New Zealand survived a late rally to beat Australia 31-28 in the Rugby Championship in Sydney and retain the Bledisloe Cup.
The All Blacks opened up a 14-point lead at the break but were restricted to just one penalty in the second half and lost two players to the sin-bin.
Late tries from Hunter Paisami and Tom Wright moved Australia to within a score of a remarkable victory, but New Zealand held on. It is New Zealand’s eighth successive win over their trans-Tasman rivals and means they retain the Bledisloe Cup for the 22nd year in a row.
“It’s a bit of a relief, to be honest,” said New Zealand captain Scott Barrett. “In the last 15 [minutes], we found ourselves in a bit of a hole, but we hung on with a bit of scrambled defence.
“It’s the nature of the Aussies, they certainly don’t lie down.”
The win moves Scott Robertson’s side above Argentina into second place before the Pumas’ match against South Africa later on Saturday, though they cannot overhaul the Springboks in top spot.
World champions South Africa can secure a first Rugby Championship title since 2019 with a victory in Santiago.
Australia have taken just five points from their five games and are on course to finish bottom for the second Championship in a row.
(BBC sport)
