Late show seals title for All Blacks

Two tries in the final three minutes saw New Zealand secure the 2010 Tri-Nations title in dramatic fashion with a 29-22 win in Johannesburg.

22-17 up going in the game's dying embers, the Springboks had the wind knocked out of them when their visitors came good thanks to scores from captain Richie McCaw and Israel Dagg.

It was cruel way for John Smit to leave the field in his 100th appearance for his country, especially as he was the man who missed a key tackle that let centre Ma'a Nonu slip through the net.

The atmosphere at the formerly-known Soccer City was electric for a number of reasons.  Firstly, it was Smit's century and he jogged out to a mass of noise at the 94,000 capacity venue -- a ground that had a huge amount of Elvis' in attendance due to a world-record being attempted.  Don't ask.

Soon after, the Haka was drowned out by that same crowd singing ''Ole, ole, ole, oleee'' and that seemed to spur on the hosts.  Hits were fierce from the wounded Springboks as they drove the champions-in-waiting back in the tackle, which was something they were simply not doing during the opening fixtures of the tournament.

And boy did their intensity upset New Zealand's rhythm which had been so impressive up until now in 2010.  They were simply knocked off their perch early on by a side hurting and in desperate need of a result, with Schalk Burger and a returning Juan Smith starring.

Captain Smit unfortunately did not have it all his own way though on Saturday, as his opening lineout was not straight and then he was penalised by Welsh referee Nigel Owens for delaying a throw soon after.  Dan Carter adding three points was the net result.

South Africa were on the board on eleven minutes though when Kieran Read was caught going off his feet but this was all while the Springboks were turning up the defensive heat in Johannesburg.  Those tackles and the general intensity brought another penalty just three minutes later when Ben Franks -- in for his brother at tighthead this week -- failed to roll away.  Morne Steyn made no mistake from the tee and that was part of his 100 per cent record.

His rival was not so assured.  Carter struck the post with almost a quarter of the game passed and if he was on-target before the break, New Zealand would have gone in ahead.  As it was they were down 16-14 after two tries, one for Burger and then Tony Woodcock.

Burger's score was down to brute force as the All Blacks found themselves on the back foot.  From close range the flank put his head down and burrowed his way over before lock Tom Donnelly found himself needing to just draw and give to his prop on 37 minutes.

The interval was always going to bring up the question whether South Africa could maintain their fire that was keeping New Zealand contained.  The answer was they couldn't as the visitors enjoyed the lion's share of and territory, with the hosts breathing heavily in stages.

Steyn did extend the lead to eight points after the hour mark however, with Carter keeping New Zealand in touching distance when he knocked over a penalty of his own.

But seven minutes from time the visiting playmaker missed a shot from straight in front the uprights and that seemed to end all hope.  The was far from dead.

Three minutes from time, McCaw collected the ball on the overlap and dived over in the right corner, despite the best efforts of three defenders and the TMO ruling.

And then came the moment that veteran hooker Smit would have had nightmares about on his special day as his missed tackle on Nonu led to Dagg going over to seal a memorable victory, which secured the title and kept their unbeaten run intact.

Man of the match:  Many of the forwards put their hand up for this accolade but it has to go to a player on the losing side.  Schalk Burger was immense in the tackle and combined well with Juan Smith and Pierre Spies at times.  Hats off also to Richie McCaw and Ma'a Nonu.

Moment of the match:  South African TMO Shaun Veldsman's decision to allow Richie McCaw's levelling try in the corner.  It was a call that no one would want to make as the captain's foot dangled dangerously close the whitewash.

Villain of the match:  A good game full of intensity with no yellow cards.  No villain today.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Try:  Burger
Con:  Steyn
Pen:  Steyn 5

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Woodcock, McCaw, Dagg
Con:  Carter
Pen:  Carter

South Africa:  15 Gio Aplon, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 5 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.
Replacements:  16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Danie Rossouw, 19 Francois Louw, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Butch James, 22 Wynand Olivier.

New Zealand:  15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Josevata Rokocoko, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Tom Donnelly, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Ben Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Corey Flynn, 17 John Afoa, 18 Samuel Whitelock, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Israel Dagg.

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees:  Alain Rolland (Ireland), Simon McDowell (Ireland)
Television match official:  Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Bledisloe staying in All Blacks country

New Zealand beat an improved Australia outfit 20-10 in Christchurch on Saturday to retain the Bledisloe Cup, but will have to wait a little longer to win back their Tri-Nations crown.

The All Blacks needed five points from this clash at AMI Stadium to bring the Tri-Nations tournament to a premature end, however they could only manage two tries thanks to some strong defence by the Wallabies who kept their hosts at bay.

Richie McCaw and his troops now require just a lone bonus point from their remaining two away matches against Australia and South Africa to make it a fait accompli following the world's top-ranked team's thirteenth consecutive Test win.

The 10-point triumph also was a record-equalling ninth successive victory over Australia, who have now gone eight years without the Bledisloe Cup.  The Wallabies delivered a vastly-improved showing on the previous week's debacle in Melbourne, but the All Blacks still had too much power and precision to deny their trans-Tasman rivals a much-needed victory.

The Wallabies continue to miss Quade Cooper, a player capable of breaking the line from the fly-half position.  While Matt Giteau disappointed, his cause wasn't helped by an inconsistent showing by this forwards, as a large amount of possession often didn't translate into ground gained.  It was a credit to the home defence and their work on the deck, but the Wallabies pack could have done better.

The All Blacks didn't have everything their own way at the tackle, often conceding penalties in their attempt to stifle the Australians.  But when they did turn possession over, a well-placed kick or incisive counter-attack earned them great territory.

The game was not without its frustrations for the Wallabies, desperate to come back from their 49-28 hiding last week, as the All Blacks rode their luck with ruck infringements -- twice they escaped with warnings but no yellow cards.

Although the Wallabies controlled possession for the first five minutes it was the All Blacks who scored first in a move which started when lock Tom Donnelly snapped up a turnover ball to charge 20 metres downfield.

When he was brought down on the 22m line by Kurtley Beale, the All Blacks quickly recycled and Mils Muliaina was sent over in the corner.

Dan Carter converted from the sideline and then went from hero to zero soon after the restart when he lost the ball in a tackle which resulted in David Pocock and Nathan Sharpe sending Beale on a 65m run to the line who outpaced Carter to score in a handy position for Giteau to convert.

Scores weren't levelled for long, though, with a defensive blunder from makeshift winger James O'Connor allowing All Blacks centre Conrad Smith an easy try in the thirteenth minute.

Instead of staying on his wing, O'Connor was caught in two minds as classy inside centre Ma'a Nonu exposed the youngster's inexperience with a lovely long pass to his partner in crime for a score in the corner.

Carter again nailed the sideline conversion to give New Zealand a 14-7 lead, before Giteau narrowed the gap to four points with a 20th-minute penalty goal after the All Blacks were caught offside.

The All Blacks went to the break enjoying a 17-10 advantage following a Carter penalty in the 33rd minute after Wallabies scrum-half Will Genia was pinged for not releasing.

