The Black Caps have struck the first blow in the Chappell-Hadlee series, winning a thrilling match off the last ball of the game.

The win has been somewhat overshadowed by an incident involving Australian wicket-keeper, Brad Haddin, who appeared to strike the wickets with his keeping gloves, thus making it appear as though Michael Clarke had bowled Neil Broom. Replays have shown that the ball missed the top of the stumps, and the bails were removed by Haddin's gloves.

Daniel Vettori has called out Haddin, claiming that he must have known Broom had not been bowled, and that his expression at the dismissal proves it so.

The incident happened at a vital time in the Black Caps run chase, when Broom and Ross Taylor were beginning to cruise towards Australia's modest total of 181. It would certainly be hard to prove whether or not Haddin intentionally "cheated", but if he is found guilty he must face a lengthy ban, as that kind of behaviour goes against everything cricket is about.

We'll await more news over the controversy...

The game itself was an edge-of-the-seat type of game, as the Black Caps looked to have blown an easy victory. It took until the very last ball before Vettori hit the winning runs.

The Black Cap bowlers did a fantastic job in limiting the Aussie onslaught - Kyle Mills led the way with four wickets, while Ian O'Brian claimed the vital wickets of Michael Hussey and James Hope, who proved to be the last hope (no pun intended) for the Aussies.

The bowlers were backed up by some fantastic fielding, which led to the crucial run outs of Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke.

While limiting the Aussies to 181 was a fantastic job, the batsmen certainly made hard work of chasing down the total.

McCullum was dismissed off the second ball of the innings, after being given out in what would prove to be the wrong call by the umpire after replays showed McCullum clearly getting bat on ball before it hit his pads. It was unfortunate, but it does happen - as it did to David Hussey in the first innings, when he was given out caught behind when the ball didn't appear to hit his bat.

If it wasn't for Taylor, Broom, and Kyle Mills it would have been an embarrassing loss, but at the end of the day the Black Caps tour has got off to the best possible start. And what's even better is that the Australians horrible run continues.

It's still too early to say the Black Caps will run away with the series, but if the Aussies don't start to improve soon their Summer is going to get a lot worse very quickly - not that we would mind that too much.

The second ODI is on Friday.

The cricketing world has been privileged to watch one of the great Test series of recent years, with the South African team creating history by beating the Aussies in a Test series for the first time on Australian soil. And the way they went about it was something truly incredible to witness.

This series was always going to be testing for the Aussies, who have looked a shadow of their former selves recently. And although they had opportunities to win in both of the first two Tests, they let those opportunities slip by them - although South Africa still had to do a hell of a lot of work to do to win the first two.

The first Test in Perth was one of the best Tests we've witnessed for some time, with South Africa chasing down a massive 414 runs to win - the second highest ever run chase in Test cricket history. Australia had a chance to put the game beyond doubt, but were bundled out for 319 in their second innings thanks to a good all-round bowling effort by the Proteas. Going into the massive task set by the Aussies, the South African batsmen put on the perfect chase, hunting down the total in spectacular fashion. Graham Smith and AB de Villiers both scored centuries, while Amla, Kallis and JP Duminy (on debut) all chipped in with 50s. It was the perfect start to the tour of Australia, and most importantly it put the Proteas in the box seat.

The second Test continued in much the same way, with Australia looking in control by scoring 394 runs in their first innings. They then had South Africa on the ropes - seven wickets down for 198 runs. What happened on the second day was nothing short of amazing - JP Duminy and Darryl Steyn put on over 150 runs for the 9th wicket, which gave South African a first innings lead. From that moment on, South Africa were back in control, and Australia were fighting to stay in the game. Steyn ripped through the Australian batting lineup, and South Africa were left to chase down 183 - a task they would do with some ease, losing only Smith for 75.

