All Blacks earn 100th win for McCaw

The All Blacks completed an impressive clean sweep in the Rugby Championship on Saturday, overcoming South Africa 32-16 at Soccer City on the outskirts of Johannesburg.

In a performance worthy of their status as the top-ranked team in the world, New Zealand weathered an early storm to overturn a half-time deficit and eventually run out comfortable winners.

The result extends the All Blacks' winning streak to 16 consecutive games, moving them within touching distance of the world record.

The Springboks led 16-12 at the break having dominated for most of the first half but were given a lesson in counter attacking to be outscored two tries to one in the opening stanza.

The All Blacks reversed the trend in the second period, adding two more tries while denying their hosts any points to underline their supremacy.

It was a classic case of shifting momentum — while South Africa started with a bang and ended with a whimper, the Kiwis progressively upped the tempo until there was only one team left in the contest.

The much-vaunted Highveld crowd mirrored their team's effort as they made it very clear to the All Blacks they weren't in Auckland anymore in the early stages but the corridors were filled with fans leaving the stadium with ten minutes left on the clock.

As was the case a week ago, Johan Goosen missed his first two attempts at goal but the hosts would nevertheless open the scoring with a rare sight:  A South African try from a set-piece move.  Willem Alberts bust through the All Black defence before offloading to Jean de Villiers, who showed off some juggling skills but managed to hold on.  Bryan Habana was in space outside his skipper and had an easy run in, scoring behind the posts.

Goosen had no problems with the conversion and could further extend the lead to 10 points at the end of the first quarter when Brodie Retallick was penalised for a dangerous tackle.

The All Blacks had hardly ventured into the South African half but took their first chance to score in typical fashion, with a blistering counter-attack from broken play to send lock Sam Whitelock over in the corner.

If the hosts weren't already alerted to the New Zealand's ability to punish their mistakes, they were given a reminder on 35 minutes.  Habana came flying up in search of an intercept, it didn't work, and Hosea Gear ghosted through the gap left in the Bok defensive line before offloading to Aaron Smith, who finished.  Dan Carter's conversion gave the visitors a lead that made a mockery of the possession and territory stats.

The Boks were dealt another blow as Goosen was forced off injured but replacement fly-half Elton Jantjies held his nerve with his first kick to put South Africa back in front at 13-12.

Jantjies found the target again from 48 metres with the last act of the half to give the hosts a deserved four-point advantage at the interval.

The All Blacks moved back in front almost immediately after the restart however after Jaco Taute missed a tackle on Israel Dagg, who combined with Kieran Read to set up a try for Ma'a Nonu.

Disorganised defending cost the Boks another try as Conrad Smith touched down to put the visitors ten points clear once Carter had added the easy extras.

Two misses from Jantjies suggested the Boks' woes at the kicking tee were far from finished, prompting De Villiers to turn down a shot at goal in favour of chasing a try.  And it nearly paid off, but Habana was not able to hang on when presented with a chance in the corner.

The last quarter was one-way traffic.  Carter added a neat drop and a penalty to move his team well clear … in more ways than one.

Man of the Match There were a number of candidates in black but the official award went to Kieran Read, who was once again the ultimate example of a complete number eight as his ball skills matched his contribution in the tight exchanges.

Moment of the match:  The All Blacks' second try, scored by Aaron Smith, summed up where these teams are at the moment.  An instance of a Springbok trying too hard to do something special was punished by a clinical finish.  Give All Blacks scraps, and they will feast!

Villian of the match:  The 'fans' who left early.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Try:  Habana
Cons:  Goosen
Pens:  Goosen, Jantjies 2

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Whitelock, A. Smith, Nonu, C. Smith
Cons:  Carter 3
Pen:  Carter
Drop goal:  Carter
Yellow card:  Dagg (66th min — offside)

South Africa:  15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Bryan Habana, 13 Jaco Taute, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Francois Hougaard, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Tiaan Liebenberg, 17 Coenie Oosthuizen, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Marcell Coetzee, 20 Elton Jantjies, 21 Juan de Jongh, 22 Pat Lambie.

