Wallabies bow to resurgent Boks

South Africa clawed back some much-needed pride by notching up an emphatic 53-8 victory over Australia at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on Saturday, with Jongikhaya Nokwe running four tries past the out-of-sort Australians.

Just when you thought the Tri-Nations could not possibly throw up another humdinger, we get this:  title contenders decimated by wooden spoonists!

Where did the Springboks pull this performance from?  Easy.  From the very depths of their wounded souls.

A week ago they were booed from the field after a performance that made Laurel and Hardy look employable.  Today they ran straight, supported in numbers, held their passes, bossed the set-piece and ran in eight tries.

If this was about saving face, Bok coach Peter de Villiers might be forgiven for thinking that his troops ensured the future of his features.

Indeed, a broad smile nestled under that luxuriant moustache as the final whistle blew.

That the novice Nokwe became the first man to score four tries against the Wallabies in a Test would have given the beleaguered coach particular satisfaction.

But after the embers of the last of tonight's braais have been extinguished, the world champions and their fans will have to face up to some uncomfortable truths.

Firstly, the manner of this win actually makes the last couple of weeks harder to swallow.  Now we know that the Boks can still play brilliant rugby, why can they not produce the goods on a consistent basis?

Moreover, this was an empty victory devoid of any meaning.  Australia clinched their place in the Tri-Nations 'final' with last week's win and needed for nothing in Johannesburg.  At times during today's hammering it was patently obvious that they had more than one eye on the big date in Brisbane.

The non-game allowed Wallaby boss Robbie Deans the chance to experiment and he duly made five changes to the side that triumphed in Durban.

Not all the experiments worked (Tatafu Polota-Nau's line-out work was a mess) but the reshuffle -- and even the loss -- could yet work in their favour:  the All Blacks will have garnered precious little from this game.

South Africa were dominant for all but five minutes of the game:  the first five minutes of the game.

But for a wayward pass from Matt Giteau, the Australians would have been at least five points up in the second minute.

The visitors had to settle for a penalty after Butch James was pinged for being off-side, and with that Australia took an early lead.

From that point on it was all South Africa.

The first try came after Australia got themselves into a real muddle as they attempt to clear their lines.

Giteau eventually manage to put boot to ball, but only as far the outstanding Conrad Jantjes.  The industrious full-back hoisted the perfect bomb and was on hand to collect a long pass from James to set Andries Bekker on his way to the line after drawing his man with aplomb.

South African tails went up and Fourie Du Preez combined with Jean De Villiers to set Nokwe free down the left to dot down with nonchalance in the corner.

James missed the tricky conversion, but suddenly the drummers in the crowd sounded less like the hungry cannibals that had called for blood in Durban.  Had the beating heart of South African rugby been massaged back to life?  It seems so.

Two missed opportunities followed, one for each side -- Lote Tuqiri knocked on a dolly pass down the left and Pierre Spies was dispossessed in the act of scoring in the left corner.

But the ball was then moved left with speed and decisiveness (a new tactic for the Boks) and Nokwe was on hand to collect another easy try.

James was again off-target with his conversion but made amends moments later when Phil Waugh went off-side within easy range of the sticks.

Nokwe then dotted down his third of the game, becoming only the second Bok to score a hat-trick against Australia.

Such feats should not be accomplished with ease, but the Cheetahs flyer managed to put three tries past the Wallabies without a finger being laid on him.

His final effort was the easiest of the trio -- a simple trot across the line after another lengthy pass from James found him in his own private acre of space.

James converted and the Boks, somewhat incredulously, disappeared for their half-time oranges with a 27-3 lead to their names.

The Boks started the second half as they ended the first.  De Villiers straightened up, got his arms through the tackle and delivered a pin-point reverse pass to the supporting Adi Jacobs.  The burly centre then showed great pace and a fine step as he ate up the forty yards of grass between himself and the tryline.  James converted and the locals were out of sight.

Simple rugby, well executed.  It ain't so hard when you put your mind to it.

Nokwe then popped up to make history, becoming the first man to score four tries against the Wallabies in a Test.

But this time he had to work for the laurels.  He came looking for work on the opposite wing, chasing up a clever grubber from Jantjes, and was on hand to collect the final pass from his fellow wing, the hard-working Odwa Ndungane.

The try proved to be the record-breaker's last contribution of the day -- he limped from the field after injuring his leg in the act of scoring.  He might opt to stay out on the luck-kissed left in the future, and fans will forgive him for such an indulgence after his efforts here today.

Giteau looked like he had pulled back seven points after he intercepted and made off for the sticks, only to be hauled back for being off-side.  But the playmaker made immediately amends by working a pass out of the tackle to allow Drew Mitchell an easy route to the line.  A full 56 minutes on the clock and Australia had their first try, albeit unconverted.

Not that if worried the Boks.  With the result all but secured, the bench was emptied onto the pitch and the new boys were soon in on the action.

A lovely jinxing run from Ruan Pienaar -- on for James -- saw him through the first line of flagging Australians and he stepped past Mitchell to claim South Africa's seventh try of the game.  Percy Montgomery -- on for Nokwe -- nudged over the easy conversion.

Australian heads began to hang.  It became obvious that they could not live with the pace of the Boks -- or the altitude.

But it still wasn't over.  A bullocking run from Danie Rossouw smashed the gold lines asunder once more and Ndungane was on hand to punctuate the massacre.

And so South Africa's abortive attempt to add the Tri-Nations trophy to the Webb Ellis Cup ended on an artificial high -- an emotional cocktail that will leave a bitter taste in the mouths of Boks fans, and a nagging question on their lips:  why did we wait so long before producing a performance like this?

Man of the match:  Jongi Nokwe's four-try effort deserves special praise, even if they weren't the hardest-won scores of his career.  Elsewhere, Butch James made all the right calls and was quick to spot gaps in all parts of the field, and Odwa Ndungane got through a heap of work in attack and defence.  Pierre Spies reminded his crab-like colleagues that forward is still the best direction known to rugby, but the standout Bok of the game and the tournament has to be Conrad Jantjes.  Solid under the high ball, slippery on the run, fearless and canny in defence.  A star is born.

Moment of the match:  Surely the sight of Jongi Nokwe dotted down his fourth try -- a fine effort.

Villian of the match:  Absolutely no monkey business.  Well played to both sides -- and to the officials.  No award.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Nokwe 4, Bekker, Jacobs, Pienaar, Ndungane
Cons:  James 3, Montgomery 2
Pen:  James

For Australia:
Try:  Mitchell
Con:  Giteau

The teams:

South Africa:  15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Jongi Nokwe, 10 Butch James, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 4 Andries Bekker, 3 Brian Mujati, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Jannie du Plessis, 18 Danie Rossouw, 19 Luke Watson, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Percy Montgomery.

Australia:  15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Peter Hynes, 13 Stirling Mortlock (c), 12 Timana Tahu,11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Sam Cordingley, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Phil Waugh, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Hugh McMeniman, 4 James Horwill, 3 Matt Dunning, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 Stephen Moore, 17 Al Baxter, 18 Dean Mumm, 19 George Smith, 20 Brett Sheehan, 21 Ryan Cross, 22 Drew Mitchell.

Referee:  Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
Touch judges:  Lyndon Bray (New Zealand), Rob Debney (England)
Television match official:  Romain Poite (France)
Assessor:  Bob Francis (New Zealand)

Boks out for the count

Australia ended South Africa's tilt at Tri-Nations glory by notching up a solid 27-15 win over the world champions in Durban on Saturday -- a result that sends vultures swooping over the heads of Bok boss Peter de Villiers and his cohorts.

If you feel that smacks of media hysteria, let's examine the facts.  South Africa won the World Cup just ten short months ago -- there they were, standing on the shoulders of giants.  Last week they were nilled at home.  Today they were booed off the field by their own supporters.  Something is rotten in the Republic.  Something really stinks.

It's not the back-to-back defeats on African soil that irked the fans, it was that their heroes looked completely ill-equipped for the task in hand.

South Africa needed a bonus-point win to stay in the race for the Tri-Nations, and the lengthy to-do list proved to be their undoing.  With minds set on bagging four tries, the Boks forgot the basics.  At times they went out of their way to avoid them.  Victories are built on solid foundations, yet the locals set out with plans to construct a cathedral on custard.

All but two South African raids petered out due to lack of support and/or poor skills.  Faced with such a lack of unity all Australia had to do was to sit back and wait for the opportunities to present themselves.

Indeed, the real worry for the Boks is that the Wallabies were far from a study in authority.  They were good but not great.

But credit where credit is due -- the young visitors showed remarkable maturity in a country where Australia had not won since 2000.

The Boks threw everything at their opponents in the opening moments of the game and it seemed that the Wallabies were having trouble getting their eye in.

But all the while they were sussing out their hosts, identifying chinks in the green armour and planning their response.  Then, with three clinical jabs of the golden lance, the Boks -- and the millennium bug -- were dead.

As was the case in their last two outings, South Africa's breakdown play was found wanting.  Three promising raids in the first ten minutes all died in the arms of isolated players.

With the Boks lacking the finishing touch, it was left to the Australians to collect the first points of the day -- and they stemmed directly from local frustrations.

CJ van der Linde took out Sam Cordingley with what can only be described as a flying headbutt to the face.

The Bok prop will surely be receiving a call from the citing officials, but in the heat of the battle the incident was deemed to be no more than a simple penalty, which Matt Giteau dispatched between the sticks.

The Boks got a chance to draw level when Peter Hynes strayed off-side at a ruck, but Butch James was off-target with his kick at goal.

The near-miss, and an another sweeping but unconsummated green attack, stirred the Wallabies into action and they began to boss the game via clever positional play from Giteau and Stirling Mortlock.

Jongi Nokwe was soon caught out by a bobbling kick upfield and conceded a free-kick in an isolated position.  Cordingley ushered his forwards to lay siege to the green line and Benn Robinson was on hand to burrow under a herd of Boks, but did he make contact with the whitewash?

It was left to video official Rob Denbey to untangle the impromptu game of Twister, and he ruled that the prop had done enough.  Giteau converted and Australia had a 10-point lead with just under 30 minutes on the clock.

The crowd grew more subdued still as Andries Bekker was pinged for a high-tackle on Hynes.  It was not South Africa's first or last of the game, but the only one that received the appropriate sanction.

