Nine-try Scotland get job done against Russia

Scotland produced the performance of their Rugby World Cup thus far as they hammered Russia 61-0 at Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa on Wednesday.

With a try bonus-point also achieved, the Scots claimed the required five points that sets up a mouth-watering clash with Japan on Sunday.

George Horne starred with a hat-trick while Adam Hastings (2), George Turner, Tommy Seymour, John Barclay and Stuart McInally also crossed, with Hastings kicking eight conversions for a 26-point haul.

The Scots were two thirds of the way to that critical bonus point at the halfway point in the game after an impressive opening 40 minutes.

Critics of Gregor Townsend’s decision to make 14 changes to his XV were swiftly silenced when, after a non-stop first five minutes to the game, Scotland opened the scoring through Hastings.  The fly-half dummied 15 metres out before showing a good turn of pace to make it 7-0.

The playmaker was over again on 19 minutes but in slightly fortuitous circumstances as his kick ahead would evade Russia full-back Vasily Artemyev in the in-goal area and Hastings would gleefully dot down to double the advantage.  It was a perfect opening quarter for Scotland.

Scotland were now on a roll but Russia did not help themselves, a third try coming on 23 minutes as Dmitry Perov’s pass on his own try-line from a lineout was intercepted by the busy Horne.  Scotland though weren’t complaining as they were on the verge of mission accomplished.

The fourth try would not arrive in the half, however, as Russia stood firm in their own 22 before a knock-on ended the Scottish onslaught.

FULL TIME | Scotland run in nine tries to defeat Russia at the Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa! #AsOne pic.twitter.com/xpdEWVScBu

— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) October 9, 2019

It wouldn’t take long for the fourth try to arrive as just five minutes into the second period scrum-half Horne finished off a wonderful breakout from wing Darcy Graham.  The sense of relief was visible in the Scotland camp as they knew they had the five matchday points they needed.

That prompted a release in pressure and Scotland turned the screw, with hooker Turner next to go over as he broke away from a maul.

Seymour got in on the act on 56 minutes as he did well to dive on a smart Blair Kinghorn kick through, with Scotland now up to 42 points.

It was now a case of how many Scotland would get and they showed no signs of slowing when Horne completed his hat-trick on the hour mark, collecting a pass from Henry Pyrgos on the left wing to cap a memorable individual feat.  Hastings could not add the extras so it was 49-0.

Horne’s evening almost got better shortly after when he crossed for what looked like a fourth try.  However, the final pass was adjudged to have been forward.  That mattered not though as the half-century was brought up late on, with Barclay cruising over before McInally wrapped up an impressive victory that gives Scotland confidence ahead of this weekend’s huge fixture.

The scorers:

For Scotland:
Tries:  Hastings 2, G Horne 3, Turner, Seymour, Barclay, McInally
Cons:  Hastings 8

Scotland:  15 Blair Kinghorn, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Duncan Taylor, 12 Pete Horne, 11 Darcy Graham, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 George Horne, 8 Ryan Wilson, 7 Fraser Brown, 6 John Barclay (c), 5 Ben Toolis, 4 Scott Cummings, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Gordon Reid
Replacements:  16 Stuart McInally, 17 Simon Berghan, 18 Willem Nel, 19 Grant Gilchrist, 20 Magnus Bradbury, 21 Jamie Ritchie, 22 Henry Pyrgos, 23 Chris Harris

Russia:  15 Vasily Artemyev (c), 14 German Davydov, 13 Vladimir Ostroushko, 12 Dmitry Gerasimov, 11 Vladislav Sozonov, 10 Ramil Gaisin, 9 Dmitry Perov, 8 Nikita Vavilin, 7 Tagir Gadzhiev, 6 Vitaly Zhivatov, 5 Evgeny Elgin, 4 Andrey Ostrikov, 3 Kirill Gotovtsev, 2 Stanislav Selskii, 1 Valery Morozov
Replacements:  16 Sergey Chernyshev, 17 Azamat Bitiev, 18 Vladimir Podrezov, 19 Bogdan Fedotko, 20 Andrey Garbuzov, 21 Sergey Ianiushkin, 22 Anton Sychev, 23 Yury Kushnarev

Referee:  Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant referees:  Wayne Barnes (England), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Ireland struggle to victory over Russia

Ireland garnered their second victory of the 2019 Rugby World Cup after sealing a 35-0 bonus-point triumph over Russia in Kobe on Thursday.

It still wasn’t a convincing performance by the Irish, despite opening up a 21-0 lead at the interval via Rob Kearney, Peter O’Mahony and Rhys Ruddock tries.

The Russians were spirited and they forced Joe Schmidt’s side into mistakes, and the bonus-point wasn’t assured until Andrew Conway touched down in the 61st minute.

That should have opened the floodgates against Lyn Jones’ tiring outfit but they could only add one more try through Garry Ringrose.

After the shock of the Japan defeat, this was supposed to be the ideal match for Ireland to get their campaign back on track but, although they ultimately emerged with a comfortable victory, it was an error-strewn display.

The start was positive enough, however, as just one minute had elapsed when the Irishmen opened the scoring through Kearney.  The full-back, who hadn’t scored a Test try for four years before September, touched down for his third in three successive matches.

O’Mahony soon followed his team-mate across the whitewash as Johnny Sexton grubbered through after spotting space in behind the Bears’ defensive line.

#IREvRUS #RWC2019 #RWCKobe pic.twitter.com/B5vOA8uNBd

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) October 3, 2019

To Russia’s credit, they battled and prevented their opponents from adding to their lead over the next 20 minutes, but Schmidt’s men gradually increased the pressure and that resulted in a yellow card for Bogdan Fedotko.

With the second-row off the field, Ireland went over once again as Ruddock touched down from close range for a 19-point buffer.  Sexton converted for the third time but it would be one of the fly-half’s final actions as the Leinsterman was replaced by Jack Carty at the break.

Carty has shown some good touches in the early stages of his international career but he struggled to get the Irish on the front foot in the third quarter.  Russia defended excellently and, as a result, the 2018 Six Nations winners were frustrated by their opponents.

Although ill-discipline was a problem for the Russians with Andrei Ostrikov being sin-binned for a dangerous ruck clearout on John Ryan, Ireland initially failed to take advantage.

Instead, a series of errors saw a number of scrums take place in the middle of the pitch and Jones’ men kept it scoreless for the majority of those 10 minutes.

They were eventually breached, though, when Carty and Keith Earls combined to send Conway across the whitewash before another excellent move saw Ringrose complete the win late on.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  Kearney, O’Mahony, Ruddock, Conway, Ringrose
Cons:  Sexton 3, Carty 2

For Russia:
Yellow Cards:  Fedotko, Ostrikov

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Jonathan Sexton (c), 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Jordi Murphy, 7 Peter O’Mahony, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Jean Kleyn, 4 Tadhg Beirne, 3 John Ryan, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Dave Kilcoyne
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Andrew Porter, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 CJ Stander, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Jack Carty, 23 Jordan Larmour

Russia:  15 Vasily Artemyev (c), 14 German Davydov, 13 Igor Galinovskiy, 12 Kirill Golosnitskiy, 11 Denis Simplikevich, 10 Ramil Gaisin, 9 Dmitry Perov, 8 Victor Gresev, 7 Tagir Gadzhiev, 6 Anton Sychev, 5 Bogdan Fedotko, 4 Andrey Garbuzov, 3 Kirill Gotovtsev, 2 Evgeny Matveev, 1 Andrei Polivalov
Replacements:  16 Stanislav Selskii, 17 Valery Morozov, 18 Vladimir Podrezov, 19 Andrei Ostrikov, 20 Evgeny Elgin, 21 Sergey Ianiushkin, 22 Roman Khodin, 23 Vladimir Ostroushko

Referee:  Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant Referees:  Mathieu Raynal (France), Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Samoa kick off pool campaign with bonus-point win

Samoa got their Rugby World Cup campaign off to a winning start as they beat Russia 34-9 with a try bonus-point at Kumagaya Rugby Stadium.

Alapati Leiua (2), Afaesetiti Amosa, Ed Fidow (2) and Rey Lee-Lo crossed for the islanders, with Tusi Pisi adding two conversions off the tee.

For Russia this is their second pool defeat after they lost the tournament opener to Japan on Friday.  Yury Kushnarev kicked their nine points.

Next up for Samoa is the task of facing Scotland, Japan and then Ireland as they look to spring a shock and progress to the knockout stages.

It was a first half low on scores but full of incident as Samoa were lucky to receive two yellow cards, with both surely needing to have been red.

First Lee-Lo was sin-binned after making a high hit on Russia full-back Vasily Artemyev, which clearly made contact with his head.  However, TMO Graham Hughes advised referee Romain Poite to consider the slight dip before impact from Artemyev, which saved the Samoa centre.

While that was contentious, just two minutes later on the half-hour Samoa hooker Motu Matu’u was also sin-binned after flying in and making head on head contact with the Russia full-back.  The former was clearly knocked out from the impact and would also get a spell in the bin.