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Luke Romano, 19 Adam Thomson, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Tamati Ellison.

Referee:  Romain Poite (France), Greg Garner (England)
Assistant referees:  Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Wallabies win 18-18

Australia ended New Zealand's 16-match winning streak with an 18-all draw at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday.

Though honours were shared by the trans-Tasman rivals, Australia will treat this result as a mental victory seeing that Robbie Deans' troops weren't given a chance in hell of matching the All Blacks prior to kick-off.

In a match decided exclusively by penalties, Kurtley Beale and Mike Harris combined for 18 points for Australia, while Daniel Carter slotted six penalties for the All Blacks.

But with the scores locked at 18 points apiece at the death, the world champions were camped in the Australia's 22 and Carter was given one last opportunity to kick a drop-goal to hand the All Blacks victory.

His shot was just wide, however, and the match ended in a hard-fought draw.

New Zealand were bidding to join the 1969 All Blacks and 1998 Springboks with 17 successive victories but were once again foiled by the Wallabies, who ended New Zealand's unbeaten 15-match run in a 26-24 win in Hong Kong in 2010.

Harris was on great form in the first half, kicking all his four penalty goal attempts to give the under-strength Wallabies a 12-6 half-time advantage.

The Wallabies began well when they charged down a clearing kick in the opening seconds only for the ball to elude Adam Ashley-Cooper over the dead-ball line.

Carter kicked the All Blacks to a 6-3 lead before New Zealand came the closest to scoring in the first half through winger Hosea Gear.  Israel Dagg's kick ahead was just forced dead by Harris with Gear in hot pursuit midway through the half.

Wallabies' blindside flanker Scott Higginbotham could be in hot water after his scuffle with All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw.  Higginbotham appeared to knee McCaw in the head to trigger the skirmish before appearing to head-butt the All Blacks skipper on the ground.  Both players were cautioned by referee Craig Joubert.

Joubert made good on his warning of 'next one goes' when he gave All Blacks prop Tony Woodcock a yellow card for repeated ruck infringements on the half-time siren.

Harris kicked his fourth penalty to give the Wallabies a six-point buffer at the turnaround.  Beale lifted the Wallabies' confidence even further with a prodigious penalty from just inside his own half for a 15-6 lead.

But Carter kicked his third penalty and the Wallabies lost openside flanker Michael Hooper to the sin-bin after taking out All Blacks scrum-half Aaron Smith after he had kicked ahead.

Carter then pulled New Zealand to within three points with the resulting penalty in the 56th minute.

Australia lost a line-out on their throw giving the All Blacks possession inside their quarter and they mounted successive mauls before they received a penalty for Carter to level the scores at 15-15 with 13 minutes left.

New Zealand got the big breakthrough when Adam Ashley-Cooper spilled Aaron Cruden's high kick and Nick Phibbs was in an off-side position in picking up the ball for an All Blacks penalty.

Carter kicked his sixth penalty nine minutes from time to edge New Zealand in front and in sight of victory.  But Harris levelled with his fifth penalty with five minutes left in what proved to be the final score.

Man of the match:  Kurtely Beale was Australia's most dangerous player and skipper Nathan Sharpe led from the front, but Kieran Read once again loomed large for the All Blacks.  The number eight was heavily involved throughout and deservedly named the official man-of-the-match at Suncorp Stadium.

Moment of the match:  Geez, take your pick!  But in the end it just has to be Carter's last-gasp drop-goal attempt.

Villain of the match:  Two yellow issued — one to Tony Woodcock and the other to Michael Hooper.  But the real villain that got away was Scott Higginbotham after his headbutt on Richie McCaw.

The scorers:

For Australia: 
Pens:  Beale 2, Harris 4

For New Zealand:
Pens:  Carter 6

Yellow cards:  Tony Woodcock (NZ), Michael Hooper (Aus)

The teams:

Australia:  15 Mike Harris, 14 Nick Cummins, 13 Ben Tapuai, 12 Pat McCabe, 11 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Higginbotham, 5 Nathan Sharpe (c), 4 Sitaleki Timani, 3 James Slipper, 2 Tatafu Polota Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 James Hanson, 17 Sekope Kepu, 18 Kane Douglas, 19 Dave Dennis, 20 Liam Gill, 21 Brett Sheehan, 22 Drew Mitchell.

