There was heartbreak for Wales and Ireland as both sides lost in the final moments of their test matches against Australia and New Zealand.
The Irish got off to a promising start, with scrum half Conor Murray throwing a dummy and darting over the line, Sexton adding the extras. Indiscipline from the home side then gave Sexton the chance to kick for three more points, cementing Ireland's lead at 10-0.
A series of Irish infringements, however, prompted referee Nigel Owens to award the All Blacks three penalties. Fly-half Dan Carter kicked them all to cut the Irish lead down to just one point at half time.
The All Blacks came out fighting from the restart and were soon ahead after a try from Aaron Smith. The scrum-half bundled over the line with half a dozen All Blacks behind him to score his first test try. Carter converted to make it 16-10.
Both fly-halves kept the score board ticking over with penalties, with the sides finding themselves level after 70 minutes on 19-19.
Ireland wasted the chance to go ahead with seven minutes on the clock when Sexton missed a penalty. That only spurred on the world champions, and with thirty seconds left, Carter slotted a drop goal to clinch victory 22-19 and deny Ireland their first ever Test win over the All Blacks.
Wales were hoping to bounce back after going down 27-9 to the Wallabies at Brisbane in the opening match of their Australia tour.
They opened the scoring after just four minutes, with winger George North crashing over the line from the back of a ruck for the try and Leigh Halfpenny adding the conversion.
Indiscipline from prop Gethin Jenkins then gifted Australia a penalty in front of the posts, Berrick Barnes kicking it with ease for three points. The fly-half kicked another penalty moments later to take Australia within a point of Wales.
A clever run and well-timed pass from Barnes set up Rob Horne to score Australia's first try just before half-time, the fly-half converting to send Australia into half time ahead, 13-7.
Confusion among the Wallabies gave Wales the chance to push ahead in the opening moments of the second half. A pop from scrum-half Will Genia found no-one, allowing centre Ashley Beck to kick it up field. Jonathan Davies was on the end of it, diving on the loose ball to score for Wales, who found themselves 13-14 up with the conversion.
Leigh Halfpenny and Barnes both knocked over penalties to put Australia just ahead with 19 points to 17. But a clumsy charge from Cooper Vuna on Halfpenny as the fullback gathered the ball in the air saw the winger sin binned. Halfpenny kicked the resulting penalty to push Wales back into the lead.
Victory looked almost assured for Wales, after fly-half Barnes kicked a penalty well wide before limping off with a leg injury, but a penalty conceded in their own half in stoppage time proved costly.
Replacement fly-half Mike Harris knocked it over in the last play of the game, putting Australia ahead on 25-23 and denying Wales the victory.
It was a more successful day for Scotland, who triumphed over Fiji in a try-filled clash earlier in the day. Winger Tim Visser went over twice on his debut for Scotland, with fly-half Greig Laidlaw adding a third. Impressive kicking from the fly-half ensured victory for Scotland, with a final score of 25-37.
