New Zealand maintained their grip on the Bledisloe Cup with a 31-28 victory over Australia, but only after withstanding a spirited fightback from the Wallabies.
The All Blacks scored four first-half tries at the Accor Stadium, as they bounced back from their narrow defeat by South Africa last time out.
New Zealand came flying out of the blocks and were 21-0 to the good inside the opening 16 minutes, with Will Jordan, Rieko Ioane and Caleb Clarke all crossing.
Fraser McReight got Australia on the scoreboard, while Matt Faessler also went over, but Ardie Savea's converted try kept New Zealand in control at half-time at 28-14.
Damian McKenzie kicked the visitors further in front early in the second half, but Scott Robertson's side were made to cling on towards the end.
With Clarke and Anton Lienert-Brown sin-binned inside the final quarter of an hour, the Wallabies launched a late rally.
Hunter Paisami reduced the deficit, and the hosts closed the gap to a single score when Tom Wright went over in the final minute, but it proved too little too late for Joe Schmidt's side.
Data Debrief: Slipper out on his own as Savea surpasses McCaw
It was an historic day for Slipper, with the veteran prop becoming Australia's most-capped player when he ran on for his 140th Test early in the second half.
Ultimately, it proved a bittersweet day as he was forced off with a head injury just 21 minutes later, but he now stands alone on the Wallabies' all-time list.
However, the match belonged to New Zealand, who retained the Bledisloe Cup as they have done every year since 2003.
Savea created his own piece of history when he scored his 28th international try, surpassing the great Richie McCaw as the most by any All Blacks forward.
Marsh: Australia have 'moved on' from Ashes drama ahead of Lord's return
Mitchell Marsh insists Australia have moved on from the "drama" that marred last year's Ashes Test with England, ahead of their return to Lord's.
The Baggy Greens lead England 2-1 in the ongoing ODI series heading into the fourth instalment on Friday.
It will be Australia's first visit to Lord's since unsavoury scenes involving their players and spectators ensued during the notorious Ashes Test, following Alex Carey's controversial stumping of Jonny Bairstow.
The incident culminated in an MCC member receiving a lifetime ban, while two others were suspended for directing "abusive, offensive or inappropriate behaviour or language" towards Australia's players.
Carey has enjoyed an impressive series, hitting 74 in the second ODI at Headingley and 77 in the third in Durham, and Marsh insists his team-mates are motivated by last year's events.
When asked if there had been any discussions ahead of their return, he told reporters: "No, there hasn't. We've really moved on from that.
"I think there's always excitement playing at Lord's. It's the greatest ground in the world, bar the WACA, of course - the history and the tradition here, it's always a fantastic place to play.
"Obviously, these things happen in Ashes Test matches. There's not a series that goes by that doesn't have some sort of drama."
On Carey, he added: "I don't think [being motivated by last year's events is] in his character. But Alex certainly loves playing in England. We all do.
"The fans are always incredible, and it's always a tough challenge playing against England, so I think he's just wrapped to be back here playing for Australia."
Tottenham 3-0 Qarabag: Postecoglou's side win Europa League opener despite early red card
Ten-man Tottenham recovered from an early setback to start their Europa League campaign with a commanding 3-0 victory over Qarabag.
Despite Radu Dragusin's early red card, goals from Brennan Johnson, Pape Sarr and Dominic Solanke helped Ange Postecoglou's side to a third straight win in all competitions.
Just seven minutes had elapsed when the hosts were reduced to 10 men as last-man Dragusin dragged down Juninho after he was caught in possession.
However, Spurs responded brilliantly to take the lead just five minutes later, with Solanke stealing possession and feeding Johnson, who applied a neat first-time finish.
The hosts survived a scare before the break when Juninho steered wide from Elvin Cafarquliyev's cross but doubled their advantage seven minutes after the restart when Mateusz Kochalski helped a corner into the path of Sarr, who instinctively volleyed home.
Qarabag squandered a great opportunity to halve the deficit just before the hour mark when Toral Bayramov's penalty hit the crossbar after Yves Bissouma tripped Cafarquliyev.
Tottenham capitalised in the 68th minute as Kochalski parried Son's shot into Solanke's path and he put the game beyond the visitors, who were denied a consolation later on when Juninho's header was disallowed for offside.
Data Debrief: Spurs soar despite Dragusin's historic early bath
It had the potential to be a difficult night for Tottenham when Dragusin was shown a straight red card - Spurs' earliest in a major European match.
The defender also became the first Tottenham player to be sent off on his European debut.
Spurs recovered to take control of the contest, though they survived a scare when Bayramov hit the bar with Qarabag's first missed penalty in the Europa League after six consecutive successful kicks.
Minnesota United v Colorado Rapids: Ramsay challenges hosts to improve on home soil
With only two home games left of the regular season, Eric Ramsay urged Minnesota United to come away with maximum points, starting against Colorado Rapids.
The Loons currently sit ninth in the Western Conference, but due to the tight nature of the table, they could spring up it with a win.
They have won their last three road games on the bounce, but have won just one of their last seven on home soil.
Following their 2-0 victory over Sporting Kansas City, Ramsay challenged his team to bring their away form to Allianz Field.
"We've got to win at home between now and the end of the year," he said. "That's the difference maker.
"We've done our bit against teams below us in the table away from home. We just need to do the easier bit, which is put in a performance at home and win a game there.
"If we can do that in the remaining two, we'll be in a really good position."
Meanwhile, Colorado sealed their playoff place with a 2-0 victory over Toronto FC last weekend.
They are third in the table having lost just one of their last five MLS matches, and head coach Chris Armas says spirits are high ahead of their latest road game.
"We're excited for a lot of reasons right now," Armas said. "We've clinched a playoff spot; we've got another game coming up against a good team on the road.
"It's an opportunity to show that we can have a disciplined performance with a lot to play for. The energy in the team is very good, and confidence is high.
"We have our sights set on getting our position up in the playoffs to get that home game."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Minnesota United – Kelvin Yeboah
Kelvin Yeboah has scored in three straight regular-season matches, the sixth different Minnesota United player to record at least one three-game goalscoring streak.
No player in the team's history has scored in four straight league matches.
Colorado Rapids – Djordje Mihailovic
Djordje Mihailovic scored his 11th goal of the season on Saturday to go along with his 11 assists in 2024.
The only Rapids player to record more than 22 goal contributions in a single regular season was Diego Rubio (23) in 2022.
MATCH PREDICTION: MINNESOTA UNITED WIN
Minnesota have won seven of nine all-time home matches against Colorado in all competitions, including the last three in a row. The Loons have outscored the Rapids 8-2 over the current three-match run.
Minnesota have now won four of their last six regular-season matches (lost two) after a nine-game winless run from early June to mid-July (drawn two, lost seven).
The Loons, who beat Sporting Kansas City 2-0 last Saturday, have not kept consecutive regular season clean sheets since May 2023.
However, the Rapids have won nine of their last 13 regular season matches (drawn one, lost three), including four of the last five. Only LA Galaxy and Columbus Crew (10 each) have recorded more wins than the Rapids since that run began in mid-June.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Minnesota United – 42.1%
Draw – 26.7%
Colorado Rapids – 31.2%
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