South Africa had the opportunity to move to the top of the Test rankings by beating the Aussies in the third Test, but Australia had a lot of pride on the line, and played as if there was a million dollar prize. Their batting looked a lot sharper, and despite having two rookie bowlers on debut, their bowling looked the best it's been all series. What was amazing about this Test was the run chase in the fourth innings. South Africa were already without Smith, injured in the first innings, and when Steyn was given out late in the day, everyone at the ground (including the players) thought the game was over.

Not so - Smith walked down from the pavilion, suffering from a broken finger on one hand and a damaged elbow on his other arm, to try and help save the Test. It was a valiant effort from the captain, who alongside Ntini brought the game within 7 deliveries of being a draw. Mitchell Johnson finally ended the game, bowling Smith for three, and giving Australia something to smile about after a pretty tough Test series.

The three Tests had so many twists and turns, we were kept on the edge of our seats the entire time - which gave us a nice break from the ho-hum series between New Zealand and the West Indies (the Black Caps won the third ODI, by the way...).

The South Africans have shown the world once again that they are a force to be reckoned with in all forms of the game, and have uncovered some exciting talent. JP Duminy looks to be an exciting prospect in the middle of the order, and will give the selectors a few headaches once Prince is available for selection. Steyn has also shown us that he is fastly becoming (if he's not already there) the best bowler in the game today, and after what he's shown us with the bat, who knows - maybe he could become more of an all rounder...

Australia are in somewhat of a crisis now. Hayden is having trouble scoring any runs, and many people are calling for his retirement. At this point he shows no sign of quitting the game, though, although he's been dropped from the ODI squad - so his days in the coloured uniform may well be over. Bowling wise (other than Mithchell Johnson) none of the bowlers have looked to really threaten consistently. What is apparent is that they are no longer the only heavyweights of the cricketing world, and despite what the rankings say, it appears that India and South Africa are pulling away at the top of the cricketing world.

The beauty in all of this is that these two teams will go head to head in a couple of months, this time on the lethal pitches of South Africa. This could be the opportunity for South Africa to slam an explanation point on this heated rivalry.

We can't wait!

This week could be unpleasant for two New Zealand teams, as they steer down the barrel of two dangerous Australian sides - the Kangaroos, and the Aussie cricket team. While there shouldn't have be any worries for the All Blacks against Wales this weekend, the same can't be said for the Kiwis and the Black Caps, who by all accounts should be no trouble for their Aussie counterparts.

The Kiwis showed glimpses of brilliance against the English league side on their way to reaching the World Cup Final, but the Kangaroos have looked unstoppable in their four games thus far, including comfortably beating the Kiwis in week one. The Kangaroos have only had 16 points scored against them in four games, which is an outstanding achievement when you consider they've faced the Kiwis and England - the two sides who were supposed to be their biggest challenge. They would have to turn in a very terrible performance for the Kiwis to have any chance of beating them, and that's very unlikely at this stage.

The only thing in the Kiwis favour is that they've been involved in two very physical clashes with England over the last two weeks, which should have them prepared for a tough battle with the Aussies. The Aussies, on the other hand, haven't had anything even close to a challenge thus far, and if the Kiwis can manage to step up, the Kangaroos may not be as prepared for a close encounter. It's hard to see this happening though, to be fair...

These are the two best sides at this World Cup, and of all the teams represented the Kiwis probably have what it takes to beat the Aussies - but it's going to take an outstanding performance from every player on the field, because you know the Kangaroos will be ready to go. It's hard for us to say this, but we honestly believe the Kangaroos will run away with this one, and should be able to put 30 points on the Kiwis. But, you just never know - we could have another 2005 Tri Nations Final on our hands.

One can only hope.

The other big trans-Tasman clash sees the Black Caps face off against the Aussies, starting today in the first of two Tests. There's a lot of people out there who believe the Aussies are wounded after their disappointing efforts in India, and that the Black Caps have some hope of actually winning. Well, if there's one thing you should always be aware of it's a wounded Aussie - especially one like the Aussie cricket team.

