New Zealand clinched the Rugby Championship for the fifth time in six years this past Saturday, but what about those weird ties we've seen in this tournament?

For the second time in the 2017 Rugby Championship, South Africa and Australia tied. It seems like that would never happen... and in fact it never had before until the Springboks and Wallabies drew their round-three clash 23-23 on Sept. 9 and then tied again 27-27 in round five on Saturday in Bloemfontein, South Africa.

In fact, in the 344 Rugby Championship games (including the old Tri Nations), there have been exactly five ties. This is the first time two ties have happened in the same season and the first time the 'Boks and the 'Bies have tied twice in a season.

Actually, these two teams have only tied once before. So, yes, apparently lightning does strike twice, and when it does it's a tie.

After getting spanked by New Zealand 57-0 in the last round, South Africa had to feel like this result was a bit of a victory. At least we didn't see the sad faces we saw after round four.

Meanwhile, the race for the Rugby Championship title was not even close in the end, and the champion All Blacks punctuated that fact with a 36-10 win over a physical Argentina team in Buenos Aires on Saturday. 

New Zealand scored four of its five tries in the first half -- including a pair from captain Kieran Read -- to run out to a 29-3 advantage. The All Blacks were nearly held scoreless in a sluggish second half but capped their latest triumph with a try from David Havili as time expired.

Mathematically, South Africa had a shot to stay in the hunt if New Zealand lost (fat chance) and the Springboks beat the Wallabies.

Didn't happen. Instead, the champion All Blacks will travel to Cape Town this weekend in an attempt to cap their undefeated campaign with a final win, while third-place Australia will take on a winless Argentina squad looking to avoid finishing with the wooden spoon.

All Rugby Championship 2017 Scores And Standings