Bonus-point win for All Blacks

A late try from right wing Ben Smith helped New Zealand to a 33-15 bonus-point win over Argentina on Saturday.

That critical fourth try puts the All Blacks five points clear of the Springboks ahead of the two team's meeting at Ellis Park in Johannesburg next week.

South Africa know they must beat New Zealand with four tries or more whilst also denying their hosts a losing bonus-point.  It is a tough ask.

It had looked like being an extremely tough night for the All Blacks though when the Pumas enjoyed the better of the opening sparring.  New Zealand were struggling to get their hands on the ball.

Marcelo Bosch had an opportunity to draw first blood when his 55-metre penalty attempt sailed well wide.  However, Argentina weren't to be denied in the eighth minute as Nicolas Sanchez sent over three points following Andrew Hore's high tackle.  It was a lead they richly deserved.

New Zealand responded five minutes later as Argentina failed to release the tackler so up stepped Aaron Cruden — in ahead of the Beauden Barrett and the injured Dan Carter — before the lead was Argentina's again in the sixteenth minute.  Fly-half Sanchez was looking in good shape from the kicking tee at close range.

With a quarter of the game gone came another plus point for the Pumas — and in fact the watching Springboks — as Juan Figallo dominated Tony Woodcock at scrum time.  In fact Marco Ayerza would do the same to Owen Franks later in the half — after Sanchez's first miss.

But as is New Zealand's wont, they struck when given a sniff.  It was Julian Savea who profited as he snaffled up the loose ball before racing in for the game's first try.  Unfortunately for the visitors, Cruden was off-target.  Unfortunately for rugby, the fan with a laser was not.

Cruden did extend the advantage to five points just before the half-hour when the Pumas joined a ruck incorrectly, but then came Leicester prop Ayerza's moment at the set-piece.  Net result being that Sanchez had brought his side back to a 9-11 deficit at the break.

An indication of the Pumas' scrum dominance could have been signalled by Franks being replaced at half-time by Charlie Faumuina.  But worryingly for New Zealand was the sight of the replacement prop being pinged at his first set-piece.  Bosch was successful this time.

11-12 didn't last long though as Cruden landed three points of his own before the All Blacks found top gear.  Their second try arrived following solid tight work from the pack before the ball was shipped wide by Cruden and Ma'a Nonu to the waiting Sam Cane on the left wing.

Two became three in a short space of time as New Zealand had turned the screw at Estadio Ciudad de La Plata.  Their next score en route to the bonus-point saw Nonu again act as the provider, sending off a lovely pop pass to wing Smith off the shoulder in midfield.  The winger raced over from 35 metres making for a simple conversion for Cruden.

New Zealand were now in full control of the Rugby Championship game as the Pumas' fitness combined with the superior mental strength of the All Blacks came to the fore.

And just when it looked like the fourth try was not coming, up stepped wing Smith as he barged over the would be tackler en route to the uprights for the vital bonus point.

Man of the match:  Constantly looking for work while being smart when in possession, Ben Smith takes this ahead of namesake Conrad due to his two scores.  Meanwhile Ma'a Nonu impressed at inside centre, as did the Pumas props Juan Figallo and Marcos Ayerza.

Moment of the match:  It has to be Ma'a Nonu's double pump pass for Ben Smith's first try.  The pass was a beaut and came after Nonu had driven back an Argentine in an earlier phase.  He really is a different player from Super Rugby when he pulls on that Black jersey.

Villain of the match:  The fan(s) with a laser pen.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Pen:  Sanchez 4, Bosch

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Savea, Cane, B Smith 2
Con:  Cruden, Barrett
Pen:  Cruden 3

Argentina:  15 Juan Martín Hernandez, 14 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Santiago Ferníndez, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Nicolís Sanchez, 9 Martin Landajo, 8 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 7 Pablo Matera, 6 Juan Martín Ferníndez Lobbe (captain), 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Julio Farias Cabello, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Eusebio Guiñazú, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements:  16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Nahuel Lobo, 18 Juan Pablo Orlandi, 19 Mariano Galarza, 20 Benjamín Macome, 21 Tomas Cubelli, 22 Felipe Contepomi, 23 Horacio Agulla.