Giteau failed to plant a line-out in the corner from the dead-ball situation, with Conrad Jantjes batting the ball back over his dead-ball line to force the drop-out, a decision that was also referred "upstairs".

The Boks started well after the break, appearing more structured after Percy Montgomery came on for the out-of-sorts JP Pietersen.

Butch James got South Africa on the scoreboard with a penalty for their first score in 153 minutes of rugby, doing the honours after Victor Matfield had been manhandled at the line-out by Rocky Elsom.

One box was ticked -- another nilling had been avoided -- but two remained:  four tries and a win.

Giteau made box three a little tricker by restoring the 10-point lead by slotting his second penalty of the day after Tendai Mtawarira was penalised at a scrum.

Lote Tuqiri then almost got on the end of a well-weighted grubber from the impressive Drew Mitchell, only to be beaten to the punch by the back-tracking Adrian Jacobs.

With alarm bells sounding in South African ears, Peter de Villiers responded by throwing his star-studded bench at the match, tasking Francois Steyn to weave his magic at fly-half.

But far from galvanising the side, the changes made South Africa look more disjointed still, and Australia took full advantage of the mess of misunderstanding.

An innocuous ball was sent down the Australian line and Tuqiri rounded the last man to score the simplest of tries.

As so often before, it was the sharp mind of Jean de Villiers that conjured South Africa's belated response.  The elegant centre cut a hole in the gold lines and it was left to Jacobs to score the Boks' first Tri-Nations try since their win against New Zealand in Dunedin on July 12 -- a result which now seems almost unreal.

But whatever Jean de Villiers can do, Stirling Mortlock can do better.  As whispered hopes began to circulate around the green-clad crowd, Australia's skipper found a gap in the green lines and powered through the tackles and over the line in trademark fashion.

The Boks got another try back via Jacobs, thanks to a fine inside-pass from Montgomery, but the Australians were all but out of sight and never looked in danger of seeing their plump cushion diminished in the closing minutes.

Whilst Australia's win tees up a series decider against New Zealand in Brisbane in September, South Africa's immediate future might prove as dramatic.  The curse of the Webb Ellis Cup endures despite of its change of abode -- the Boks are in grave danger of becoming the new England.

Man of the match:  Not really that much to write home about.  Adrian Jacobs took his tries well and Tendai Mtawarira proved to be a handful in the tight and in the loose.  Drew Mitchell impressed for Australia, as did George Smith and Matt Giteau.  But our man of the match is Stirling Mortlock, not so much for his display -- although his try was a peach -- as for his leadership.  He savoured that win here in 2000 and allowed his young troops to believe a repeat was eminently possible.  Indeed it was.

Moment of the match:  Mortlock's strike was a stunner, but we'll opt for Lote Tuqiri's try -- it killed off the game as a contest and summed up South Africa's shortcomings.

Villian of the match:  Easy.  A lengthy ban would be too good for CJ van der Linde, his flying headbutt was disgraceful.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Jacobs 2
Con:  Montgomery
Pen:  James

For Australia:
Tries:  Robinson, Tuqiri, Mortlock
Cons:  Giteau 3
Pens:  Giteau 2

The teams:

South Africa:  15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Jongi Nokwe, 10 Butch James, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 4 Andries Bekker, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Brian Mujati, 18 Joe van Niekerk, 19 Luke Watson, 20 Enrico Januarie, 21 Francois Steyn, 22 Percy Montgomery.

Australia:  15 Drew Mitchell, 14 Peter Hynes, 13 Stirling Mortlock (captain), 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Sam Cordingley, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 George Smith, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Daniel Vickerman, 4 James Horwill, 3 Matt Dunning, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Al Baxter, 18 Hugh McMeniman, 19 Phil Waugh, 20 Brett Sheehan, 21 Timana Tahu, 22 Ryan Cross.

Referee:  Lyndon Bray (New Zealand)
Touch judges:  Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand), Romain Poite (France)
Television match official:  Rob Debney (England)

All Blacks nil world champions

Crisis?  What crisis?  New Zealand exorcised a host of demons by recording a solid 19-0 victory over the Boks at Newlands in Cape Town on Saturday, a result that leaves the world champions with a mountain to climb.

The Springbok faithful had arrived on a gorgeous afternoon in high spirits, aware of an All Blacks backlash following their recent loss against the world champs in Dunedin, but all the while knowing another South African victory was there for the taking.

How very wrong they were.

That the Springboks failed to score a solitary point could spell the end for their Tri-Nations campaign where even a losing bonus-point can go a long way in deciding who the eventual winners will be.

In fact, this was the first time South Africa had failed to score a point at home against the All Blacks.

It was also a Test match Springbok centurion Percy Montgomery would rather forget, with the veteran full-back not having the best day at the office in his 100th appearance in the green and gold.

The two simple chances South Africa had at grabbing three points went up in smoke with Montgomery failing to score on both occasions.

In fact, it was a poor kicking display all round with All Blacks fly-half Dan Carter who, despite registering his 800th point in Tests, uncharacteristically missed four kicks at goal in the first half that kept the score at 5-0 until the last quarter of the match.

Eleven points (one conversion and three penalties), all of them simple attempts for his ability, were pushed left, right, left and then left again.

But it matter not.  The hosts were soundly outplayed and never showed the purpose the All Blacks brought to the match.  The Springboks attempted to run the ball but unfamiliarity led to mistakes under pressure.

South Africa had made a nervous start with fly-half Butch James landing the kick-off in touch, and then a tap-penalty was kicked dead by returning scrum-half Fourie du Preez, who was starting his first Test match of 2008 after a long injury lay-off.

It didn't get much better for the Springboks, a well-timed grubber kick ahead by Richie McCaw caught the South African back three sleeping and the wide-awake Conrad Smith was only happy to take advantage.

The TMO was called in to double check the grounding, but it was rightly agreed that Smith had put enough downward pressure on the ball for the All Blacks' opening score.

Carter's conversion missed the left upright by a whisker, but New Zealand were on the board -- a perfect start.

Five points down, the hosts awoke from their slumber and had a five-man overlap to boot.  However, hooker Bismarck du Plessis was still sleepwalking and opted to take the pigskin up himself which resulted in another turnover and -- even worse for South Africa -- an early try-scoring opportunity gone a-begging.

The set-piece -- bar the scrum -- was a nightmare for the Springboks.  Two line-outs lost in the space of five minutes to the superior Ali Williams, who was a dominant figure all afternoon.

Ill-discipline, too, could have cost the world champs dearly, with the home side giving away far too many free kicks and penalties that halted any momentum they did manage to gather through the little phase play they were presented with.

South Africa were also let off for constant infringing on the ground with referee Matt Goddard several times telling captain Victor Matfield that he was giving a last warning.

South Africa's biggest chance came three minutes from half-time, a Tendai Mtawarira break may have had the Springbok supporters in raptures but it was Bryan Habana that had the 46,500 sell-out Newlands crowd on their feet after stepping his way in and out for a would-be five-pointer had it not been for his left boot straying into touch.

With forty minutes already ticked away on the stadium clock, Goddard sent the teams in for their oranges and pep talks.  Both sides would have heard more of less the same rants from their respective coaches:  be patient, limit the mistakes and make the penalties count.

South Africa did well to carry out two of their three orders, but the two missed penalty attempts by Montgomery in the same amount of minutes kept the home side scoreless with 54 minutes up on the clock.

James had an ordinary match but provided a neat nudge behind the All Blacks defence that was well chased by the Bok backs.  The hosts won the five-metre scrum after sacking a retreating defender over his own tryline, but the subsequent attack again came to nil when the ball was slowed and eventually turned over.  There's no other way to describe it -- it was painful to watch if you were a Springbok supporter.

South Africa's gallant defence is what kept them in the game, as the All Blacks struggled to get over the gain line.  Replacement prop John Afoa thought he was over in the 55th minute until Montgomery effected a heroic tackle in the corner.

It would be the last time Montgomery would have any say in the match with Francois Steyn taking over full-back duties from South Africa's centurion.  Du Preez, responsible for knocking another three kicks out on the full, was also given an early shower after coach Peter de Villiers had decided enough was enough.

Ricky Januarie was called on to repeat the magic he produced in Dunedin four weeks ago, but his rabbit was nowhere to be seen as the All Black defence continued to halt South Africa's charge.

Instead it was the All Blacks own magician, Dan Carter, who waved his magic wand and left the Springbok defence spellbound with a brilliant solo effort that resulted in the New Zealand pivot under the posts for the visitors' second try in the 65th minute.

With green and gold jerseys lined up in abundance, Carter backed his strength and agility to stretch over -- backwards -- for a wonderful score that was duly followed by a simple conversion.

Again, the Boks tried to fight back, but with little success as desperate passes ended up in the hands of the assistant match referee and aimless kicks were left for the All Blacks to counter-attack back to where the ball went skyward.

The second half was bruising with some hard hits from both sides but the pace of the game, and it was frenetic, seemed to take a greater toll on the South African forwards.  The only injury loss was to the All Blacks with wing Sitiveni Sivivatu forced to leave the field with a leg injury.  His place was taken by Isaia Toeava.

With the game all but lost, the final nail came crashing down into South Africa's coffin when a wayward Jean de Villiers pass was intercepted by replacement hooker Keven Mealamu who couldn't believe his luck as he run in unopposed for the All Blacks third and final try.

At this stage, the Bok fans were streaming out of the stadium gates faster than it took them to get in.  And who could blame them?  The match was always going to be won by the team who wanted it most, in this case it was New Zealand.

The All Blacks are now on 14 points in the Tri-Nations, after five games and with one game to go.  Australia, with three Tri-Nations games left -- two against South Africa and one against the All Blacks -- are second on nine points.  The Springboks, who need a miracle to now win the Tri-Nations, are on five points with just two games left.

South Africa will have to cope with the fact that they are all but out of the Tri-Nations.  They will have to cope with the fact that they scored zero points in a home match where they were slight favourites.  Worst of all, they will have to cope with the fact that they were beaten by an average New Zealand outfit and were ultimately undone by their own incompetence.

Man of the match:  Simple.  Richie McCaw, playing in his second Test back from an ankle injury, was again at his best.  The All Blacks' captain fantastic battled on after suffering a painful blow to the ribs to lead his charges to victory.  Throughout the match he dominated the breakdown, pulled off numerous telling tackles and gave errant referee Matt Goddard several reminders on what the rule book actually states.

