France 43 Ireland 21

France marched into the Rugby World Cup semi-finals with an emphatic 43-21 win over Six Nations rivals Ireland, Les Bleus dazzling the Telstra Dome crowd with four high-quality tries.

The French signalled their intentions from the very beginning as they sent the ball out wide from the word go and fly-half Frédéric Michalak was quite simply magnificent every time touched the ball.

The Toulouse No.10, who is quickly challenging England's Jonny Wilkinson as the best in the game, stamped his authority early in the game when he chipped the ball out to the right-wing for powerful No.8 Imanol Harinordoquy to gather, pop it off to centre Tony Marsh, who in turn passed on to flanker Olivier Magne to charge over for the first try.

The French made it all look so easy and it was a sure sign of things to come ...

France dominated all phases of the game and the loose trio of Magne, Serge Betsen and Harinordoquy were sublime as they marauded Ireland's ball like a pack of rabid dogs and provided their exciting backline with copious amounts of quality ball.

The angles of running employed by the French were a joy to watch as they glided through gaps at will, with some desperate defence by Ireland's inspirational skipper Keith Wood and some French errors, mainly down to over-eagerness, allowing the Irish to keep their opponents at bay.

Ireland matched the French side's silky running with pure grit and determination as they began to find their feet midway through the half and bashed away at the defence with strong runs through midfield, but France were just as awesome on defence as they were on attack as they swamped the Ireland players in a sea of blue -- with that man Betsen leading the way.

It took a chip over the defence by Irish star centre Brian O'Driscoll to beat the defence and Christophe Dominici was forced to hack the ball into touch, setting up Ireland with their first real opportunity of the game.

But the resulting move was broken down due to some phenomenal defence by France and when an Irish pass went awry, Les Bleus pounced.  Betsen was again involved as he linked up with Dominici, putting the little winger into space for the try.  Michalak continued to make it look all too easy as he slotted his second conversion -- keeping his 100 percent record intact.

France stretched the lead to 27-0 at the break after the loose trio again turned ball over close to the Irish line for Harinordoquy to dot down.

Ireland were immediately under pressure following the re-start as fly-half Ronan O'Gara knocked on to hand possession back to the French and after prop Reggie Corrigan gave away a penalty in the resulting scrum, Michalak kept his team rolling on with the penalty goal.

The 20-year-old fly-half continued to dictate proceedings as he danced through the defence not long afterwards to set up play five metres from the Irish tryline as hooker Raphael Ibañez bashed his way through.  Michalak was then on hand to send the ball out to Magne, who linked up with prop Jean-Jacques Crenca for a simple run-in.  That after Crenca had handled in the early stages of the move.

Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan then opted to replace O'Gara with veteran No.10 David Humphreys and the move proved to be the better option for the Irish as the French took their foot off the gas slightly, allowing Ireland back into the game and when centre Kevin Maggs blasted through the gap there was nobody at home to stop the try.

Humphreys made no mistake with the conversion.

The try sparked the Ireland side into action as they looked to close the gap, but the pressure proved too much as Humphreys knocked on when the line was in sight.  France then made sure the revival was short-lived as they again began to pile on the pressure.

Another Michalak penalty reasserted the French authority before the game began to break down.  Both teams began to send on the replacements and then Ibañez was sent to the sin bin as he continued to infringe at the breakdown -- something the entire French team was guilty of doing.

Ireland took advantage of the extra man and in the next movement Humphreys stabbed it through for O'Driscoll to chase over and score.

Humphreys converted and O'Driscoll picked up a second not long after, but it all came too late for Ireland with the French well in front and already on the way to the Telstra Stadium in Sydney for a semi-final clash against one of England or Wales.

Man of the match:  For Ireland, skipper Keith Wood can take a bow with another big game in front and around the park, while O'Driscoll did what he could with limited ball, but it was the French loose trio of Olivier Magne, Imanol Harinordoquy and Serge Betsen who ruled the day -- with Betsen just pipping his two partners for the award with a tireless display on attack and defence.

Moment of the match:  There were plenty of brilliant moments during the match, but it was Ireland captain Keith Wood's tearful post-match interview that highlighted the passion of the Irish, bringing an end to a remarkable World Cup career for Wood and presenting an example of true sportsmanship to many others who have little.

Villain of the match:  There was the occasional bit of niggle, but nothing serious, so French hooker Raphael Ibañez collects this award for his continuous negative play at the breakdown earning him 10 minutes in the sin bin.

The Teams:

France:  1 Jean-Jacques Crenca, 2 Raphael Ibanez, 3 Sylvain Marconnet, 4 Fabien Pelous, 5 Jerome Thion, 6 Serge Betsen Tchoua, 7 Olivier Magne, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 9 Fabien Galthie (c), 10 Frederic Michalak, 11 Aurelien Rougerie, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 13 Tony Marsh, 14 Christophe Dominici, 15 Nicolas Brusque
Reserves:  Yannick Bru, Olivier Brouzet, Pepito Elhorga, Brian Liebenberg, Olivier Milloud, Patrick Tabacco
Unused:  Gerald Merceron

Ireland:  1 John Hayes, 2 Keith Wood (c), 3 Reggie Corrigan, 4 Malcolm O'Kelly, 5 Paul O'Connell, 6 Simon Easterby, 7 Keith Gleeson, 8 Victor Costello, 9 Peter Stringer, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 11 Shane Horgan, 12 Brian O'Driscoll, 13 Kevin Maggs, 14 John Kelly, 15 Girvan Dempsey
Reserves:  Guy Easterby, David Humphreys, Eric Miller, Marcus Horan
Unused:  Shane Byrne, Anthony Horgan, Donncha O'Callaghan

Attendance:  33134
Referee:  Kaplan j.

Points Scorers

France
Tries:  Dominici C. 1, Crenca J-J. 1, Harinordoquy I. 1, Magne O. 1
Conv:  Michalak F. 4
Pen K.:  Michalak F. 5

Ireland
Tries:  O'Driscoll B.G. 2, Maggs K.M. 1
Conv:  Humphreys D.G. 3

Wales 17 England 28

England were made to work all the way for their 28-17 quarter-final win over Wales, their opponents outscoring them by three tries to one, but a 23-point haul from golden-boy Jonny Wilkinson setting up a semi-final meeting with France.

The English were left needing a second-half flash of pure inspiration from fullback Jason Robinson to finally subdue a fantastic Welsh challenge that left England looking distinctly ordinary for much of the match.

Wales dominated every facet of play during the first half, and went into the break with a 10-3 lead.  England -- who started the game as Rugby World Cup favourites -- only managed to climb above the inspired Welsh in the second half.

A magical dash by Robinson led to a Will Greenwood try before fly-half Wilkinson recovered his composure to add five second-half penalties and a late drop-goal.

Fly-half Stephen Jones and flankers Colin Charvis and Martyn Williams managed to cross the line for Wales, and they outscored England by three tries to one.  The difference between the teams -- as so often is the case for England -- was Wilkinson's points-haul.

Indeed, if comparisons are needed -- it was Wales who were the more dangerous outfit on display, they put on a display of running rugby that many detractors believed to be beyond their capability.

Even through England had the lions' share of possession, Wales ability to counter-attack at pace made a re-enactment of Wales defeat of England in the quarter-final of RWC '87 a distinct possibility.

England -- like New Zealand before them -- had few answers to the kind of fluidity that Wales applied to their attack;  a fluidity that appears to have sprung from nowhere.

The side that took to the field for England had 704 caps between them -- never before had such an experienced side ever trotted on to a rugby pitch.  But Wales exploded into the game and made them look like amateurs.

Clive Woodward's side has six "captains" within it -- one for each particular area of play -- but the team looked utterly leaderless as wrong decision followed wrong decision.

Indeed, it was only the introduction of the wise head of veteran Mike Catt at half-time that reversed the result in England's favour.

Wilkinson, winning his 50th cap today, looked positively green in the opening exchanges.  With Wales breathing down his neck he made a series for poor choices.

Not that it was entirely his fault -- with England's backs looking shapeless he was forced to find other avenues of attack, and his tactical kicking from hand let him down badly.

England must have bunked off their video session this week because they looked shocked when Wales started picking at them with the same intensity as they showed against the All Blacks last week.

The English defence was left perplexed as an early Welsh raid saw Robert Sidoli surge over the England line, but the big lock lost control of the ball as he stretched for the touch-down.

England tried all they could to find first gear in the first half -- with Jason Robinson putting in the dance moves in an attempt to rouse his team-mates -- but it was to no avail.

Wilkinson hit the post with a relatively easy penalty and missed a drop-kick in the opening quarter.  His forwards lost two line-out balls, and gave away a rash of penalties in the same period.

The England fly-half opened the scoring with a penalty kick that wobbled through the upright, and England began to feel their way back into the game by putting together some decent phases.

But Wales were as resolute in defence as they were in attack, and a huge hit by centre Mark Taylor on Will Greenwood put pay to any English hopes of a try and buoyed the Welsh fans.

As the strains of "Bread of Heaven" echoed around Suncorp Stadium, the outstanding Shane Williams picked up a poor cross-field kick meant for an incongruous Ben Kay, and the Welsh backs sliced through England allowing fly-half Stephen Jones to finish off the lightening counter-attack by scoring.

England soon conceded a kickable penalty and Welsh skipper Colin Charvis had the sheer audacity to go for the line-out.  From the maul, Wales bludgeoning their way through the much-vaunted England forwards and Charvis was on the end to flop over the line for the try.

It was a carbon-copy of the skipper's try against the All Blacks -- down to Charvis' little buff of his own bouffant -- and showed just the extent of Wales' newly-found confidence.  Where they found it, however, remains an absolutely mystery.

Jones missed again with the conversion -- a crucial miss.  Wales let 10 points go begging during the match;  England only three.

With England distinctly rattled, Wales attempted to press home their advantage with some scintillating breaks.  England's panic was exemplified by out of sorts wing Dan Luger who sliced a rushed clearance kick 10 yards backwards -- if it had been a tee-shot, he might have holed the green he had just walked away from.

Luger mouthed a curse, England heads hung low, and Woodard looked furious.  Meanwhile, Wales' confidence grew and they took to the break seven points clear.

Desperate times call for desperate measures -- and Woodward called off Luger, switched Mike Tindall to the wing and brought veteran back Mike Catt into the centre to add a little solidity to the midfield.  It proved to be a masterstroke.

With Catt taking charge of midfield distribution and tactical kicking, Wilkinson was free to focus on his own game rather the team's.

England had finally found their shape and -- as if to celebrate the fact -- Jason Robinson unleashed a moment of pure inspiration.

Having received a quick throw-in on the edge of his own 22, the fullback looked bereft of options.  Suddenly he eyed a gap in the Wales midfield, pinned his ears back, and disappeared down the middle.  His acute change of pace left the Welsh floundering and Robinson completed his 60-yard sprint by unloading to centre Will Greenwood who went over in the corner for the score.

The try lifted English chins and Wilkinson slotted the tricky conversion and a penalty to recapture the lead.

It was obvious Woodward had knocked some sense into his players during the break, and they began to play some wise percentage rugby that put Wilkinson in a good position to kick another easy penalty.

But Wales hadn't finished -- they continued to run at England with some lurid running rugby, but a few wrong decisions far out -- and a tighter looking English defensive line -- meant that all their hard work came to nought.

Wilkinson looked content to leave Catt in charge of leading the attack and began to focus on his place kicking -- and duly added two more penalties from difficult angles with traditional nonchalance.

Catt added an extra dimension to the English attack and his runners began to find holes, Wales were forced to concede another penalty as they back-pedalled and were punished with yet another Wilkinson score.

But while England dug in behind that famous left boot, Wales still had gas to burn, and they continued to put on a terrific handling performance.

