Ireland struggle to subdue Italy

Favourites go top of the table

A 28-17 victory over Italy in Rome on Sunday puts Ireland at the top of the Six Nations table, but the visitors didn't have it all their own way at Stadio Flaminio, and were forced to dig deep for their win.  During the anthems, the Italians sang about Italia with passion while the man beat the big drum.  For much of the match Italy played with passion and beat the drum.

Ireland took their chances and deserved the result, but it may just have been a bit of a Pyrrhic victory for Ireland as both their centres were helped off the field.

A hobbling Gordon D'Arcy was helped off after 28 minutes.  And at the end Brian O'Driscoll was also escorted off the field.  Ireland would rather play Scotland with those two stars next weekend.

There was a good crowd at Stadio Flaminio for a match which started in sunshine.  There was a lot of Irish support and The Fields of Athenry echoed round the Seven Hills of the Eternal City.

Ireland scored three tries to Italy's one, but Italy had a lot of the match.  They made fewer errors than Ireland and played their rugby with enthusiasm and creativity, but they just lucked the speed of O'Driscoll, Geordan Murphy and Denis Hickie.

The Italian pack gave the Irish pack a tough time.  When Ireland had a five-metre line-out their defence was firm.  When they had a chance to maul they made metres.  And they had the scrum of the first Six Nations weekend.  Ireland had a scrum five metres from their lone and Italy destroyed them.  The Irish managed to keep the ball but it was tough.

Early in the match it looked as if Italy were about to do what Scotland had done to France the day before.  In fact they could have been up at half-time had their goal kicker been of reasonable standard.  Fly-half Luciano Orquera missed three penalty attempts out of four, and so Italy gave their next kick, the hardest of the half, to Roland de Marigny who slammed it over.

Most of the half belonged to Italy who kept Ireland looking jittery and scored first when Orquera kicked a penalty from in front.  On 20 minutes Ireland attacked for the first time and when Italy went off-side Ronan O'Gara goaled to make it 3-all.

Up until then O'Gara's kicking out of hand had been wayward and contributed to Ireland's nervousness.  Five minutes later Brian O'Driscoll dummied to a decoy runner and broke on the outside of Gonzalo Canale, drew De Marigny and gave to Geordan Murphy.

Speedy Ludovico Nitoglia hauled him in but in the tackle, on his back, he placed the ball behind his head for the try, which the TMO confirmed.  An early chance gave O'Gara two shots at the conversion, but he missed both.

Half-time came with Ireland leading 8-6.

In the second half De Marigny scored first with a penalty for a tackle/ruck infringement.  That gave Italy a 9-8 lead.  Oh, for the missed trio of penalties!

Then O'Driscoll again sped past Canale.  He fed Hickie who gave to Shane Horgan.  Alessandro Troncon was about to bundle Horgan into touch when the big wing, used as a midfield punch for much of the game, flung the ball back over his head and straight into the arms of Peter Stringer who scored.  O'Gara converted to make it 15-9.

The try will be disputed for Horgan may well have got a toe onto the touch-line before throwing the ball infield.

O'Gara and De Marigny kicked penalties and it was 21-18 with 20 minutes to go.

Murphy then had a good break, but Italy came closer moments later.  Troncon chipped, the ball bounced, and speedy, small, young Nitoglia nipped in and grabbed the ball as Murphy and Girvan Dempsey tried to grab him.  Nitoglia tried to get the ball down with his right arm but a centimetre or less above the ground he lost the ball.  That gave Ireland a scrum and they survived.

From their battered scrum Ireland cleared the ball but Italy came back with a massive maul that got close tot he Irish line.  Ireland held firm and then De Marigny ended the attack with a missed drop.

O'Gara kicked another penalty, and then Ireland got a quick turnover and Murphy got a quick switch of a pass to Hickie who traced past Troncon to score.  O'Gara converted and it was 28-12 with four minutes left.  The score flattered Ireland.

The enthusiastic Italians came back and battered at the Irish line for burly prop Martín Castrogiovanni to score a try which delighted all of Italy.

Man of the Match:  Roland de Marigny, Alessandro Troncon, Andrea Lo Cicero and Mauro Bergamasco did well for Italy.  For Ireland there were star performances from Peter Stringer, Simon Easterby and, above all, Malcolm O' Kelly, but the man who made the difference, our man of the match, not for the first time, was Brian O'Driscoll.

Moment of the Match:  Peter Stringer's try made possible by that speculative throw back over his head by Shane Horgan.

Villain of the Match:  There was none.  There was not even nearly one.

For Italy:
Try:  Castrogiovanni
Pens:  Orquera, De Marigny 3

For Ireland:
Tries:  Murphy, Stringer, Hickie
Cons:  O'Gara 2
Pens:  O'Gara 3

The teams:

Italy:  15 Roland de Marigny, 14 Mirco Bergamasco, 13 Gonzalo Canale (Paul Kaine Robertson, 71), 12 Andrea Masi, 11 Ludovico Nitoglia, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Alessandro Troncon, 8 Sergio Parisse, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Aaron Persico (David Dal Maso, 78), 5 Marco Bortolami(captain), 4 Santiago Dellapè (Carlo Antonio Del Fava, 66), 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Fabio Ongaro (Giorgio Intoppa, 78), 1 Andrea Lo Cicero (Salvatore Perugini, 78)
Unused replacements:  20 Paul Griffen, 21 Walter Pozzebon.

Ireland:  15 Geordan Murphy, 14 Shane Horgan, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (captain), 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Denis Hickie, 10 Ronan O'Gara (Girvan Dempsey, 29), 9 Peter Stringer (Munster), 8 Anthony Foley (Eric Miller, 77), 7 Denis Leamy, 6 Simon Easterby, 5 Paul O'Connell (Donncha O'Callaghan, 77), 4 Malcolm O'Kelly, 3 John Hayes, 2 Shane Byrne (Frankie Sheahan, 77), 1 Reggie Corrigan (Marcus Horan, 61).
Replacements:  20 Guy Easterby, 21 David Humphreys.

Referee:  Paddy O'Brien (New Zealand)
Touch judges:  Tony Spreadbury (England), Roy Maybank (England)
Assessor:  David Kerr (Scotland)
Television match official:  Dave Pearson (England)

France toil to subdue spirited Scots

Great Scot, they almost did it!

It was a defeat that was a victory!  France won the opening match of the Six Nations when they beat Scotland 16-9 at Stade de France on a gloomy Parisian Saturday afternoon.  France scored more points but Scotland won everything else.

The pundits had them trounced, the 2004 wooden spoonists against the 2004 Grand Slammers.  But the wooden spoon came within seven minutes of outdoing the sceptre.  It was an heroic occasion, part of the glory of sport, the unpredictable.

The brave Scots shucked off their boardroom squabbles, the spate of injuries and the prophets of gloom to turn in a performance worthy of Robert the Bruce and William Wallace.

There were two decisions in the late stages of the match which will be debated long and with sad anger on dark Scottish evenings for years to come.

The Scots were leading 9-6 when Ali Hogg went running down the right-hand touch-line.  He broke free of the clutches of the French and went racing off to "score", but the touch judge decided that some miniscule part of his right heel had touched a fragment of the touch-line.

The Scots were leading 9-6 when Brian Liebenberg started an attack and Sylvain Marconnet won the ball back some four metres from the Scottish line.  France launched a hectic attack but the Scots defence was stern.  Then the referee gave Jon Petrie a yellow card for deliberately infringing, a crucial decision.

France tried winning from scrums but the seven-man Scots pack was honest and brave, and eventually Yann Delaigue capitulated and settled for a dropped goal.

That made it 9-all with seven minutes to play.

In those seven minutes Scotland had the first chance to score -- a remote chance.  Paterson's penalty attempt from inside his own half was straight but short.

The French, with bolstered loose forwards, suddenly had their liveliest period of play, winning turnovers for the first time in the match from the tired Scots and then came a heartbreak error.

Hugo Southwell was in the fullback position and kicked to clear.  Replacement Grégory Lamboley charged down the kick with two team-mates nearby.  Big Damien Traille got the ball and surged over for the try which won the match, as the TMO confirmed.  Frédéric Michalak, who had replaced Delaigue converted.

Traille's try was the first try of the 2005 Six Nations.

There were just under two minutes to play, a lively time but leaving the French winners.

There was a team in white in the first half.  They were labelled France, but it was hard to believe that they were as they did hardly a thing right, while the dogged Scots hung in there and had the better of the half, ending it with a great defensive victory as the French attacked in wave after wave.  Scotland led 6-0 at half-time, which was signalled by a referee's whistle and universal Gallic disapproval.

The only really good thing France did in the match was scrum.  That was also the worst thing the Scots did and they were penalised four times for scrum infringements.

In the first half, France had three kicks at goal, Yann Delaigue missed two simple ones with his left foot and Damien Traille missed from in front with his right foot.  Chris Paterson missed one but he nailed two, one when Jérôme Thion tackled and stuck to the tackler, and one when hirsute Sébastien Chabal went off-side.

For the rest it was the Scots.  Their line-outs were excellent, they won the turnovers, they had a simple game plan which involved Dan Parks leaning to his left and kicking to his right, and they tackled like killers.

In that half France put the ball into only two scrums while the fumbling hands of the French produced nine scrums for the Scots.  French handling was of a poor standard, starting with the service from Pierre Mignoni.

The good moments in the first half were a break by Andy Craig in the centre that led to the penalty against Thion, a big French attack which ended when Sean Lamont tackled Christophe Dominici out just short, a Scottish attack when Ali Hogg won a turnover, a Scottish pick-'n-drive, two brilliant bits of fielding by Paterson off French grubbers, a massive Jason White tackle on Brian Liebenberg and a Chris Cusiter break.  The best break of the second half was by Delaigue but a Cusiter tackle ended the threat.

It was not a great match but it was made gripping by the tenacity of the Scots, the closeness of the score and the possibility that the impossible would become a reality.

Man of the Match:  Scotland scrum-half Chris Cusiter.  There it is.  He outplayed his older opponent, his judgment was excellent, his passing crisp, long and sure, his determination unwavering and he managed a great break.  Close behind him was big Ali Hogg of the almost try.

Moment of the Match:  That almost try by Ali Hogg which will be watched over and over in slow motion.  It was a defining moment in the match.

Villain of the Match:  We suppose it was Jon Petrie for leaving his men a man short in those last seven critical minutes during which the French scored 10 points, but it was not malicious enough to be labelled villainy.

The scorers:

For France:
Try:  Traille
Con:  Michalak
Pens:  Delaigue 2
DG:  Delaigue

For Scotland
Pen:  Paterson 3

The teams:

France:  15 Pépito Elhorga, 14 Aurélien Rougerie (Ludovic Valbon, 17 -- Sébastien Bruno, 79), 13 Brian Liebenberg, 12 Damien Traille, 11 Christophe Dominici, 10 Yann Delaigue (Frédéric Michalak, 74), 9 Pierre Mignoni (Dimitri Yachvili, 79), 8 Patrick Tabacco (Yannick Nyanga, 64), 7 Sébastien Chabal, 6 Julien Bonnaire, 5 Jérôme Thion (Grégory Lamboley, 70), 4 Fabien Pelous (captain), 3 Pieter de Villiers (Olivier Milloud, 51), 2 William Servat, 1 Sylvain Marconnet.