Moment of the match:  For South Africa, it could have been the final whistle, however they had to first deal with Dan Carter's solo effort that saw the All Blacks pivot turn his body with little difficulty for a superb show of gymnastics that would have won him at least a bronze at the Olympics.

Villain of the match:  Take a bow world champions for denying your home crowd a single point to cheer about.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Carter, Mealamu, Smith
Cons:  Carter 2

The teams:

South Africa:  15 Percy Montgomery, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Butch James, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Andries Bekker, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Brian Mujati, 18 Danie Rossouw, 19 Luke Watson, 20 Enrico Januarie, 21 Francois Steyn, 22 Conrad Jantjes.

New Zealand:  15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Richard Kahui, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Rodney So'oialo, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Ali Willliams, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Greg Somerville, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 John Afoa, 18 Anthony Boric, 19 Adam Thomson, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Isaia Toeava.

Referee:  Matt Goddard (Australia)
Touch judges:  Wayne Barnes (England), James Leckie (Australia)
Television match official:  Geoff Warren (England)

Boks run Pumas ragged

South Africa overcame a poor opening half an hour to record an emphatic 63-9 victory over a subdued Argentina at Coca-Cola Park on Saturday, giving Nelson Mandela the perfect 90th birthday present.

For thirty minutes it looked as if Argentina had forgotten the script as they edged into a nine-point lead to leave the Springbok faithful a touch nervous.  But once South Africa found their rhythm Argentina had no answer to their host's attacking intent - not through a lack of skill but rather a lack of fitness.

South Africa are in the middle of their international season, whilst Argentina came into this game with the bulk of their players in the middle of pre-season training with their clubs.  Once South Africa got the better of their guests it was only ever going to be a case of how many points.  Argentina simply didn't have the fitness to live with the Boks at altitude.

But whilst their lungs were fresh the Pumas gave South Africa a severe wake-up call, if they are to win the Tri-Nations they can ill afford to play as badly as they did in the opening thirty minutes.  Too often passes went astray, balls were lost in contact and tackles were not made to great effect.  On top of that the South Africans' lack of discipline proved costly.

Felipe Contepomi kicked three from four penalties to give his side a healthy lead after half an hour, only for it to amount to little more than a scant consolation as the Springboks ran riot in the final sixty minutes.

It took a poor pass from Enrico Januarie to spark the Springboks into life.  As the ball skidded along the floor to Jean de Villiers the Argentine defence paused for a second, allowing De Villiers to exploit the gap and send Adrian Jacobs over for a fine opening score.  Butch James kicked the first of nine conversions to narrow the gap to two.

Two minutes later and the Springboks were in front, thanks to a fine solo try from debutante Jongi Nokwe.  The Cheetahs wing gathered the ball on the blue 22 before dancing his way past two defenders and cruising over to give his side the lead.

The score remained at 14-9 until half-time, but after the break it was more one-way traffic from the home side.  Clearly Argentina were not up to scratch as they progressively grew worse in defence, allowing South Africa to exploit them almost at will.

It took only three minutes of the second half for Pierre Spies to extend the lead, superbly gathering a hack ahead from JP Pietersen to put daylight between the two sides.  The game was put beyond doubt when Pietersen himself cruised through a gaping hole in the Pumas defence to score his side's fourth try.

Bok boss Peter de Villiers saw that as the perfect time to introduce some fresh legs, bringing on Fourie du Preez and Jaque Fourie.  Sadly for Fourie his game would end within ten minutes as he was forced from the field with a suspected fractured cheekbone.  Du Preez on the other hand marked a fine cameo appearance with a try with just his second touch of the ball.

His return will spark a mass debate as to who should play at scrum-half against the All Blacks next week.  Januarie has proven he is worthy of a spot in the side, but not at Du Preez's expense.  The Blue Bulls half-back added an extra dimension to the Springboks back-line when he came on and allowed them to attack with quicker ball.

The question is who does De Villiers prefer, will he stick with the tried and tested Januarie or look to win the game gambling on the more exciting Du Preez?  We will soon find out.

Another area in which he will have reason to think is at second row.  If Bakkies Botha fails to recover from the injury that forced him off in the first half Andries Bekker will step into the breach.  But based on today's efforts there is a strong case for Bekker to start regardless of Botha's fitness, South Africa can't afford to lose out on a player of Bekker's ability in favour of Botha's one-dimensional approach.

Argentine heads dropped following Du Preez's try and further tries were added through Joe Van Niekerk (2), Bismarck du Plessis and a second for Pietersen.  Van Niekerk scored his brace within two minutes of coming on to leave Argentina facing their biggest ever defeat at the hands of the Springboks.

It was hardly surprising to see All Blacks scouts in the stands, as their team trained for the first time since arriving in Cape Town on Friday, recording the game to analyse next week's opposition.  On the evidence of this showing they will be confident of picking up their first away win of this season's Tri-Nations.

In truth South Africa were average.  The opening half an hour, when Argentina were fresh, highlighted several weaknesses in their game, and although they ran in nine tries the majority came when their under-cooked opponents were failing to stay with the pace of the game.  A repeat of the opening thirty next week and the All Blacks will be leaving for home with five points and a smile on their faces.

Plenty for Peter de Villiers to think about this week then as Graham Henry looks to take revenge for the 30-28 defeat dished out in Dunedin.

Man of the Match:  Argentina fought bravely but had few standout performers, with Juan Manuel Leguizamón the pick of their side.  For the Springboks Tendai Mtawarira shone in the scrum, Jongi Nokwe was impressive on debut and Conrad Jantjes was as solid as ever.  But it was Luke Watson who stole the show with his action-packed display to soften the loss of Schalk Burger.  Watson was so often the link man in all that was good for the Springboks and did his fair share of work at the breakdown too.

Moment of the Match:  If it wasn't for Enrico Januarie's wild pass from the base of the scrum that flew over Butch James' head South Africa might never have got going.  As it was Jean de Villiers scooped it up before racing away to send Adrian Jacobs in for the try - a score that opened the floodgates.  A special mention should also go to the Ledesma brothers, Mario and younger brother Pedro, who in the sixth minute packed down together for the first ever time in international rugby.

Villain of the Match:  There was the usual petulant fists thrown from Bakkies Botha in the early exchanges, but nothing to warrant this ghastly gong.  Instead we will rather give it to the moneymen who organised this match.  Apart from giving Nelson Mandela a nice present this game was pointless.  Argentina were in pre-season training and were never going to present a serious challenge for a match-fit Springbok side in the midst of the Tri-Nations.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Jacobs, Nokwe, Spies, Du Preez, Du Plessis, Van Niekerk 2, Pietersen 2
Cons:  James 9

For Argentina:
Pens:  Contepomi 3

The teams:

South Africa:  15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Jongi Nokwe, 10 Butch James, 9 Enrico Januarie, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Luke Watson, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 4 Bakkies Botha,3 CJ van der Linde, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Brian Mujati, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Joe van Niekerk, 20 Fourie du Preez, 21 Jaque Fourie, 22 Percy Montgomery.

Argentina:  15 Bernardo Stortoni, 14 José María Núñez Piossek, 13 Federico Martín Aramburu, 12 Miguel Avramovic, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Felipe Contepomi (c), 9 Nicolás Vergallo, 8 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 7 Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe, 6 Martín Durand, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Rimas Álvarez Kairelis, 3 Pedro Ledesma, 2 Mario Ledesma, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements:  16 Alberto Vernet Basualdo, 17 Marcos Ayerza, 18 Esteban Lozada, 19 Álvaro Galindo, 20 Alfredo Lalanne, 21 Benjamín Urdapilleta, 22 Rafael Carballo.

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Touch judges:  Matt Goddard (Australia), James Leckie (Australia)
Television match official:  Geoff Warren (England)
Assessor:  Tappe Henning (IRB)

New Zealand back in the black

New Zealand avenged last week's loss in Australia by recording a cerebral 39-10 victory over the Wallabies in Auckland on Saturday, notching up a crucial bonus-point with the last move of the game.

The win moves New Zealand back to the top of the Tri-Nations table and removes the angry mob from Graham Henry's door -- this was a perfect response from the besieged All Blacks.

Henry allowed himself a rare smile as Ma'a Nonu crashed over at the death to punctuate what has been a fortnight of introspection.  It was the final act of a win built on hard work and iron resolve, and the wily old coach and his cohorts deserve to bask in the glory of this emphatic response.

With the spectre of a third straight defeat looming large, New Zealand stiffened the sinews and got back to basics.  They were majestic at the line-out, indefatigable at the breakdown and canny with their options.  In short, they were dominant in the all the areas in which they were outplayed last weekend.

For this, Henry owes a large debt of gratitude to Richie McCaw.  The talismanic skipper returned to reattach heads to the decapitated chickens that masqueraded as All Blacks in Sydney.

Dan Carter, inevitably, also deserves praise for his efforts.  The fly-half won rave reviews for his running game during New Zealand's back-to-back defeats but here he decided to play the role of puppet-master, and the All Blacks were all the better for it.  His boot allowed his side to play the game on its own terms and the Australians were unable to gain anything more than a foothold.

Indeed, astute kicking led to New Zealand's first two tries -- both scored by prop Tony Woodcock.

A beautifully weighted kick by Carter, who had traded penalties with opposite number Matt Giteau for a 6-3 lead to the All Blacks, resulted in a five-metre line-out to the Wallabies, who were then penalised for not throwing the ball five metres.

From the resulting scrum, the ball was spun wide to Nonu, who broke through the first line of defence.  After a series of pick-and-goes that went close to the line, Rodney So'oialo popped the ball out to Woodcock, who burrowed under Giteau to score.

The prop went over for his second just moments after Adam Ashley-Copper was adjudged to have taken the ball dead in the gold corner after he collected a scooting grubber with one foot in touch.  Law 19 dictates that a "catch" in such a stance would have handed the Wallabies the line-out, but the locals got the nod -- presumably Ashley-Cooper had merely "fielded" the ball -- and added mortal injury to grave insult.

The outstanding Ali Williams -- who stole six gold line-out balls during the game -- dropped the ball down at the apex of his jump and Woodcock burst between the two black pods to score.