It's hard to see the Aussies losing to the Black Caps, especially when you look at how they've played over the past month or so. They were below average in Bangladesh, and utterly abysmal against New South Wales in the build up to the first Test. If they play anything like that against Australia, they will be easily thrashed within three days. Like the Kiwis, the Black Caps will need all players to be at their best, and even then Australia should be too strong.

The Brisbane pitch looked like it was going to be bowler friendly, and the first day today proved that, with New Zealand bowling Australia out for just over 200. A great effort, but also a very dangerous sign for the Black Caps, as it's our batsmen who have been letting the side down recently. Brett Lee will be licking his lips at the prospect of finding some form against the Black caps batsmen in the morning.

The Black Caps need to go out and play with confidence, like they did today - and, most importantly, not let the occasion get the better of them. Otherwise, it's going to be a long trip for them. They saw how the Indians attacked the Aussie bowlers, and they need to do the exact same thing. Test matches are no longer the slow affairs that they use to be - if you can't score runs quickly, you're going to lose. The Black Caps need to move away from their current style of slow batting, and hopefully when we get a new coach we can start catching up with the rest of the cricketing world.

Until then, we predict a comfortable Australian victory in both Tests.

Oh well - at least we still have the All Blacks.

It was a fitting way to send off two of India's favourite sons, Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble - a 2-0 series win over Australia, and with it the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Ganguly and Kumble are both stepping down from International cricket after serving their country for well over the past decade, and although Kumble could not play in the final Test due to an injury, at the conclusion of the match you got a sense of just how much these two players mean to their team mates.

The good thing for Indian cricket is that they seem well prepared for the departure of Ganguly and Kumble, with the likes of Youvraj Singh and young spinner Amit Mishra (who took three wickets in the final innings) the likely choices to take their places in the team.

They have obviously been preparing for their eventual retirements for some time, whereas Australia now seem to be struggling after losing a number of players.

We still don't think Australia's dominance over cricket has come to an end, but what is clear is that their strangle hold over cricket has been loosened. And, most importantly, their bully tactics now seem to be ineffectual against the other great Test sides in cricket, like India.

The Australians will be facing a lot of criticism, none more so than Ricky Ponting who chose to use part-time bowlers to speed up the over rate, rather than bowl front line bowlers to finish off the Indian lower order. It's been said that he was more concerned with his own well being rather than the interests of the team, as the captain can face suspension if the team is six overs behind schedule...which, at various stages, they were.

As Black Caps supporters we're very keen to see how our boys go against the Aussies in a week's time. The Black Caps will play two Tests against Australia, and although winning will be tough, we see a slight (and we mean very slight...) chance that the Black Caps can pounce on the wounded Aussies. It won't be easy, especially without the likes of Jacob Oram, but our batsmen should be able to withstand the lackluster bowling lineup of the Aussies.

Unfortunately, we think the Aussies will be too strong - even in their current state, which possibly doesn't say much for New Zealand cricket. But if there's one thing we've come to expect, it's that a wounded Aussie side can be very dangerous - and they don't come more wounded than the Australian team right now.

Photo credits, Flickr - hashmil (Ganguly), Prabu.S (Kumble)

For so long now, Australia has dominated the game of cricket in both Tests and ODIs - and it's no wonder when you look at the caliber of players they've had at their disposal.

But now it seems as though their "era of dominance" is coming to an end, as they look to the future without the likes of Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, Justin Langer and Damien Martin, who have all retired over the past few seasons.

Of course life for the Australian cricket side will be different, and in fact they may not be as 'dominant' as they have been - how could they be, losing those sort of players? But it might be a bit premature to think that they are going to drop down the pecking order.

Anyone who thinks they're about to start losing to all manner of sides must have rocks in their head, because while they are struggling at the moment in India, you can almost guarantee they are not far off playing the sort of 'dominant' cricket we've come to expect from them over the past few years.

