ABs ready for Cardiff

New Zealand recorded a resounding 85-8 win over Romania on Saturday, with a welter of ominously well-finished tries showing that they are ready for whoever they may face in the Cardiff quarter-final next weekend.

Joe Rokocoko was once again in prolific form, crossing the Romanian try-line three times.  Sitiveni Sivivatu and outside centre Isaia Toeava each scored a brace.

While Graham Henry's charges weren't always clinical -- there were once again too many unforced errors from the Tri-Nations champions -- they also displayed some of their best rugby in the entire World Cup thus far.

There were areas of concern though and coach Henry would have to be foolish to deny it.  The All Blacks struggled at the restarts, regularly not collecting the ball cleanly and often squandering valuable try-scoring opportunities.  Fortunately there was an abundance of opportunities on the day.

The Oaks were very competent opponents at times and made the All Blacks work hard to retain possession, especially in the tackle situation.

Scrum-half Andy Ellis, who made the most of his rare opportunity to wear the All Black number nine jersey in this World Cup campaign, often struggled to get clean supply from his forwards.

The Romanians certainly stood their ground in the set pieces and can be proud of their solid forward play which led to their opening try in the 30th minute of the game, courtesy of hooker Marius Tincu.

However, it was once again the Romanian defensive patterns that proved costly.

Sivivatu opened the All Black account after just 37 seconds, when pivot Luke McAlister, running in his own 22, found a gaping hole in the Oaks' defence before setting up a long-distance effort for the big wing.

The signs were immediately ominous for the European minnows.  Just seven minutes later Ellis single-handedly created what was an early candidate for moment of the game, when his crisp pass found Chris Masoe, who merely need to cross the line in the 9th minute.

Rokocoko scored another just six minutes later, but it was the 17th minute Nick Evans try that really caught our attention.  The build-up to the Evans try included some enthralling interplay from loose-forwards Sione Lauaki and Jerry Collins -- some of the handling from the All Black forwards was sublime.

Sivivatu's second try, six minutes later, was just as impressive.  But following that the All Blacks seemed to lose some of their intensity.

For the first time in the match the All Black defence was tested and it failed dismally when Tincu scored for the minnows.

Periods of the second-half were very quiet for the All Blacks.  While Aaron Mauger and Toeava added their names to the score sheet early on, the team went through two ten-minute spells without even looking close to scoring.

The Romanians, who had been expected to fade by half-time were still playing with great heart and determination -- they certainly weren't going to hand the game to the All Blacks on a silver platter.

From the 57th minute to the end of the game, it was the quality All Black bench that made an impact.  Chris Jack, who came on for Keith Robinson, made a mid-field break before setting up Rokocoko's second try of the afternoon.

In between, Richie McCaw again proved to most why he was regarded as the best player in the world when he came onto the field, taking full control at the break-down.

Doug Howlett was as busy as a bee, always in the thick of things and in the last fifteen minutes the All Blacks looked very impressive -- hopefully for Henry they can carry that form into the knock-out rounds.

A further four sterling All Black tries were added in the last 14 minutes, capping another easy day at the office for Henry's men.  The tough work is only about to begin though, with the October 7 quarter-final in Cardiff -- probably against France -- looming.

Man of the match:  Andy Ellis made the most of his World Cup start, playing a significant role in at least two of the more impressive All Black tries.  His distribution was sound and he made a number of good clearances from the base of the scrum.  He is our man-of-the-match for the day.

Moment of the match:  Most of the All Black tries were absolutely superb, the best of which was the world-class 78th minute Doug Howlett score.  The All Blacks showed once again how sensational their handling can be with Brendon Leonard, Nick Evans, Conrad Smith and Aaron Mauger running great angles before setting Howlett free.  But if we were to be sentimental, the first and only Romanian try courtesy of Marius Tincu in the 30th minute was a classic display of good, solid forward play and was perhaps equally deserving of moment-of-the-match.

Villain of the match:  Sione Lauaki made a ghastly swinging-arm tackle on an opposition player in the 50th minute, and there was another one shortly before from Keven Mealamu.  Do you really need to tackle like that when leading by 40 points?

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Sivivatu 2, Masoe, Rokocoko 3, Evans, Mauger, Toeava 2, Hore, Smith, Howlett,
Cons:  McAlister 7, Evans 3

For Romania:
Try:  Tincu
Pen:  Vlaicu

New Zealand:  15 Nick Evans, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Isaia Toeava, 12 Aaron Mauger, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Luke McAlister, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Sione Lauaki, 7 Chris Masoe, 6 Jerry Collins (c), 5 Keith Robinson, 4 Reuben Thorne, 3 Greg Somerville, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Neemia Tialata.
Replacements:  16 Andrew Hore, 17 Tony Woodcock, 18 Chris Jack, 19 Richie McCaw, 20 Brendon Leonard, 21 Doug Howlett, 22 Conrad Smith.

Romania:  15 Iulian Dumitras, 14 Stefan Ciuntu, 13 Csaba Gal, 12 Romeo Gontineac, 11 Gabriel Brezoianu, 10 Ionut Dimofte, 9 Lucian Sirbu, 8 Ovidiu Tonita, 7 Alexandru Manta, 6 Florin Corodeanu, 5 Cristian Petre, 4 Sorin Socol (c), 3 Silviu Florea, 2 Marius Tincu, 1 Bogdan Balan.
Replacements:  16 Razvan Mavrodin, 17 Paulica Ion, 18 Valentin Ursache, 19 Cosmin Ratiu, 20 Valentin Calafeteanu, 21 Florin Vlaicu, 22 Catalin Robert Dascalu.

Referee:  Joël Jutge
Touch judges:  Federico Cuesta, Malcolm Changleng
Television match official:  Paul Marks
Assessor:  Tappe Henning

Wallabies hot and cold

Australia delivered a patchy performance ahead of their quarter-final with England, beating Canada 37-6 in Bordeaux on Saturday.

It took the Wallabies over an hour to stretch their lead beyond 12 points, and it was only a late brace of tries from Drew Mitchell that gave the score the dominant look.

For the large part, and in atrocious weather, the Wallabies were error-prone and disjointed, and there were several additional injuries to furrow the brow of John Connolly.

Once again a capacity crowd weathered the weather and crammed into the rain-soaked Stade Chaban-Delmas, only to take entertainment from a tide of Mexican waves.

With Australia having already sealed their place at the top of Pool B, someone forgot to tell the two-time world champions that they still had another game to play.

Connolly had fielded a second-string outfit to finish off the job, but the fringe players would have done little -- if not nothing -- to convince the coach of their worth in the knock-out stages.

England will certainly be thinking they just might be in with a chance if the men in green and gold put in another ordinary performance when the 2003 finalists meet in Marseilles on October 6.

Hats off to Canada though, who hardly gave Australia an inch with some courageous defence that contributed in slowing the ball down in contact, preventing any real flow for the Wallabies.

The Canucks inspirational work-rate around the pitch made the Australians look sloppy in all facets of the game -- it was as if they didn't want to be there.

Defeat for Canada, meanwhile, makes them the first Canadian side to return home without at least one victory in the competition.  It would have been a miracle if they had won this game and they knew it.

The Canucks were playing for pride and respect, with captain and scrum-half Morgan Williams, along with Rod Snow and Mike James, playing their last game in a Canada jersey.

It was never likely to be a match of huge intensity and there was a carnival and fun atmosphere as a brass band played, and supporters under cover of the stand threw down ponchos to those in the seats open to the rain which came down heavily.

On the field, Australia had the scoreboard ticking with the game barely a minute old, fly-half Julian Huxley kicking the penalty after Canada had infringed at a maul.

The Canadian pack, however, prides itself on their physicality and was holding its own with James and Dave Biddle, in particular, putting in big hits on the lacklustre Wallabies.

Flanker Hugh McMeniman appeared to have burrowed over for the first try after 19 minutes.  But he was adjudged by TMO Lyndon Bray to have been held up by Williams, thanks to a knee getting in the way of the ball.

When the Canadian defence was finally breached in the 24th minute it came unusually from the ball being moved swiftly from a ruck to the left wing where prop Al Baxter was on hand to take the pass and bulldoze his way over.

The play for the main part was as dull as the Bordeaux weather and Australia's second try summed up the half with the Wallabies pack grinding forward, gradually inching their way to the Canadian line before hooker Adam Freier dropped on the ball.

It was not exactly flair-filled rugby but effective, even if Huxley did miss the most routine of conversions.

The best moment of the half came on the stroke of half-time when Lote Tuqiri went darting through but his floated pass was fumbled by wing Cameron Shepherd, leaving the half-time score at 13-0.

Canada finally managed to get some points on the board soon after the restart when winger James Pritchard slotted over a penalty.

However the Canucks were guilty of handing over Australia's third try on a silver platter after a botched line-out resulted in captain George Smith scoring his simplest try of his career.

Replacement hooker Aaron Carpenter threw the ball over the head of his jumper into the hands of Smith who set up a tricky conversion for Huxley that was duly missed.

The score took the Australians 18-3 clear and gave them a measure of comfort, although Canada's riposte was swift with Pritchard's second penalty.

Connolly would have been slightly concerned when number eight David Lyons was helped off the field and later seen leaving the grounds in a wheel chair.  It was later confirmed that the Waratahs star had suffered a nasty ankle injury.

As the match wore on, the Canucks began to tire, resulting in a number of gaps opening up for the Australians;  Lote Tuqiri was guilty on a couple of occasions for going for glory instead of passing.

However, Drew Mitchell made sure of the Wallabies' next two tries that confirmed him as the sole leading try-scorer at the Rugby World Cup, with seven tries to his name.

The Force winger cashed in with his brace in as many minutes.

The first came when Mitchell collected a lofted kick by Huxley, leaving a juggle with the unkind bounce of the ball before controlling well enough to power over.

With Huxley having an awful day with the boot, Shepherd was called to take over the kicking duties and slotted the first conversion of the match.

The second Mitchell touchdown was the best try of the match with Tuqiri slicing through the Canada defence once more.

The centre finally passed the ball to a charging Chris Latham who then allowed Mitchell to twist and turn his way over for a fine five-pointer.

Tuqiri's quality was also in evidence when he again turned provider to put full-back Chris Latham in for Australia's sixth try to wrap up the game and send the winless Canadians home.

But at least the Canucks can leave with their heads held high.

Man of the match:  Morgan Williams and Mike James capped off their illustrious careers with another fine display in a Canada jersey.  Williams was responsible for two try-saving tackles in the first and second half that could have resulted in a much bigger scoreline at the final whistle.  Whoever steps in for these two players, have mighty boots to fill indeed.  Not many Australians put their hands up.  Centre Lote Tuqiri made some superb breaks but acted more like a winger and failed to put in that final pass.  Drew Mitchell was always looking for work and was rewarded with two tries for his efforts.  But our vote goes to full-back Chris Latham whose precise kicking led to three tries from a line-out.  When he wasn't kicking he was running, and this led to Mitchell's second try as well as the Wallabies' sixth and final touchdown.