There was definite change of mood by the All Blacks after half-time as the Wallabies mounted wave after wave of attacks.  New Zealand put the brakes on their free-for-all running and turned more to their fly-half to kick them out of trouble as they withstood 30 minutes of pressure.

A Carter penalty produced the only points of the second half but the All Blacks were always in control as they wound down the clock.  They may have to wait a few weeks to lift the trophy, but there's no doubt the title will be returning to New Zealand.

The Wallabies need to score bonus-point wins in their remaining three games and hope the All Blacks lose their remaining fixtures without consolation ... highly unlikely.

Man of the match:  Playing at home in Christchurch, Dan Carter showcased his extensive attacking arsenal:  the darting runs, the chip-and-regathers, the probing punts, and the gap-manufacturing passes.  To cap it all, he goaled every kick.

Moment of the match:  Of all the tries scored, Mils Muliaina's effort wins our vote.  In a word:  brilliant.

Villain of the match:  Tony Woodcock's clearance of Saia Faingaa from behind at the ruck was illegal and uncalled for.  Playing in his 67th match for New Zealand, the All Blacks' most capped prop can count his lucky stars he didn't do his celebrating in the bin.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Muliaina, Smith
Cons:  Carter 2
Pens:  Carter 2

For Australia:
Try:  Beale
Con:  Giteau
Pen:  Giteau

New Zealand:  15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Jo Rokocoko, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Tom Donnelly, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Corey Flynn, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Sam Whitelock, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Alby Mathewson, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Benson Stanley

Australia:  15 Kurtley Beale, 14 James O'Connor, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Anthony Faingaa, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Will Genia, 8 Richard Brown, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom (capt), 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Saia Faingaa, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 Stephen Moore, 17 James Slipper, 18 Rob Simmons, 19 Matt Hodgson, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Berrick Barnes, 22 Cameron Shepherd.

Referee:  Jonathan Kaplan (SA)

Seven up for rampant All Blacks

New Zealand put one hand on both the Tri-Nations and Bledisloe silverware on Saturday as they crushed Australia 49-28 in a classic at Etihad Stadium.

It was simply an outstanding contest between two attack-minded sides.  Five tries in the first-half and not a single scrum reset until the 75th minute as rugby was played how it always should be.

The fine result now puts the All Blacks on fifteen tournament points in 2010, with nearest rivals Australia and the pointless Springboks swiftly looking a distant second and third in the south.

But what about this New Zealand outfit?  Call it over the top to be talking like this so soon but they have the confident and assured air of a world champion team in the making.  Calmness, ruthlessness and attacking brilliance were on show as players like Richie McCaw and Daniel Carter stood up to the plate.  They were not alone.

Yes the Wallabies were reduced to fourteen just after the break when Drew Mitchell was shown his second yellow, but in truth the game was up.

The contest itself began at quite a pace and in the end continued in that fashion.  First it was Matt Giteau -- in for the banned Quade Cooper -- who ran from his own 22 in a breathtaking play that led to New Zealand coming offside and the Brumby slotting over the opening three.

However, it only took Carter just three minutes to level matters with a penalty of his own before déjà vu, calamity, whatever you want to call it, hit the Melbourne surface.

Only a minute after DC had knocked over those points, he became the villain when his attempted clearance was too slow in leaving his boot and Mitchell capitalised for the opening try wide out, proving once again he should always remain in this Wallaby squad.

That was the first part of a rather comical sketch though as Carter promptly became a hero by charging down Berrick Barnes' almost identical clearance to score.  The visiting number ten did knock over the extra two points -- unlike Giteau -- to make it 10-8 to the blacks.

Then came a moment of brilliance from wing Cory Jane following turnover ball inside away territory.  The impressive Brad Thorn was a key ingredient in the score by drawing two gold tacklers for the overlapping Keven Mealamu to hand on to Ma'a Nonu, who offloaded to centre partner Conrad Smith before Jane's chip -- despite being held by Rocky Elsom -- dropped perfectly for the supporting Mils Muliaina to grab his first of two scores.

Giteau did pull the scores back to 15-11 and when prop Owen Franks was yellow-carded for a no-arm tackle on Richard Brown, one sensed it could a route back for the Wallabies.

Unfortunately for Australia that proved not to be the case as New Zealand's fourteen men produced another seven points, with turnover ball again the catalyst.  McCaw it was who finished this time, superbly I might add down the left wing after one of those moves off of Graham Henry's midweek training paper.  It worked a treat mind on 27 minutes.

Penalties were traded by Giteau and Carter to move the scoreline up to 22-14 in favour of the All Blacks, but then came the bonus-point try before the interval.  The Cantabrian's penalty-push deep into the corner led to a slick lineout set-move that involved the mobile Thorn and Franks before a switch to the blindside saw Jane finish well in the corner.

The turnaround was a chance for Robbie Deans to rally his troops who were 32-14 down.  However, the comeback that the coach was looking for was not forthcoming as Mitchell's second yellow -- for slapping down the ball in touch -- put the game beyond doubt.

Adam Ashley-Cooper did pull the scores back to 39-21 after his opposite number Muliaina had gone over to complete his rather simple brace, but then Joe Rokocoko, Rocky Elsom and Corey Flynn rounded off New Zealand's eighth-straight win over the Wallabies.

Man-of-the-match:  So many stood out but we have gone for Richie McCaw, who provided yet again for the All Blacks.  Mentions too for Brad Thorn, Cory Jane and Mils Muliaina.

Moment-of-the-match:  No question about this one as Cory Jane's chip over the top for Mils Muliaina was breathtaking.  Despite being semi-tackled by Rocky Elsom, the 'Canes man found his full-back for an excellent score that hurt the Wallabies deeply.

Villain-of-the-match:  Maybe slightly harsh but the official who pinged Drew Mitchell for an alleged no-arm tackle.  We still haven't seen when and where it happened as Australia were attacking at the time.  Explain, anyone?

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Mitchell, Ashley-Cooper, Elsom
Con:  Giteau 2
Pen:  Giteau 3

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Carter, Muliaina 2, McCaw, Jane, Rokocoko, Flynn
Con:  Carter 4
Pen:  Carter 2

Australia:  15 Adam Ashley Cooper, 14 James O'Connor, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Will Genia, 8 Richard Brown, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom (c), 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 Saia Faingaa, 17 James Slipper, 18 Rob Simmons, 19 Matt Hodgson, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Anthony Faingaa, 22 Kurtley Beale.

New Zealand:  15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Joe Rokocoko, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Tom Donnelly, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Corey Flynn, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Sam Whitelock, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Israel Dagg.

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa), Cobus Wessels (South Africa)
Television match official:  George Ayoub (Australia)

Tonga undone by penalty try

Japan scored a last-gasp penalty try to record a 26-23 victory over Tonga in the final round of Pacific Nations Cup in Apia on Sunday.

Having lost 24-23 to Samoa in the opening round and 41-38 to Fiji last week, the defeat was heartbreak for Tonga as they could only record their third losing bonus-point of the tournament.

Japan did not gain the try-scoring bonus point they required to stand any chance of winning the PNC title for the first time, however, meaning the winner would come from the final match of the tournament between Fiji and Samoa, with the latter sealing the deal.

