The New South Wales venue witnessed the best the sport has to offer during the two-day event - based on golf’s Ryder Cup - as retiring Australian legend, Karen Murphy, held her nerve for the perfect farewell.

The Rest of the World were 8-6 behind overnight and appeared determined to turn things around on day two, with five mixed pairs, five women's singles and five men’s singles still to be played.

By the conclusion of the mixed pairs, the tourists were back on level terms.

A 2-0 victory for England's Ellen Falkner and Northern Ireland's Gary Kelly over Corey Wedlock and Natasha Scott was followed by Kelly McKerihen of Canada and compatriot Ryan Bester proving too strong for Murphy and Aaron Wilson (2-0).

A victory for Australians Ellen Ryan and Aaron Teys over Kiwi Jo Edwards and Scotsman Alex Marshall (2-0) in the final mixed pairs proved crucial in the final countback.

Following four matches of the singles competition Australia were eight points down, thanks to 4-0 wins for Scotsman Darren Burnett over Barrie Lester and McKerihen against Rebecca Van Asch.

The next two matches, between Arron Sheriff and Bester, and Kelsey Cottrell and Colleen Piketh of South Africa, were halved.

But the host nation refused to buckle, as Aaron Teys sparked the fightback with a 4-0 shutout of Kelly.

Further convincing wins for Wedlock and Ryan put Australia on the front foot again, before six-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist Marshall won 2-0 against Aaron Wilson.

The destination of the trophy came down to the final singles, between Murphy - with over 650 national appearances in the bank - and women's world number one Edwards.

As expected, the New Zealander took the first set 5-3, but Murphy gave everything to win the second 6-1.

With a final score of 32-32, the calculators came out and the Jackaroos sent the home crowd into raptures, having won just one more set out of a possible 44, despite finishing two shots in arrears to the Rest of the World.

The inaugural World Bowls Challenge trophy is staying in Australia for two years, but the touch-paper has been lit for this event to be an exciting addition to the global bowls calendar.