Lets put the tour to India into perspective:

1. India is never an easy place to tour.
2. India are a very good team, filled with stars who are capable of beating any team.
3. The Indians always seem to play their best cricket against the Aussies.

Of course this tour was going to be difficult. And, given the rivalry these two teams have had for so long now, it's no wonder the Indian side are fired up and playing outstanding cricket.

The only area where the Aussies may have lost an edge is in the bowling department. Their two best spinners (since Warney) - Brad Hogg and Stuart MacGill - both ended their careers soon after Warne did, leaving the Aussies with no quality back up. Cameron White is not a Test match spinner (at least of the quality we've come to expect from Australia), and while Michael Clarke may take a few wickets, he too can be very expensive.

Stuart Clarke is a good bowler, and is believed to be the next McGrath - but he is still a way off becoming a world class bowler of McGrath's stature. Given time, though, he could become one of the best.

Brett Lee may be struggling for form in India, but he is a strike player - and one of the best in the world. Once he finds his rhythm again, he'll go back to taking bags of wickets - you can guarantee that.

It's far too early to say that their dominance over the rest of the cricketing world is over, especially after only one series against a good Indian side.

Wait until after the summer is over before you write them off. A good judge of how well they are playing will come against New Zealand and England, who they should beat comfortably. If they don't - then we can start talking about their 'dominant era' possibly being over.

For now, we'll just wait and see.

The Kangaroo's sent out a warning to all teams in this year's rugby league World Cup, with a 30-6 win over the Kiwis - who are considered to be the only other team capable of winning. Although that theory may have just gone down the drain...

The Kiwis were in the match for about 50 minutes, and although they were trailing 18-6 they were still within reach of the Aussies. But the Kangaroos showed their class, and ran away with the game to secure their first-up win.

The problem for the Kiwis is that they don't have the forward pack to match the Kangaroos, who just seem to be able to eat up the meters at will - while the Kiwi boys seem to struggle to make good yards.

We're really missing Roy Asotasi in the front row, and a game breaker like Frank Pritchard in the second row. Nathan Cayless is a quality front rower, but he doesn't compare to the impact a guy like Asotasi has. We need guys who are constantly creating gaps for the backs to operate, but it's just not happening on a regular basis.

It's far too early to write them off, and if they can get through to the semi-finals they could bounce back and knock the Kangaroos off their perch. But it will by no means easy...

They need to start playing Issac Luke at hooker, move Nathan Fein into the halves with Benji, and have a guy like David Kidwell on the bench for his experience and passion.

So far the World Cup has been great, with PNG nearly beating England, and Ireland going toe-to-toe with Tonga, only to lose late in the game. It's good to see that the lesser sides are putting up a decent fight.

It shows that there are other countries who are capable of playing more international games in league, and could pave the way for more Tests ,rather than just the three or four we usually get.

The World Cup's off to a good start - bring on the rest, and bring on a Kangaroo vs Kiwi final!

It sounds terribly cliche, but we're going to say it anyway - the All Black's performance on Saturday night was a game of two halves.

The first half was dominated by the Wallabies, who were definitely playing the better rugby - but they also had the majority of the ball, which helps.

The Wallabies scored either side of half time, and for a while there it looked like the All Blacks were struggling.

But three trys in quick succession put the All Blacks back in front by eleven points, with only a few minutes to play.

The Wallabies weren't finished, though, and when Ryan Cross scored the gap closed to four points, and a Wallaby comeback was back on the cards.

All the All Blacks had to do in the final minutes was hold onto the ball, but somehow the Wallabies managed to steal the ball - and away they went. The All Black defence had to scramble, and with time up on the clock the game was there for either side.

The Wallabies were hot on attack, but miraculously the All Blacks got the turn over, and Weepu booted the ball out, giving the All Blacks a 28-24 win. And, more importantly, the Tri Nations and Bledisloe Cups are now safely locked away for another year.

The difference between the two sides was the substitutions. Henry brought Donald, Mealamu and Afoa on early in the second half, and it seemed to energise the team - especially Weepu, who was in great form.

