Round 6 - All Blacks too strong for South Africa

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All Blacks beat South Africa 32-16

Sam Whitelock of the All Blacks dives over for a try during the Rugby Championship match between South Africa Springboks and the New Zealand All Blacks at FNB Stadium on October 6, 2012 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

(October 5, 2012 - Source: David Rogers/Getty Images Europe)

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The All Blacks completed an impressive clean sweep in the Rugby Championship on Saturday, overcoming South Africa 32-16 at Soccer City on the outskirts of Johannesburg.

Kieran Read of the All Blacks is tackled by Francois Louw during the Rugby Championship match between South Africa Springboks and the New Zealand All Blacks at FNB Stadium on October 6, 2012 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

(October 5, 2012 - Source: David Rogers/Getty Images Europe)

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Man of the Match There were a number of candidates in black but the official award went toKieran Read, who was once again the ultimate example of a complete number eight as his ball skills matched his contribution in the tight exchanges.

Liam Messam of the All Blacks is tackled by Jannie du Plessis during the Rugby Championship match between South Africa Springboks and the New Zealand All Blacks at FNB Stadium on October 6, 2012 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

(October 5, 2012 - Source: David Rogers/Getty Images Europe)

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Moment of the match: The All Blacks' second try, scored by Aaron Smith, summed up where these teams are at the moment. An instance of a Springbok trying too hard to do something special was punished by a clinical finish. Give All Blacks scraps, and they will feast!

Conrad Smith of the All Blacks is tackled by Marcell Coetzee and Jean de Villiers (R) during the Rugby Championship match between South Africa Springboks and the New Zealand All Blacks at FNB Stadium on October 6, 2012 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

(October 5, 2012 - Source: David Rogers/Getty Images Europe)

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New Zealand scored 20 unanswered second-half points to complete a perfect Rugby Championship campaign with a 32-16 triumph over arch rivals South Africa at Soweto.

FOUR-NATIONS 2012

		Pl	W	D	L	PF	PA	+/-	Pts
1	New Zealand	6	6	0	0	177	66	111	26
2	Australia	6	3	0	3	101	137	-36	12
3	South Africa	6	2	1	3	120	109	11	12
4	Argentina	6	0	1	5	80	166	-86	4

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Round 5

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New Zealand clinched the inaugural Rugby Championship title with a round to spare on Saturday with a 54-15 win over Argentina in La Plata.

The All Blacks celebrate after winning the inaugural Rugby Chamionship after their victory in the Rugby Championship match between Argentina and the New Zealand All Blacks at Estadio Ciudad de La Plata on September 29, 2012 in La Plata, Argentina.

(September 28, 2012 - Source: David Rogers/Getty Images South America)

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The All Blacks produced their best performance of the year to demolish los Pumas, scoring seven tries including a hat-trick for Cory Jane and two for his fellow wing Julian Savea.

Aaron Cruden of the All Blacks breaks with the ball as Tomas Vallejos tackles during the Rugby Championship match between Argentina and the New Zealand All Blacks at Estadio Ciudad de La Plata on September 29, 2012 in La Plata, Argentina.

(September 28, 2012 - Source: David Rogers/Getty Images South America)

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Man of the Match It's hard not to give the gong to one of the backs since they scored all the points. Richie McCaw deserves a mention but Kieran Read was phenomenal and had a direct hand in creating at least two of the tries for the flash boys out wide.

Kieran Reid of the All Blacks breaks past Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino during the Rugby Championship match between Argentina and the New Zealand All Blacks at Estadio Ciudad de La Plata on September 29, 2012 in La Plata, Argentina.

(September 28, 2012 - Source: David Rogers/Getty Images South America)

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Moment of the match: There were a number of excellent tries - with Landajo's score a highlight - but Cory Jane's first try, thanks to a brilliant offload from Read, was out of the top drawer. It put the All Blacks 10 points up and they never looked back.

http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,9989_8123375,00.html

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Ma'a Nonu of the All Blacks breaks clear to set up the first try for Aaron Smith during the Rugby Championship match between Argentina and the New Zealand All Blacks at Estadio Ciudad de La Plata on September 29, 2012 in La Plata, Argentina.

(September 28, 2012 - Source: David Rogers/Getty Images South America)

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Sam Whitelock of the All Blacks wins the lineout ball during the Rugby Championship match between Argentina and the New Zealand All Blacks at Estadio Ciudad de La Plata on September 29, 2012 in La Plata, Argentina.

(September 28, 2012 - Source: David Rogers/Getty Images South America)

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The romp wrapped up the Rugby Championship trophy for the All Blacks, who head to South Africa during the week to meet the Springboks in Johannesburg next weekend.

Sam Whitelock of the All Blacks is tackled during the Rugby Championship match between Argentina and the New Zealand All Blacks at Estadio Ciudad de La Plata on September 29, 2012 in La Plata, Argentina.

(September 28, 2012 - Source: David Rogers/Getty Images South America)

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Springboks rule at Loftus

South Africa bounced back from consecutive defeats on the road with a comprehensive 31-8 Rugby Championship victory over Australia at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday.

Man of the Match: There were handful of candidates in green with the home loose trio doing very well, but you can't look further than the hat-trick hero Bryan Habana, who seems to have found his mojo again and had the fans at his former home ground out of their seats.

Moment of the match: It might not have come from a classic bolt down the touchline, butHabana's first try was the product of the Boks' willingness to keep the ball moving (and the veteran wings knack for finding gap). It put the hosts 14-0 up and the Wallabies looked beaten for all money.

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6 Oct, 16:00		South Africa	v	New Zealand	FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, RSA
7 Oct, 0:10		Argentina	v	Australia	Estadio Gigante de Arroyito, Rosario, ARG

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FOUR-NATIONS 2012

		Pl	W	D	L	PF	PA	+/-	Pts
1	New Zealand	5	5	0	0	145	50	95	21
2	South Africa	5	2	1	2	104	77	27	12
3	Australia	5	2	0	3	76	118	-42	8
4	Argentina	5	0	1	4	61	141	-80	3

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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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