Scotland:  15 Chris Paterson, 14 Simon Danielli, 13 Andy Craig, 12 Hugo Southwell, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 Allister Hogg, 7 Jon Petrie (Jon Dunbar, 80), 6 Jason White, 5 Scott Murray (Nathan Hines, 65), 4 Stuart Grimes, 3 Gavin Kerr (Bruce Douglas, 55), 2 Gordon Bulloch captain, 1 Tom Smith (Gavin Kerr, 75).
Unused replacements:  16 Robbie Russell, 20 Mike Blair, 21 Gordon Ross, 22 Ben Hinshelwood.

Yellow card:  Jon Petrie (69).

Referee:  Nigel Williams (Wales)
Touch judges:  Chris White (England), Nigel Whitehouse (Wales)
Assessor:  Stuart Beissel (New Zealand)
Television match official:  Simon McDowell (Ireland)

Wales deny England in Cardiff

The dragon roars again!

Wales have defied the odds and England's monstrous pack by recording an historic 11-9 victory over the world champions at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.  Wales centre Gavin Henson was the undisputed star of the show, and it was his long-range penalty that sealed matters at the death.

But if principalities have kings, Wales had 20 of them on Saturday afternoon.

Mike Ruddock and his part of the team will also be elevated to full royalty, for it was clear that the match was well planned and the players played to that plan.

Wales made their intentions clear right at the start of the match as they ran and ran with speed, flair and enthusiasm.  Oddly, they may well have erred by ignoring the overlaps which their ingenuity had created.  And when they had nudged ahead on that astonishing penalty by Henson, to make it 11-9 with four minutes to go, Wales still kept running and the final whistle went five metres from the England goal-line.

England on the other hand did best at the maul and varied that with thump-and-bang which too often produced slow ball.  England in fact did not look like scoring a try.

Their best attacking option by far was Jason Robinson with his dancing feet.  He was England's only rapier for the rest they were all broadsword.

But it looked as if the England strangler would work in the second half as they denied Wales ball and settled down to wait for penalties to see them home happy along the M4.

With 11 minutes to go Charlie Hodgson kicked his third penalty and it looked as if England were set fair for victory, but then the spring came back into Welsh legs and they attacked from all over the place and only a tackle by Josh Lewsey on Gareth Thomas saved the day.

But the tackling of the day belonged to the Welsh, above all Gavin Henson whose tackle on new boy Mat Tait was frightening as he drove into the young English centre, picked him and shook him like a rag doll, a harsh lesson for a young player sprung into Test rugby.

It was not Henson's only shuddering tackle on Tait who was substituted with 20 minutes to make way for Olly Barkley who was used as a tactical kicker in the wait-for-a-penalty game.

Wales ended the first half leading 8-3.  It could have been more but for the waywardness of their captain.

Leading 8-3, Wales were on the England line where Dwayne Peel was awaiting delivery of the ball when a long Danny Grewcock leg came over the heap of bodies and his boot made contact with the crouched Peel's head.  Peel reeled away.  The Welsh were angry, and their captain, who is a fullback, Gareth Thomas come running in and shoved at Grewcock.

The referee and the touch judge had a chat about it.  As a result Grewcock went to the sin-bin for reckless use of the boot and Thomas for a punch -- not that it was much of a punch, certainly not as ugly as the boot.

That was high drama, but the wonderful moment was the Welsh try, the first score of the match.  England lost a second line-out and Wales went scooting off in attack from side to side until Shane Williams had an overlap and skated across at a wide angle to settle down in the corner.

Stephen Jones missed the conversion and then a penalty and then a dropped goal, but his tactical play was astonishingly good.

Hodgson kicked an early penalty in the second half to make it 8-6 and then, as substitutions proliferated, Wales were penalised at a tackle and Hodgson gave England a 9-8 leader, slender but possibly a winning lead.

Wales attacked.  Replacement scrumhalf Gareth Copper grubbered.  Brave Jason Robinson, captain of England, gathered the ball and was taken to ground.  Lewsey and Hazell arrived and went in on their pressurised captain and were penalsied for "bridging".  It was a long way out, some 44 metres out, and near touch.  Up came spike-haired, tanned Gavin Henson with his original run up, concentration and high step -- and it never looked like missing.  It was a winner.

Man of the Match:  Cool, effective Stephen Jones was a star and there was a frisson of excitement whenever the ball went the way of Shane Williams.  There was also intent in the Welsh pack, but the man of the match was undoubtedly Gavin Henson, a world class player, strong on the attack, telling in the tackle, strong when kicking out of hand or off the ground.  His last kick is already part of Welsh lore, setting the druids a-chortling as they lick their lips.

Moment of the Match:  There was Shane Williams's try and Gavin Henson's jarring tackles but really it was the kick that sent the Welsh up through their closed dome to heaven -- Gavin Henson's penalty goal at the death.

Villain of the Match:  There were three candidates.  There was the field.  The dome was closed, the clock was working but the playing surface was as bad as it was six years ago during the World Cup Final, cutting up.  There was Gareth Thomas's retaliation, but really the villain was Danny Grewcock for the reckless boot.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Try:  S Williams
Pens:  Jones, Henson

For England:
Pens:  Hodgson 3

The teams:

Wales:  15 Gareth Thomas (captain), 14 Hal Luscombe (Kevin Morgan, 64), 13 Tom Shanklin, 12 Gavin Henson, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Dwayne Peel (Gareth Cooper, 60), 8 Michael Owen, 7 Martyn Williams, 6 Dafydd Jones (Ryan Jones, 64), 5 Rob Sidoli, 4 Brent Cockbain (Jonathan Thomas, 73), 3 Adam Jones (John Yapp, 73), 2 Mefin Davies, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Robin McBryde, 21 Ceri Sweeney.

England:  15 Jason Robinson (captain), 14 Mark Cueto, 13 Mathew Tait (Olly Barkley, 59), 12 Jamie Noon, 11 Josh Lewsey, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Matt Dawson (Harry Ellis, 63), 8 Joe Worsley (James Forrester, 41-44), 7 Andy Hazell, 6 Chris Jones, 5 Danny Grewcock (Steve Borthwick, 66), 4 Ben Kay, 3 Julian White (Graham Rowntree, 72), 2 Steve Thompson, 1 Graham Rowntree (Phil Vickery, 56).
Replacements:  16 Andy Titterrell, 22 Ben Cohen.

Yellow cards:  G Thomas (Wales, 35), Grewcock (England, 35).

Referee:  Steve Walsh (New Zealand)
Touch judges:  Alain Rolland (Ireland), Rob Dickson (Scotland)
Assessor:  Jim Irvine (Ireland)
Television match official:  David Changleng (Scotland)

Argentina 7 South Africa 39

South Africa ran in five first-half tries as they easily beat Argentina 39-7 in Buenos Aires.

Full-back Gaffie du Toit, who came in for Percy Montgomery, claimed two tries as well as two conversions and four penalties for the Springboks.

Marius Joubert, Fourie Du Preez and Jacques Cronje also scored tries as they built up a 36-7 interval lead.

The Argentina side, who were weakened because of European Cup call-ups, had five newcomers and struggled.

The teams:

Argentina:  Juan Martin Hernandez, Pablo Gomez Cora, Manuel Contepomi, Gonzalo Tiesi, Lucas Borges, Juan de la Cruz Fernandez Miranda, Agustin Pichot (capt), Augusto Petrilli, Lucas Ostiglia, Martin Durand, Pablo Bouza, Santiago Artese, Eusebio Guinazu, Federico Mendez, Leopoldo De Chazal.
Replacements:  Marcos Ayerza, Alberto Vernet Basualdo, Manuel Carizza, Martin Schusterman, Nicolas Fernandez Miranda, Miguel Avramovic, Francisco Bosch.

South Africa:  Gaffie du Toit, Jaque Fourie, Marius Joubert, Wayne Julies, Bryan Habana, Jaco van der Westhuyzen, Fourie du Preez, Jacques Cronje, Danie Rossouw, Solly Tyibilika, Victor Matfield, Bakkies Botha, CJ van der Linde, John Smit (capt), Gurthro Steenkamp.
Replacements:  Danie Coetzee, Os du Randt, Gerrie Britz, Joe van Niekerk, Michael Claassens, De Wet Barry, Brent Russell.

Barbarians 19 New Zealand 47

New Zealand proved too strong for an Australian-dominated Barbarians to round off their unbeaten northern hemisphere tour with an easy win.

Rico Gear ran in two of the All Blacks' seven tries in what was a predominantly second-string line-up.

The Baa-Baas did threaten, scoring tries through Albert van den Bergh, Xavier Rush and Andrea Lo Cicero, but never looked like winning.

All Black Aaron Mauger was in good form with the boot, adding 10 points.

The All Blacks featured only two of the side which started last weekend's emphatic Test victory over France in Paris, while the Baa-Baas had nine Wallabies in their starting line-up.

And New Zealand coach Graham Henry said:  "It was a quality performance against a very experienced side and a number of young guys came through very well.

"They learnt from the older players and this was a way of thanking the guys who had been mentoring them on the tour."

But the running rugby the crowd had been hoping for rarely materialised.

Marty Holah got the All Blacks onslaught under way with his fifth-minute try before Rush hit back moments later.

But New Zealand went ahead once more as Gear made use of the space vacated by a temporarily injured Chris Latham to slide in.

Ma'a Nonu then found his way through the Barbarians defence to give his side a 19-7 half-time lead.

The hosts failed to ignite in the second half and, the moment Gear scored his second just after the interval, there was only ever going to be one winner.

Lo Cicero, the sole European for the Barbarians, bundled over for a try to briefly curtail the deficit.

But the match was blighted by controversy moments later when Justin Marshall, was felled with a high tackle by Jimmy Cowan.  Referee Andy Turner waved play on and Casey Laulala coasted in for his side's fifth try.

Jermoe Keino and Piri Weepu both added tries to the All Blacks' tally before the final whistle, while van den Bergh gained some consolation for the Baa-Baas.

After the match, Barbarians coach Bob Dwyer warned that South African flanker Schalk Burger needed a proper off-season break to maintain his standards.

Burger, 21, was recently crowned player of the year by both his peers and the International Rugby Board, but has struggled for form in recent weeks.

"It's his first year at that level and he was phenomenal up until the end of the southern hemisphere season.

"I don't think he's played anywhere near that level on tour," he said.