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Kevin Mealamu, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Jeremy Thrush, 20 Steven Luatua, 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Charlie Piutau.

Referee:  Jaco Peyper
Assistant referees:  Nigel Owens (Wales), Pascal Gauzí¨re (France)
Television match official:  Graham Hughes (England)

Boks win without bonus-point

Out-muscled and out-thought, Ewen McKenzie's Wallabies sunk to another dismal loss by 28-8 against a rampant South Africa on Saturday.

The humbling of a half-time team-talk on the field in front of a gleeful Newlands crowd underlined how far Australia have fallen — McKenzie overseeing his fourth loss since taking over as head coach.

The former Reds boss has spoken frequently after recent losses about the need for a better execution from his defence, but in a three-minute blip the game was lost as first Adriaan Strauss and Zane Kirchner found their way to the line.

Certainly the Wallabies tightened up their game in the second-half, their public dressing down adding some resolve as Will Genia made a bright introduction off the bench.

This though was South Africa's day, and by some distance.  Jannie du Plessis and Morné Steyn both celebrated their 50th caps with accomplished performances.

The brute power from the South African starting pack was dominant enough early on to create the gulf on the scoreboard, before the bulk of Bismarck du Plessis and Juandré Kruger were rolled out later on.  That level of physicality will be essential next weekend when South Africa take on New Zealand.

The Springboks put their own torment in Auckland behind them by carrying on from where they left off in Brisbane — proving too clever and too powerful for the Wallabies in a tearaway first half when the score could have been even greater than the 23-3 lead they held going into the break.

The pre-match touting of South Africa's scrum as a key weapon rung true after only three minutes, when Steyn opted for the corner after James Slipper was beaten by Du Plessis.

A crossing penalty against the Boks brought Australia out of their half and yielded the first points for Lealiifano, converting a penalty from the left to give the visitors the lead.

Steyn countered with a penalty after Wallaby captain James Horwill was penalised for not rolling away — the Stade Français fly-half reaching the 600-point mark in Test rugby.

Eben Etzebeth's burst then created the platform for South Africa's first try, the Wallabies infringing to set up an attacking lineout in the corner for the hosts.  Fourie du Preez — back in the side in place of Ruan Pienaar — fired a flat pass through to the other change to the Springboks, Adriaan Strauss, who crashed over.

The Boks followed it up with a sucker punch.  Jean de Villiers' wide pass freed up JJ Englebrecht and the young Bulls centre sucked in the remaining Wallaby defenders to free Zane Kirchner, who scythed his way past Israel Folau to score South Africa's second try in as many minutes.

Steyn's second penalty on the 20-minute mark then meant South Africa had scored as many points as minutes passed.

Michael Hooper's sin-binning further complicated the Wallabies afternoon after he upended Eben Etzebeth — Australia barely surviving with a full compliment, let alone with a depleted side.

A third penalty from Steyn extended the Springboks' lead to 20 points as they ran Australia ragged, an unfortunate slip for de Villiers cutting out another dangerous break with the Wallabies winning a penalty at the breakdown.

No stranger to discrepancies, Flip van der Merwe saw yellow at the start of the second half for an unnecessary forearm on Joe Tomane to give the Wallabies some momentary respite, at least when it came to numbers on the park if not the scoreboard.

Through a combination of South Africa dropping their intensity and the Wallabies building confidence, the third quarter finished scoreless with the Springboks comfortably adrift.

It was an impressive showing of persistence from Australia attacking in the South African 22 that saw Duane Vermeulen also yellow carded, but when the Wallabies needed to execute deep in South African territory they were once again found wanting.

South Africa were slack themselves — dropping passes and missing the intensity that served them so well in the opening 40 as the clock wound down.  A persistent choice to kick the ball away rather than run from deep, in spite of their lead, gradually frustrated the Capetonian crowd.

