AUCKLAND, 17 August 2003 — New Zealand edged Australia 21-17 at Eden Park yesterday to complete their first Tri-Nations clean sweep in six years and regain the Bledisloe Cup for the first time since 1997.

Auckland winger Doug Howlett scored two tries in the first half, while flyhalf Carlos Spencer kicked three penalties and a conversion.

George Smith scored the Wallabies’ lone try while inside center Elton Flatley landed four penalties from as many attempts as the world champions threatened to steal victory in the dying minutes of the teams’ final pre-World Cup hitout.

“The country really wanted us to do well. We were aware of the pressure on us but we didn’t want to get bogged down by it,” All Blacks captain Reuben Thorne said. “The guys are absolutely delighted, it’s taken a long time to get it back. The Australians never gave up and we expected that.”

The Wallabies produced a vastly better performance than their 50-21 loss to the All Blacks in Sydney last month to give their World Cup aspirations a boost, but the All Blacks were still marginally the better side.

“We were in a position to win the game, if we were good enough we would have won the game,” Australia coach Eddie Jones said. “But in terms of where the team’s going it was a positive performance. There were some improvements in certain areas of our game and it puts us in a good position now to push for our World Cup preparation.”

Howlett scored two electrifying tries in the first half hour before the All Blacks were forced to rely on their defense to get them home. Australia opened the scoring with a penalty from Flatley in the second minute but the All Blacks quickly replied with Howlett’s first touchdown.

Fullback Mils Muliaina broke the Australian line after fielding a kick deep inside his own half. He sprinted down the left flank then shifted the ball back across the right. Aaron Mauger put Keven Mealamu into a hole and the hooker offloaded the ball to Howlett to finish off the try.

Australia regained the lead by the 22nd minute after Flatley slotted another two penalties but the All Blacks again hit back with Howlett’s second try. Jerry Collins stole the ball from the Australians when George Gregan hesitated at the ruck and Carlos Spencer chipped into the corner for Howlett who easily won the race to the ball. Spencer kicked a penalty to extend New Zealand’s lead to 15-9 and the All Blacks were unlucky not to go even further ahead when Canterbury lock Chris Jack dropped the ball over the line on the stroke of halftime.

Spencer landed a second penalty shortly after the restart but Flatley cut the margin back to six points with his fourth goal midway through the half. Australia came close to scoring when replacement loose forward Owen Finegan was held up then flyhalf Stephen Larkham slid into the posts but the video referee disallowed both claims for a try.Spencer gave the All Blacks a nine-point cushion with his third penalty before the Wallabies mounted their late challenge. Smith scored out wide with five minutes remaining when Gregan darted down the blindside and cleverly passed over Howlett’s head to give the blindside flanker the space he needed to force his way over.

The Wallabies flung the ball around in the final few moments in the desperate hope of snatching victory but the All Blacks’ defense held out.

Broncos Slump to Fourth Straight Home Defeat

The lowly West Tigers continued the misery for the Brisbane Broncos with an upset 12-10 National Rugby League win at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane yesterday. Brisbane led 10-6 at halftime but their 15,042 home fans had little to cheer about in the second half, especially after the Tigers snatched the lead 12-10 with a terrific try to replacement forward Chris Heighington in the 67th minute.

The loss was Brisbane’s fourth in a row at home, taking the record since moving to Suncorp Stadium to one win from six games. It was the West Tigers’ first victory over Brisbane in eight matches since the merger of Balmain and Wests in 1999.

North Queensland bounced back from a 36-point loss to Newcastle last weekend and broke a nine-year hoodoo to beat Canberra 34-28 at Canberra Stadium. The Cowboys had not beaten the Raiders in the national capital since entering the competition in 1995. The loss was a costly one for the Raiders, who remain on 32 competition points while Penrith — who had the bye — and the Sydney Roosters who were to play South Sydney today.