Points Scorers:

Barbarians (7) 19
Tries:  Rush, Lo Cicero, Van der Bergh
Con:  Giteau, Rogers

New Zealand (19) 47
Tries:  Holah, Gear (2), Nonu, Laulala, Kaino, Weepu
Cons:  Mauger (5), Weepu

The teams:

Barbarians:  M Rogers (Australia), C Latham (Australia), L Tuqiri (Australia), M Turinui (Australia), S Bobo (Fiji), M Giteau (Australia), J Marshall (New Zealand, capt), B Young (Australia), B Cannon (Australia), F Rautenbach (South Africa), D Vickerman (Australia), A Van Den Bergh (South Africa), S Burger (South Africa), P Waugh (Australia), X Rush (New Zealand)
Replacements:  G Botha (South Africa, uncapped), A Lo Cicero (Italy), AJ Venter (South Africa), R Samo (Australia), W Greef (South Africa), G Bobo (South Africa), A Tuilevo (Fiji)

New Zealand:  M Muliaina, D Howlett, C Laulala, M Nonu, R Gear, A Mauger, J Cowan, S Taumoepeau, K Mealamu, G Somerville, R Thorne, A Williams, J Kaino, M Holah, S Bates
Replacements:  A Oliver, C Hayman, C Jack, M Tuiali'i, P Weepu, J Rokocoko, D Carter.

France 6 New Zealand 45

New Zealand ran in five tries as they crushed Six Nations champions France with a ruthless display in Paris.

The All Blacks had the edge in a tight first half, with France restricted to two penalties from Frederic Michalak.

Daniel Carter was on top form with the boot, kicking four penalties and converting a try from Rodney So'oialo as the All Blacks went in 19-6 ahead.

And the tourists dominated the second half with Jerry Collins, Carter, Byron Kelleher and Ma'a Nonu all going over.

New Zealand coach Graham Henry praised his players' character after the record victory.

"Attitude was everything ― I'm very proud of the performance and of the players," said Henry.

"It's our best performance of the year.  France were a better team than the England side we defeated in the summer.

"We have made tactical changes since the Tri-Nations and they really paid off for us."

France coach Bernard Laporte admitted his side could not compete with New Zealand's speed and strength.

"They were stronger and faster," said Laporte.

"We couldn't match them physically.  It's as simple as that.

"Our players gave everything, we cannot complain about that, but I had the feeling they had come up against a brick wall for 80 minutes."

"Fabien Pelous and Pieter de Villiers told me they had never played a game so intense."

Points Scorers:

France 6 (6)
Pens:  Michalak 2

New Zealand 45 (19)
Tries:  So'oialo, Collins, Carter, Kelleher, Nonu
Cons:  Carter 4
Pens:  Carter 4

The teams:

France:  Poitrenaud, Rougerie, Marsh, B Liebenberg, Heymans, Peyrelongue, Michalak, Marconnet, Servat, De Villiers, Thion, Pelous, Betsen, Magne, Harinordoquy.
Replacements:  Bruno, Milloud, Pape, Bonnaire, Barrau, Jauzion, Dominici.

New Zealand:  Muliaina, Howlett, Smith, Umuga, Rokocoko, Carter, Kelleher, Woodcock, Oliver, Hayman, N Maxwell, Jack, J Collins, McCaw, So'oialo.
Replacements:  Mealamu, Somerville, Williams, Tuiali'i, Weepu, Mauger, Nonu.

Referee:  Alain Rolland (Ireland).

Ireland 21 Argentina 19

An injury-time dropped goal by Ronan O'Gara stole victory for Ireland from underneath the noses of Argentina at Lansdowne Road on Saturday.

O'Gara kicked all of Ireland's points, with two dropped goals and five penalties, to give the home side a 100% record in their autumn internationals.

An impressive Argentina appeared in control until the dying seconds.

The Pumas shocked the Irish early on with a try from Federico Aramburu, and Felipe Contepomi kicked 14 points.

The well-drilled and sharper Pumas out-played and out-thought Ireland in the early stages.

Indiscipline allowed Argentina's Leinster fly-half Contepomi to open the scoring in the third minute with a straightforward penalty.

He was on the mark again two minutes later when Argentina shocked a ragged Ireland with the first try of the game.

Ireland turned the ball over and Manuel Contepomi broke through an unstructured defence before feeding his midfield partner Aramburu to sprint in under the posts.

O'Gara finally got Ireland on the board with a dropped goal in the ninth minute only for Contepomi to rifle over his second penalty two minutes later.

Playing into a strong wind and rain, Ireland continued to come second best in tight situations, and turnovers began to mount up against a rugged defence.

O'Gara managed to land his second penalty in the 36th minute, but once again Contepomi replied in kind four minutes into first-half injury time.

The second-half started as the first had ended.  O'Gara rifled over another penalty in the 45th minute, but Contepomi matched it three minutes later.

The upper-body strength of the Pumas never allowed Ireland to take control up front, while the three-quarters had no space to manoeuvre.

Ireland had to rely on O'Gara's boot to keep in touch rather than any contrived running plays.

The Munsterman landed two more penalties ― one of them from 48 metres ― to bring his team to within four points with 13 minutes on the clock remaining.

And Ireland's chance came when Argentina's number eight Gonzalo Longo was yellow carded with six minutes to go for an offence in the line-out.

O'Gara made no mistake as he rifled over his fifth penalty to set up a tense final few minutes.

But Ireland showed great composure to get themselves into a position to allow O'Gara to thump over a massive drop goal to complete a tremendous, if fortuitous, comeback.

Points Scorers:

Ireland:  (6) 21
Pen:  O'Gara 5
Dg:  O'Gara 2

Argentina:  (16) 19
Try:  Aramburu
Con:  Contepomi
Pens:  Contepomi 4

The teams:

Ireland:  G Dempsey, G Murphy, B O'Driscoll (capt), S Horgan, D Hickie, R O'Gara, P Stringer, R Corrigan, S Byrne, J Hayes, M O'Kelly, P O'Connell, S Easterby, J O'Connor, A Foley.
Replacements:  F Sheahan, M Horan or E Byrne, D O'Callaghan, E Miller, G Easterby, D Humphreys, K Maggs.

Argentina:  JM Hernández, L Borges, FM Aramburu, M Contepomi, H Senillosa, F Contepomi, A Pichot (capt), R Roncero, M Ledesma, O Hasan, R Alvarez, P Albacete, M Durand, L Ostiglia, G Longo.
Replacements:  F Mendez, E Guiñazu, P Bouza, A Petrilli, NF Miranda, JF Miranda, GP Tiesi.

Referee:  Tony Spreadbury (England).

Scotland 10 South Africa 45

South Africa restored some pride as they ended their European tour with a crushing 45-10 victory over Scotland.

Jaque Fourie, Solly Tyibilika and Bryan Habana (two) scored tries and Jaco van der Westhuyzen landed two drop-goals to put South Africa 32-10 up at the break.

Captain Chris Paterson marked his 50th appearance for Scotland by kicking a penalty and converting a penalty try.

But Van der Westhuyzen capped a fine display with a late try to take his tally for the match to 14 points.

The Scots went into the game at Murrayfield still searching for their first major scalp since Matt Williams took charge after the World Cup last year.

But South Africa never looked like succumbing to a third defeat in four games after losses to Ireland and England.

The much-changed Springbok side drew first blood after nine minutes when Van der Westhuyzen broke and Fourie held off two tacklers to touch down in the corner.

Percy Montgomery had already missed a simple penalty in front of the posts, but he landed a superb conversion to make it 7-0.

Tyibilika marked his international debut with a try soon after, diving over from close range.

Montgomery converted and a simple drop-goal from fly-half Van der Westhuyzen stretched the lead before Paterson hit back with a penalty.

But the Springboks reasserted their authority with a huge drop-goal from Van der Westhuyzen, and a careless pass from Hugo Southwell allowed Habana to intercept for an easy try.

The tourists paid for their indiscipline after having locks Victor Matfield and Bakkies Botha sin-binned as Scotland pressure yielded a penalty try.

But Habana struck another hammer blow before half-time with a second interception and score.

The scoring slowed after the break, with Springboks prop Gurthro Steenkamp having a try ruled out for stepping into touch.

But Montgomery added a penalty and Van der Westhuyzen another drop-goal as Scotland failed to mount a sustained threat.

And Van der Westhuyzen's man-of-the-match performance was complete when he touched down under the posts to leave Scotland with just a win over Japan to show from their four autumn Tests.

Points Scorers:

Scotland:  10 (10)
Tries:  Penalty try
Cons:  Paterson
Pens:  Paterson

South Africa:  45 (32)
Tries:  Fourie, Tyibilika, Habana (2), Van der Westhuyzen
Cons:  Montgomery 4
Pens:  Montgomery
Drops:  Van der Westhuyzen 3

The teams:

Scotland:  Southwell, Paterson, Hinshelwood, Henderson, Lamont, Parks, Cusiter, Jacobsen, Bulloch, Kerr, Grimes, Hines, White, MacFadyen, Hogg.
Replacements:  Russell, Douglas, MacLeod, Petrie, Blair, Ross, Morrison.

South Africa:  Montgomery, Fourie, Joubert, Julies, Habana, van der Westhuyzen, du Preez, Steenkamp, Smit, van der Linde, Botha, Matfield, Tbilika, Rossouw, van Niekerk.
Replacements:  Coetzee, du Randt, Britz, Cronje, Claassens, Bobo, du Toit.

Referee:  N Williams (Wales).

England 19 Australia 21

England fell to their first defeat under new coach Andy Robinson after Australia ran out narrow winners in a thrilling Test at Twickenham.

Australia, assisted by some woeful goal-kicking from England, powered into a 12-0 lead with tries by Jeremy Paul and Chris Latham.

A second-half fightback saw England take the lead with tries from Lewis Moody, Josh Lewsey and Mark Cueto.

But two late Matt Giteau penalties won the match for Australia.

England ― who went through three goal-kickers ― ultimately paid the price for a succession of wayward shots at goal.

A promising attacking platform ― after an astute Charlie Hodgson kick through ― was squandered when Henry Paul coughed up possession, the first mistake of a miserable afternoon for the rugby league convert.

Aggressive Australia defence, with George Smith particularly prominent, saw a disjointed England attempt to force unnecessary passes and slowly hand the initiative to Australia.

A needless knock-on from England skipper Jason Robinson deep in his own 22 proved costly as Australia set up camp before opening the scoring through Jeremy Paul.

Giteau's magical break took him past Joe Worsley's tackle, before committing Jason Robinson and giving a perfectly-timed pass to Paul.

Flatley composed himself before sending the conversion over.

Andy Robinson then made a major tactical call, bringing on Will Greenwood for the misfiring Henry Paul after just 24 minutes.

But it was Australia who scored next as Latham powered through a Lewsey tackle to touch down on the right.

A perfectly-executed line-out provided quick ball off the top, and allowed centre Morgan Turinui to set the ball up in front of the posts.

Giteau's delightful flat pass gave Latham enough room to go through Lewsey and Mike Tindall's tackles.

England upped the tempo and started to find some fluency, but two missed kicks from Hodgson ― who scored 27 points in the win over South Africa last week ― let Australia off the hook.

The first points of the second half went Australia's way as Giteau's long-range penalty put them into a commanding 15-0 lead.

England's fightback finally began on 48 minutes when Moody was driven over for a desperately-needed try.

The home side turned down three possible kicks at goal and were rewarded as a catch and drive from the line-out, supported by several backs, saw them power over the line.

Another two points went begging though as Gomarsall, stepping in as goal-kicker, sent his conversion effort wide.

The score acted as a wake-up call for England as their forwards began to exert more influence.

Another string of kickable penalties were turned down, and the decision again paid dividends with Lewsey's 60th-minute try.