Despite not being in contention for the title themselves at the beginning of the match, Tonga scored the first points after just three minutes.

Wing William Helu, playing in just his second match for Tonga, pounced on a loose ball after Japan's Alisi Tupuailai had knocked on, before showing a great turn of pace to dummy his way to the try line.

Kurt Morath added the conversion and a further penalty seven minutes later to give Tonga a 10-0 lead at Apia Park and Japan suffered a further setback when the influential Ryan Nicholas had to be stretchered off.

Fly-half James Arlidge scored two penalties for the Asian Five Nations champions before half time, however, to cut the deficit to four points and give John Kirwan's side some momentum for the second half.

As they had in the first half, however, Tonga scored within the opening three minutes of the restart with Morath making the scores 13-6 with his second penalty of the match, but Arlidge immediately hit back with his third.

Japan's prop Kensuke Hatakeyama, playing in his 14th test, scored their first try of the match in the 51st minute after several phases of play in the Tongan 22, which Arlidge converted to give Japan the lead for the first time.

Alipate Fatafehi scored a fine individual try in the 67th minute for Tonga to regain the lead after chasing his own kick to score under the posts and give Morath an easy conversion.

Arlidge and Morath exchanged further penalties in the last 10 minutes and at 23-16 it looked as though Tonga would record their first PNC 2010 victory but after losing captain Aleki Lutui to the sin-bin Japan's scrum took advantage and were finally awarded a penalty try which Arlidge converted to secure the win.

Japan captain Takashi Kikutani said: ''I had trust in my players and despite when we were down during the game, I kept on challenging the boys to give their best.  We are happy about the win but we need to improve in a few areas as we prepare for other matches we play this year and next.''

The scorers:

For Japan:
Tries:  Hatakeyama, Penalty Try
Cons:  Arlidge 2
Pens:  Arlidge 4

For Tonga:
Tries:  Helu, Fatafehi
Cons:  Morath 2
Pens:  Morath 3

The teams:

Japan:  15 Kaoru Matsushita, 14 Kosuke Endo, 13 Alisi Tupuailei, 12 Ryan Nicholas, 11 Hirotoki Onozawa, 10 James Arlidge, 9 Fumiaki Tanaka, 8 Ryu Holani, 7 Touetsu Taufa, 6 Takashi Kikutani (c), 5 Toshizumi Kitagawa, 4 Hitoshi Ono, 3 Kensuke Hatakeyama, 2 Shota Horie, 1 Hisateru Hirashima.
Replacements:  16 Hiroki Yuhara, 17 Naoki Kawamata, 18 Luke Thompson, 19 Michael Leitch, 20 Koji Wada, 21 Shaun Webb, 22 Ryo Kanazawa.

Tonga:  15 Vungakoto Lilo, 14 William Helu, 13 Alipate Fatafehi, 12 Andrew Mailei, 11 Alaska Taufa, 10 Kurt Morath, 9 Mahe Fangupo, 8 Sione Kalamafoni (c), 7 Haani Halaeua, 6 Kelepi Halafihi, 5 Steve Mafi, 4 Alepini Olosoni, 3 Makoni Finau, 2 Sione Vaiomounga, 1 Toma Toke.
Replacements:  16 Aleki Lutui, 17 Po'alo'i Taula, 18 Aloisio Mailangi, 19 Paula Kata, 20 Samisoni Fisilau, 21 Manu Ahota'e'iloa, 22 Saia Fekitoa.

Referee:  Steve Walsh New Zealand
Assistant Referees:  Tui Komiti, Kelekolio Petelo (both Samoa)

Wallabies rampant in Brisbane

The Tri-Nations trophy is set to change hands in 2010 after the Springboks conceded their third straight defeat, going down 30-13 to Australia at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.

With a team packed with Brisbane-based players from the Reds, the national side used similar tactics to the Super 14 franchise to fracture the South African defence by moving the ball around at pace.

The sides scored two tries a piece, but the Wallabies domination of the breakdown forced the men in green and gold to bleed penalties.

As the scoreline suggests, the Wallabies were in charge from the start and two yellow cards didn't help the South African cause.  Once again there will be cries from the Republic in protest to some inconsistent refereeing but few will dispute that Australia were the superior team on the day.

The defending champions will now head from their three-match tour without a single tournament point, making a title defence near-impossible.

Its was déjà vu all over again for the Boks as they were down to fourteen men in the opening minutes for the third time in as many weeks.  Jaque Fourie was the guilty party this week -- for tip tackle -- but unlike in New Zealand the visitors were able to weather the storm and didn't concede points before the centre's return.

But even with a full quota on the field, the Springboks struggled to contain their free-running hosts.  A few too many missed tackles had Australia rushing forward and the pressure resulted in a 12-3 lead after 30 minutes with Matt Giteau faultless from the kicking tee.

As expected, David Pocock made a real nuisance of himself at the rucks and on a couple of occasions chucked a spanner in the opposition works when they looked set to strike back.

A fudged Springbok line-out on the stroke on half time allowed the Wallabies to open a healthy gap as Drew Mitchell juggled his way over the line, sending the teams to the changing rooms with the hosts up 17-3.

Australia pressed home their advantage after the break as Giteau and James O'Connor added a penalty each to stretch the lead to 23-3.

The second of those penalties saw BJ Both sent to the bin for killing the Wallabies' ball in an attacking position.  Quade Cooper was also given his marching orders for a lifting tackle and the visitors used their extra man to build some momentum.

A quick-tap penalty from Ruan Pienaar opened the way for Fourie to muscle his way over from short range but the horse had already bolted.

South Africa sparked hopes of a late comeback when Gurthro Steenkamp charged over after a line-out inside the last ten minutes.

But he hosts would have the last laugh however as Will Genia dived over after being set up by a rolling maul in the dying minutes, capping a super performance by the Wallabies and sending the world champions home to think again.

Man of the match:  Tough one to call with both Rocky Elsom and David Pocock putting in huge performances.  We'll give it to the latter for his tireless work at the breakdown.

Moment of the match:  Australia had been drifting further and further ahead but Drew Mitchell's try essentially ended the game as a contest.  It summed up the day:  The Springboks failed to do the basics right and were caught out by the pace of the Aussie attack.

Villain of the match:  Fourie and Cooper were both guilty of lifting the man in the tackle, but neither incident looked nasty enough to merit the ''villain'' tag.

The scorers

For Australia:
Tries:  Mitchell, Genia
Con:  O'Connor
Pens:  Giteau 5, O'Connor

For South Africa:
Tries:  Fourie, Steenkamp
Pen:  Steyn

Yellow cards:  Fourie (SA -- 3rd min -- dangerous tackle);  Botha (SA -- 46th min -- cynical offside);  Cooper (Aus -- 54th min -- dangerous tackle)

Australia:  15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 James O'Connor, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Richard Brown, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom (c), 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Saia Fainga'a, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 Stephen Moore, 17 James Slipper, 18 Rob Simmons, 19 Ben McCalman, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Berrick Barnes, 22 Kurtley Beale.