Despite the setback, the Australians responded with a well-worked try of their own.

Giteau floated a delicious pass out to Mortlock who drifted outside Conrad Smith before setting Ashley-Copper on his way to the line.

Giteau's conversion reduced the deficit to 18-10 but that was short-lived as George Smith was penalised for playing the ball off his feet and Carter stepped up to slot his third penalty of the game to give the All Blacks a 21-10 lead.

The second half started with a roar for the home side, with Nonu charged over for the first of his two try.

The inside centre, who had been roughed up for by the local media in the build-up to the game, had a hand in the move three times after McCaw forced the turnover with a huge tackle on Australian scrum-half Luke Burgess.

The ball was scooped up by hooker Andrew Hore and made its way out to Nonu, who charged through the gap, fired the ball off to wing Sitiveni Sivivatu before collecting it again and charging for the line.

Carter's conversion gave the All Blacks a healthy 18-point cushion with just over 20 minutes to go.

That lead was pushed out to 24 points with successive penalties for Carter before Nonu wrapped up a gripping encounter when he raced away to touch down in the corner at the death, with the try being confirmed via video referral.

It wasn't a patch on Jean-Luc Sadourny's famous late effort at Eden Park back in 1994, but New Zealand will take it:  it could prove to be a turning point.

Man of the match:  The Wallabies were simply bullied out of the game, with the All Blacks doing a fine job on Matt Giteau, who threatened to turn the tables on a number of occassion.  Ma'a Nonu put in a fine performance, Jimmy Cowan had his best ever Test, and Dan Carter was clever and effective.  However, New Zealand's dominance was carved out by their granite forwards.  Tony Woodcock deserves hefty praise for his two-try effort whilst Richie McCaw was, as always, majestic.  But Ali Williams just pips the great man with a titanic display at the line-out and in the loose.

Moment of the match:  Plenty of fine moves, with Australia's try being the pick of the scores.  But we'll opt for Tony Woodcock's second try.  It was a well-worked move straight off the training paddock.  Better than the ploy was the prop's embarrassed blush as he trotted back to his own half.  We have new laws, referees with highlights, centres in make-up and tight shiny jerseys, so it's good to see that some things in rugby will never change.  Props, know your place!

Villian of the match:  George Smith deserves a ticking-off for a high tackle on Conrad Smith late in the game, but the moment followed a case of mistaken identity in which Smith was blamed for an indiscretion perpetrated by Wycliff Palu, so we'll decline from making matters more confusing still!  No award.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Woodcock 2, Nonu 2
Cons:  Carter 2
Pens:  Carter 5

For Australia:
Try:  Ashley-Copper
Con:  Giteau
Pen:  Giteau

New Zealand:  15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Richard Kahui, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Rodney So'oialo, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Greg Somerville, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 John Afoa, 18 Anthony Boric, 19 Adam Thomson, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Anthony Tuitavake.

Australia:  15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Peter Hynes, 13 Stirling Mortlock (c), 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 George Smith, 6 Phil Waugh, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 James Horwill, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Matt Dunning, 18 Dan Vickerman, 19 Hugh McMeniman, 20 Sam Cordingley, 21 Ryan Cross, 22 Drew Mitchell.

Referee:  Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
Touch judges:  Craig Joubert (South Africa), James Bolabiu (Fiji)
TMO:  Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Australia stun New Zealand

Australia's new dawn burst into brilliant day as the Wallabies recorded a sublime 34-19 victory over New Zealand in Sydney on Saturday, running four tries past the dumbfounded visitors.

As the golden swatches of the 80,000-strong crowd at ANZ Stadium absorbed this famous victory, the suits of New Zealand rugby fingered their collars in the executive boxes.

This win makes it five from five for Australia under Robbie Deans, the man who was whisked away from New Zealand after failing to oust Graham Henry from the All Black throne.

Full plaudits will be heaped at the feet of Australia's adopted Kiwi, and the NZRU will be asked, once again, how on earth they let him get away.

Australia's dominance of the All Blacks was nothing short of remarkable -- and it was pure Deans.

They outplayed their visitors in every facet of play.  One year ago the gold pack was the laughing stock of world rugby.  Today, as against the Boks last week, they dominated the forward exchanges in the set-pieces and in the loose.  New Zealand actually went out of their way to avoid scrums and line-outs.

The Wallabies also bossed the breakdown area.  Injured New Zealand skipper Richie McCaw looked on in horror as his side was turned over -- and over and over.  The official figure stands at 25 stolen black balls.  No team can win with that sort of stat on their back.

Elsewhere, without Stirling Mortlock and Chris Latham, there were worries that Australia's backline was a little greener than it was gold.  But the youngsters proved more than a match for their counterparts, with Berrick Barnes to the fore.  Ma'a Nonu had been tasked to target him, but the languid playmaker proved his defensive mettle time and time again.  Charlie Hodgson he is not.

Moreover, the locals displayed a mental edge that belied their tender years as New Zealand threatened a comeback early in the third quarter of the match.

The Australian players deserve as much praise as Deans for this near-miraculous turnaround -- they are obviously quick learners.  It has taken them just five outings to perfect the sort of winning rugby that Deans made famous with the Crusaders.

Although they dominated territory, the Wallabies were happy to allow their opponents the time and inclination to run the ball -- and to make mistakes whilst under relentless defensive pressure.

The All Blacks duly held up their end of this dodgy deal.  They were at complete odds with themselves.  The Wallabies made them pay for every error with intuitive counter-attacking and canny decision-making.

Likes his bosses, Henry will have to answer a number of probing questions.  New Zealand's tactics looked stale and negative.  They seemed wholly lacking in structure, leadership and cohesion.  That they scored any tries at all was down to the individual brilliance of Daniel Carter and the workaholic tendencies of Mils Muliaina.

Henry deserves respect for staying true to himself with regards to his much-maligned rotational policy, but one wonders whether he is now just being stubborn.  Yes, it will undoubtedly bear fruit for the future, but empirical evidence suggests that his players would do better in settled surrounds.

No country in world rugby can match New Zealand in terms of pure talent and ability with ball in hand, but the telepathic understanding that normally makes the All Blacks such a threat was conspicuous by its absence in Sydney.  As pass after pass was knocked on or spilled, it became painfully obvious that Henry's troops are no longer functioning as a collective.

The opening passage of the game exemplified the tactics of both sides with Giteau kicking deep and New Zealand looking to keep the ball alive.  It fell to Nonu to muscle it out of his own 22 but ferocious tackling caused him to cough up possession.

And so the stage was set.  Australia would keep the pressure on and New Zealand would keep making mistakes, and their next being a biggy.  Brad Thorn caught Giteau with a high tackle and was trudging towards the sin-bin with the game barely five minutes old.

New Zealand fans could rightly claim that the challenge was not designed with malice in mind, but it did deserve punishment:  it killed Australian momentum and spared the All Blacks from conceding anything more than the three points that Giteau duly collected.

Australia soon had their guests pinned to their posts once again.  Not for the first or last time in the match, New Zealand chose to relieve pressure by kicking down Lote Tuqiri's throat, and the big wing punished them severely.  He skipped past three despairing tackles before off-loading to Nathan Sharpe.  The lock off-loaded to Giteau who found Ryan Cross on his outside and unmarked.  Ten minutes on the clock and Australia held a 10-0 lead.

New Zealand hit back in determined fashion, finally breaking out of their half and driving towards Australia's line.  A penalty was awarded after the Australians killed the raid illegally.  A penalty is a rare gift in these days of McRugby, but New Zealand chose to tap and go.  The bizarre decision caught Carter by surprise -- he received the unexpected pass and Giteau at the same moment and Australia were off the hook and out of their half.

Despite the setback, New Zealand now had a foothold on the game.  Muliaina confirmed his side's ascendency with a brilliant counter-attack out of his own 22.  The fullback skinned the gold backline with an arching run before kicking ahead.  The ball bounced high on the hard turf, straight over the heads of the two chasers and into Muliaina's hands.  He was taken down by the Australian cover-defence but was soon back on his feet to power over the whitewash for a try.

Carter missed the conversion but Australia's lead had been cut in half, and the All Blacks were on the up and up.  The Australians were smashed at the next scrummage and when Carter found a gaping hole down the left it seemed that Australia had run out of puff.

But solid defence kept the Wallabies afloat and Giteau kick-started an attack with a fine break of his own.  He fed Adam Ashley-Copper who put boot to ball and Peter Hynes won the race to dot down.  Giteau duly landed his 50th conversion of his Test career to pull his side 12 points clear.

Again, New Zealand responded well, with a fine run from Sitiveni Sivivatu putting the visitors within range.  A back-door pass from Andy Ellis almost put Muliaina through, but a great double tackle from George Smith and Rocky Elsom forced the knock-on just short of the line.

But this time New Zealand didn't budge.  They drove their tent pegs into the gold 22 and soon had a free-kick out on the left.  The ball was spun wide at speed and Sivivatu wore a face of horror as he realised his pass out of the tackle was destined for Andrew Hore.  He need not have worried.  The splendidly named hooker cut in off his right foot like a seasoned wing and raced over to score.

Carter slotted a fine conversion with the last kick of a hectic half and Australia went to the break nursing a precarious 17-12 lead.

There was no doubting the general gist of Henry's half-time talk:  New Zealand looked very composed in the opening period of the second half, patiently building the phases and thinking two moves ahead.

With the platform set, Carter sprinkled his magic, making a clean break between Giteau and Barnes.  Again, the Australians back-tracked well but they could not stop Ellis when he plunged over the line from short range.

Carter's conversion stole the lead and it looked like Australian resolve would finally start to crumble.  It didn't.  They actually edged back in front when Elsom galloped through broken field to score Australia's third try after another brilliant run from Ashley-Cooper.

New Zealand could not find a response this time, and for that the Wallabies might like to thank some pretty liberal officiating.

Sivivatu hacked on and was winning the race to the ball when he appeared to be brought down by Hynes in the shadow of Australia's sticks.  Whether he would have scored is a matter of conjecture, yet a penalty under the sticks might have been fair result for New Zealand.  But not a whistle sounded.

