Round 4

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Freedom Cup

Richie McCaw of the All Blacks is tackled by Francois Steyn of South Africa (R) during the Rugby Championship match between the New Zealand All Blacks and South Africa at Forsyth Barr Stadium on September 15, 2012 in Dunedin, New Zealand.

(September 14, 2012 - Source: Phil Walter/Getty Images AsiaPac)

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New Zealand took one step closer to claiming the Rugby Championship title after seeing off South Africa 21-11 at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on Saturday. 

The All Blacks, unbeaten in 14 Tests, outscored the Springboks two tries to one for a win that sees them take a commanding lead in the competition. 

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Cory Jane of the All Blacks tramples over Francois Steyn of South Africa during the Rugby Championship match between the New Zealand All Blacks and South Africa at Forsyth Barr Stadium on September 15, 2012 in Dunedin, New Zealand.

(September 14, 2012 - Source: Phil Walter/Getty Images AsiaPac)

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Moment of the match: Habana's touchdown was certainly one for the highlights reel, but replacement scrum-half Aaron Smith - dropped to the bench for a breach of team protocol last weekend - turned disgrace into triumph when he came off the bench to score New Zealand's decisive try. 

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Juandre Kruger of South Africa (L) and Sam Whitelock of the All Blacks (R) compete for the ball in the lineout during the Rugby Championship match between the New Zealand All Blacks and South Africa at Forsyth Barr Stadium on September 15, 2012 in Dunedin, New Zealand.

(September 14, 2012 - Source: Phil Walter/Getty Images AsiaPac)

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Villain of the match: We seriously doubt we'll see Dean Greyling in a Bok jersey again after his error-prone and ill-disciplined 30 minutes on the field... oh, make that 20 minutes on the field - he spent 10 in the bin for his assault on McCaw. 

Man of the match: For South Africa, Duane Vermeulen was rock-solid while try-scorer Bryan Habana injected plenty of pace into the backline. However, it's hard to look beyond the inspirational performance from All Blacks captain Richie McCaw who gave as good as he received in the forward exchanges. 

http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,9989_8080012,00.html 

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Keven Mealamu of the All Blacks drives the ball forward during the Rugby Championship match between the New Zealand All Blacks and South Africa at Forsyth Barr Stadium on September 15, 2012 in Dunedin, New Zealand.

(September 14, 2012 - Source: Phil Walter/Getty Images AsiaPac)

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Julian Savea of the All Blacks (L) and Morne Steyn of the South Africa contest for the high ball during the Rugby Championship match between the New Zealand All Blacks and Argentina at Forsyth Barr Stadium on September 15, 2012 in Dunedin, New Zealand.

(September 14, 2012 - Source: Sandra Mu/Getty Images AsiaPac)

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Puma Trophy

Nathan Sharpe of the Australian Wallabies is tackled during the Rugby Championship match between the Australian Wallabies and Argentina at Skilled Park on September 15, 2012 on the Gold Coast, Australia.

(September 14, 2012 - Source: Chris Hyde/Getty Images AsiaPac)

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Argentina stood on the brink of a remarkable first victory in the Rugby Championship before Australia rallied to prevail 23-19 on Saturday.

The Pumas looked on course for a famous win after two quick-fire tries saw the tournament newcomers lead 19-6 with just over a quarter of the match remaining.

However, the Wallabies showed superb composure and scored 17 unanswered points to hit the front and deny the South Americans who once again proved to be mighty tough opponents.

Michael Hooper of the Australian Wallabies is tackled during the Rugby Championship match between the Australian Wallabies and Argentina at Skilled Park on September 15, 2012 on the Gold Coast, Australia.

(September 14, 2012 - Source: Chris Hyde/Getty Images AsiaPac)

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Moment of the match: Cabello's try would have had Robbie Deans chewing the last of his finger nails off, but Pat McCabe's score proved to the beginning of the end for the Pumas.

Man of the match: Hats off to the entire Pumas team for yet another physical display that would have left the Wallabies battered and bruised. But we thought Julio Faras Cabellomade up for his yellow card shown last week against the All Blacks with a strong performance that included a try while his monster hits a real feature in a physical Test that was perfect for him.

http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,9989_8080223,00.html

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Kane Douglas of the Australian Wallabies is tackled during the Rugby Championship match between the Australian Wallabies and Argentina at Skilled Park on September 15, 2012 on the Gold Coast, Australia.

(September 14, 2012 - Source: Chris Hyde/Getty Images AsiaPac)

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next test:

29 Sep, 16:00		South Africa	v	Australia	Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria, RSA
30 Sep, 0:10		Argentina	v	New Zealand	Estadio Ciudad de La Plata, La Plata, ARG

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FOUR-NATIONS 2012

		Pl	W	D	L	PF	PA	+/-	Pts
1	New Zealand	4	4	0	0	91	35	56	16
2	Australia	4	2	0	2	68	87	-19	8
3	South Africa	4	1	1	2	73	69	4	7
4	Argentina	4	0	1	3	46	87	-41	3

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Skull and crossbones - Rugby College, 1880

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The Rugby Boys at Football.