South Africa:  15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Wynand Oliver, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Ryan Kankowski, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Danie Rossouw, 3 BJ Botha, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.
Replacements:  16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Dewald Potgieter, 20 Francois Hougaard, 21 Butch James, 22 Juan de Jongh.

Venue:  Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Referee:  George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees:  Keith Brown (New Zealand), Vinny Munro (New Zealand)
Television match official:  Matt Goddard (Australia)
Assessor:  Steve Hilditch

Flawless All Blacks do it again

New Zealand repeated their heroics of last week's Tri-Nations opener with another polished performance to beat South Africa 31-17 at Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Saturday.

It was a bad case of deja vu for the Boks as once again the All Blacks took advantage of a yellow card shown early on -- this time to banned Bakkies Botha's replacement Danie Rossouw -- that resulted in ten points in ten minutes.

From then on in it was always going to be a mountain to climb for the visitors.  And while they showed a lot of character to claw their way back and narrow the lead to 13-7 at half-time, the home side were just far too clinical after the break to claim successive bonus point wins over the world champions and ensure their two home fixtures yielded the maximum ten points.

Truth be told, the hosts should have buried South Africa considering the defending champions' inconsistent defensive efforts, their inability to adapt to Alain Rolland's relaxed and sometimes negligent style of officiating, and their failure to impose themselves on attack.

Indeed, Irish eyes weren't smiling on the Springboks on a wintry night in the New Zealand capital and at times, it certainly looked like John Smit's men were up against sixteen men.

The yellow card for foul play aside, there were key instances in the game that either went unnoticed or unpunished that will leave fans of the oval ball fuming back in the Republic.

South Africa now limp across the Tasman to Australia pointless and seemingly bereft of ideas after another mauling by a highly-motivated All Blacks side whose superior inventiveness, precision and individual class was a joy to watch.

The Springbok attack was unimaginative, and were often smashed back by the hungrier All Blacks who read the South Africans' unimaginative play like a book.  Needless to say, a lot of work needs to be done before next weekend's clash with the Wallabies -- their discipline and attitude no doubt topping the list.

And the Boks can certainly count themselves lucky that Dan Carter had a bad day with the boot, after the All Blacks pivot missed five shots at goal to lend the scoreline an unreflective look.

Rossouw, making his 50th Test appearance in place of the suspended Botha, was earlier the villain of the peace after a skirmish with Richie McCaw saw him sent to the sin bin just four minutes in.  Looking back on the replay, a fired up Rossouw dished out a tap kick to the thigh of McCaw that, in all seriousness, wouldn't have hurt his grandmother.

And the hosts capitalised clinically, racing into a 10-0 lead with their opponents a man down.

Ma'a Nonu opened the scoring, powering over a ruck of bodies on seven minutes and just managing to ground the ball.  Carter, who had missed an earlier penalty, was again off target with the conversion.

Smit gave his troops a stern talking to before the restart, however his words had little effect as just five minutes later the home side struck again.

A fine break from Piri Weepu sliced open the Springboks' static defence and full-back Mills Muliaina -- who showed impressive pace -- raced away down the right wing to score clinically in the corner.  Carter continued his 100 per cent failure record, however his latest effort was the toughest yet under a swirling wind at the Westpac Stadium.

Rossouw returned to the field minutes later, however the wave of attacks from the men in black refused to relent and Carter landed his first effort in four attempts on the half hour.

Despite spending the majority of the first half on the back foot, South Africa grabbed a lifeline three minutes before the break when Rossouw crashed over and Morne Steyn added the extras.

Any hopes of a comeback were soon put to bed though as Rene Ranger marked his first Test start with a try six minutes after the break.  The try followed an incident where Ranger was let off for a shoulder charge on Zane Kirchner in plain sight of the referee and his assistant Alan Lewis.  If he's cited, it will affirm the fact that the Wellington officials made a costly gaffe in failing to show him yellow.

Carter, who missed the subsequent conversion, was then taken off kicking duties as Weepu tried his luck.  The move paid dividends on 51 minutes when the robust scrum-half expertly slotted over a 40-metre effort to put the All Blacks 21-10 to the good.

A bonus-point win was sealed 14 minutes later, replacement Israel Dagg producing two sizzling sidesteps past Pierre Spies, Schalk Burger and Kirchner before touching down.

Burger barged his way over for a late consolation, however the All Blacks were full value for their second successive bonus-point win and are now in pole position to regain the title.

Man of the match:  Once again, all the All Blacks played well.  Kieran Read led another impressive forward effort, while Dan Carter was able to probe with his boot or let the ball out to the outside backs who were a constant threat.  Acting as the link, and an ideal choice under the circumstances, was scrum-half Piri Weepu.  He thrived in the conditions, feeding the ball consistently while making breaks efficiently to ensure the advantage line was continually broken.

Moment of the match:  There were a few, but Israel Dagg's superb individual try to seal the deal was the icing at the Cake Tin.

Villain of the match:  Last week it was bad boy Baakie's Botha who crippled his team in the first half with a needless sin binning and this week his replacement Danie Rossouw followed suit.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Nonu, Muliana, Ranger, Dagg
Con:  Carter
Pens:  Carter 2, Weepu

For South Africa:
Tries:  Rossouw, Burger
Cons:  Steyn 2
Pen:  Steyn

Yellow card:  Rossouw, 3 min (South Africa, foul play)

New Zealand:  15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Rene Ranger, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Tom Donnelly, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Corey Flynn, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Sam Whitelock, 19 Liam Messam, 20 Jimmy Cowan, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Israel Dagg.

South Africa:  15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Jean de Villiers, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Wynand Oliver, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Danie Rossouw, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Replacements:  16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 BJ Botha, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Ryan Kankowski, 20 Ruan Pienaar, 21 Butch James, 22 Gio Aplon.

Referee:  Alain Rolland (Ireland)

Samoa pip Tonga in Apia

Samoa fought off a spirited Tongan challenge to record a 24-23 victory in the second game of the 2010 Pacific Nations Cup in Apia on Sunday.

Kurt Morath kicked 13 points for the visitors but tries from Junior Poluleuigaga, a penalty and Sevens star Mikaele Pesamino secured the victory for the hosts in the sweltering heat.

Tonga have never beaten Samoa in the PNC, but with a number of new players and coach, former All Black Isitolo Maka, the Ikale Tahi came the closest yet in their first match in this year's tournament.

Kurt Morath put the visitors ahead early in the first half before Samoa's full back Paul Williams levelled the scores at 3-3, but the son of All Blacks' Bryan Williams missed two further penalties before Morath restored Tonga's three-point advantage with his second penalty.

The Samoan forwards, who were dominant throughout the match, laid the platform for scrum half Junior Poluleuigaga to scamper over the line, however, with Sevens star Lolo Lui converting to give the hosts a 10-6 lead at half time.

After the restart Morath narrowed the scores to 10-9 with his third penalty after 51 minutes but five minutes later the Tongan defence were penalised as the Samoan forwards once again proved their superiority in the scrum and were awarded a penalty try which Lui converted.

In the 65th minute Tonga clawed their way back into the match again, however, as a pass from Lui in attack saw Tongan full back Vungakato Lilo intercept and race 80 metres to cross under the posts despite the best efforts of Mikaele Pesamino.