A forward drive committed the Australia defence, and Lewsey simply took the ball off the back of the maul and sprinted over a totally unguarded blindside.

Tindall, England's third kicker, added the extras to cut the gap.

Soon after, a classic back move saw the ball flow through the hands of Hodgson, Lewsey and Robinson to allow Cueto to go over for his fourth try in three Tests.

Tindall again added the conversion to give England the lead.

Australia were far from finished though, and battled back upfield to force two penalties ― the second after a stupid late tackle by Gomarsall ― both of which Giteau stroked over comfortably.

A late England onslaught had the Twickenham crowd on their feet, but the Australia defence held firm.

Points Scorers:

England:  (0) 19
Tries:  Moody, Lewsey, Cueto
Cons:  Tindall 2

Australia:  (12) 21
Try:  Paul, Latham
Con:  Flatley
Pens:  Giteau 3

The teams:

England:  J Robinson (capt), M Cueto, H Paul, M Tindall, J Lewsey, C Hodgson, A Gomarsall, G Rowntree, S Thompson, J White, D Grewcock, S Borthwick, J Worsley, L Moody, M Corry.
Replacements:  A Titterrell, A Sheridan, B Kay, A Hazell, H Ellis, W Greenwood, B Cohen.

Australia:  C Latham, W Sailor, M Turinui, M Giteau, L Tuqiri, E Flatley, G Gregan (capt), B Young, J Paul, A Baxter, J Harrison, D Vickerman, G Smith, P Waugh, D Lyons.
Replacements:  B Cannon, M Dunning, R Samo, S Hoiles, M Henjak, D Mitchell, M Rogers.

Wales 98 Japan 0

Wales ran in 14 tries in their biggest ever winning margin against a raw, outclassed Japan in Cardiff.

Captain Colin Charvis equalled the Wales record of four tries in a match, Tom Shanklin got a hat-trick, and Rhys and Shane Williams claimed braces.

Mefin Davies, Gethin Jenkins and Gareth Cooper got the other scores, Gavin Henson landing all 14 conversions in a flawless kicking display.

Wataru Ikeda missed one penalty in Japan's only points-scoring chance.

Wales' plans were disrupted moments before kick off when a stomach muscle injury forced Brent Cockbain out, Mike Owen moving to lock with Ryan Jones in at No 8.

It hardly ruffled the home side, though, and after just three minutes a forward drive from a line-out saw captain Colin Charvis cross for the opening try.

A massive 56,380 crowd saw Owen inspire an attack from the restart, and after the ball was recycled on the Japanese 22 it came to Rhys Williams in midfield who dummied his way over.

A beautiful Shane Williams break from his own 22 took him into the opposition half where he fed Henson, the No 12 choosing to send Charvis in for his second score rather than going for the line himself.

Charvis nearly got his hat-trick five minutes later, but was held up a metre short, allowing Davies to pick up for his second try in as many games.

Japan managed to stretch the Wales defence with an extended period of attacking play, but another Shane Williams break from deep in his own half ended up with an easy try for Shanklin.

The centre then doubled his tally by showing the strength to split the midfield defence for another score.

Charvis got his hat-trick with an eight-metre run, before a Cooper snipe set up prop Jenkins for a 25m gallop to the line.

Japan had a chance to get on the scoreboard with a penalty on the stroke of half-time, but scrum-half Ikeda's kick fell short, leaving it 56-0 at the break.

Five minutes after the restart, a Jenkins charge ruptured the visitors' defence, the prop feeding Charvis who ran in from half-way for his record-equalling score.

The scoring slowed as Wales appeared to lose interest and concentration, but a Cooper snipe saw the scrum-half over for Wales' 10th try on 55 minutes.

Japan then lost attacking ball, Wales firing straight back downfield for Shane Williams to score.

Shanklin then got his hat-trick and his eighth try in his last three Wales games, Henson's successful conversion breaking Neil Jenkins' Wales record of 11 in one game.

Wales broke from their own 22 for the best try of the game, the ball going through Henson's, Shanklin's and Kevin Morgan's hands before Shane Williams went in for his 21st international try, overtaking the marks of Gerald Davies and Gareth Edwards.

A 75-metre touch-line run by Rhys Williams and a glorious conversion from Henson brought Wales to within two points of the 100 mark.

But the visitors held on in the dying minutes to prevent Wales breaking the 100-point barrier for just the second time in their history.

That was the 102-11 win over Portugal in 1994, Wales' previous highest winning margin.

Points Scorers:

Wales (56) 98
Tries:  Charvis (4), R Williams (2), Davies, Shanklin (3), Jenkins, Cooper, S Williams (2)
Cons:  Henson (14)

Japan (0) 0

The teams:

Wales:  R Williams (Blues), H Luscombe (Dragons), G Henson (Ospreys), T Shanklin (Blues), S Williams (Ospreys), C Sweeney (Dragons), G Cooper (Dragons), Duncan Jones (Ospreys), M Davies (Neath RFC), G Jenkins (Blues), M Owen (Dragons), J Thomas (Ospreys), Dafydd Jones (Scarlets), C Charvis (Newcastle, capt), R Jones (Ospreys).
Replacements:  S Jones (Dragons), A Jones (Ospreys), A Popham (Leeds), M Williams (Blues), M Phillips (Scarlets), M Watkins (Scarlets), K Morgan (Dragons).

Japan:  R Miki (World Fighting Bull), K Kubota (NEC Green Rockets), M Mukoyama (NEC Green Rockets), Y Motoki (Kobelco Steelers), H Daimon (Kobelco Steelers), H Yoshida (Kubota Spears), W Ikeda (Sanyo Wild Knights), Masahito Yamamoto (Toyota Motor Verbitz), T Yamaoka (Suntory Sungoliath), R Yamamura (Yamaha Motors), H Kiso (Yamaha Motors), T Kumagae (NEC Green Rockets), F Mau (World Fighting Bull), N Okubo (Japan RFU), T Miuchi (capt, NEC Green Rockets).
Replacements:  Mitsuga Yamamoto (Sanyo Wild Knights), Y Hisadomi (NEC Green Rockets), T Yamaguchi (Kubota Spears), H Ono (Toshiba Brave Lupus), K Tanaka (Suntory Sungoliath), S Shimomura (Sanyo Wild Knights), K Sawaki (Suntory Sungoliath).

Attendance:  56,380
Referee:  Tappe Henning (South Africa)

All Blacks escape with slimmest of win

Wales came within a point of defeat New Zealand on Saturday, putting together 80 minutes of breathless rugby that sent the Cardiff faithful into full voice.  In the end, two tries from All Black star Joe Rokocoko left the tourists leading 26-25 at the final whistle.

So, the hosts' wait for a victory over New Zealand goes on ― but they can be proud of their showing during this titanic battle at the Millennium Stadium.

Mike Ruddock's men gave Graham Henry and Steve Hansen, the two previous Wales coaches now in charge of New Zealand, a distinctly uncomfortable return to Cardiff but the All Blacks' incisive edge eventually proved conclusive.

The bare facts are that the All Blacks overturned an 11-3 deficit to edge ahead and keep a battling Wales at bay with Rokocoko's brace, a try from Mils Muliaina and Daniel Carter's 11 points.

But the mere statistics do not tell the story of Wales' bravery, heart and fight as they pushed the All Blacks right to the death.  Their position as one of the major forces in world rugby has been confirmed, but their hunt for a major scalp goes on.

They had begun with fire in their bellies, desperate to end a losing run against the All Blacks which stretches back 51 years, and opened that 11-3 lead with a cleverly-worked try from Tom Shanklin.

The All Blacks responded with Rokocoko claiming a controversial score when Sonny Parker appeared to have been impeded but, through the boot of the excellent Stephen Jones, Wales retained a one-point lead heading into half-time.

Hooker Mefin Davies dived over just after half time to extend that advantage to 19-13 before Mils Muliaina and Rokocoko stung Wales inside eight minutes.

Roared on by a packed house desperate to witness a slice of Welsh rugby history, Gareth Thomas' men refused to buckle, but Gavin Henson's two penalties were not quite enough to earn Wales the win their determination and passion deserved.

Much has changed since Wales last beat New Zealand.  In December 1953, Tony Blair was six months old and Sir Winston Churchill was in his second term in office.

In the intervening 51 years, beating New Zealand has developed into Wales' very own Everest and in the 16 Tests since Bleddyn Williams' side triumphed at the old Arms Park they have taken some fearful hidings.

But they came into today's game proclaiming a genuine belief that they could bury the hoodoo and finally nail the big scalp that has proven so elusive in the last year.

Wales' renaissance began at the World Cup 12 months ago when Hansen was in charge and they have proven in the last year to be good enough to compete with the best sides in the world.

But they had fallen on the wrong side of the ledger each time, losing to the All Blacks in that momentous World Cup game, England twice and a fortnight ago, to South Africa who held on by two points.

They were performances which had impressed Henry and Hansen, but New Zealand arrived boasting great quality.  Star wingers Rokocoko and Doug Howlett boasted a remarkable 59 tries in 64 Tests between them.

But Wales recalled their own dangerous finisher in Shane Williams ― who caused the All Blacks such problems in the World Cup ― with Shanklin switched to the opposite wing and New Zealand-born Parker started in the centres.

All three were key players, along with Jones who orchestrated the first try and was the brilliant fulcrum of Wales' attacking force.  His only blemish were three missed kicks.  Crucial as it turned out.

Wales, who had hinted at a response to the All Blacks' haka during the week, unfurled a giant Welsh dragon and the supporters were led in a hearty rendition of 'Bread of Heaven'.

It was designed to douse the All Blacks' early and fire and help Wales, whose slow start against South Africa proved costly, hit the ground running ― and it worked as Wales opened an 11-3 lead in the first 26 minutes.

Dwayne Peel was short in his attempted dart for the line but it prompted an exchange of penalties before Jones, who had already carved open New Zealand's defence once, created the first try.

Wales turned over New Zealand's ball and Jones chipped over the top for Shanklin who beat Casey Laulala and Muliaina in the race for the touchdown.

Another penalty, earned by Wales' forward power after Aaron Mauger's knock-on, opened Wales that 11-3 advantage ― only for the All Blacks to hit back in controversial fashion.

Parker appeared to be obstructed as the All Blacks broke and Muliaina danced down the touchline before feeding Rokocoko for his first try of the evening.  It was met with boos from the Welsh crowd but Carter kept his cool to slot the conversion and reduce the arrears to a point.

Carter then kicked New Zealand ahead after Wales had dealt well with a threat from Rokocoko, only for Charvis, Shanklin and Williams to carry Wales forward again.

New Zealand, under growing pressure, finally cracked, allowing Jones to boot Wales into a 14-13 half-time lead.

Wales forced a five metre scrum immediately after the interval, moved to within inches of the All Blacks' line and hooker Davies dived over.

But there was no respite for the Welsh.  Carter sent over Muliaina, and after Henson had hit the post with a penalty, Wales were stung on the counter-attack and Rokocoko seared in for his 27th try in 22 Tests.

Wales' hopes were given a boost on the hour when replacement All Black centre Ma'a Nonu was sin-binned for a late tackle on Henson.  He picked himself up and landed the kick.  Wales were back within a point at 23-22 down.