Perhaps referee Craig Joubert had one eye on the ruckus on the touchline.  New Zealand had replaced Ellis with Jimmy Cowan and then brought back the former after the latter was forced off the field.  The officials joined together to debate the legitimacy of the move and it was decided that it was all kosher.  It seems that Cowan had been taken off for a blood problem even though it looked like he had limped off with a knee injury.  Had the Wallabies lost the game, the local media would surely have stripped Cowan down to his underpants in a search for punctures.

The chaos, coupled to the usual raft of hour-mark replacements, killed New Zealand's bourgeoning momentum.

Sione Lauaki, on for New Zealand's only specialist openside Daniel Braid, clearly forgot to pack his hands for the trip across the Tasman Sea.  His errors proved to be contagious and heads began to hang after Sivivatu made his first mistake of the game.  It was a harbinger of the oncoming doom.

Giteau then provided Australia with an eight-point buffer with a smart drop-goal, but the cushion was not needed:  James Horwill sealed the win and the bonus point by galloping through another gaping hole to score the final try of a compelling contest.

One coach from New Zealand will sleep peacefully tonight, one won't.

Man of the match:  What can we say about Dan Carter that has not been said before?  Perhaps only that he does not deserve to be part of the first New Zealand side to have lost two on the bounce since 2004.  He was simply magical.  Mils Muliaina, the unsung hero of New Zealand rugby, was also outstanding.  Meanwhile, the Wallabies were brilliant to a man, with the contributions of Stephen Moore and Benn Robinson particularly impressive considering Australia's recent woes in the front row.  Australia's victory was down to the collective rather than an individual, but how can we look past Matt Giteau?  The cool-headed commander extinguished all doubts as to his rightful position with a fine display -- even his illustrious opposite number looked awed.

Moment of the match:  Plenty of noteworthy incidents and seven fine tries.  The build-up to Elsom's try was very special, but New Zealand deserve something for their efforts so we'll opt to signal out Andrew Hore's try for special praise.  Is it the new laws, or do they not make front-row forwards like they use to?  He'll claim he was taking a breather out there on the wing, but don't believe a word of it!

Villian of the match:  We'll excuse Brad Thorn for his yellow card -- he's not a dirty player, and we'll leave Sione Lauaki well alone -- he has enough misery to work through without having to take receipt of this ghastly gong.  In deference to the spirit of the game we hate to point accusing fingers at the officials, but this time we just must.  The chaos caused by the Ellis/Cowan/Ellis switches does rugby no favours.  The laws are quite clear on the matter.  Law 3.12 -- If a player is substituted, that player must not return and play in that match even to replace an injured player.  Exception 1:  a substituted player may replace a player with a bleeding or open wound.  Exception 2:  a substituted player may replace a front row player when injured, temporarily suspended or sent off.  So was Cowan bleeding or not?  Do we really need to stop the game and stage a convention to establish whether a man is leaking his innards?

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Cross, Hynes, Elsom, Horwill
Cons:  Giteau 4
Pen:  Giteau
Drop:  Giteau

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Muliaina, Hore, Ellis
Cons:  Carter 2

Yellow card(s):  Thorn (New Zealand) -- high tackle, 5.

The teams:

Australia:  15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Peter Hynes, 13 Ryan Cross, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 George Smith (c), 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 James Horwill, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Matt Dunning, 18 Daniel Vickerman, 19 Phil Waugh, 20 Sam Cordingley, 21 Timana Tahu, 22 Drew Mitchell.

New Zealand:  15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Anthony Tuitavake, 13 Richard Kahui, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Jerome Kaino, 7 Daniel Braid, 6 Rodney So'oialo (c), 5 Ali Willliams, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Greg Somerville, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 John Afoa, 18 Anthony Boric, 19 Sione Lauaki, 20 Jimmy Cowan, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Conrad Smith.

Referee:  Craig Joubert
Touch judges:  Mark Lawrence, James Bolabiu
Television match official:  Shaun Veldsman
Assessor:  Steve Hilditch

Wallabies off the mark with a win

Australia threw the Tri-Nations wide open by recording a tense 16-9 victory over South Africa in Perth on Saturday, with tries from Lote Tuqiri and Stirling Mortlock trumping three penalty goals from the visitors.

Australia held a narrow 5-3 lead at the break and maintained their advantage throughout the second period, but it took a last-minute drop goal from Berrick Barnes to finally kill off the South African challenge.

The Springboks, flying high after the win over New Zealand in Dunedin, had hoped to mark Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday with a win over the Wallabies at Subiaco Stadium.  Alas, it was not to be.  Yet there was a hint of a tribute to the great man:  the visitors found themselves under lock and key for much of the match, bullied out of proceedings by their ruthless jailers.

Fans of the Springboks will point an accusing finger at the half-baked fixture list that deposited their team in Western Australia after two punishing meetings with the All Blacks.

The tourists duly lacked the spring in their step that accounted for New Zealand's five-year unbeaten run at home, and the Wallabies -- fresh and fully fit -- took full advantage of the opportunity.

But that shouldn't distracted from Australia's performance -- the same system sent the stone-cold Wallabies into the fray against battle-hardened foe and it took them some time to find the requisite tempo from the standing start.

If only there was another big rugby nation that could even up the numbers and ensure two games per week;  if only there was, say, a World Cup semi-finalist in the southern hemisphere that isn't currently involved in a major tournament and itching to play ...

But we digress! Back to the action in Perth.

Tuqiri's try came from a terrific team set-up from a clever line-out, with Mortlock carrying three Springboks on his back to score the only try of the second half.

But Australia's captain soon went off with concussion after a knock to the head, leaving George Smith to take over the captaincy and lead the team to victory as he became the most-capped Wallabies forward of all time.

The Springboks were well led by Juan Smith and Jean de Villiers, but the lack of a try on their last Tri-Nations Test of this trip was costly.

Penalty conversions to Francois Steyn and Butch James still left them seven points short.

South Africa opened the scoring six minutes in when Steyn converted a penalty kick.

The Springboks had their best chance to get a try 32 minutes in when hooker Schalk Brits, who came in for the suspended Bismarck du Plessis, could have put Bryan Habana in out wide, but he held onto the ball and Hynes brought him down.

The Wallabies made them pay just minutes later with the only try of the first half.

A line-out fell into the arms of Smith who was waiting out back and after terrific passes from Elsom, Nathan Sharp, Matt Giteau and Adam Ashley-Cooper, Tuqiri crossed in the corner.

Giteau missed the conversion, but the Australians led 5-3 at the break.

The Wallabies made a great start to the second half with Mortlock crossing for a tremendous try to see them up 10-3.  Mortlock pushed off a Springbok tackler, then carried three more on his back to walk over and ground the second try of the match.

Giteau and James then converted opposing penalties soon after to see the Wallabies still lead 13-6.

But what looked a poor late tackle call from referee Bryce Lawrence almost led to a Springbok try with 15 minutes to go.

The referee ruled Giteau had tackled JP Pietersen late, when Giteau appeared to have been just run into after the South African kicked.

The resulting line out saw Habana get to the try line, but Ryan Cross helped knock the ball out just before it was grounded.

It was Habana's last action as he immediately came off and iced his shoulder, and with 10 minutes to go Steyn kicked his second penalty to put the Springboks within four.

The South Africans continued to attack, but the Australia defence held firm before Barnes sealed the victory with a drop goal with a minute remaining.

Man of the match:  Juan Smith was outstanding for the Boks, as was third-choice hooker Schalk Brits -- quite why he was replaced so early in the game is a mystery.  Matt Giteau was in commanding form behind an impressive gold scrummage, as was the industrious Peter Hynes and the indomitable Stirling Mortlock.  But it was Australia's loose forwards who stole the show, completely dominating their illustrious opposite numbers.  Wycliff Palu was his usual muscular self, George Smith was solid in defence and quick-witted in attack, but Rocky Elsom pips them to the post with a display of cunning physicality.

Moment of the match:  Tendai Mtawarira's burst out of his own 22 will go down in propping folklore, but the moment of the match is surely Australia's opening try.  All students of the game would do well to study its composition -- it was simple rugby, well executed.

Villian of the match:  Could it be the man who butchered the Australian anthem by adding an extended warble to the final note?  Or perhaps Bakkies Botha for what seemed a rather unsavoury shoulder-first challenge on Stirling Mortlock?

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Tuqiri, Mortlock
Pen:  Giteau
Drop:  Barnes

For South Africa:
Pens:  Steyn 2, James

The teams:

Australia:  15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Peter Hynes, 13 Stirling Mortlock (c), 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 George Smith, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 James Horwill, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Matt Dunning, 18 Hugh McMeniman, 19 Phil Waugh, 20 Sam Cordingley, 21 Ryan Cross, 22 Drew Mitchell.

South Africa:  15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Francois Steyn, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Butch James, 9 Enrico Januarie, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 Schalk Brits, 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.
Replacements:  16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Tendai Mtawarira, 18 Brian Mujati, 19 Andries Bekker, 20 Ryan Kankowski, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Peter Grant.

Referee:  Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
Touch judges:  Lyndon Bray (New Zealand), Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Television match official:  Garrat Newman (New Zealand)
Assessor:  Steve Hilditch (New Zealand)

Boks end ten-year drought

South Africa recorded their first victory on New Zealand soil after a decade of trying with a thrilling 30-28 Tri-Nations win in Dunedin on Saturday.

A converted try from Ricky Januarie with just four minutes left on the clock won it for the Springboks, who had silenced the Carisbrook crowd as they led 17-15 at the break.

New Zealand reclaimed the lead after the break thanks to the boot of Dan Carter and a converted try to replacement Sione Lauaki which kept the All Blacks ahead.

Another defeat at the House of Pain looked imminent for South Africa who until now, had never won at this stadium in their previous seven attempts.

However, it was a sensational solo effort by Bok scrum-half Januarie that left Francois Steyn with a pressure conversion to snatch the lead and the match with fourteen players on the field after captain Victor Matfield was sin-binned for a high tackle.

The hosts threw everything at their visitors who defended with resilience, watching one drop-goal attempt from Carter sail wide and charging down the other.

And thus South Africa held on gallantly for an historic victory in a fine spectacle of rugby that will go down as one of the best played between these two proud nations.

The victory re-affirmed the Springboks' world champion status as they broke a run of 30 home victories by the All Blacks and handed their hosts only their fourth defeat in Dunedin.

It was another incredibly physical match and the result has now thrown the Tri-Nations wide open.

