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The Rugby Championship: Best of Round 3

New Zealand's Shannon Frizell (R is tackled by Argentina's Bautista Delguy during the Rugby match between New Zealand and Argentina at Trafalgar Park in Nelson, New Zealand on September 8, 2018.

We look at the best moments from the Rugby Championship's third round, including Shannon Frizell's impressive performance in his first start for the All Blacks.

Steve Hansen's side recorded their third victory of the campaign by beating Argentina 46-24, stretching their lead at the top of the tournament standings, while Australia resisted a late surge from the Springboks to come away with a 23-18 win in Brisbane.

Here are some of the talking points from the latest round of the southern hemisphere competition...

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Try of the round

There was a brilliant break from Ben Smith that led to a Kieran Read try in Nelson, while Faf de Klerk spun a pin-point pass to Makazole Mapimpi for a try in the corner against the Wallabies, but this individual effort from Ramiro Moyano gets the nod for our try of the round.

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This impressive individual effort opened Argentina's account in Nelson

Moyano got the ball in space but still had plenty to do, and showed superb footwork to turn TJ Perenara and Richie Mo'unga inside out to give his side an early lead.

Individual performance of the round

As far as first starts for your country go, Shannon Frizell had a pretty good day in the office. Frizell carried 15 times - the most out of all the New Zealanders - and made 63 metres with the ball, which put him third behind Ben Smith and Waisake Naholo for the Kiwis.

Highlanders back row Shannon Frizell gets a chance to impress in the back row
Image: Shannon Frizell is likely to play a big part for the All Blacks in the future

The 24-year-old made several breaks during the 80 minutes, beating five defenders along the way, but also showed he is prepared to do the less glamorous tasks on the field as he tidied up the tackle area for this team-mates time after time.

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With Jerome Kaino now in France, the All Blacks have been on the look-out for his long-term replacement, and they may well have found the man for the job already.

Blunder of the round

It's unfair to pin this poor bit of play entirely on hooker Bongi Mbonambi. Yes, his throw didn't hit its intended target of Siya Kolisi, but you'd argue that it's a risky call to make when you're on your own tryline and conditions aren't great.

Thinus Delport also brought up the point in studio at half-time that the Springbok backs were sitting too deep in the in-goal area, which meant they were in no position to get to the ball once it went loose.

They only had five metres to cover to get to the ball, while Matt Toomua had ten, and yet the Australian was there in a flash.

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Poor throw from Mbonambi, but the No 2 should have been helped by his team-mates.

Moment of the round

New Zealand's No 9 jersey has been the subject of hot competition between Aaron Smith and Perenara over the past few years, and on Saturday Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi added his name to the list of scrum-halves staking a claim to the spot.

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The family of Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi performed a haka for the half-back after watching him make his debut for the All Blacks.

It was Tahuriorangi's first Test cap, so far too early to say he's above the other two in the pecking order or will be at any point in the future, but in Nelson you got a glimpse of what the jersey and that singular Test cap means to a player in New Zealand.

Tahuriorangi's family and friends treated him to a haka after the game, putting their emotions on full display in the stands. A moment Tahuriorangi will never forget.

Stat of the round

Nicholas Sanchez may have been on the losing end in Nelson, but he did claim a personal accolade. In his 68th Test for Argentina, the fly-half added 14 points to reach 655 overall, thereby becoming the most prolific points scorer in Pumas history.

He overtook Felipe Contepomi who scored 651 points in 87 games, with third place occupied by Hugo Porta who scored 590 points in 58 Tests.

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