Lions too strong for Maori All Blacks

The British and Irish Lions bounced back with a commanding 32-10 win over the Maori All Blacks in Rotorua on Saturday.

Leigh Halfpenny finished with 20 points as the Lions scored second half tries through a penalty try and second-row Maro Itoje, having completely dominated after half-time as the Maoris failed to add any points.

As with the Crusaders, for all their firepower out wide the Maori All Blacks could not get firing against a miserly Lions pack, whose kicking game dominated the contest.

The so-called 'fourth Test' certainly played out like a Test match, aided by difficult, slippery conditions in Rotorua.  The Lions simply outpowered their opposition in the second half, moving clear thanks to two quick tries.

Finishing off line breaks and soft penalties, familiar issues on this tour, appeared once again in Rotorua and especially in the first half, before the Lions ultimately settled.

They started patiently, showing good ball retention and involving their forwards before winning a penalty for not rolling away, converted by Halfpenny with four minutes on the clock.

Their initial approach was tight but effective, momentum from the maul and then Murray's box kick forcing an offside penalty for Halfpenny to make it 6-0.

Understandably the Maori All Blacks wanted to lift the tempo, opting for quick lineouts, but with the ball slipping and sliding all over the place it was the hosts who scored the first try against the run of play.

Milner-Skudder's grubber kick wasn't covered by George North and Leigh Halfpenny, the two colliding with the loose ball then hacked on into space for Messam to slide and score.  McKenzie converted to give the Maori a 7-6 lead.

Slightly deflated as a result of that the Lions needed a lift, and it came from a Jonathan Davies break, spotting the space and cutting through as the Lions came away with a third penalty from Halfpenny.  The lack of a try however was symptomatic of the Lions' issues in the red zone on this tour.

McKenzie responded instantly with his first three-pointer, with his opposite man Sexton growing in confidence and enjoying his best game so far on tour.

Tries might have looked unlikely for the Lions but the work of their tight five especially in defence and attack continued to win penalties, the Maori penalised for not rolling away as Halfpenny made it 12-10.

McKenzie attempted a long-range strike from 60 metres to swing the lead back, his kick having the distance but not the direction.

A soft breakdown penalty conceded by Tadgh Furlong threatened to put the Lions under pressure, but the defence held firm to win a penalty, ensuring the Lions led at the break despite not knowing their laws and kicking straight to touch from the penalty, consequently forced to take another lineout.

The heavens opening naturally suited the Lions' approach perfectly, Halfpenny adding three more points, as Lowe continued to struggle under the high ball.

And the tourists' control on the contest continued to grow after Tawera Kerr-Barlow's yellow card for leading with the shoulder on Halfpenny metres out from the line.

Jamie George claimed to have scored, the TMO ruling he was short of the line, and the Lions simply had to come away with points so close to the home side's line.  Winning successive scrum penalties with huge power from the tight five, Jaco Peyper awarded a penalty try.

A second try wasn't far behind, Itoje burrowing his way over after another five-metre scrum, with the Maori All Blacks having been harried back into their own dead-ball area by more accurate kicking.  Halfpenny, yet to miss, converted from out wide.

Peter O'Mahony's treatment on his knee saw him swiftly replaced by Sam Warburton with the game wearing on, the Lions pack continuing to dictate.

Halfpenny twisted the screw with a sixth penalty after the Maoris strayed offside, making the score 32-10, with the Lions unable to add to their tally but leaving Rotorua with a spring in their step.