Moment of the match:  Tricky this one.  One could point out either of Mitchell's tries, purely based on the fact that something was finally clicking in the Wallabies camp.  But we decided to go for Morgan Williams' try-saving tackle on Hugh McMeniman in the first half.  Williams wasn't shy expressing his issues with the match officials' calls against his team at the World Cup, and the Canucks' skipper would have been happy that one of them finally went his team's way.

Villain of the match:  The Wallabies escape this reward for their lackadaisical-seeming approach only because of a concerted effort in the final 30 minutes of the match -- just.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Baxter, Freier, Smith, Mitchell 2, Latham
Cons:  Shepherd 2
Pen:  Huxley

For Canada:
Pens:  Pritchard 2

Australia:  15 Chris Latham, 14 Cameron Shepherd, 13 Lote Tuqiri, 12 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Julian Huxley, 9 Sam Cordingley, 8 David Lyons, 7 George Smith (c), 6 Hugh McMeniman, 5 Mark Chisholm, 4 Nathan Sharpe, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Adam Freier, 1 Greg Holmes
Replacements:  16 Sean Hardman, 17 Guy Shepherdson, 18 Rocky Elsom, 19 Phil Waugh, 20 Stephen Hoiles, 21 George Gregan, 22 Matt Giteau

Canada:  15 DTH van der Merwe, 14 Justin Mensah-Coker, 13 Mike Pyke, 12 Derek Daypuck, 11 James Pritchard, 10 Ander Monro, 9 Morgan Williams (c), 8 Sean-Michael Stephen, 7 Dave Biddle, 6 Colin Yukes, 5 Mike James, 4 Luke Tait, 3 Jon Thiel, 2 Pat Riordan, 1 Rod Snow
Replacements:  16 Aaron Carpenter, 17 Dan Pletch, 18 Mike Pletch, 19 Mike Burak, 20 Mike Webb, 21 Ed Fairhurst, 22 Dave Spicer

Referee:  Chris White
Touch judges:  Steve Walsh, Bryce Lawrence
Television match official:  Lyndon Bray
Assessor:  Michel Lamoulie

England begin to rumble

England secured a quarter-final date against Australia on Friday with a comfortable 36-20 win over Tonga in Paris, marked by a second-half points blitz after they had trailed early on.

While Martin Corry and the rest of England will celebrate a vital win, which keeps alive their hopes of becoming the first team to successfully defending a World Cup crown, many questions remain unanswered.

To borrow a few words from a colleague:  "This wasn't winning ugly, this was winning in a Quasimodo costume".

England dominated the set pieces and they had the majority of territory and possession.

Yet it took them 60 minutes to subdue a Tongan team that until a week ago was regarded as cannon fodder.

However, the big positive -- a very big positive -- is that England have advanced to the play-offs.

The England captain, Corry, was on the button with his post-match remarks:  "We are going to Marseille".  That, indeed, was the goal.

But as he admitted, there is a lot to work on and it did take England an awful long time to break down the islanders' resistance, but they stuck to their structures -- as ugly as it may have a looked -- and came away with four tries.

Fortuitous as some of those England scores were, England showed they can grind out victories in crunch matches.

Tongan captain Nili Latu also was on the mark when he said that you can't give England an inch, because they will make you pay.

Tonga enjoyed some early territorial advantage and looked the better of the two sides, with England decidedly nervous in their execution of plays.

It was deserved when Tonga took the lead in the ninth minute through a Pierre Hola penalty.

England managed to level the scores four minutes later -- an easy Jonny Wilkinson penalty -- after the Tongans were penalised for hands in the ruck.

The first try came in the 17th minute, with powerful centre Sukanaivalu Hufanga slid over from five metres out.  The initial break came from fellow midfielder Epeli Taione, whose strong runs had been causing the England defence plenty of problems.  Hola's conversion put the Tongans back in the lead at 10-3.

However, England hit back almost immediately -- a try going to wing Paul Sackey.  But the real creativity was in the sharpness of mind from fly-half Jonny Wilkinson who -- while the Tongans expected him to take a penalty kick at goal -- suddenly put in a cross-kick where Sackey was unchallenged.  The call still went to the TMO, but he ruled a good try.  Wilkinson's conversion drifted wide and Tonga held on to a narrow lead -- 10-8.

Barkley tried to put his team back in the lead with a drop-goal in the 28th minute, but he was wide of the mark at a time when England piled on the pressure and had huge amounts of territorial advantage.

England did get returns for their period of pressure when Wilkinson slotted a drop-goal, and the England fly-half began to stamp his authority on the game.

Wilkinson stretched that lead to four points with a 36th minute penalty, as the 50/50 calls continued to go in favour of England.

And Sackey piled further misery on the Sea Eagles as a loose Tongan pass left the ball on the ground and saw the speedy Wasps wing sprint 80 metres for a soft try.  Again Wilkinson's conversion attempt drifted wide.

Tonga had one last flurry in a half in which all the good fortune and calls went England's way and Tonga looked the more creative of the two sides.  However, with no further scoring England took a nine-point lead into the break -- 19-10.

Wilkinson had a chance to score the first points after the break and put his team almost out of touch, but for the third time (almost unheard of) the England fly-half's kick drifted wide.

The penalty was the result of a very ugly-looking high-tackle by Tongan captain Nili Latu on Lewis Moody and he was certainly lucky not to have had a yellow or red card flashed at him.

In fact it was Tonga who produced the half's first points, a penalty by Hola in the 55th minute, after England were caught with hands in a ruck.

However, England again hit back almost immediately and centre Mathew Tait slid over for the third try, with the initial break by Mark Cueto causing confusion and holes in the Tongan defence -- even though the wing almost butchered the move by ignoring an overlap.

It was some quick clean-out work and neat stepping by Tait that made sure the half-chance was turned into a score.  This time Wilkinson added the conversion and at 26-13 in favour of England the Tongans looked in trouble.

England now looked to have more bounce in their step and they started to dominate both territory and possession as the Tongan defenders got back slower and slower with every phase.

And this was no more evident than when Andy Farrell, on for Olly Barkley, strolled through a hole as big as a barn door in the 66th minute to score under the uprights.  Wilkinson's conversion made it 33-13 and the game was over as a contest.

Even though England were in complete control on the scoreboard -- not to mention the 50/50 calls still going their way -- they still looked bereft of ideas on attack and it required a Wilkinson drop-goal (his second) to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

There was a late flurry by Tonga, with flank Hale T Pole sliding over in the corner in the 79th minute.  The call went to the TMO, who awarded the try.

Hola added the conversion to make it 36-20 to England, but it was obviously much too little and far too late for the Pacific players.

Man of the match:  Many will give it to England wing Paul Sackey for his two tries, centre Mathew Tait had his moments in the late stages of the second half and fly-half Jonny Wilkinson -- his three missed kicks apart -- also left his mark on the game.  However, our award goes to Tonga flank Hale T Pole -- the man who scored the match's last try, which was just reward for his tireless work on defence and attack all night.

Moment of the match:  It was without doubt Mathew Tait's try, which finally broke the Tongan resistance and sent England on their way to a very important win.

Villain of the match:  It is sad, because the Tongan captain did so much good, but Nili Latu gets this award for what was a very ugly high-tackle on Lewis Moody.  He was lucky it was only a penalty.  It is no good to keep on saying they don't intend to harm people, these tackles happen far too often and they remain illegal.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Sackey 2, Tait, Farrell
Pens:  Wilkinson 2
Cons:  Wilkinson 2
Drop goals:  Wilkinson 2

For Tonga:
Tries:  Hufanga, T Pole
Cons:  Hola 2
Pens:  Hola 2

England:  15 Josh Lewsey, 14 Paul Sackey, 13 Mathew Tait, 12 Olly Barkley, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Andy Gomarsall, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Lewis Moody, 6 Martin Corry (c), 5 Ben Kay, 4 Steve Borthwick, 3 Matt Stevens, 2 George Chuter, 1 Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements:  16 Lee Mears, 17 Phil Vickery, 18 Lawrence Dallaglio, 19 Joe Worsley, 20 Peter Richards, 21 Andy Farrell, 22 Dan Hipkiss.

Tonga:  15 Vungakoto Lilo, 14 Tevita Tu'ifua, 13 Sukanaivalu Hufanga, 12 Epeli Taione, 11 Joseph Vaka, 10 Pierre Hola, 9 Sione Tu'ipulotu, 8 Finau Maka, 7 Nili Latu (c), 6 Hale T Pole, 5 Lisiate Fa'aoso, 4 Viliami Vaki, 3 Kisi Pulu, 2 Aleki Lutui, 1 Soane Tonga'uiha.
Replacements:  16 Ephraim Taukafa, 17 Taufa'ao Filise, 18 Maama Molitika, 19 Inoke Afeaki, 20 Soane Havea, 21 Hudson Tonga'uiha, 22 Aisea Havili.

Referee:  Alain Rolland
Touch judges:  Craig Joubert, Christophe Berdos
Television match official:  Mark Lawrence
Assessor:  Bob Francis

Georgia ice the cake

Georgia nabbed their first-ever World Cup victory on Wednesday, beating Namibia 30-0 in a sub-standard game played in pouring rain in Lens.

The Georgians played to type, wearing down the Namibians in the heavy conditions, driving hooker Akvsenti Giorgadze over in the first half before finishing the deal with ten minutes to go by sending over wing Irakli Machkhaneli.

As expected, the battle between the basement boys of the Pool began in a full-blooded manner as the two packs sized each other up.

Late alterations to the Namibian XV saw coach Hakkies Husselman include Morne Shreuder and Jurie van Tonder ahead of Tertius Losper and Eugene Jantjies at half-back.

But it was the Georgians who struck first with centre Irakli Giorgadze piercing the Namibian midfield on seven minutes -- leading to a penalty -- that Merab Kvirikashvili slotted superbly in the pouring rain.

Because of the unfortunate weather, the Lens crowd immediately realised that tries were not going to be the flavour of the evening, as handling errors tainted the early stages.

But Georgia set about making sure that wasn't the case as the impressive Malkhaz Urjukashvili sparked the first of several attacks from full-back with a mazy run.

However, the Europeans were limited to shots at the minimum three points, which Kvirikashvili managed to land at the second time of asking.

With the lead now doubled to 6-0, Georgia continued to work the simple phases as they slowly acclimatised to the dreadful conditions.

And with half-an-hour on the clock, Namibia were finally handed their first opportunity of the game thanks to a Giorgi Shkinin mistake, but the penalty drifted wide of the uprights.

Georgia made their opponents pay and, as expected, the opening try came through the forward dominance.  Aksventi Giorgadze was the final man to his feet as the lead stretched to 13-0 on 38 minutes.

After the interval the first penalty opportunity came the way of Kvirikashvili, but the number ten missed by the smallest of margins.