Robbie Deans didn't use his bench until into the dying stages, and it was too late - most of the Wallabies looked dead on their feet, and this gave the All Blacks, traditionally known for their fitness, a chance to take back the lead.

The combination between Donald and Carter looked good, too, with Carter moving to second five, which gave him more space to attack the tired Wallaby line.

The All Blacks now get a break for a few weeks, before the players will be allowed to play in the Air New Zealand Cup.

It's been a very tough Tri Nation campaign, and the boys thoroughly deserve a few weeks rest.

Well done lads - we're all proud of you.

Next weekend the All Blacks will face off against the Wallabies in Brisbane, in the final game of the 2008 Tri Nations campaign.

The game couldn't have more riding it - with the All Blacks sitting only one point ahead on the competition ladder, the winner will be crowned Tri Nations champions.

The Wallabies also need to win to keep their Bledisloe Cup dreams alive - the All Blacks only need to win one of the remaining two Bledisloe games to hold onto the Cup for another year.

It is easily the biggest game of the year for both these two sides.

Australia will also be wanting to put their humiliating 53-8 loss to the Springboks behind them, and a win over the All Blacks would certainly do just that.

But the All Blacks have been very impressive in their last two outings, and have yet another successful Tri Nations campaign in their sights.

Of the three sides, the All Blacks have been the best - and although they have lost two games, they have certainly set the benchmark once again. The way they bounced back from their loss to the Wallabies was near perfect, and then to keep South Africa scoreless - in South Africa - further shows the class of the All Blacks.

And, with 20 minutes to go in the game against Samoa, the All Blacks have already put on 80 points - the most ever scored against Samoa. We'll say it again -

Class.

The Wallabies have had their moments, with their win over the All Blacks the highlight of their campaign. Their two wins against the Springboks were good, without being anything special, and to be fair the way the Boks played in those games - well, anyone could have beaten them.

The problem for the Wallabies has been their consistency. Their wins have been followed up by some heavy defeats, and for a team that has guys like Stirling Mortlock, Matt Giteau and George Smith, they shouldn't be beaten by such large margins.

However, they can still win the Tri Nations with a win in Brisbane, so they must be doing something right.

South Africa have been very disappointing, to say the least. They started off well, going down in a close game to the All Blacks, before beating them at Carisbrook. But other than their last game (the 53-8 win over the Wallabies), they've been terrible.

Their loss in Perth was poor. It seemed like they didn't even want to play - or they were already thinking about going home. Whatever the reason was, their effort was not good enough for 'World Champions'.

And it only got worse - two losses on home soil is almost unacceptable.

Fortunately for them, they bounced back to demolish the Wallabies. But it was too little, too late.

It's amazing to think that not so long ago they were lifting the Webb Ellis trophy...

It's been an interesting Tri Nations, that's for sure. And, it's only fitting that the two best teams in the competition will battle it out for the title next weekend.

The performance by the All Blacks on Saturday night was by far and away one of their best efforts in recent years, and will have gone a long way to silencing some of their critics.

They completely dominated the game, and played the Wallabies right out of it.

Everything they did wrong in Sydney, they got right in Auckland - and then some.

The most impressive thing about their display was the accuracy of their kicking game. Dan Carter, Jimmy Cowan and Mils Muliaina were all on target with their kicks, and rather than kicking to the midfield, they drilled the ball down to the Wallabies 22 - which really put the Wallabies off their game.

We were doing to them what they traditionally do to us, and it was about time.

Tony Woodcock scored the game's first try, and to the surprise of many was on hand again to score his second of the night. His second came off a well worked lineout move, which (from the look on Graham Henry's face) you could tell was something they had been practicing.

The Wallabies bounced back to score before halftime, with Adam Ashley-Cooper scoring off the back off a strong Mortlock run. It was a rare mistake by the All Blacks, but fortunately it was the only one they'd make.