The IRB Sevens Player of the Year Pesamino gave the crowd what they had been waiting for with 10 minutes to go, however, as he all but secured victory.

After receiving the ball from Sevens teammate Uale Mai, he crossed in the corner and Lui added the difficult conversion, which would prove to be crucial, and give the hosts some breathing space at 24-16.

Tonga were not done yet though and scored an impressive try as their backs decided to run from deep with wing Alaska Taufa the beneficiary of some fine passing to score.  Morath added the conversion to take his match tally to 13 and give Tonga some momentum heading into the next round of matches, but the Samoans held on to win their opening match 24-23.

Samoa play Japan next week, who lost to Fiji in the opening match 22-8 in Lautoka on Saturday, whilst Tonga meet Fiji.

Samoa captain Mahonri Scwalger said: ''The team has just come together and we needed some time to get going.  We knew Tonga would be strong but we targeted their line out and scrum and the heat played a role in the match as well.''

Tonga captain Aleki Lutui said: ''There are a lot of young players in the team and it will take some time to get going.  There is a lot of work needed as we have to get the basics right and get our combinations correct before the next match.  We scored some opportunist tries, which was good but we need to work on getting more into the game.''

The scorers:

For Samoa:
Tries:  Poluleuligaga, Pesamino, Penalty Try
Cons:  Lui 3
Pen:  Williams

For Tonga:
Tries:  Taufa, Lilo
Cons:  Morath 2
Pens:  Morath 3

The teams:

Samoa:  15 Paul Williams, 14 Mikaele Pesamino, 13 George Pisi, 12 Jamie Helleur, 11 David Lemi, 10 Lolo Lui, 9 Junior Poluleuligaga, 8 George Stowers, 7 Falemiga Selesele, 6 Iosefa Tekori, 5 Kane Thompson, 4 Filipo Lavea Levi, 3 Sakaria Taulafo, 2 Mahonri Schwalger, 1 Anthony Perenise.
Replacements: 16 Andrew Williams, 17 James Afoa, 18 Manaia Salave'a, 19 Alafoti Faosiliva, 20 Uale Mai, 21 Fautua Otto, 22 Uarotafou Setu.

Tonga:  15 Vungakoto Lilo, 14 Alaska Taufa, 13 Saia Fekitoa, 12 Andrew Ma'ilei, 11 Manu Ahotaeiloa, 10 Kurt Morath, 9 Daniel Morath, 8 tbc, 7 Paula Kata, 6 Kelepi Halafihi, 5 Alepini Olosoni, 4 Akameta Feao, 3 Pa'alo'i Taula, 2 Aleki Lutui (c), 1 Toma Toke.
Replacements:  16 Sione Vaiomounga, 17 Sione Fukofuka, 18 Sitiveni Mafi, 19 Atunaisa Sikalu, 20 Samisoni Fisilau, 21 Fangatapu Apikotoa, 22 Alipate Fatafehi.

Referee:  Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)

All Blacks dominate Tri-Nations opener

New Zealand retained their world number one ranking thanks to a commanding 32-12 win over South Africa at Eden Park on Saturday.

It doesn't get better than this.  The world's two best rugby teams didn't disappoint as they delivered the top-class encounter we had all expected.

However, the defending Tri-Nations champions could not match their hosts' attacking prowess as New Zealand romped home as four-tries-to-none winners.

A dominant first half from the All Blacks -- helped by a yellow card for Bakkies Botha -- saw the hosts lead 20-3 at half time.  The second half went much the same way as the home side out-muscled and out-thought the world champions.

Lethal on the counter attack, and near-faultless in defence, Richie McCaw's men thoroughly deserved their victory.

Many had predicted that the Springboks would rule the set piece but the All Blacks scrum will feel they won the day and their jumpers competed efficiently at the line-outs.

A couple of technical infringements from the All Blacks gave the visitors an early advantage as Morne Steyn slotted an easy penalty.

The lead was short-lived however as referee Alan Lewis sent Botha to the sin-bin for a professional foul when the hosts were in full attack.  Dan Carter did the job from the kicking-tee to make it all square at 3-all after fifteen minutes.

New Zealand soon pressed home their numerical advantage with Mils Muliaina launching a stunning counter-attack from deep inside his own territory to slice through the South African defence.  McCaw was up in support to supply the link to Conrad Smith, who finished in the corner.

Carter's conversion gave the men in black a 10-3 lead to end the first quarter with the momentum firmly with the home side.

Botha's return didn't prevent the Bok scrum from buckling under pressure, allowing Carter to extend the lead to ten points with his second penalty.

It was one-way traffic for the rest of the half and when Jean de Villiers went looking for an intercept rather than defend his wing, the All Blacks were allowed to strike again.  Ma'a Nonu bust through two tacklers to barge over from short range and as Carter added the extras, the writing was on the wall for the Springboks.

Seventeen points down at the break, the visitors needed to come up with something special in the second period and got off to a solid start as Steyn added two penalties soon after the restart, narrowing the gap to eleven points.

But the All Blacks crossed the whitewash for the third time with their first real attack of the half when Kieran Read made an unstoppable run to hit Piri Weepu's pop pass at pace and charge over.

The Springboks replied almost immediately with Steyn's fourth penalty but at 27-12 going into the last quarter, the result seemed beyond doubt.

Read took a quick penalty to allow Tony Woodcock to muscle his way over in the final minute to rub salt into South African wounds and secure the bonus point.

Man of the match:  A couple of names stand out.  Tom Donnelly and Ma'a Nonu trashed any doubts over their match readiness, Richie McCaw and Kieran Read ruled the battle of the loose forwards, but we'll go with Mils Muliaina, whose attacking vision is still as good as ever after all these years.

Moment of the match:  It looked pretty even in the early stages, but from the moment Muliaina set off on that run to set up Conrad Smith's try, all the momentum was with New Zealand.

Villain of the match:  Not for the first time, Bakkies Botha looks set for an appointment at a disciplinary hearing.  Within a few minutes of kick-off he was using his head -- but not for thinking.

The scorers

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Smith, Nonu, Read, Woodcock
Cons:  Carter 3
Pens:  Carter 2

For South Africa:
Pens:  Steyn 3

Yellow card:  Botha (SA, 13th min, professional foul)

New Zealand:  15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Joe Rokocoko, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Tom Donnelly, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:16 Corey Flynn, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Samuel Whitelock, 19 Liam Messam, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Richard Kahui.

South Africa:15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Jean de Villiers, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.
Replacements:16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 BJ Botha, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Danie Rossouw, 20 Ruan Pienaar, 21 Butch James, 22 Gio Aplon.

Venue:  Eden Park, Auckland
Referee:  Alan Lewis (Ireland)
Assistant referees:  Alain Rolland (Ireland), Stuart Dickinson (Australia)

Samoa clinch Pacific Nations Cup

Samoa recorded a dramatic 31-9 victory over Fiji in Apia on Sunday to clinch their first ever Pacific Nations Cup title.

Having already won the IRB Sevens World Series this year, the PNC triumph is another feather in the cap of Samoan rugby, and it was IRB Sevens Player of the Year nominee Alafoti Fa'osiliva who stole the show late on at Apia Park.