After beating the English back, Iestyn Harris put in a cross-field kick and flanker Lawrence Dallaglio -- under pressure -- could only knock it back and watch as replacement flanker Martyn Williams scampered over to touch down.  Iestyn Harris -- taking over the kicking duties from the misfiring Jones -- stepped up to narrow the gap to eight points.

England composure started to sag again, and some pointless back-chat directed at referee Alain Rolland after a penalty decision moved Harris 10 metres up the field and within kicking range.  Woodward was visible annoyed at his players lack of discipline, but his team were let off the hook as Harris' attempt sailed well wide.

It was Wilkinson, naturally, who had the last word by slotting a drop-goal with the last kick of the game.

So, a huge Welsh effort, but a win for England.

The England players trudged off the field forlornly -- they are no longer favourites for the Cup, and one can't help to thing how much lower they'll feel once they have taken in France's game against Ireland.

Man of the match:  For all England's experience, it was left to replacement Mike Catt to put some brain behind English brawn.  The Bath man -- who two months ago feared his international career was over -- turned the game around by relieved the pressure on Wilkinson, and sparked a few unsettling runs of his own.  Expect the number on his back to be in the teens next time you see him.

Moment of the match:  Wales played like men possessed and showed some fine passages of play, but it was Jason Robinson's flash of sheer inspiration that caught the eye.  The fullback made a try out of absolutely nothing, his sheer accelerations was a joy to behold and punctured the Welsh balloon that looked as if it was about to carry them through to the semi-finals.

Villain of the match:  I'm not going to tarnish such a classy performance with nit-picking -- yes, Brent Cockbain swung his handbag early on, but there was no harm done.  So, no award this time -- too many heroes everywhere!

The Teams:

Wales:  1 Adam Jones, 2 Robin McBryde, 3 Iestyn Thomas, 4 Brent Cockbain, 5 Robert Sidoli, 6 Dafydd Jones, 7 Colin Charvis (c), 8 Jonathan Thomas, 9 Gareth Cooper, 10 Stephen Jones, 11 Mark Jones, 12 Iestyn Harris, 13 Mark Taylor, 14 Shane Williams, 15 Gareth Thomas
Reserves:  Mefin Davies, Gethin Jenkins, Dwayne Peel, Ceri Sweeney, Gareth Llewellyn, Martyn Williams
Unused:  Kevin Morgan

England:  1 Jason Leonard, 2 Steve Thompson, 3 Phil Vickery, 4 Ben Kay, 5 Martin Johnson (c), 6 Neil Back, 7 Lewis Moody, 8 Lawrence Dallaglio, 9 Matt Dawson, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 11 Dan Luger, 12 Will Greenwood, 13 Mike Tindall, 14 Ben Cohen, 15 Jason Robinson
Reserves:  Kyran Bracken, Mike Catt, Trevor Woodman, Stuart Abbott
Unused:  Simon Shaw, Dorian West, Joe Worsley

Attendance:  45252
Referee:  Rolland a.

Points Scorers:

Wales
Tries:  Jones S. 1, Charvis C.L. 1, Williams M.E. 1
Conv:  Harris I.R. 1

England
Tries:  Greenwood W.J.H. 1
Conv:  Wilkinson J.P. 1
Pen K.:  Wilkinson J.P. 6
Drop G.:  Wilkinson J.P. 1

New Zealand 29 South Africa 9

The All Blacks toyed with and embarrassed the Springboks in their Rugby World Cup quarter-final fixture at Melbourne's Telstra Dome, as the advanced to the semi-finals in Sydney on the back of a convincing 29-9 win.

Seldom have two teams produced more contrasting displays at this level of the game.  Everything the All Blacks were, the Springboks were not -- determined, focussed and hungry.

And when the experts look at this match in days to come, and analyse every minute in the most absolute manner, they will realise that the All Blacks could so easily have beaten this bunch of pitiful Springboks by 50 points again ... as they did a couple of months ago in Pretoria.

Yes, it is true.  This All Black team, as easy as they made this victory look, played well below the standards we have come to expect from them.

But on the day they did more than enough to beat a team that will come under a huge amount of criticism back home for their lack of passion, their sub-standard skills on attack and their disorganised defensive showing.

Even more concerning for South Africans would be that this is the first time they have not advanced to the semi-finals of the RWC and it is also the first time they have lost at the RWC against the All Blacks -- to go with the many other "records" they have set under the tutelage of Rudolf Straeuli.

But all credit must go to the Kiwis for doing what they needed to do, without really exerting themselves at the Telstra Dome.

They easily accounted for the Springboks' much-vaunted tight five, which never looked like dominating anything other than the mistakes column.  The Kiwis dominated the possession stakes from the opening stages and for long periods the Boks never saw anything of the ball.

In fact, in the first 15 minutes the Kiwis had more than 80 percent of the ball and enjoyed well over 70 percent in territorial advantage.  That stat seldom dipped below 70 percent in the first half.

While the Boks saw a bit more of the ball in the second period, with the possession stakes ending at about 62-38 in favour of the Kiwis, the South Africans could not use any of the opportunities presented to them.

The All Blacks, however, showed how badly they wanted to win this game, showing greater determination in the set-pieces and at the breakdowns, turning ball over at regular intervals.

While the Kiwi forwards hunted as a unit, arriving at the breakdowns in far greater numbers, the Bok forwards seemed more eager to hang out wide and let the backs do their jobs.

Then there were the scrums where the Kiwis also embarrassed their opponents at times, and on at least one occasion turning over ball and scoring from it by shoving the South Africans off their own put-in.

Behind this dominant pack the New Zealand backline was brilliantly marshaled by their halfbacks, Justin Marshall and Carlos Spencer.

And the backs enjoyed the space and time afforded to them, often breaching the Boks' shockingly disorganised defensive lines -- especially their first-time tackles.  The irony of it all was that while the Boks were so focussed on shutting down the All Blacks' dangerous runners out wide, they simply forgot to tackle around the fringes and in the midfield.

In the 10, 12, 13 channel the Boks slipped more first-time tackles on Saturday than some international teams do in an entire season.

And while we can go on at length about the lack of ball the Boks had, the few times when they did get the ball in hand their option-taking was either very ordinary or they simply could not control the possession, simply handing the ball back to the Kiwis on a platter.

And against a team of New Zealand's calibre, even when they are not firing on all cylinders, they will make you pay -- as indeed they did with the Springboks.

At the end of the game the Kiwis showed an almost disdainful contempt for the Boks, as they threw the ball around and ran the Boks ragged.  And it was only some desperate one-off tackles by a couple of Springboks that prevented the Kiwis from scoring more tries.

Few players in the South African side will be able to walk away from this mess with their heads held high, but among them will be youngsters like Schalk Burger, a second-half replacement, winger Ashwin Willemse and lock Bakkies Botha.

For the Kiwis it was a game on which they can reflect how much they can still improve, having walked away with an easy win against one of their traditional rivals.

Man of the match:  Many of the All Blacks put their hands up, with flanker Richard McCaw, first five-eighth Carlos Spencer, centre Leon MacDonald and captain Reuben Thorne all doing their bit.  But our vote goes to the Kiwis' outstanding hooker Keven Mealamu, who time and again showed up the Boks' close-in tackling and was eventually rewarded for his high work-rate with one of his team's three tries.

Moment of the Match:  This one goes to the 72nd-minute try scored by winger Joe Rokocoko, which epitomised the entire game.  From a scrum deep inside the Boks' 22, with the South Africans putting the ball in, the Kiwis simply shoved them off the ball, turned it over and then it was quickly passed to Carlos Spencer.  He, in turn, flicked it back brilliantly through his legs, to Rokocoko, who went over in the corner for the try.

Villain of the Match:  We are tempted to nominate most of the Springboks for their lack of passion, but the vote goes to Springbok captain Corné Krige, who early in the match showed exactly the lack of discipline the Boks have been criticised for in the past year or two.  At a ruck, and after having already been awarded a penalty within striking distance, Krige attempted to stand on an opponent's leg when the ball was nowhere near.  The result was that the penalty was turned over and the Boks lost an opportunity to put a much-needed score on the board.  This moment almost epitomised the Boks mind set throughout the game ... a beaten and frustrated side.

The Teams:

New Zealand:  1 David Hewett, 2 Keven Mealamu, 3 Greg Somerville, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Ali Williams, 6 Richie McCaw, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Jerry Collins, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Carlos Spencer, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Leon MacDonald, 13 Aaron Mauger, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 15 Mils Muliaina
Reserves:  Daniel Carter, Steve Devine, Marty Holah, Brad Thorn, Mark Hammett, Kees Meeuws, Caleb Ralph

South Africa:  1 Faan Rautenbach, 2 John Smit, 3 Christo Bezuidenhout, 4 Victor Matfield, 5 Bakkies Botha, 6 Corne Krige (c), 7 Danie Rossouw, 8 Juan Smith, 9 Joost Van Der Westhuizen, 10 Derick Hougaard, 11 Ashwin Willemse, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Jorrie Muller, 14 Thinus Delport, 15 Jaco Van Der Westhuyzen
Reserves:  Jaque Fourie, Neil De Kock, Richard Bands, Selborne Boome, Schalk Burger Jr., Danie Coetzee, Louis Koen

Attendance:  40734
Referee:  Spreadbury t.

Points Scorers:

New Zealand
Tries:  MacDonald L.R. 1, Rokocoko J. 1, Mealamu K.F. 1
Conv:  MacDonald L.R. 1
Pen K.:  MacDonald L.R. 3
Drop G.:  Mauger A.J.D. 1

South Africa
Pen K.:  Hougaard D.J. 3

Australia 33 Scotland 16

Australia marched on to the Rugby World Cup semi-finals with a 33-16 victory over a brave Scottish team at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.  After a quiet first half, the Wallabies stretched their legs into a comfortable lead, but the Scots got the last try at the death, a fitting reward for lots of serious effort.

Chris Paterson the Scottish fly-half, nearly did not play.  In a kick about before the match he was struck on the head by a flying ball and felled.  He was helped off the field looking groggy, but was there to start the match and score 11 points for his side.

The first half was level, partly because the Scots did well on Australia's line-outs, partly because the Wallabies squandered possession.  But the Scots were resolute and creative and actually enjoyed territorial superiority in the half.

The first half was an all-kick affair as far as the scoring went, but it was not a stodgy affair as the Wallabies sought to run free and the resolute Scots not only stood firm but did some raiding into Wallaby territory of their own.

The Wallabies started playing to the wings.  The Scots started getting in behind the tackle and making the best of scraps.  Their best took Kenny Logan close on the left-wing but his chip dribbled into in-goal where Wendell Sailor killed it.

The handling by both sides was mostly excellent, then crucially poor.  Lote Tuqiri came off his left-wing to cut through, only for Mat Rogers to knock on the easiest of passes.

Rogers later cut through brilliantly but the Wallabies were brought back for obstruction by Bill Young who conceded three penalties in the half.

The Wallabies used a penalty to force a five-metre line-out but again the Scots stood firm till they conceded a penalty.

Off-side gave the Wallabies a four-minute lead, but Chris Paterson levelled the score when Stephen Larkham was penalised at a tackle.  When Glenn Metcalfe went off-side in front of his posts the Wallabies took the three points -- 6-3 after 22 minutes.

Paterson punished Young's obstruction to make it 6-all after 33 minutes.  The Wallabies ran, Andrew Henderson tackled Stirling Mortlock early and Flatley made it 9-6 after 36 minutes.

Then came the moment of the half when Paterson dropped a goal from slap in front, but 49 metres out.  The ball sailed high and drew and crossed the crossbar with good room to spare.

The Wallabies made a significant change at half-time.  Off went George Smith and on came lanky Matt Cockbain, giving them a third line-out option.  The change worked as after this the Scots suffered more in the line-outs than the Wallabies did.