At halftime, the score was 21-10 to the All Blacks.

The All Blacks came out fired up in the second half, and from that point on the Wallabies weren't in the game.

Ma'a Nonu scored early on, which was really the last nail in the Wallabies coffin.

He score again in the final seconds of the match, giving the All Blacks a convincing 39-10 victory over the near-invisible Wallabies. It was the perfect performance to make up for their efforts the week before.

It was great to see them attacking, and winning, the lineouts, and impressively they won eight of the Wallabies throws. Didn't we say they needed to put some faith in their lineout capabilities?

I think we did, you know...

Jimmy Cowan showed why we think he is the number one halfback in the country - his kicking game was perfect, as was his passing, which was quick and accurate. He even pulled out the old dive pass.

With that one performance, he should have leapfrogged Andy Ellis as the number 9 starter.

The All Black forwards relished having Richie back. Our work around the ruck was impressive, we got numbers to the breakdown, and we drove the Wallaby forwards off the ball. Richie always leads from the front, and it obviously motivates the others to get stuck in.

What can we say about the Wallabies? Nothing really, because they weren't even given an opportunity to get into the game. The All Blacks kept the pressure on, and the Wallabies got thrown off their game plan.

When the Wallabies beat us last week, it was because we were terrible - not because they were brilliant.

We've shown that when we play well, they can't keep up with us - and Saturday was an excellent example of that.

The next stop for both sides is the difficult task of South Africa. The Springboks are a real chance of taking out the Tri Nations, with three home games still to play.

The All Blacks need to win in Cape Town if they want to hold onto the Tri Nations for another year. It won't be easy, but if they play like they did on Saturday they stand every chance of winning.

The Wallabies play two games in South Africa, and despite beating the Boks earlier on, they face a very difficult task ahead of them.

The Tri Nations, sports fans, is heating up.

After last weeks disappointing loss to the Wallabies, the All Blacks finally have some good news to report - and it's the news we've all been waiting for.

Richie's back in the starting lineup for this Saturday's Test in Auckland, and his return couldn't come soon enough.

Daniel Braid by no means let the side down, but when it comes down to him and Richie - there is an obvious difference in their skill factor.

The All Blacks coaching team has named eighteen players in the starting lineup, with Cowan, Ellis and Weepu all bracketed at halfback, while Hore and Mealamu are both bracketed at hooker.

Cowan is likely to start in the number nine jersey, and is expected to be fully fit by Saturday night. We certainly hope he plays, because we've been calling for him to start for some time now.

Weepu is in the squad, and will start if both Cowan and Ellis can't play due to injury - but at this point, it's most likely that Weepu will play off the bench. It's a good opportunity for Weepu to prove he deserves to be in the team...

Richie's return means Braid moves to the bench, although at this point he is bracketed with Adam Thomson, which means Sione Luaki drops out of the twenty-two (surprise surprise...).

So'oialo will move back to number eight in a direct swap with Kaino, who moves to the blindside this week.

Having Richie back certainly gives our side a lot more stability - especially around the ruck, which we'll need against George Smith and Phil Waugh, both of whom are starting.

In the backs, Conrad comes back into center, with Kahui dropped to the bench.

With Leon MacDonald now ruled out with ongoing concussion problems, Muliaina drops back into the fullback role, after a sniff at a shot on the wing. We'll find out who slots in where tomorrow.

Smith will have the task of containing Stirling Mortlock, who returns from injury - but we have a lot of faith in Smiths defence, and he should do the job.

This side has a solid look about it - but after last week it's going to take a much improved performance to beat the Wallabies, who look like they have settled into the ELVs more comfortably. It certainly helps that Deans had a full Super 14 campaign to get used to coaching with the new laws - not that we think that excuses the All Black's performance...

Yesterday, Wayne Smith admitted that the All Blacks coaches were out-coached by Deans in Sydney, and that they are still learning their way around the new laws. But at the end of the day, every player in the All Black team played in the Super 14, and should be used to the ELVs by now.