Following their loss to Japan last week, the Samoans needed a try-scoring bonus-point and a winning margin of more than 13 points to win the PNC for the first time and scored their first try of the afternoon when lock Joe Tekori scored in the 16th minute.

Lolo Lui added the conversion, and the crowd erupted when Mikaele Pesamino demonstrated why he was named IRB Sevens Player of the Year in the 22nd minute, chipping over the Fijian defence before showing great speed to collect and score.

Fiji were also looking for their first ever PNC title and hit back with three Taniela Rawaqa penalties, one before and two after half time, to cut the deficit to 14-9 and with just 15 minutes left to play, despite trailing by five points, Fiji looked to be on their way to the title as Samoa needed to score two more tries.

But Fa'osiliva was brought on by Fuimaono Tafua and had an immediate impact scoring two tries in the space of three minutes spurred on by the home crowd.

Fa'osiliva's first came from a Samoan scrum on the Fiji tryline as he picked up the ball from the base and powered across the line.  Lui missed the conversion but was on hand to convert Fa'osiliva's second.

Census Johnston's determination paid off in the build up after he chased Lui's clearance kick from the Fiji restart and was on hand to pounce on a Fijian fumble.

The prop kicked ahead and F'osiliva showed incredible speed and composure to also kick the ball closer to the try line, before collecting and scoring Samoa's fourth try to the delight of the crowd at Apia Park.

Any hopes Fiji had of a comeback were dashed when they lost Rupeni Nasiga to the sin bin, however, before David Lemi and Uale Mai combined to secure the 31-9 victory for the hosts, with the latter crossing and Lui adding the conversion.

Samoa captain Mahonri Schwalger said:  ''This win was for the people of Samoa.We came into the game with no pressure but just to give our best shot and prove our worth to the people of Samoa.''

Samoa coach Fuimaono Titimaea:  ''This is exactly what we wanted and I'm so proud of the boys' performance as they followed the plan we set for the match.  The players just did all the right things.''

The scorers:

For Samoa:
Tries:  Tekori, Pesamino, Faosilivia 2, Mai
Cons:  Lui 3

For Fiji:
Pens:  Maravunwasawasa 3

The teams:

Samoa:  15 Paul Williams, 14 Mikaele Pesamino, 13 George Pisi, 12 Jamie Helleur, 11 David Lemi, 10 Lolo Lui, 9 Uale Mai, 8 George Stowers, 7 Manaia Salavea, 6 Ofisa Treviranus, 5 Joe Tekori, 4 Kane Thompson, 3 Anthony Perenise, 2 Mahonri Schwalger (c), 1 Sakaria Taulafo.
Replacements:  16 Andrew Williams, 17 Census Johnston, 18 Filipo Levi, 19 Alafoti Faosilivia, 20 Junior Poluleuligaga, 21 Fautua Otto, 22 Rupeni Levasa.

Fiji:  15 Taniela Maravunwasawasa, 14 Ropate Ratu, 13 Sireli Naqelevuki, 12 Iliesa Keresoni, 11 William Saukuru, 10 Jonetani Ralulu, 9 Nikola Matawalu, 8 Mosese Volavola, 7 Samu Bolatagane Volau, 6 Dominiko Waqaniburotu (c), 5 Leone Nakarawa, 4 Sekonaia Kalou, 3 Alefoso Yalayalatabua, 2 Viliame Veikoso, 1 Campese Ma'afu.
Replacements:  16 Talemaitoga Tuapatu, 17 Graham Dewes, 18 Rupeni Nasiga, 19 Dale Mataluvu, 20 Kelemedi Bolatagane, 21 Josatiki Naisilisili, 22 Epeli Ruivadra.

Referee:  Romain Poite (France)
Assistant Referees:  James Bolabiu, Samuela Tuidraki (both Fiji)

Pumas run riot in Buenos Aires

France's woes on tour continued on Saturday after Argentina piled on the points to record a memorable 41-13 win at the José Amalfitani Stadium in Buenos Aires.

The Pumas were full value for their victory with fly-half Felipe Contepomi contributing 31 of his side's points thanks to two tries, three conversions and five penalties -- a sterling performance from the home side's skipper.

Argentina achieved their highest score and biggest margin against France, which completed a disastrous tour of the southern hemisphere, including a 42-17 mauling from the Springboks two weeks ago.

The previous worse result for the French against Argentina came in the third place play-off at the 2007 World Cup when they lost 34-10.

Both sides were desperate to end their disappointing mid-year seasons on a high, with Les Bleus favourites to take the spoils against a team that just lost a two-Test series against Scotland.  Instead, the Six Nations champs were humbled for the second time on a forgetful trip by a classy Argentinean outfit that saved their best for last.

It was a welcome return to winning ways for the hosts, who outscored their visitors four tries to one with number eight Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe and wing Lucas González Amorosino adding to Contepomi's brace while Julien Malzieu touched down for France's only five-pointer.

France may have got on the scoreboard first thanks to a Jerome Porical penalty, but it was all Argentina from then on in as the South Americans -- led by an inspiring Contepomi -- continued to convert pressure into points.

Four penalties from the Pumas fly-half gave the Pumas the lead which they soon stretched to 19-6 at half-time, which was helped along by the sin-binning of France centre Florian Fritz.  Argentina took full advantage of fourteen men, and scored a length-of-the-field try sparked by and ended off in the corner by Lobbe.

The French had clearly been rattled by the physicality of Argentina's players and failed to make inroads with any of their attacks.  They looked every bit a side filled with players who have come off a long and taxing season, while the Pumas were visibly up for it.

Contepomi then added to his points haul nine minutes after the restart with a converted try, however France's Malzieu provided some resistance with his score in the 49th minute with Morgan Parra adding the conversion to make it 26-13 ... but that was as close as they got.

With the French defence stretched, Amorosino virtually sealed the result with a 60th minute try following a swallow dive in the corner.  Scrum-half Nicolas Vergallo took the ball from a ruck and gave it to Contepomi.  He passed to winger Martin Rodriguez Gurruchaga who swept the ball on to Amorosino who crossed for Argentina's third try of the game.

Contepomi failed to convert but added a penalty in the 65th minute.  And the skipper rounded off his fine display by again avoiding France's weak defence to touch down for his brace.  He added another conversion to put the finishing touches to a convincing win.

''It's desolation,'' said stunned France coach Marc Lievremont after the match.

''I don't know how we could sink so badly in these few weeks, to suffer two points records in South Africa and now here in Argentina.

''I expected tough matches, but these defeats are ridiculous.  It was a nightmare.''

We couldn't have put it better ourselves.

Man of the match:  This impressive and brutally effective performance by the Pumas was spearheaded by points machine Felipe Contepomi -- who needs Juan Martin Hernandez when you got this guy?

Moment of the match:  Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe struck a decisive blow when he crossed the chalk just before half-time to send his side down the tunnel ahead.

