New Zealand are the 2015 Rugby World Cup champions, after winning an incredible final against Australia at Twickenham.
Dan Carter slotted a drop-goal and penalty with ten minutes left on the clock to really turn the screw after the Wallabies had fought back into contention having trailed 21-3 just after the break.
An enthralling final was full of intensity from the first minute until the last, with the All Blacks just about gaining the upper-hand when it mattered most to become the first three-time World Champions.
With a number of New Zealand's stars set for international retirement, they gave themselves the perfect swansong, becoming the first side to ever win back-to-back World Cup trophies.
Carter ends international career with perfect performance
Having been hampered by injuries for some time, Dan Carter rolled back the years to kick his side to World Cup glory.
The most well-rounded fly-half of all-time finally got the World Cup victory his career had deserved, having missed out four years ago through injury half-way through the tournament. His audacious drop-goal with ten minutes remaining all but ended the Wallaby fightback, before the Canterbury man slotted a 50-metre penalty to confirm his nation's victory.
Carter had opened the scoring earlier in the game, after slotting an eight minute penalty following a David Pocock indiscretion at the breakdown.
The Wallabies then got on the board with a Bernard Foley penalty after a collapsed scrum, before Carter added two more penalties to give New Zealand a 9-3 lead on the cusp of half-time. Australia were behind on the scoreboard, and were struggling on the injury-front too with Kane Douglas (ankle) and Matt Giteau (concussion) each having to leave field during the opening half-hour.
Tries either side of the break give All Blacks hefty lead
The 2011 champions took control of the 2015 final with a pair of tries either side of Nigel Owens' half-time whistle.
Returning the kick-off, a number of New Zealand forwards linked up down the blindside to give their side excellent territory to mount an attack. The ball was recycled a number of times in the Australian 22' before Conrad Smith made the break, slipping the ball to his skipper Richie McCaw, before the number seven popped a perfect pass to Nehe Milner-Skudder who went over untouched in the corner.
Carter's conversion had given the All Blacks a 16-3 half-time lead, which soon became 21-3 just after the break following an inspired half-time substitution from Steve Hansen.
Conrad Smith was replaced by the mercurial Sonny-Bill Williams, who announed himself on the final in spectacular fashion. Having offloaded insanely with his first touch, his second was even better. With a pair of tacklers hanging off him, he threw a one-handed flick to Ma'a Nonu who still had a lot of work to do before added the second-try of the game.
Receiving the ball on half-way, Nonu cut the perfect line to break the defence before stepping Kurtley Beale and racing away from Drew Mitchell to crash over for the five points. Nonu is another of the probable retirees following this World Cup, capping off his international career by becoming a two-time World Champion after putting in another stunning performance.
Ben Smith yellow card prompts Wallaby fightback
Just as it looked like New Zealand would run away with the final, Michael Cheika's Australia showed that never-say-die attitude which has epitomised the coach.
Kiwi full-back Ben Smith was sin-binned for a dangerous tackle on Mitchell just short of the line, giving the Wallabies a glimmer of hope. The subsequent penalty was kicked to the corner, and the maul executed perfectly for Pocock to grab the Wallabies' first try and reduce the deficit to just 11 following Foley's conversion.
Usually the best side defending with 14-men, New Zealand started to fall apart and let their opponents in again to hold just a four-point lead. With Smith still off the field, Will Genia spotted a gap before chipping perfectly for Foley. The fly-half caught the ball on the bounce, attracting three All Black defenders before timing his pass to perfection for Tevita Kuridrani score the second Wallaby try.
Audacious Carter ends Wallaby fightback
Having been the man-of-the-moment last week in the semi-final win over South Africa, Carter was at it again to bring an end to the Wallaby dominance. With the Kiwis back at 15-men, Man of the Match Carter took a pass from Aaron Smith before dropping the ball onto his left foot and striking it perfectly through the posts from 40 metres out.
Carter had only scored six drop-goals ahead of last weekend's win at Twickenham, and now has added two to his tally when it mattered most. The boost it gave his side following the Australian rampage was clear to see and was the eventual turning point in the match. His penalty five minutes later gave New Zealand a two-score lead which they never looked like relinquishing.
Barrett's late flourish confirms back-to-back championships
With the Wallabies on the attack, the ball broke to Ben Smith who made a darting break before launching a kick up-field which substitute Beauden Barrett raced on to, to send the Kiwi players and crowd alike into raptures. Carter added the conversion to take his personal tally to 19 and brought down the curtain perfectly to a brilliant career.
The All Blacks made 14 clean breaks to Australia's four, whilst generally having the upper-hand at the set-piece, with the 17 point victory not undeserved by any stretch of the imagine.
McCaw becomes first two-time champion captain
With Pocock and Michael Hooper in the opposition, Australia were seen as having the stronger breakdown unit, but Richie McCaw more than held his own winning a number of turnovers. He is the best All Black of all-time according to the legendary Sean Fitzpatrick, with the captain rolling back the years to dominate large parts of the match.
McCaw has now become the first ever captain to win two World Cup's, and has etched his name in folklore if it wasn't there already. New Zealand's leader lifted the William Webb Ellis aloft in front of a packed Twickenham who stayed well past the final whistle, before leading his side in a lap of honour.
Carter, McCaw, Nonu, Conrad Smith and Keven Mealamu will most likely lead the All Black retirees following this success, and there will have been no better way for them to bow out.
All of them were legends of the game before this victory, and this result will only have added to their unbeleivably successful careers as part of the sport's greatest ever team which was capped off perfectly at Twickenham on Saturday evening.