They duly erupted when Willie Le Roux beat Chris Feauai-Sautia on the outside to cross in the right-hand corner, the lead stretching to 25 points and restoring order to proceedings.

With a try bonus-point in sight, the Springboks botched a five-metre lineout and then Siya Kolisi was penalised for holding on short of the Wallaby line.  Should New Zealand go on to take maximum points against Argentina later on in La Plata, the missed chances will come back to haunt them.

Feauai-Sautia did seal a consolation try from a clever Cooper cross-field kick, but it meant little.  Australia, at their lowest, have their own mountain to climb — one considerably larger than the Table looming over Newlands.

Man of the Match:  Welcome back Fourie du Preez. The Suntory Goliath scrum-half was at his vintage best.

Moment of the Match:  The second blow in a one-two punch from Zane Kirchner has the Springboks out of sight.

Villain of the Match:  Forearms are a hot topic after Ma'a Nonu's two weeks ago.  Flip Van Der Merwe's on Tomane was careless.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Strauss, Kirchner, Le Roux
Con:  Steyn 2
Pen:  Steyn 3
Yellow:  Van der Merwe (39 mins), Vermuelen (66 mins)

For Australia:
Try:  Feauai-Sautia
Pen:  Lealiifano
Yellow:  Hooper (27 mins), Timani (75 mins)

South Africa:  15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Willie le Roux, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Jean de Villiers (captain), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Flip van der Merwe, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Gurthrö Steenkamp, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Juandré Kruger, 20 Siya Kolisi, 21 Ruan Pienaar 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Jan Serfontein.

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Christian Lealiifano, 11 Joe Tomane, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Nic White, 8 Ben Mowen, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 James Horwill (c), 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 Saia Fainga'a, 17 Benn Robinson, 18 Sekope Kepu, 19 Sitaleki Timani, 20 Ben McCalman, 21 Will Genia, 22 Matt Toomua, 23 Chris Feauai-Sautia.

Referee:  Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant referees:  Nigel Owens (Wales), Pascal Gauzère (France)
Television match official:  Graham Hughes (England)

Controversy reigns in All Blacks win

A 29-15 win for New Zealand over South Africa in Auckland was marred by a controversial red card shown to Bismarck du Plessis.

The Springbok hooker, the visitors' first try scorer at Eden Park, was shown two yellow cards within the opening 45 minutes by referee Romain Poite.

The first yellow shown to du Plessis, for a tackle on Dan Carter deemed to be illegal by Poite despite du Plessis' apparent use of the arms, came back to haunt him in the second half after he lead with the forearm going into a tackle with Liam Messam.

With New Zealand already ahead after tries from Kieran Read and Brodie Retallick, the result was never in doubt as one of the most enthralling Test matches in 2013 had the contest cruelly sucked out of it.

Any concern over the choice of Poite as the official was negated by Heyneke Meyer earlier in the week, but how he must have felt watching on from the coaches box must have been near to his worst nightmare.

The All Blacks regardless were as clinical as ever, in the end running in four tries as they capitalised on their numerical advantage.

Read had taken over as captain from the injured Richie McCaw and ran in two tries either side of half-time, with lock Retallick and flanker Sam Cane also going over.

A thunderous first scrum from the Springboks illustrated how the visitors could attack New Zealand at the set-piece, but after Etzebeth failed to take the lineout from the resulting penalty, South Africa paid a price.

New Zealand worked their way upfield and forced Willie Le Roux to run the ball into touch five metres from his own line.

The following lineout was clinical;  a series of forward drives resulting in the captain Read burrowing his way over for the first score.  Morné Steyn's first penalty after an infringement by Retallick then had the Springboks on the board.

Bismarck du Plessis's work at the breakdown has become somewhat of a speciality and the hooker was at it twice in the opening quarter, producing two turnovers of which the second lead to Steyn's second attempt at goal — forcing the distance and as a result paying the price with his accuracy to leave the score at 7-3.