Before those incidents there was some scoring action as Leiua crossed expertly on the right wing for an unconverted crossing on 16 minutes.

#RUSvSAM #RWC2019 #RWCKumagaya pic.twitter.com/ikrkDr8piA

— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) September 24, 2019

But Russia worked themselves back into the game well and two penalties from Kushnarev nudged them in front at 6-5, which was how it stayed until the break as both sides enjoyed a breather.  Russia though must have been upset with the refereeing calls and being just one point up.

Their lead would be ended just five minutes into the second half when Samoa number eight Amosa crossed, despite being tackled high by Russian prop Kirill Gotovtsev.  He was the third player in the game to be shown a yellow card, this before Pisi was wayward with the extra two.

Following a well-struck Kushnarev drop-goal, Samoa sparked back into life as a lovely inside ball saw Fidow scorch over from 20 metres out, with Pisi making it 17-9 with the simple conversion on 50 minutes before Fidow was over again, this time on the left wing to make it 24-9.

Samoa were now cruising and Lee-Lo was next to cross for their fifth try of the game on 62 minutes and it was fitting that man-of-the-match Leiua would add the gloss late on as he raced over for his brace.

The scorers:

For Russia:
Pens:  Kushnarev 2
Drop goal:  Kushnarev
Yellow Card:  Gotovtsev

For Samoa:
Tries:  Leiua 2, Amosa, Fidow 2, Lee-Lo
Cons:  Pisi 2
Yellow Cards:  Lee-Lo, Matu’u

Russia:  15 Vasily Artemyev (c), 14 German Davydov, 13 Vladimir Ostroushko, 12 Dmitry Gerasimov, 11 Kirill Golosnitskiy, 10 Yury Kushnarev, 9 Vasily Dorofeev, 8 Nikita Vavilin, 7 Tagir Gadzhiev, 6 Vitaly Zhivatov, 5 Bogdan Fedotko, 4 Andrey Ostrikov, 3 Kirill Gotovtsev, 2 Stanislav Selskii, 1 Valery Morozov
Replacements:  16 Evgeny Matveev, 17 Andrei Polivalov, 18 Azamat Bitiev, 19 Andrey Garbuzov, 20 Anton Sychev, 21 Dmitry Perov, 22 Ramil Gaisin, 23 Vladislav Sozonov

Samoa:  15 Tim Nanai-Williams, 14 Alapati Leiua, 13 Rey Lee-Lo, 12 Henry Taefu, 11 Ed Fidow, 10 Tusi Pisi, 9 Dwayne Polataivao, 8 Afaesetiti Amosa, 7 TJ Ioane, 6 Chris Vui (c), 5 Kane Le’aupepe, 4 Teofilo Paulo, 3 Michael Alaalatoa, 2 Motu Matu’u, 1 Logovii Mulipola
Replacements:  16 Ray Niuia, 17 Paul Alo-Emile, 18 Jordan Lay, 19 Senio Toleafoa, 20 Josh Tyrell, 21 Melani Matavao, 22 AJ Alatimu, 23 Ulupano Seuteni

Referee:  Romain Poite (France)
Assistant Referees:  Jérôme Garcès (France), Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

Hosts Japan open World Cup with unconvincing win

Kotaro Matsushima touched down three times as Japan overcame a nervous start to beat a resilient Russian outfit 30-10 in the opening game of the World Cup in Tokyo.

After the long build-up, it was perhaps unsurprising to see the Brave Blossoms begin slowly, but it was still a surprise that the Bears stayed in the contest for so long.

They shocked the hosts by taking the lead via Kirill Golosnitskiy and were only 12-7 in arrears at the interval after Matsushima touched down twice, but the Japanese eventually pulled away in the second half.

Yu Tamura added a couple of penalties while Pieter Labuschagne and Matsushima, who completed his hat-trick, secured the bonus-point to give them the full five points, but Japan will have to improve significantly if they are to beat Ireland next week.

Jamie Joseph’s men are well-fancied to excel at their home tournament and a match against minnows Russia offered them an ideal chance to ease their way into the competition.

Nerves were prevalent, however, and from the kick-off the Bears almost stunned the hosts when Stanislav Selskii scampered down the right before being halted five metres out.

The mistakes continued following a charge-down and an error under the high ball from William Tupou, which allowed Golosnitskiy to collect and score the first try of the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

It was deserved after a poor initial five minutes, but the restart enabled the Brave Blossoms to get their hands on the ball and they were much more comfortable.  Their high tempo game was in evidence and a brilliant off-load from Timothy Lafaele gave Matsushima an easy run to the line.

👏🏉🇯🇵

A lovely no look pass from @TimLafaele#RWC2019 pic.twitter.com/n7tOib7UI3

— ITV Rugby (@ITVRugby) September 20, 2019

Russia, despite tiring quickly, were resilient though and created opportunities via Yury Kushnarev’s varied kicking game.  It wasn’t always perfect but, when the fly-half got it right, Lyn Jones’ charges produced a brilliant attack which put the Japanese under duress.

Centres Dmitry Gerasimov and Vladimir Ostroushko, who had been physical throughout the opening period, combined nicely, but the latter could not quite get the ball out to the lurking German Davydov.

Having survived that scare, Japan dominated the rest of the half but they struggled to break through a stout Russian defensive barrier.  Jones’ men were well-organised and powerful in contact, but they were eventually breached late on when Matsushima crossed for the second time.

Joseph’s outfit took that momentum into the final 40 minutes and, after Tamura had extended their lead with a penalty, Labuschagne ripped the ball from Grenoble second-row Andrei Ostrikov on halfway and showed impressive pace to score.

It took his team 13 points clear but, to Russia’s credit, they kept themselves in the contest and reduced the arrears going into the final quarter through Kushnarev’s three-pointer.

Japan regained that buffer via the boot of Tamura but it was a poor display from the quarter-final hopefuls, who were far too loose.

The Brave Blossoms still had too much quality for the Bears, however, and sealed the win and the bonus-point when a poor Vasily Artemyev kick was pounced upon by the hosts, allowing Matsushima to complete his treble.

The scorers:

For Japan:
Tries:  Matsushima 3, Labuschagne
Cons:  Tamura, Matsuda
Pens:  Tamura 2

For Russia:
Try:  Golosnitskiy
Con:  Kushnarev
Pen:  Kushnarev

Japan:  15 William Tupou, 14 Kotaro Matsushima, 13 Timothy Lafaele, 12 Ryoto Nakamura, 11 Lomano Lava Lemeki, 10 Yu Tamura, 9 Yutaka Nagare, 8 Kazuki Himeno, 7 Pieter Labuschagne, 6 Michael Leitch (c), 5 James Moore, 4 Wimpie van der Walt, 3 Asaeli Ai Valu, 2 Shota Horie, 1 Keita Inagaki
Replacements:  16 Atsushi Sakate, 17 Isileli Nakajima, 18 Jiwon Koo, 19 Luke Thompson, 20 Hendrik Tui, 21 Fumiaki Tanaka, 22 Rikiya Matsuda, 23 Ryohei Yamanaka

Russia:  15 Vasily Artemyev (c), 14 German Davydov, 13 Vladimir Ostroushko, 12 Dmitry Gerasimov, 11 Kirill Golosnitskiy, 10 Yury Kushnarev, 9 Vasily Dorofeev, 8 Nikita Vavilin, 7 Tagir Gadzhiev, 6 Vitaly Zhivatov, 5 Bogdan Fedotko, 4 Andrei Ostrikov, 3 Kirill Gotovtsev, 2 Stanislav Selskii, 1 Valery Morozov
Replacements:  16 Evgeny Matveev, 17 Andrei Polivalov, 18 Azamat Bitiev, 19 Andrey Garbuzov, 20 Anton Sychev, 21 Dmitry Perov, 22 Ramil Gaisin, 23 Vladislav Sozonov

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees:  Nic Berry (Australia), Matthew Carley (England)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

USA defeat scoreless Russia

Six AJ MacGinty penalties helped the USA to a 25-0 victory over Russia at Bonney Field in Sacramento on Saturday.

MacGinty kicked six penalty goals and converted the home side's only try which was scored by Mike Te'o.

The win means that the USA extend their unbeaten record against Russia to seven matches since 2004.

Todd Clever was in impressive form in his record-breaking 68th appearance for the Eagles.

John Mitchell's men enjoyed the territorial advantage with James King and Tony Lamborn playing an integral part in their second caps for the home side by dominating the breakdowns.

Lamborn's physical prowess at the set pieces resulted in the home side receiving an early penalty which MacGinty slotted.

The playmaker doubled the advantage after Russia strayed offside, only a few minutes later taking the score to 6-0.

A true testament to the clinical defence from the home side as they kept a spirited Russia attack at bay, with the visitors setting up a few promising attacking phases.

MacGinty added three more penalties before the break as the players headed into the paddocks with the home side firmly in the lead on 15-0.

