New Zealand is now clear atop the Rugby Championship after the All Blacks defeated Argentina 39-22 and South Africa was held to a 23-23 tie by Australia in round three on Saturday.

The Wallabies and Springboks went back and forth all day in Perth, Australia. With the score 3-3, South Africa got a try from a kick and chase that needed referee Glen Jackson to check the replay for a possible penalty. But Australia came back with a wild cutback run from Kurtley Beale.

Australia took the lead 20-13 on a superb maul, only to see the Springboks reply with a 19-meter maul right down the Aussies' throats. Both teams kicked one more penalty, but it ended in a tie.

Meanwhile, New Zealand is now 3-0 after its victory over visiting Argentina in New Plymouth. The Pumas didn't back down, even with a younger squad for this game, and in fact Argentina led 16-15 at halftime.

But in the final 20 minutes, the All Blacks ramped it up. New Zealand took the lead eight minutes into the second half after a rollicking run from Vaea Fifita got things started and Damian McKenzie set up Nehe Milner-Skudder. But penalties dogged the All Blacks, and with Nicolas Sanchez kicking well, the teams were tied 22-22 with a quarter of the game to go. However, tries from Damian McKenzie and Anton Lienert-Brown put the game away for New Zealand.

Australia 23

Tries: Beale, Polota-Nau
Convs: Foley 2
Pens: Foley 3

South Africa 23

Tries: Kriel, Marx
Convs: Jantjies 2
Pens: Jantjies 3

Australia: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Henry Speight, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Kurtley Beale, 11 Reece Hodge, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Will Genia, 8 Sean McMahon, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Ned Hanigan, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Rory Arnold, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Scott Sio
Replacements: 16 Jordan Uelese, 17 Tom Robertson, 18 Allan Alaalatoa, 19 Rob Simmons, 20 Jack Dempsey, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Samu Kerevi, 23 Curtis Rona

South Africa: 15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Raymond Rhule, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Ross Cronje, 8 Uzair Cassiem, 7 Jaco Kriel, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4 Eben Etzebeth (c), 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Jean-Luc du Preez, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Handré Pollard, 23 Damian de Allende

New Zealand 39

Tries: Lienert-Brown, Milner-Skudder, Dagg, Fifita, McKenzie, Barrett
Convs: Sopoaga 3
Pen: Sopoaga

Argentina 22

Try: Sanchez
Cons: Sanchez 2
Pens: Sanchez 2, Boffelli 2
Drop Goal: Sanchez

New Zealand: 15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Israel Dagg, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Ardie Savea, 6 Vaea Fifita, 5 Brodie Retallick, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements: 16 Codie Taylor, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Ofa Tu'ungafasi, 19 Scott Barrett, 20 Sam Cane, 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22 Lima Sopoaga, 23 Ngani Laumape

Argentina: 15 Joaquin Tuculet, 14 Santiago Cordero, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Jeronimo de la Fuente, 11 Emiliano Boffelli, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Tomas Cubelli, 8 Benjamin Macome, 7 Javier Ortega Desio, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Matias Alemanno, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 2 Agustin Creevy (c), 1 Lucas Noguera Paz
Replacements: 16 Julian Montoya, 17 Santiago Garcia Botta, 18 Enrique Pieretto Heilan, 19 Marcos Kremer, 20 Tomas Lezana, 21 Martin Landajo, 22 Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias, 23 Matias Orlando

See All Scores And Standings Here