The monster, but legal tackle by Bismarck on Carter then lit a firework under what was an already enthralling contest.

Poite's interpretation that the du Plessis' tackle was illegal, and his consequent sin-binning, was a controversial blow on the chin for the Springboks and the wrong decision, but there was worse news for New Zealand as Carter was forced to leave the field.

The All Blacks, renowned for finishing their chances, made the advantage count.  Beauden Barrett's break sucked in the Springbok forwards and left a space behind which, after Conrad Smith pounced on a loose ball, was capitalised on by Retallick for New Zealand's second try.

Nearly adrift at 14-3, the Springboks desperately needed a response and it came through who else but Bismarck du Plessis.  A rampaging maul near to the All Blacks line ended with the hooker at the bottom of the pile.

Barrett's first penalty shortly after though stemmed any shift in momentum as the All Blacks kept a seven-point lead to close out the first half.

The second began as controversially as the opening 40 minutes finished.  A second yellow card for du Plessis after his forearm on Messam meant the Springboks were down to 14 men for the remainder of the match.

Read's second try shortly afterwards gave New Zealand an unsurmountable lead at 24-10, with the Springboks having to carry out an extra man's work.

The New Zealand skipper Read then had a chance for a hat-trick but the ball just wouldn't bounce in his favour — a moment where the All Blacks run of luck rarely went against them.

An increasingly weary Springbok defence succumbed again when Cane drove over from close-range, adding further gloss to a growing scoreline, although New Zealand lost Read to the bin following a sustained period of Springbok pressure.

Nonu joined his captain on the sidelines for a shoulder charge on Jean de Villiers that in all likelihood will be punished further after an examination by the citing commissioner.

The growing pressure on the All Blacks did yield a second try for the Springboks after Pat Lambie athletically finished off Steyn's cross-field kick as they chased a losing bonus point, but time was against them.

Instead of delivering what might have been an immensely narrow finish with the number one world ranking at stake, we were left wondering what might have been had Poite's influence on the match not been so telling.

New Zealand were the winners, but their success in the wake of the controversy will barely be discussed.

Man of the Match:  Some actual rugby did happen and so credit to Brodie Retallick, who enjoyed his best game in an All Blacks jersey so far.

Moment of the Match:  No guesses here.  The first yellow card shown to Bismarck du Plessis transformed the game for both sides as Carter was forced off, and meant du Plessis had to be sent off in the second half.

Villain of the Match:  All eyes on you, Monsieur Romain Poite.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Read 2, Retallick, Cane
Cons:  Carter, Barrett 2
Pen:  Barrett
Yellow Cards:  Read, Nonu

For South Africa:
Tries:  B. du Plessis, Lambie
Con:  Steyn
Pen:  Steyn
Red Card:  B. du Plessis

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Sam Cane, 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Steven Luatua, 20 Matt Todd, 21 Tawera Kerr Barlow, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Charles Piutau

South Africa:  15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Willie le Roux, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Jean de Villiers (captain), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Flip van der Merwe, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Gurthrí¶ Steenkamp, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Juandré Kruger, 20 Siya Kolisi, 21 Jano Vermaak, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Jan Serfontein.

Referee:  Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees:  Jérôme Garcí¨s (France), Francisco Pastrana (Argentina)
Television match official:  George Ayoub (Australia)
Assessor:  Lyndon Bray

Australia scrape past Argentina

The Wallabies broke their Rugby Championship duck with a narrow 14-13 victory over Argentina in Perth on Saturday.

The win wasn't pretty but the hosts will take it, as it's the first under new coach Ewen McKenzie, and ends a four-match winless streak which stretches back to their loss in the series decider to the British and Irish Lions in July.

With most of the match played in driving rain and a howling wind there were plenty of handling errors and kicking for territory, especially during the opening half.

Los Pumas had the better of the early exchanges and took the lead in the eighth minute, via a Nicolas Sanchez penalty, after Nic Cummins was pinned for holding onto the ball at a ruck in front of his try-line.