The Australians scored early in the second half.  Gregor Townsend broke sharply for Scotland but Phil Waugh won a turnover, gave to Flatley, who gave to Harrison who passed high to his left.  Stirling Mortlock tipped the ball, caught it and raced 60 metres to score under the posts with an extravagant dive.  That made it 16-9 after 45 minutes.

Larkham had a wobbly drop at goal which hit the crossbar and then Nathan Sharpe cracked through a gap and gave to Flatley who was hauled down from behind.  A penalty made it 19-9.

Waugh, who had set up the first try, set up the second.  He latched onto a Scottish slap-back at the line-out and raced downfield on the Australian right.  The ball sped to Tuqiri on the left-wing.  He crabbed half the width of the field.  The Wallabies were close and won the ball.  George Gregan side-footed a dab of a kick over the line and dived on it to score.  The semi-final berth was assured at 26-9 with 22 minutes left.

The Wallabies used a penalty to make a five-metre line-out.  This became a five-metre scrum to the left of the posts as they looked at them.  From the scrum David Lyons, who had a strong-driving match throughout, picked up and drove at the line for a try with three Scots hanging on him -- 33-9 after 64 minutes.

This became the season for substitutions and the game was played out with the best efforts coming from the Scots.

The Wallabies conceded three penalties within five metres from their goal line.  The third became a line-out which splintered and Rob Russell, the replacement hooker, drove swiftly over with Cameron Mather in behind him.  Paterson converted and the match ended.

Man of the Match:  For Scotland, Nathan Hines was strong and Cameron Mather lively, and then there was noble Simon Taylor, one of the most skilled and most effective No.8s at the Rugby World Cup.  For Australia, David Lyons did many battering things into the Scottish ranks, George Gregan ran the show, Matt Cockbain made a big difference and Brendan Cannon did all hooking things well and found time to be a startling loose forward.  But our Man of the match is Phil Waugh whose alert, turnover efforts made two tries.

Moment of the Match:  The sweetness of Chris Paterson's soaring drop, a magic moment.

Villain of the Match:  None whatsoever.  Wendell Sailor's petulant slap was too feeble to count.

The Teams:

Australia:  1 Ben Darwin, 2 Brendan Cannon, 3 Bill Young, 4 Justin Harrison, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 6 George Smith, 7 Phil Waugh, 8 David Lyons, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Wendell Sailor, 12 Elton Flatley, 13 Stirling Mortlock, 14 Lote Tuqiri, 15 Mat Rogers
Reserves:  Matt Cockbain, Matt Giteau, Jeremy Paul, Joe Roff, Chris Whitaker, Alastair Baxter, Daniel Vickerman

Scotland:  1 Bruce Douglas, 2 Gordon Bulloch, 3 Tom Smith, 4 Nathan Hines, 5 Stuart Grimes, 6 Cameron Mather, 7 Jason White, 8 Simon Taylor, 9 Bryan Redpath (c), 10 Chris Paterson, 11 Kenny Logan, 12 Andrew Henderson, 13 Gregor Townsend, 14 Simon Danielli, 15 Glenn Metcalfe
Reserves:  Gordon McIlwham, Jon Petrie, Ben Hinshelwood, James McLaren, Scott Murray, Robbie Russell
Unused:  Michael Blair

Attendance:  45412
Referee:  Walsh s.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Mortlock S.A. 1, Gregan G.M. 1, Lyons D. 1
Conv:  Flatley E.J. 3
Pen K.:  Flatley E.J. 4

Scotland
Tries:  Russell R.R. 1
Conv:  Paterson C.D. 1
Pen K.:  Paterson C.D. 2
Drop G.:  Paterson C.D. 1

England 111 Uruguay 13

A ruthless England side hammered Uruguay 111-13 at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane to finish top of Pool C in the Rugby World Cup, with fullback Josh Lewsey becoming the first English player to score five tries in a RWC fixture.

In effect, Uruguay won their World Cup on Tuesday when they beat fellow Pool C minnows Georgia 24-12 to avoid the Pool Wooden Spoon.  Nobody expected the South Americans to challenge the might of England and it didn't take long for the tournament favourites to cross the Uruguayan tryline.

England immediately put the South Americans under pressure at the kick-off as they turned possession over and stretched the defence out wide.  "Los Teros" had no way of keeping tabs on the English runners and when flanker Lewis Moody eventually crossed for the try, he still had three runners outside of him.  Veteran fly-half Paul Grayson stretched the lead with the conversion.

Uruguay, although outclassed, refused to give in and took the game to their opponents and were rewarded with a penalty a minute later.  Fullback Juan Menchaca slotted the kick through the posts to close the gap to four points.

England then began to rush their play and the errors began to mount up -- the ball was knocked forward frequently and their passes began to find nothing but air, but perhaps most disturbing for coach Clive Woodward, was the number of turnover ball the highly-rated English forwards conceded.  Despite that poor period of play, however, Lewsey soon picked up his first try of the night when he joined the backline out wide and charged over the goalline.

After the re-start, England were awarded a scrum on the half-way line and the ball was swung wide to winger Iain Balshaw, who beat the defence for pace to pick up his first of two tries on the night.

Balshaw was back in the action 60 seconds later when he danced his way through a ragged "Los Teros" defence and steamed over for a second as the floodgates threatened to open up.

Uruguay refused to stand back, however, and they provided the crowd with something to cheer about when they opted to kick for touch deep inside the English 22 after being awarded a penalty.  The South Americans then spent the next 10 minutes camped on the England line as they bashed away desperately at a defence that refused to open up.

England absorbed the pressure and repelled the Uruguayan charge and then had the game wrapped up before the break after Mike Catt went over following a quick throw at the line-out, which put Balshaw into space and gave the winger plenty of time to link up with Catt for the final pass.

Another try to scrum-half Andy Gomarsall meant England went into the break at 42-6 up.

The second half, while all England, provided the highlight of the night for Uruguay when big tighthead prop Pablo Lemoine crashed over for their only try.  Uruguay, to the delight of all watching, chipped the ball into touch after claiming a penalty and drove the England pack toward their line.  Lemoine then charged at the English defenders like a raging bull and steamed right through Danny Grewcock and then over an unlucky Joe Worsley to dot down.

It would be the last time the South Americans had a sniff of the tryline, however, as the England team took control.  What followed was an ominous sign for all tournament contenders as the English ran riot over a tiring Uruguayan outfit.

Starting with a great solo effort in midfield by South African-born centre Stuart Abbott, the England backline reduced the opposition defence to tatters as they ran in a total of nine tries in the last 30 minutes to seal their spot at the top of Pool C and a quarter-final clash against the Pool D runner-ups.

While the result was never in doubt, England signalled their intent and despite a couple of disciplinary lapses and a display of petulance by Worsley when he was sent from the field for a high tackle, they achieved the win in an admirable fashion and would have put the entire 16-man fiasco, which overshadowed their RWC campaign during the past week, firmly behind them.

Although Worsley -- who had a go at the crowd when he was sin-binned -- would not have helped their standings in the popularity stakes.

Man of the match:  Iain Balshaw was a definite contender with his two tries, as was Mike Catt, who made a welcome return to Test rugby with a brace, but in the end Josh Lewsey at fullback was simply superb.  His reading of the game was exemplarily and his angles of running were superb and with five tries, he could not be passed over.

Moment of the match:  England ran in some superb tries, but we all knew they had this game wrapped up before the teams even lined up for the anthems.  Pablo Lemoine's bullocking charge on the line was superb and the way he shrugged off the tackles of Danny Grewcock and Joe Worsley are likely to go down in Uruguayan legend.

Villain of the match:  Joe Worsley's high tackle two minutes from time was completely unnecessary and his petulance as he marched off the field, sarcastically cheering the crowd on, reflected badly on the entire English team and highlighted, for many, exactly why the Six Nations champions are so unpopular at the tournament.

The Teams:

England:  1 Jason Leonard, 2 Dorian West, 3 Phil Vickery (c), 4 Martin Corry, 5 Danny Grewcock, 6 Joe Worsley, 7 Lewis Moody, 8 Lawrence Dallaglio, 9 Andy Gomarsall, 10 Paul Grayson, 11 Dan Luger, 12 Mike Catt, 13 Stuart Abbott, 14 Iain Balshaw, 15 Josh Lewsey
Reserves:  Kyran Bracken, Will Greenwood, Martin Johnson, Jason Robinson, Julian White
Unused:  Ben Kay, Steve Thompson

Uruguay:  1 Eduardo Berruti, 2 Diego Lamelas, 3 Pablo Lemoine, 4 Juan Alvarez, 5 Juan Carlos Bado, 6 Nicolas Brignoni, 7 Nicolas Grille, 8 Rodrigo Capo Ortega, 9 Juan Campomar, 10 Sebastian Aguirre, 11 Joaquin Pastore, 12 Diego Aguirre (c), 13 Joaquin De Freitas, 14 Jose Viana, 15 Juan Menchaca
Reserves:  Juan Alzueta, Rodrigo Sanchez, Guillermo Storace, Emiliano Caffera, Marcelo Gutierrez, Juan Andres Perez, Diego Reyes

Attendance:  46233
Referee:  Williams n.

Points Scorers:

England
Tries:  Lewsey O.J. 5, Balshaw I.R. 2, Abbott S.R. 1, Catt M.J. 2, Luger D.D. 1, Gomarsall A.C.T. 2, Moody L.W. 1, Greenwood W.J.H. 1, Robinson J.T. 2
Conv:  Catt M.J. 2, Grayson P.J. 11

Uruguay
Tries:  Lemoine P.A. 1
Conv:  Menchaca J.R. 1
Pen K.:  Menchaca J.R. 2

New Zealand 53 Wales 37

The All Blacks confirmed first position in Pool D of the 2003 Rugby World Cup, but Wales made them work all the way for their 53-37 win at the Telstra Stadium in Sydney.

In a World Cup already peppered with some fine encounters, it was feared that the final pool game of the tournament, between favourites New Zealand and the erratic Welsh, would fail to provide a decent climax.

But if this was meant to be walkover, no one told the Welsh players -- and they put in a performance that will lift the spirits of their nation.

Indeed, if ever there was a game to re-establish a team's credentials this was it -- in a mere 80 minutes Wales, written off by many as also-rans -- propelled themselves back into rugby's Major League.

Wales will now meet England in a quarter-final encounter in Brisbane, and could upset the sweet-looking chariot should they be able to maintain the kind of intensity and passion that they displayed against the All Blacks in Sydney.

New Zealand -- who now meet South Africa -- signalled their intentions directly from the kick-off with an explosive onslaught that left the Welsh defence clutching at thin air.

It was obvious that after three relatively easy games, New Zealand's runners were straining at the bit, and they quickly reduced Wales to bystanders as they began stringing together the phases.

Soon enough, after a series of flowing moves, winger Joe Rokocoko announced his return from injury with a try in the corner.

Wales looked in trouble, and things took a turn for the worst when fullback Garan Evans was stretchered off after colliding with his captain Colin Charvis in a tackle.

But the injury break gave the Welsh a chance to take stock of what needed to be done and they immediately went about attempting to wrestle the game from New Zealand's grip.

Suddenly, the All Blacks were on the back foot and Wales showed polished ball-retention skills, and some fine hands.

Wales found themselves playing the All Blacks at their own game, running with ball in hand and counter-attacking fluently.

The Wales backs were playing the kind of instinctive rugby that was long the hallmark of their forebears, and a chip and chase from fly-half Stephen Jones soon lead to Mark Taylor try.

Rokocoko replied immediately with a second try before Leon MacDonald profited from a quick penalty by Justin Marshall to squeeze in at the corner.