However, Georgia continued to flex their physical dominance as the Africans desperately defended their line for an extended period of time.

Then the possession stakes began to even out as Namibia got a foothold just after the hour.

But it was short-lived as Georgia closed out the game with another Kvirikashvili penalty and intercept tries from Machkhaneli and Kacharava to record their debut win in the World Cup.

Man of the match:  The weather had no effect on full-back Malkhaz Urjukashvili, who was a constant thorn in the Namibian side.  In a match that could probably be described as an arm-wrestle, Urjukashvili combined solidity under the high ball with some exciting, enterprising rugby.

Moment of the match:  Not many moments to savour in a dour match at the Stade Félix Bollaert!  But the bruising tackle and steal from Irakli Machkhaneli before racing away to cement the win brightened up the sodden Lens crowd.

Villain of the match:  A game played in good spirit -- no villain.

The scorers:

For Georgia:
Tries:  Giorgadze, Machkhaneli, Kacharava
Cons:  Kvirikashvili 3
Pens:  Kvirikashvili 3

Georgia:  15 Malkhaz Urjukashvili, 14 Irakli Machkhaneli, 13 Davit Kacharava, 12 Irakli Giorgadze, 11 Giorgi Shkinin, 10 Merab Kvirikashvili, 9 Irakli Abuseridze (c), 8 Giorgi Chkhaidze, 7 Rati Urushadze, 6 Grigol Labadze, 5 Mamuka Gorgodze, 4 Levan Datunashvili, 3 David Zirakashvili, 2 Akvsenti Giorgadze, 1 Goderdzi Shvelidze.
Replacements:  16 David Khinchagashvili, 17 Avtandil Kopaliani, 18 Victor Didebulidze, 19 Besso Udesiani, 20 Bidzina Samkharadze, 21 Revaz Gigauri, 22 Besiki Khamashuridze.

Namibia:  15 Eugene Jantjies, 14 Ryan Witbooi, 13 Piet van Zyl, 12 Corne Powell, 11 Bradley Langenhoven, 10 Morne Schreuder, 9 Eugene Jantjies, 8 Tinus du Plessis, 7 Jacques Burger, 6 Jacques Nieuwenhuis, 5 Heino Senekal, 4 Wacca Kazombiaze, 3 Marius Visser, 2 Hugo Horn, 1 Kees Lensing (c).
Replacements:  16 Johannes Meyer, 17 Johnny Redelinghuys, 18 Jane du Toit, 19 Nico Esterhuize, 20 Jurie van Tonder, 21 Melrick Africa, 22 Morne Schreuder.

Referee:  Steve Walsh
Touch judges:  Malcolm Changleng, Paul Marks
Television match official:  Federico Cuesta
Assessor:  Michel Lamoulie

Samoan early rush enough

Samoa ended a five-match World Cup losing streak and recorded their first win at the 2007 tournament when they held out a strong, late charge from the United States to record a 25-21 win at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint Etienne, on Wednesday.

If ever there was a game of two contrasting halves, this was it.

The Samoans dominated the first 40 minutes with their fleet-footed and expansive game, scoring three tries without reply to take a 19-point (22-3) lead into the half-time break.

The US Eagles bounced back in the second 40 to score 18 points and came within a few minutes of victory.

In the end they left their charge too late and ran out of time.

As Eagles captain Mike Hercus said after the game, they have got into a habit at the World Cup of getting off to a slow start and then having to chase the game.

They now face one of the tournament favourites, South Africa, in their final pool match on Sunday and Wednesday's outing was their last realistic chance of a win in France.

The Samoans, after a series of very disappointing performances, finally showed some of their skills, especially in the first half.

"We had to front up in those first 10 to 15 minutes," captain Semo Sititi said.

"Luckily we those points and managed to hang on for the win," he added.

After a bit of early aerial ping-pong, both teams showed a willingness to play a more expansive game.

The Samoans were certainly more successful at this -- it is their natural instinct -- and after five minutes winger Lome Fa'atau went over in the right corner.  It came from a poor American line-out, turned over by Samoa, and quick hands which left too many gaps in the Eagles' defence.  Loki Crichton failed with the conversion attempt, but the Samoans were on their way.

Four minutes later the Samoans were at it again.  First Seilala Mapusua burst through the defence in midfield, before offloading to Alesana Tuilagi on the left.  The big Samoan not only knocked a tackler down, but his weight carried him over the line on the slippery surface for his team's second try.  This time Crichton added the conversion for a 12-0 lead.

The Americans, who were under pressure in the set pieces, tried their best to shut down the Samoans out wide and succeeded for long periods.

However, the Eagles simply couldn't clear their lines effectively and spent most of the time inside their own 22.

It eventually cost them as Crichton slotted a penalty in the 29th minute to make it 15-0.

The Americans finally got some reward for their efforts when captain and fly-half Mike Hercus slotted a penalty two minutes later to make it 15-3.

But the Samoans showed their dominance by scoring their third try just before the break.  It started with wing Alesana Tuilagi easily beating his marker and then setting the Pacific Islanders on their way, and it ended with lock Kane Thompson strolling over under the uprights.  Crichton's conversion made it 22-3 at the break.

The Eagles scored the first points after the break and it came soon after they were reduced to 14 men by a questionable decision by the match referee Wayne Barnes -- who sent number eight Tasi Mounga to the bin for a professional foul.

America's Zimbabwean winger Takudzwa Ngwenya easily stepped his more illustrious opponent, Alesana Tuilagi, and then broke another tackle before showing his pace by racing downfield 50 metres for a score.  Hercus' conversion narrowed the gap to 22-10.

Mounga, minutes after returning from his sin-binning, was stretchered off when he collected a forearm from Samoan flank Justin Purdie.

The Eagles continued their revival with a second Hercus penalty in the 65th minute and at 13-22 they were back in the game.

Samoa finally got back in control and after a period of pressure, Crichton slotted a penalty when the Eagles went offside -- making it 25-13 after 71 minutes and seemingly safe for the Pacific players.

Hercus slotted a 75th minute penalty and there was still some hope.

The Eagles had one last fling, with flank Louis Stanfill barging over in the 80th minute -- from a scrum five metres out.  However, as Hercus' conversion sailed wide and the final whistle went, you could see the disappointment on the American faces, realising they had left their comeback too late once again.

Man of the match:  Samoan fly-half Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu was involved in a lot of the early play-making and prop Census Johnston went on a few strong runs to come close for this award, but we are giving it to Samoan fullback Loki Crichton for an allround great performance.  He was strong on the run, elusive and sound on defence.  But it was his tactical appreciation that made the real difference in that first half when he kept the Americans pinned deep inside their own territory.

Moment of the match:  The three Samoan tries in the first half were all entertaining affairs, and the last American try was a worthy score.  But the best moment came when Eagles wing Takudzwa Ngwenya scored in the 53rd minute by showing up Samoa's famous powerhouse Alesana Tuilagi with his ability to break a tackle and also use his blistering pace.

Villains of the match:  Samoan flank Justin Purdie made an early entry into this unsavoury awards section when he decided to display the Samoans' strong appetite for thuggish behaviour -- a late tackle on Mike Hercus long after the American had kicked the ball.  The fact the he was not yellow (or even red) carded is just another prime example of the shocking inability of officials at the tournament to be even-handed in their treatment of players -- which of course also earns referee Wayne Barnes an entry into this section for not taking proper action.  Those who suggest this Englishman is a candidate to referee the final should not only take their blinkers off, but also go see a psychiatrist.  As for Tasi Mounga's yellow card early in the second half -- that earns Mr Barnes another entry for his over officious behaviour.  Silao Vaisola Sefo, the Samoan reserve hooker, made a late entry with more thuggery -- when he needlessly charge into the back of a prone player way off the ball.

The scorers:

For the United States:
Tries:  Ngwenya, Stanfill
Con:  Hercus
Pens:  Hercus 3

For Samoa:
Tries:  Fa'atau, Tuilagi, Thompson
Cons:  Crichton 2
Pens:  Crichton 2

Yellow cards:  Tasi Mounga (United States, 51 -- professional foul), Silao Vaisola Sefo (Samoa, 76 -- foul play)

The teams:

United States:  15 Chris Wyles, 14 Salesi Sika, 13 Phillip Eloff, 12 Vahafolau Esikia, 11 Takudzwa Ngwenya, 10 Mike Hercus (captain), 9 Chad Erskine, 8 Tasi Mounga, 7 Todd Clever, 6 Louis Stanfill, 5 Hayden Mexted, 4 Alec Parker, 3 Chris Osentowski, 2 Owen Lentz, 1 Mike MacDonald.
Replacements:  16 Blake Burdette, 17 Matekitonga Moeakiola, 18 Mark Aylor, 19 Henry Bloomfield, 20 Mike Petri, 21 Valenese Malifa, 22 Albert Tuipulotu.

Samoa:  15 Loki Crichton, 14 Lome Fa'atau, 13 Seilala Mapusua, 12 Elvis Seveali'i, 11 Alesana Tuilagi, 10 Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu, 9 Junior Polu, 8 Alfie Vaeluaga, 7 Justin Purdie, 6 Semo Sititi (captain), 5 Kane Thompson, 4 Leo Lafaiali'i, 3 Census Johnston, 2 Mahonri Schwalger, 1 Kas Lealamanua.
Replacements:  16 Silao Vaisola Sefo, 17 Naama Leleimalefaga, 18 Joe Tekori, 19 Ulia Ulia, 20 Steve So'oialo, 21 David Lemi, 22 Lolo Lui.

Referee:  Wayne Barnes
Touch judges:  Hugh Watkins, Mark Lawrence
Television match official:  Dave Pearson
Assessor:  Bob Francis

Japan claw Canada back

Neither Japan nor Canada will come away from the World Cup with a win, after they fought out a thrilling 12-12 draw in Bordeaux on Tuesday.

Well, that's not strictly true -- Canada could yet claim a win against Australia.  But for both teams this was a do-or-die affair, and the finale was every bit that tense.

Japan took an early lead with a brilliant individual try from Kosuke Endo in the first half, but Canada's pack fought their way into the game and tries from hooker Pat Riordan and an opportunist score from wing DTH van der Merwe were enough to seal the deal, or so it seemed.

Japan rallied, and spent the final ten minutes plugging away at the Canada line, with Koji Taira scoring the crucial try four minutes into injury time, and Shotaro Onishi landing a nerveless conversion to claim a share of the spoils in one of the games of the tournament.

It was always going to be a close encounter between these two sides desperate to end their winless World Cup campaign on a high.

With Canada still to face the might of the Wallabies on Saturday -- for the Cherry Blossoms, it was a last throw of the dice as they would ultimately bid farewell to their loyal fans in France.

Japan's next stop should be the craps table in Las Vegas if they are going to continue throwing the dice as well as they did against the Canucks.

However, no betting man would have predicted this result -- especially with Canada winding down the clock with mere seconds remaining and a seven-point intact.