The Wallabies soaked up the pressure and were soon level when Horacio Agulla committed a similar offence to Cummins within Christian Lealiifano's range.

Five minutes later, the Brumbies midfielder slotted another penalty after Argentina's front row was punished for illegal scrummaging.

But 10 minutes later Israel Folau left his stamp on the match with a try.  The big full-back brushed off four tackles inside Argentina's 22 after being put into space by quick hand-speed from James O'Connor and Quade Cooper in the build-up.

Lealiifano failed to convert and for the remainder of the half the home side did most of the attacking but without any success.  They were eventually rewarded when Lealiifano added another three-pointer, on the stroke of half-time, after the visitors were pinned for lazy running.

The sides went into the sheds with Australia leading 14-3 and, like in the first half, Argentina piled on the pressure after the re-start.

They spent most of the opening 10 minutes of the half camped inside Australia's 22 but the Wallabies' defended resiliently and los Pumas failed to add to their score during this period.

As expected Argentina dominated the scrums, and they pushed the Wallabies off the ball on at least three occasions.  In the 55th minute, such an offence gave them another chance to narrow the home side's lead but Sanchez's shot at goal fell just short of the uprights.

He made up for that miss with his second penalty, five minutes later, after Australia were penalised once again for a scrum infringement.

And they got to within a point of the lead when Juan Manuel Leguizamón scored a converted try, from close quarters, after running onto a superb offload from Felipe Contepomi in the 65th minute.

To their credit, Australia didn't panic and although Lealiifano missed two further shots at goal, within the last 10 minutes, their defence held firm and denied Argentina their first ever win since joining the tournament last year.

Man of the Match:  Nic White deserves a mention, for a solid display in trying conditions, in his first start to a Test but Argentina's front row gets our vote for another dominant display in the scrums.

Moment of the match:  With the game being played in atrocious conditions, there wasn't much expansive play but another moment of brilliance from Israel Folau ultimately sealed the win for the Wallabies

Villain of the Match:  Nothing to report here as nobody misbehaved.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Try:  Folau
Pens:  Lealiifano 3

For Argentina:
Try:  Leguizamón
Con:  Sanchez
Pen:  Sanchez 2

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 James O'Connor, 13 Adam-Ashley Cooper, 12 Christian Lealiifano, 11 Nick Cummins, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Nic White, 8 Ben Mowen (c), 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Kane Douglas, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 Saia Faingaa, 17 Scott Sio, 18 Sekope Kepu, 19 Sitaleki Timani, 20 Ben McCalman, 21 Will Genia, 22 Matt Toomua, 23 Tevita Kuridrani.

Argentina:  15 Juan Martin Hernandez, 14 Horacio Agulla, 13 Gonzalo Tiesi, 12 Felipe Contepomi, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Thomas Cubelli, 8 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 7 Pablo Matera, 6 Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe, 5 Julio Farias Cabello, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Agustín Creevy, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements:  16 Eusebio Guiñaz, 17 Nahuel Lobo, 18 Juan Pablo Orlandi, 19 Mariano Galarza, 20 Benjamín Macome, 21 Martín Landajo, 22 Santiago Fernández, 23 Lucas González Amorosino.

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)

McCaw injured in All Blacks win

New Zealand made it three wins from three in the Rugby Championship with a 28-13 success over Argentina at a wet Waikato Stadium on Saturday.

Victory was tinged with concern, however, for the All Blacks as Richie McCaw suffered a knee injury that puts him in doubt to take on the Springboks.

McCaw now has seven days to recover for the clash at Eden Park or Steve Hansen will be forced to start Sam Cane in their biggest test of 2013.

It was a nervy start from both sides but the early signs were good for Argentina, particularly at scrum time as they won themselves a penalty.

And their opening would get even better on six minutes when New Zealand's debut centre, Francis Saili, spilled a ball on his 22 that allowed Argentina to shift the attack left with quick hands to where Juan Manuel Leguizamon was waiting.  Nicolas Sanchez's conversion made it 0-7.