Carter extended that lead again as Wales were penalised at the breakdown.

Instead of pushing for the try, Henson slotted the kick but Wales could not break the All Blacks down again.

They had fallen short again by the tightest of margins.

Man of the match:  Plenty of candidates on display.  For Wales, Colin Charvis pulled it out of the bag (as he so often does on the major stage), Gareth Thomas was commanding, and Stephen Jones reacted to play like he had read the script before the event had started.  For New Zealand, Richie McCaw lead like a veteran, and Mils Muliana showed some fine touches.  But our award goes to All Black hooker Keven Mealamu who put in an absolutely indefatigable performance.

Moment of the match:  Spoilt for choice!.  So many nice moments of individual class and cunning ― but the sight of New Zealand hitting back with Muliana's try after conceded showed just what these All Blacks are capable of doing.  Why they can't sustain this level of concentration ― and willing ― is something Graham Henry will need to address.

Villain of the match:  All Black replacement Ma'a Nonu deserves a rap across the knuckles for his yellow card, but why spoil a good party?  No villains.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  Shanklin, Davies
Pens:  Jones 4, Henson

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Rokocoko 2, Muliaina
Con:  Carter
Pens:  Carter 3

The teams:

New Zealand:  15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Doug Howlett, 13 Casey Laulala, 12 Aaron Mauger, 11 Joe Rokocoko, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Mose Tuiali'i, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 Rodney So'oialo, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Chris Jack, 3 Greg Somerville, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Anton Oliver, 17 Carl Hayman, 18 Reuben Thorne, 19 Marty Holah, 20 Byron Kelleher, 21 Ma'a Nonu, 22 Rico Gear.

Wales:  15 Gareth Thomas (captain), 14 Tom Shanklin, 13 Sonny Parker, 12 Gaving Henson, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Dwayne Peel, 8 Michael Owen, 7 Colin Charvis, 6 Dafydd Jones, 5 Gareth Llewellyn, 4 Brent Cockbain, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Mefin Davies, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Steven Jones, 17 Duncan Jones, 18 Ryan Jones, 19 Martyn Williams, 20 Gareth Cooper, 21 Ceri Sweeney, 22 Rys Williams.

Pumas maul France in Marseille

Argentina have pulled off one of the greatest victories of their illustrious history, wrenching the rug out from under the feet of the Six Nations champions ― and conquers of Australia ― with an inspired 24-14 win over France in Marseille on Saturday.

The famous win at the Stade Velodrome ― where all the world's top sides have come a-cropper in recent time ― punctuates France's eight-match winning streak.

Not to belittle Argentina's heroic performance, but France seemed to lack their usual va-va-voom, and found it hard to find their rhythm in the face of a rabid Puma pack who keep the French forwards under wraps for the duration of the game.

Furthermore, most of the French backs looked like they were still suffering the effects of their win over the Wallabies ― the post-match celebrations, that is.

Indeed, the kicking game of Jean-Baptiste Elissalde and Frédéric Michalak had all the composure of a drunk on the Parisian tiles.

Playing with the strong wind at their backs, the Pumas led 19-5 at half-time with fly-half Felipe Contepomi contributing four penalties and converting a try by flanker Martin Durand, who scrambled over following a five-metre scrum.

French momentarily work up, and centre Tony Marsh sliced through for a fabulous try that send the partisan support into raptures, and brought up an impromptu rendition of the Marseillaise.

After the break, Elissalde put his name on the scoresheet with his first penalty, but was forced off the field with an injury in the 58th minute.

Julien Peyrelongue came in at No.10 and Michalak moving to scrum-half.  Michalak also assumed goal-kicking duties and immediately slotted his first penalty.

France appeared to be gaining on the South American 'up-starts' and got within an inch of the line.  In the end, they were forced to settle for another Michalak penalty.

For a moment, it seemed as if the status quo would be maintained ― but the big Argentine forwards drew in a collective breath and pushed the French out of the danger zone and onto their own line.

The tourists were given the opportunity to kick for goal on two occasions, and refused both times ― opting to go for the corner line-out.

And their bravery was rewarded when prop Omar Hasan sealed victory by flopping over for a try after a series of running mauls on the French line just before the final whistle.

Man of the match:  The Argentina forwards were just immense, deconstructing the same unit that bullied the Wallabies into submission last week ― namely, the cultured French pack.  Our award goes to that man who always managed to coerce the best out of the bid Argentines ― the irrepressible Agustín Pichot, surely still one of the finest exponents of scrum-half play to have ever graced a rugby field.

Moment of the match:  With France creeping back into the game, Argentina opted for two line-outs when attempts at the sticks would have been the more pragmatic approach.  It's could have pure machismo, or pure masochism ― but when you can out-gall the Gallic, you know the day will be yours!

Villain of the match:  Despite the furious clash of forwards, it was all good, clean fun.  No villains.

The scorers:

For France:
Try:  Marsh
Pens:  Elissade, Michalak 2

For Argentina:
Tries:  Durand, Hasan
Con:  Contepomi
Pens:  Contepomi 4

The teams:

France:  15 Nicolas Brusque, 14 Aurelien Rougerie, 13 Tony Marsh, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 11 Cedric Heymans, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Olivier Magne, 6 Serge Betsen, 5 Jerome Thion, 4 Fabien Pelous (captain), 3 Sylvain Marconnet, 2 William Servat, 1 Olivier Milloud.
Replacements:  16 Sebastien Bruno, 17 Nicolas Mas, 18 Pascal Pape, 19 Julien Bonnaire, 20 Julien Peyrelongue, 21 Clement Poitrenaud, 22 Jimmy Marlu.

Argentina:  15 Juan Martín Hernández, 14 Lucas Borges, 13 Federico Martín Aramburu, 12 Manuel Contepomi, 11 Hernán Senillosa, 10 Felipe Contepomi, 9 Agustín Pichot (captain), 8 Gonzalo Longo, 7 Lucas Ostiglia, 6 Martín Durand, 5 Rimas Álvarez, 4 Patricio Albacete, 3 Omar Hasan, 2 Mario Ledesma, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements:  16 Federico Méndez, 17 Daniel Rodríguez, 18 Pablo Bouza, 19 Martín Schusterman, 20 Nicolás Fernández Miranda, 21 Juan de la Cruz Fernández Miranda, 22 Gonzalo Tiesi.

Referee:  Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)

Australia halts Scotland charge

Scotland's search for a win over Australia will continue after the Wallabies secured their second victory over Matt Williams' men in as many weeks with a hard-fought 31-17 triumph in front of 28,000 vocal fans at Hampden Park.

The final score at the home of Scottish football ― where Scotland had never previously lost a rugby match ― closely resembles the one at Murrayfield two weeks ago, but this was a very different game.

Seeking their first win over the Wallabies since 1982, Scotland competed in all areas of the game in a manner which showed real progress is being made under Australian born coach Williams.

Tries from Lote Tuqiri, Phil Waugh, Matt Giteau and George Gregan secured a 14th straight win over Scotland for the Wallabies.

Scotland were the first to threaten, however, Andy Henderson made a fine break in the centre from inside his own half and galloped into the Australia 22 before being stopped by fullback Chris Latham.

Scotland rucked the ball back efficiently though and, from Chris Paterson's delicate chip through, Tuqiri had to scramble the ball out of the field of play with Hogg waiting to pounce.

The Wallabies were forced into an early substitution when centre Stirling Mortlock was forced off ― with a suspected broken cheekbone ― to be replaced by former league star Wendell Sailor.

The change did not affect the visitors' momentum however, and from a scrum inside the Scotland half the home side were penalised and Giteau put the Wallabies ahead in the ninth minute.

Scotland hit back immediately though when George Smith was adjudged offside by referee Alan Lewis and then the Wallabies infringed at a line-out, Paterson slotting both straight-forward penalties.

The Wallabies scored the opening try on 21 when another former rugby league man Tuqiri went in at the corner following a slick handling move in the visiting backs, Giteau converting.

But the score was tinged with controversy, Scotland's players and fans being upset at what appeared a knock-on by George Smith following a fine tackle from Donnie Macfadyen in the lead-up to the try which Lewis ignored.

The Irish official did blow in Scotland's favour on the half hour when he penalised Tuqiri for holding on after he was well tackled by Chris Cusiter in midfield.  Edinburgh utility-back Paterson made no mistake with the kick.

The deficit would have increased again moments later without the intervention of Dan Parks, the stand-off being faced with a two-on-one but guessing correctly and intercepting what would have been a try-scoring pass.

The second try was not long in coming though.

Waugh notched his fourth try in the green and gold after Scotland's defence was stretched to breaking point.

Giteau converted to leave the score 17-9 with half-time looming.

The Wallabies' third league convert Mat Rogers came on just before the interval in place of Clyde Rathbone while Elton Flatley filled in for Stephen Larkham in a blood substitution which became permanent at half-time.

After making no headway in the first 10 minutes of the second-half, Bruce Douglas and Jason White came on for Gavin Kerr and Jon Petrie as Williams sought to create some forward momentum from his pack.

The move seemed to work as Scotland made their first break since Henderson's foray in the opening moments when Cusiter darted through.

The Borders scrum-half was held up inside the Australia 22 but the visitors were penalised for coming over the top and Paterson slotted his fourth penalty to bring his side to within five points of the Wallabies.

Scotland made a mess of the restart but Cusiter again scythed through before chipping ahead into the Wallaby 22.

Sailor did well to tidy up and from the resulting line-out Sydney-born Parks sliced a drop-goal attempt just wide of the posts.

After Scotland's best period of pressure in the game, Australia struck back to regain a comfortable lead when Giteau crossed after the Scotland defence was stretched by a mazy run from hooker Jeremy Paul.

The Scots refused to lie down though and seconds later Flatley's kick was charged down by Hogg, who gathered brilliantly and charged over for his side's first try of the game.  Paterson failed with the conversion from the touchline.

Scott MacLeod, Graeme Morrison, Mike Blair and Robbie Russell all entered the fray in the last 10 minutes as Williams sought to engineer a grandstand finish.

It was not be though, as a magnificent pass from Giteau allowed Wallaby captain George Gregan, winning his 105th cap, to canter in under the posts as Australia wrapped up the win with a clinical breakaway try.

Hogg was denied a second try by good work from the lively Tuqiri as Australia secured yet another win over Scotland.

Man of the Match:  Australia's inside centre Matt Giteau for an excellent performance with the boot and his second-half try that helped Australia to victory.

Moment of the match:  Australian captain George Gregan's late try that finished the Scots late charge for a surprise victory after Scotland came back into the game with Chris Paterson's try in the 66th minute.

Villain of the match:  No real contenders in a relatively clean game that was a good advert for the game.

Scotland:  15 Hugo Southwell, 14 Chris Paterson, 13 Ben Hinshelwood, 12 Andrew Henderson, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 Jon Petrie, 7 Donny MacFadyen, 6 Allister Hogg, 5 Nathan Hines, 4 Stuart Grimes, 3 Gavin Kerr, 2 Gordon Bulloch (captain), 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements:  16 Robbie Russell, 17 Bruce Douglas, 18 Scott MacLeod, 19 Jason White, 20 Mike Blair, 21 Gordon Ross, 22 Graeme Morrison.

