Rugby Championship: Round 3 - Wallabies last-ditch drama as All Blacks fend off Springboks

New Zealand blew the Springboks away with a 24-17 triumph in Auckland, with the unbeaten run now stretching to 51 consecutive Test matches, and dating back some 31 years. Australia scraped a four-point win over an unrelenting Pumas side (28-24), thanks to the 80th-minute winner from prop Angus Bell.

Australia threw the proverbial 'Hail Mary' to secure the win over Argentina, with a last-ditch drive to the line sending prop Angus Bell over the whitewash. The Wallabies triumphed in the final play of the match, with Bell's tap-and-go heroics battering down the blue and white wall for a famous win in Townsville. Los Pumas entered the match upon a tidal wave of momentum, hot from achieving their first ever win over the All Blacks upon Argentine soil a fortnight ago.

Argentina struck first blood a with an early penalty courtesy of Santiago Carreras, to get Los Pumas on the board after just four minutes. Australia prop Taniela Tupou then gave away a penalty, to allow the Bath-bound multi-tool to send his second conversion through the sticks, with a strong 13th minute strike from distance. The Wallabies fired back with the opening try of the match, as veteran halfback Nic White added a close-range snipers' try to his retirement tour highlights reel. Argentina retaliated on the half-hour mark, as Santiago Chocobares broke free and found his wing Bautista Delguy in support for the try.

Argentina followed this up with a Try of the Year contender, as an exsquisite team move was finished by Matteo Carreras in the corner for an 18-7 advantage in North Queensland. One more Santi Carreras penalty sent the two sides off for half-time with the score-line heavily titled in favour of the men in blue and white, with a disrguntled Australian crowd sat through their side trailing 21-7 after 40 minutes.

After the interval, it took just eight minutes for the men in gold to light up the Townsville faithful. Joseph Sua'ali'i powered over for the score after a tremendous passage of attacking flourish from Joe Schmidt's side. The score-line held until the 64th minute, as Matteo Carreras was sent to the sin-bin for repeated Pumas penalties. Australia took full advantage of the extra man, with Sua'ali'i over to bag his brace and draw the Wallabies level at 21-21.

Juan Cruz Mallia thought he'd won the match for Argentina just two minutes from time, as he nailed a penalty for a slight three-point lead. However, the heroics of one Angus Bell will be etched in Rugby Championship folklore, as the all-timer of an Australian-Argentine attrition was decided in the final play.

TRIES: 4 (White 22', Sua'ali'i 46', 62', Bell 85')

CONVERSIONS: 4 (Lynagh 23', 47', O'Connor 63', 86')

PENALTIES: 0

TRIES: 2 (Delguy 28', M. Carreras 32')

CONVERSIONS: 1 (S. Carreras 32')

PENALTIES: 3 (S. Carreras 4', 11', 35)

After a week of delayed squad announcements, injury concerns and the Eden Park record in the spotlight, New Zealand battened down the hatches for a commanding win over South Africa in round three of the Rugby Championship. The pre-match 'mind games' fell to one side as the action commenced in Auckland, as Scott Robertson's men exploded out the gate and asserted control over the Boks for a famous win in their spiritual home.

The match roared into life from the opening whistle, as All Blacks wing Emoni Narawa bagged his first Test try in unforgettable fashion. The flyer collected Beauden Barrett's cross-field kick pass with a diving slide along the turf, which took him underneath Aphelele Fassi's tackle attempt. Narawa broke free along the touchline, faked the dummy to perfection to nip past Cheslin Kolbe, to round off a stunning maiden score in the black jersey with just one minute on the clock.

Jordie Barrett nailed the conversion, with the All Blacks back across the white-wash a quarter of an hour later. An overthrown Kiwi line-out fell to Wallace Sititi at the back of the pack, as the number eight popped the ball inside to a cascading Will Jordan. The Crusaders fullback could not be halted upon his barrage to the line, for a stunning score to stretch New Zealand's lead. The try-scoring halted until the hour mark, with Handre Pollard and Damien McKenzie going tee-to-tee with well-struck penalties.

Malcolm Marx then battened down the hatches, and wrestled his way over the try-line for a score on the 61st minute, to give the Springboks a foothold back into the match. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu nailed the extras, to make it a seven-point game in Auckland. However, the men in green and gold were showed a yellow card, and the All Blacks took immediate precedence of the extra-man advantage. Replacement centre Quinn Tupaea struck through a staggered Springboks line, that had been drawn in by repeated pick and drives from the All Blacks forwards.

Cobus Reinach teed up the match for a tense finish at Eden Park, as the Springboks nine skipped under a tackle attempt and darted free for a 76th minute score. Whilst the effort ended up being consolatory after the final whistle, the Springboks were just a converted try away from leveling up the match, and received a losing bonus point for their efforts.

NEW ZEALAND: 24

TRIES: 3 (Narawa 1', Jordan 16', Tupaea 68')

CONVERSIONS: 3: (J. Barrett 2', McKenzie 17', 69)

PENALTIES: 1 (McKenzie 50')

SOUTH AFRICA: 17

TRIES: 2 (Marx 61', Reinach 75')

CONVERSIONS: 2 (Feinberg-Mngomezulu 62', 76')

PENALTIES: 1 (Pollard 22')