The scorers:

For Maori All Blacks:
Try:  Messam
Con:  McKenzie
Pen:  McKenzie
Yellow Card:  Kerr-Barlow

For British and Irish Lions:
Tries:  Penalty Try, Itoje
Con:  Penalty Try, Halfpenny
Pens:  Halfpenny 6

Maori All Blacks:  15 James Lowe, 14 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 13 Matt Proctor, 12 Charlie Ngatai, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Liam Messam, 7 Elliot Dixon, 6 Akira Ioane, 5 Tom Franklin, 4 Joe Wheeler, 3 Ben May, 2 Ash Dixon (c), 1 Kane Hames
Replacements:  16 Hikawera Elliot, 17 Chris Eves, 18 Marcel Renata, 19 Leighton Price, 20 Kara Pryor, 21 Bryn Hall, 22 Ihaia West, 23 Rob Thompson

British and Irish Lions:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Ben Te'o, 11 George North, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Peter O'Mahony (c), 5 George Kruis, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Sam Warburton, 21 Greig Laidlaw, 22 Dan Biggar, 23 Elliot Daly

Referee:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant Referees:  Jérôme Garcès (France), Romain Poite (France)
TMO:  Ian Smith (Australia)

Maori edge epic against England

New Zealand Maori completed a fine 35-28 victory over England at McLean Park in what was a fascinating contest that had it all on Wednesday.

Defeat is seasoned with plenty of encouragement for England though, who showed enough in attack to shed the shackles that have restrained them for so long.  They were attack-minded, had ideas and importantly refused to slip back into the style of just limiting their rivals before feeding off scraps.

But that mindset could not halt the Maori in what was an awesome game at McLean Park, with Hosea Gear stealing the show with a hat-trick.

The positive result for the hosts means they have now beaten the New Zealand Barbarians, Ireland and now the English in a memorable 100th year.

England had arrived in Napier on a high after their famous 21-20 win over Australia in Sydney sealed a 1-1 Test series draw with the Wallabies.

And Team Manager Martin Johnson had branded this clash as the unofficial third Test, with England making a fast start that was led by Delon Armitage.

The tourists' early dominance was ultimately rewarded with a Hodgson penalty and then a try from Steffon Armitage as the English surged ahead.

Impressive fly-half Charlie Hodgson then stabbed a grubber kick in behind the Maori defensive line and Chris Ashton showed brilliant footballing skills to flick the ball back in play with his right foot just before it landed in touch.  Armitage was already on the charge and the London Irish flanker dived on the loose ball to give England a 10-0 lead, with Hodgson landing the touchline conversion.

Hodgson slotted a second penalty as England succeeded where they had failed against the Australian Barbarians, by turning early pressure into points.

But the Maori then turned the tables spectacularly with two brilliant counter-attacking tries.

Luke McAlister got the Maori onto the scoreboard with a penalty but Hodgson wasted the chance of an immediate response by hitting the post.

Maori full-back Robbie Robinson countered from the rebound and quickly left England's defence in disarray before fly-half Stephen Brett released Gear, who swatted David Strettle and Mathew Tait aside to score.

Maori scrum-half Aaron Smith then pilfered the ball from the back of an England scrum and launched another incisive break, with Brett drawing in three defenders before releasing Messam.

Hodgson tracked back to make the tackle but the Sale fly-half could not drag Messam into touch.  The try was given and McAlister's conversion edged the Maori into a 17-13 lead.

There was no let-up to the breathtaking start and it needed a vital tackle from Tait to halt centre Dwayne Sweeney before Gear knocked the ball on over the line as he chased down Brett's chip.

England were under pressure at the breakdown but returned to their point of strength in the scrum to win a kickable penalty and get back into the game.

The tourists then scored twice in the last minute before half-time to storm back into the lead.

When Referee Craig Joubert awarded England a penalty at the ruck, Care spotted the opportunity to exploit a disorganised Maori defence, took the quick tap and beat lock Jarrad Hoeata to score.

The Maori sought a response but Hodgson intercepted a pass from McAlister on halfway and sent Ashton over for the try.

England had dominated the breakdown and the tackle count in the first half but their lead was tentative -- and within eight minutes of the restart it had been scrubbed out.

Tait and Barritt both fell off McAlister and when the ball was spread wide, Gear charged through a gaping hole in the England defence to score his second try.

The Maori then pounced again after another mistake at the breakdown and the ball was spread left to Gear, who capitalised on a major overlap to complete his hat-trick.