Dan Carter would respond from the kicking tee five minutes later following a line-out offence, moving through the 1,400 point mark in international rugby.  Despite returning number ten Carter missing his second and third attempt at goal from distance, New Zealand were now in the ascendency in a wet Hamilton.

And boy did they turn the screw.  Two tries from Aaron Smith whilst Argentina's Eusebio Guinazu was in the bin for an offside offence propelled New Zealand to a 15-7 lead.  His first score was all down to Kieran Read's brilliance, the number eight sending out a nigh on impossible offload close to the left touchline that allowed Smith to dive over five metres out.

Smith would not have to wait long for his double too as this time Carter's breakout from his 22 led to Ben Smith chipping over before the Highlanders nine grounded.  Things were not rosy for Carter however — despite racking up 100 plus running metres in the first period — as he wasn't enjoying a great evening off the kicking tee, enduring a two from five record.  Sanchez however was in excellent form, cutting the gap to five points going into the break.

The scrum would again play a major part in proceedings after the interval as first Carter and then Sanchez sent over three points to make it 18-13 on 52 minutes.  The Pumas though suffered a blow early in the half as Gonzalo Camacho went off with a dislocated shoulder.

New Zealand meanwhile were beginning to make pre-planned changes as Andrew Hore and Dan Carter were replaced before the hour mark, the latter's last act seeing him send over two points after Julian Savea had scored an opportunistic score.  It again came from Read as this time his charge down of scrum-half Martin Landajo's attempted box kick led to the ball being moved left across the backline.  It was now 25-13 as the All Blacks pounced.

But on 60 minutes came the moment New Zealand did not want to see as captain McCaw would hobble off with a knee injury, just one week before facing South Africa.  Cane emerged with Read taking over the captaincy but all the fresh legs fragmented the game somewhat as there would be no score until five minutes before the end, Beauden Barrett knocking over three.  In truth, Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe's pull back on Saili's shirt warranted a card.

Had the Pumas been reduced to fourteen men then maybe the All Blacks would have had a sniff of claiming the try bonus point.  As it was, they must be satisfied with a third straight win as preparations begin ahead of Auckland and that massive clash with South Africa.

Man of the match:  Outstanding from Kieran Read.  His offload for Aaron Smith's first try was worth the entrance money alone while he played a key role in Julian Savea's fine score.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  A Smith 2, Savea
Con:  Carter 2
Pen:  Carter 2, Barrett

For Argentina:
Try:  Leguizamon
Con:  Sanchez
Pen:  Sanchez 2
Yellow:  Guinazu (23 mins — offside)

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Francis Saili, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 Steven Luatua, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Charlie Faumuina, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Dane Coles, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Ben Franks, 19 Jeremy Thrush, 20 Sam Cane, 21 Tawera Kerr Barlow, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Charles Piutau.

Argentina:  15 Juan Martin Hernandez, 14 Gonzalo Camacho, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Santiago Fernandez, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Martin Landajo, 8 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 7 Pablo Matera, 6 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe (capt), 5 Julio Farias Cabello, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Eusebio Guinazu, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements:  16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Nahuel Lobo, 18 Juan Pablo Orlandi, 19 Mariano Galarza, 20 Benjamin Macome, 21 Tomas Cubelli, 22 Felipe Contepomi, 23 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino.

Referee:  Jérôme Garcí¨s (France)
Assistant referees:  Romain Poite (France), James Leckie (Australia)
Television match official:  Matt Goddard (Australia)
Assessor:  Lyndon Bray

Springboks end Brisbane hoodoo

South Africa claimed their first ever win at Suncorp Stadium — and their first in Brisbane for 42 years — by beating Australia 38-12 in their Rugby Championship clash on Saturday.

The results means the Springboks will head to New Zealand next week at the top of the standings, one point above the All Blacks by virtue of a four-try bonus point.

Off the platform of a dominant scrum, South Africa led from start to finish, outscoring their hosts four tries to none.