If they can sort out their handling issues, and get more forwards to the breakdown (rather than standing in the backline as they were in Sydney), we expect to see a much tighter performance.

The weather in Auckland at the moment is atrocious, and all signs are pointing towards a wet game on Saturday - which will no doubt mean a tough forward battle. Thank goodness Richie's back, is all we can say.

All Blacks: Mils Muliaina, Conrad Smith, Ma'a Nonu, Sitivini Sivivatu, Dan Carter, Cowan/Ellis/Weepu, Rodney So'oialo, Richie McCaw (c), Jerome Kaino, Ali Williams, Brad Thorn, Greg Somerville, Hore/Mealamu, Tony Woodcock.

Reserves: John Afoa, Hore/Mealamu, Anthony Boric, Braid/Thomson, Cowan/Ellis/Weepu, Stephen Donald, Richard Kahui.

Australia: Adam Ashley-Cooper, Peter Hynes, Stirling Mortlock (c), Berrick Barnes, Lote Tuqiri, Matt Giteau, Luke Burgess, Wycliff Palu, George Smith, Phil Waugh, James Horwill, Nathan Sharpe, Al Baxter, Stephen Moore, Benn Robinson.

Reserves: Tatafu Polota-Nau, Matt Dunning, Dan Vickerman, Hugh McMeniman, Sam Cordingly, Ryan Cross, Drew Mitchell.

A word of warning to anyone who dares count out the Wallabies - they will stun you when you least expect it.

Here in the Attic, we honestly gave the Aussies no chance of beating the Springboks, who were fresh off their win over the All Blacks. But, much to our surprise, the Wallabies came away with a 16-9 win over the World Champs.

It was by no means a convincing display by either team, but, as the old cliche goes, a win's a win - and the Wallabies have proven that they can still match up against the best in the world.

The first half was scrappy, as both sides looked to open up and play attacking rugby. The problem was, both sides had trouble sticking their passes, which made the game look kind of sloppy.

Francois Steyn opened up the scoring with a penalty early on, but a try to Lote Tuqiri in the 35th minute gave the Wallabies a 5-3 lead going into the break.

Just after half time, Stirling Mortlock scored again for the Wallabies, taking the lead to 10-3. Matt Giteau was unsuccessful with both conversion attempts.

The rest of the half played out much like the first, with both sides looking to attack, but struggling to get any momentum going.

The Springboks were once again tough on defence, and punished the Wallabies across the paddock. But they also resorted to some cheap shots, one which saw Mortlock leave the field injured.

Bakkes Botha has to be rated one of the dirtiest players in the game today - his shot on Mortlock was disgusting, and he should receive a ban for a few weeks.

The game failed to live up to the hype of the first two Tri Nations clashes between New Zealand and South Africa, but it has shown us that the Wallabies aren't there to make up the numbers - they are there to win.

This weekend's Bledisloe Cup clash just got interesting...

Robbie Deans has named his side to take on the Springboks, in the Wallabie's Tri Nations opener at Subiaco Oval, in Perth on Saturday night.

They have received a welcomed boost in the return of Lote Tuqiri, Nathan Sharpe and Wycliff Palu - all of whom missed the 40-10 win over France two weeks ago.

Sharpe will make up for Australia's current shortage on locks, with Dan Vickerman still unavailable due to an ankle injury, and James Horwill only recently passing fit after taking a knock to his sternum at training this week.

Drew Mitchell makes his way back to the squad after his good performances for the Australian A side, and will take his spot on the bench.

This will be the Wallabie's toughest Test this year - they've played a third-rate French side and a one-off Test against the Irish, and they will head into the game as heavy underdogs - especially after the Bok's recent performance against the All Blacks.