Lock Ali Williams was next on the scoresheet after he collected a cross-field kick from Carlos Spencer, and -- with the bonus point secured after only 20 minutes -- one could have forgiven the Welsh had they laid down to accept their fate.

But some determined Welsh running seemed to faze the New Zealanders and Wales start to sense that their defence was not as water-tight as they suspected.

A great break from wing Shane Williams split the All Blacks in two, and centre Sonny Parker slid into the corner for a try against the country of his birth.

Jones had added two penalty goals to the scoreboard, and -- when Wales were awarded a penalty within range of the posts at the stroke of half time -- all eyes went to the sticks.

But Charvis opted to kick for the corner and was rewarded for his bravery when he scored a try from the line-out.

Wales came into the second half overflowing with confidence and a Jones penalty kick soon gave them the lead.

Williams -- a constant source of inspiration for Wales -- soon added to New Zealand's woes by scoring in the corner, and Wales were suddenly heading to an unexpected victory.

The All Blacks knew they were in trouble and decided to pack away the dance shoes and pulled on the walking boots.

Slowly, but surely, the New Zealand pack bullied Wales back to their line and launched a series of short-distance raids.

Doug Howlett crossed the line with a diagonal dart to reduce the deficit to a point, before Spencer added another in similar fashion.

New Zealand were in the lead now and smothered the life out of the Welsh attack by keeping the ball tight and only rationing it out to when they were certain of control.

Howlett added another try to leave Wales seriously behind, and when Aaron Mauger added his side's eight try, it was all over for the brave Men in Red.

Man of the match:  With the game free-flowing out of New Zealand's hands, veteran All Black scrum-half Justin Marshall gathered in the reins and forced his forwards to buckle down to the basics.  His shrewd distribution and tactical awareness put his team back into the driving seat.

Moment of the Match:  We are absolutely spoilt for choice in this department!  There were plenty of dazzling individual moments, but if there was one thing that stood out it was Wales' indomitable spirit.  Nothing exemplified that more than the moment before half-time when they were awarded a kickable penalty, but opted to kick for the corner.  Welsh people worldwide must have winced at the decision, but skipper Colin Charvis had faith in his forwards and he dived over a pile of bodies for the try.

Villain of the Match:  It would be foolish to besmirch Wales' performance, but one can't help but think of what might have happened had Wales coach Steve Hansen selected his strongest starting line-up.  You win the award then, Mr Hansen, for not demonstrating the kind of belief that your players held today.

The Teams:

New Zealand:  1 David Hewett, 2 Keven Mealamu, 3 Greg Somerville, 4 Brad Thorn, 5 Ali Williams, 6 Richie McCaw, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Jerry Collins, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Carlos Spencer, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Leon MacDonald, 13 Aaron Mauger, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 15 Mils Muliaina
Reserves:  Marty Holah, Rodney So'oialo, Mark Hammett, Kees Meeuws
Unused:  Daniel Carter, Byron Kelleher, Ma'a Nonu

Wales:  1 Adam Jones, 2 Robin McBryde, 3 Iestyn Thomas, 4 Brent Cockbain, 5 Robert Sidoli, 6 Jonathan Thomas, 7 Colin Charvis (c), 8 Alix Popham, 9 Gareth Cooper, 10 Stephen Jones, 11 Tom Shanklin, 12 Sonny Parker, 13 Mark Taylor, 14 Shane Williams, 15 Garan Evans
Reserves:  Mefin Davies, Gethin Jenkins, Dafydd Jones, Dwayne Peel, Ceri Sweeney, Gareth Thomas, Chris Wyatt

Attendance:  80112
Referee:  Watson a.

Points Scorers:

New Zealand
Tries:  Howlett D.C. 2, MacDonald L.R. 1, Mauger A.J.D. 1, Rokocoko J. 2, Spencer C.J. 1, Williams A.J. 1
Conv:  MacDonald L.R. 5
Pen K.:  MacDonald L.R. 1

Wales
Tries:  Williams S.M. 1, Taylor M. 1, Parker S. 1, Charvis C.L. 1
Conv:  Jones S. 4
Pen K.:  Jones S. 3

Fiji 20 Scotland 22

A try by Tom Smith two minutes from full-time gave resilient Scotland a 22-20 victory over gallant Fiji at Aussie Stadium in Sydney.  Victory was enough to send Scotland through to the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.  Fiji, sadly, went home after a great campaign.

It was a match which Fiji could have sewn up in the first half when they had plenty of possession and great chances to score, but much of their effort waned with the departure of their sturdy hooker Greg Smith after 31 minutes.  No Smith, no ball, no quarter-final.

With Smith gone, the Fijians lost four line-outs and had two of their next four scrums wheeled.

Scotland were trailing by five points with two minutes to go when disaster struck Fiji.  First Api Naevo was sin-binned at a tackle.  From the penalty Scotland kicked out.  From the five-metre scrum they bashed and bashed as the Fijians repelled and repelled until Tom Smith, in his 50th Test match for his country, plunged over to level the scores.  Again Chris Paterson bisected the posts.

Behind for most of the time Scotland won.  The first part of the first half had suggested that they were in for a hiding.

After Paterson and Nicky Little had both missed penalty kicks at goal, Fiji took the lead in the simplest possible way -- by passing the ball to Rupeni Caucaunibuca.  He got the ball from a looping pass some 25 metres out with centimetres from the left touchline.  He ran down that touchline, beating three defenders to score in a Kenny Logan tackle at the corner.

Donal Courtney, the Television Match Official, confirmed the try.

At this stage the vital match belonged to Fiji.  They had another four gilt-edged chances to score tries.  First Aisea Tuilevu picked up a dropped ball on the half-way line and only a Glenn Metcalfe tackle and a TMO decision denied the Fijians a second try.

A cruel bounce denied Caucaunibuca a second try after Seru Rabeni had missed a drop at goal.  Then a forward pass seven metres from the line called them back from a fourth opportunity.

Whether their finger-nail defence gave the Scots heart or the disappointment sapped the Fijians, the Scots then had a good period.  In the space of two minutes Chris Paterson, their best player, the only one with an air of confidence, kicked two penalties and then cracked through a gap in a move, which ended when Andrew Henderson lost the ball at the line.

Enough Scotland.  The Fijians then did the sensible thing and gave the ball to Caucaunibuca.  The move started going right in their own 22.  Then it went left and on the 22 the pass went to Caucau, who strove, with the tranquil consciousness of effortless superiority, down the touchline deviating slightly to go inside one and then outside another before scoring near the posts to make the score 14-6 at half-time.

Scotland dominated most of the second half and three Paterson penalties gave them the lead with 19 minutes left, but Little brought his side back to the lead at 17-15 after Cameron Mather was penalised for being off-side.  Shortly afterwards big lock Ifereimi Rawaqa burst for the line.  Scottish attention was on Caucaunibuca on Rawaqa's left, but brave Glenn Metcalfe saved the day for Scotland.

One of Fiji's best weapons in the match was the high kick.  As the strong-shouldered Fijians came homing in, the Scots fumbled again and again.  As hirsute replacement Kitione Salawa approached, Kenny Logan knocked on some seven metres.  Off-side Bruce Douglas picked up and Little put his side 20-15 ahead with only six minutes left.

Those six minutes belonged to Scotland and were the vital six minutes of the thrilling match.

Man of the match:  The temptation is to give it to battered and bruised Glenn Metcalfe, whom the Fijians enjoyed hammering but the blind fullback kept coming back.  If he had been an American soldier he would have had purple hearts and all sorts of other awards.  Chris Paterson and Bryan Redpath were telling at fullback and Simon Taylor noble at No.8 though the best Scottish effort probably came from hooker Gordon Bulloch.  Moses Rauluni had a great game at scrum-half, till replaced by his brother Jacob, but the Man of the match was undoubtedly Rupeni Caucaunibuca.  He did not act often, but his little was greater than all others' performances -- just in a class of his own.

Moment of the match:  As Caucaunibuca came back with grinning casualness after his second try, lock Api Naevo knelt before him and took Caucaunibuca's boot on his knee and cleaned it.  It was a great moment, after a great try!

Villain of the match:  It must, sadly, go to Api Naevo for his untimely yellow card.

Yellow card(s):  Api Naevo (Fiji)

The Teams:

Fiji:  1 Isaia Rasila, 2 Greg Smith, 3 Joeli Veitayaki, 4 Apenisa Naevo, 5 Ifereimi Rawaqa, 6 Vula Maimuri, 7 Koli Sewabu, 8 Alifereti Doviverata (c), 9 Mosese Rauluni, 10 Nicky Little, 11 Rupeni Caucaunibuca, 12 Seru Rabeni, 13 Epeli Ruivadra, 14 Aisea Tuilevu, 15 Norman Ligairi
Reserves:  Vilimoni Delasau, Sisa Koyamaibole, Isikeli Nacewa, Jacob Rauluni, Kitione Salawa, Naka Seru
Unused:  Seta Tawake Naivaluwaqa

Scotland:  1 Bruce Douglas, 2 Gordon Bulloch, 3 Tom Smith, 4 Nathan Hines, 5 Stuart Grimes, 6 Ross Beattie, 7 Cameron Mather, 8 Simon Taylor, 9 Bryan Redpath (c), 10 Chris Paterson, 11 Kenny Logan, 12 Andrew Henderson, 13 Gregor Townsend, 14 Simon Danielli, 15 Glenn Metcalfe
Reserves:  Ben Hinshelwood, James McLaren, Robbie Russell, Jason White
Unused:  Michael Blair, Gordon McIlwham, Jon Petrie

Attendance:  37137
Referee:  Spreadbury t.

Points Scorers:

Fiji
Tries:  Caucaunibuca R. 2
Conv:  Little N.T. 2
Pen K.:  Little N.T. 2

Scotland
Tries:  Smith T.J. 1
Conv:  Paterson C.D. 1
Pen K.:  Paterson C.D. 5

South Africa 60 Samoa 10

The Springboks delivered a powerful message to the rest of the teams at the 2003 Rugby World Cup when they smashed Samoa by 60-10 at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium.  They outscored the Samoans by eight tries to one in an emphatic show of force.

South Africa now head to Melbourne, where they will most likely face the All Blacks at the Telstra Dome in the quarter-final next Saturday, November 8.

But the message delivered by the team of Corné Krige in a powerful first-half performance was that there is plenty of fight left in a Bok side that has limped from game to game all season.  It was, without doubt, the best -- and most clinical South African performance of this year.

For once this victory was not based on defence, but on a gargantuan set of forwards that set the platform and some impressive running from a backline that revelled in all the space and ball they received on the front foot.

It was all South Africa from the opening minutes and they completely crushed the Samoan spirit when the impressive Bok pack mauled the ball up field and kept control of possession.  In fact, in the first five minutes the Boks had more than 80 percent of the possession.

That eventually settled down to just under 70 percent at half-time, but the Samoans were forced to live of mere morsels in that first half.

Behind this pack 20-year-old fly-half Derick Hougaard shone in his first real Test and even though he is still rough around the edges, he showed that he has arrived on the scene.  His kicking out of hand and at goal was as impressive as ever and, most importantly, his option-taking superb.

The only real let-down is his near obsession with drop-goals and his sometimes crab-like running across the field when passing to hi as outside backs.  But overall, he gets a pass mark, no more, a near distinction.

If the Boks were to be criticised, and this is something coach Rudolf Straeuli will have to address as a matter of urgency, it is that they still have tendency to go to sleep early in the second half.  This allowed the Samoans a period of dominance in the third quarter and it very nearly gave them a sniff.

But once the Boks returned to their structured game of the forwards setting it up through mauling and phase-play, the Samoans were lost in the woods.  In fact, in the final 15 minutes the South Africans scored four tries to shut the Samoans out completely.