Japan had fought back admirably after Van der Merwe's converted try in the 65th minute, and the crowd could sense they were in for something special with ten minutes left until full-time.

The Cherry Blossoms bashed their way towards their opposition's tryline on several occasions, but were unable to breach the committed Canadian defence.

Hats off to the Canucks for never giving an inch as the Japanese used every means possible through their forwards and the backs to only fall just short of the chalk dust.

Japan went left, right and even down the middle -- but the Canadian brick wall stood strong.

Canucks' centre Dave Spicer did well to stay on his feet in his tackle on a Japanese runner who failed to release the ball, and duly won his side a crucial penalty -- one would have thought a match-winning one with the celebrations already taking place amongst the players.

Wing James Pritchard -- responsible for Van der Merwe's touchline conversion -- slammed the ball into touch and the game, as it seemed, was all but won by Canada.

However, a sliced kick from lacklustre fly-half Ryan Smith just outside his own 22 enabled Japan one last line-out and, with that, one last shot at snatching a draw.

With time officially up on the clock, the ball was thrown to the reliable Luke Thompson who put in a towering display in the line-outs for Japan throughout the match.

Again the forwards, like a lawnmower, powered their way up the pitch until full-back Go Aruga had no other option to put in a chip and chase for Taira.

The bounce favoured Canada skipper Morgan Williams who slapped the ball over the deadball line, crashing into the advertising board in the process.  Referee Jonathan Kaplan called for the TMO Joël Jutge to make the call.

With four minutes already into injury time, It was decided that Williams had deliberately taken the ball out of play and a penalty was rewarded to Japan.  Again, the Cherry Blossoms were handed another lifeline to pull off an improbable draw.

This time however, the Canada defenders were spread to their limits as Bryce Robins fired a long pass to his right for Taira to beat the last man in defence and dive over to send the crowd into raptures.

The result helped Japan avoid their 14th successive defeat in World Cups, and denied Canada the chance to maintain their record of posting a win in every tournament for which they have qualified.  Unless, as we said, they beat Australia

Even though far too many unforced errors from both sides made the first half a dire affair, Japan still managed to dominate in all facets of play from the kick-off.

Canada were quite literally shut out in the first 40 minutes of shuddering hits from the Japanese that forced the Canucks into making life extremely difficult for themselves.

The Canada backline was non-existent with Smith providing little, if not any, direction to his backs.

His opposite number Robins on the other hand made amends from his shocker against Wales with a more telling display all round.

Endo scored his blistering try with a solo run to the line, with ten minutes of the game gone, after the Japanese had won the ball from a Canadian line-out.

Onishi missed the conversion attempt, however, and Japan then had to withstand long spells of pressure from Canada's forwards before reaching half-time 5-0 ahead.

Canada came out firing after the break and it seemed the tables had turned with the Japanese now putting themselves under immense pressure from a more determined Canucks outfit.

The pressure finally told in the 49th minute when Canada hooker Pat Riordan, who earlier was sent to the sin bin, barged over the line.

Smith missed the conversion kick and Canada then had a try disallowed by the TMO when Williams tried to touch down his own kick ahead.

Williams set up Canada's try in the 65th minute when he opted for a tap penalty and lobbed a kick to the unmarked Van der Merwe out on the left and the winger went over.

Man of the match:  Japan are blessed with dynamic wingers and Kosuke Endo had another fine run on the right touchline for his team.  It's a shame this will be the last time we will see the Toyota Blitz winger quite literally blitz his way around defenders at this Word Cup.  Centre Shotaro Onishi saved the day with his match-leveling kick in the 84th minute and was instrumental on attack as well as defence.  For Canada, veteran lock Mike James showed some valuable experience throughout and was key to Canada's lift in the second half.  But our vote goes to one of Japan's forwards who's surname could be mistaken for that of an Irishman.  In fact, he's neither -- New Zealand-born flanker Philip O'Reilly was the driving force behind Japan's brutal attack on the Canucks' line and wore the defence thin with bulldozing runs every chance he was given.  The no-nonsense Cherry Blossom led from the front in first-time tackles that left a couple of Canadians clutching their ribs afterwards.

Moment of the match:  The final conversion kick of the game of course!

Villain of the match:  The stamp on a Japanese player by hooker Pat Riordan was uncalled for.  But the Canucks will no doubt point their finger at referee Jonathan Kaplan's watch for allowing four minutes into full-time that culminated in the thrilling draw.

The scorers:

For Canada:
Tries:  Riordan, Van der Merwe
Con:  Pritchard

For Japan:
Tries:  Endo, Taira

Yellow card:  Riordan (37, Canada, stamping)

Canada:  15 Mike Pyke, 14 Dth van der Merwe, 13 Craig Culpan, 12 Dave Spicer, 11 James Pritchard, 10 Ryan Smith, 9 Morgan Williams (c), 8 Aaron Carpenter, 7 Adam Kleeberger, 6 Colin Yukes, 5 Mike James, 4 Mike Burak, 3 Jon Thiel, 2 Pat Riordan, 1 Rod Snow
Replacements:  16 Mike Pletch, 17 Dan Pletch, 18 Scott Franklin, 19 Josh Jackson, 20 Mike Webb, 21 Ed Fairhurst, 22 Justin Mensah-Coker

Japan:  15 Go Aruga, 14 Kosuke Endo, 13 Yuta Imamura, 12 Shotaro Onishi, 11 Christian Loamanu, 10 Bryce Robins, 9 Tomoki Yoshida, 8 Takuro Miuchi (c), 7 Philip O'Reilly, 6 Hare Makiri, 5 Luke Thompson, 4 Hitoshi Ono, 3 Tomokazu Soma, 2 Yuji Matsubara, 1 Tatsukichi Nishiura
Replacements:  16 Taku Inokuchi, 17 Ryo Yamamura, 18 Luatangi Samurai Vatuvei, 19 Hajime Kiso, 20 Chulwon Kim, 21 Koji Taira, 22 Hirotoki Onozawa.

Referee:  Jonathan Kaplan
Touch judges:  Lyndon Bray, Bryce Lawrence
Television match official:  Joël Jutge

Portugal prove a point

Portugal left the World Cup with heads held high and a consolatory bonus point after Romania beat them 14-10 in Toulouse on Tuesday.

It was a game for the purist, one full of passion and commitment from all involved.  It was not to be the Portuguese swansong many had hoped for but it was further evidence of their emergence in the world game.  So, too, was it a marvellous display of brute strength from Romania, packed full of desire, right to the last.

Ultimately it came down to one last play.  Portugal trailed by four points and had the ball on their line.  Their scrum creaked under immense pressure but the possession was secured and suddenly images of one last hurrah, an epic try to finish the fairytale, flashed through the minds of thousands.  As it was three phases later the ball trickled into touch and Romania raised their arms in victory.

Portuguese players lay strewn, disconsolate in defeat, yet with so much to be proud of, so much to remember from a special journey.  The sight of Vasco Uva, the injured captain, embracing his brother and cousin symbolised the unity within their ranks.  They may be gone from the World Cup but they will live on in the memory for many a year to come.

For so long it looked as if they would muster the energy from the depths of their bodies to hold on for what would have been a remarkable victory.  Romania and their bludgeoning forwards had other ideas, and eventually their muscular approach took its toll.  The manner in which they first mauled and then hammered at the Portuguese defence was relentless and hugely effective.

The Oaks signaled their intent from the off, starting at a breakneck speed, but their skills could not quite keep up with their legs.  Much of what they created was spoilt by little errors, else Portugal could have been put to the sword early and painlessly.  As it was they grew in stature with every thrust they repelled, and slowly they played themselves into the game.

They even afforded the crowd some moments of magic, demonstrating attacking dare to clear their lines rather than simply booting the ball to safety.  António Aguilar first danced on his own line and then exploded away with a weaving run much to the delight of a packed out Stade Municipal.  For all their early dominance Romania presented Portugal with the simplest of opening tries.

Portuguese forays into Romanian territory were rare, and it was on their first visit to the Oaks' 22 from which they scored.  Razvan Mavrodin was a little trigger happy at the line out which resulted in a rather surprised João Uva gaining possession.  He surged for the line but was repelled, not so Joaquim Ferreira who forced his way over to a deafening roar.

And so the rearguard effort began.  Romania proceeded to thrust time and again into Os Lobos' 22, and each time they were met by an army of red shirts.  The defence was not pretty but it was effective, and somehow they held on until half-time, a chance to gather themselves for one last effort.

Frustration mounted in the second half as Romania failed to find their rhythm, demonstrated by Cristian Petre's reckless kick at the head of Ruben Spachuck.  Lucky for both parties concerned it missed, but something tells you this will not be the last you hear of the matter.  Let it not detract from the events of the final thirty minutes, for the intrigue was only to deepen.

Fresh legs were introduced to the Romanian pack, and how they needed this new lease of life.  Sorin Socol and Marius Tincu came to the fore and slowly but surely their influence took its toll.  The Portuguese line was under siege by this stage and it was only a matter of time before they cracked.

The Portuguese pack had been primed with a series of telling drives by Romania, and eventually their resolute defence crumbled as Marius Tincu ploughed over the line for a converted try that levelled the game at seven a piece.

The sands of time were trickling away and Portugal were looking jaded, but with eleven minutes to go they were given a fresh lease of life.  A penalty, given away by Socol allowed Gonçalo Malheiro to edge his side back in front.  Cue the final ten minutes of pressure, the final ten minutes that shattered a Portuguese dream and delighted a Romanian team intent on winning at least one game in France.

Romania reverted to type, laying the platform for the decisive try with a mighty drive to within inches of the line.  They came at Portugal like banshees, yet those tired and battered bodies clad in red gave every last ounce to defend their lead, their very dreams depended on it.

The mind was strong but the body was tired and could not manage to hold on as Alexandru Manta was driven over for the winning score.  The relief was etched on every Romanian face, the despair equally so on those from Portugal.

So we bid a very fond farewell to Portugal, and in doing so we thank them for what they have given to this World Cup.  They came as rank underdogs and leave as heroes to so many.  Romania now, for their reward, will trudge into one more battle, against the All Blacks.  Fitting then that they took their win here as this is where their World Cup effectively ends too.

Man of the Match:  For Romania their forward pack was mighty impressive, none more so than captain Ovidiu Tonita.  And in Iulian Dumitras they had a player who with one simple swing of his boot could change defence into attack.  But it was the Portuguese who impressed that little bit more.  From one to twenty-two they fought for a win that was agonisingly out of their reach.  It is a double award here, to João Uva and Diogo Coutinho who were the heartbeat of the team.  They worked themselves to a standstill in both attack and defence, fighting for every last scrap of possession and never once faltering in their task.

Moment of the Match:  Having withstood so much pressure you could sense the pendulum swing to Romania's favour when Marius Tincu scored.  From there on it Portugal were up against it and could not quite turn their dream into reality.