There was no secret formula for the improved performance from the first Test.  It was simply shades of the World Cup in France.  Solid set phases, punishing, controlled defence and accurate touch and goal-kicking blended with a fair deal of intelligence, patience and passion.

It's the mix that worked for the 2007 Springboks and one that served the current generation well.

In Wellington last week the Springboks waited until the 31st minute for their first line-out, but the addition of Percy Montgomery and his prodigious boot ensured that they regained that attacking platform at Carisbrook.

Matfield assumed his expected role of sky general, ruling the line-outs on his own ball and forcing the All Blacks to look for their front jumper far more than they would have been comfortable with.

That robbed the hosts of a primary attacking platform, and when they did shovel the ball to Carter, the Springbok chasing line -- led by the mongrel-like Januarie -- gobbled up his space, subsequently exposing his fallibility under pressure.

But it was in the scrums where the most significant improvement came.

CJ van der Linde redeemed himself after the battering he took at the hands of Tony Woodcock, and this meant that the loose forwards and back-line were freed up to play.

And while their attack lacked the clinical edge it needed to put the All Blacks under pressure regularly, they did capitalise on the All Blacks' ill-discipline through the boot of Percy Montgomery and Butch James.

Both teams tried to play with pace but the match was largely dominated by the whistle of Australian referee Matt Goddard, who was hard on anything that resembled foul play and kept an eagle eye on the breakdown.

The tone was set for another torrid affair with an early high-tackle from Schalk Burger on Carter, who got up off the deck to kick the first points of the game with a longish penalty.

It kick-started a penalty goal duel, with Springboks full-back Montgomery kicking one, Carter one, Montgomery two and Carter one to have the hosts 12-9 up.

Trouble struck for the home side when lock Ali Williams was forced from the field in the 29th minute after a head clash with Burger, which also aggravated his troublesome ankle, leaving debutant Kevin O'Neill to partner rookie Anthony Boric in the second row.  In contrast, the Springbok second row of Bakkie Botha and Victor Matfield boast 122 caps between them.

Following a botched line-out by the home side, South Africa then snared the first try and the lead when they worked the blindside from an ensuing five-metre scrum with Joe van Niekerk finding enough space for winger JP Pietersen to crash over in the corner.

It was a nice present for the recalled Pietersen who was celebrating his 22nd birthday.  Unable to cross the whitewash in the Super 14, the Sharks flyer silenced his critics with his crucial touchdown, though the conversion was missed by Montgomery.

The pressure on the All Blacks was apparent when Carter tried a long-range drop at goal that went wide.

But James slotted a cheeky drop of his own to give South Africa a 17-12 lead that could have been extended had Montgomery not missed a handy penalty as the clocked ticked away.

The All Blacks managed to strike back with Carter's fifth penalty that brought the first half to an end that made it 17-15 to the visitors at the break.  The normally boisterous House of Pain was eerily silent as Rodney So'oialo's men trudged to the dressing room.

The All Blacks made an adjustment for the second half, bringing off right wing Sitiveni Sivivatu.  Mils Muliaina took his place there with Leon MacDonald coming on at full-back.

The All Blacks made a concerted effort to up the tempo after the break, mounting a series of frenzied attacks that were stifled by the Springboks' unrelenting defence.

New Zealand coach Graham Henry went to the bench again for impact, bringing on big Lauaki for Jerome Kaino.

And the reward was instant with Rudi Wulf setting up another attack that saw the ball spun right, and some wonderful hands from Conrad Smith and Andy Ellis freed up Lauaki to surge over for the crucial try.

Carter's conversion moved the All Blacks 22-17 in front and set the stage for a vibrant final quarter.

With Montgomery having been replaced by Conrad Jantjes, James kicked a penalty after Bryan Habana was tackled high to make it 20-22, but then Carter -- caught in a tight spot -- swivelled and dropped ball to boot that again widen the gap to five points.  25-20.

Another penalty by James cut their lead back to 25-23 but the flow was with the All Blacks and it took a mighty tackle by Steyn, with a little assistance from Pietersen, to stop a rampaging Tony Woodcock on the corner flag.

However it seemed a brave Bok effort would be frustrated when Matfield was sin-binned for his high tackle on Lauaki and Carter goaled the ensuing penalty to have the All Blacks 28-23 clear with just seven minutes left to play.

The Springboks made a double substitution at this point, Ruan Pienaar for James and Schalk Britz for Bismarck du Plessis, and they had hardly joined the action when the opportunity arrived for Januarie to write his name large in history.

It was a moment of superlative skill from the little scrum-half with the football sized heart that broke the curse.

Picking up the ball behind a maul he darted sharply around the left, spurted between Keven Mealamu and Neemia Tialata and into the clear and then performed the most perfect of chip kicks over the head of MacDonald.  The whole of South Africa held its breath.  Would the bounce be favourable?  It was.  Januarie gathered and dived over the line.

It seemed that before he even hit the deck he was swamped by team-mates.  Screams of joy shot from the heap of bodies who had converged on the number nine.  Scores level at 28-all.

Steyn's conversion sailed painfully close to the right upright, but snuck inside that handed the shell-shocked All Blacks and their home crowd a two-point game in favour of the Springboks.

New Zealand weren't finished yet though.  They got back on attack, Carter missed a drop goal, Nonu got close with a powerful surge but somehow the Boks held on for their famous win.

The All Blacks sit out a week to lick their wounds before they tackle the Wallabies in Sydney in a fortnight.  Home losses in this championship hurt though and the pressure is firmly back on this young All Blacks side.

As for South Africa, boasting a crucial away win, now head to Perth to take on the Wallabies next Saturday with their Springbok tails very high.

Man of the match:  Human dynamo Schalk Burger was at the forefront of another vigorous forward effort, making countless heavy tackles.  Hooker Bismarck du Plessis was strong at scrum time, good with his line-out throws and played by far his best Test in a green and gold jumper.  Victor Matfield turned his below par perfomance last week with a hole in one after causing havoc once again in the line-out, while Jean de Villiers continues to put in the hard yards.  Yet it was fitting that the feisty half-back Ricky Januarie should kick the ball into touch in the final act as he was the game's standout player.

Moment of the match:  Christmas came early for Januarie and South Africa with that try.

Villian of the match:  Three high tackles in the game and Victor Matfield was the scapegoat that paid the price.  He was unfortunate to get binned because there was no malice in it and were far worse ones in the game.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Try:  Lauaki
Con:  Carter
Pens:  Carter 6
Drop goal:  Carter

For South Africa:
Tries:  Pietersen, Januarie
Con:  Steyn
Pens:  Montgomery 3, James 2
Drop goal:  James

Yellow card:  Matfield, high tackle (South Africa, 73 min)

New Zealand:  15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Rudi Wulf, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Jerome Kaino, 7 Rodney So'oialo (c), 6 Adam Thomson, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Anthony Boric, 3 John Afoa, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Neemia Tialata, 18 Kevin O'Neill, 19 Sione Lauaki, 20 Jimmy Cowan, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Leon MacDonald.

South Africa:  15 Percy Montgomery, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Butch James, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Joe van Niekerk, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.
Replacements:  16 Schalk Britz, 17 Brian Mujati, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Luke Watson, 20 Ruan Pienaar, 21 Francois Steyn, 22 Conrad Jantjes.

Referee:  Matt Goddard
Assistants:  James Leckie, Paul Marks
TMO:  George Ayoub

Waldrom try wins Maori the PNC

Thomas Waldrom's last-gasp try gave New Zealand Maori the Pacific Nations Cup with a 21-18 win over Australia A in Sydney on Sunday.

Even then Mark Gerrard had the chance to tie the scores with the last kick of the game -- and give Australia A the title -- but his penalty shot from 45m dropped just short.

The home side started well, and had got to a 7-0 lead with an early try from rising star Timana Tahu, but quickfire tries from Jacob Ellison and Tanerau Latimer had the Maori 14-7 in front at the break.

But Tahu struck again, and Gerrard landed two crucial penalties to put his team 18-14 ahead before Waldrom's late surge.

Relieved New Zealand Maori coach Donny Stevenson paid tribute to his side's character, although he said they were often their own worst enemies.

"In the end we had some experienced guys to get us through but we didn't make it easy for ourselves, we were really scrambling at the end," he told reporters.

"We thought if we could put some phases together the opportunities would come but we lost the ball at critical times. I was concerned at some of the decision making."

The scorers:

For Australia A:
Tries:  Tahu 2
Con:  Gerrard
Pens:  Gerrard 2

For New Zealand Maori:
Tries:  Ellison, Latimer, Waldrom
Cons:  Bruce 3

Australia A:  15 Mark Gerrard, 14 Drew Mitchell, 13 Morgan Turinui, 12 Timana Tahu, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Daniel Halangahu, 9 Brett Sheehan, 8 Richard Brown, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Hugh McMeniman, 5 Peter Kimlin, 4 Al Campbell, 3 Guy Shepherdson, 2 Sean Hardman, 1 Sekope Kepu.
Replacements:  16 John Ulugia, 17 Salesi Ma'afu, 18 Van Humphries, 19 Leroy Houston, 20 Ben Lucas, 21 Sam Norton-Knight, 22 Matt Carraro.

New Zealand Maori:  15 Dwayne Sweeney, 14 Shannon Paku, 13 Jason Kawau, 12 Tamati Ellison (Co-captain), 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Callum Bruce, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Tanerau Latimer, 6 Liam Messam (Co-captain), 5 Jason Eaton, 4 Ross Filipo, 3 Bronson Murray/Ben May, 2 Aled de Malmanche, 1 Jacob Ellison.
Replacements:  16 Hikawera Elliot, 17 Bronson Murray/Ben May, 18 Hoani MacDonald, 19 Scott Waldrom, 20 Chris Smylie, 21 Tim Bateman, 22 Zar Lawrence.

Referee:  James Bolabiu (Fiji)
Assessor:  Bob Francis (New Zealand)

Samoa wow their way to victory

Samoa stole a nine-try thriller by five tries to four in a pulsating 37-31 win over Japan in the Pacific Nations Cup on Saturday.

With nothing to lose, both teams threw themselves into the match aiming to score as many tries as possible, and ended up matching wach other almost try for try.  It was 17-17 at the break, but the home side just had a little too much in reserve.