The Boks will also be concerned about the injury of ace flanker Joe van Niekerk, who was replaced at half-time after limping through play in the late stages of the first half.

But back to that first half, when the Boks showed what they really are capable off.

In the scrums the Samoans were constantly under pressure and on the back foot, while the Boks also stole several balls from the Pacific Islanders' line-outs.

Having received so little of the ball and then still receiving it on the back foot, the Samoan runners were very tentative.  Add to this some very solid hits from the Bok defenders and it was not surprising that the South Africans held a comfortable 31-3 lead at the break.

The first of the tries were scored when the Boks mauled up field and captain Corné Krige sprinted down the right-hand touchline and then, after play broke down, scrum-half Joost van der Westhuizen went on the blindside and off-loaded to Van Niekerk to score.

The second try came from a fine break by No.8 Juan Smith and a number of rucks, which produced quick ball.  When the space opened wide, the ball was spread to Jorrie Muller, who summed up the situation before darting over.

Hougaard also got it on the act when he pounced on a loose ball, after the Samoans were put under pressure.  The fly-half kicked the ball through and followed up to score.

And Smith completed the first-half scoring when hooker John Smit sold a huge dummy and handed the ball to the young No.8.

All the Boks' second-half tries came from broken-play, when the Samoans started to tire and could no longer close all the gaps.  But it showed that the Boks do have the ability to put a team away at the death.

Man of the match:  Some of the veterans in the team, including captain Corné Krige and scrum-half Joost van der Westhuizen, stood up and showed their true class.  In fact, this was probably the best performance of the year from these two.  Then there was fly-half Derick Hougaard's outstanding performance.  But our vote goes to the entire tight five for that awesome performance in the first half, when they absolutely destroyed the Samoans.

Moment of the match:  This one goes to an incident midway through the second half, when Samoan centre Brian Lima almost cut Bok fly-half Derick Hougaard in half with a tackle, following a real hospital pass from Van der Westhuizen.  The young Bok No.10 was pole-axed and was down for quite a while, but after a few agonising minutes he got to his feet and took up his position at fly-half again, as if nothing had happened.  That was when he signalled his arrival as a class act on the international scene.

Villain of the match:  This one goes to the Australian thug that ran onto the field near the end of the match and attempted to tackle replacement fly-half Louis Koen as he aimed a conversion at the posts.  Following the outcry against Piet van Zyl's actions in Durban last year, this idiot should be locked up and the key thrown away.

The Teams:

South Africa:  1 Faan Rautenbach, 2 John Smit, 3 Christo Bezuidenhout, 4 Victor Matfield, 5 Bakkies Botha, 6 Corne Krige (c), 7 Joe Van Niekerk, 8 Juan Smith, 9 Joost Van Der Westhuizen, 10 Derick Hougaard, 11 Ashwin Willemse, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Jorrie Muller, 14 Thinus Delport, 15 Jaco Van Der Westhuyzen
Reserves:  Jaque Fourie, Neil De Kock, Richard Bands, Schalk Burger Jr., Danie Coetzee, Louis Koen, Danie Rossouw

Samoa:  1 Jeremy Tomuli, 2 Jonathan Meredith, 3 Kas Lealamanu'a, 4 Leo Lafaiali'i, 5 Opeta Palepoi, 6 Maurie Fa'asavalu, 7 Peter Poulos, 8 Semo Sititi (c), 9 Steven So'oialo, 10 Earl Va'a, 11 Lome Fa'atau, 12 Romi Ropati, 13 Brian Lima, 14 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 15 Tanner Vili
Reserves:  Dominic Feaunati, Des Tuiali'i, Tamato Leupolu, Denning Tyrell, Kitiona Viliamu, Dale Rasmussen
Unused:  Mahonri Schwalger

Attendance:  48496
Referee:  White c.

Points Scorers:

South Africa
Tries:  Van Der Westhuyzen J 1, Willemse A.K. 1, Muller G.P. 1, Hougaard D.J. 1, Smith J.H. 1, Van Niekerk J.C. 1, De Kock N.A. 1, Fourie J. 1
Conv:  Hougaard D.J. 5, Koen L.J. 2
Pen K.:  Hougaard D.J. 1
Drop G.:  Hougaard D.J. 1

Samoa
Tries:  Palepoi O. 1
Conv:  Va'a E.V. 1
Pen K.:  Va'a E.V. 1

Australia 17 Ireland 16

Australia managed to hold on in the face of a fierce Irish onslaught to sneak a 17-16 victory in their final 2003 Rugby World Cup Pool A match in Melbourne.  The victory sees the Wallabies top the pool and it sets up a quarter-final match against Scotland next week, while second-placed Ireland will have to face France.

This was a superb match that could have gone either way, both teams showing a real willingness to play positive attacking rugby and contribute to this fine advertisement for indoor rugby.

More like a knockout game than a mere pool tie, this game had everything that the aficonado could desire -- two well-matched packs knocking lumps out of each other;  dazzling strike-runners out wide;  and the requisite big hits in midfield.

With very little difference between the two teams in terms of pace, power and intensity, the result came down to the finest of margins, with the wayward goal-kicking of Ireland fly-half Ronan O'Gara in the first half having major repercussions.

Ireland may also regret their decision to spurn a kickable penalty in the final quarter of the match and are unlikely to make the same mistake again during the rest of the tournament.

But in the final analysis, Australia deserved to shade this contest, their uncanny ability to raise the tempo of the game at just the right moments giving them the victorious edge.

But, of course, they did not have it all their own way and from the start, as the strains of "Fields of Athrenry" echoed off the roof of the Telstra Dome from the many thousands of green-clad fans around the stadium, it was apparent that Ireland would take strength from their huge travelling support.

Ireland got off to a rousing start, their forwards making an immediate incursion into their opponents' territory to give O'Gara his first chance at goal.

But he was not able to find his range in this early attempt and a few minute later it was Ireland who were feeling the pressure, some slick handling and excellent continuity taking play right down into the Irish 22.

With the referee's arm already out for the penalty for an Irish off-side, Wallaby skipper George Gregan took the ball in midfield and slotted a very neat drop-goal to open the scoring and settle some early nerves.

Just two minutes later, after more excellent work from the Wallabies in the midfield, Ireland were pinned back into their own territory again.

As the ball zipped back from a midfield ruck at double-quick pace, a superb long pass from Elton Flatley made room for George Smith to gallop in untouched in the left-hand corner.

That made it 8-0 -- Flatley missing the conversion -- and there were ominous signs for Ireland that they were going to struggle to deal with Australia's wide game, although Ireland were able to claw back three points some moments later when O'Gara was successful with his second penalty attempt.

That was quickly negated by the boot of Flatley, the centre slotting a penalty in the 17th minute to make it 11-3.

O'Gara missed with his third penalty attempt in the 22nd minute after Australia collapsed a maul way out left following a promising Irish attack, but it appeared that the Wallabies were dealing easily with whatever Keith Wood and co. could throw at them.

Ireland's best attack of the half came some 10 minutes later -- the Men in Green matching the slick handling of their opponents to punch some holes in midfield.  As a ruck was set up in the Australia 22, Flatley got his body on the wrong side to give the penalty away and O'Gara kicked his the points to keep Ireland in touch.

Then, as the half ran down, there was controversy after a ruck degenerated into a free-for-all on the ground following Shane Horgan's rough footwork on Mat Rogers who appeared to be handling the ball in an illegal position.

With several players from both sides drawn into the conflict, New Zealand referee Paddy O'Brien calmed things down, showing both Horgan and Rogers the yellow card.

Save for one length-of-the-field Australian move which was stopped by a brilliant cover tackle from Peter Stringer, that was the last act of the half, intimating that the final result was no foregone conclusion.

The second half started at high pace, the Wallabies noticeably upping the tempo of their play to stretch the Irish defence from the outset.

Australia had their first chance of points just a minute after the break, when O'Driscoll attempted to bring down George Smith by the non-IRB approved "dreadlock tackle" method, but Flatley was just short with the penalty kick.

He made amends some minutes later, kicking a penalty following an off-side decision against Ireland prop John Hayes.

But Ireland stormed right back into the match some minutes later, taking advantage of a moment of madness from the normally cucumber-cool Wallaby No.10 Stephen Larkham.

Larkham opted for a quick throw-in just five metres from his own tryline, nearly gifting Ireland a soft try as Wood and Stringer hared up in pursuit of the ball.

While Australia survived that close shave, it gave a precious attacking platform for Ireland and, showing great ball retention, the Irish battered the Wallabies' defensive line before the ball was shifted wide to O'Driscoll.

As two defenders closed in on him, O'Driscoll showed perfect finishing ability to dive in at the corner -- the video ref rubber-stamping the try a few seconds later.

Unbelievably given his problems throughout the match, O'Gara slotted the conversion from wide out, to put Ireland within a point of their hosts.

Flatley, however, restored the four-point lead with another penalty some moments later, but there was plenty more drama to come.

As the match reached the final quarter, Ireland fought to save the match, a huge up-and-under raining down on the Australia tryline with Horgan in hot pursuit.

The big winger got hands to the ball but just could not keep hold of it, knocking on in the in-goal area to allow Australia supporters to sigh a huge breath of relief.

But the tension was heightened in the 68th minute -- O'Driscoll kicking a drop-goal to bring his team within a point of the world champions.

Both sides stuck to the task as the clock ran down and with less than five minutes of the match left, replacement David Humphreys let fly with another drop-goal attempt.

The ball went wide -- and with it went Ireland's chance of topping Pool A as the Wallabies held their nerve for the frantic last few moments.

While there could only be one winner, both sides will go into the last eight full of confidence that they have the all-round game to launch an assault on rugby's ultimate prize.

Man of the Match:  A number of top performances on both sides, not least Ireland skipper Keith Wood who was an irresistible force in the loose, with Peter Stringer and Paul O'Connell not far behind him in the honour roster.  But we'll go for Wallaby back rower George Smith, who was "Mr Perpetual Motion' throughout proceedings.

Moment of the Match:  Some excellent moments in this encounter -- not least Brian O'Driscoll's thumping tackle on Joe Roff, which rocked the Wallaby wing to his bootstraps.  Then there was O'Driscoll's brilliant dive into the corner for a try at the beginning of the second half.  But we'll go for George Smith's try, demonstrating, as it did, a perfect combination of power, pace and guile from the Wallabies.

Villain of the Match:  Aficionados of the "biff" would not have been disappointed by the flashpoint in the dying moments of the first half when several Australian players took exception to the harsh rucking of Shane Horgan on Wallaby fullback Mat Rogers -- on the wrong side -- and retaliated.  No major damage done, but yellow cards for Horgan and Rogers, earning them this accolade.  A dishonourable mention goes to Irish centre Brian O'Driscoll for his hair-pulling antics on George Smith at the start of the second half.

Yellow card(s):  Mat Rogers (Australia), Shane Horgan (Ireland)

The Teams:

Australia:  1 Ben Darwin, 2 Brendan Cannon, 3 Bill Young, 4 David Giffin, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 6 George Smith, 7 Phil Waugh, 8 David Lyons, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Joe Roff, 12 Matthew Burke, 13 Elton Flatley, 14 Wendell Sailor, 15 Mat Rogers
Reserves:  Matt Cockbain, Matt Giteau, Jeremy Paul, Alastair Baxter, Daniel Vickerman, Lote Tuqiri
Unused:  Chris Whitaker

Ireland:  1 John Hayes, 2 Keith Wood (c), 3 Reggie Corrigan, 4 Malcolm O'Kelly, 5 Paul O'Connell, 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 Shane Horgan, 15 Girvan Dempsey
Reserves:  David Humphreys, Eric Miller, Marcus Horan, John Kelly, Donncha O'Callaghan
Unused:  Shane Byrne, Guy Easterby

Attendance:  54760
Referee:  O'brien p.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Smith G.B. 1
Pen K.:  Flatley E.J. 3
Drop G.:  Gregan G.M. 1

Ireland
Tries:  O'Driscoll B.G. 1
Conv:  O'Gara R.J.R. 1
Pen K.:  O'Gara R.J.R. 2
Drop G.:  O'Driscoll B.G. 1

France 41 United States 14

The USA Eagles bowed out of the 2003 Rugby World Cup with their reputation and honour intact, despite succumbing to a superior French outfit, eventually going down 41-14 in their Pool B match at the WIN Stadium in Wollongong.