Australia:  15 Chris Latham, 14 Clyde Rathbone, 13 Stirling Mortlock, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Stephen Larkham (vice-captain), 9 George Gregan (captain), 8 David Lyons, 7 Phil Waugh (vice-captain), 6 George Smith, 5 Daniel Vickerman, 4 Justin Harrison, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Jeremy Paul, 1 Bill Young.
Replacements:  16 Brendan Cannon, 17 Matt Dunning, 18 Radike Samo, 19 Stephen Hoiles, 20 Elton Flatley, 21 Mat Rogers, 22 Wendell Sailor.

England smash Boks at Twickenham

England beat South Africa 32-16 at Twickenham on a miserable London day and were full value for the win.  It was only a late try by South Africa that gave them some meagre look of respectability as England simply strangled them up front and took their chances so well when they had them.

England scored two tries to one, both England's scores coming in the first half.  For the rest it was fly-half Charlie Hodgson's boot, put in place by his dominant pack.

You pays your money and takes your chances, the pub philosopher said.  He may have straightened up his grammar and his accent if he had been at Twickenham but that would have been a fair summary of the first half at greasy Twickenham.

England led 20-6 at half-time.  They came into the South African 22 twice and scored 14 points from their visits.

South Africa paid more frequent visits to the England's 22, but did not look like having a creative idea which could have led to a try.  It was left to late in the second half for a spectacular try and the chance of another soon afterwards.  But they were well and truly beaten.

To compound their problems they were thrashed in the loose for poor, ununified protection of their own ball and made no impact on England's ball.  In both England's tries they missed crucial tackles.  Not only did they turn over ball in the loose but they knocked on with crucial regularity and kicked poorly out of hand ― kicking by reflex and making it an exercise in handing over possession.

England opened the scoring after just over a minute.  Matfield, not for the only time in the half, failed at the England tackle and the went off-side and Charlie Hodgson, the star of the half, goaled.

When Mark Cueto got isolated and held on Percy Montgomery kicked long and low and goaled.  3-3.

A poor clearance from Breyton Paulse gave England an attacking line-out.  It went deep and became a maul.  Steve Thompson wandered off it and gave to Andy Gomarsall.  The scrum-half gave to Hodgson who went past De Wet Barry and through Montgomery and Paulse to score under the posts.  He converted.  10-3.

Hodgson started the next try in unpromising circumstances, under pressure not far from touch.  But he sprinted down the blindside and gave to Josh Lewsey who charged ahead.  England won the ball and Henry Paul kicked high and wide.  Cueto dived at the dropping ball in the in-goal area, caught it and scored.  Hodgson converted.  17-3.

When Lewis Moody was penalised for going in at the side of a tackle, Montgomery again goaled from a long way out ― 17-6.  But soon afterwards the Springboks were penalised for off-side.  20-6.

The Springboks had a great attacking chance when Matfield won an England line-out close to their line, but somehow, mysteriously, Joe Worsley paddled the ball back and England relieved the pressure.

In the first half the Springboks' discipline held and the penalty count was 3-all.  In the second half the penalties went 8-2 in favour of England, which made the visitors' task impossible.

South Africa scored first in the second half, when Graham Rowntree was penalised at a scrum and Montgomery made it 20-9.  Hodgson made it 23-9, then 26-9 with a neat dropped goal, then 29-9, then 32-9.

With seven minutes left Van Der Westhuyzen skipped out of Hodgson's tackle near the half-way line and sped straight downfield before sending replacement Bryan Habana, on for injured Jean de Villiers, speeding round behind the posts.

When Van Niekerk had a run down the same channel Habana came inside him to take the pass and was caught by the cover.

South Africa?  Where, oh where, is all the liveliness, joy, confidence, spirit of the Tri-Nations?  This was not a spirited performance.  England?  Great stranglehold but was is the weather that stopped them scoring a try for 54 minutes despite a plethora of possession?

Man of the Match:  It has to be Charlie Hodgson ― no doubt.  He scored a great individual try ― the sort of try that left the opposition shaking their heads for they knew that he should not have scored it.  In addition he kicked 22 points ― 27 out of 32.  He was also the spark that ignited England's second try.  There were other great performances ― Martin Corry and Josh Lewsey amongst them.

Moment of the Match:  This one is Mark Cueto's try ― Hodgson's vision and dash, Josh Lewsey's accelerated burst, Henry Paul's brilliant kick and Mark Cueto's dive, catch and score.

Villain of the match:  Nobody, unless you want to give it to the Boks for a poor effort.  But nobody in terms of foul play.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Hodgson, Cueto
Cons:  Hodgson 2
Pens:  Hodgson 5
DG:  Hodgson

For South Africa:
Try:  Habana
Con:  Montgomery
Pens:  Montgomery 3

The teams:

England:  15 Jason Robinson (captain), 14 Mark Cueto, 13 Mike Tindall, 12 Henry Paul (Will Greenwood, 71), 11 Josh Lewsey, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Andy Gomarsall (Harry Ellis, 66), 8 Martin Corry, 6 Joe Worsley (Andy Hazell, 71), 7 Lewis Moody (Andy Hazell, 6-14), 5 Steve Borthwick (Ben Kay, 71), 4 Danny Grewcock, 3 Julian White, 2 Steve Thompson, 1 Graham Rowntree.
Unused replacements:  16 Andy Titterrell, 17 Andy Sheridan, 22 Ben Cohen.

South Africa:  15 Percy Montgomery, 14 Breyton Paulse (Jaque Fourie, 72), 13 Marius Joubert, 12 De Wet Barry, 11 Jean de Villiers (Bryan Habana, 72), 10 Jaco van der Westhuyzen, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Joe van Niekerk, 7 AJ Venter (Danie Rossouw, 55), 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Eddie Andrews (CJ Van der Linde, 44), 2 John Smit (captain), 1 Os du Randt (CJ Van der Linde, 17-23).
Unused replacements:  16 Hanyani Shimange, 19 Gerrie Britz, 20 Michael Claassens.

Referee:  Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Touch judges:  Paul Honiss (New Zealand), Malcolm Changleng (Scotland)
Assessor:  David Kerr (Scotland)
Television match official:  Alan Lewis (Ireland)

Ireland slams the US Eagles

Ulster winger Tommy Bowe scored a debut try as Ireland gradually ground down the US Eagles at Lansdowne Road on Saturday, claiming six of their seven tries in a pulsating second-half to end the game winners by 55-6.

Bowe's provincial colleague David Humphreys also added 20 points from his nine successes with the boot to break through the 500-points mark in international rugby.

Starting the day on 491, he converted efforts from Bowe and man of the match Eric Miller in the first-half and Geordan Murphy (two), Marcus Horan, Frankie Sheahan and Peter Stringer tries in the second-half.

The Americans, only seven points down at the interval, scored just two penalties from the boot of fly-half Mike Hercus, but tired nearing the hour-mark due to a four-month lay-off.

Having made nine changes to last Saturday's line-up, Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan watched his side go through the motions in the first-half, failing to hit the heights of their 17-12 defeat of South Africa in squally Dublin conditions.

A shoddy scrum and a series of knock-ons when on the attack saw an error-strewn first 40 minutes dominated by Scottish referee Rob Dickson's whistle.

Even the marked absence of the Americans' famed physicality and the sin-binning of flanker Brian Surgener on 27 minutes failed to see Ireland push clear ― with Hercus nonetheless managing a second penalty for the Eagles when down to 14 men.

Miller was central to Ireland's first points after six minutes, taking up an initial drive from debutante Denis Leamy drew an offside and offered Humphreys his first shot at the posts.

With Tom Billups' visitors not breaking into Irish territory until the 10th minute, Ireland were given a degree of latitude with both Paul O'Connell and the recalled Kevin Maggs prominent ball carriers.

Hercus failed to punish Leamy's high tackle after 13 minutes, missing his first penalty attempt to the left but the former Australia Under-21 did level with a second 30-metre effort four minutes later.

Humphreys smartly replied for 6-3 two minutes later, followed quickly by Hercus' wayward drop goal attempt, set up by burly centre Salesi Sika.

Then Bowe's collect from Hercus on the left touchline after 24 minutes finally opened up a stout American rearguard action.

With Murphy, returned to his favoured fullback position, used twice in subsequent drives, centre Shane Horgan eventually put Miller in past Treviso lock Gerhard Klerck ― one of only four European-based professionals in the Eagles side ― at the right corner.

Humphreys converted to push Ireland 13-3 clear but even with Surgener off the field for persistent offside, the visitors fronted up.

Brian O'Driscoll's neat chip and charge down the right flank saw David Fee retreating but crucially more unforced errors from the Irish attack with hands in the ruck coughed up great field position on the half-hour.

O'Driscoll fielded Humphreys' skip pass five minutes before the break but his pass to the right evaded Horgan's grasp.

Just 13-6 up at the break, an expansive Ireland opened the second-half with a try after 50 seconds through Murphy.  The Leicester Tiger danced easily around Francois Viljoen to set the try-fest rolling.

O'Driscoll set Murphy up again for a right-wing dash around Sika to the line after 55 minutes and three minutes later 20-year-old Bowe crowned his first start with a try ― darting past Al Lakomskis for the left corner.

Close-range drives from Munster duo Horan and Sheahan ― both notching their second international tries on rare starts ― tallied up the Irish points and substitute Stringer sniped over on the right in injury time to put a gloss on the scoreline.

Man of the match:  Left wing Tommy Bowe for his debut try that helped to ignite the Irish Backs for a second-half assault on the Americans line.

Moment of the match:  The start of the second-half when Ireland came out firing after a poor first-half that was dull and lacked imagination.

Villain of the match:  US flanker Brian Surgener for his yellow card in the 27th minute for persistent off-sides that was killing the game at rucks and mauls.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  Sheahan, Bowe, Miller, Murphy 2, Horan, Stringer
Cons:  Humphreys 7
Pens:  Humphreys 2

For USA:  Hercus 2

The teams:

Ireland:  15 Geordan Murphy, 14 Shane Horgan, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (captain), 12 Kevin Maggs, 11 Tommy Bowe, 10 David Humphreys, 9 Guy Easterby, 8 Eric Miller, 7 Denis Leamy, 6 Simon Easterby, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Donccha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Frankie Sheahan, 1 Marcus Horan.
Replacements:  16 Shane Byrne, 17 Simon Best, 18 Leo Cullen, 19 Anthony Foley, 20 Peter Stringer, 21 Ronan O'Gara, 22 Girvan Dempsey.

USA:  15 Francois Viljoen, 14 Al Lakomskis, 13 Paul Emerick, 12 Salesi Sika, 11 David Fee, 10 Mike Hercus, 9 Mose Timoteo, 8 Kort Schubert (captain), 7 Tony Petruzzella, 6 Brian Surgener, 5 Gerhard Klerck, 4 Alec Parker, 3 Jacob Waasdorp, 2 Matt Wyatt, 1 Mike MacDonald.
Replacements:  16 Mike Hobson, 17 Chris Osentowski, 18 Jurie Gouws, 19 Fifita Mo'unga, 20 David Williams, 21 Matt Sherman, 22 Albert Tuipulotu.