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Charlie Faumuina, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Andrew Hore, 17 Owen Franks, 18 Luke Romano, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Ben Smith.

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)

Rosario victory for Wallabies

Australia ended the inaugural Rugby Championship with a morale-boosting 25-19 win against Argentina in Rosario.

It wasn't pretty but one feels the Wallabies won't mind that as the success supersedes a forgetful period of injuries and off-field issues (hopefully).

What was noticeable at the final whistle was a togetherness in the squad as they celebrated their gritty victory over the passionate Pumas.

The result leaves them level on points with South Africa but they ultimately finish the tournament in second position due to their higher win count.

Conditions were difficult at the Estadio Gigante de Arroyito as the humidity was 93%, which made for an error-strewn contest particularly in the first-half.

There was also a phenomenally high penalty count blown by the match referee Craig Joubert as a total of sixteen marred the opening stanza.

Subsequently it was a half dominated by the boot of Mike Harris and Juan Martin Hernandez, with Harris slotting fifteen points to El Mago's nine.

The second-half in Rosario thankfully saw a reduction in penalty offences but what it lacked in infringements it certainly made up for in spillages, with wing Digby Ioane a regular culprit.

However, all was forgiven in the Wallaby camp when first-phase ball came back swiftly to fly-half Kurtley Beale in the 65th minute and Ioane drifted in from the left to take a pass that split the home defence for an easy run-in.  It was a seven-pointer that cut the Pumas deep.

Assured Reds full-back Harris converted to give Australia a 22-12 lead that he increased eight minutes later with a penalty which lifted his personal contribution to 20 points.

Argentina set up a tense finish after Australian replacement scrum-half Brett Sheehan was sin-binned when wing Juan Imhoff claimed a pushover try that Marcelo Bosch converted.

Beale missed a late penalty, offering Argentina a chance to snatch a late win by running the ball the length of the pitch and scoring a converted try, but it was not to be as a knock-on quickly ended the move and the final whistle blew for a much-needed win for the Wallabies.

Man of the match:  Mike Harris kicked well while Scott Higginbotham performed strongly when he arrived onto the field as a replacement.  But for a towering defensive effort in the midfield, we go for Brumbies centre Pat McCabe.  Had someone else been defending in the 12 channel then it is likely Argentina would have scored more than just their one try today.

Moment of the match:  It has to be Michael Hooper's breakout from his own 22 up to the opposition's.  Impressive pace from the openside as he left plenty of backs floundering.

Villain of the match:  The person(s) with the laser in the crowd.  It's not big, it's not clever.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Try:  Imhoff
Con:  Bosch
Pen:  Hernandez 3, Bosch

For Australia:
Try:  Ioane
Con:  Harris
Pen:  Harris 6

Argentina:  15 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino, 14 Gonzalo Camacho, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Santiago Fernandez, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Juan Martin Hernandez, 9 Martin Landajo, 8 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe (c), 7 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 6 Julio Farias Cabello, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Eusebio Guinazu, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements:  16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Juan Pablo Orlandi, 18 Leonardo Senatore, 19 Tomas Leonardi, 20 Nicolas Vergallo, 21 Nicolás Sánchez, 22 Juan Imhoff.

Australia:  15 Mike Harris, 14 Nick Cummins, 13 Ben Tapuai, 12 Pat McCabe, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Radike Samo, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Sitaleki Timani, 5 Nathan Sharpe (capt), 4 Kane Douglas, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 Saia Fainga'a, 17 Benn Robinson, 18 Dave Dennis, 19 Scott Higginbotham, 20 Liam Gill, 21 Brett Sheehan, 22 Dominic Shipperley.

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Pascal Gauzere (France)
Television match official:  Francisco Pastrana (Argentina)