But the French again sounded a warning to the other hopefuls at the tournament, beating the fearless Eagles with their second-string selection and outscoring them by five tries to two -- three of their tries going to South African-born centre Brian Liebenberg.

Those teams with aspirations of lifting the Webb Ellis Cup at Sydney's Telstra Stadium on November 22 could do themselves a favour by heeding the words of Eagles skipper Dave Hodges.

"The French are a class act," he said in his post-match interview.  "They will go all the way to the Final."

But Hodges was proud also of the way his charges performed against a team that was clearly superior in all aspects, adding:  "It was a good effort from the guys."

From the opening minute it was clear that the French held too many aces.  They put the Eagles' scrum under pressure and turned ball over, almost at will.

While the Eagles did manage to get their hands on some ball, they added to the pressure already heaped on them with some unforced errors.  It was out wide where most of those mistakes came, with the Eagles looking at their most dangerous when employing their pick-and-drive tactics through the forwards.

It was not surprising at all to see the French take an early lead, with two penalties by fly-half Gérald Merceron giving them a 6-0 lead after nine minutes.

Their first try came in the 16th minute.  Fullback Clément Poitrenaud, putting his hand up for first-choice selection in the play-off stages, made a brilliant break that created the opportunity for Liebenberg to score the first of his three tries.

Three minutes later Liebenberg strolled over for his second try, after the French simply shoved the Eagles off the ball on their own scrum-feed and the French moved the ball to the short-side.

This try also showed why other teams need to start taking note of this French unit.  Even though they were giving away 75 kilograms (almost 10kg per man) to the Eagles up front, France's technique is so brilliant that they toyed with the Eagles at times in the scrums.

France's third try, by tighthead prop Jean-Baptiste Poux, was also the result of total dominance by the French pack.  From a line-out in the 35th minute they simply drove it up and over the line, with the Eagles retreating is if they were competing in an Olympic sprint.

The first half ended with a Merceron penalty, which saw Les Blues take a 26-0 lead into the break.

In the second half the Eagles were a lot more competitive and the teams ended with two tries each.  But the Americans were never going to be able to close that huge gap from the first half.

Liebenberg, who paid credit to his forwards for creating the opportunities to score those "easy" tries, also had some words of praise for the Eagles' second-half performance.

"Credit must go to the Eagles for coming out and sticking to their guns after the break," he said.

And indeed they did well, with the Eagles tries -- by flanker Kort Schubert and fly-half Mike Hercus -- the result of some good creative play.  Schubert's try came after great pick-and-drive play by the forwards, with Hercus showing good hands and setting up the flanker.  Hercus' try was the result of one of the best dummies sold at this year's World Cup.

Man of the match:  One would be tempted to go straight for the hat-trick hero Brian Liebenberg, but then there was Gérald Merceron who had a good game at fly-half and the French forwards were in total control.  But we are going for scrum-half Dmitri Yachvili, who showed there will be life in the No.9 jersey after Fabien Galthié.  His left-footed drop-goal in the 62nd minute was a classic, even though the game had long ended as a contest on the scoreboard.

Moment of the match:  This one is easy.  It goes to Eagles fly-half Mike Hercus' try in the 51st minute.  The dummy he sold the French defenders was so convincing that two of them tackled the player with out the ball and even the TV cameras momentarily followed the wrong player.

Villain of the match:  One yellow card only, with French flanker Sebastién Chabal getting his marching orders in the 75th minute for repeated and cynical offences.  With his team having already won the match at that stage and still in total control, his actions were totally unwarranted.

Yellow card:  (Chabal 75)

The Teams:

France:  1 Olivier Milloud, 2 Yannick Bru (c), 3 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 4 David Auradou, 5 Olivier Brouzet, 6 Sebastien Chabal, 7 Patrick Tabacco, 8 Christian Labit, 9 Dimitri Yachvili, 10 Gerald Merceron, 11 David Bory, 12 Brian Liebenberg, 13 Damien Traille, 14 Pepito Elhorga, 15 Clement Poitrenaud
Reserves:  Sylvain Marconnet
Unused:  Raphael Ibanez, Olivier Magne, Aurelien Rougerie, Yannick Jauzion, Frederic Michalak, Jerome Thion

United States:  1 Dan Dorsey, 2 Kirk Khasigian, 3 Mike MacDonald, 4 Luke Gross, 5 Alec Parker, 6 Dave Hodges (c), 7 Kort Schubert, 8 Dan Lyle, 9 Kevin Dalzell, 10 Mike Hercus, 11 David Fee, 12 Phillip Eloff, 13 Salesi Sika, 14 Riaan Van Zyl, 15 John Buchholz
Reserves:  Jason Keyter, Matt Sherman, Jurie Gouws, Mose Timoteo, Jacob Waasdorp, Matt Wyatt
Unused:  Gerhard Klerck

Attendance:  17833
Referee:  Honiss p.

Points Scorers:

France
Tries:  Liebenberg B. 3, Bru Y. 1, Poux J-B. 1
Conv:  Merceron G. 2
Pen K.:  Merceron G. 3
Drop G.:  Yachvili D. 1

United States
Tries:  Hercus M. 1, Schubert K.S. 1
Conv:  Hercus M. 2

Romania 37 Namibia 7

Romania managed to avoid the Wooden Spoon in Pool A of the Rugby World Cup, the Oaks beating Namibia 37-7 in the first-ever rugby international in Launceston, Tasmania.

Namibia were still reeling from the 142-0 hammering dealt to them by the Australians five days ago and the Romanians immediately had the Africans under pressure when they stole possession at the kick-off.  The Namibians were let off any major damage, however, when they were awarded a penalty, which was cleared into touch.

The Oaks did not fail in their next attempt though when they swept over the frail defensive line of Namibia, stretching them out wide for lock Augustin Petrichei to go over in the corner.  Petrichei was lucky the try was awarded, however, after a television replay showed that the ball was not grounded.  Fly-half Ionut Tofan stretched the lead for the Oaks with the conversion.

The hapless Africans were dismal in all aspects of the game, but it was their defence that really let them down, with the Romanians punching gaps in their line at will and the score could have been far worse if the Oaks had made the passes stick.

Namibia's evening got worse when the Romanians turned over the ball deep inside their opponent's 22 and stormed towards the tryline.  Scrum-half Lucian Sirbu went over for the try, but was held up thanks to a brilliant tackle by Namibia's star flanker Schalk van der Merwe.

Van der Merwe, a lion-tamer by trade, was arguably the only Namibian to raise his hand during the game as he roamed the field tirelessly on defence and was one of the few forces in attack to bother the Oaks, with that tackle on Sirbu just one of many heroic acts from him on the night.

The Oaks' scrum-half would not be denied, however, and when Romania was awarded a penalty close to the line, he tapped quickly and scampered in for the try.

Ten minutes later, on the stroke of half-time, the Romanians went over for another five-pointer as the Namibian defence again failed to cope under the tireless attack.  This time it was left to the forwards to drive towards the line, sending the final pass out to flanker George Chiriac for the try.

Tofan converted to stretch the lead to 32-0 at the break.

The second half was a comedy of errors with the Romanians throwing loose passes as frequently as the Namibians missed tackles -- resulting in possibly the scrappiest display of rugby seen at the tournament to date.  And, to make matters worse, the pitch was littered with injured players as they ran from one side of the field to the other -- the Namibians eventually forced into ringing the changes.

The struggling Africans finally managed to penetrate the Romanian defence late in the half when fly-half Morné Schreuder put the ball into the corner -- from a penalty -- for a line-out.  The forwards drove towards the line and big lock Eben Isaacs then crashed over.  Emile Wessels slotted the conversion, but it was never going to change their fate with the game effectively having ended as a contest before the break.

Christian Sauan brought about the final whistle when he went over for the Oaks' fifth try after the ball was spread out wide and the Namibian defenders, as they had all night, struggled to keep up with the play.

Man of the match:  Namibian flanker Schalk van der Merwe definitely put his hand up and the centre pairing of Romeo Gontineac and Valentin Maftei were superb for Romania.  But Lucian Sirbu's efforts at scrum-half proved to be decisive and he kept his side on the front foot all day earning him our Man of the match award.

Moment of the match:  Namibia's Schalk van der Merwe, above anybody else, deserved a try for his efforts, but his try-saving tackle on Romania scrum-half Lucian Sirbu was testimony to his all-round efforts on the day.

Villian of the match:  It was a clean game, with no animosity and no "silly stuff".  Nobody really deserves this award, although the entire Namibian side tried to win this award with their bumbling first-half display.

The Teams

Romania:  1 Petru Balan, 2 Razvan Mavrodin, 3 Marcel Socaciu, 4 Cristian Petre, 5 Augustin Petrechei, 6 George Chiriac, 7 Ovidiu Tonita, 8 Sorin Socol, 9 Lucian Sirbu, 10 Ionut Tofan, 11 Gabriel Brezoianu, 12 Romeo Gontineac (c), 13 Valentin Maftei, 14 Ioan Teodorescu, 15 Dan Dumbrava
Reserves:  Silviu Florea, Iulian Andrei, Cezar Popescu, Cristian Sauan, Petrisor Toderasc, Marian Tudori, Mihai Vioreanu

Namibia:  1 Neil Du Toit, 2 J.M. Meyer, 3 Kees Lensing, 4 Eben Isaacs, 5 Heino Senekal, 6 Schalk Van Der Merwe, 7 Wolfie Duvenhage, 8 Sean Furter (c), 9 Niel Swanepoel, 10 Mot Schreuder, 11 Deon Mouton, 12 Du Preez Grobler, 13 Emile Wessels, 14 Vincent Dreyer, 15 Ronaldo Pedro
Reserves:  Andries Blaauw, Deon Grunschloss, Corne Powell, Rudie Janse Van Vuuren, Cor Van Tonder, Jurgens Van Lill
Unused:  Herman Lintvelt

Attendance:  15457
Referee:  0arshall p.

Points Scorers

Romania
Tries:  Teodorescu I. 1, Sirbu L.M. 1, Petrechei A. 1, Chiriac G. 1, Sauan D.C. 1
Conv:  Tofan I.R. 3
Pen K.:  Tofan I.R. 2

Namibia
Tries:  Isaacs E. 1Conv:  Wessels E. 1

Canada 24 Tonga 7

Al Charron and his Canadian side managed a 24-7 win over Tonga in Wollongong, scoring two tries to one and regrouping well after their skipper was stretchered off in a big tackle.

In the last Pool D match at the Rugby World Cup for the two sides, Canada, with fewer scoring opportunities, beat Tonga at WIN Stadium in Wollongong, south of Sydney, on a windy Wednesday evening.  The Canadian pack and their immaculate fly-half, Bob Ross deserve great credit.

The Canuck pack was lighter than the Tongans, but won every one of their line-outs and five of the Tongans'.  They were better than Tonga in the scrums and drove much, much better in the mauls.

Rugby is about defence and attack.  The Canadians certainly won the defence and, as a result, the match.  When they had a chance to score points they did so, except on two occasions, one in each half.

The Tongans were more spectacular, but much loess cohesive.  Their most spectacular player was their replacement centre, Sukanaivalu Hufanga, who had three thrilling breaks -- which petered out through inadequate support.

