John Eales crowned his 86-Test career by leading the world champion Australians to Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup defences and its first series win against the British and Irish Lions.

 Rod Macqueen also quit as national coach and joined Eales in retirement, sending the Wallabies to Europe with a new coach and captain.

 Under Eddie Jones and new skipper George Gregan, the Australians succumbed to England and France and just scraped home against Wales on a tour that took some of the gloss off their season and their buildup to the 2003 World Cup.

 England finished the year with successive wins over Australia (21-15), Romania (134-0) and South Africa (29-9) at Twickenham to make amends for a 20-14 loss to Ireland on Oct. 20 that spoiled its chances of completing a Grand Slam of the Six Nations championship.

 It was a morale-boosting win for the resurgent Irish, who could have won the championship were it not for a surprise 36-6 loss to Scotland at Edinburgh earlier in the tournament.

 It also capped an impressive year for veteran hooker Keith Wood, who was voted international player of the year for his performances for Ireland and the British and Irish Lions.

 The English won the Six Nations and had a 10-0-1 record in a year in which Jonny Wilkinson stamped himself as the world's premier fly half and former rugby league international Jason Robinson emerged as the most electrifying winger in the 15-man code.

 The Dublin match was the culmination of a Six Nations tournament that spanned nine months because of the foot-and-mouth outbreak which caused the postponement of matches in Britain, Ireland and France.

 Opening with wins over Wales (44-15), Italy (80-23), Scotland (43-3) and France (48-19), England was hot favourite to clinch a Six Nations sweep until Wood, the Irish skipper, barged over for a first-half try that sparked the upset. It was the third consecutive season England had missed out on a Grand Slam in the last game.

 Clive Woodward urged his lineup to vent its frustration on the Australians and, after a week of verbal jousting from the sidelines, the English coach didn't hide his delight following the Nov. 10 win over the Wallabies at Twickenham.

 The French also finished on a roll against southern rivals, a 14-13 win over the Aussies at Marseilles and a 20-10 win over South Africa in Paris capping what had been an up-and-down year for the World Cup finalist.

 The Australians had some big wins at home, fighting back from a 29-13 loss to the Lions in the first Test in Brisbane to level the series with a 35-14 win in Melbourne and then clinch it on two Dan Herbert tries in a 29-23 win at Sydney.

 The Tri-Nations title was decided at the last minute when No. 8 Toutai Kefu scored a last gasp match-winner against New Zealand in Sydney to ensure Eales' 10-year career finished on a high.

 Australia had a 20-15 away loss and a 14-14 draw against South Africa but went into the series decider full of confidence after beating the New Zealanders 23-15 at Dunedin -- the All Blacks' first loss in their South Island stronghold.

 But it wasn't until the last minute when Kefu scored under the posts that Australia secured a 29-26 win.

 With two World Cup titles, consecutive Tri-Nations championships and Australia's first-ever win over the Lions, Eales retired as Australia's most successful rugby international.

 Without the six-foot-six lock, Australia struggled against the powerful forward packs from England and France. Its win over Wales in Cardiff gave the Wallabies a modest-looking 6-1-4 record for 2001.

 But Jones, who guided the ACT Brumbies to a Super 12 title -- Australia's first winner in the southern hemisphere's top competition -- has an influx of players, including rugby league international Wendall Sailor, to counter the retirements.

 New Zealand had some off-field distractions but the All Blacks managed to post eight wins and its only losses were against arch-rival Australia.

 John Mitchell was finally appointed as All Blacks coach to replace Wayne Smith, who quit mid-season after two years and then decided to reapply for the job when it was advertised.

 Argentina rediscovered its winning touch in 2001, notching victories over Scotland, Wales, Italy, the United States, Canada and Uruguay and losing only to New Zealand -- a last-minute 24-20 defeat at home and a 67-19 decision in New Zealand.