All Blacks retain Bledisloe Cup

New Zealand exacted revenge for last weekend's loss in Sydney with an outstanding 41-13 win over Australia, thus retaining the Bledisloe Cup.

It was a very different story to seven days ago as the All Blacks were relentless as they kicked on in the second-half, turning a 13-6 lead into the final result to cap Richie McCaw's special day with an ideal result at Eden Park in Auckland.

Tries were scored by Dane Coles, a penalty try, Ma'a Nonu (2) and Conrad Smith as the world champions go into the World Cup on a positive note.

It was an nervy start for New Zealand as they forced offloads out of rucks and struggled to contain the Wallaby backline, notably Israel Folau.  And eventually Australia were rewarded with three points as Quade Cooper silenced the boos.

That kick on seven minutes didn't wake up the All Blacks as mistakes continued, with the world champions looking somewhat flustered on their home patch.

New Zealand did level matters on seventeen minutes when good work at the breakdown handed Dan Carter a shot from range, which he took superbly before the Wallabies looked to apply pressure in the 22.  They certainly did that, but excellent defence kept them at bay.

To compound Australia's disappointment not to add to their tally, New Zealand broke through Carter on halfway as he scythed through like the Carter of old before setting up in-form hooker Coles who sprinted over from 35 metres out.

The sides would trade penalties around the half-hour mark to make it 13-6, with the latter offence, Conrad Smith taking out Adam Ashley-Cooper in the air, seeing the centre fortunate not to see yellow.  Carter and Cooper were both striking it well.

Carter wasn't so solid with an attempted drop-goal on half-time, meaning the score was not altered going into the break.

New Zealand were this time the side on song early in the half and it took them just six minutes to put themselves in a commanding position, as wing Nehe Milner-Skudder's brilliant footwork before an even better offload led to Aaron Smith being taken high by Cooper five metres out.  The penalty try was awarded and to compound Australia's woes, their fly-half was given his marching orders for ten minutes by Welsh referee Owens.  The boos had turned to loud cheers for Cooper.

20-6 soon became 27-6 when Milner-Skudder was again involved, this time kicking down the line before recycled ball was swiftly moved along to Nonu who strolled over for their third try.  With Carter's conversion, the All Blacks were dominating.

Their fourth try came thanks to Nonu's bust up to within ten metres and then he was on hand to fire out the assist to centre partner Smith, who was deserving of his crossing after a performance that silenced his recent critics.  It was now 34-6.

New Zealand were now cruising against a Wallaby side that was a shadow of last week's team, with Nonu grabbing his brace on 65 minutes when he switched with Carter, brushing off scrum-half Nic White en route to the line.  Steve Hansen would then empty his replacements bench which prompted one of the loudest cheers of the night as captain and world record appearance holder Richie McCaw came from the field.  He would later get his hands on the coveted Bledisloe Cup.

For Australia this was a lesson and a psychological blow as they were outclassed in Auckland, with Folau's consolation try doing little to paper over what was a hugely disappointing day at the office that sends them into the World Cup shaken.

Man of the match:  Plenty stood up for New Zealand after that Sydney defeat but one player who was brilliant in everything he did was Conrad Smith.  His efforts in defence and attack saw him rewarded with a score as he edges out Ma'a Nonu.

Moment of the match:  It was 13-6 when Nehe Milner-Skudder sliced through with a trademark step.  What followed was an unreal offload that led to a penalty try.  A close second has to be the ovation for Richie McCaw when he was replaced.

Villain of the match:  It wouldn't be Eden Park and Australia in town without Quade Cooper being seen as the bad guy.  His yellow for taking out Aaron Smith prompted New Zealand to up the pace and they never looked back from that moment.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Coles, Penalty, Nonu 2, C Smith
Con:  Carter 5
Pen:  Carter 2

For Australia:
Try:  Folau
Con:  White
Pen:  Cooper 2
Yellow:  Cooper (high tackle ― 49 mins)

New Zealand:  15 Ben Smith, 14 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Victor Vito, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Nepo Laulala, 19 Jerome Kaino, 20 Sam Cane, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Colin Slade, 23 Malakai Fekitoa.

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Henry Speight, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Nic White, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 James Horwill, 4 Will Skelton, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore (c), 1 Scott Sio.
Replacements:  16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 James Slipper, 18 Greg Holmes, 19 Dean Mumm, 20 Kane Douglas, 21 David Pocock, 22 Matt Giteau, 23 Kurtley Beale.

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees:  Wayne Barnes (England), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
TMO:  Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Impressive Pumas shock Springboks

A hat-trick from Juan Imhoff helped Argentina record their first ever win over South Africa in a 37-25 Rugby Championship victory in Durban on Saturday.