McAlister converted both tries to edge the Maori into a 29-28 lead after 48 minutes.

England's pack remained on top but Delon Armitage missed their only penalty shot of the second half with a skewed effort from long range.

The Maori closed out the game with two penalties from replacement Willie Ripia, which left England requiring a converted try to win -- and they blew two golden chances.

Geraghty's attempted kick for touch went dead and when Ben Foden launched a searing break, he chose to chip ahead instead of passing to Armitage and the ball again slid over the dead ball line.

Man-of-the-match:  Three bully-like tries cannot be ignored.  If winger Hosea Gear does not make New Zealand's squad for the upcoming Tri-Nations then I will eat my hat.  Immense.

The scorers:

For NZ Maori:
Tries:  Gear 3, Messam
Con:  McAlister 3
Pen:  McAlister, Ripia 2

For England:
Tries:  S Armitage, Care, Ashton
Con:  Hodgson 2
Pen:  Hodgson 3

New Zealand Maori:  15 Robbie Robinson, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Dwayne Sweeney, 12 Luke McAlister, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Stephen Brett, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Liam Messam (c), 7 Tanerau Latimer, 6 Karl Lowe, 5 Jarrad Hoeata, 4 Hayden Triggs, 3 Ben Afeaki, 2 Corey Flynn, 1 Clint Newland.
Replacements:  16 Dane Coles, 17 Bronson Murray, 18 Isaac Ross, 19 Colin Bourke, 20 Ruki Tipuna, 21 Willie Ripia, 22 Jackson Willison.

England:  15 Delon Armitage, 14 David Strettle, 13 Mathew Tait, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Chris Ashton, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Danny Care, 8 Phil Dowson, 7 Steffon Armitage, 6 Chris Robshaw (c), 5 Geoff Parling, 4 David Attwood, 3 Paul Doran-Jones, 2 George Chuter, 1 David Flatman.
Replacements:  16 Rob Webber, 17 Dan Cole, 18 Dan Ward-Smith, 19 James Haskell, 20 Ben Youngs, 21 Shane Geragthy, 22 Ben Foden.

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)

Waldrom try wins Maori the PNC

Thomas Waldrom's last-gasp try gave New Zealand Maori the Pacific Nations Cup with a 21-18 win over Australia A in Sydney on Sunday.

Even then Mark Gerrard had the chance to tie the scores with the last kick of the game -- and give Australia A the title -- but his penalty shot from 45m dropped just short.

The home side started well, and had got to a 7-0 lead with an early try from rising star Timana Tahu, but quickfire tries from Jacob Ellison and Tanerau Latimer had the Maori 14-7 in front at the break.

But Tahu struck again, and Gerrard landed two crucial penalties to put his team 18-14 ahead before Waldrom's late surge.

Relieved New Zealand Maori coach Donny Stevenson paid tribute to his side's character, although he said they were often their own worst enemies.

"In the end we had some experienced guys to get us through but we didn't make it easy for ourselves, we were really scrambling at the end," he told reporters.

"We thought if we could put some phases together the opportunities would come but we lost the ball at critical times. I was concerned at some of the decision making."

The scorers:

For Australia A:
Tries:  Tahu 2
Con:  Gerrard
Pens:  Gerrard 2

For New Zealand Maori:
Tries:  Ellison, Latimer, Waldrom
Cons:  Bruce 3

Australia A:  15 Mark Gerrard, 14 Drew Mitchell, 13 Morgan Turinui, 12 Timana Tahu, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Daniel Halangahu, 9 Brett Sheehan, 8 Richard Brown, 7 Julian Salvi, 6 Hugh McMeniman, 5 Peter Kimlin, 4 Al Campbell, 3 Guy Shepherdson, 2 Sean Hardman, 1 Sekope Kepu.
Replacements:  16 John Ulugia, 17 Salesi Ma'afu, 18 Van Humphries, 19 Leroy Houston, 20 Ben Lucas, 21 Sam Norton-Knight, 22 Matt Carraro.

