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Australia, New Zealand draw 18-18 in Bledisloe Cup

Dunya News

NZs hope of equaling world record of 17 straight victories in rugby test matches dashed Saturday.

All Blacks flyhalf Daniel Carter sent a dropped goal attempt wide of the posts in the sixth minute of injury time to squander his teams last chance of winning the match at Suncorp Stadium and extending its winning run of 16 matches.New Zealands winning streak, which threatened the record run of South Africa in 1997 and 1998, began and ended on the same ground.Its last defeat in a test match was at Australias hands in Brisbane in August 2011 and its 16 tests in the interim encompassed its victory at last years World Cup.Carter had earlier kicked six penalties for New Zealand to match Australias tally of five penalties by Mike Harris and one from extreme long range by Kurtley Beale. Carters last penalty tied the scores less than five minutes before full time.Both teams had the chance to win the match in a thrilling spell of extended stoppage time. Australia first surged onto attack, retained the ball through a long series of phases but failed to win the penalty which would bring a first victory over New Zealand in more than a year.New Zealand then forced a turnover, fled into Australian territory and set itself up for the match-winning goal kick.It maneuvered itself into a position from which Carter could shoot for goal and with the last seconds of the match ebbing away, its world record in the balance, worked the ball to the most prolific points-scorer in test history.Carter was some 30 meters from the goal line and on a gentle angle outside the right-hand upright but his well-hit left-foot shot faded wide of the posts.Almost as soon as he struck the ball, Carter clutched his head in despair and in a gesture mirrored by his teammates on the field and on the reserves benches.The Wallabies had been massive underdogs for the match but they rose to the occasion and produced one of their best performances in recent years to deny the All Blacks an historic victory.New Zealand failed to achieve the control or fluency which might allow them to play their natural game and the match was only the fourth in 146 encounters between the teams which ended without a try being scored.