1880

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You can identify Rugby college in the backyards... same skulls and crossbones on the jerseys... a strange big round ball, but little doubt about the game that the boys are playing... 

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http://rugby-pioneers.blogs.com/rugby/

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Round 3

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Wallabies prevail in Perth

Digby Ioane of the Wallabies looks o break thru the Springboks defense during Rugby Championship match between the Australian Wallabies and the South African Springboks at Patersons Stadium on September 8, 2012 in Perth, Australia.

(September 7, 2012 - Source: Paul Kane/Getty Images AsiaPac)

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Australia bagged their first win in the Rugby Championship after seeing off South Africa 26-19 at Perth's Patersons Stadium on Saturday.

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Bryan Habana of the Springboks is tackled by Berrick Barnes of the Wallabies during Rugby Championship match between the Australian Wallabies and the South African Springboks at Patersons Stadium on September 8, 2012 in Perth, Australia.

(September 7, 2012 - Source: Paul Kane/Getty Images AsiaPac)

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Man of the match: Lock Sitaleki Timani was named the official man of the match, but we felt the unerring accuracy of Berrick Barnes - who was six-from-six with the boot - takes the cake.

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Bryan Habana of the Springboks scores a try during Rugby Championship match between the Australian Wallabies and the South African Springboks at Patersons Stadium on September 8, 2012 in Perth, Australia.

(September 7, 2012 - Source: Mark Kolbe/Getty Images AsiaPac)

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Moment of the match: Ben Alexander's inspirational late try not only lifted Australia to a crucial victory, but also easeed pressure on coach Robbie Deans.

http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,9989_8063467,00.html

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All Blacks see off brave Pumas

Richie McCaw of the All Blacks in action during The Rugby Championship match between the New Zealand All Blacks and Argentina at Westpac Stadium on September 8, 2012 in Wellington, New Zealand.

(September 7, 2012 - Source: Sandra Mu/Getty Images AsiaPac)

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New Zealand battled past a committed Argentina side to eventually ground out a 21-5 Rugby Championship victory at a rain-soaked Westpac Stadium on Saturday.

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Brodie Retallick of the All Blacks is tacked during The Rugby Championship match between the New Zealand All Blacks and Argentina at Westpac Stadium on September 8, 2012 in Wellington, New Zealand.

(September 7, 2012 - Source: Sandra Mu/Getty Images AsiaPac)

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Man of the match: Argentina pivot Juan Martin Hernandez stood out for both his hard tackling and tactical nous, while once again Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe led admirably from the front. All Blacks centre Conrad Smith was the best of the backs and tried his best to create chances. But we're giving this gong to lock Luke Romano who did everything asked of him for 80 minutes, including taking all his line-outs as well as flying up in the air to challenge the Pumas' throws on every occasion while his work in the tight was immense.

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Victor Vito of the All Blacks is tackled during The Rugby Championship match between the New Zealand All Blacks and Argentina at Westpac Stadium on September 8, 2012 in Wellington, New Zealand.

(September 7, 2012 - Source: Phil Walter/Getty Images AsiaPac)

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Moment of the match: There weren't many. But whilst the two touchdowns by Julian Savea and Cory Jane buried the brave Pumas, it was prop Rodrigo Roncero's try that warned the All Blacks that the visitors meant business and weren't in the windy city to make up the numbers.

http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,9989_8063072,00.html

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15 Sep, 8:35		New Zealand	v	South Africa	Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin, NZL
15 Sep, 11:05		Australia	v	Argentina	Skilled Park, Gold Coast, AUS

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FOUR-NATIONS 2012

		Pl	W	D	L	PF	PA	+/-	Pts
1	New Zealand	3	3	0	0	70	24	46	12
2	South Africa	3	1	1	1	62	48	14	7
3	Australia	3	1	0	2	45	68	-23	4
4	Argentina	3	0	1	2	27	64	-37	2

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"The Battle in the Football Field"

Here is a newpaper print by Ernst Prater (in The Graphic, Feb. 1917) captioned "The Battle in the Football Field"

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Full caption reads : "The war has proved the value of games generally, and of football in particular, as a  training for the grim business of the battlefield, and to mark their appreciation of the fact the authorities have permitted a number of New Zealanders to leave the front and play a brief series of games in this country for the benefit of the Red Cross. The tour, which concludes tomorrow (Saturday), began last Saturday with a match at the Athletics Grounds, Richmond, between the New Zealand Trench Team and the Army Service Corps, when the All Blacks were beaten by 21 points to 3"

http://rugby-pioneers.blogs.com/rugby/
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