Canada had the advantage of the stiff wind in the first half, but ended it leading only 9-7 and things could have been worse as Tonga came close to scoring a second try.

Canada scored first when Tonga were penalised and Canadian scrum-half Morgan Williams forced an extra 10 metres as he did later in the half.  Bob Ross, veteran of veterans at the World Cup, kicked the penalty.

Shortly afterwards, Canada got their closest to the Tongan line in the half.  Tonga were penalised, but the Canadians chose to charge the line, only to be penalised for creating a flying wedge.

Then came Tonga as they set up mauls from a line-out well in the Canadian 22 and eventually their noble captain Inoke Afeaki scored as he fell.  Pierre Hola converted, and after 17 minutes Tonga led 7-3.

Williams milked another 10 metres at a penalty and Ross made it 7-6.

Then Tonga came close as hooker Ephram Taukafa picked up turnover ball and set off on a weaving run that would have done a scrum-half proud.  They moved it right, but Nisifolo Naufahu lost the ball as he strove to score.

Canada weathered that storm and two other close-in line-outs late in the half.  Instead it was Ross's third penalty which gave them their half-time lead.

Canada started and finished the match charging at the Tongans with lots of support.  They barged the ball up, they mauled it up and occasionally they threw it wide.  They seldom kicked into the wind -- as the Tongans seldom kicked with the wind.

Early in the second half, Tonga messed up a defensive line-out and the Canadians drove at them with might and main.  The attack became a five-metre scrum to Canada.  This time they went wide to the right.  Ross did a loop, drew the defenders and sent it out.  Left-wing Winston Stanley and fullback Quentin Fyffe were in the line to send right-wing Sean Fauth over for the try.  That made it 14-7 after 50 minutes.

Tonga had a similar opportunity as they attacked from a five-metre line-out, which became a five-metre scrum.  Back they came for another five-metre line-out.  Again Canada stole it and drove a maul up field till scrum-half Williams went scurrying away.

A hectic Canadian attack came to nought when Stanley knocked on and Hufanga and Vaki, a lock playing on the wing, came close.

Canada then attacked with many phases which ended in a horror collision between Al Charron and Pierre Hola that held up play while the great Canadian, the oldest man at the World Cup, was taken off on a stretcher, bleeding from the jaw.

Just after that, Ross bisected the posts with a penalty and then Tonga attacked in a frenzy -- but were held up over the line.

Instead Canada scored when replacement wing James Pritchard raced down the left-wing and kicked ahead.  Replacement David Palu shouldered him late, causing Canadian anger and a yellow card for Palu.  From the five-metre line-out Canada drove and Aaron Abrams, a hooker, but on as a replacement for Charron, scored.  Pritchard converted from the corner.

Man of the Match:  There was the man with the Mohawk from Tonga, every-where man, Sililo Martens and the exciting centre Sukanaivalu Hufanga.  For Canada there were their busy hooker Mark Lawson, long-legged centre Ryan Smith and scrum-half Morgan Williams, but really the Man of the match was the immaculate, impeccable Bob Ross at fly-half, a Canadian international since 1989.

Moment of the match:  There were three in the first half.  Tongan prop Heamani Lavaka hurt his knee when Naufahu came close to scoring but stood in the scrum.  Then when his management wanted to replace him he waved the replacement away and soldiered on.  Prop of props!  Then the feathers flew!  The Canadian left-wing fly-kicked the ball which hit a startled seagull like a shot at snooker.  In the second half there were Gordon Ross's cleverness for Canada's try and Sukanaivalu Hufanga's three breaks.  But really the moment was the horror moment -- the injury to Al Charron and the sad sight of seeing the wounded warrior carried off, his wounds in front, in his 78th and last Test.

Villain of the match:  David Pula's tackle on James Pritchard, late and reckless, was punished with a yellow card and so earns him the Villain of the match tag.  Pierre Hola's tackle on Al Charron, which felled the big man, may well be revisited by the citing commissioner.  The referee, on the spot, said that he thought it a fair tackle.  A fair tackle can well cause injury.

The teams:

Canada:  1 Garth Cooke, 2 Mark Lawson, 3 Rod Snow, 4 Alan Charron (c), 5 Mike James, 6 Jamie Cudmore, 7 Adam Van Staveren, 8 Josh Jackson, 9 Morgan Williams, 10 Bobby Ross, 11 Sean Fauth, 12 Marco Di Girolomo, 13 Nik Witkowski, 14 Winston Stanley, 15 Quentin Fyffe
Reserves:  Aaron Abrams, Ed Fairhurst, Jeff Reid, Kevin Tkachuk, Colin Yukes, James Pritchard, Ryan Smith

Tonga:  1 Tonga Lea'aetoa, 2 Ephraim Taukafa, 3 Heamani Lavaka, 4 Milton Ngauamo, 5 'Inoke Afeaki (c), 6 Nisifolo Naufahu, 7 Sione Tu'amoheloa, 8 Ben Hur Kivalu, 9 Sililo Martens, 10 Pierre Hola, 11 Pila Fifita, 12 Johnny Ngauamo, 13 John Payne, 14 Sione Fonua, 15 Gus Leger
Reserves:  'Ipolito Fenukitau, Sukanaivalu Hufanga, Usaia Latu, Viliami Ma'asi, David Palu, Kafalosi Tonga, Viliami Vaki

Attendance:  15630
Referee:  Rolland a.

Points Scorers:

Canada
Tries:  Fauth S. 1, Abrams A. 1
Conv:  Pritchard J. 1
Pen K.:  Ross R.P. 4

Tonga
Tries:  Afeaki I.U. 1
Conv:  Hola P. 1

Georgia 12 Uruguay 24

The Teros of Uruguay were full value for their 24-12 win over the Lelos of Georgia in a Pool C match at Aussie Stadium, scoring three tires to nil to record their second-ever Rugby World Cup win.

In 1999 the Uruguayans beat Spain 25-12.  In each of their two World Cup victories their opponents have failed to score a try.

In this match Georgia never looked like scoring a try as they found catching and passing, even at the simplest level, beyond them.  It was, in fact, a largely bumbling match of kicking and bashing, but the three Uruguayan tries were certainly good value.

Uruguay went to the break leading 10-3 after scoring the only try of the match in a half of kick-bash-knock-on varied with a bit of bash-kick-knock-on.

Georgia had more possession, and lost it more often, and adding to Georgian woes was a wobbly line-out.

Indeed Uruguay's try was as a result of lost line-out ball.  It started when Georgia won a sloppy line-out and then turned the ball over.  Uruguayan scrum-half Juan Campomar shot down the short side, but was shoved into touch for a five-metre line-out to Georgia.  Hooker David Dadunashvili overthrew the line-out and Nicolás Grille drove at the line.

Over and over the Uruguayans bashed at the Georgian line which held manfully.  Suddenly Campomar spun the ball to Sebastian Aguirre who gave to fullback Juan Menchaca who was in the line and he sent Alfonso Cardoso over for the try far out, which Diego Aguirre converted.

The other points in the half came from penalties, first by Menchaca and then by right-wing Malkhaz Urjukashvili, who took over from Paliko Jimsheladze, who had missed two.  Uruguay also missed two penalties and two drop-goal attempts.

Georgia made many changes at half-time, aimed no doubt at improving their mobility.  It had a slight effect and they moved up to 10-9 as 19-year-old Merab Kvirikashvili kicked two penalty goals.  Normally a scrum-half, he came on as a fly-half, and penalty goals apart, had a game to forget as his hands and kicking out of hand let him down.

Off one of Kvirikashvili's knock-ons, the Uruguayans attacked and forced the Georgians into scrambled defence which produced a line-out.  The Uruguayans caught the ball, formed a maul and rolled it, till eventually stumpy hooker Diego Lamelas broke off and scored.  Diego Aguirre converted from a long way out.

Uruguay were close again from a maul.  The Georgians collapsed the maul but the referee played advantage and eventually penalised the Uruguayans for "truck-'n-trailer" on the Georgian line.  This produced a query from Diego Aguirre, who wondered why the collapsing of the maul had not been penalised.  He was told that advantage was over.

Remarkably, Georgia did not concede a single penalty in the second half, while the Uruguayans were penalised nine times.

It was rare during this match for man to beat man.  In fact, it happened only twice -- both through breaks by Diego Aguirre.  His second break produced the final try of the match.  A tapped free-kick produced a ruck.  Aguirre straightened up and broke through two Georgians.  In the tackle he got the ball to Campomar, who in turn got the pass away in the tackle to Nicolás Brignoni, a replacement flank, who scored in the tackle.

Man of the Match:  The Uruguayan candidates were their front row who put destructive pressure on the Georgians, captain Diego Aguirre for the best breaks of the match and two sweet conversions and, our choice, ubiquitous loose forward Nicolás Grille.

Moment of the match:  The third Uruguayan try, set up by Diego Aguirre and scored by Nicolás Brignoni.

Villain of the match:  Surprisingly there was some villainy.  On two occasions Uruguayans were lucky not to receive yellow cards -- once when their boots did ugly things to Akvsenti Giorgadze and once when Grille took three steps to plunge a late shoulder into a Georgian kicker.

The Teams:

Georgia:  1 Avtandil Kopaliani, 2 David Dadunashvili, 3 Goderdzi Shvelidze, 4 Sergo Gujaraidze, 5 Zurab Mtchedlishvili, 6 George Chkhaidze, 7 Gregoire Yachvili, 8 Ilia Zedguinidze (c), 9 Irakli Modebadze, 10 Paliko Jimsheladze, 11 Makho Urjukashvili, 12 Irakli Guiorgadze, 13 Tedo Zibzibadze, 14 Archil Kavtarahvili, 15 Irakli Machkhaneli
Reserves:  Akvsenti Guiorgadze, Vassil Katsadze, Bessik Khamashuridze, Sosso Nikolaenko, Merab Kvirikashvili, George Tsiklauri
Unused:  David Bolghashvili

Uruguay:  1 Pablo Lemoine, 2 Diego Lamelas, 3 Rodrigo Sanchez, 4 Juan Alzueta, 5 Juan Carlos Bado, 6 Nicolas Grille, 7 Hernan Ponte, 8 Rodrigo Capo Ortega, 9 Juan Campomar, 10 Sebastian Aguirre, 11 Carlos Baldassari, 12 Diego Aguirre (c), 13 Martin Mendaro, 14 Alfonso Cardoso, 15 Juan Menchaca
Reserves:  Bernardo Amarillo, Eduardo Berruti, Nicolas Brignoni, Joaquin Pastore, Guillermo Storace, Marcelo Gutierrez, Juan Andres Perez

Attendance:  28576
Referee:  Deaker k.

Points Scorers:

Georgia
Pen K.:  Urjukashvili M. 1, Kvirikashvili M. 3

Uruguay
Tries:  Cardoso A. 1, Lamelas D. 1, Brignoni N. 1
Conv:  Menchaca J.R. 1, Aguirre D. 2
Pen K.:  Menchaca J.R. 1

Japan 26 United States 39

The USA Eagles ended a 16-year drought at the Rugby World Cup when they beat the ever-willing Japanese 39-26 at Gosford's Gold Coast Stadium.

It brought the curtain down on Japan's participation at the 2003 tournament, but the Eagles have an encounter with France, on Friday, to complete their involvement.

While the Eagles have plenty of reason to celebrate their win, the first since they beat Japan in their opening match (21-18) at the 1987 RWC in Brisbane, it is with a touch of sadness that the organisers will be saying "Sayonara" to the "Cherry Blossoms".

They have been thoroughly entertaining in all their matches with their helter-skelter style.  Even though they failed to win any of them, they came pretty close to getting some just reward for providing the thousands of spectators and millions of television viewers with full value for their money.