The scoring frustration continued for the visitors which was dealt a blow in the 48th minute when Andrei Garbuzov saw yellow, but the home side failed to add any points against a 14 men side.

Replacement Langilangi Haupeakui's powerful runs made an immediate impact and added his weight on defence, that helped to set up the only try of the match in the 65th minute.

MacGinty's slick handling skills allowed the pivot to offload to an inside running Mike Te'o.  The right wing beat one defender and burnt the defence to dive over for his third career try before MacGinty added the extras to take the final score to 25-0.

The scorers:

For USA:
Try:  Te'o
Con:  MacGinty
Pens:  MacGinty 6

For Russia:
Yellow Card:  Garbuzov

USA:  15 Will Holder, 14 Mike Te'o, 13 Thretton Palamo, 12 Shalom Suniula, 11 Blaine Scully (c), 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Nate Augspurger, 8 Cam Dolan, 7 Tony Lamborn, 6 Todd Clever, 5 Nate Brakeley, 4 James King, 3 Chris Baumann, 2 James Hilterbrand, 1 Titi Lamositele
Replacements:  16 Joe Taufete'e, 17 Ben Tarr, 18 Angus MacLellan, 19 Harry Higgins, 20 Langilangi Haupeakui, 21 Stephen Tomasin, 22 Chad London, 23 Luke Hume

Russia:  15 Ramil Gaisin, 14 Denis Simplikevich, 13 Kirill Golosnitskiy, 12 Dmitry Gerasimov, 11 Vasily Artemyev (c), 10 Yury Kushnarev, 9 Rushan Iagudin, 8 Anton Rudoi, 7 Pavel Butenko, 6 Viktor Gresev, 5 Denis Antonov, 4 Andrei Garbuzov, 3 Evgeny Pronenko, 2 Evgeny Matveev, 1 Alexey Volkov
Replacements:  16 Nazir Gasanov, 17 Azamat Bitiev, 18 Vladimir Podrezov, 19 Evgeny Elgin, 20 Danila Chegodaev, 21 Alexey Shcherban, 22 Evgeny Kolomiitsev, 23 Anton Ryabov

Referee:  Matthew Carley (England)
Assistant referees:  Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa), Chris Assmus (Canada)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

Six-try Canada thrash Russia

Canada returned to the victory trail when they claimed a deserved 46-21 win over Russia in Calgary on Saturday.

The Canucks, who lost narrowly against Japan last weekend, outscored their visitors six tries to three with Gordon McRorie leading the way with a 26 point haul via a brace of tries, five conversions and two penalties.

Russia battled throughout and couldn't match the pace and intensity of the home side who went into this clash ranked one place higher than them, in 18th place, on the World Rugby rankings.

Canada made the brighter start and raced into a 19-0 lead inside the opening quarter after McRorie, Taylor Paris and Matt Evans crossed for tries.

They continued to dominate and in the 24th minute Pat Parfrey scored their fourth try after gathering a skip pass from Evans.

To their credit, Russia ddin't surrender and in the 31st minute front-row Innokentiy Zykov barged over for their opening try which Yury Kushnarev converted to cut the lead to 26-7 at half-time.

A McRorie penalty in the 43rd minute made it 29-7 and shortly afterwards he combined with Djustice Sears-Duru before dotting down under the posts to give the Canucks a commanding 36-7 lead.

Midway through the half, Jordan Wilson-Ross sealed victory when he crossed for Canada'a sixth try and although Russia added some respectability to the score with two consolation tries from Evgeny Elgin and Evgeny Matveev, McRorie slotted a late penalty to add the final nail in the visitors' coffin.

The scorers:

For Canada:
Tries:  McRorie 2, Paris, Evans, Parfrey, Wilson-Ross
Cons:  McRorie 5
Pens:  McRorie 2

For Russia:
Tries:  Zykov, Elvin, Matveev
Cons:  Kushnarev 3

Canada:  15 Matt Evans, 14 Dan Moor, 13 Mozac Samson, 12 Nick Blevins, 11 Taylor Paris, 10 Pat Parfrey, 9 Gordon McRorie, 8 Aaron Carpenter, 7 Lucas Rumball, 6 Kyle Baillie, 5 Evan Olmstead, 4 Jamie Cudmore (c), 3 Jake Ilnicki, 2 Ray Barkwill, 1 Djustice Sears-Duru
Replacements:  16 Eric Howard, 17 Tom Dolezel, 18 Matt Tierney, 19 Cam Pierce, 20 Alistair Clark, 21 Jamie Mackenzie, 22 Liam Underwood, 23 Jordan Wilson-Ross

Russia:  15 Artemyev Vasily (c), 14 Uzunov Konstantin, 13 Gerasimov Dmitry, 12 Rudenko Vladimir, 11 Kolomiytsev Evgeny, 10 Kushnarev Yury, 9 Shcherban Alexey, 8 Rudoi Anton, 7 Temnov Andrey, 6 Gresev Viktor, 5 Antonov Denis, 4 Garbuzov Andrei, 3 Zykov Innokentiy, 2 Gasanov Nazir, 1 Bitiev Azamat
Replacements:  16 Matveev Evgeny 17 Volkov Alexey 18 Podrezov Vladimir 19 Elgin Evgeny 20 Butenko Pavel 21 Iagudin Rushan 22 Ianiushkin Sergei 23 Ryabov Anton

Referee:  Shuhei Kubo (Japan)

Eagles see off Russia

The USA secured a hard-fought 28-7 victory over Rusia at Allianz Park in London on Saturday.

Chris Wyles the USA full-back, and Saracens stalwart, was in familiar surroundings at Sarries' home ground and got his side off to a solid start with an early try which was converted by fly-half Adam Siddal.

The lead was extended to 12-0 when Samu Manoa was rewarded with a five-pointer after a period of sustained pressure and good teamwork.  Unfortunately the conversion was missed, but the Eagles would hold a solid defensive line throughout the first half.

Siddal added another penalty, after the break, before Russia scored their first points via a try from Andrey Garbuzov.  Ramil Gaysin slotted the conversion to make it 15-7.

This was just the wake-up call the USA needed and from that point onwards they would not allow their opponents much field possession.  Cameron Dolan also got in for a late try for the Eagles which was converted by Siddal.  The pivot also succeeded with two further penalties during this period.

The scorers:

For USA:
Tries:  Wyles, Manoa, Dolan
Cons:  Siddal 2
Pen:  Siddal 3

For Russia:
Try:  Garbuzov
Con:  Gaysin

Russia:  15 Ramil Gaysin, 14 Vasily Artemyev, 13 Igor Galinovskiy, 12 Dmitry Gerasimov, 11 Vladimir Ostroushko, 10 Sergey Sugrobov, 9 Anton Ryabov, 8 Victor Gresev, 7 Pavel Butenko, 6 Alexander Khudyakov, 5 Andrey Garbuzov, 4 Alexander Voytov (c), 3 Evgeny Pronenko, 2 Valery Tsnobiladze, 1 Grigory Tsnobiladze.
Replacements:  16 Vladislav Korshunov, 17 Aleksey Volkov, 18 Innokentiy Zykov, 19 Denis Antonov, 20 Artem Fatakhov, 21 Yury Kushnarev, 22 Andrey Otrokov, 23 Denis Simplikevich.

USA:  15 Chris Wyles, 14 Blaine Scully, 13 Folau Niua, 12 Andrew Suniula, 11 Tim Maupin, 10 Adam Siddal, 9 Robbie Shaw, 8 Cameron Dolan, 7 Scott LaValla, 6 Todd Clever (c), 5 Samu Manoa, 4 Tai Tuisamoa, 3 Titi Lamositele, 2 Phil Thiel, 1 Nick Wallace
Replacements:  16 Zach Fonoglio, 17 Olive Kilifi, 18 Eric Fry, 19 Graham Harriman, 20 Derek Asburn, 21 Shaun Davies, 22 Seamus Kelly, 23 Luke Hume

Referee:  Marius Mitrea (Italy)

Japan put 40 on Russia

Japan racked up 27 unanswered points in the second half to defeat Russia 40-13 in Wales on Friday.

Japan scored one try in the first half and four in the second as they picked up the first win of their European tour.

Ayumu Goromaru opened the scoring with a penalty in the third minute after Japan had kept the ball alive for more than a dozen phases from the kick-off.

But despite dominating possession and territory for the next 10 minutes it was Russia who scored next when a Japan handling error allowed Vladimir Ostroushko to use his pace to follow up a kick ahead and touch down.  Ramil Gayshin banged over the conversion as Russia led 7-3 completely against the run of play.

Japan hit back though when a good break by Goromaru in the 15th minute was finished off by Hendrik Tui after the Japan forwards pushed the Russian pack back 15 metres.  Goromaru's conversion made it 10-7.

A brace of penalties from Gayshin saw Russia regain the lead before Goromaru levelled things up with a second penalty in the 28th minute, as the teams went into the break all level at 13-13.