It's taken 20 attempts but the Pumas finally got a positive result against the Springboks after two close calls last year.  Using their domination at scrum time as a platform, Argentina created the biggest upset in the history of the Rugby Championship on the day that they commemorated 50 years since their first tour of South Africa.

The result means the Boks have now lost four consecutive Tests to different countries for the first time since 1965.

While the Pumas produced their best game of the year, tackling their hearts out, their disjointed hosts were a pale shadow of the side that troubled the All Blacks last week as they made countless unforced errors and offer very little on attack.

Argentina led 27-13 at the interval thanks to three excellent tries, including two for Imhoff, who also helped set up the opener for Marcelo Bosch.

South Africa hit back via a try from lock Lood de Jager, but the visitors were well worth their lead against an error-prone Bok outfit.

Imhoff bagged his hat-trick in controversial circumstances soon after the break and although South Africa hit back via tries from Willie le Roux and Bryan Habana, they fell well short of saving the result.

It took los Pumas just two minutes to score the opening try and silence the Durban crowd.  Imhoff sliced through the Bok defence from a set-piece move before offloading to Bosch, who cruised home.  Juan Martin Hernandez added the easy extras to cap a perfect start for the visitors.

The scrum tussle between Bok tighthead Vincent Koch and veteran Pumas loosehead Marcos Ayerza had been highlighted as key battle and it was the South African rookie who won the first round earning a penalty for Handre Pollard to send over.

Ayerza made a strong comeback however, winning the next two penalties, but Hernandez was off target with both to leave the scores at 7-3 at the end of the first quarter.

The Pumas went over for another excellent try to stretch their lead after Le Roux handed possession away cheaply with a terrible kick, which led to Tomas Cubelli putting Imhoff away a few phases later.  Hernandez added the conversion and at 14-3, the Boks looked rattled.

Strong runs from Pollard and Bismarck du Plessis forced an offside penalty, which the fly-half slotted but the Pumas would soon ber over for their third try.

A massive scrum laid the platform for Leonardo Senatore to break off with Cubelli providing the link for Imhoff to cross on the overlap for his second try.  Hernandez's conversion stretched the lead to 15 points.

South Africa hit back with a classic drive off the back of a lineout which saw De Jager stretch out an arm for the hosts' first try.

Pollard landed the conversion but Hernandez was able to reply immediately when Beast Mtawarira was pinged for obstruction.

Koch was really suffering at scrum time and another penalty against him allowed Bosch to smash over three more points from 50m out to give Argentina a 14-point lead at half-time.  Marcel van der Merwe replaced Koch in the second half, but the flow of penalties was only partially slowed.

The Pumas' fourth try came in controversial circumstances.  With a gaggle of medics on the field and Jean de Villiers in the middle of a team talk, referee Romain Poite called time back on, Hernandez took a quick tap and Imhoff pounced in the corner, much to the hosts' bemusement.

Another conversion from Hernandez left South Africa with a 21-point mountain to climb.

Le Roux started the move that would lead to his try by plucking a bomb out of the air before De Villiers and Jesse Kriel combined to put their full-back away for a long sprint home.

Pollard added the conversion but a neat drop goal from Bosch kept the Boks beyond two converted tries.

Cobus Reinach was denied a try by the TMO but Habana was able to grab a consolation try as the Boks used the extra space created by Pablo Matera's yellow card for a high tackle on Schalk Burger.

Man of the match:  There can be only one candidate.  A hat-trick for Juan Imhoff seals the gong.

Moment of the match:  The Boks would have believed they were in with a chance of making a comeback but Imhoff's controversial try took the wind of their sails.

Villain of the match:  No punches thrown.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  De Jager, Le Roux, Habana
Cons:  Pollard 2
Pens:  Pollard 2

For Argentina:
Tries:  Bosch, Imhoff 3
Cons:  Hernandez 4
Pens:  Hernandez, Bosch
Drop:  Bosch
Yellow card:  Matera

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Jesse Kriel, 13 Jean de Villiers (c), 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Schalk Burger, 7 Marcell Coetzee, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 VIncent Koch, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.

Replacements:16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Marcel van der Merwe, 19 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 20 Siya Kolisi, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Lwazi Mvovo.

Argentina:  15 Joaquin Tuculet, 14 Horacio Agulla, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Jeronimo de la Fuente, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Juan Martin Hernandez, 9 Tomas Cubelli, 8 Leonardo Senatore, 7 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 2 Agustin Creevy (c), 1 Marcos Ayerza.

Replacements:  16 Julian Montoya, 17 Lucas Noguera, 18 Matias Diaz, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Tomas Lezana, 21 Martin Landajo, 22 Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias, 23 Lucas Amorosino.

