Burke snatches Cup for Wallabies

Australia 16 New Zealand 14

Matt Burke's penalty goal after the fulltime siren gave Australia a 16–14 win over New Zealand here yesterday and kept the Tri Nations alive with two matches to play in South Africa.

Rugby league convert Mat Rogers scored a try with eight minutes left to pull Australia to within a point, but Burke's conversion attempt went wide. Ten minutes later, and into penalty time, he made no mistake from 22 meters before 79,543 spectators at the former Olympic stadium.

"The conversion probably made me even more confident," Burke said. "The first one hit the post and the second one needed just a little bit of minor adjustment."

The win was Australia's seventh in nine tests it has played at the venue. The win also enabled Australia to retain the Bledisloe Cup, which is played for each year by the trans–Tasman rivals and which Australia has held since 1998.

"There's something about this place, it always seems to go down to the final minute," said Australian skipper George Gregan. Last year, the Wallabies rallied for a 29–26 win over New Zealand on Totai Kefu's last–minute try in the same stadium. "It was a real heartbreaker," said All Blacks skipper Reuben Thorne. "We always knew it was going to be a close one. It's a tough loss."

All Blacks coach John Mitchell tried to look at the positives of another last–minute defeat. "We're still in a competition that we want to win . . . and we will gain a lot from this," Mitchell said. "We have to move on. Trophies are the byproduct of how you perform and we didn't perform quite well enough today."

After New Zealand trailed 8–3 at halftime, flanker Richard McCaw's try off an Australian lineout five meters from the line gave New Zealand the lead. The All Blacks kept Australia pinned inside their own territory for a good part of the second half before Rogers broke free after sustained Australian pressure.

New Zealand had been unbeaten in the Tri Nations after two matches, including a 12–6 win over Australia in Christchurch and a 41–20 win over South Africa at Wellington.

The All Blacks, who could have clinched the Tri Nations with a win Saturday, play their final match in Durban on Aug. 10 and the Wallabies take on South Africa in Johannesburg a week later.

Midway through the second half, two streakers wearing only running shoes interrupted play just before New Zealand's Andrew Mehrtens attempted a penalty goal, which sailed left of the posts. It would have given the All Blacks a six–point lead, but Mehrtens put them ahead by that margin four minutes later with another penalty.

In the first half, Nathan Sharpe scored his first try as a Wallaby. On a blustery night, a swirling wind played havoc early with the kicking of both sides, Burke and Mehrtens both missing penalty kicks inside the opening 10 minutes.

Australia led 5–0 after 17 minutes when the Wallabies capitalized on an unbroken stream of possession from an attacking lineout. Stephen Larkham's darting confused the All Blacks defense and the Wallabies pivot created a try for Sharpe when he passed inside as he was tackled by Tana Umaga.

Burke again missed a simple conversion. Twice in the first 20 minutes, the All Blacks exposed the Wallabies on the lefthand side but on both occasions New Zealand winger Caleb Ralph was pushed into touch.

Burke made it 8–0 four minutes from halftime when New Zealand lock Chris Jack was penalized for a late tackle on Ben Tune. Mehrtens put New Zealand on the scoreboard in the 38th minute with a penalty.

Scores: AUSTRALIA 16 (Nathan Sharpe, Mat Rogers tries; Matthew Burke 2 penalty goals) def. NEW ZEALAND 14 (Richard McCaw try; Andrew Mehrtens 3 penalty goals).

Australia: C Latham (M Rogers, 62); B Tune, M Burke, D Herbert, S Mortlock; S Larkham (E Flatley, 57-61), G Gregan (capt); B Young, J Paul, P Noriega (B Darwin, 63), N Sharpe (M Cockbain, 63), J Harrison, O Finegan (D Lyons, 59), T Kefu, G Smith.

New Zealand: C Cullen; D Howlett, T Umaga, A Mauger, C Ralph; A Mehrtens (L McDonald, 78), J Marshall; S Robertson, R McCaw (M Holah, 52-57), R Thorne (capt), S Maling, C Jack, G Somerville (J McDonnell, 74), T Willis, D Hewett.