The Samoans shot into the lead through tries by Semo Sititi and Loleni Tafunai in the first ten minutes, both converted by Gavin Williams.

But Ryu Holani's try and a conversion and penalty from Dragons-bound James Arlidge brought Japan back into the match, and after Williams had made it 17-10 with a penalty of his own, Japan full-back Shaun Webb struck on the stroke of half-time with Arlidge once again converting.

Once again, Samoa surged into the lead in the second half, with tries from Hiroshi Tea and Henry Tuilagi and another conversion from Williams making it 29-17, but Japan kept hitting back, and aconverted try from Hirotoki Onozawa made it 29-24.

Williams put Samoa two scores ahead with another penalty, but Takashi Kikutani's try with five minutes to go -- again converted by Arlidge -- made it 32-31.

James Johnston struck for Samoa with three minutes to go, but Williams' miss from the conversion ensured a tense final couple of minutes.

The scorers:

For Samoa:
Tries:  Sititi, Tafunai, Tea, Tuilagi, Johnston
Cons:  Williams 3
Pens:  Williams 2

For Japan:
Tries:  Holani, Webb, Onozawa, Kikutani
Cons:  Arlidge 4
Pen:  Arlidge

Samoa:  15 Gavin Williams, 14 Esera Lauina, 13 Henry Faafili, 12 Anitele'a Tuilagi, 11 David Lemi, 10 Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu, 9 Uale Mai, 8 Henry Tuilagi, 7 Semo Sititi, 6 George Stowers, 5 Kane Thompson, 4 Filipo Levi (C), 3 Census Johnston, 2 Loleni Tafunai, 1 Hiroshi Tea.
Replacements:  16 Simon Lemalu, 17 James Johnston, 18 Daniel Leo, 19 Jonathan Faamatuainu, 20 Notise Tauafao, 21 Roger Warren, 22 Paletuatoa Toelupe.

Japan:  15 Shaun Webb, 14 Christian Loamanu, 13 Bryce Robins, 12 Ryan Nicholas, 11 Hirotoki Onozawa, 10 James Arlidge, 9 Tomoki Yoshida, 8 Ryu Holani, 7 Hare Makiri, 6 Takuro Miuchi (C), 5 Toshizumi Kitagawa, 4 Luke Thompson, 3 Tomokazu Soma, 2 Yusuke Aoki, 1 Tatsukichi Nishiura.
Replacements:  16 Noanori Mizuyama, 17 Yuta Inose, 18 Tomoaki Taniguchi, 19 Takashi Kikutani, 20 Fumiaki Tanaka, 21 Shotaro Onishi, 22 Hiroki Yoshida.

Tonga sign off in style

Tonga finished their IRB Pacific Nations Cup 2008 campaign on a high by defeating Fiji 27-16 at Teufaiva Stadium in Nuku'alofa on Saturday.

In victory, they secured their first win of the season to the delight of the watching King Taufa'ahu Tupou V of Tonga.

The Tongans had lost on the road to New Zealand Maori (20-9), Japan (35-13) and Australia A (90-7) before collecting a first bonus point in losing 20-15 to Samoa last weekend, but they had never lost to Fiji since the PNC began in 2006.

Both sides made their intentions clear early on with a hard and fast start to what was an entertaining and heart-stopping match, Fiji enjoying the wealth of possession and perhaps ruing their failure to score a try or two during this time.

Tonga dug deep and seized their first real opportunity when their powerhouse forward pack drove on and returned to halfway with a try for captain and flanker Nili Latu, one of his side's stars at Rugby World Cup 2007.

Fiji did play their running game and continued to punch holes in the centres, although this flair caused the home crowd to go wild and produce even more noise when a robust Tongan ended the movement with a great tackle.

The home side seemed to get more bulletproof as the game went on, the chance to impress on home soil kept them charging and in the end Tonga were simply too strong, their pack laying the platform for the victory.

Epeli Taione caught the eye in the centre, carving up the metres to earn his reward with a late try to put the gloss on a Tongan victory that was followed by scenes of dancing and hugging as the crowd joined their heroes on the pitch in celebration.

The final round of the IRB Pacific Nations Cup 2008 continues with Samoa entertaining Japan at Apia Park on Saturday before Australia A and New Zealand Maori clash in Sydney to determine who gets their hands on the silverware.

Tonga:  15 Lilo Vungakoto, 14 Pone Samisoni, 13 Hudoan Tonga'uhia, 12 Epeli Taione, 11 Suka Hufanga, 10 Pierre Hola, 9 Enele Taufa, 8 Samiu Vahafolau, 7 Nili Latu (capt), 6 Hale T Pole, 5 Paino Hehea, 4 Milton Ngauamo, 3 Kisi Pulu, 2 Ephraim Taukafa, 1 Semisi Telefoni.
Replacements:  16 Ma'asi Viliami, 17 Tonga Lea'aetoa, 18 Joshua Afu, 19 Vilii Vaki, 20 Soane Havea, 21 Fangatapu Apikatoa, 22 Seti Kiole.

Fiji:  15 Dan Rawaqa, 14 Jerry Tuilevu, 13 Sireli Naqelevuki, 12 Saula Radidi (Marika Vakacegu), 11 Vereniki Goneva (Michael Tagicakibau), 10 Waisea Luveniyali, 9 Aporosa Vata, 8 Netani Talei, 7 Aca Ratuva, 5 Deryck Thomas, 4 Josefa Domolailai, 3 Jone Railomo, 2 Sunia Koto, 1 Graham Dewes
Replacements:  16 Vereniki Sauturaga, 17 Viliame Seuseu, 18 Sailosi Rabonaqica, 19 Rupeni Nasiga, 20 Nemia Kenatale, 21 Jonetani Ralulu, 22 Iliesa Keresoni.

Referee:  Carlo Damasco (Italy)

All Blacks prevail in Wellington

New Zealand opened their Tri-Nations account with an abrasive 19-8 win over South Africa at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Saturday, coming off the ropes after the Boks had silenced the sodden crowd with a fine first-half performance that featured a try from Bryan Habana.

But the All Blacks refused to lose their cool and bounced back in the second-half by scoring ten unanswered points that included a try from Jerome Kaino.

Credit must go to the Boks -- they matched the All Blacks in every asset of play.  They stood toe-to-toe in defence and found more holes in attack than the Irish and English had managed in three games.

Indeed, New Zealand's quest to notch up a 30th consecutive victory on home soil might have been foiled had it not been for one factor:  Dan Carter.

The golden boy of world rugby found himself under siege in the early stages of the match, but a number of off-the-ball incidents and late hits failed to ruffle his majestic features.  Nor the appalling conditions.  Nor the absence of his Praetorian Guard, Richie McCaw.

An early miss at the sticks had the Boks hoping that the rough-housing had done the trick, but the fly-half regather his composure and went on to set up Kaino's try and collect 14 points.

He also thought his team out of a deep hole.

The All Blacks had attempted to use the ELVs to their advantage and play the game at a high tempo.  Keeping the ball in hand also reduced the threat of South Africa's peerless line-out -- indeed, it was the 31st minute before they got a throw-in.

But the conditions just weren't suited to warp-speed rugby.  South Africa's brutal defensive effort put the brakes on New Zealand's aspirations and spawned plenty of counter-attacking opportunities, with Habana punctuating one with a trademark score.

A more measured approach to the second-half was needed, and Carter duly delivered, opting to substitute his side's aerobic exertions with a little clear thinking.

Carter's missed penalty stemmed directly from an off-the-ball encounter with his opposite number, Butch James.

He made amends just seconds later after the Boks strayed off-side, but James soon responded with a penalty of his own after Brad Thorn was pinged for a late and extremely reckless challenge on John Smit.

The ferocious nature of the opening minutes showed no sign of abating with Thorn and Ali Williams -- in his 50th Test -- putting in some thunderous tackles and generally making their presence felt in the tight exchanges.

New Zealand certainly had the better at scrum time, putting the world champions under immense pressure and, despite the conditions, their ball retention was generally good.

The Boks on the other hand hardly saw the ball and when they did opted to kick, often without much success.

Carter extended his side's lead to 6-3 with another penalty in the 20th minute when Smit -- playing under the ELVs for the first time -- was penalised for offside.

James wasted an opportunity to close the gap when Andrew Hore was penalised for offside in the 25th minute but Carter made no mistake with his fourth attempt of the night when Boks number eight Joe van Niekerk, who had put team-mate Adrian Jacobs under huge pressure in his own 22 with an awful pass, then compounded the error by being caught offside.

Then four minutes before half-time and against the run of play, lightning quick wing Bryan Habana dived over for the opening try of the match.

The All Blacks turned over possession at the breakdown in the Boks half and a well-weighted pass from Jacobs found fellow midfielder Jean de Villiers who burst through the gap before sending Habana in at the corner.

James failed to add the conversion and the All Blacks held on for a slender 9-8 lead at the break.

The All Blacks were quick out of the blocks in the second half with Jerome Kaino scoring his first international try and Carter adding a brilliant touch-line conversion for a 16-8 lead.

Kaino should have had a second in the 57th minute when he chased a Carter cross-field kick but assistant referee James Leckie ruled he had been ahead of the fly-half.

Both teams rang the changes in the second period and Francois Steyn, who came on for James, fired a speculative long-range drop-goal in a bid to close the gap but watched as it dropped just short.

Inevitably, it was Carter who had the final say, slotting his fourth and final penalty of the night with nine minutes to play.

Man of the match:  If a doubter remains, Conrad Jantjes silenced the moron with a commanding performance in difficult conditions, Enrico Januarie offered yap and scrap at the base of a harassed scrum, and Schalk Burger and Jean de Villiers offered up their signature dish of brawn and brain.  Rodney So'oialo led with authority and was ably assisted by Ali Williams, the rarest of beasts:  a kicking lock!  Meanwhile, Jerome Kaino proved to be a handful for the Boks and destroyed the doubts over New Zealand's back-row unit, and Ma'a Nonu instilled fear and loathing across the Bok backline.  But how can we look past Dan Carter?  So astute with his options, so elegant in attack, so solid in defence.

Moment of the match:  Jerome Kaino's score proved to be the turning point, but we'll opt for Bryan Habana's try.  It was a canny collective effort that gave hope to Wallabies and Springboks alike.  It seemed to prove that these All Blacks can be beaten at their own game of hitting at speed on the counter-attack.