New Zealand Maori:  15 Dwayne Sweeney, 14 Shannon Paku, 13 Jason Kawau, 12 Tamati Ellison (Co-captain), 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Callum Bruce, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Tanerau Latimer, 6 Liam Messam (Co-captain), 5 Jason Eaton, 4 Ross Filipo, 3 Bronson Murray/Ben May, 2 Aled de Malmanche, 1 Jacob Ellison.
Replacements:  16 Hikawera Elliot, 17 Bronson Murray/Ben May, 18 Hoani MacDonald, 19 Scott Waldrom, 20 Chris Smylie, 21 Tim Bateman, 22 Zar Lawrence.

Referee:  James Bolabiu (Fiji)
Assessor:  Bob Francis (New Zealand)

NZ Maori turn on the style

New Zealand Maori swept Japan aside in Napier in the Pacific Nations Cup on Saturday, winning 65-22 courtesy of a second-half try shower that included a hat-trick from Hosea Gear.

The ever-improving Japanese actually led 22-17 at half-time of an enthralling match, but ran out of steam against the more powerful Maori in the second half.

The win now sets the Maori up -- Sunday's result permitting -- for a winner-takes-all showdown against Australia A next weekend.

The Maori ran in 10 tries in all.

Japan's James Arlidge got the scoreboard ticking over with an early penalty, but the Maoris struck twice within four minutes shortly after, with Zar Lawrence finishing off a break by Piri Weepu and Liam Messam stealing maul ball to set Callum Bruce away.

But the Japanese struck back, with another quick-fire brace of tries.  Full-back Bryce Robins finished off a move sparked by a half-break from Shaun Webb, and then wing Christain Loamanu found space out wide to score after the Japanese had stolen Maori line-out ball.

The Maori regained the lead once more when Messam drew the defence in the centres to create just enough space for inside centre Tamati Ellison to go over in the corner.

But Japan blindside flanker Luke Thompson crossed after Webb fielded a poor clearance kick, and fed Robins, who ran straight and hard up the middle before finding the supporting Thompson.  Arlidge's conversion gave Japan their 22-17 lead at the break.

Gear drove over for his first try after a concentrated forwards build-up, then moments later, after 55 minutes, he latched onto a good pass from prop Jacob Ellison after Webb lost the ball in the tackle.

Full-back Dwayne Sweeney then touched down, before Gear completed his hat-trick as Japan crumbled

Lawrence and Bruce both added their second tries as the Maori bench ran the Japanese ragged, and centre Jason Kawau finished off the romp in the final minute.

"We were disappointed and there were some harsh words said at half-time," Maori captain Tamati Ellison said.

"We were confident in our ability to open things but frustrated that we hadn't done so in the tournament so far.  We stuck with it and things eventually did open up for us."

Japan captain Tomokazu Soma regretted his team had not been able to sustain its first-half effort.

"We did our best in the first half," he said.

"I was really proud of our first half and proud of the game but we failed to maintain that so I am not satisfied.  We are very disappointed."

The scorers:

For NZ Maori:
Tries:  Lawrence 2, Bruce 2, Ellison, Gear 3, Sweeney, Kawau
Cons:  Bruce 6
Pen:  Bruce

For Japan:
Tries:  Robins, Loamanu, Thompson
Cons:  Arlidge 2
Pen:  Arlidge

New Zealand Maori:  15 Shannon Paku, 14 Glen Horton, 13 Jason Kawau, 12 Tamati Ellison (co-captain), 11 Zar Lawrence, 10 Callum Bruce, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Liam Messam (co-captain), 7 Tanerau Latimer, 6 Hoani MacDonald, 5 Jason Eaton / Isaac Ross, 4 Ross Filipo, 3 Bronson Murray, 2 Aled de Malmanche, 1 Jacob Ellison.
Replacements:  16 Hikawera Elliot, 17 Keith Cameron, 18 Thomas Waldrom, 19 Scott Waldrom, 20 Chris Smylie, 21 Dwayne Sweeney, 22 Hosea Gear.

