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SCMP Reporter

Replacement Nic White proved the unlikely hero as the Wallabies ended a 10-match losing run against the All Blacks to win the 2015 Rugby Championship title in Sydney on Saturday.
The Brumbies scrum-half scored a try and kicked a long-range penalty goal and a conversion in the final minutes to give Australia a 27-19 win before 73,824 fans at ANZ Stadium.

GALLERY: Please click on the link for a selection of photos from the final round of the 2015 Rugby Championship.

The Wallabies last beat the All Blacks 25-20 in Brisbane in 2011 on the way to winning the Tri-Nations, as it was known before Argentina joined the party.
The All Blacks have since stretched an unbeaten 10-game run which took in the previous coaching regimes of Robbie Deans and Ewen McKenzie.
WATCH: Wallabies super-sub Nic White off the bench

“We fought hard for each other, and the crowd really lifted us there at the end,” said Wallabies’ captain Stephen Moore. “Both sides pushed the boundaries and it was a good contest.”
Moore also paid tribute to his team’s defence, saying: "We hung in there. We worked hard, covered for each other. I was really proud of that effort.
All Blacks captain Richie McCaw, who equalled Brian O’Driscoll as the most-capped test player in history with his 141th international appearance, paid credit to the Wallabies, saying: “They took their opportunities.
“It was a pretty intense sort of match. It probably came down to a couple of missed tackles that counted at the end.“I thought when we got back in the game, when we got ahead with 15 to go that’s when we needed to be really sharp, not playing at the wrong end of the field, and a couple of lapses on defence was the difference in the end.”
In Michael Cheika’s biggest win as the new coach, the Wallabies showed plenty of resolve to beat the world champions three tries to two, just a month out from the World Cup.
They trailed the All Blacks 6-3 at half-time, but controlled much of the second half and now have the chance in Auckland next weekend to win back the Bledisloe Cup they last held in 2002.
The Wallabies wasted a couple of scoring opportunities but could thank a desperate tackle from Michael Hooper for only trailing by three points at half-time.
Australia started promisingly, pushing back the All Blacks in the first scrum and winning a couple of turnovers, but they went a man down when prop Sekope Kepu was yellow-carded for offside as New Zealand pressed Australia’s try-line.
Dan Carter kicked the penalty but the Wallabies suffered no further damage during Kepu’s absence and levelled with a Matt Giteau penalty in the 27th minute in their first sustained period of attack.
Carter kept the All Blacks in front with a 40-metre penalty while Giteau’s second attempt came off an upright.
Israel Folau sliced through but was brought down by a last-ditch tackle from counterpart Ben Smith, only for the Wallabies to blow a try-scoring chance with Dean Mumm fumbling a poorly directed Nick Phipps in the next phase.
A thundering burst from prop Owen Franks put New Zealand on the attack on half-time but a great covering tackle by Hooper on winger Julian Savea saved the situation for the Wallabies.Aaron Smith was sin-binned for a head-high tackle on Adam Ashley-Cooper but the Wallabies hit the front through an unlikely source minutes later.
Tight-head prop Kepu steamed through Kieran Read’s tackle and another to score under the bar for Giteau to convert for a 10-6 lead.
Carter kicked the All Blacks to within a point with his third penalty to become the first player to reach 1,500 test points scored.Phipps capped a miserable night when he was sin-binned for a professional foul, tackling Conrad Smith in an offside position off a quick tap-kick to leave his team down a man at a critical time.
The All Blacks made the Wallabies pay when debutant winger Nehe Milner-Skudder finished off a Ben Smith break to put New Zealand back in front two minutes later.
Replacement Matt Toomua made an immediate impact with a clever kick for Ashley-Cooper to regather and score in the right corner for Giteau to convert and a 17-14 lead.
Milner-Skudder retrieved the lead for the All Blacks with his second try, wrestling the ball over the try-line at the second attempt.
Replacement scrum-half White put the Wallabies ahead with a 47-metre penalty goal in the final 10 minutes.
White proved the complete hero when he broke two tackles close to the All Blacks' line to dart over for Australia’s third try and kick the conversion for a 27-19 lead with eight minutes left.
Additional reporting by SCMP staff


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Win is more important than personal milestone for All Blacks skipper McCaw

The Rugby Championship 2015

Wallabies stun All Blacks 27-19 to win Rugby Championship

Australia celebrate beating New Zealand in Sydney on Saturday to capture the 2015 Rugby Championship and take the first of their two Bledisloe Cup games. Photo: Reuters

Wallabies hero Nic White runs in his match-winning try against the All Blacks. Photo: AFP

Richie McCaw wonders what went wrong to earn him only his 15th defeat as captain of the All Blacks. Photo: AP

Australia's Israel Folau is tackled by New Zealand's Ben Smith with Julian Savea moving in. Photo: AFP

Debutant Nehe Milner-Skudder runs in one of his two tries against the Wallabies. Photo: AFP

Sport

Rugby

Replacement Nic White becomes an unlikely hero with a penalty, a try and a conversion in the final minutes


Scrum-half Nic White came off the bench and scored 10 points in the last 11 minutes on Saturday to give Australia a 27-19 victory over New Zealand and their first Rugby Championship title.


Rugby World Cup 2015