Rugby: All-Blacks snatch dramatic late victory
Saturday, 15 July 2000 21:37
New Zealand 39-35 Australia
Jonah Lomu scored a dramatic try three minutes into stoppage time to give New Zealand a 39-35 win over Australia in a thrilling game that produced 10 tries and brought an end to the world champions' 10-match winning run. Replacement hooker Jeremy Paul appeared to have won the Sydney clash for the Wallabies with a try just two minutes from the end of normal time that put them 35-34 ahead. But former All Blacks captain Taine Randell then flipped an overhead pass out to Lomu and there was no stopping him from close range to finish the highest-scoring match ever played between the two countries.
Australia had fought their way off the canvas to hold New Zealand 24-24 in a sensational first half in the opening match of the Tri-Nations series in front of a world record crowd of 109,874 at the Olympic Stadium. The Aussies fought back from conceding 24 points in the first eight minutes to draw level after half an hour in a match that also counts for the Bledisloe Cup. The All Blacks caught Australia cold with three tries from Tana Umaga, Pita Alatini and Christian Cullen - all converted by Andrew Mehrtens - in the first five incredible minutes, with a Mehrtens penalty then making it 24-0. But right wing Stirling Mortlock, twice, full-back Chris Latham and left wing Joe Roff hit back with tries for Australia, who drew level as Mortlock converted his two tries.
Mortlock put Australia ahead for the first time with a penalty after 58 minutes but New Zealand ran the ball from the restart and scrum-half Justin Marshall's try, converted by Mehrtens, put the All Blacks back in front. Then Paul crashed over to bring the crowd to its feet - but they had reckoned without Lomu's last-gasp try in an amazing finale.
- 6.01 News: Teresa Mannion reports on the project