Japan got off to the best possible start to the second half when Michael Broadhurst crossed two minutes after the break.  Goromaru added the conversion and then a penalty before Male Sa'u scored the try of the game in the 50th minute.

The Japan centre used his pace and power to go over from 35 metres out, before following it up with a second five-pointer seven minutes late.  Toshiaki Hirose then rounded off the scoring in the 67th minute following a good cross kick from Kosei Ono.

Japan fly to Madrid on Sunday and wrap up their European tour with a test against Spain on Nov. 23

The scorers:

For Japan:
Tries:  Broadhurst, Sau 2, Hirose
Cons:  Goromaru 4
Pens:  Goromaru 4

For Russia:
Try:  Ostroushko
Con:  Gaysin
Pen:  Gaysin
Yellow Card:  Artemyev

Japan:  15 Ayumu Goromaru, 14 Toshiaki Hirose (c), 13 Male Sau, 12 Yu Tamura, 11 Yoshikazu Fujita, 10 Kosei Ono, 9 Fumiaki Tanaka, 8 Ryu Koliniasi Holani, 7 Michael Broadhurst, 6 Hendrik Tui, 5 Hitoshi Ono , 4 Luke Thompson, 3 Kensuke Hatakeyama, 2 Shota Horie, 1 Masataka Mikami.
Replacements:  16 Hiroki Yuharai, 17 Hisateru Hirashima, 18 Hiroshi Yamashita, 19 Shinya Makabe, 20 Justin Ives, 21 Atsushi Hiwasa, 22 Seiichi Shimomura, 23 Akihito Yamada .

Russia:  15 Ramil Gaysin, 14 Vasily Artemyev, 13 Dmitry Gerasimov, 12 Alexey Makovetskiy, 11 Vladimir Ostroushko, 10 Sergey Sugrobov, 9 Anton Ryabov, 8 Victor Gresev, 7 Pavel Butenko, 6 Alexander Khudyakov, 5 Andrey Garbuzov, 4 Alexander Voytov (capt), 3 Evgeny Pronenko, 2 Valery Tsnobiladze, 1 Grigory Tsnobiladze.
Replacements:  16 Vladislav Korshunov, 17 Sergey Sekisov, 18 Innokentiy Zykov, 19 Denis Antonov, 20 Artem Fatakhov, 21 Alexey Shcherban, 22 Igor Galinovskiy, 23 Denis Simplikevich.

Referee:  JP Doyle (England)

Canada tame Russian Bears

Canada bounced back from last week's heavy defeat to Samoa to claim a convincing 35-3 victory over Russia in Wales on Saturday.

The result is Canada's third consecutive win over the Bears.

Canada led 16-3 at half time and 35-3 on the hour mark before some solid defending held the desperate Russians at bay in the final quarter.

Man of the Match Jeff Hassler, showed off blistering speed in scoring two of Canada's four tries — including one from 80 metres out — and setting up a third.

Hassler, who made his debut in June, claimed his maiden Test try in the 18th minute, counterattacking from his own 22.  James Pritchard, who kicked six from seven attempts on the night, converted for 13-3.

Soon after halftime, Hassler took an up-and-under over his shoulder running back in defence, turned, and broke past five defenders before before offloading to fellow wing Taylor Paris, who finished.

Three minutes later, insider centre Nick Blevins scored from his own chargedown.

The final score of the night came as Hassler scored his second on 59.  A run from halfway to beat three men, saw him go over in the corner, and put the finishing touch to a night of magic for the Canadians.

The Canadians were satisfied after being thumped by Samoa 42-12 at the same Parc Eirias last week.

"We felt we had to bring a little more physicality," said captain Aaron Carpenter.

"We ran some hard lines and broke them and scored some nice tries."

Head coach Kieran Crowley was also pleased to bounce back from the disappointment of last week:

"The defensive side of our game in the final period was outstanding," he said.

"We're very pleased with the win, and we scored some good tries, and to keep the other team tryless was a good performance" he said.

The scorers:

For Canada:
Tries:  Hassler 2, Paris, Blevins
Cons:  Pritchard 3
Pens:  Pritchard 3

For Russia:
Pen:  Klyuchnikov

Canada:  15 James Pritchard, 14 Jeff Hassler, 13 Ciaran Hearn, 12 Nick Blevins, 11 Taylor Paris, 10 Harry Jones, 9 Eric Wilson, 8 Aaron Carpenter, 7 Chauncey O'Toole, 6 Tyler Ardon, 5 Tyler Hotson, 4 Jebb Sinclair, 3 Jason Marshall, 2 Ryan Hamilton, 1 Andrew Tiedemann.
Replacements:  16 Hubert Buydens, 17 Ray Barkwill, 18 Doug Wooldridge, 19 Jon Phelan, 20 John Moonlight, 21 Nanyak Dala, 22 Phil Mack.

Russia:  15 Igor Klyuchnikov, 14 Denis Simplikevich, 13 Vasily Artemyev, 12 Dmitry Gerasimov, 11 Vladimir Ostroushko, 10 Sergey Sugrobov, 9 Alexey Shcherban, 8 Victor Gresev, 7 Pavel Butenko, 6 Andrey Temnov, 5 Kirill Kulemin, 4 Alexander Voytov (capt), 3 Evgeny Pronenko, 2 Valery Tsnobiladze, 1 Grigory Tsnobiladze.
Replacements:  16 Vladislav Korshunov, 17 Alexey Volkov, 18 Innokentiy Zykov, 19 Andrey Garbuzov, 20 Ramil Gaysin, 21 Gleb Babkin, 22 Yuri Vengerov, 23 Sergey Trishin.

Venue:  Parc Eirias, Colwyn Bay, Wales
Referee:  Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Tim Hayes (Wales), Wayne Davies (Wales)

Eagles outclass Russia

The November Test window kicked off with an exciting fixture on Friday as the USA Eagles easily beat Russia 40-26 at Parc Eirias in Wales.

The Americans ran in six tries to build a commanding lead by the hour mark but let their intensity drop in the final quarter to allow the Russians to bring a semblance of respectability to the scoreline.

Eagles scrum-half Robbie Shaw put in a stellar performance, scoring two tries and marshalling the American attack excellently.

The USA were a step ahead of their opposition in just about every aspect of the game.  Indeed, the scoreboard was a little flattering to the Russians, who nevertheless should be given credit for fighting to the end and scoring three tries in the last half-hour.

The USA paid the price for taking the foot of the gas as they missed out on a IRB Rankings bonus which would have come with a 15-point victory.

The American forwards dominated the Russian pack, winning the battle at the breakdown and in the set pieces.

The USA led 21-9 at the interval thanks to an early try from Eric Fry (his first in Test rugby), another from debutant fly-half Toby L'Estrange and one for lock Brian Doyle.

Shaw claimed his first early in the second half to give the USA a 33-9 lead but the Russians replied as wing Vladimir Ostroushko touched down.

Flanker Andrey Temnov grabbed two more for Russia in the final quarter but Shaw's second try — under the posts — had already put the result beyond doubt.

The scorers:

For Russia:
Tries:  Ostroushko, Temnov 2
Con:  Klyuchnikov
Pens:  Klyuchnikov 3
Yellow cards:  Gresev, Shcherban

For USA:
Tries:  Fry, L'Estrange, Doyle, Wyles, Shaw 2
Cons:  Wyles 5
Yellow card:Biller

Russia:  15 Igor Klyuchnikov, 14 Denis Simplikevich, 13 Vasily Artemyev, 12 Alexey Makovetskiy, 11 Vladimir Ostroushko, 10 Sergey Sugrobov, 9 Alexey Shcherban, 8 Victor Gresev, 7 Pavel Butenko, 6 Andrey Temnov, 5 Kirill Kulemin, 4 Alexander Voytov (capt), 3 Evgeny Pronenko, 2 Valery Tsnobiladze, 1 Grigory Tsnobiladze.
Replacements:  16 Vladislav Korshunov, 17 Alexey Volkov, 18 Innokentiy Zykov, 19 Andrey Garbuzov, 20 Ramil Gaysin, 21 Gleb Babkin, 22 Vladimir Boltenkov, 23 Dmitry Gerasimov.

USA:  15 Chris Wyles, 14 Cornelius Dirksen, 13 Paul Emerick, 12 Andrew Suniula, 11 Luke Hume, 10 Toby L'Estrange, 9 Robbie Shaw, 8 Todd Clever (capt), 7 John Quill, 6 Scott LaValla, 5 Louis Stanfill, 4 Brian Doyle, 3 Eric Fry, 2 Chris Biller, 1 Shawn Pittman.
Replacements:  16 Zachary Fenoglio, 17 Nick Wallace, 18 Tony Purpura, 19 Inaki Basauri, 20 Peter Dahl, 21 Mike Petri, 22 Rolan Suniula, 23 Gearoid McDonald.

