After the most hotly contested Rugby Championship ever, it's the Springboks who have claimed the southern hemisphere crown once again, becoming the first side ever to go back-to-back.
It went down to the wire in London with the Pumas pushing the Springboks until the final minutes before the World Champions claimed victory at Twickenham, but after the All Blacks secured a 14-point win over the Wallabies earlier in the night, the two sides sat equal on the ledger. It would go down to points differential to determine the winner.
Claiming two significant blowout victories through the tournament, the Springboks proved too good in the end, lifting the Rugby Championship trophy aloft at a sold out Twickenham stadium.
Read on for this week's talking points:
WALLABIES GO BACKWARDS IN FINAL RC TEST
The Bledisloe Cup may have already been packed away for another year, but there was still plenty on the line in the Wallabies final domestic Test of the year.
The RC trophy was still very much in play; crucial world rugby rankings points were on offer and Wallabies stalwart James Slipper was running out one last time in gold as he farewelled the game after 151 Tests. But even with so much to play for, the Wallabies couldn't get out of their own way in a lacklustre Test that left everyone feeling flat.
While they shot out of the blocks and looked the better side for much of the first half, a yellow card to Tom Hooper and the loss of Will Skelton to an HIA early on clearly impacted their game plan with the rampaging forward very much missed after he was massive in the opening minutes of the Test, dictating the contact area and winning a penalty within the first minutes -- it was soon overturned for taking his aggression too far past the play, though.
But while the Wallabies showed hints of an energetic, attacking flair with no fear of keeping the ball alive through contact, despite the appalling conditions, their attacking raids were few and far between and unfortunately old habits die hard as patience and accuracy left their game. After they scored what should have gone down as one of the best tries this tournament, they instead saw it rubbed out and found themselves down a man.
In a sequence that saw the Wallabies take on the left edge, the ball would travel through several pairs of hands before Fraser McReight would break the defence. An offload back inside to Harry Potter kept the play alive before he cut back into the middle of the field. Offloading in the tackle to Will Skelton, the Wallabies were parked on the line before Allan Alaalatoa barreled over for what should have been their opening try. Instead, it was brought all the way back to a dangerous cleanout from Hooper.
Four times the Wallabies were handed perfect attacking opportunities with lineouts within the All Blacks half only to squander them with either a poor throw, miscommunication with the jumpers or the All Blacks picking off the ball. It was a massive step backwards for a set piece that has been solid through the whole tournament.
Ahead on the scoreboard through Tane Edmed's boot at the 30th minute, the Wallabies found themselves with the perfect platform for an attack inside the All Blacks half. But a poor lineout throw saw the All Blacks scoop up the loose ball, sending it wide to Jordie Barrett who put it on the toe into the space in the back and within seconds New Zealand were over the line for their second try of the night through Quinn Tupaea.
It was a classic All Blacks moment, turning defence into attack in the blink of an eye. Meanwhile, it was a taste of the Wallabies of old, conceding points split seconds after looking to score points of their own. It wouldn't be the only time the Wallabies would be turned around from within the All Blacks redzone only to find themselves defending their own line seconds later.
To add insult to injury, Edmed would put the restart straight into touch and minutes later Tupaea was over again. Two tries in five minutes, it would prove to be the death nell for the Wallabies.
While Australia have produced several heroic comebacks this year through their grit and never say die attitude, and a fast-finishing bench, there was none of that late on Saturday. Instead they wilted under pressure. Errors compounded, 29 tackles were missed, Ikitau was sent for a dangerous tackle and, for all his efforts in the first half, Edmed fell to pieces in the second 40.
After a year of so much promise, and a week after they came so close to ending their Eden Park drought, Saturday's showing was their worst of the year and a backwards step on a journey to reclaim glory.
ALL BLACKS FIND MOMENTUM AS TUPAEA STANDS UP
After a year of desperately attempting to find consistency and produce back-to-back performances, the All Blacks have done just that after they extended their win streak over the Wallabies to 11 and came within touching distance of the Rugby Championship.
Losing a game apiece to both the Pumas and Springboks across the RC, the All Blacks finally scored two on the trot as they showed a level of gritted determination that has been missing from their game so far this year as they put away the Wallabies in Perth.
After a starring role from Cam Roigard last week, it was outside centre Quinn Tupaea -- alongside wing Leroy Carter -- who stood up for New Zealand in a standout performance that easily saw him as the best on the pitch.
His quick fire double within five minutes headlined his game, but he also brought so much more to the clash with his strong carry setting up Carter's opening try, while he chased down Max Jorgensen to isolate the fullback, while he earned a breakdown penalty with his strong work over the ball.
"Really pleased for him, he was great. He was robust, tough, physical," All Blacks coach Scott Robertson said of Tupaea.
"It was great to see him in his ball carry. He'll be better for that Test."
It was far from the perfect performance for the All Blacks, but the ugly win was still a step in the right direction for the side after they protected their healthy lead through long periods of the second half with two penalty goals and a late try to George Bower getting the job done.
"We made a lot of tackles at the start, little bits of ill-discipline, but we just stayed in it and took our opportunities, we got ahead on the scoreboard and was really important going into that second half.
"Just the mental toughness and the grit that was showed to stay in the match for the whole period, we would have probably, in past games, would have let teams back in, the bench that came on made a big difference and managed to finish it in a real tough game."
SPRINGBOKS MAKE STATEMENT TO CRITICS WITH DESERVED RC TITLE
Seven weeks ago the rugby world was set alight when the Wallabies ended their 62-year drought at Ellis Park and felled the Springboks at home. From 22 points ahead, the Springboks capitulated and let the Wallabies right back.
They righted their wrongs in a stodgy performance in Cape Town before questions were asked once again after they were shot down at Eden Park by the All Blacks. But since then, the Springboks have been humming, and despite a stop start affair in London, they have shown why they are the southern hemisphere's best.
The Springboks attack is clearly still a work in progress, with the side looking disjointed at times as they attempt to implement Tony Brown's ball game, but when it comes together, it sets the game on fire.
Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu was the star last week in Durban as he single handedly led the Springboks to a massive win over the Pumas and he was influential yet again in London. Perhaps he wasn't as clinical in his execution this week, but he was still a standout.
But while the attack has started to hum and is threatening to produce chaos across the park, their pulverizing forward pack proved once again on the weekend that that remains their bread and butter.
From Ox Nche to Malcolm Marx, to Pieter Steph du-Toit and RG Snyman, the Springboks incredible firepower upfront is the base for which their new attacking play can run off, while they monstered the breakdown to shutdown the Pumas in the second half.
With the RC trophy back in the cabinet, alongside World Cups and a British & Irish Lions win, it's clear the Springboks will remain the world's best for some time to come.