The Japanese were never completely overwhelmed in any of their matches, despite not being able to match any of their opposition up front.  And, as was the case before, the final scoreline -- 39-26 -- in Gosford does not reflect just how close they came to winning their first match since beating Zimbabwe in Belfast in 1991 -- which is their only RWC win to date.

But credit to the Eagles for the quality of rugby they produced, and as captain Dave Hodges said, it "felt great" to finally win again after so many years.

He lamented the fact that they almost allowed the Japanese to sneak a win, despite dominating possession and territory.

"We tried to get too fancy after a while," he said, reflecting on the fact that they had build up an early 14-0 lead before letting the "Cherry Blossoms" back into the game, "our tactics was to run hard at them all game."

Those tactics certainly paid dividends early in the game, when outside centre Phillip Eloff was particularly devastating.

In the first 10 minutes, the Japanese saw hardly any of the ball, with 80 percent of the possession stakes going to the Eagles, and the scraps the Japanese did see was poor and on the back foot.

Not surprising then that it took the Eagles just eight minutes to score their first try, when fly-half Mike Hercus sold the perfect dummy to dart over under the uprights.  Four minutes later Eloff was rewarded for all his hard work with a brilliant outside break and some strong running.

But the Japanese settled down and "Cherry Blossoms" fly-half Andrew Miller showed he, too, has some skills and class when he created the opportunity for winger Toru Kurihara to go over.

The rest of the first half, on the scoreboard, was a kicking duel between Kurihara and Hercus and it allowed the Eagles to go into the break with a 20-10 lead.

The all-action, high-tempo approach from both teams continued after the break and it seemed that a change of jerseys would do the trick for the Japanese.  In the first half red was the predominant colour for both teams, but after the break Japan came out in a blue-and-white strip.

Three Kurihara penalties saw the gap close to 20-19, before outstanding Eagles flanker Kort Schubert burst over for a try after a great half-break by Hercus.

But the Japanese bounced back again and an outstanding score by world-class winger Daisuke Ohata, after a counter-attack from turnover ball, saw the gap close to 27-26 with just 20 minutes remaining.

It was then a case of who would crack first and the two teams stayed at each other's throats at a furious pace, before the Eagles finally raced away in the final five minutes.

Winger Riaan van Zyl scored in the 75th minute, after a great break by lock Gerhard Klerck, and hooker Kirk Khasigian added the finishing touch with a try in the 80th minute.

Man of the match:  The two Japanese wingers, Daisuke Ohata and Toru Kurihara, deserve special mention for their bravery -- not just on defence, but also for some fine attacking play, while Kurihara was his usual reliable self in the goal-kicking department.  The two fly-halves, Andrew Miller (Japan) and Mike Hercus (USA), also had their moments, but our vote goes to the Eagles' South-African born centre Phillip Eloff, who kept punching holes in the brave Japanese defence for most of the game.

Moment of the match:  The Eagles' five tries were all well-crafted and entraining touchdowns, but the moment that best depicts the game in its entirety was the try scored by Japanese winger Daisuke Ohata in the 58th minute.  It came after the Eagles had lost control of the ball and the "Cherry Blossoms" launched a blistering counter-attack, with Ohata sprinting own the right wing to beat a couple of defenders on the outside, before stepping inside the cover defence to score.

Villain of the match:  There were no incidents of note and no cards, but American coach Tom Billups must have agreed with our vote.  He pulled fullback Paul Emerick off in the 44th minute, after the No.15 had a real shocker, which included a number of fumbles and some ordinary kicking.

The teams:

Japan:  1 Shin Hasegawa, 2 Masao Amino, 3 Masahiko Toyoyama, 4 Hajime Kiso, 5 Adam Parker, 6 Naoya Okubo, 7 Takuro Miuchi (c), 8 Takeomi Ito, 9 Yuji Sonoda, 10 Andy Miller, 11 Toru Kurihara, 12 Yukio Motoki, 13 George Konia, 14 Daisuke Ohata, 15 Tsutomu Matsuda
Reserves:  Hirotoki Onozowa, Yuya Saito, Takashi Tsuji, Masahito Yamamoto
Unused:  Koichi Kubo, Hideki Nanba, Masaaki Sakata

United States:  1 Dan Dorsey, 2 Kirk Khasigian, 3 Mike MacDonald, 4 Gerhard Klerck, 5 Luke Gross, 6 Dave Hodges (c), 7 Kort Schubert, 8 Dan Lyle, 9 Kevin Dalzell, 10 Mike Hercus, 11 David Fee, 12 Phillip Eloff, 13 Salesi Sika, 14 Riaan Van Zyl, 15 Paul Emerick
Reserves:  John Buchholz, Kimball Kjar, Jacob Waasdorp, Matt Wyatt
Unused:  Jason Keyter, Olo Fifita, Jurie Gouws

Attendance:  19653
Referee:  Walsh s.

Points Scorers:

Japan
Tries:  Ohata D. 1, Kurihara T. 1
Conv:  Kurihara T. 2
Pen K.:  Kurihara T. 4

United States
Tries:  Eloff P. 1, Van Zyl R. 1, Hercus M. 1, Khasigian K.A. 1, Schubert K.S. 1
Conv:  Hercus M. 4
Pen K.:  Hercus M. 2

England 35 Samoa 22

After going 10-nil down in the first seven minutes in the face of a magnificent opening salvo from Samoa, England -- and No.10 Jonny Wilkinson -- regained their composure to beat the battling Islanders by 35-22 in a Pool C clash in Melbourne.

So, England's place in the quarter-finals of the competition is assured but for about 60 minutes on Sunday evening, it looked as if one of the greatest upsets in the history of rugby -- if not the history of sport -- was on the cards as Samoa ran the much-vaunted men in white off their feet.

England -- number one in the Zurich World Rankings and, after their recent victory over South Africa, near-favourites for the World Cup -- were made to look distinctly second-class by a Samoan team that boasted pace, power and invention.

For the cash-strapped Samoans, whose very existence is under threat because of a lack of funding, this was a simply magnificent performance and one which will send the clearest message possible to rugby's rulers -- let us die and the sport will be infinitely poorer.

It was an extraordinary start to the match as England -- at near full-strength -- were reduced to the role of spectators, watching their opponents go through their full repertoire of dazzling skills to rattle up a 10-nil lead in just seven minutes.

The much-vaunted England defence, which had not conceded a try in the tournament going into this match, simply dissolved in the face of the all-out attack supplied by the Samoa, the Islanders ghosting through the first line of defence on several occasions to cause chaos -- and even panic -- amongst Johnson's men.

As Samoa threw their body and soul into the task, England lost their composure -- the pressure telling on their stuttering backline, with fly-half Jonny Wilkinson, in particular, having a match to forget.

His general play went to pieces during that opening period -- English fans around the ground no doubt rubbing their eyes in disbelief as their golden boy first tossed a forward pass in midfield and then missed a sitter of a penalty kick from a position he could normally kick blind-folded.

After just three minutes England realised that they were in a for a testing afternoon, as a near-faultless passage of play from Samoa pinned them back in their half and led to an off-side decision.

Fly-half Earl Va'a -- as composed as his opposite number was rattled -- slotted the three-pointer and Samoa took the lead, a lead they were to hold until the 50th minute.

At this point, we might have expected the English to settle into their familiar pattern, but Samoa had other ideas.

After regaining possession, they launched another attack from deep, moving the ball at lightning speed from the breakdown and spreading it wide.

Winger Lome Fa'atau burst out of an attempted tackle and Samoa were behind the gainline and England were back-pedalling, as Samoa's superb continuity play resulted in skipper Semo Sititi charging over for the try.

With Va'a supplying the conversion that made it 10-0 and England's RWC campaign looked in serious jeopardy.

But in the end, it was England's forwards who came to the rescue of the cause, their superior power up-front -- particularly in the scrummage, where Julian White was an immense figure -- helped to squeeze the life out the out-gunned Samoans.

With their backline seriously malfunctioning, England realised that there was only going to be one winner if they continued to play it wide, switching their tactics to trench warfare, Martin Johnson and co. closing ranks to do some heavy duty damage to the Samoans.

England's dominance in the pack told in 30th minute, flanker Neil Back carrying the ball over the line after a classic old-fashioned dynamic maul.

It wasn't as pretty as the Samoan try, but it helped settle some English nerves at a crucial point in the game -- as did the touchline conversion slotted by Wilkinson.

Wilkinson dragged his side back into the match with two first-half penalties, but the teams went into the dressing room at the break with Samoa ahead by 16-13.

The second-half saw England start in determined mood, but Wilkinson's missed drop-goal did not get the dream start they were after.

But this was the point where the scrum came into its own, the Men in White piling on the pressure on their counterparts to gain a penalty try.

That was the crucial score of the entire match and even though Va'a struck another penalty to put his side 22-20 ahead going into the final quarter, the momentum was with England and their forwards.

Wilkinson landed a drop-goal, then late tries from Iain Balshaw and Phil Vickery sealed the England victory.

But despite gaining the full five points from the match, England will be disappointed with their performance, while Samoa can only dream of what might have been if they could have gained parity in the set-piece with their opponents.

Man of the match:  Surely some mistake, doesn't Jonny Wilkinson has this spot tied up in perpetuity?  Well, not today, that's for sure.  While there were some superb performances from some individuals -- not least in the English front five -- it was Samoan fly-half Earl Va'a who was the key figure of the game, out-Wilkinsoning his opposite number with an assured and graceful performance.

Moment of the match:  Absolutely no contest, it has to be Samoan skipper Semo Setiti's first-half try.  It was a real team effort, with Samoa stretching the English defence this way and that through a magnificent long range attack started by wing Lome Fa'atautu.  Some 60 metres downfield, with white jerseys in disarray all around the field, the back rower gallloped away in the left-hand corner to score a famous try.

Villain of the match:  That a team capable of such magnificent rugby is in serious danger of extinction should cause no little amount of soul-searching on the part of rugby's wealthier nations.  Chuck these guys a lifeline (inclusion in the Tri-Nations?) and do it now -- or they could be lost to us forever.  Just imagine what Samoa could do if they were able to put out their first team.

The Teams:

England:  1 Jason Leonard, 2 Mark Regan, 3 Julian White, 4 Ben Kay, 5 Martin Johnson (c), 6 Neil Back, 7 Joe Worsley, 8 Lawrence Dallaglio, 9 Matt Dawson, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 11 Iain Balshaw, 12 Mike Tindall, 13 Stuart Abbott, 14 Ben Cohen, 15 Jason Robinson
Reserves:  Mike Catt, Phil Vickery, Lewis Moody, Steve Thompson
Unused:  Martin Corry, Andy Gomarsall, Dan Luger

Samoa:  1 Jeremy Tomuli, 2 Jonathan Meredith, 3 Kas Lealamanu'a, 4 Leo Lafaiali'i, 5 Opeta Palepoi, 6 Maurie Fa'asavalu, 7 Peter Poulos, 8 Semo Sititi, 9 Steven So'oialo, 10 Earl Va'a, 11 Lome Fa'atau, 12 Terry Fanolua, 13 Brian Lima, 14 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 15 Tanner Vili
Reserves:  Dominic Feaunati, Des Tuiali'i, Simon Lemalu, Mahonri Schwalger, Denning Tyrell, Kitiona Viliamu, Dale Rasmussen

Attendance:  50647
Referee:  Kaplan j.

Points Scorers:

England
Tries:  Balshaw I.R. 1, Back N.A. 1, Vickery P.J. 1, Penalty try 1
Conv:  Wilkinson J.P. 3
Pen K.:  Wilkinson J.P. 2
Drop G.:  Wilkinson J.P. 1

Samoa
Tries:  Sititi S. 1
Conv:  Va'a E.V. 1
Pen K.:  Va'a E.V. 5