Referee:  Leighton Hodges (Wales)

Australia ease past spirited Russia

Despite picking up a bonus-point win, Australia produced a Jekyll & Hyde showing in their 68-22 Pool victory over Russia in Nelson on Saturday.

Russia ran in three tries -- through Vladimir Ostroushko, Denis Simplikevich and Konstantin Rachkov -- but the Golds hit double figures.

Australia looked set to give the Bears a hiding from the kick-off as Australia opened the scoring with five minutes played, Berrick Barnes stepping and going in untouched.  However, James O'Connor missed the resulting conversion.

Drew Mitchell, who later left the field with a hamstring injury, went in for the second try after collecting a well-weighted chip kick from Barnes.  O'Connor made no mistake with those extras.

Then came one of the tries of the day as wing Radike Samo started a passage that saw many Australians involved.  Quade Cooper gave the final, unselfish pass to a supporting Ben McCalman.  Russia were on the rack.

Openside flanker David Pocock secured the bonus point try midway through the half, using his strength before he added another following good work from Adam Ashley-Cooper.  O'Connor had definitely found his kicking range.

Then came one of the loudest cheers of the day when Russia crossed the whitewash.  Coming from a Luke Burgess spillage, wing Ostroushko picked up the loose ball and stepped around Nathan Sharpe to make it 33-5.

Pocock then almost claimed his third try but instead chose to offload to hooker Stephen Moore, with O'Connor knocking over his fifth conversion.

Ashley-Cooper joined the party soon after as Cooper put in a nice grubber to his colleague that allowed O'Connor to make it 47-5 at half-time.

It didn't take long for Australia to add to their tally too as Salesi Ma'afu got over for their eighth try after referee Bryce Lawrence had twice played an advantage.

Replacement Rachkov's drop-goal cut the lead to 54-8 but then Mitchell responded for his side.  Mitchell then looked set for another try but he pulled up with what looked like a hamstring injury with the line at his mercy.

Simplikevich soon after intercepted a wild pass from Cooper and to race in and suddenly the scoreline looked a lot more respectably for the Bears.  However, Australia were to have the final say as Barnes got his second try after charging down a kick and strolling in.

Man of the match:  Yet again the presence of David Pocock was a massive plus for Australia.  With him they look like they could beat the Springboks, without him we are not so sure.  He scored two tries in just 40 minutes, with another mention going to Luke Burgess.

Moment of the match:  More for the Russian and New Zealand fans we have gone for Quade Cooper's pass that was intercepted by Denis Simplikevich.  On the other side of the coin, Drew Mitchell's inside ball was excellent and led to Stephen Moore's try.

Villain of the match:  Clean and fair.  No villain.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Barnes 2, Mitchell 2, McCalman, Pocock 2, Moore, Ashley-Cooper, Ma'afu
Cons:  O'Connor 9

For Russia:
Tries:  Ostroushko, Simplikevich, Rachkov
Con:  Rachkov 2
Drop:  Rachkov

Australia:  15 James O'Connor, 14 Radike Samo, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 David Pocock, 6 Scott Higginbotham, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 James Horwill (captain), 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 Tatafu Polota Nau, 17 Saia Fainga'a, 18 Salesi Ma'afu, 19 Rob Simmons, 20 Rocky Elsom, 21 Will Genia, 22 Nick Phipps.

Russia:  15 Vasily Artemyev, 14 Denis Simplikevich, 13 Andrey Kuzin, 12 Alexey Makovetskiy, 11 Vladimir Ostroushko, 10 Yury Kushnarev, 9 Alexander Yanyushkin, 8 Victor Gresev, 7 Vyacheslav Grachev, 6 Artem Fatakhov, 5 Adam Byrnes, 4 Alexander Voytov, 3 Ivan Prishchepenko, 2 Vladislav Korshunov (c), 1 Sergey Popov.
Replacements:  16 Evgeny Matveev, 17 Vladimir Botvinnikov, 18 Alexey Travkin, 19 Andrey Garbuzov, 20 Alexander Shakirov, 21 Konstantin Rachkov, 22 Mikhail Babaev.

Referee:  Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  George Clancy (Ireland), Simon McDowell (Ireland)
Television match official:  Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Nine-try Ireland hammer Russia

Ireland strengthened their chances of topping Pool C after claiming a nine-try 62-12 win over Russia at Rotorua International Stadium on Sunday.

With only six players backing up from the 15-6 upset of Australia at Eden Park last weekend, they still maintained their three-point lead over the Wallabies in Pool C heading into the final games.

A mass of green among the 25,661 capacity at the Rotorua venue generated a homely feel for for Ireland.  And they steamed to a 43-0 lead eight minutes after half-time before taking off their key men and giving Russia the chance to get on the scoreboard with two late tries.

The Irish will lock up Pool C with victory over Six Nations rivals Italy in Dunedin next Sunday, with the Italians to first play the USA on Tuesday.

Fly-half Ronan O'Gara, the official man-of-the-match in his 115th Test, extended his Irish scoring record to 1,054 points with 15 points from six conversions and a penalty before he was replaced with 15 minutes remaining.

The Irish put the Russian defence to the test early with 14 phases on their try-line before they lost fly-half Konstantin Rachkov to the sin-bin for a deliberate knock down.

In the time Rachkov was off the field Ireland cashed in with two converted tries to Fergus McFadden off an O'Gara kick and outstanding openside flanker Sean O'Brien.

O'Gara was at the heart of the Irish attacks and his goal-kicking and general kicking was immaculate.

But when Rashov returned late in the first quarter the Irish scoring slowed and it took them until late in the half to rush on three tries in as many minutes.

New Zealand-born scrum-half Isaac Boss dived over and planted the ball next to the post and centre Keith Earls finished off a break from winger Andrew Trimble.

The Irish finished the half in storming fashion when Trimble toed through off Andrey Garbuzov's error to score for an emphatic 36-0 lead at the break.  O'Gara's sideline conversion attempt struck an upright costing him an unblemished kicking performance.

Earls sliced through for his second try eight minutes after the break and was taken straight off along with prop Cian Healy as Ireland looked ahead to their next big match with Italy.

Russia had their best moment in the match when full-back Vasily Artemyev scored a classy try, slicing through and then standing up Rob Kearney to score in the 51st minute.

The Russians had another 'victory' when winger Denis Simplikevich brushed off McFadden and Trimble to score the Bears' second try on the hour.  But Ireland powered on with the replacements' bench cleared and they added three more tries to Kearney, Shane Jennings and Tony Buckley.

Man of the match:  We have mentioned him time and time again but flanker Sean O'Brien continues to impress.  He was a tower of strength for the Irish and deserved his first-half try.

Moment of the match:  Russia scoring their second try through wing Denis Simplikevich.  It was a fine score that led to big celebrations, despite the result already being beyond doubt.

Villain of the match:  Letting his side down by putting himself in the sin-bin for a deliberate knock-down was not the wisest thing Konstantin Rachkov will ever do.  It cost his team.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  McFadden, O'Brien, Boss, Earls 2, Trimble, Kearney, Jennings, Buckley
Con:  O'Gara 6, Sexton
Pen:  O'Gara

For Russia:
Try:  Artemyev, Simplikevich
Con:  Rachkov

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Keith Earls, 12 Paddy Wallace, 11 Andrew Trimble, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Isaac Boss, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Donnacha Ryan, 5 Leo Cullen (c), 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 Tony Buckley, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Rory Best, 17 Mike Ross, 18 Denis Leamy, 19 Shane Jennings, 20 Eoin Reddan, 21 Jonathan Sexton, 22 Geordan Murphy.

Russia:  15 Vasily Artemyev, 14 Denis Simplikevich, 13 Andrey Kuzin, 12 Sergey Trishin, 11 Vladimir Ostroushko, 10 Konstantin Rachkov, 9 Alexander Yanyushkin (c), 8 Victor Gresev, 7 Andrey Garbuzov, 6 Artem Fatakhov, 5 Adam Byrnes, 4 Denis Antonov, 3 Alexander Khrokin, 2 Valery Tsnobiladze, 1 Sergey Popov.
Replacements:  16 Evgeny Matveev, 17 Ivan Prishchepenko, 18 Alexey Travkin, 19 Alexander Voytov, 20 Andrey Bykanov, 21 Mikhail Sidorov, 22 Mikhail Babaev.

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Dave Pearson (England), Jérôme Garces (France)
Television match official:  Giulio De Santis (Italy)

Azzurri savage Russia

Italy ran in nine tries to hammer Russia 53-17 in a rather one-sided World Cup Pool C encounter at Trafalgar Park in Nelson on Tuesday.

The result means Italy move level with Australia on five points in a pool that could have a massive impact on the make up of the play-offs.

The Russian scrum was moving in reverse as soon as the ref said ''engage'', meaning the Italian backs had plenty of quality first-phase ball to work with -- and they used to deadly effect.

The World Cup newcomers put on a gallant display against the USA last week but were simply outclassed by a more experienced, more clinical side.

It wasn't all bad news for the Russians, who scored three good tries -- their first in World Cup competition -- in an entertaining game.