Venue:  Kings Park, Durban

Referee:  Romain Poite

Assistant referees:  JP Doyle, Marcus Mitrea

TMO:  Ben Skeen

Australia win Rugby Championship

Australia have broken New Zealand's hold on the Rugby Championship trophy thanks to a 27-19 win over their trans-Tasman rivals in Saturday's decider in Sydney.

The All Blacks had won every previous Rugby Championship since the expansion to four teams in 2012, but were outscored three tries to two by their hosts in a thrilling contest at ANZ Stadium.

This is Australia's first title since claiming the Tri-Nations in 2011.  The result also means New Zealand must win next week's clash at Eden Park if they are to retain the Bledisloe Cup, which they have held since 2003.

All Black fly-half Dan Carter had a poor night with the boot but nevertheless made history by becoming the first man to reach 1500 Test points.

But it was the Wallabies' replacement half-backs who stole the show, making a telling contribution in the last quarter with Nic White scoring the winning try.

New Zealand led 6-3 at the interval thanks to two penalties from Carter opposed to one from Matt Giteau.  As that scoreline suggests, there was nothing to choose between the sides in a high-paced opening 40 minutes.

Tries after the break by Wallaby prop Sekope Kepu and wing Adam Ashley-Cooper were answered by a double by All Black debutant Nehe Milner-Skudder before White ghosted over to secure the trophy for Australia.

David Pocock made a great start with a couple of early steals, but Kepu was shown a yellow card inside the opening 10 minutes after making a tackle without retreating 10m when the All Blacks were threating to score from a quickly-taken penalty.

Carter slotted the easy three points and almost bagged the first try soon thereafter but was beaten by inches in a foot race with Giteau after the All Black pivot had hacked a loose ball ahead.

The hosts were able to ride out the sin-bin period without conceding further points as the first quarter ended with New Zealand 3-0 up.

The Wallaby scrum had made a strong start and earned a penalty that allowed Giteau to level the scores, but a ruck penalty against the home side meant that Carter could reply almost immediately with a long-range effort to restore the gap.

Giteau hit the upright with his next shot at goal and Dean Mumm fumbled a terrible pass from Nick Phipps when a try was on the cards after a break by Israel Folau.

Consecutive lineout steals by the All Blacks denied the hosts further opportunities to score and a last-gasp tackle by Michael Hooper kept Julian Savea out of the corner, meaning the visitors went into the break with a narrow lead.

Kiwi scrum-half Aaron Smith was sent to the sin bin soon after the restart for a high tackle on Ashley-Cooper.  The Wallabies immediately cashed in as Kepu showed a neat step before shrugging off two tacklers to race over.

Giteau added the conversion to put the Wallabies 10-6 ahead but Carter landed his third penalty — against Pocock at a ruck — to cut the deficit to a single point on 50 minutes.

A bad night for Phipps got worse when he too saw yellow for pulling back Conrad Smith, who had taken a quick penalty.

New Zealand struck right away as a half-break from Carter allowed Ben Smith to escape before the full-back found Milner-Skudder up in support for the young winger's first Test try.

The Wallabies moved back in front when Ashley-Cooper collected Matt Toomua's chip ahead and barged through Ben Smith to finish wonderfully in the corner, with Giteau adding the conversion.

A first-phase attack from New Zealand got the ball quickly to Milner-Skudder, who did brilliantly to get the it down depsite the attention of three tacklers.

Carter missed the conversion meaning that when White hit the target from 48m out following an offside penalty, Australia led 20-19.

White would be the hero of the night as, in the dying minutes, he sold the Kiwi defence a dummy before slipping past Codie Taylor for the winner.  White's conversion sealed a deserved win for the Wallabies.

Man of the match:  A mention for David Pocock, who was excellent once again, but we have to go for Nic White, who only needed 15 minutes on the field to change the complexion of the game.

Moment of the match:  The All Blacks are usually the ones who produce a fast finish but White's try will long be remembered as it sealed a memorable win.

Villain of the match:  No nasty stuff to report.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Kepu, Ashley-Cooper, White
Cons:  Giteau 2, White
Pens:  Giteau, White
Yellow cards:  Kepu, Phipps

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Milner-Skudder 2
Pens:  Carter 3
Yellow card:  A. Smith

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 David Pocock, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 James Horwill, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore (c) 1 Scott Sio,

Replacements:  16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 James Slipper, 18 Greg Holmes, 19 Will Skelton, 20 Ben McCalman, 21 Nic White, 22 Matt Toomua, 23 Kurtley Beale.

New Zealand:  15 Ben Smith, 14 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Luke Romano, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Tony Woodcock.

Replacements:  16 Codie Taylor, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Nepo Laulala, 19 Samuel Whitelock, 20 Sam Cane, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Malakai Fekitoa.

Venue:  ANZ Stadium, Sydney

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)

Assistant Referees:  Nigel Owens (Wales), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)

TMO:  Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)