Here's their lineup:

1. Benn Robinson
2. Stephen Moore
3. Al Baxter
4. James Horwill
5. Nathan Sharpe
6. Rocky Elsom
7. George Smith
8. Wycliff Palu
9. Luke Burgess
10. Matt Giteau
11. Lote Tuqiri
12. Berrick Barnes
13. Stirling Mortlock (c)
14. Peter Hynes
15. Adam Ashley-Cooper

Reserves: Matt Dunning, Tatafu Polota-Nau, Hugh McMeniman, Phil Waugh, Sam Cordingley, Ryan Cross and Drew Mitchell.

The Attic team would like to offer their sincere condolences to Glenn McGrath and his family, following the death of his wife, Jane.

Jane passed away at the age of 42, after a long battle with cancer. Jane leaves behind Glenn and their two children, James and Holly.

Jane was a strong advocate in the fight against breast cancer and, along with Glenn, established the McGrath Foundation to help raise money for the fight.

The Australian cricket team will honor Jane by wearing pink ribbons, which represents the McGrath Foundation, and using pink handles on their bats, during their one-day International against the West Indies on Tuesday.

Ricky Ponting :- "Jane was a wonderful person who fought and maintained dignity during her long-term illness."

"She was a tremendous mother to James and Holly, and shared a very special and deep relationship with Glenn in the time they had together."

She will be dearly missed by the Australian Cricket community...

The NRL have also paid their respects to Jane, by having a minute's silence before yesterday's games. They also raised around 21 thousand dollars for the McGrath Foundation.

We offer Glenn and his family our deepest sympathy, and wish them all the best in the future.

Jane McGrath - 1966-2008

Robbie Deans has wasted little time in naming his first Australian squad - 30 players, with 6 newcomers.

Much like Graham Henry's team, there's a good mix of old and new, with veteran center Stirling Mortlock named as captain. Australia has seen some of it's greatest players move on from last year, but Deans is the right man to find replacements for the likes of George Gregan and Stephen Larkham - big boots to fill? Oh, yes.

Like the rest of the rugby world, we can't wait for the first Bledisloe Cup match of the year. Deans vs Henry - should be a classic.

Forwards: Ben Alexander (Brumbies), Al Baxter (NSW), Richard Brown (Western Force), Mark Chisholm (Brumbies), Matt Dunning (NSW), Rocky Elsom (NSW), Adam Freier (NSW), Stephen Hoiles (Brumbies), James Horwill (Reds), Stephen Moore (Reds), Dean Mumm (NSW), Wycliff Palu (NSW), Tatafu Polota-Nau (NSW), Benn Robinson (NSW), George Smith (Brumbies), Phil Waugh (NSW), Nathan Sharpe (Western Force).

Backs: Luke Burgess (NSW), Adam Ashley-Cooper (Brumbies), Ryan Cross (Western Force), Berrick Barnes (Reds), Sam Cordingley (Reds), Matt Giteau (Western Force), Peter Hynes (Reds), Digby Ioane (Reds), Stirling Mortlock (Brumbies), Brett Sheehan (NSW), Cameron Shepard (Western Force), Lote Tuqiri (NSW), Lachie Turner (NSW).

Burgess, Mumm, Turner, Cross, Brown, Hynes and Alexander are the debutants in the squad.

Unavailable due to injury are: Greg Holmes (Reds), Dan Vickerman (NSW), Chris Latham (Reds), Drew Mitchell (Western Force), Hugh McMeniman (Reds) and Scott Staniforth (Western Force).

That's quite the list of talent unavailable for Deans...

It'll be interesting to see what kind of impact Deans will have on the Aussies. There's a huge difference coming from the Crusaders (where he's developed a core group of players into a championship winning team), to Australia, where he'll essentially be starting from scratch.

It's important that no matter what the results are, they allow Deans to continue to develop his own team. We think it'll take a year before we start seeing the real impact of Deans in Australia...

It's been a real shame that the NZRU couldn't find a way to keep Deans in New Zealand. We hope it doesn't (but we're pretty sure it will...) come back to bite us.

Cya soon, Robbie.