Referee:  Rob Dickson (Scotland)

France 27 Australia 14

France outgunned Australia in a pulsating match in Paris for a first win over the Wallabies for three years.

Nicolas Brusque and Frederic Michalak scored tries and scrum-half Jean-Baptiste Elissalde kicked 17 points for France's eighth straight win.

Captain George Gregan scored for the Wallabies but his side were undone by French invention and stout defence.

Australia trailed 12-11 at half time and struggled to find their spark against the Six Nations champions.

France coach Bernard Laporte said:  "I am proud of my players.  They battled to win this match by applying a lot of defensive pressure and taking risks.

"And don't forget we were kept out three times on the try line."

Australia coach Eddie Jones admitted his side "just weren't good enough".

"The second half was really disappointing, there were too many turnovers.  We would have needed to be tactically and technically better.  We didn't respond to the pressure," said Jones.

"Our consistency was not good enough.  We went back to our old habits.  It just wasn't good enough."

Points Scorers:

France:  (12) 27
Tries:  Brusque, Michalak
Cons:  Elissalde
Pens:  Elissalde (5)

Australia:  (11) 14
Tries:  Gregan
Pens:  Giteau, Flatley (2)

The teams:

France:  Brusque, Rougerie, Marsh, Jauzion, Heymans, Michalak, Elissalde, Milloud, Servat, Marconnet, Thion, Pelous, Betsen, Magne, Harinordoquy.
Replacements:  Bruno, Mas, Pape, Bonnaire, Peyrelongue, Poitrenaud, Dominici.

Australia:  Latham, Rathbone, Mortlock, Giteau, Tuqiri, Larkham, Gregan, Young, Paul, Baxter, Harrison, Vickerman, Smith, Waugh, Roe.
Replacements:  Cannon, Dunning, Chisholm, Lyons, Flatley, Rogers, Sailor.

Referee:  Chris White (RFU)

Scotland 100 Japan 8

Scotland put last weekend's defeat against Australia behind them with a try-scoring romp over Japan at McDiarmid Park in Perth.

The inexperienced tourists were shown no mercy by a rampant Scottish side who ran in 15 tries.

Ally Hogg opened the scoring after only 90 seconds, but Japan hit back with a try from Daiman moments later.

It was one-way traffic after that as Scotland racked up the most points they have ever scored in an international.

Scotland went ahead with less than two minutes on the clock through a try from flanker Hogg.

Prop Allan Jacobsen made a break on the halfway line and fed to scrum half Cusiter who then sent Hogg clear into the 22 and the Edinburgh man touched down in the corner.

Paterson converted, but Japan hit back immediately, winger Daiman scoring a try in the left corner after excellent passing and pace from the Japanese backline.

Poor handling from winger Sean Lamont saw a clear-cut Scotland try go begging after the Glasgow winger dropped a pass with the line beckoning.

The opening quarter was played at a frantic pace with both sides tying to keep the ball alive and play the game at a hundred miles an hour.

The result was a scrappy, error-strewn affair, but Scotland settled their nerves with a second try after 19 minutes.

Centre Andy Henderson made a burst through the Japanese midfield before the ball was recycled and fed blind out the backs to Edinburgh full-back Hugo Southwell who raced over to score.

Paterson added the conversion, before slotting a penalty moments later to stretch the Scottish lead to 17-5.

The Scotland wing then grabbed a try of his own ― and another conversion ― after dancing round the Japanese defence on the left touchline.

Japan reduced the scoreline slightly on the half-hour mark with a penalty from scrum-half Ikeda, after flanker Donnie Macfadyen was penalised for hanging onto the ball in front of the posts.

But Scotland nudged ahead thanks to a first ever try in a Test for Scotland from Dan Parks and a Paterson conversion.

Before the half-time whistle, it was try-time again for Matt Williams' side, this time number 8 Jon Petrie popping out of a ruck on the half-way line and sprinting 45 yards unopposed to the Japanese line.

Paterson was unable to maintain his perfect kicking display however and failed to send over the extra two points ― but the Scots still entered the break with a commanding 36-8 lead.

The scoring continued five minutes after the break with Paterson hacking on a bouncing ball from a Dan Parks chip to grab his second try of the afternoon.

Substitute scrum-half Mike Blair then got in on the act, touching down for a try after collecting another delicately-placed Dan Parks kick.

Next up for a try was Henderson, with the Glasgow player running in unchallenged after Scottish pressure created a huge overlap out wide.

Paterson increased his points haul with his third try and another conversion to make it 60-8 with less than an hour gone.

Replacement centre Graeme Morrison added more points to the scoreline with his first ever try for his country, before Lamont, Southwell, Macfadyen and Robbie Russell stretched the lead even further with touchdowns of their own.

With Paterson sending over several conversions to take his points tally to 40, Russell rounded off the scoring with another try to take the scoreline to 100 points for the first time in Scottish Test rugby history.

Points Scorers:

Scotland:  (36) 100
Tries:  Hogg, Southwell (2), Paterson (3), Parks, Petrie, Blair, Henderson, Morrison, Lamont, MacFadyen, Russell (2)
Cons:  Paterson (11)
Pens:  Paterson

Japan:  (8) 8
Tries:  Daiman
Pens:  Ikeda

The teams:

Scotland:  H Southwell (Edinburgh), C Paterson (Edinburgh), B Hinshelwood (Worcester), A Henderson (Glasgow), S Lamont (Glasgow), D Parks (Glasgow), C Cusiter (The Borders), A Jacobsen (Edinburgh), G Bulloch (Glasgow), G Kerr (Leeds Tykes), S Grimes (Newcastle Falcons), N Hines (Edinburgh), A Hogg (Edinburgh), D Macfadyen (Glasgow), J Petrie (Glasgow).
Replacements:  R Russell (London Irish), C Smith (Edinburgh), S MacLeod (The Borders), J White (Sale Sharks), M Blair (Edinburgh), G Ross (Leeds Tykes), G Morrison (Glasgow).

Japan:  Ryohei Miki (World Fighting Bull), Koichiro Kubota (NEC), Seiichi Shimomura (Sanyo), Yukio Motoki (Kobe), Hayato Daimon (Kobe), Keisuke Sawaki (Suntory), Wataru Ikeda (Sanyo), Takuro Miuchi (NEC), Hajime Kiso (Yamaha), Naoya Okubo (JRFU), Hitoshi Ono (Toshiba), Takanori Kumagai (NEC), Ryo Yamamura (Yamaha), Takashi Yamaoka (Suntory), Yuichi Hisadomi (NEC).
Replacements:  Mitsugu Yamamoto (Sanyo), Masahito Yamamoto (Toyota), Feletliki Mau (World Fighting Bull), Takatoyo Yamaguchi (Kubota), Kiyonori Tanaka (Suntory), Masatoshi Mukoyama (NEC), Hideyuki Yoshida (Kubota).

Referee:  A Cole (Australia)

Ireland 17 South Africa 12

Ronan O'Gara scored all Ireland's points as the home side claimed only their second ever win over South Africa on an emotional day at Lansdowne Road.

O'Gara's first-half try, poached after a quick tap-penalty, helped the Irish to a 8-3 lead at half-time.

Three further O'Gara penalties extended Ireland's lead to 17-6 as the game entered the final quarter.

Two Percy Montgomery penalties set up a frantic finish but Ireland held out to claim a famous victory.

Ireland began strongly and were never led, but the match was tense and closely fought throughout.

Aware of the threat posed by the South Africans, Ireland pressed hard from the outset, and played some impressive rugby while searching for a breakthrough.

Early on, Denis Hickie thought he was in for a try after a delightful backline move but Shane Horgan's pass was adjudged to have gone forward by referee Paul Honiss.

Ireland continued to press and they showed their intent by opting for a line-out in the 19th minute when three straight-forward points were on offer.

Another South African infringement a minute later led to Ireland's first points ― O'Gara took a quick tap-penalty and charged over the opposition line for an Irish try.

The Springboks could feel hard done by as captain John Smit had his back to the play when O'Gara pounced after referee Honiss had told the skipper to warn his own players after consistent infringements.

Stung by the score, the South Africans almost replied with a try of their own within 60 seconds with Geordan Murphy's ankle-tap tackle denying a certain try for Percy Montgomery.

However, the Springboks did win a penalty a minute later which Montgomery easily slotted to cut Ireland's lead to 5-3.

Ireland got out of jail when the South Africans had a three-to-one overlap near the Irish line only to waste the chance.

After the sustained Springboks pressure, the Irish produced an attack of their own in the 34th minute which culminated with O'Gara's clever drop-goal to restore his side's lead to five points which remained the margin at half-time.

Sustained Irish pressure immediately after half-time was rewarded by another O'Gara penalty.

However, Montgomery responded quickly by slotting over a superb penalty from near the right touchline to cut Ireland's lead to five points again.

Montgomery then burst through the Irish defence in the 48th minute and it took a superb Girvan Dempsey tackle to prevent a try.

The South Africans suffered a double-blow in the 52nd minute when Schalk Burger was sin-binned for the second week in a row after killing the ball and O'Gara punished the transgression by notching another penalty.

In the 61st minute, Hickie was left frustrated by a poor pass from Girvan Dempsey as a chance to seal the match was wasted.

However, a late tackle on Brian O'Driscoll enabled O'Gara to notch another penalty in the 63rd minute which extended Ireland's lead to 17-6.

However, two Montgomery penalties had Ireland's lead in peril again as the Springboks closed to within five points with seven minutes remaining.

South Africa produced a huge effort in the closing minutes but Ireland held on to claim a deserved victory.

Points Scorers:

Ireland:  (8) 17
Tries:  O'Gara
Pens:  O'Gara 4
Drop goal:  O'Gara 1

South Africa:  (3) 12
Pens:  Montgomery 4

The teams:

Ireland:  G Dempsey, G Murphy, B O'Driscoll (capt), S Horgan, D Hickie, R O'Gara, P Stringer, R Corrigan, S Byrne, J Hayes, M O'Kelly, P O'Connell, S Easterby, J O'Connor, A Foley.
Replacements:  F Sheahan, M Horan, D O'Callaghan, E Miller, G Easterby, D Humphreys, K Maggs.

South Africa:  P Montgomery, B Paulse, M Joubert, De Wet Barry, A Willemse, J van der Westhuyzen, F Du Preez, O Du Randt, J Smit (captain), E Andrews, B Botha, V Matfield, S Burger, AJ Venter, J van Niekerk.
Replacements:  H Shimange, CJ van der Linde, G Britz, D Rossouw, M Claassens, J de Villiers, G du Toit/J Fourie.

Referee:  Paul Honiss (New Zealand)

England 70 Canada 0

Jason Robinson marked his first match as England captain with a dazzling hat-trick as Canada were put to the sword.

England ran in first-half tries through Robinson (two), Josh Lewsey (two), Mike Tindall and Mark Cueto to lead 32-0.

Robinson and Charlie Hodgson added tries at the start of the second half before being taken off to be saved for South Africa.

England added further scores through Will Greenwood, Cueto again, Lewis Moody and Hugh Vyvyan.

The game had an edgy start with knock-ons by both sides before Hodgson took control.