Six first-half tries gave Italy a 38-7 lead at the break with wing Giulio Toniolatti grabbing two and referee Wayne Barnes awarding a penalty try against the Russian scrum.

Centre Tommaso Benvenuti added his second after the restart as Nick Mallett's side touched down three more times to break to the 50-point barrier in a more evenly-contested second half.

It took just six minutes for Italy to open the scoring as skipper Sergio Parisse crossed at the end of a flowing move.

It was one-way traffic for most of the rest of the half with Toniolatti, Benvenuti and scrum-half Edoardo Gori following their captain's example.

Russia did manage to sneak a try, with scrum-half Alexander Yanyushkin striking with a sniping run immediately after Italy were reduced to fourteen when hooker Fabio Ongaro saw yellow for a late tackle.

It was much the same for Italy at the start of the second half as wing Luke McLean and replacement flank Alessandro Zanni drove the Azzurri's advantage home.

But Russia finished strongly as they chased a four-try bonus point.  It wasn't to be, but well-taken tries from wing Vladimir Ostroushko and centre Alexey Makovetskiy were just reward for the Bears' hard work.

Man of the match:  He only played 56 minutes before being pulled off and wrapped in cotton wool, but Sergio Parisse was phenomenal, scoring one try and having a hand in creating three more.  Pure class.  A mention too for his opposite number, Victor Gresev, who worked tirelessly.

Moment of the match:  Parisse's try had the Bears on the ropes and Giulio Toniolatti's first try gave the Italians a healthy lead.  Not only was it a wonderful try to watch, but it effectively ended any suspends regarding the result.

Villain of the match:  No bad guys tonight.

The scorers:

For Italy:
Tries:  Parisse, Toniolatti 2, Benvenuti 2, penalty try, Gori, McLean, Zanni
Cons:  Bocchino 4

For Russia:
Tries:  Yanyushkin, Ostroushko, Makovetskiy
Con:  Rachkov

Yellow card:  Ongaro (Italy -- 32nd min -- late tackle)

Italy:  15 Andrea Masi, 14 Giulio Toniolatti, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Matteo Pratichetti, 11 Luke McLean, 10 Riccardo Bocchino, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse (capt), 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Paul Derbyshire, 5 Marco Bortolami, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Fabio Ongaro, 1 Salvatore Perugini.
Replacements:  16 Tommaso D'Apice, 17 Martin Castrogiovanni, 18 Cornelius van Zyl, 19 Alessandro Zanni, 20 Pablo Canavosio, 21 Luciano Orquera, 22 Alberto Sgarbi.

Russia:  15 Igor Klyuchnikov, 14 Vasily Artemyev, 13 Andrey Kuzin, 12 Alexey Makovetskiy, 11 Vladimir Ostroushko, 10 Konstantin Rachkov, 9 Alexander Shakirov, 8 Victor Gresev , 7 Andrey Garbuzov, 6 Vyacheslav Grachev , 5 Adam Byrnes, 4 Alexander Voytov, 3 Ivan Prishchepenko, 2 Vladislav Korshunov (c), 1 Vladimir Botvinnikov
Replacements:  16 Valery Tsnobiladze, 17 Alexander Khrokin, 18 Denis Antonov, 19 Artem Fatakhov, 20 Alexander Yanyushkin, 21 Mikhail Sidorov, 22 Yury Kushnarev.

Venue:  Trafalgar Park, Nelson
Referee:  Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees:  Steve Walsh, Chris Pollock
TMO:  Shaun Veldsman

USA resist Russian charge

The USA held on for a 13-6 win over World Cup debutants Russia in an enthralling encounter in New Plymouth on Thursday.

Intensity was the name of the game as the protagonists went at each other hammer and tongs.

The USA led 10-3 at the break thanks to a fantastic try from scrum-half Mike Petri but had to wait until deep in the second half to add a penalty to give themselves some breathing room.

A late penalty from Russian however set up a grandstand finish.

Despite what the scoreline might suggest, there was plenty of good rugby on offer.  Unfortunately the very wet conditions did not help as driving rain, in the second half in particular, made handling very difficult.

The Bears made a storming start to the game and looked dangerous when putting some of their big runners in space.

But the World Cup newcomers were half a yard behind their rivals for much of the game and one would imagine that in more favourable conditions the USA would have won more confortably.

After being handed a beating in the scrums against Ireland, the Americans would have enjoyed holding the upper hand in the set pieces, particularly in the line-outs.

Indeed, the Russians were denied a handful of opportunities as they failed to secure possession on their own throw.  In total, the USA stole six of the opponents' throw-ins, enough to stifle the red armada's momentum.

Russia opened the scoring after just three minutes when fly-half Yury Kushnarev slotted a penalty.  The Russians had come racing out of the blocks and had the American defence working overtime.

A penalty from USA full-back Chris Wyles levelled matters before the more experienced team struck with the game's only try from a flowing move started inside their own half to put Petri over the line under the posts at the end of the first quarter.  Centre Andrew Suniula put fly-half and brother Roland through a hole and the ball was worked back inside for Petri to drag Igor Klyuchnikov over the line, Wyles added the conversion.

That gave the Americans a seven-point led but despite largely controlling the match, they were not able to move further ahead until the 64th minute due to a combination of gallant defending from the Russians and some below-par handling from the blue-clad outside backs.

Russia finished strongly and a silly shoulder charge from US skipper Todd Clever allowed Kushnarev to add his second three-pointer and set up a nail-biting finish.

The Bears were unable to produce the accuracy needed to come up with a try however and must settle for a losing bonus-point in their first RWC appearance.

Man of the match:  The US dominated the breakdown zone and Mike MacDonald put in plenty of graft as well as being solid at scrum time.

Moment of the match:  No doubt about this one, the USA try was one of the best we've seen in the tournament so far as they turned on the gas to break from their own territory.

Villain of the match:  A few fisticuffs, as you would expect, but a villain award seems a bit harsh.

The scorers:

For Russia:
Pens:  Kushnarev 2

For USA:
Try:  Petri
Con:  Wyles
Pens:  Wyles 2

The teams:

Russia:  15 Igor Klyuchnikov, 14 Vladimir Ostroushko, 13 Konstantin Rachkov, 12 Alexey Makovetskiy, 11 Vasily Artemyev, 10 Yury Kushnarev, 9 Alexander Shakirov, 8 Vyacheslav Grachev, 7 Artem Fatakhov, 6 Andrey Garbuzov, 5 Denis Antonov, 4 Alexander Voytov, 3 Ivan Prishchepenko, 2 Vladislav Korshunov (c), 1 Sergey Popov.
Replacements:  16 Valery Tsnobiladze, 17 Alexander Khrokin, 18 Vladmimir Botvinnikov, 19 Adam Byrnes, 20 Victor Gresev, 21 Alexander Yanyushkin, 22 Andrey Kuzin.

USA:  15 Chris Wyles, 14 Takudzwa Ngwenya, 13 Paul Emerick, 12 Andrew Suniula, 11 James Paterson, 10 Roland Suniula, 9 Mike Petri, 8 Nic Johnson, 7 Todd Clever (c), 6 Louis Stanfill, 5 Hayden Smith, 4 John van der Giessen, 3 Matekitonga Moeakiola, 2 Chris Biller, 1 Mike MacDonald.
Replacements:  16 Phil Thiel, 17 Shawn Pittman, 18 Scott LaValla, 19 Pat Danahy, 20 Tim Usasz, 21 Nese Malifa, 22 Blaine Scully.

Venue:  Stadium Taranaki, New Plymouth
Referee:  Dave Pearson (England)
Assistant referees:  Craig Joubert (South Africa), Carlo Damasco (Italy)
Television match official:  Graham Hughes (England)

Azzurri hold on

In Sunday's second match, Italy 'A' survived a second-half Russian fightback to book their place in the Churchill Cup Plate final with a 24-19 win.

The Azzurri led 18-6 at the break but they held on by their fingertips in the last 20 minutes to set up a showdown with Tonga at Sixways on Saturday.

''It was a tough game and in the second half they put some width of the game.  But our scrummage was good and gave us a foundation,'' said former Gloucester lock Marco Bortolami.

Senior Italian assistant coach Alessandra Troncon added: ''It was a very important to win because last week we lost to Canada.  Russia arein our pool during the World Cup so to win is a good.  The scrum saved us a few times so I think it as key for us today.''

Russia face a Bowl final against their World Cup opponents USA and Bears' boss Kingsley Jones said: ''It's a game we should have won.  These lads can really play rugby but there was some naivety and not being street wise.  But there are a lot of positives.  A lot of the players showed what they can do in open space.  The line-out improved but the scrum was an issue for us.''

Italy led by nine at halftime thanks to tries from Matteo Pratichetti and Giulio Toniolatti, who went into the corner after a drive and deft offload from loosehead prop Alberto de Marchi.