Villin of the Match:  In a game that meant so much to so many it is with regret that we must hand this award out.  But for his petulant lash out with the boot it goes to Cristian Petre.  There was simply no need for it and he will be lucky to escape the citing officer.

The scorers:

For Portugal:
Try:  Ferreira
Con:  Pinto
Pen:  Malheiro

For Romania:
Tries:  Tincu, Manta
Con:  Calafateanu, Dumbrava

Portugal:  15 Pedro Leal, 14 António Aguilar, 13 Federico Sousa, 12 Diogo Mateus, 11 Miguel Portela, 10 Duarte Cardoso Pinto, 9 José Pinto, 8 Tiago Girão, 7 João Uva, 6 Diogo Coutinho, 5 Gonçalo Uva, 4 David Penalva, 3 Ruben Spachuck, 2 Joaquim Ferreira (c), 1 Rui Cordeiro.
Replacements:  16 João Correia, 17 Juan Manuel Muré, 18 Paulo Murinello, 19 Salvador Palha, 20 Luis Pissarra, 21 Gonçalo Malheiro, 22 Pedro Carvalho.

Romania:  15 Iulian Dumitras, 14 Catalin Nicolae, 13 Ionut Dimofte, 12 Romeo Gontineac, 11 Catalin Fercu, 10 Dan Dumbrava, 9 Valentin Calafeteanu, 8 Ovidiu Tonita (c), 7 Alexandru Manta, 6 Alexandru Tudori, 5 Cristian Petre, 4 Cosmin Ratiu, 3 Bogdan Balan, 2 Razvan Mavrodin, 1 Cezar Popescu.
Replacements:  16 Marius Tincu, 17 Paulica Ion, 18 Sorin Socol, 19 Florin Corodeanu, 20 Lucian Sirbu, 21 Florin Vlaicu, 22 Gabriel Brezoianu.

Referee:  Paul Honiss
Touch judges:  Simon McDowell, Carlo Damasco
Television match official:  Kelvin Deaker
Assessor:  Tappe Henning

ABs cruise past Scotland

New Zealand gave some shreds of hope to their fellow World Cup aspirants with a stuttering 40-0 win over Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday.

Take a glance at the final score and you would automatically assume that New Zealand produced a clinical display to account for a valiant Scotland.  You would, however, be severely mislead, for in reality this was a frustratingly poor game, with only a few glimpses of genius.

It was always going to be a rearguard effort from Scotland, especially after Frank Hadden opted to rest the bulk of his first-choice side, and a disintegrating set-piece hardly made matters easier for them.  The writing was on the wall from as early as the fifth minute when Richie McCaw cruised over untouched from an attacking scrum.

But the platform the All Blacks needed was not forthcoming, or at least they were not willing to take the necessary steps to build it.  It was clear they were the superior side, yet the nature of their rugby, at times, suggested they were over-confident.  For the regularity at which they wasted possession was ill-befitting of their lofty status.

Handed the easiest pool in the World Cup, and with two particularly easy wins already, you could not blame New Zealand for approaching this game as if it was actually going to be a test of their ability.  They treated it, for the most, as if it was a game were they could ill afford to gamble on kickable penalties.  Although the disdain showed by the crowd on those occasions when McCaw requested Dan Carter to kick penalties, rather than show some adventure, suggests that even the Scottish fans were not pleased with the safety-first style.

Given the approach, Graham Henry will be a wee bit concerned that his men failed to fully impress.  A near total domination of territory and possession, and only six tries to show for their efforts will not please the 'Three Wise Men', for at least a further six went begging via elementary errors.

McCaw alluded to the fact that a second-string Scottish side would give them more of a challenge than a tired first-choice team, he couldn't have been further from the truth.  The scrum was a non-contest, Scotland were simply destroyed, so much so that they dreaded not gaining advantage from the countless All Black errors.

Credit then to Dave Callam who was nothing short of heroic in his efforts at the base of the scrum.  That he was able to get back to the gain line more often than not is testament to his ability, for his fellow forwards showed no such resolve at the initial set-piece.  Scotland coach Frank Hadden will need to work wonders on the scrum before the Italy game, else it could be a repeat performance in an altogether more important game.

It was not as if the rest of their game was much better either, and the unlucky injury to Chris Paterson may actually have been a blessing in disguise.  For before he departed the fray it was quite clear his kicking was out of sorts.  Two penalty kicks in the opening quarter failed to find touch, an inexcusable crime at this level, and three clearance kicks sliced carelessly off the side of his boot did little to redeem him.

Perhaps the only significant event of a lacklustre first half was Doug Howlett's try, the first of two on a special day for the Auckland wing.  The try itself was as easy as they come, Leon MacDonald drawing the last defender before sending Howlett in from ten metres out.  What the try signified though was far more important.

Having scored a hat-trick against Italy, Howlett had drawn level with the great Christian Cullen as the joint leading try-scoring All Black of all time.  His 15th minute effort here taking him out all on his own.  A second try late in the game ensured he will have more than a fighting chance of making it to fifty before the World Cup is over.

A Carter penalty early in the second half was followed up by a searing break from Luke McAlister, straight from the re-start no less, suggested as if New Zealand were finally clicking into gear.  The knock-on deep in the Scottish twenty two with numbers on either side confirmed that this was going to continue to be a distinctly average game.

Continued Scottish infringements deep in their own territory seemed as if they would allow New Zealand to pull away with the game.  But they were equalled by constant All Black errors, hardly the sign of a team who are billed as favourites.  It would seem that the relative ease of their pool could well be their downfall later in the tournament -- a display like this against either France or Australia and they will be waiting another four years, at least, before they win the World Cup again.

Two of the last three tries were a result of Scottish exhaustion, while one came from their own mistake, allowing Carter to race away.  With only two conversions from six attempts, and a pretty shocking all-round display from the fly-half it seems as if New Zealand are starting to wobble slightly.  Maybe, just maybe, the prospect of a quarter-final against France is starting to play on their mind.  After all they are a team who are clearly under done.

As for Scotland they go forward to their vital clash with Italy with nothing from this game.  Most of those given a chance to prove themselves failed miserably.  Saint Etienne could well prove to be the scene of another frustrating Pool C encounter.  Or maybe Scotland and Italy could surprise us and finally give this pool a game of note.

Man of the Match:  The main candidate from Scotland comes in the form of David Callam.  He was given no platform at the scrum and yet produced a back-foot display that came close to perfection.  That he then still found the energy to make himself known in the loose, not to mention his relentless tackling, is a wonder.  However his efforts were in vain, and rightly so this award goes to a New Zealander.  Leon MacDonald looked to be the best on the field before he went off injured, and so the award goes to Doug Howlett, and not just for his two tries.  He worked hard in both attack and defence and his efforts merited the two record-breaking scores he claimed.  New Zealand will need him to continue in the same rich vein if they are to make it all the way to Paris on October 20.

Moment of the Match:  Scotland knew they would need to start well, and so an early Richie McCaw try did little for their cause.  From then on in it was an uphill battle they were destined to lose.

Villain of the Match:  With the amount of frustration on display it was a wonder tempers did not boil over.  Credit then to all involved for sticking to the game.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  McCaw, Howlett 2, Kelleher, Williams, Carter
Cons:  Carter 2
Pens:  Carter 2

New Zealand:  15 Leon MacDonald, 14 Doug Howlett, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Luke McAlister, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Byron Kelleher, 8 Rodney So'oialo, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Chris Masoe, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Reuben Thorne, 3 Carl Hayman, 2 Anton Oliver, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Andrew Hore, 17 Neemia Tialata, 18 Chris Jack, 19 Sione Lauaki, 20 Brendon Leonard, 21 Nick Evans, 22 Isaia Toeava

Scotland:  15 Hugo Southwell, 14 Nikki Walker, 13 Marcus Di Rollo, 12 Andrew Henderson, 11 Simon Webster, 10 Chris Paterson, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 David Callam, 7 John Barclay, 6 Kelly Brown, 5 Scott Murray (c), 4 Scott MacLeod, 3 Craig Smith, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Alasdair Dickinson.
Replacements:  16 Fergus Thomson, 17 Gavin Kerr, 18 Jim Hamilton, 19 Allister Hogg, 20 Rory Lawson, 21 Dan Parks, 22 Rob Dewey.

Referee:  Marius Jonker
Touch judges:  Paul Marks, Dave Pearson
Television match official:  Hugh Watkins
Assessor:  Michel Lamoulie

Australia stay on track

Australia kept themselves on course for a likely quarter-final showdown against England with a clinical 55-12 win over Fiji in Montpellier on Sunday, a win that virtually guarantees first place in Pool B.

Australia grabbed the result in much the same way they had against Japan:  weathering the enthusiasm of their opposition and taking a throttling control of the game, before cutting loose in the latter part of the first half.

The second half yielded less in the way of controlled Australian play though, with the heat taking an apparent toll on both sets of players, and the match rarely rose above trotting pace for much of it.

Yet the Wallabies kept the scoreboard ticking over with penalties from Matt Giteau and a sweet drop goal from Berrick Barnes, and Adam Ashley-Cooper grabbed the all-important fourth try just before the hour mark to make the game safe.

A capacity crowd of 33,000 crammed into the wonderful Stade de la Mosson hoping for an exhibition of running rugby from both sides on a day boasting perfect conditions for that style of rugby.

Instead, the Australians took some time to get their rhythm going against a Fijian side committed to the tackle, that led to the Wallabies fluffing several try-scoring opportunities.

Starved of the ball, the islanders were forced to defend, which made it even more frustrating to watch as the Fijians kicked away any ball they did get instead of playing to their natural game.

It was always going to be a tough ask for Fiji, especially with their second-stringers taking the field, but they made life difficult for themselves with dreadful play in the line-outs as well as the scrums.

The Wallabies casually stole ball after ball and were hardly ever contested on their own throw, yet Fiji still opted to kick for touch instead of just keeping the ball in hand.

Australia on their other hand kept their composure after being scoreless with fifteen minutes gone on the clock, and did everything right to keep the Fijians from getting their hands on the ball -- not that they would have done anything with it anyway.

Superb pin-point kicking from full-back Chris Latham and centre Matt Giteau forced the Islanders to run the ball out close to their own line on a few occasions.  Yet the Wallabies failed to finish off with either forward passes, a foot in touch or a penalties for holding on ruining their chances.

In total, five opportunities went begging -- a statistic that will count against the Wallabies against tougher opposition and something coach John Connolly will no doubt want to fix.

But their patience paid off after another burst from danger man Wycliff Palu finally got the Wallabies on the board after the ball was flung to birthday boy Lote Tuqiri.

The Fijian-born winger stepped on the gas, but was stopped in his tracks before offloading the ball in the tackle that was nearly intercepted by Maleli Kunavore -- who instead slapped the ball in the hands of a supporting Giteau to speed over easily for his first of two converted tries.

