A reshuffled All Blacks line-up has scrambled a 23-20 win over Australia in their Bledisloe Cup rematch at Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium.
First-five Richie Mo'unga came off the bench to kick the winner penalty goal from 40 metres out with seconds left on the clock, as the NZ side closed out their Rugby Championship/Bledisloe campaign and extended their unbeaten run to 11 games, since losing to Argentina at Christchurch 12 months ago.
With the silverware already secured for another year, coach Ian Foster took the opportunity to field untried combinations, before making his final World Cup selections. The 33-man squad will be named on Monday, but fringe candidates struggled to enhance their reputations, as the Wallabies led 17-3 at halftime.
After capitulating at the Melbourne Cricket Ground seven days earlier, the Aussies started strongly, with early tries to winger Marika Koroibete and flanker Tom Hooper.
New Zealand's only response before halftime came, when first-five Damian McKenzie was tackled high and slotted the resulting penalty. Perhaps the form player during Super Rugby Pacific, McKenzie was particularly erratic, with his kicking contributing to his team's wayward performance in the opening 40 minutes.
Australia were unlucky not to have two more tries, with All Blacks hooker Samisoni Taukei'aho holding up Wallabies prop Pone Fa'amausili over the line, then veterans Sam Whitelock and Ardie Savea combining to deny Aussie captain Tate McDermott.
First-five Carter Gordon also hit the upright with a penalty miss that would prove costly in the final analysis.
The All Blacks lost lock Brodie Retallick and centre Braydon Ennor to injury during the first half. Retallick is a key element of Foster's World Cup plans and his health will doubtless be monitored closely.
Whatever conversations took place in the NZ dressingroom at the break worked a treat, with momentum immediately switching to the home side after the restart.
They needed just four minutes to score their first try, when winger Shaun Stevenson continued his rise through the ranks, with a try in the corner on international debut.
Winger Leicester Fainga'anuku seemed to scored under the crossbar, after powerful lead-up work from No.8 Ardie Savea and flanker Samipeni Finau, but lost the ball before he could force it.
All the momentum had switched back towards the All Blacks, with the experience of Mo'unga, Aaron Smith and Dane Coles coming off their bench, and the scrum proving an effective launching pad for their comeback.
After losing props Allan Alaalatoa and Taniela Tupou to injury last week, Australia were hampered by another to Fa'amausili and hooker Dave Porecki, which didn't help their set-piece.
Three times, English referee Karl Dickson played long advantage, before reverting to scrum penalties for the home side.
Mo'unga reduced the deficit with a penalty, before Finau finally put New Zealand ahead, storming over between the posts with 15 minutes remaining.
Everyone's favourite villain - Wallabies first-five Quade Cooper - threatened to take the comeback win away from his nation of birth, kicking a penalty from near halfway to level the scores at 20-20.
As the All Blacks pack bossed a scrum inside the Australian half, Dickson raised his arm for another penalty and Mo'unga made no mistake to seal the win.
"Big ups to our front row and the way they performed in that second half," Mo'unga told Sky Sport. "They gave us a whole lot of opportunities.
"We just needed to start winning a few more collisions. We didn't have to do anything massive, but each clean and each gainline we got was another step towards points.
"Before the game, I was standing on the 40, visualising the gamewinning kick, so when that moment came, I had been there before and there was no fear in my mind about the outcome."
The All Blacks have one more outing - against South Africa at Twickenham on August 26 - before their World Cup opener against hosts France at Paris on September 9.
All Blacks 23 (Stevenson & Finau tries; McKenzie converson & penalty, Mo'unga conversion & 2 penalties) Australia 20 (Koroibete & Hooper tries; Gordon 2 conversions & penalty, Cooper penalty)
