Australia claimed the Rugby Championship title and moved within touching distance of securing their first Bledisloe Cup since 2002 as they beat New Zealand 27-19 in Sydney.Replacement scrum-half Nic White grabbed the home side's vital try eight minutes from time on Saturday, with Adam Ashley-Cooper and Sekope Kepu also crossing in a thrilling second half.New Zealand winger Nehe Milner-Skudder bagged two tries on a memorable Test debut, but the visitors were ultimately unable to prevent their four-year unbeaten run against their trans-Tasman rivals coming to an end.Australia's victory was all the more impressive given that they lost both Kepu and Nick Phipps to yellow cards, with Phipps' opposite number Aaron Smith another man sent to the bin on a busy night for referee Wayne Barnes.It was also a night of milestones at ANZ Stadium, with New Zealand captain Richie McCaw equalling Brian O"Driscoll"s record as the most capped player in Test history, Dan Carter becoming the first player to pass the 1,500 Test points mark and Ashley-Cooper claiming a record ninth Bledisloe Cup try.But it was very much a slow burner of a game, with a tense and cagey first half failing to yield a try, as both sides were guilty of unforced handling errors and aimlessly kicking hard-earned possession away.Despite the fact they finished the first half trailing 6-3, however, Australia would probably have been the happier of the two teams heading for the dressing room.The home pack looked stronger at scrum-time, David Pocock forced a string of turnovers, and they also coped well after losing Kepu to a yellow card with just eight minutes on the clock.The prop was punished for preventing Smith from taking a quick tap-penalty close to the line, but New Zealand only managed to add three points during his 10-minute absence.As half-time approached, the game did open up, with only a last-ditch tackle from Ben Smith preventing Israel Folau from bagging the first try of the night and Dane Coles coming close to repeating last week's marvellous solo try against South Africa at the other end.Aaron Smith then became the second player yellow carded three minutes into the second half when he went too high on Ashley-Cooper - and Australia instantly took full advantage.A rolling maul had the visitors' defence scrambling and a left-foot step from Kepu enabled him to weave his way through and score under the posts.Just as they did in Johannesburg last weekend, however, the men in black refused to lose their composure and when Phipps became the second home player to be yellow carded for preventing a quick tap-penalty being taken moments later, Milner-Skudder duly raced over for the first of his two tries.The lead then continued to change hands as first Ashley-Cooper and Milner-Skudder exchanged tries, before replacement scrum-half White landed a penalty to send Australia into the final 10 minutes 20-19 up.The Brumbies man then scampered over from close range to seal a famous win for Michael Cheika's side and set up a thrilling return game at Auckland's Eden Park next weekend.
Credit: Allsports.com.gh