Russia had to rely on the boot of Yury Kushnarev, who kicked two penalties and then added a third early in the second half to close the gap to nine points.

Tito Tebaldi landed a third penalty but then the tide turned as Russia scored the try of the match, a breakaway from their own 22 when Andrey Bykanov scooped up a loose ball, fed Kushnarev and when Rushan Yagudin took the ball on halfway he stepped out of the tackle and raced away.

With Tebaldi in the sinbin for killing the ball after Vasily Artemyev's break, Riccardo Bocchino stretched the lead.

Kushnarev failed with two attempts that could have put Russia right back into the game and was soon replaced by Anton Ryabov.

Tebaldi missed a penalty and Russia almost hit the killer button when Alexander Shakirov made the break and only a last ditch tackle from Matteo Pratichetti stopped him delivering the final pass to Yagudin.

Russia had a final crack with a freekick which they ran close to the Italian line but they could not capitalise and the chance was lost.

The scorers

For Italy A:
Tries:  Pratichetti, Toniolatti
Con:  Tebaldi
Pens:  Tebaldi 3, Bocchino

For Russia:
Try:  Yagudin
Con:  Kushnarev
Pens:  Kushnarev 4

Italy A:  R. Trevisan, G. Toniolatti, A. Pratichetti, A. Pratichetti, M. Sepe;  R. Bocchino, T.Tebaldi;  A. De Marchi, T. D'Aspice, F. Staibano, J. Furno, V. Bernabo (C), F.Minto, M. Bergamasco, M. Vosawai Reps: A. Manici, M. Aguero, D. Chistolini, M. Bortolami, D. Gerber, G. Venditti, N. Belardo

Russia:  I. Klyuchnikov;  V. Artemyev, M. Babaev, S. Trishin, R. Yagudin;  Y. Kushnarev, A. Bykanov;  G. Tsnobiladze, V. Tsnobiladze, A. Chernyshev, A. Panasenko, D. Antonov, V. Gresev, M. Sidorov, V. Grachev (C) Reps: V. Korshunov, A. Travkin, I.Prishchepenko, A. Garbuzov, A. Shakirov, A. Ryabov, I. Galinovsky

Canada make Final

Canada reached a second straight Churchill Cup final with a 34-18 win over Russia.

Having beaten Italy A 26-12 in their opening game, the Cannucks sank their opponents with nineteen unanswered second-half points after trailing by three at the break.

Justin Mensah-Coker, Connor Trainor, Ander Munro, Chauncey O'Toole and Matt Evans all crossed to ensure Canada will await England Saxons or Tonga in the final on June 19.

Igor Klyuchnikov and Vasily Artemyev both got over for Russia.

Canada:  15 James Pritchard, 14 Matt Evans, 13 Conor Trainor, 12 Mike Scholz, 11 Justin Mensah-Coker, 10 Ander Munro (capt), 9 Sean White, 8 Aaron Carpenter, 7 Chauncey O'Toole, 6 Jebb Sinclair, 5 Jamie Cudmore, 4 Tyler Hotson, 3 Scott Franklin, 2 Ryan Hamilton, 1 Tom Dolezel.
Replacements:  16 Pat Riordan, 17 Andrew Tiedemann, 18 Hubert Buydens, 19 Mitch Gudgeon, 20 Nanyak Dala, 21 Ed Fairhurst, 22 Phil Mackenzie

Russia:  15 I Klyuchnikov;  14 V Artemyev, 13 I Makovetskiy, 12 A Makovetskiy, 11 V Ostroushko, 10 Y Kushnarev, 9 S Shakirov, 8 V Grachev, 7 A Garbuzov, 6 A Temnov, 5 A Voytov, 4 V Boltenkov, 3 I Prishchepenko, 2 V Korshunov (capt), 1 S Popov.
Replacements:  16 V Tsnobiladze, 17 A Travkinm, 18 A Panasenko, 19 V Gresev, 20 A Bykanov, 21 S Trishin, 22 A Ryabov.

Referee:  Nigel Owens

Georgia win well in Tblissi

The Lelos of Georgia beat the Russian Bears 31-12 in Tblissi on Saturday before a crowd of some 25 000.

With a stronger side the Georgians made up for their surprise defat in Madrid recently.

The Georgians used their powerful pack to crush the Russians.  Three of their four tries were forward-generated.

The Russians used the scraps of possession they got to set their backs running but the Georgian defence coped with them.

Russia actually scored first when flyhalf Yuri Kushnarev kicked a penalty, equalled three minutes later by the Georgian fullback Pavle Jimsheladze, who had a good afternoon with the boot.  Kushnarev missed a penalty but goaled another two to put Russia up 9-3.

Just before half-time the Lelos gained the lead when they mauled from an attacking line-out and flank Georgia Chkhaidze scored.  Jimsheladze converted, and Georgia led 10-9 at the break.

The second half belonged to the Lelos pack.  Their first score was a penalty try as they shoved a maul ahead and again Jimsheladze converted.  17-9.

Kushnarev kicked his fourth penalty soon afterwards and Russia were still in touch at 17-12.

Lock Zurab Mchedlishvili is credited with the try when the pack shoved the Russians over their goal-line.  Jimsheladze converted.  24-12.

The backs produced the fourth try as the Georgians ran the ball and smashed through the centre for a try by flank Grigol Labadze, converted by Jimsheladze.  31-12.

Scorers:

For Georgia:
Tries:  Chkhaidze, penalty try, Mchedlishvili, Labadze
Cons:  Jimsheladze 4
Pen:  Jimsheladze

For Russia:
Pens:  Kushnarev 4

Teams:

Georgia:  15 Pavle Jimsheladze, 14 Giorgi Shkinini, 13 Malkhaz Urjukashvili, 12 Irakli Giorgadze, 11 Besik Khamashuridze, 10 Merab Kvirikashvili, 9 Irakli Abuseridze, 8 Beso Udesiani, 7 Giorgi Chkhaidze, 6 Grigol Labadze, 5 Zurab Mchedlishvili, 4 Levan Datunashvili, 3 Avtandil Kopaliani., 2 Davit Dadunashvili, 1 Davit Khinchaguishvili
Replacements:  16 Rezo Belkania, 17 Davit Gasviani, 18 Viktor Didebulize, 19 Ilia Maissuradze, 20 Bidzina Samkharadze, 21 Davit Katcharava, 22 Georgi Elizbarashvili

Russia:  15 Igor Kyluchnikov, 14 Andrei Kuzin, 13 Sergei Belousov, 12 Igor Galinovski, 11 Aleksandr Gvozdovski, 10 Yuri Kushnarev, 9 Aleksandr Sakirov, 8 Viacheslav Grachev, 7 Alexey Panasenko, 6 Kirill Kushnarev, 5 Andrei Garbuzov, 4 Artem Fatahov, 3 Ivan Prishchepenko, 2 Vladimir Marchenko, 1 Aleksandr Khrokin
Replacements:  16 Ivan Naumenko, 17 Victor Kobzev, 18 Sergey Popov, 19 Victor Gresev, 20 Alexander Yanyushkin, 21 Sergey Sugrobov, 22 Vladimir Ostroushko

Referee:  Franck Maciello (France)
Touch judges:  Akim Hadj Bachir (France), Eric Briquet Campin (France)

The Russian Bear triumphs in Madrid

Russia easily beat Spain 39-14 in Madrid on Saturday afternoon in a European Nations Cup match played at the Central Ciudad Universitaria.

The result is a great disappointment to Spain after their good showing in their 21-18 defeat by Portugal the weekend before.  It also will cause worries because after the double-round competition over two years the bottom side will be relegated and Spain has just returned from relegation.

Spain actually led in the second half after Juan Cano has d scored a try but after that Russia simply took over, and they did this with 14 men for prop Ivan Prischpenko was sent off in the first half.

It may seem strange but the Spanish pack dominated but the victory went to the speedy outside men of the Russia.

The match started evenly enough with a penalty goal by Yuri Kushnarev for Russia followed by an equaliser by new cap Manuel Olivares at flyhalf for Spain.  He kicked a second penalty and Spain led 6-3 after 14 minutes.

Russia had a period of attack but lost centre Igor Galinovski to the sin bin and Spain's pack put great pressure on the visitors who were better in the line-outs than the home side.

A five-metre line-out gave Russia the chance to maul and they went over for a try credited to Andrey Garbuzov.  Then just before half-time Alexandr Shakirov took advantage of a serious Spanish blunder on defence to score the second try so that the Bears led the Lions 13-6 at the break.

In the second half the Swainish coach Ged Glynn brought on Juan González and Sergio Souto, and this seemed to add more purpose to Spain for Olivares scored a third penalty goal and then Cano got his try, a great try that started in the Spanish 22.  Spain now led 14-13.

But then Galinosvki got a counterattack try and replacement scrumhalf Viktor Motorin converted.  Motorin was able tpo get the Russian backs going at speed, and this changed the game.Three tries followed by Gvozdovsky, who got two, and then finally an intercept try by Kushnarev in injury time.  Motorin converted two of them.