Wallabies captain George Gregan, playing in his 137th match for Australia, was his usual chirping self -- clearly frustrated with his team's inability to get more tries on the board.

However Giteau did his talking with the boot and slotted his first penalty kick of the match ten minutes later -- which must be said, was a wrong call by referee Nigel Owens.  The Fijians will feel hard done by after prop Matt Dunning lost the ball, and not stolen as adjudged by the Welshman.

But it mattered not with the Wallabies taking their second try after a neat left-footed grubber kick from Latham that caught the Fijians off-guard.  But not winger Drew Mitchell, who followed up well for his first touchdown of the match.  His opposite number Vilimoni Delasau perhaps guilty of not reacting accordingly on that occasion.

Giteau converted from the touchline and suddenly the Wallabies were 17-0 in front after 30 minutes played.

Australia now started to get their groove on with the backs and their forwards combining well to set up Giteau's second try of the match and his 20th for his country.  It seemed all too easy for the Western Force player, who -- with Tuqiri on his outside -- simply ducked and spun his way over.

With 40 minutes up on the clock and the half-time hooter sounded, Fiji managed to put in the final attack of the half which led to a fantastic try to left wing Isoa Neivua in the corner.

And surprise, surprise -- the try was scored thanks to the Fijian backline thinking on their feet.  Which showed just how dangerous these Islanders can be when the ball is spread wide.  The conversion was missed, but Fiji were on the board with the halftime score reading 22-5 in favour of the Australians.

Australia played it safe early on in the second with Giteau slotting another penalty which showed the Wallabies weren't messing around.

Wallaby rookie Berrick Barnes then played to his team's advantage after a Fijian strolled off-side by nailing a monster drop-goal that sailed over from 40 metres out.

All this precautious play was ruled out after some lacklustre tackling from a Fijian line-out led to Mosese Rauluni -- a halftime replacement -- taking a dart through an open gap.  The veteran scrum-half drew Mitchell superbly (no pun intended), before offloading to a supporting Aca Ratuva to touch down for his first international try -- and such a fine one at that.

Visibly rattled, Gregan instructed Giteau to kick for posts yet again after Fiji captain was successful with his touchline conversion.

With the score now reading 31-12 and with 30 minutes remaining on the clock, the Wallabies would have been concerned when their bonus point try would be scored.

They had no reason to worry when Ashley-Cooper took a Barnes pass at an excellent angle and at speed for the bonus point score.  Gregan doing well with quick recycling of the ball on that occasion too.

With the heat taking it's toll on all the players, replacements were fast in coming from both sides.

The Wallabies though were forced into two substitutions after Barnes signaled his intent to leave the field after limping around with a tightened thigh muscle.  He had also just taken a big hit from replacement back Seru Rabeni, who welcomed the young gun to Fiji rugby.

Rabeni was certainly out to make his presence felt after sending another Wallabies player off in the form of Scott Staniforth, who was Barnes replacement.  He was duly replaced by Julian Huxley who managed to stay on longer than just two minutes.

With the entire Australia bench on the pitch, the fresh legs contributed to Mitchell's second try after a promising surge by Fiji on the Wallabies tryline, was counter-attacked with a try to the men in green and gold.

Two suspect moments raised a few eyebrows for the entire length of the field try.  The first coming from Latham who's slap down of the ball off a Fiji pass seemed to go forwards before he hoofed the ball ahead.

The second was the grounding of the ball by Mitchell, who put in a flawless dive but knocked the ball on in the process.  Had the TMo been called in, the try would definitely not been given.

With the game now in the Wallabies pouch, the Fijian holes opened up as the tired Islanders failed to keep up with the fitter Australians.

Stephen Hoiles collected his second try of the World Cup after an initial break from Huxley saw lock Dan Vickerman acting like a centre and spin a lovely pass to the replacement back row player for a five-pointer in the corner.

With time up on the clock, Fiji again had an attack on the Wallabies line turned over to work in their favour after a chip by reserve scrum-half Sam Cordingley was collected magnificently by Tuqiri.

The winger charged a few yards before flinging the ball to Giteau on the wing who burst towards the middle of the pitch and sent a mind boggling pass to Mitchell for the winger to stroll in for his hat-trick.

Game, set and match.

Man of the match:  For the Fijians, we can tip out hats to the replacements bench for their sudden impact on the match.  Mosese Rauluni and Seru Rabeni are sure to cause Wales some problems when they face each other next week.  For the victorious Australians, forwards Wycliff Palu, Rocky Elsom and Dan Vickerman all impressed.  In the backs, Chris Latham was his usual attacking self with an added touch of class with the boot.  Drew Mitchell deserves a special mention for his hat-trick, while George Gregan showed he's not over the hill just yet.  But our vote goes to Matt Giteau who steered the backline along brilliantly.  If he wasn't scoring tries, he was constantly involved setting them up for everyone else.  He also proved he can be relied on with the boot in Stirling Mortlock's absence after missing just two kicks at goal.  His pin-point kicking was a joy to watch and certainly is worth every penny the Western Force spent on him.

Moment of the match:  The last play by the Wallabies showed pure class.  Their ability to turn it on from their own try-line and finish off with a try at the other end of the field, just shows that this is a special group of players that are proving with every match they play that the World Cup is their's for the taking.

Villain of the match:  For such a physical display of rugby, there was not one punch up which was nice to see.  However, if there is any villain award to be given -- it has to be Drew Mitchell for putting in an Oscar worthy performance after celebrating his second try that was clearly not even scored.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Giteau 2, Mitchell 3, Ashley-Cooper, Hoiles
Cons:  Giteau 4
Pens:  Giteau 3
Drop goal:  Barnes

For Fiji:
Tries:  Neivua, Ratuva
Con:  Bai

Australia:  15 Chris Latham, 14 Drew Mitchell, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Berrick Barnes, 9 George Gregan (c), 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Phil Waugh, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Dan Vickerman, 4 Mark Chisholm, 3 Guy Shepherdson, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Matt Dunning
Replacements:  16 Adam Freier, 17 Greg Holmes, 18 Hugh McMeniman, 19 Stephen Hoiles, 20 Sam Cordingley, 21 Scott Staniforth, 22 Julian Huxley

Fiji:  15 Norman Ligairi, 14 Vilimoni Delasau, 13 Maleli Kunavore, 12 Seremaia Bai (c), 11 Isoa Neivua, 10 Waisea Luveniyali, 9 Jone Daunivucu, 8 Jone Qovu, 7 Aca Ratuva, 6 Netani Talei, 5 Ifereimi Rawaqa, 4 Isoa Domolailai, 3 Henry Qiodravu, 2 Vereniki Sauturaga, 1 Alefoso Yalayalatabua
Replacements:  16 Bill Gadolo, 17 Jone Railomo, 18 Wame Lewaravu, 19 Sisa Koyamaibole, 20 Mosese Rauluni, 21 Gabiriele Lovobalavu, 22 Seru Rabeni

Referee:  Nigel Owens
Touch judges:  Christophe Berdos, Mark Lawrence
Television match official:  Craig Joubert
Assessor:  Bob Francis

Wilko keeps England alive

England kept alive their World Cup dream with a 44-22 win over Samoa at Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes, on Saturday.  The victory came courtesy of the defending champions' one bright star, fly-half Jonny Wilkinson.

It was Wilkinson's first appearance at the 2007 tournament, having missed England's first two matches through and ankle injury, and he yet again proved his value to a team that looked bereft of ideas for large periods of the game.

Stand-in captain Martin Corry, who scored two of his team's four tries, was obviously pleased with the win and England's ability to grind out a win.

But apart from Wilkinson's performance -- which included 24 points and two classic drop-goals -- they produced very little that would suggest the 2003 champions would be able to move past the quarter-finals.

Before they can start thinking of the play-offs England will still have to negotiate the tricky Tongans in a pool decider in Paris next Friday, September 28.

But for now they are alive!

While the English forwards were clearly superior against the Samoans on Saturday, it is what happened behind the packs that should be of major concern to England head coach Brian Ashton.

While Wilkinson's influence was there for all to see -- and they indeed appeared to have become a one-man band -- the Samoan's were far more creative in the backs.

They often broke tackles much more easily and were prepared to run from deep.

What let the Pacific Islanders down was their ball control and very poor display in the set pieces.  While they found it easy to break the first line of defence, they were often stopped by the cover and were just never patient enough to ensure those many half-chances became real threats.

The second-half also brought no joy for the Samoans at set-piece time either, in fact it got worse, as they struggled to win anything decent at line-out time and their scrums were also in disarray.  However, it was at the breakdown where they won most of their possession and a string of penalties with their energetic display.

The other aspect of this game that was glaringly obviously for all to see is how little there was happening in the England backline outside of Wilkinson.  This is not a backline of international standards, not by any stretch of the imagination.

For one thing, the Wilkinson-Olly Barkley combination at 10 and 12 simply did not work and Ashton is no closer to an answer to his backline woes than he was in the Six Nations.

England got off to a flyer and within the first two minutes they not only went on the attack, they even got a try through stand-in captain Martin Corry.

Wilkinson slotted the conversion and then added a drop-goal as the England forwards enjoyed a period of dominance.  Within six minutes England had taken a 10-0 lead.

At that stage Samoa were struggling a tad, as the English forwards managed to assert themselves.

However, the Samoans soon found their own rhythm, as England reverted to type and opted for a very slow, dour, forward-orientated game.

The Samoans were soon rewarded for their efforts as fullback Loki Crichton slotted penalties in the eighth and 12th minutes, to narrow the gap to just four points.

However, it then became the Wilkinson show for a long period of the first half.  Not only did he restore the lead to 10 points with two penalties, but in the 32nd minute he put through a neat little grubber that gifted wing Paul Sackey a try.

Wilkinson's conversion gave England a comfortable 23-6 lead.

Samoa again managed to get themselves back into the game in the last few minutes of the half, with two more Crichton penalties taking the score to 23-12 at the break.

Crichton and Wilkinson exchanged early penalties in the second half, before a break and chip from Samoan hooker Mahonri Schwalger saw Junior Polu following through to get a hand ahead of an English chaser.  The TMO had several looks at it, before the stadium exploded with joy when the Samoans were rewarded for their enterprise.  Crichton's conversion narrowed the gap to just four points, 22-26.  Allez les Bleus chanted the neutrals in the crowd...

Wilkinson had a great chance to increase the advantage to seven points in the 56th minute, but his radar was off the mark and Samoa remained within striking distance of a win.

The assertion that England are nothing without Wilkinson were given further credence when the fly-half slotted a drop-goal in the 69th minute to increase the lead -- that at a period when England were taking the ball through numerous phases without looking like breaking down the Samoan defensive wall.

The Samoans' struggles at set pieces were further highlighted when they gave away a penalty on the halfway line soon afterwards and Wilkinson slotted the kick from just over 50 metres out to make his team's lead 10 points -- 32-22.