Japan:  15 Bryce Robins, 14 Kosuke Endo, 13 Yuta Imamura, 12 Shotaro Onishi, 11 Christian Loamanu, 10 James Arlidge, 9 Tomoki Yoshida, 8 Ryu Koliniasi Holani, 7 Hare Makiri, 6 Luke Thompson, 5 Toshizumi Kitagawa, 4 Tomoaki Taniguchi, 3 Tomokazu Soma, 2 Taku Inokuchi, 1 Yuta Inose.
Replacements:  16 Naonori Mizuyama, 17 Yosuke Ikegaya, 18 Koji Shinozuka, 19 Yoshitaka Nakayama, 20 Fumiaki Tanaka, 21 Shaun Webb, 22 Hiroki Yoshida.

Referee:  Carlo Damasco (Italy)

Maori marching towards PNC title

New Zealand Maori have made it three out of three in the Pacific Nations Cup with a hard-fought 17-6 win over Samoa in Hamilton on Saturday.

Chiefs centre Callum Bruce opened the scoring after 12 minutes with a penalty when the Samoans were penalised for obstruction at a line-out.

A similar penalty offence -- this one actually awarded for coming in on the side -- a few minutes later saw Samoan lock Chad Slade sent to the bin for ten minutes.

The Samoans nearly made it through the ten minutes unscathed, but Bruce's grubber-kick through the defence and touchdown ensured the visitors paid the price for their indiscretions.

Piri Weepu landed the killer blow for the Maori just before half-time, capitalising on good work from Liam Messam and Thomas Waldrom to score his side's second.

Samoa regrouped and redoubled their efforts in the second half, and two penalties from full-back Gavin Williams made the score 14-6 by the hour, but there was no change to be found from the Maori defence.

The scorers:

For the NZ Maori:
Tries:  Bruce, Weepu
Cons:  Bruce 2
Pen:  Bruce

For Samoa:
Pens:  Williams 2

Yellow cards:  Slade (Samoa, 21), Tuilagi (Samoa, 75)

New Zealand Maori:  15 Dwayne Sweeney, 14 Shannon Paku, 13 Tim Bateman, 12 Tamati Ellison (co-captain), 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Callum Bruce, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Tanerau Latimer, 6 Liam Messam (co-captain), 5 Jason Eaton, 4 Ross Filipo, 3 Bronson Murray, 2Hikawera Elliot, 1 Keith Cameron.
Replacements:  16 Aled de Malmanche, 17 Jacob Ellison, 18 Hoani MacDonald, 19 Scott Waldrom, 20 Chris Smylie, 21 Jason Kawau, 22 Zar Lawrence.

Samoa:  15 Gavin Williams, 14 Esera Lauina, 13 Henry Faafili, 12 Anitele'a Tuilagi, 11 David Lemi, 10 Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu, 9 Junior Poluleuligaga, 8 George Stowers, 7 Semo Sititi, 6 Daniel Leo, 5 Chad Slade, 4 Filipo Levi (C), 3 Census Johnston, 2 Loleni Tafunai, 1 James Johnston.
Replacements:  16 Simon Lemalu, 17 Jeremiah Fatialofa, 18 Kane Thompson, 19 Alafoti Faosilivia, 20 Uale Mai, 21 Roger Warren, 22 Gasolo Salima.

Referee:  Ian Smith (Australia).

Maori edge past Fiji

A late second-half try from former All Blacks lock Jason Eaton earned New Zealand Maori a crucial 11-7 victory over Fiji in the Pacific Nations Cup rugby competition in Lautoka, Fiji, on Saturday.

Trailing 3-7 at halftime following a converted try to Fiji's South African-based centre Sireli Naqelevuki, the Maori side came back to snatch a win on a water-logged Churchill Park.

The match was in danger of being called off after ankle-deep water covered the ground following a torrential downpour.

But ground officials assured the match officials that the water would drain off quickly, and it did soon after kickoff.