Villian of the match:  Plenty of amateur refereeing on display, but that could be down to the shaky professional on show -- poor Stuart Dickinson had trouble with the ELVs (or, rather, version 1.3 of the ELVs!) with more than one penalty signal quickly morphing into a bent arm!  But our award goes to Brad Thorn, who was lucky to escape the sin-bin after taking exception to John Smit off the ball and after the whistle.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Try:  Kaino
Con:  Carter
Pens:  Carter 4

For South Africa:
Try:  Habana
Pen:  James

The teams:

New Zealand:  15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Rudi Wulf, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Jerome Kaino, 7 Rodney So'oialo (c), 6 Adam Thomson, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Greg Somerville, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Neemia Tialata, 18 Anthony Boric, 19 Sione Lauaki, 20 Jimmy Cowan, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Leon MacDonald.

South Africa:  15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Butch James, 9 Enrico Januarie, 8 Joe van Niekerk, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.
Replacements:  16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Brian Mujati, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Luke Watson, 20 Bolla Conradie, 21 Francois Steyn, 22 Percy Montgomery.

Referee:  Stuart Dickinson (Australia)
Touch judges:  Matt Goddard, James Leckie (Australia)
Television match official:  George Ayoub (Australia)
Assessor:  Michel Lamoulie (France)

Wallabies trounce fiery France

Australia recorded successive wins over an under-strength France side with a 40-10 success in Brisbane on Saturday.

In the final game of rugby to be played under the "old" laws, Matt Giteau's faultless performance -- albeit against visitors with holidays on their minds -- was very much a warning shot to Tri-Nations rivals New Zealand and South Africa.

As predicted, the game at Suncorp Stadium was an non-contest, but for the Wallabies it was the perfect hit out before the Springboks come to town in fortnight's time.

All four tries -- scored by Peter Hynes, James Horwill and two from replacement Ryan Cross -- were created by the impressive Giteau, who also slotted 100 per cent of his goals.

And, boy, did the Wallabies come out firing as an early Giteau penalty was followed up by the same man's cross-field kick to wing Hynes for a clinical opening score on seven minutes -- unlike last week's early arm-wrestle.

The in-form fly-half then booted a further nine points to notch a personal milestone of 300 Test points, whilst extending the lead to 19 on the half-hour as things started to look ominous.

However, the Western Force star's most memorable play was yet to come.  In broken field, he pirouetted through an attempted tackle on the French 22 before slipping a backhand pass to the swan-diving James Horwill for his moment of glory.

With Australian tails now firmly up following their slick opening quarter, the result was sealed and therefore only pride was at stake for Marc Lièvremont's touring men.

Then came a temporary tide-turning incident that seemed to spur Les Bleus into life just as they had one knee on the Brisbane canvas.

An altercation between hooker Stephen Moore and flank Matthieu Lièvremont quickly turned into two packs going toe-to-toe with several punches thrown, mainly in the vicinity of Horwill's left eye.

And that was seemingly the tonic that France so desperately needed -- up until half-time at least -- as they went in with a penalty on the hooter from François Trinh-Duc.

Upon returning, the second period was not nearly as pulsating as what had past, as the Wallabies struggled to recapture their early magic.

Subsequently, Robbie Deans decided to shuffle his pack with his entire bench getting a run ahead of their southern hemisphere opener.

And it was replacement centre Cross who re-sparked the bonfire by crossing for a brace of well-taken tries with Giteau once again the provider.

But France had the last word, Francois Trinh-Duc finishing off a rare break-out with a consolation try in the final minute of the match.

Australia now have two weeks to get their minds and bodies right for the visit if the world champions in what will be a far sterner test than the French or Irish provided.

However, Deans may be without Cameron Shepherd -- the full-back departed the action on a stretcher with a worrying looking knee injury late in the record-breaking result.

Man of the match:  In an attacking master-class from the Australian fly-half, Matt Giteau was in scintillating form from the first minute as he set up the quartet of scores with a swagger that will keep Graham Henry and Peter de Villiers's homework books well inked.

Moment of the match:  Surely the off-the-cuff play from Giteau that set up James Horwill.  In a moment of brilliance the sniping ten slipped tackles before giving a pass that has to be seen to be believed.

Villain of the match:  In the dying embers of the first half, a seemingly innocuous altercation between Stephen Moore and Matthieu Lièvremont led to Imanol Harinordoquy throwing several punches in the direction of James Horwill.  The lock's eye subsequently held all of the proof of the number eight's busy fists!

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Hynes, Horwill, Cross 2
Con:  Giteau 4
Pen:  Giteau 4

For France:
Tries:  Trinh-Duc
Con:Yachvili
Pen:  Trinh-Duc

Australia:  15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Peter Hynes, 13 Stirling Mortlock (c), 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Lachie Turner, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Stephen Hoiles, 7 Phil Waugh, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Dean Mumm, 4 James Horwill, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 Adam Freier, 17 Ben Alexander, 18 Hugh McMeniman, 19 George Smith, 20 Sam Cordingley, 21 Ryan Cross, 22 Cameron Shepherd.

France:  15 Benjamin Thiery, 14 Alexis Palisson, 13 Maxim Mermoz, 12 Thibault Lacroix, 11 David Janin, 10 François Trinh-Duc, 9 Sebastian Tillous-Borde, 8 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 7 Imanol Harinordoquy, 6 Matthieu Lièvremont, 5 Lionel Nallet (captain), 4 Sebastien Chabal, 3 Renaud Boyoud, 2 Sebastien Bruno, 1 Pierre Correia.
Replacements:  16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Benoit Lecouls, 18 Louis Picamoles, 19 Benjamin Boyet, 20 Yannick Caballero, 21 Dimitri Yachvili, 22 Jean-Baptiste Peyras.

Referee:  Paul Honiss (New Zealand)
Touch judges:  Marius Jonker (South Africa), Kelvin Deaker (New Zealand)
Television match official:  Kelvin Deaker (New Zealand)
Assessor:  Andrew Cole (Australia)

Australian understudies smash Fiji

The forthcoming Pacific Nations clash between Australia A and New Zealand Maori will be a virtual final with both sides heading into the final week undefeated after victories in the latest round of matches.

Australia A recorded an emphatic 50-13 win over Fiji in Brisbane on Sunday, while on Saturday the Maori overpowered Japan 65-22 in Napier and Samoa edged Tonga 20-15 in Nuku'alofa.

The winner-takes-all clash between the Australian understudies and the New Zealanders will take place on Sunday in Sydney.

In front of a crowd of over 4,500, and in beautiful conditions, Australia A got on the board as early as the third minute thanks to a try by Digby Ioane.

Further tries to Lachie Turner, scrum half Ben Lucas and Drew Mitchell, all converted by Daniel Halangahu, gave Australia A a healthy 31-3 half time lead.

Australia A started the second half as they finished the first with captain Morgan Turinui crossing for a try in the 45th minute, which was converted by Halangahu again to make it 38-3.

Fiji hit back through prop Graham Dews but a second unconverted try by Turner and a converted try by Stephen Hoiles brought up the half century for Australia A.  Fijian inside centre Kameli Ratuvou scored on the stroke of full time to make the final tally 50-13.

Queensland loose forward Hugh McMeniman was named Man of the Match and afterwards Australian coach Phil Mooney expressed his delight at another impressive outing by his young team.

"It was a good overall performance rather than outstanding individual efforts and to do that against a team I have a lot of respect for in Fiji makes it especially pleasing," Mooney said.

"Clearly starting as well as we did with Digby (Ioane) scoring in the first few minutes set them back and then we had a period of consolidation before putting on some more strong tries just before half time.

"The backs performed well but it was the forwards who laid the platform with a good solid performance from players like Guy Shepherdson, Sean Hardman and Hughie McMeniman."

The win now sets up a virtual Grand Final next Sunday at the Sydney Football Stadium when the undefeated Australia A face New Zealand Maori, who are also unbeaten.  The winner will be crowned champion of this year's IRB Pacific Nations Cup.

"In the back of our mind we always wanted to go into the last game against the Maori playing for the title and now that has arisen," said Mooney.

"But we've now got to take it just like any other game and prepare well this week."

With Wallabies stars Lote Tuqiri and Wycliff Palu suffering injuries in the Test against France in Sydney, Mooney was also aware he may lose some of his squad to the Wallabies.

"I'll talk to Robbie [Deans, Australia coach] and in the next 24 hours we'll get fair idea of who we'll have next week.

"But that's the purpose of our programme partly, to keep players in match condition in case they are called up to the Wallabies, so that was something we were always aware of."

The scorers:

For Australia A
Tries:  Turner 2, Ioane, Lucas, Mitchell, Turinui, Hoiles
Cons:  Halangahu 6
Pens:  Halangahu

For Fiji:
Tries:  Dews, Ratuvou
Cons:  Rawaqa

Australia A:  15 Drew Mitchell, 14 Lachlan Turner, 13 Morgan Turinui, 12 Timana Tahu, 11 Digby Ioane, 9 Daniel Halangahu, 9 Ben Lucas, 8 Stephen Hoiles, 7 Richard Brown, 6 Hugh McMeniman, 5 Peter Kimlin, 4 Mark Chisholm, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Sean Hardman, 1 Ben Alexander.
Replacements:  16 John Ulugia, 17 Guy Shepherdson, 18 Van Humphries, 19 Julian Salvi, 20 Brett Sheehan, 21 Sam Norton-Knight, 22 Mark Gerrard.

Fiji:  15 Taniela Rawaqa, 14 Timoci Nagusa, 13 Vereniki Goneva, 12 Marika Vakacegu, 11 Michael Tagicakibau, 10 Waisea Luveniyali, 9 Mosese Rauluni, 8 Netani Talei, 7 Sailosi Rabonaqica, 6 Semisi Naevo, 5 Kele Leawere, 4 Ifereimi Rawaqa, 3 Jone Railomo, 2 Sunia Koto, 1 Graham Dewes.
Replacements:  16 Vereniki Sauturaga, 17 Tiko Matawalu, 18 Wame Lewaravu, 19 Deryck Thomas, 20 Aporosa Vata, 21 Kameli Ratuvou, 22 Sireli Naqelevuki.

Referee:  Jonathan White (New Zealand)