Corry sealed the win for his team with a 76th minute try, set up by a turnover, as the Samoans started to tire and their concentration faltered.  Wilkinson's conversion made it 39-22.

It was now a matter of England trying to secure the bonus point for a fourth try.

The try came in the dying seconds as Sackey stepped his way past the tired defenders to go over in the corner.  The call went to the TMO, who ruled a good try.  Wilkinson's conversion drifted wide, but it was job done -- not very well, but done -- for England.

Man of the match:  The Samoans would look at full-back Loki Crichton as their star player, but the man with the biggest influence on the day was without doubt fly-half Jonny Wilkinson.  He kicked his goals, especially those late in the second half, and the value and timing of those two drop-goals can never be underestimated.

Moment of the match:  The bonus-point try by Paul Sackey in the 80th minute will be invaluable in the overall context of the tournament, but the score that sealed the game for England was stand-in captain Martin Corry's 76th minute try.  At that stage Samoa were still within vague reaching distance of England and Corry put the matter beyond doubt.

Villain of the match:  There were the usual questionable Samoan tackles, as was to be expected, but nothing that really could be termed "nasty".  No award!

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Corry 2, Sackey 2
Cons:  Wilkinson 3
Pens:  Wilkinson 4
Drop Goals:  Wilkinson 2

For Samoa:
Try:  Schwalger
Con:  Crichton
Pens:  Crichton 5

Teams:

England:  15 Josh Lewsey, 14 Mark Cueto, 13 Mathew Tait, 12 Olly Barkley, 11 Paul Sackey, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Andy Gomarsall, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Joe Worsley, 6 Martin Corry (c), 5 Ben Kay, 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Matt Stevens, 2 George Chuter, 1 Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements:  16 Mark Regan, 17 Perry Freshwater, 18 Steve Borthwick, 19 Lewis Moody, 20 Peter Richards, 21 Andy Farrell, 22 Danny Hipkiss.

Samoa:  15 Loki Crichton, 14 David Lemi, 13 Seilala Mapusua, 12 Brian Lima, 11 Alesana Tuilagi, 10 Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu, 9 Junior Polu, 8 Henry Tuilagi, 7 Semo Sititi (c), 6 Daniel Leo, 5 Kane Thompson, 4 Joe Tekori, 3 Census Johnston, 2 Mahonri Schwalger, 1 Kas Lealamanua.
Replacements:  16 Tanielu Fuga, 17 Fosi Pala'amo, 18 Justin Purdie, 19 Alfie Vaeluaga, 20 Steve So'oialo, 21 Jerry Meafou, 22 Lolo Lui.

Referee:  Alan Lewis
Touch judges:  Lyndon Bray, Alain Rolland
Television match official:  Bryce Lawrence
Assessor:  Ian Scotney

Argentina almost there

Argentina have one foot in the quarter-finals of the World Cup after crushing Namibia 63-3 in Marseille on Saturday, scoring nine tries to nil.

The Pumas took a while to hit their rhythm, but late in the first half the tries started to flow, and from then on it was one-way traffic, with the Argentinians running in a second-half welter of tries through the backs.

Moreover, they remain the only side at the World Cup that has yet to concede a try.

Argentina now face Ireland knowing the Irish must both score four tries and deny the Pumas a losing bonus-point to progress to the play-offs;  anything less from the Irish and the Argentinians will be through to the quarter-finals.

Argentina believe that the wider rugby world does not regard them as one the 'top tier' nations, but they certainly looked the part for the first 20 minutes of this match -- they seemed strangely vulnerable to the snap of a minnow.

But unlike some of the more established rugby-playing nations -- the Englands and Irelands of this world, if we must name names -- Argentina boast plenty of shrewd operators and used their brains to right their lilting ship.

And so with a sail tightened here and a knot loosened there, it became plain-sailing for the men from South America.

Namibia drew first blood -- their only points of the match -- after Argentina infringed in defence.  Morne Schreuder, a late replacement for Tertius Losper, slotted the ensuing penalty.

Felipe Contepomi replied with a penalty of his own moments later, but that predicted try-fest was still conspicuous by its absence.

With running options limited by Namibia's tenacious tacklers, Contepomi sent a telepathic message to his twin brother and chipped through the lines.  Manuel sneaked through but lost control of the ball at the vital moment and the Kelvin Deaker, the man with the remote, disallowed the try.

Poor handling then became all the rage, with butterfingers butchering a number of Argentine attacks.

With the free-flowing stuff failing to materialise, Argentina's canny skipper Agustín Pichot decided to tweak tactics by asking his forwards to deliver what his backs could not.

The big men responded well, breaching Namibia's defence with a surging maul in the 26th minute of the game.  Rodrigo Roncero was awarded the try, but the effort was spirited up by the community of forwards.

Juan Manuel Leguizamón added Argentina second try after an equally muscular piece of foreplay.  It was powerful five-metre scrum that did the damage this time, and Namibia's loose forwards were unable to impeded the London Irish star's drive from the base.

Sitting pretty on the cushion of two tries, the Pumas decided to stretch their legs once again -- and this time passes began to stick.

Manuel Contepomi made up for his earlier fumble by punctuating a flowing move by scoring in the corner, and Argentina went to the break with a 25-3 lead in their pocket and just one try away from that vital bonus point.

The Namibians made it patently obvious that they would not make things easy for their neighbours from across the South Atlantic by raising their game early in the second half.

A series of splendid rolling mauls put Argentina in reverse, but the South Americans trumped that with a piece of first-phase brilliance.

Pichot fed Felipe Contepomi off the back of an innocuous scrum outside Namibia's 22, and the Leinster star opened a hole in the defence by feinting inside and out.  The gatemen of the gap could only gawk at each other as the surgeon knifed between them to collect Argentina's all-important four try.

Job done.  But the Pumas did not feel the need to clock off early.

A trademark run from Leguizamón spawned his second and Argentina's fifth, and he was soon followed over the line by his club colleague, Gonzalo Tiesi.

Ignacio Corleto then got on the end of a fine phase of inter-passing to score, and the game -- as a contest -- was over.

But credit to Namibia for refusing to throw in the towel, even after referee Stuart Dickinson awarded a penalty try for a popped scrum on their line.

Argentina's top cats were then wrapped in cotton-wool in preparation for next Sunday's date with Ireland in Paris, and it was left to their understudies to hammer the final nails home.

The massacre was duly completed by replacement fly-half Federico Todeschini who linked up well with Tiesi for Argentina's ninth and final try.

It was a nice moment for Todeschini.  The Montpellier pivot had feared that he might be sent home after he picked up an injury early in the tournament, and his mates acknowledged his scoring return with big smiles -- smiles that will send shivers down Irish spines.

Man of the match:  The Namibians played with heart but were thoroughly outgunned in all facets of play, with wing Deon Mouton engineering the only moments of relative danger.  Argentina's sublime halfback combo of Felipe Contepomi and Agustín Pichot orchestrated this win, but we'll hand our award to Juan Manuel Leguizamón whose work from the base of the scrum broke Namibia's resolve and kept his side on the front foot.

Moment of the match:  Perhaps Argentina's fourth try, not so much for its bonus-point appeal but for the moment of individual magic from Felipe Contepomi.

Villain of the match:  Not a naughty moment in the whole game -- no award.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Tries:  Roncero, Leguizamón 2, M Contempomi, F Contempomi, Tiesi, Corleto, Penalty try, Todeschini
Cons:  Contempomi 4, Todeschini 2
Pens:  Felipe Contempomi 2

For Namibia:
Pen:  Schreuder

Argentina:  15 Ignacio Corleto, 14 Hernán Senillosa, 13 Gonzalo Tiesi, 12 Manuel Contepomi, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Felipe Contepomi, 9 Agustín Pichot (c), 8 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 7 Juan Martín Fernandez Lobbe, 6 Lucas Ostiglia, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Carlos Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, 3 Omar Hasan, 2 Alberto Vernet Basualdo, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements:  16 Mario Ledesma, 17 Juan Martín Scelzo, 18 Rimas Álvarez Kairelis, 19 Gonzalo Longo, 20 Nicolás Fernandez Miranda, 21 Federico Todeschini, 22 Federico Serra Miras.

Namibia:  15 Heini Bock, 14 Deon Mouton, 13 Du Preez Grobler, 12 Corne Powell (c), 11 Melrick Africa, 10 Morne Schreuder, 9 Eugene Jantjies, 8 Tinus du Plessis, 7 Jacques Burger, 6 Michael MacKenzie, 5 Nico Esterhuize, 4 Wacca Kazombiaze, 3 Marius Visser, 2 Johannes Meyer, 1 Johnny Redelinghuys.
Replacements:  16 Hugo Horn, 17 Kees Lensing, 18 Herman Lindvelt, 19 Heino Senekal, 20 Jurie van Tonder, 21 Bratley Langenhoven, 22 Piet van Zyl.

Referee:  Stuart Dickinson
Touch judges:  Simon McDowell, Carlo Damasco
Television match official:  Kelvin Deaker
Assessor:  Stuart Beissel

Scotland muddle through

South Africa maintained their run towards the World Cup quarter-finals with a less than satisfactory 30-25 win over Tonga in Lens on Saturday.

A win it was, and it was convincing enough in the end, with even a bonus point accrued, but Jake White will doubtless be concerned at just how poorly his reserves played for the first 55 minutes, and even more concerned at the lapses in concentration that took Tonga within a whisker of a huge upset in the final ten minutes.

Only the injection of first-teamers Frans Steyn, Victor Matfield, Juan Smith and Bryan Habana got the Boks going, with Tonga leading 10-7 until that point.  Then the Boks scored three tries -- two of them flowing 50m moves -- in six minutes in a purple patch around the hour mark.

But two late Tonga tries brought the score back to 27-22 with eight minutes to go, setting up a tense finish.

Pool A's top-of-the-table contest started in a typically robust fashion with Tonga striking first, as Bobby Skinstad was caught offside from JP Pietersen's fumble on nine minutes.

Pierre Hola duly slotted the opening three points as South Africa rapidly realised that the Sea Islanders weren't set on relying on next week's fixture against England for quarter-final qualification.

However, the Springboks were handed an immediate opportunity to respond when referee Wayne Barnes spotted a Tongan offside, but Andre Pretorius hooked the simple penalty wide of the posts.

Then came a fine territorial kick from full-back Ruan Pienaar -- causing all kinds of problems for his opposite number Vungakoto Lilo -- that resulted in a penalty.  But for the second time in quick succession, Pretorius was off target.

However, the Lens crowd were starting to witness sustained Springbok pressure, and from a quick-tap penalty Pienaar raced down the left wing to dive over on 19 minutes, converted well by Pretorius.

Then a spark of Tongan brilliance on 25 minutes saw Hola send captain Nili Latu motoring through a large gap in the South African defence.  But the recycled ball and pass was adjudged forward by Barnes as prop Tonga'uiha strolled over with a beaming smile, which was swiftly removed.