Scorers:

For Russia:
Tries:  Garbuzov, Shakirov, Galinosvki, Gvozdovsky 2, Kushnarev
Cons:  Motorin 3
Pen:  Kushnarev

For Spain:
Try:  Cano
Pens:  Olivares 3

Teams:

Spain:  15 César Sempere, 14 Juan Cano, 13 Manuel Mazo, 12 Javier Canosa, 11 David Mota, 10 Manuel Olivares, 9 Pablo Feijóo, 8 Iván Criado captain, 7 Alfonso Mata, 6 Cyril Hijar, 5 Sergio Souto, 4 Guillermo Bárcena, 3 Javier Salazar 2 Mathieu Cidré, 1 Jon Insausti
Replacements:  16 Diego Zarzosa, 17 Manuel Serrano, 18 Carlos Souto, David Hernández, 20 Igor Mirones, 21 Juan González, 22 Ignacio Gutiérrez

Russia:  15 Igor Klyuchnikov, 14 Andrey Kuzin, 13 Mikhail Babaev, 12 Igor Galinovsky, 11 Alexandr Gvozdovsky, 10 Yuri Kushnarev, 9 Alexandr Shakirov, 8 Alexey Panasenko, 7 Andrey Garbuzov, 6 Kirill Kushnarev, 5 Kirill Kulyomin, 4 Artem Fatakhov, 3 Ivan Prischepenko, 2 Vladimir Marchenko, 1 Alexandr Khrokin
Replacements:  16 Ivan Naumenko, 17 Viktor Kobzev, 18 Sergey Novoselov, 19 Andrey Temnov, 20 Viktor Motorin, 21 Yaroslav Rechnev, 22 Vladimir Ostrushko

Referee:  Andy Macpherson (Scotland)
Touch judges:  Andy Ireland, Alan Forrest (both Scotland)

Portugal sneak in

Last-gasp victory in Lisbon

Portugal's hopes of going to France next year are still alive, thanks to a last-minute try over Russia in Lisbon.

Portugal now face Georgia who beat Spain.  If Portugal win that they will head straight for France.  If they lose that they have to go into répechage.  There they will play the loser of the two-legged qualifier between Namibia and Morocco and then, if they win that, Uruguay.

Russia can no longer qualify.

Russia went 23-16 up with 15 minutes to go but, as time ran out, Portugal scored the try which may yet send them to France next year.  The try came with Portugal trailing 23-19.  Lock Marcelo D'Orey broke brilliantly to send inside cengtre Diogo Mateus in for the try.

Russia started off in splendid fashion when they grabbed a dropped pass and centre Andrey Kuzin scored the try.  5-0 after just two minutes.

Gonçalo Malheiro, whose error had led to the try, then goaled a penalty.  5-3, which Viktor Motorin cancelled out with a penalty goal.

From the kick-off, Portugal got on top and good teamwork brought a try for right wing António Aguilar, converted by Malheiro to give Portugal a 10-8 lead at half-time.

The lead did not last long in the second half for near the beginning No.8 Vyacheslav Grachev burst through to score.  Two penalties by Malheiro and one by Motorin were followed by Grachev's second try and Russia led 23-16 with 15 minutes to play.

Those 15 minutes belonged to Portugal.  First replacement Duarte Pinto reduced the lead to 23-19, to be followed then by all the drama of the finish.

Scorers:

For Portugal:
Tries:  Aguilar, Mateus
Cons:  Malheiro, Pinto
Pens:  Malheiro 3, Pinto

For Russia:
Tries:  Kuzin, Grachev 2
Con:  Motorin
Pens:  Motorin 2

Teams:

Portugal:  15 Pedro Leal, 14 António Aguilar, 13 Miguel Portela, 12 Diogo Mateus, 11 Pedro Carvalho, 10 Gonçalo Malheiro,8 Vasco Uva, 9 José Pinto, 7 Paulo Murinello, 6 Diogo Coutinho, 5 Marcelo D’Orey, 4 Gonçalo Uva, 3 Joaquim Ferreira, 2 João Correia, 1 Cristian Spachuk or Rui Corderio
Replacements:  16 Cristian Spachuk or Rui Cordeiro, 17 Juan Severino, 18 Sebastião Cunha, 19 João Uva, 20 Luís Píssara, 21 Duarte Pinto, 22 João Diogo Mota or Gustavo Duarte

Russia:  15 Dmitriy Zubarev, 14 Mikhail Babaev, 13 Andrey Kuzin, 12 Konstantin Rachkov, 11 Vladimir Ostroushko, 10 Alexey Korobeynikov, 9 Viktor Motorin, 8 Vyacheslav Grachev, 7 Artem Fatahov, 6 Aleksey Sarychev, 5 Kiril Kulemin, 4 Sergey Sergeev, 3 Victor Zdanovich, 2 Roman Romak, 1 Alexander Khrokin,
Replacements (from):  Oleg Shukaylov, Vladimir Marchenko, Valery Fedchenko, Vladislav Korshunov, Aleksandr Shakirov, Yury Kushnarev, Sergey Belousov, Ivan Prishchepenko, Victor Gresev

Referee:  Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)

Ireland 35 Russia 3

Ireland survived a potentially tricky Rugby World Cup 2003 qualifier against Russia in Krasnoyarsk, scoring two tries either side of the break for an unspectacular 35-3 win.

Leinster fullback Girvan Dempsey set the early pace with two tries in the first half to send the Irish one step closer to Australia 2003, the boot of Ronan O'Gara supplying 15 points to make the scoreline look marginally more convincing in the end.

Despite some periods of domination for the Russian pack, Ireland never looked like losing this one, and tries from skipper Keith Wood and second-row Malcolm O'Kelly stamped their authority on the match as the second half wore on.

Early on, any hopes that the Russians had of containing the free-running Irish were dashed in the opening minutes when a neat grubber from O'Gara saw fullback Dempsey touch down in the corner.

Russia fly-half Konstantin Rachkov took on much of the attacking burden for the under-pressure home side, whose big forward pack gave the Irish a torrid time in the lineouts, especially early on.

Ireland's defence held firm though in the first quarter, and with the Russians gradually struggling to contain their more illustrious opponents, two O'Gara penalties took the lead to 11-0.

With the Irish enjoying more posession and territory, it was once again Dempsey who found himself on the end of a well-worked passage of play, touching down his second try after O'Driscoll had started the move further down the pitch.

O'Gara converted, and despite yet more Irish pressure near the Russian line, 18-0 to Ireland was the half-time scoreline.

It was 13 minutes into the second half before Ireland extended their lead further, captain Wood rumbling over from hooker after a Kevin Maggs pass, O'Gara making no mistake with the extras.

With the Irish pack finally asserting some ascendancy, second-row Malcolm O'Kelly went over for a businesslike try from a lineout, O'Gara's conversion taking the lead to 32-0.

Despite the late sin-binning of Leinster prop Reg Corrigan, O'Gara another penalty for Ireland towards the end, Russia's Werner Pieterse registering the home side's only points with a penalty of his own before the whistle.

While Ireland may look upon this game as being mission accomplished, their lack of assertiveness in some quiet passages will give coach O'Sullivan food for thought going into their November Test programme, and also their home qualifying date with Georgia in Dublin.

For the defeated Russians, next Sunday's clash with bitter rivals Georgia in Tbilisi in front of a huge local crowd will be weighing heavily on their minds, and they will have gleaned much from this promising performance.

The Teams:

Ireland:  1 John Hayes, 2 Keith Wood (c), 3 Reg Corrigan, 4 Gary Longwell, 5 Malcolm O'Kelly, 6 Simon Easterby, 7 Keith Gleeson, 8 Anthony Foley, 9 Peter Stringer, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 11 Denis Hickie, 12 Brian O'Driscoll, 13 Kevin Maggs, 14 John Kelly, 15 Girvan Dempsey
Reserves:  Shane Byrne, Guy Easterby, Rob Henderson, David Humphreys, Paul Wallace, Leo Cullen, Alan Quinlan

Russia:  15 Alexander Zakarlyuk, 14 Andreï Kuzin, 13 Igor Dymchenko, 12 Alexeï Korobeinikov (W Pieterse 68), 11 Alexeï Sergeev; 10 Konstantin Rachkov, 9 Viktor Motorin, 8 Viacheslav Zykov, 7 Renier Volschenk (A Khrokin 62), 6 Viacheslav Grachev, 5 Sergei Sergeev, 4 Valereï Phedchenko, 3 Johan Hendriks (I Nikolaichuk 62), 2 Roman Romak, 1 Oleg Shukailov (M Uambaev 73)

Referee:  Jutge j.

Points Scorers:

Ireland
Tries:  Dempsey G.T. 2, O'Kelly M.E. 1, Wood K.G.M. 1
Conv:  O'Gara R.J.R. 3
Pen K.:  O'Gara R.J.R. 3

Russia
Pen K.:  Pieterse