There often tends to be drama when great rivals Australia and New Zealand meet, but seldom can there have been controversy quite like today's Bledisloe Cup showdown.
The epic Melbourne clash ended in truly crazy fashion, with Jordie Barrett scoring a last second try after a huge call made by French referee Mathieu Raynal which enraged the Wallabies.
Nic White had just kicked a penalty from halfway one minute from time to give Australia a 37-34 lead and put them on course for a dramatic victory in a seesaw tussle.
READ MORE: Australia challenge All Blacks' Haka with boomerang-shaped charge in feisty start to Bledisloe Cup
New Zealand then immediately won a penalty of their own from the restart, but instead of going for an equalising kick and a 37-37 draw they opted for a lineout right in the corner. Cue even more drama as stoic Wallabies defence held out from the resulting driving maul and they were awarded a penalty themselves for Blacks hooker Dane Coles not releasing.
Bernard Foley went to clear to touch on halfway, only for Raynal to appear to shock everyone inside the ground, and the disbelieving TV commentators, by telling the Australian fly-half he was taking too much time. Raynal reversed the penalty and awarded New Zealand a scrum instead near the posts.
They moved the ball wide and Barrett went over in the corner to secure a dramatic 39-37 victory.
The commentators were utterly baffled by the referee's call, dubbing it 'ridiculous, 'unbelievable' and saying they had never seen anything like it in rugby before.
The Wallabies were clearly furious. Stand-in skipper White remonstrated with Raynal at the time and also at the final whistle as his team were beaten. Foley just looked perplexed, commentators saying the only reason for a delay was to ensure his forwards were behind him before he kicked to touch.
However, Raynal was adamant his call was the correct one. Amidst the confusing scenes and anger, the referee called White over, ushered other angry Wallaby players away, and explained he had told Foley to get on with the action. He had taken too much time and a scrum was being awarded to New Zealand instead, the referee continued.
You almost sensed, amid the drama, there was one more twist and it came with Barrett's matchwinning try.
It was a cruel way for Australia to lose, but an incredible finish to a classic game. New Zealand were able to retain the Bledisloe Cup, and also relieve pressure on their under fire coach Ian Foster.
Australia captain James Slipper, who had been replaced by the time of the last minute controversy, said: "It's hard to see from the bench [what happened with Foley] but we were confident. We had the momentum in the last 20 but the All Blacks are a good team.
"Absolutely gutted. I don't know what to say. We really wanted to put in a performance but we just fell short. It was the most gutting way to finish the game."
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