However, it made playing conditions difficult for two teams more accustomed to running rugby and it was evident from the stop-start affair that neither side had planned for a wet-weather game.

Although co-captain and second five-eighth Tamati Ellison gave New Zealand Maori the lead with a 12th-minute penalty goal, the Fijians adapted to the conditions quicker and dominated the first half.

Taniela Rawaqa missed two shots at goal from handy positions and two strong runs from Naqelevuki, who played for the Stormers in the Super 14, took the game close to the Maori side's line.

Naqelevuki then charged down Maori half-back Chris Smylie's clearing kick and pounced on the loose ball for the only first-half try.  Rawaqa converted and Fiji led 7-3 at halftime.

New Zealand Maori appeared to settle better when Eaton's Hurricanes teammate Piri Weepu took the field at halfback in the second half.

His options helped his team gain vital ground in the atrocious conditions.

New Zealand Maori edged in front when Eaton was driven over the tryline from a lineout close to the line.

That gave them an 8-7 lead, which replacement back Callum Bruce stretched with a penalty goal five minutes from full-time.

Both teams had come into the game with a win each, New Zealand beating over Tonga 20-9 and Fiji beating Samoa 34-17 in the first round last weekend.

The scorers:

For Fiji:
Try:  Naqelevuki
Con:  Rawaqa

For NZ Maori:
Try:  Eaton
Pens:  Ellison, Bruce

New Zealand Maori out-slug Tonga

New Zealand Maori got their Pacific Nations Cup campaign off to a winning start with a 20-9 win over Tonga at Albany Stadium on Saturday.

In a game characterised by heavy tackles and penalty kicks the New Zealanders managed to get the better of their visitors as both teams threw all the weight they possessed at each other.

Fly-half Callum Bruce missed two easy penalty kicks in the first 15 minutes, keeping the Tongans in the game.  Bruce did however open the scores after 25 minutes.

The lead wasn't to last however, as Togan first fly-half Fangatapu Apikotoa drew the scores level with a penalty of his own.

The bash and crash play continued until half-time when the teams headed for the changing rooms all square.

It took all of ten minutes of the second half for the Maori to score the first try of their campaign when inside centre Tamati Ellison dotted down with Bruce adding the extra two.

Tongan full-back Sione Mone Tu'ipolotu was yellow-cared in the process of the try for some blatant illegal play right under the referee's nose.

Apikotoa was quick to reply though on the other side of the field, steering another penalty through the uprights to make the score 10-6.

Bruce then took the opportunity to again stretch the lead after he kicked another three-pointer in the 54th minute.

Some ridiculous illegal play in a ruck right inside the Maori 22 then allowed Apikotoa to add another three valuable points through a penalty and take the score to 13-9.

Another yellow card was handed to Tongan centre Epi Taione after he was caught tackling Thomas Waldrom around the head -- an act for which he was subsequently cited.

The try of the match was then scored in the 72nd minute by halfback Piri Weepu after he received an offload from wing Hosea Gear who had busted tackles all the way down the touchline.

Bruce added the two extra points to shut the game down and hand the locals a 20-9 win.

The Scorers:

For NZ Maori:
Tries:  Ellison, Weepu
Cons:  Bruce 2
Pens:  Bruce 2

For Tonga:
Pens:  Apikotoa 3

NZ Maori 26 England A 19

A long-range try in the final minute of extra-time sealed a first ever Churchill Cup win for the New Zealand Maori, who saw of England XV in the Final with a 26-19 victory.

Had the Maori not scored they would have won based on tries scored in the game, but the stamp of the try was a pleasing end to a long day of rugby in Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium.

With the scores tied 19-19 in the 99th minute of play, Caleb Ralph streaked to the five-metre line popping up to Hosea Gear -- who then crossed untouched for the winner.

Before that, in the first period of extra time, New Zealand's Glen Jackson failed to land a drop-goal from 30 metres out.  He was then rewarded for an English hand in the ruck, giving him a 39-metre kick from the touchline for the lead -- but his effort drifted to the left, and the deadlock dragged on.