Villain of the match:  The yellow card to Florian Fritz proved to be a costly one as France never got back in the game following the centre's ten-minute break.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Tries:  Lobbe, Contepomi 2, Amorosino
Cons:  Contepomi 3
Pens:  Contepomi 5

For France:
Tries:  Malzieu
Cons:  Parra
Pens:  Porical, Parra

Yellow card:  Fritz, 36 mins (France -- repeated offences at the breakdown)

Argentina:  15 Martín Rodríguez, 14 Lucas González Amorosino, 13 Gonzalo Tiesi, 12 Santiago Fernández, 11 Rafael Carballo, 10 Felipe Contepomi, 9 Nicolás Vergallo, 8 Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe, 7 Alejandro Campos, 6 Genaro Fessia, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Martín Scelzo, 2 Mario Ledesma, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements:  16 Agustín Creevy, 17 Marcos Ayerza, 18 Juan Figallo, 19 Mariano Galarza, 20 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 21 Agustín Figuerola, 22 Horacio Agulla.

France:  15 Jerome Porical, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Lionel Mazars, 12 Florian Fritz, 11 Julien Malzieu, 10 Francois Trinh-Duc, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Julien Bonnaire , 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Lionel Nallet, 4 Pascal Papé, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Fabien Barcella.
Replacements:  16 Guillem Guirado, 17 Jean-Baptise Poux, 18 Julien Pierre, 19 Gregory Lamboley, 20 Dimitri Yachvili, 21 Maxime Mermoz, 22 Clément Poitrenaud.

Referee:  Stuart Dickinson (Australia)

South Africa stamp their authority

South Africa banished last week's disappointing victory over Italy from memory with a 55-11 thrashing of the Azzurri on Saturday.

Leading only 27-6 at the break -- almost identical to last week -- the Boks kept up the momentum in the second half, racking up three more second-half tries as they proved simply too powerful for their guests in East London.

Yet there could still be some lingering dissatisfaction at this Springbok performance.  Their power advantage up front was huge -- it was like a monster truck going head-to-head with a Fiat Uno at times -- but despite the amount of front foot ball the backs just did not really get going.

The finest handling movement of the first half came from the forwards when Pierre Spies scored his try.  That may not matter against the Italys of this world but it will against the Australias and New Zealands.

It is a playing style and it worked here, but South African fans ought to be mildly -- mildly -- concerned that outside Morne Sten, there really didn't seem to be any threat at all.

As far as Italy go ... well, they'll have learned a bit more.  The way the team kept diligently to its task and kept its shape in defence and attack, well enough to fashion a fine try for young wing Michele Sepe in the second half and stop the South African driving maul from forming, again goes to show the strides made under Nick Mallett.  Yet it is questionable whether there is enough latent talent in the team to develop any further beyond this.  Italy still awaits a couple more players with a little something extra.

Sergio Parisse is one of those kinds of player, but the problem is at the moment, he is trying to do far too much.  Twice in this match he attempted to launch Zinzan Brooke-style drop goals, neither of which worked in the slightest.

At other times -- including a memorable sidestep of Bryan Habana -- he was scintillating, an adjective that could be applied to nobody else on the field.

Steyn got the home side off to a good start with an early penalty but that was cancelled out by one from Mirco Bergamasco as Italy asserted themselves at the scrum.

But it was the Bok forwards who asserted their authority in the loose, with a 20m driven maul providing the platform for Steyn to shimmy and go for his team's first try.

A high tackle by Schalk Burger on Manoa Vosawai -- when will Burger learn -- enabled Bergamasco to pull it back to 10-6, but with Pierre Spies, Francois Louw, Burger and Andries Bekker all striding purposefully forward and giving Ricky Januarie a stream of easy ball, Italy began to be worn down.

Stayen extended the lead to 20-6, with a penalty and then a try from Bryan Habana's offload, which he converted himself.  Then, shortly before half-time, the try of the match:  a neat straight-angled run from Bekker, a pass out to Spies and the number eight left winger Bergamasco trailing in his wake.  Steyn made it 27-6.

Italy defended well in the second half against a Springbok side intent on bashing down all doors, but it could not be withstood for ever.  Jannie du Plessis and Flip van der Merwe both finished off forward charges with close-range tries, while Bryan Habana finished off a neat blindside move involving Steyn once again.

Italy manufactured a face-saving score for Michele Sepe as South Africa's replacements halted momentum, but BJ Botha profited from more foward supremacy with the final movement of the game, again plunging over from close range.

Man of the match:  He left early, but he was the clear difference between the teams in the first half.  Take a bow Morne Steyn.

Moment of the match:  Sergio Parisse produced several moments of skill, but his break down the left off a line-out stood out -- not least for skinning Bryan Habana!

Villain of the match:  The singer of the Italian national anthem for that shirt, and the stadium security, for allowing vuvuzelas into the stadium.  When will they give up on those silly trumpets?

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Steyn 2, Spies, Du Plessis, Habana, Van der Merwe, BJ Botha
Cons:  Steyn 5, Pienaar 2
Pens:  Steyn 2

For Italy:
Try:  Sepe
Pens:  Bergamasco 2

South Africa:  15 Gio Aplon, 14 Jean de Villiers, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Juan de Jongh, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Francois Louw, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Replacements:  16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 BJ Botha, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Dewald Potgieter, 20 Ruan Pienaar, 21 Butch James, 22 Wynand Oliver.

Italy:  15 Luke McLean, 14 Michele Sepe, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Andrea Masi, 11 Mirco Bergamasco, 10 Craig Gower, 9 Simon Picone, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Manoa Vosawai, 6 Paul Derbyshire, 5 Marco Bortolami, 4 Carlo Antonio Del Fava, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Fabio Ongaro, 1 Salvatore Perugini.
Replacements:  16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 Franco Sbaraglini, 18 Quintin Geldenhuys, 19 Alessandro Zanni, 20 Tito Tebaldi, 21 Riccardo Bocchino, 22 Matteo Pratichetti.

Referee:  Keith Brown (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  Andrew Small (England), Andy Macpherson (Scotland)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

Ireland let chance slip in Australia

Australia got back on the Test horse on Saturday -- but it was far from an impressive showing in a 22-15 win over Ireland at Suncorp Stadium.

This talented group of Wallabies certainly had plenty of unwanted questions that were needing to be answered after that ldefeat to England in Sydney.  And this stuttering performance failed to turn captain Rocky Elsom's frown upside down.

That was because it was Ireland who came out of the blocks the stronger as they looked to avoid a run of five-straight defeats, which all began at Croke Park against Six Nations rivals Scotland.

That air of desperation seemed to help the Irish cause though, with Jonathan Sexton following on from his kicking effort against the New Zealand Maori with another strong effort eight days on.

Despite the Leinster back's solidity from the tee that saw him score fifteen points that all came before the break, Ireland probably should have had themselves a decent cushion had they not handed Luke Burgess a gift of a try with a quarter gone.  The charitable mood then continued right on the hooter when Quade Cooper slipped Niall Ronan and Shane Jennings to take the wind out of Ireland's sails.

Had they not coughed up those ten points during the first 40, the tourists would have had themselves a healthy 6-15 lead in what was a warm-up for this duo's Pool clash in World Cup 2011.  However, many of those expected to occupy the stage in Auckland were not in attendance today due to injury, so neither will take much from events that transpired.