And on the stroke of half-time it was Hola who missed the opportunity to reduce the arrears to just one point, with the game poised beautifully at 7-3.

Tonga flew out of the blocks in the second period as errors continued to cloud South Africa's game.

Again Latu was involved as they set up camp inside their opponents 22, and the Islanders subsequently crossed the whitewash thanks to a forward-dominated move, finished by Kisi Pulu.

That prompted coach Jake White to send on five of his seven VIP's, far sooner than expected, with the score at 7-10.

And it took them just five minutes to level the scores as Tonga were caught offside, with the kicking responsibilities now handed to Frans Steyn.

Then patience from the Springboks, coupled with weary Tongan legs, saw substitute Juan Smith finish off an unrelenting surge, converted by the record-breaking cap Percy Montgomery.

But as the game entered its final quarter, tempers began to flare, with Steyn and Joseph Vaka with both sent to the sin-bin.  That all took place off the ball as Skinstad showed fine strength to dive over in the corner.

The floodgates looked to be opening as Pietersen sparked a length of the field score for Pienaar to grab his second.

And more tries followed.  However, they were added to theTongan tally with the Springboks stunned.

Immediately following wing Bryan Habana's yellow card for a high tackle, a Hola cross-field kick found Sukanaivalu Hufanga to score.

Their second quickly followed, reducing the Boks' lead to just five, as smart footballing skills saw Viliami Vaki dive over after a length of the field move, the try converted by Hola.

The two sides then traded penalties as the clock ran down after a pulsating encounter with the Spingboks desperately managing to cling to the Pool summit.

Man of the match:  Tonga's start performer so far in the World Cup!  Nili Latu was once again immense in every aspect of play.  His work in the tight exchanges, coupled with excellent link play with his backs always gave Hola an option.

Moment of the match:  Tonga's two quick-fire tries in the second period!  Hufanga and Vaki were the men who set up the grandstand finish.

Villain of the match:  Tough to class any of these gladiators as "villains".  A match played at a physical and frantic pace, which was largely competed in good spirits.  The sin-binnings of Frans Steyn and Joseph Vaka were possibly the only negatives.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Pienaar 2, Smith, Skinstad
Cons:  Pretorius, Montgomery
Pens:  Steyn, Montgomery

For Tonga:
Tries:  Pulu, Hufanga, Vaki
Cons:  Hola 2
Pens:  Hola 2

Yellow cards:  Steyn (South Africa), Vaka (Tonga -- both 62, both fighting), Haban (69, South Africa, high tackle)

South Africa:  15 Ruan Pienaar, 14 Ashwin Willemse, 13 Wynand Olivier, 12 Wayne Julies, 11 JP Pietersen, 10 André Pretorius, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Bob Skinstad (c), 7 Danie Rossouw, 6 Wikus van Heerden, 5 Albert van den Berg, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 Gary Botha, 1 Gürthro Steenkamp.
Replacements:  16 John Smit, 17 BJ Botha, 18 Victor Matfield, 19 Juan Smith, 20 Bryan Habana, 21 Frans Steyn, 22 Percy Montgomery.

Tonga:  15 Vungakoto Lilo, 14 Tevita Tu'ifua, 13 Sukanaivalu Hufanga, 12 Epeli Taione, 11 Joseph Vaka, 10 Pierre Hola, 9 Sione Tu'ipulotu, 8 Finau Maka, 7 Nili Latu (c), 6 Viliami Vaki, 5 'Emosi Kauhenga, 4 Paino Hehea, 3 Kisi Pulu, 2 Aleki Lutui, 1 Soane Tonga'uiha.
Replacements:  16 Ephraim Taukafa, 17 Taufa'ao Filise, 18 Inoke Afeaki, 19 Lotu Filipine, 20 Soane Havea, 21 Isileli Tupou, 22 Aisea Havili.

Referee:  Wayne Barnes
Touch judges:  Paul Marks, Federico Cuesta
Television match official:  Malcolm Changleng
Assessor:  Michel Lamoulie

Ireland on the brink

France sent Ireland's high hopes of World Cup quarter-final qualification into freefall on Friday, beating the men in green 25-3 and leaving them needing a huge win over Argentina.

It was France, France all the way.  The glory was all theirs -- much to the relief of the anxious nation.  In the end they deserved their margin of victory and maybe more.  They also seem assured of making the quarter-final, "a chance to play a little more in the competition", as captain Raphaël Ibañez said afterwards.

Except for some moments in the first half and a brief bit of battering at the French line, Ireland did not look like scoring anything worthwhile.  Even when they battered the French looked too organised and too strong for them.  The Maginot Line did not save France in World War II but there were no chinks in the French defence at Stade de France and no way round it either.  On defence they were superb.

That said, the Irish defence in the face of an onslaught was also superb, breached only by a genius of a kick by Frédéric Michalak and a slightly lucky chip by Jean-Baptiste Elissalde which a mixture of bungling by the Irish and excellent work by Vincent Clerc made into France's second try.

For one thing Ireland could not really cope in first phases.  France had 21 throws into line-outs and did not lose one, a skew throw apart.  Ireland had 20 throws into line-outs and lost five.  It was not just the winning either.  French ball was so much handier.

France had the better of the scrums, especially when Paul O'Connell was in the sin-bin for "persistent offending in the maul".

In fact Ireland paid dearly for ill-discipline.  The final penalty count was 14-11 in France's favour but four of those Irish penalties came near the end, when the battle was well and truly lost.  Elissalde turned five of those penalties into 15 points.  France led 15-3 before scoring their two tries.  Six of those 14 penalties were at the tackle/ruck to two conceded by France.  After the match both captain Brian O'Driscoll and coach Eddie O'Sullivan admitted that ill-discipline had cost the side dearly.

French selection helped.  This time they had the luxury of a full-back at full-back, a left wing on the left wing, an outside centre at outside centre, a recognised goal-kicker and a clever scrum-half.

Ireland started well enough.  There was lots of kicking initially but, despite an early penalty by Elissalde, Ireland were on top.  They could have levelled the score but Ronan O'Gara missed a penalty he would normally be expected to goal.

There had been a lot of pressure on O'Gara from rumours and innuendo, apparently about his gambling debts, in the French press.  It was the sort of thing which could have been expected to draw the Irish together and motivate them, and the obvious emotion of the singing of Ireland's Call seemed to suggest that there was a fierce desire for victory.  The French sang the Marseillaise in far more relaxed fashion.  But in the match it was the French who were filled with passionate intensity.

O'Gara did not have a great game and as the organiser of the Irish side was insignificant in comparison with Elissalde, who was the French conductor on the Paris evening.

Ireland must have hoped that at last the centre pairing of Brian O'Driscoll and Gordon D'Arcy, so often lauded as the best in the world, would at last catch alight.  It did not.  Eventually the Irish were reduced to running out of deep defence, but to no avail as the Maginot Line moved up into Irish territory.

France looked like scoring the first try in the first quarter of the game.  Marcus Horan knocked on and flung a foot at the fallen ball as the Irish ran down their right.  Cédric Heymans snapped up the ball and strode away.  Raphaël Ibañez carried it on and then the French went wide right but the television match official confirmed that Clément Poitrenaud had been tackled out at the corner by Shane Horgan.  But two penalties in four minutes took the French to 9-0 after 21 minutes.

Still the electric atmosphere in the great ground, packed with 80 000 spectators, persisted.  Athenry sounded, bands played and the award of a scrum was greeted with cheers or cheers.

France attacked with two five-metre line-outs in a row but Ibañez broke away and held on and they were penalised.

Eventually Ireland got on the scoreboard when O'Gara kicked a soaring drop when the referee was playing advantage.  9-3 after 36 minutes.

France had time to batter at the Irish line and Elissalde popped over an easy penalty to make the score 12-3 at the break.

Ireland had a good few moments in the second half when for the first -- and only -- time in the match new scrum-half Eoin Reddan broke.  Ireland set up a great attack but eventually their hands let them down.

When Frankie Sheahan was penalised for lifting a leg in a maul, Elissalde moved the score to 15-3 after 54 minutes.

The try was a set move.  France had an innocuous scrum not far inside the Irish half.  on the French right.  They looked to move left when suddenly, from behind the breaking scrum Vincent Clerc started running.  Michalak then kicked a kick of great brilliance -- deliberately off the side of his right boot, lobbing a perfect ball back into the empty box behind the scrum where Clerc raced onto a benign bounce to score the first try of the match.

It was a delicious moment.

The second try came when O'Connell was sitting in the sin bin.  This time Elissalde went right and chipped.  The Irish defenders should have got the ball.  Instead Clerc helped himself to it, just in from touch and near the corner flag.  Standing still he managed to resist the attentions of three defenders as he swirled and plunged over for a try in the corner.

There were 12 minutes to play and the Irish managed to mount an attack after four penalties in quick succession.  The last two were against Damien Traille for stopping the Irish within 10 metres of a penalty.  For this persistence Traille also trudged off to the sin bin.

Man of the Match:  There were lots of French candidates but none did as much to secure the winning as Jean-Baptiste Elissalde who was the general and the maker of winning points.

Moment of the Match:  The making and the scoring of the first try by Vincent Clerc.

Villain of the Match:  There were candidates here, too.  There were the sin-binners Paul O'Connell and Damien Traille, and also those who conceded penalties for putting feet on prone bodies -- David Wallace of Ireland and Raphaël Ibañez of France.  But there was nothing untoward in a match excellently controlled.

The scorers:

For France:
Tries:  Clerc 2
Pens:  Elissalde 5

For Ireland:
Drop goal:  O'Gara

Yellow cards:  O'Connell (64, Ireland, persistent infringement), Traille (75, France, persistent infringement)

France:  15 Clément Poitrenaud, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 David Marty, 12 Damien Traille, 11 Cédric Heymans, 10 Frédéric Michalak, 9 Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, 8 Julien Bonnaire, 7 Thierry Dusautoir, 6 Serge Betsen, 5 Jérôme Thion, 4 Sébastien Chabal, 3 Pieter de Villiers, 2 Raphaël Ibañez (c), 1 Olivier Milloud.
Replacements:  16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 18 Lionel Nallet, 19 Yannick Nyanga, 20 Lionel Beauxis, 21 Yannick Jauzion, 22 Aurélien Rougerie.

Ireland:  15 Girvan Dempsey, 14 Shane Horgan, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (c), 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Andrew Trimble, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Denis Leamy, 7 David Wallace, 6 Simon Easterby, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Jerry Flannery, 1 Marcus Horan.
Replacements:  16 Frankie Sheahan, 17 Simon Best, 18 Malcolm O'Kelly, 19 Neil Best, 20 Isaac Boss, 21 Paddy Wallace, 22 Gavin Duffy.

Referee:  Chris White
Touch judges:  Dave Pearson, Hugh Watkins
Television match official:  Jonathan Kaplan
Assessor:  Michel Lamoulie