The fly-half sliced through the Canadian backs from a line out and fired a lovely long pass to Robinson.

The new captain still had a lot to do but he handed off the first man and carried the next two Canadian defenders over the line.

Five minutes later Gomarsall's sniping break was acrobatically finished off in the same spot by the flying Lewsey.

And the Wasps wing was soon on the scoresheet again as he plucked Hodgson's pin-point cross-field kick out of the air before racing over untouched.

Hodgson failed to convert all three tries from near the touchline but at 15-0 after 21 minutes England were well on their way.

A fine delayed pass from Henry Paul, followed by a clean break, set up Tindall for England's fourth try, with Hodgson finally on target with the conversion.

Hodgson was heavily involved a minute later, cutting through the defence before feeding Robinson, who put the third member of the Sale triumvirate, Cueto, over for his first England try.

Robinson then collected his second try with a matador's dummy, wrong-footing two Canadian defenders, at the end of a brilliant England counter attack.

Hodgson missed both conversions but England led 32-0 at the break.

The fly-half was on target with the extras after he opened the scoring in the second half with a fine solo try.

Robinson scored a dazzling solo try, converted from wide out by Paul, to complete his hat-trick and was promptly taken off to be saved for the forthcoming tests with South Africa and Australia.

Hodgson soon followed him off after a performance marked by some lovely passing and great vision.

With their bench on the field England lost their rhythm for a few minutes but picked up again to run in further tries through Greenwood, Cueto once more, Moody and Vyvyan.

Paul converted two of them as England got coach Andy Robinson's reign off to an emphatic start.

Points Scorers:

England:  (32) 70
Tries:  Robinson 3, Lewsey 2, Tindall, Cueto 2, Hodgson, Greenwood, Moody, Vyvyan
Cons:  Hodgson 2, Paul 3

Canada:  0

The teams:

England:  Jason Robinson (capt), Mark Cueto, Mike Tindall, Henry Paul, Josh Lewsey, Charlie Hodgson, Andy Gomarsall, Graham Rowntree, Steve Thompson, Julian White, Danny Grewcock, Steve Borthwick, Lewis Moody, Andy Hazell, Martin Corry.
Replacements:  Andy Titterrell, Andrew Sheridan, Ben Kay, Hugh Vyvyan, Hall Charlton, Will Greenwood, Ben Cohen.

Canada:  Derek Daypuck, David Moonlight, Ryan Smith, Marco Di Girolamo, Stirling Richmond, Ed Fairhurst, Pat Fleck, Kevin Tkachuk, Aaron Abrams, Forrest Gainer, Josh Jackson, Mike Burak, Jamie Cudmore, Stan McKeen, Colin Yukes.
Replacements:  Mark Lawson, Garth Cooke, Dan Pletch, Christoph Strubin, David Spicer, John Cannon, Sean O'Leary.

Italy 10 New Zealand 59

An experimental All Blacks side scored nine tries to beat Italy in Rome.

The visitors raced ahead with debutant Conrad Smith, fly-half Daniel Carter and Mils Muliaina all scoring tries in the first eight minutes.

Italy limited the damage to 35-3 by half-time but prop Saimone Taumoepeau ― another All Black new boy ― went over at the restart to renew the onslaught.

Muliaina, Tama Umaga and Richie McCaw all scored twice while Mauro Bergamasco grabbed a late Italian consolation try.

Italy coach John Kirwan was left cursing his team's woeful start.

"It was devastating.  There were too many turnovers and we showed our opponents too much respect," said Kirwan, an All Black legend.

"We just stood back and watched what was happening and you can't do that against a team like the All Blacks."

Meanwhile, New Zealand coach Graham Henry said he would definitely be shuffling his pack for next week's match against Wales in Cardiff.

"We wanted to see how the team performed today.  There will be changes, but not wholesale ones," said Henry.

Points Scorers:

Italy:  (3) 10
Try:  Bergamasco
Con:  Wakarua
Pen:  Wakarua

NZ:  (35) 59
Tries:  Smith, Carter, Muliaina (2), Umaga (2), Taumoepeau, McCaw (2)
Cons:  Carter (7)

The teams:

Italy:  Kaine Robertson, Ludovico Nitoglia, Matteo Barbini, Matteo Pratichetti, Walter Pozzebon, Rima Wakarua, Paul Griffen, Andrea Lo Cicero, Fabio Ongaro, Salvatore Perugini, Marco Bortolami, Santiago Dellape, Aaron Persico, Mauro Bergamasco, David Dal Maso.
Replacements:  Giorgio Intoppa, Salvatore Costanzo, Enrico Pavanello, Silvio Orlando, Pietro Travagli, Luciano Orquera.

New Zealand:  Mils Muliaina, Rico Gear, Conrad Smith, Tana Umaga (capt), Joe Rokocoko, Daniel Carter, Byron Kelleher, Saimone Taumoepeau, Anton Oliver, Carl Hayman, Chris Jack, Norm Maxwell, Jerry Collins, Richie McCaw, Mose Tuiali'i.
Replacements:  Corey Flynn/Keven Mealamu, Greg Somerville, Ali Williams, Steven Bates, Jimmy Cowan, Luke McAlister/Aaron Mauger, Ma'a Nonu.

Wales 66 Romania 7

Tom Shanklin crossed over four times as Wales routed Romania 66-7 in Cardiff ― equalling the Welsh record for individual tries in an international.

Shanklin opened the scoring, throwing a subtle dummy to touch down in the fifth minute before adding one more before the break and two in the second half.

Rhys Williams, Gethin Jenkins, Gavin Henson, Stephen Jones, Dafydd Jones and Gareth Cooper also grabbed tries.

Stephen Jones kicked seven conversions and substitute Ceri Sweeney got one.

Romania gained their consolation try just before half-time from Paris-based scrum-half Lucian Sirbu.

His touchdown was converted by fly-half Ionut Tofan, but it meant little as the visitors could not come close to staving off a sixth successive defeat against the hosts.

Wales took the field in their new change strip of white shirts and black shorts with green trimmings, and they were determined to make an immediate impact.

Lock Luke Charteris made a strong early run into the opposition's midfield, and Wales continued to threaten, with skipper Gareth Thomas only being hauled down courtesy of a desperate ankle-tap tackle.

But the visitors could only keep Wales out for so long and Shanklin, who ended the night having matched the individual scoring exploits of past Welshmen such as Maurice Richards, Ieuan Evans and Glen Webbe, wasted little time in grabbing the seventh international try of his career.

Fly-half Stephen Jones slotted the angled conversion, and Wales were on their way.

The home side struck again on 16 minutes when an exquisite inside pass from Henson sent Williams dashing 30 metres to cross the line.

Jones' conversion made it 14-0, and Wales moved further away when the fly-half ghosted clear and touched down near the posts and then duly converted.

Attacking threat

Romania could offer little in terms of an attacking threat as the first-half closed out with Jenkins crashing over for his first Test try and Shanklin throwing an outrageous dummy and strolling over from 20m, with Jones slotting both conversions.

Sirbu took his chance after a wayward pass from fly-half Jones, but when the second half restarted Wales were swiftly back in the groove, Henson cruising through a gap for his third touchdown in two games.

Then, sent free by another line-breaking Henson pass, Shanklin completed his hat-trick, with Jones maintaining his perfect kicking record by slotting a seventh conversion for a 49-7 lead.

Wales then wrapped up with a flurry of try-scoring to give coach Mike Ruddock plenty to feel positive about ahead of next week's showdown with New Zealand.

Points Scorers:

Wales:  (35) 66
Tries:  Shanklin (4), R Williams, S Jones, Jenkins, Henson, D Jones, Cooper
Cons:  S Jones (7), Sweeney

Romania:  (7) 7
Try:  Sirbu
Con:  Tofan

The teams:

Wales:  G Thomas, R Williams, Shanklin, Henson, Luscombe, S Jones, Peel, Jenkins, M Davies, A Jones, Llewellyn, Charteris, D Jones, Charvis, Owen.
Replacements:  S Jones, D Jones, J Thomas, M Williams, Cooper, Sweeney, Taylor.

Romania:  Maftei, Ghioc, Sauan, Gontineac, Teodorescu, Tofan, Sirbu, P Balan, Zebega, Socaciu, Tatu, Petre, Mersoiu, Tudori, Petrache.
Replacements:  Mavrodin, B Balan, Ursache, Oprisor, Andrei, Dobre, Dimofte.

Attendance:  35,408
Referee:  K Deaker (New Zealand)

Scotland 14 Australia 31

Australia weathered a second-half fightback from Scotland to begin their European tour with a 31-14 victory.

The Wallabies did all the hard work by half-time at Murrayfield as scores from Stirling Mortlock, Clyde Rathbone (two) and Lote Tuqiri gave them a 28-0 lead.

Sean Lamont and Hugo Southwell's tries cut the gap, with Matt Giteau's penalty the only further score for Australia.

The tourists can claim a fourth victory this year over the Scots if they win the rematch in Glasgow on 20 November.

Scotland sent out a side composed entirely of home-based players for the first time since 1985.

But their chances of claiming a first win over Australia for 22 years faded within the first 20 minutes.

The home side made a strong start and could have taken an early lead, but Chris Paterson missed a simple penalty.

They soon paid the price for some slack defending as Rathbone sent Mortlock charging through a gap to score.

Rathbone added two carbon-copy tries in quick succession, charging down the right wing after slick passing from his team-mates had created an overlap.

Some more quick ball allowed Wallabies captain George Gregan to send Tuqiri in for the fourth try, and Matt Giteau kicked his fourth conversion.

Nathan Hines then denied Stephen Larkham as the Wallaby fly-half slid towards the line, and the Scots survived further embarrassment before half-time.

Scotland were a changed side after the break, and were rewarded for a sustained spell of pressure when Lamont dived over from close range and Paterson converted.

There was a hint of an unlikely comeback when replacement Southwell jinked through on the right and slid over, the video referee confirming his first try for his country.

Paterson's conversion cut the gap to 14 points, but the entertainment value dimmed after that as both sides were let down by some sloppy play in wet conditions.

Giteau scored Australia's first points of the half with a penalty as he continued his flawless kicking display.

But Scotland's strong finish should give them heart ahead of the home meeting with Japan next weekend.

Points Scorers:

Scotland (0) 14
Tries:  Lamont, Southwell
Cons:  Paterson 2

Australia (28) 31
Tries:  Mortlock, Rathbone 2, Tuqiri
Cons:  Giteau 4
Pens:  Giteau 1

The teams:

Scotland:  Moffat, Lamont, Morrison, Henderson, Paterson, Parks, Cusiter, Jacobsen, Bulloch, Douglas, Hines, MacLeod, Gray, Hogg, MacFadyen.
Replacements:  Ford, C. Smith, Kellock, Petrie, Blair, Craig, Southwell.

Australia:  Latham, Rathbone, Mortlock, Giteau, Tuqiri, Larkham, Gregan, Young, Paul, Baxter, Harrison, Vickerman, Smith, Waugh, Roe.
Replacements:  Cannon, Dunning, Chisholm, Lyons, Flatley, Rogers, Sailor.

Referee:  Steve Walsh (New Zealand).