and Australia captain Rocky Elsom asked Beale to have a crack for the unlikely win.

Australia were gifted an early three points when Bryan Habana was punished for not releasing and Matt Giteau easily slotted over the opening points.

Steyn responded for the hosts after Beale's illegal attempt to steal the ball, but the Waratahs star made amends almost instantly.  Jean de Villiers failed to hold his position, which allowed James O'Connor to send his team-mate away for the opening try after eight minutes.

Giteau added the extras, before another Springbok error, this time surprisingly at the line-out, led to another seven-pointer for Australia.  John Smit's put-in was too long enabling the Wallabies to steal the ball and spread it quickly through the hands to Adam Ashley-Cooper, whose pass sent O'Connor over.

The conversion by Giteau followed, and after Steyn put over another penalty, Stephen Moore crossed for his third Test try, set up by Drew Mitchell's break through the middle.

Australia added a bonus point-try after 24 minutes, but again had Habana to thank after the winger missed his tackle on O'Connor, who sliced through the centre and off-loaded to Elsom to score.

Giteau extended the lead to 31-6 and the score looked to be remaining that way heading into the half-time break, until the moment of genius from Matfield.

The veteran lock, who won his 100th cap last week, chipped the ball over the last defender and impressively regathered before laying the ball on for Fourie to score.

Steyn converted to leave Peter de Villiers' side trailing by 18 at the break.

Steenkamp cut that gap by five six minutes after the restart when he powered his way over and the conversion along with a penalty from Steyn further boosted the visibly rejuvenated hosts.

The upward swing in momentum gathered even more pace after 54 minutes when Jean de Villiers' angled run cut right through the Australia defence and saw the Stormers centre cross under the post.

It was a move that came from an initial Beale error and then a strong South Africa scrum.

The comeback was complete on the hour mark when a mammoth 50 metre penalty from Steyn put the home side ahead for the first time.  And Australia's woes deepened 10 minutes later when replacement hooker Saia Faingaa was sent to the sin-bin after a spear tackle on Flip van der Merwe.

Steyn extended the lead to five points, but there was another twist when Mitchell crossed under the posts with eight minutes to play and O'Connor handed the lead back to the tourists with a clean conversion.

But an error from Beale four minutes from time presented Steyn with his ninth opportunity at goal and he maintained his 100 per cent record by putting his side back ahead.

However, Beale had the final say to condemn South Africa to bottom place in the standings after a disappointing defence of their 2009 title.

Man of the match:  Could it be anyone else besides that Un-Beale-lievable last-gasp penalty kick for Australia?

Moment of the match:  Victor Matfield's individual brilliance in setting up South Africa's first try was simply spectacular, but it goes without saying that this match will be remembered for that kick from Beale.

Villain of the match:  Saia Faingaa's moment of madness that ended with Flip van der Merwe on his head in the 69th minute.  Steyn kicked the ensuing penalty and the Wallabies faced the impossible task of closing the gap with only 14 men.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Fourie, Steenkamp, De Villiers
Pens:  M Steyn 6
Cons:  M Steyn 3

For Australia:
Tries:  Beale, O'Connor, Moore, Elsom, Mitchell
Cons:  Giteau 5, O'Connor
Pen:  Giteau, Beale

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 Danie Rossouw, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.
Replacements:  16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Ryan Kankowski, 20 Ricky Januarie , 21 Juan de Jongh, 22 Gio Aplon.

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 Ben McCalman, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom (c), 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Mark Chisholm, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 Saia Fainga'a, 17 James Slipper, 18 Dean Mumm, 19 Richard Brown, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Berrick Barnes, 22 Anthony Fainga'a.

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)