Australia 18 - 19 New Zealand: Tri Nations round 5

Saturday's Tri Nations encounter between the Wallabies and All Blacks in Sydney was every bit as entertaining as we could have hoped. Both teams played with ambition and intensity, but the All Blacks broke Australian hearts by edging it in the last few minutes to keep hold of the Bledisloe Cup for another year, and more importantly, to keep alive their chances of winning the 2009 Tri Nations.

Backline play

It was refreshing to see both teams try to bring their backlines into the game, in contrast to the effective but rather boring tactics we've seen from the Springboks in the tournament so far. Dan Carter had a clear impact on the game in respect of moving the ball out wide and bringing his outside backs into the action, and while neither backline really fired on all cylinders, the teams are to be commended for their efforts.

Defensive pressure

The fact that we only saw a single try in the game is testament to the commitment of both teams' defence. It was positively ferocious at times, a fact underlined by the amount of blood lost by players from both sides! In fairness the All Blacks could have scored several tries in the second half, but were let down by minor infringements at the last moment each time.

New Zealand had all the territory, possession and momentum in the second half, and probably deserved their victory in the end. But by now the Wallabies must be wondering what they have to do to get a win in this competition. They didn't play badly at all, and showed clear improvement in some of the areas that have let them down in previous matches. So far this year they've been starting well, but have proved unable to keep hold of their lead for the full 80 minutes.

State of the competition

Things are nicely poised going into round 6. All teams still have a chance of winning the tournament, although Australia must beat South Africa in the next match to stay in it. The Springboks have the "luxury" of being able to afford a couple of losses and still win the tournament, and although I'm sure they will want to nail it down at the first opportunity, that knowledge in the back of their minds may be their undoing on Saturday. One thing's for sure, you can never write off a side like Australia while they still have a fighting chance.