England fly-half Dave Walder -- in for the injured Alex King -- also missed a drop-goal and then a penalty in extra time.

Jackson could have saved the Maori from extra time in the 84th minute of regular time, but he missed a penalty, and opened the door to England.

Indeed, it was England who had all the early play, and got the scoreboard ticking over with a Walder penalty in the fifth minute, but Ryan Nichols responded two minutes later with a try from 20 metres out -- Jackson failed to convert and the Maori had a tenuous two point lead 5-3.

Newcastle Falcons centre Jamie Noon got the English back into the lead after getting a pass from Henry Paul who release him from 25 metres out.  Walder added the conversion and England had the lead at 10-5 after fifteen minutes.

Maori skipper Corey Flynn then put his side into arrears with a sin-binning for killing the ball as England were threatening to attack.  Walder added his second penalty from the offense to increase the English lead to 13-5.

Walder hit his third penalty of the game to extend the England lead to 16-5 after thirty four minutes.

New Zealand were showing promise on limited possession, but had no answers for the waves of English movement with ball in hand -- and Walder added his fourth penalty to give his side a 19-5 lead at the break.

The Maori cracked the try-line for the first time in the second half when Ralph stayed out on the far left and collected a miss-two that allowed the speedster to go over with a clean pair of heels.  With the conversion the Maori were back in it -- adrift by only 19-12 after 49 minutes.

Two minutes later it was an interception by Jackson -- which he converted himself -- that set by the 19-19 tie that the Maori managed to break at a death.

Man of the Match:  Former All Black wing Caleb Ralph for the Maori was impressive on his second half try, and it was his tireless efforts in the overtime period that finally broke the English defense to put Hosea Gear away for the eventual winner.

Moment of the Match:  Again, involving Ralph, when the inventive winger streaked for some forty metres to set up the Gear try -- ending a 99-minute classic of a game between England and the Maori.

Villain of the Match:  None of note in a relatively clean match -- though the finger could be pointed at Maori captain Corey Flynn for his sin-binning (killing the ball) in the first half -- putting his team under stress early on.

Points Scorers:

New Zealand
Tries:  Nicholas, Ralph, Jackson, Gear
Cons:  Jackson 2

England
Try:  Noon
Con:  Walder
Pens:  Walder 4

Referee:  Pearson d.

Canada 9 NZ Maori 30

The New Zealand Maori wrapped up their three-match tour of Canada with a 30-9 win over the Canucks in the second "Test" at York University in Toronto.

The visitors outscored their hosts by five tries to nil, but Maori first five-eighth Willie Walker forgot his kicking boots at home, missing all but one of his team's conversions and adding just one penalty.

All Black back five forward Troy Flavell scored a brace of tries, Crusaders and Canterbury wing Joe Maddock scored a try -- to go with his two last week -- All Black discard Christian Cullen got on the scoresheet and hooker Slade McFarland, a replacement for Corey Flynn in the Maori touring party, scored the fifth and final try.

Canadian fullback Jamie Pritchard, who was born in Australia, slotted three penalties for his side, but the home side were unable to breach the rock-solid Kiwi defence.

The NZ Maori won last week's "international" against Canada in Calgary by 65-27, while the New Zealanders also won their midweek encounter, against the Rugby Canada All Stars in Ottawa, by 52-11.

The teams:

Canada:  1 Garth Cooke, 2 Pat Dunkley, 3 Kevin Tkachuk, 4 Mike James, 5 Colin Yukes, 6 Jim Douglas, 7 Adam Van Staveren, 8 Ryan Banks (c), 9 Morgan Williams, 10 Ryan Smith, 11 John Cannon, 12 Marco Di Girolomo, 13 Matt King, 14 Winston Stanley, 15 James Pritchard
Reserves:  Ed Fairhurst, Mark Lawson, Phil Murphy, Nik Witkowski, Kevin Wirachowski
Unused:  Sean Fauth, Bobby Ross