The Boks were 16-6 ahead at half-time, and Australia were still in touch until the hour mark, but a disastrous last quarter for Ewen McKenzie's men saw the Boks race clear and leave the Wallabies without a single Rugby Championship point after three games under their new coach.

The Springboks got off to a great start via a try from Coenie Oosthuizen — on as a blood replacement — with a powerful drive off the back of a line-out.  Morné Steyn's conversion had the Boks seven points up after as many minutes.

That early momentum was lost however when Willem Alberts saw yellow for a deliberate knock down.  Christian Lealiifano slotted Australia's first points from the penalty but, after Will Genia tried to kick the ball out the back of South Africa's scrum, Steyn could reply in kind to leave the Boks 10-3 up.

A period of sustained pressure from the Wallabies resulted in just three points — Jean de Villiers penalised for slowing the ball at a ruck — and the visitors could again cancel out the Wallaby score when Quade Cooper was caught offside and Steyn split the uprights.

Another Steyn three-pointer on 34 minutes — after Israel Folau held on under pressure from Duane Vermeulen — gave the Springboks a 10-point lead with half-time looming large.

The home side had a chance to pull points back before the break but Genia chose to hunt a try from a line-out instead, but his pack didn't deliver.  In fact, the Wallabies were lucky not to be trailing by more after Bismarck du Plessis knocked-on a metre from the line, before Steyn sent an effort at goal wide.

South Africa would nevertheless have been happy with their lead at the interval.

The Wallabies made the better start to the second period, forcing an early penalty at the breakdown which Lealiifano duly converted to keep his team in touch at 16-9.

But like South Africa in the first-half, the initiative was lost due to a yellow card, this time for Michael Hooper's tip tackle on Bryan Habana.  Steyn sent the penalty over to restore the 10-point gap with half an hour left to play.

The kicking duel continued as Lealiifano hit the target after Flip van der Merwe shoulder checked Adam-Ashley Cooper, who was chasing a kick ahead.

The Boks would land the killer blow on the hour mark though when De Villiers scored a wonderful try.  Habana burst down the touchline and chipped ahead, with the wing taken out by Cooper en route.  But Juandre Kruger claimed the ball one-handed before it was recycled to the speeding De Villiers.

Steyn missed the conversion but the damage was done and the Wallabies would have to look for an extra gear to pull this one out of the fire.

Instead it was the Springboks who cut loose with Zane Kirchner and Willie le Roux combining to send the former over in the corner before the latter touched down in the same place just minutes later to seal a convincing bonus-point win.

Man of the match:  A pat on the back for the entire Springbok pack, who outmuscled their opposition as required by the Heyneke Meyer blueprint for victory.  Duane Vermeulen and Francois Louw were excellent once again but Bismarck du Plessis was our pick on his return to the starting XV, standing out with his sheer strength and impact at the breakdown.

Moment of the match:  The Wallabies were very much still in the game until the Jean de Villiers try took the wind out of their sails.

Villain of the match:  Lots of niggle, but no real nasty stuff to report.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Pens:  Lealiifano 4
Yellow card:  Hooper

For South Africa:
Tries:  Oosthuizen, De Villiers, Kirchner, Le Roux
Cons:  Steyn 3
Pens:  Steyn 4
Yellow card:  Alberts

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Nick Cummins, 13 Adam-Ashley Cooper, 12 Christian Lealiifano, 11 James O'Connor, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Ben Mowen, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 James Horwill (captain), 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 Saia Faingaa, 17 Scott Sio, 18 Ben Alexander, 19 Kane Douglas, 20 Jake Schatz, 21 Nic White, 22 Matt Toomua, 23 Jesse Mogg.

South Africa:  15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Willie le Roux, 13 JJ Engelbrecht, 12 Jean de Villiers (captain), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Flip van der Merwe, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Gurthrö Steenkamp, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Juandré Kruger, 20 Siya Kolisi, 21 Jano Vermaak, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Jan Serfontein.

Referee:  George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees:  Nigel Owens (Wales), Glen Jackson (New Zealand)
Television match official:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)