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Australia and Argentina may have been the stars of the final clash of the competition, but it was still New Zealand that finally prevailed.
The All Blacks are officially the champions of the Three Nations.
Victory for New Zealand was almost guaranteed heading into the final match of the competition on Saturday night, where Australia faced Argentina in Sydney.
To finish higher than the All Blacks, the Pumas needed to win by at least 93 points with a bonus point.
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The Wallabies have failed to finish higher than the All Blacks.
For the Wallabies, they needed to win by at least 101 points with a bonus point to keep NZ away from the title.
That was a difficult task for both sides, and both fell short.
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The 16-16 draw for Australia and Argentina was secured after fullback Reece Hodge missed with a long-distance penalty attempt in the last minute for the second time in two weeks.
When the final horn sounded, the New Zealand Three Nations victory was confirmed.
Hodge also had a chance to lead Australia to victory with three minutes remaining in their 15-15 draw with the Pumas two weeks ago in Newcastle.
He also hit the studs with a siren shot in the Wallabies’ 16-16 stalemate with the All Blacks in Wellington in October.
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Michael Hooper of the Wallabies is now going to Japan.
Hodge had previously scored three penalty goals on Saturday.
Argentina came into the match as an underdog after being defeated 38-0 by Tri-Nations All Blacks champion and then having inspiring patron Pablo Matera and two teammates withdrew for disciplinary reasons.
Michael Hooper, in his last test as captain before taking a sabbatical in Japan, received a yellow card in the first half for an unarmed tackle.
His replacement, forward Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, was sent off for making dangerous contact with Santiago Grondona’s head in the 60th minute.
The Wallabies looked down and out when they lost Salakaia-Loto. But Hooper and Hodge restored hope with a try to the Wallabies captain in the 67th minute as they eventually rallied from a 10-point deficit in the first half to save the tie.
“Challenging conditions tonight and they defend very well. The discipline let us down at key moments, ” Australia coach Dave Rennie said.
“We showed a lot of character tonight,” he added.
“Seven points down, down to 14 men and I thought we controlled it quite well and played in the right parts of the field and we were rewarded.”
– Things and AP