New Zealand Maori:  15 Christian Cullen, 14 Shayne Austin, 13 Rico Gear, 12 Joe Maddock, 11 Norm Berryman, 10 Willie Walker, 9 Brendan Haami, 8 Ron Cribb, 7 Wayne McEntee, 6 Troy Flavell, 5 Paul Tito (captain), 4 Kristian Ormsby, 3 Carl Hayman, 2 Slade McFarland, 1 Joe McDonnell.
Replacements:  16 Scott Linklater, 17 Deacon Manu, 18 Warren Smith, 19 Germaine Anaha, 20 Glen Jackson, 21 David Gibson, 22 Bryce Robins.

Referee:  Maybank r.

Points Scorers:

Canada
Pen K.:  Pritchard J. 3

New Zealand Maori
Tries:  Flavell 2, Maddock, Cullen, McFarland
Con:  Walker
Pen:  Walker

Canada 27 NZ Maori 65

The New Zealand Maori began their three-match tour of Canada with a comprehensive 65-27 win over the Canadian national team in Calgary.

The home team began strongly, with centre Nik Witkowski scoring an early, which was converted by fly-half Bob Ross, before the tourists hit back with unconverted tries by forward Troy Flavell and back Rico Gear.

A penalty from Ross tied the scores at 10-all, but a double from Canterbury winger Joe Maddock and a try by Shayne Austin saw the NZ Maori run into a useful 31-15 half-time lead.

Hurricanes halfback Brendan Haami, who replaced Aucklander Dave Gibson after the break, ran in an early second-half try, but a try from Canadian loosehead prop Kevin Tkachuk cut the scoreline to 39-22 before the New Zealanders turned it on, scoring another four tries, with Canada replying with one from Ross.

Austin and Haami completed their doubles, with replacement first five-eighth Glen Jackson getting over for a try, along with former All Black No.8 Ron Cribb.

"We're rapt with that [the result]," NZ Maori coach Matt Te Pou told NZPA.

"We had a lot of young guys in the side and we all had to cope with the altitude; it's 3500 feet [above sea level] and the heat and humidity, so to finish so strongly was great."

The New Zealand Maori face a Canadian All Stars XV in Ottawa on Wednesday, with the second "Test" against Canada in Toronto on Saturday, August 2.

The teams:

Canada:  1 Garth Cooke, 2 Mark Lawson, 3 Kevin Tkachuk, 4 Mike James, 5 Colin Yukes, 6 Ryan Banks (c), 7 Adam Van Staveren, 8 Phil Murphy, 9 Morgan Williams, 10 Bobby Ross, 11 Sean Fauth, 12 John Cannon, 13 Nik Witkowski, 14 Winston Stanley, 15 James Pritchard
Reserves:  Marco Di Girolomo, Jim Douglas, Pat Dunkley, Ed Fairhurst, Jeff Reid, Ryan Smith
Unused:  Kevin Wirachowski

New Zealand Maori:  15 Christian Cullen, 14 Shayne Austin, 13 Rico Gear, 12 Norm Berryman, 11 Joe Maddock, 10 Willie Walker, 9 David Gibson, 8 Ron Cribb, 7 Germaine Anaha, 6 Troy Flavell, 5 Kristian Ormsby, 4 Paul Tito (captain), 3 Carl Hayman, 2 Slade McFarland, 1 Joe McDonnell.
Replacements:  16 Scott Linklater, 17 Deacon Manu, 18 Warren Smith, 19 Wayne McEntee, 20 Glen Jackson, 21 Brendan Haami, 22 Justin Wilson.

Attendance:  6500
Referee:  ?

Points Scorers:

Canada
Tries:  Witkowski N. 1, Stanley W.U. 1, Ross R.P. 1, Tkachuk K. 1
Conv:  Ross R.P. 2
Pen K.:  Ross R.P. 1

New Zealand Maori
Tries:  Flavell, Gear, Maddock 2, Austin 2, Haami 2, Jackson, Cribb
Cons:  Walker 4, Jackson 2
Pen:  Walker