Quinn Tupaea, during Saturday night's game against the Wallabies. Photo: ActionPress
The All Blacks have finished the Rugby Championship on a high, beating the Wallabies 28-14 in Perth. Scott Robertson's side outscored the hosts four tries to one, after leading 17-9 at the break.
Quinn Tupaea, who was a big talking point on team naming day, scored two of them in an assured display at centre. Usually a second five, Tupaea was strong with the ball in hand throughout the first half, setting up Leroy Carter's opening try in the ninth minute.
Tupaea then finished off a smart bit of heads up play by Will Jordan after half an hour. Jordan, in his 50th test, caught the Wallaby defence napping with a quick tap and got the ball smartly for Tupaea to dive over.
Then came one of the more bizarre tries you'll see, with Jordie Barrett accidentally headbutting a loose ball off a kick through and collision with Max Jorgensen. Tupaea swooped on the ball, hacking it through and diving over to score next to the posts.
All the Wallabies could muster in the first half were three Tane Edmed penalties, with their cause not helped by a costly yellow card to Tom Hooper that cancelled out what would have been a great try to Allan Alaalatoa. Will Skelton also had to leave the field for an HIA, but unlike Hooper, never returned.
The second half saw the rain that'd been falling all evening intensify, and the game suffered badly as a result. Referee Matthew Carley had already been busy but found enough going on around the park to whistle up 28 penalties, which neither team can really complain about as it was split 14 each.
Len Ikitau was binned as well but then redeemed himself with a try to give the Wallabies hope after 66 minutes, but the All Blacks made sure the rest of the game was played in the opposition half. Two penalties to Damian McKenzie made a tough task for the Wallabies seem almost impossible, especially as the All Blacks were utterly dominant at the scrum.
So it was fitting that the match had its death throes in the Wallaby 22, with the All Blacks determined to finish on a high. After a nasty collision between Jordie Barrett and Josh Flook left the Wallaby replacement knocked out, the subsequent scrum saw the forwards bash away and eventually send George Bower over for his first test try.
While it wasn't always great to watch, there was plenty of great stuff in there from the All Blacks. Especially the vindication of Tupaea's selection, another great effort by Carter and the ability to close the game down at the end. There was a bit to work on too, most notably a spluttering lineout and inability to get used to Carley's rulings, but as they say, a win's a win.
The All Blacks now sweat on the result of the Argentina v South Africa match at Twickenham, which will decide the Rugby Championship.
Read how the game unfolded below:
