Hugh Dougherty was one of the stars of the third test at Mount Maunganui - Photo: Mark Dwyer/Lava Media

The Australian Surf Life Saving team completed a clean sweep of the 2011 DHL International Surf Challenge in Mount Maunganui today, although New Zealand again took the fight to their trans-Tasman rivals.

Australia beat New Zealand by 109 points to 98 in the third and final test, with Japan (57), Great Britain/France (40) and Canada (35) bringing up the rear.

Spurred on by the close nature of Wednesday’s second test, Australia unleashed their stars today, with Shannon Eckstein and Liz Pluimers comfortably taking out the blue-ribbon ironman and ironwoman races.

Ski paddler Naomi Flood was equally dominant in her specialist event, while the only rivals to the Australian senior side in the taplin relays, board races and tube rescues were their own under-21 side.

“We’ve had a target on our back the whole week and we’ve done really well considering we’ve had to deal with that,” Eckstein said.

“It’s been tough racing and it’s off the back of a big series of racing back home so we are tired but we haven’t given an inch, which is satisfying.”

Other notable victories included Ben Mispelhorn's dramatic win in the flags, and Hugh Dougherty and Ali Day’s victory in the Board Rescue - the first time that combination had won the event all week.

Australian Head Coach, Brett Dowker, said that Mispelhorn’s victory in the flags was the turning point of the day.

"We got off to a really good start but the Kiwis hit back and it looked as though it wasn't going to be our day. After Ben’s win in the Flags the whole team lifted as World Champions should, and we went to a whole other level.

“This is undoubtedly the most talented Australian team that I've been involved with - full credit to the athletes because they didn't just rely on that talent, they really worked hard to ensure that Australia retained the ISRC and Trans Tasman trophies," said a jubilant Dowker.

Dowker singled out the performance of Naomi Flood, who dominated the Rescue Tube Rescue, and Liz Pluimers who was a standout throughout the week. Courtney Hancock proved her series win in the Ironwoman Series was no fluke and consistently showed her class in a range of events.

In the Men's competition Dowker heaped praise on the entire team who stepped up and took on an increased load following an injury Zane Holmes which limited his involvement throughout the week.

The Australian Development Team produced another winning performance, although they were pushed all the way by their New Zealand counter-parts. Made up of Australia’s best young athletes, the team looked to be in control all day, but found themselves with only a one point lead with four events to go, however this just spurred the team on and the Kiwis did not win another race from this point on.

Development team coach Barry Newman was full of praise for way his team performed throughout the week.

"This team has been outstanding all week and has, at times, outshone their older counterparts. They've had an outstanding week of competition and we really have unearthed some stars of the future.

“Captain Kendrick Louis proved a point this week and found some excellent form, Scott Smith is a ski padler to watch, Bonnie Hancock was a rock all week who never missed a beat, and Devon Halligan showed that she has so much potential. It's a shame that this group of athletes have to wait until next season before they can show their wares as a group again,” said Newman.

New Zealand could still savour a great win in the trans-Tasman surf boat series, courtesy of the champion Titahi Bay crew, who edged Australia’s Whale Bay crew 6-3 over the nine-race series.

Titahi Bay secured the series win in the first race of the day, leaving sweep Paul McVicar jubilant.

“This win is pretty special - every Australian crew that you race is very hard to beat but I’ve got a special bunch of guys and a great club behind me,” McVicar said.

“We lost the first race on Wednesday but the first race here today was the turning point which gave us the series."

New Zealand’s only other wins came on the sand, courtesy of Chanel Hickman in the women’s flags and both male and female beach relays.

Hickman was also unbeaten in the beach flags throughout the week, while there were some encouraging displays from the New Zealand development team, notably 17-year-old Gisborne ironman Cory Taylor and Mount Maunganui board paddler Katrina Madill.

New Zealand coach Scott Bartlett was happy with the way his team pulled together but said there was still much to work on to be able to match the Australians consistently.

“We had some good team relays and our beachies did a great job,” Bartlett said.  “Each test, we got better and better and our skills improved throughout the week but that’s the area we still need to work on, not just at the elite level, but right through the country, to make sure we get better and faster at the starts and to make sure we have that back-end speed as well.”

The New Zealand contingent and a team of international allstars will stay on in Mount Maunganui for this weekend’s Lion Foundation Surf League, also featuring seven provincial teams and the New South Wales under-21 side.

For full results from the third test, please click here.

For further information on the 2011 DHL International Surf Rescue Challenge, check out our special feature section here.