Both sides had hinted at an attacking approach to the game, but it was not until late in the second half that either backline was able to find real space.

For the Australians, skipper Elsom was typically strong, but Drew Mitchell and Kurtley Beale missed an opportunity to impress in the backs.

After trailing for the majority of the first half, the Wallabies snatched a 16-15 lead going into the break, courtesy of Cooper's attacking flair.  The Reds star created something from nothing as he danced his way through an invisible gap well after the siren.

Earlier, the Australians had first use of the ball, but it was the Irish who had first points on the board when Sexton sunk a penalty in the second minute, after Cooper was judged offside by referee Bryce Lawrence.

The chance to level the scores came just minutes later for the Aussies, but after a scratchy performance with the boot against England last weekend it appeared Matt Giteau's radar was still out and his kick from right in front sailed left of the uprights.

An intercept from Rob Horne was called back for a knock-on, but from the scrum Luke Burgess made it second time lucky with an intercept of his own to run in the first try of the match and give the Wallabies their lead for the first time.

The Wallabies were forced to shuffle their backline with the resumption of the second half, sending Beale to fullback, Adam Ashley-Cooper to centre and James O'Connor to the wing, after their starting outside centre Horne was forced out with a gluteal strain.

Unfortunately for Beale, his first significant contribution for the Australians was not a good one;  with space out wide and the try line almost within reach, the Waratahs star opted for to send in a grubber that steamed over the backline.

Play was eventually called back and Giteau registered his first successful kick of the match to give the Wallabies first blood in the second half.

As the contest began to open up for the first time, the Wallaby backline showed signs of clicking into gear but, once again, a penalty conceded by the Irish close to the line ensured the points continued to accumulate in threes.

The Australians continued to attack in the late stages of the second half, but regular handling mistakes stopped them from increasing the lead in the low-scoring second half.

Man-of-the-match:  Few stood out but the effort from Mick O'Driscoll needs to be rewarded.  His coolness under pressure led an inexperienced pack that more than held its own.

Moment-of-the-match:  The forced pass from number eight Chris Henry that Luke Burgess gobbled up before scoring cost Ireland.  A painful lesson on debut.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Burgess, Cooper
Con:  Cooper
Pen:  Cooper 2, Giteau 2

For Ireland:
Pen:  Sexton 5

Australia:  15 James O'Connor, 14 Drew Mitchell, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Richard Brown, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom (c), 5 Mark Chisholm, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Saia Faingaa, 1 Ben Daley.
Replacements:  16 Huia Edmonds, 17 James Slipper, 18 Mitchell Chapman, 19 Matt Hodgson, 20 Josh Valentine, 21 Berrick Barnes, 22 Kurtley Beale.

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (c), 12 Paddy Wallace, 11 Andrew Trimble, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Tomas O'Leary, 8 Chris Henry, 7 Shane Jennings, 6 Niall Ronan, 5 Mick O'Driscoll, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 Tony Buckley, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Damien Varley, 17 Tom Court, 18 Dan Tuohy, 19 Rhys Ruddock, 20 Eoin Reddan, 21 Ronan O'Gara, 22 Geordan Murphy.

Referee:  Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  Wayne Barnes (England), Chris Pollock (New Zealand)

New Zealand take tight Welsh Test

New Zealand wrapped up their two-Test series against Wales with a tight 29-10 victory in Hamilton on Saturday.

Once again, it was New Zealand's ability to turn pressure into points that counted, but this time it was from the boot of Dan Carter as the Welsh allowed no repeat of last week's five-try demolition.

Both sides tightened up considerably from the first Test, but the Welsh considerably more so.  While the records will show a three-try game, two of those tries came in the final three minutes, one from Wales when they were 19 behind and the game was up, one from New Zealand in the final minute against a Welsh side still too happy for just having scored to think about defending properly.

But for the preceding 79 minutes the Welsh had stifled the All Blacks well enough, only their inability to cope with the new tackle law policy, strictly applied by refere Jonathan Kaplan, gave New Zealand a steady stream of kicked penalties from Dan Carter, which was the game-winning aspect.

Otherwise, it was good news for the Welsh.  Their scrum was still the better, despite New Zealand's attempts to change this by installing two new props -- that has to be a worry for Graham Henry.

Dan Biggar played a solid game in his first outing against a major nation and showed enough flashes to suggest that more is to come.  Rob McCusker, on for the injured Ryan Jones after just twenty-odd minutes, also did not look out of his depth.

And again, the Welsh enjoyed plenty of possession.  But this time, the difference between those used to the new law policies and those still finding their feet (as opposed to being caught off them) was glaring.  New Zealand's defence was lightning fast to organise at all times, Wales' often left stretched and just plain slower to align.  Dare we opine this is because NH players are more used to slower ball as a result of their being used to slowing it down up north, while SH players don't bother any more?  We think we do.

The other difference between the teams was New Zealand's consistent ability to at least get to the gain line with the ball in hand.  Even from a standing start, their players know how to step and accelerate instinctively towards the gaps and just get that extra yard forward.  Wales, on the other hand, just looked hesitant before trying the same, as a result, they kept being tackled behind the gain line and struggling to build momentum, even with a stack of possession.

The same can be said of counter attack:  from long kicks, New Zealand players would set off at pace before darting inside and haring at a gap.  Later in the game, Leigh Halfpenny's attempt to do the same was marked for its lack of pace and its self-doubt.  There was no doubt about it in this game, the SH team was simply half a yard faster everywhere.

Wales made a solid start by Wales as they took a 3-0 lead in the second minute with a Leigh Halfpenny penalty from almost halfway after Cory Jane was penalised for not releasing Tom Prydie.

Both teams looked to use their kickers to gain field position early on in the wet conditions, although young fly-half Biggar had the confidence to step lock Tom Donnelly to make a break out of his own 22.

But after he fed Bradley Davies the attack faltered as the All Blacks swarmed on defence.

Wales then won a five metre scrum but wasted the good opportunity, after initially shoving the All Blacks backwards, when Adam Jones was adjudged to have faded on the hit and Carter cleared from the resulting free-kick.

But the All Blacks were starting to look dangerous with ball in hand as Richard Kahui and Benson Stanley started to make inroads in midfield.

Flanker Gavin Thomas was then caught for incorrect entry at the ruck and Carter levelled the scores with a penalty on 14 minutes.

Another promising attack by the Welsh -- which was sparked by a strong run down the right flank by scrum-half Mike Phillips -- fizzled out several phases later when Alun-Wyn Jones lost the ball in the tackle.

They were made to pay dearly as New Zealand got the game's opening try on 24 minutes when they spun the ball out wide from a ruck close to the Welsh line and Stanley put Jane in the gap to breeze past Biggar and touch down despite the tackle of Halfpenny.  Carter's conversion stretched the home side's lead to 10-3.

There was further woe for the Wales as their skipper Jones limped off with a leg injury to be replaced by McCusker.

Biggar had a chance to close the gap with a penalty when Tom Donnelly killed the ball at the breakdown but the 20-year-old mis-cued completely and the points went begging.

Carter returned the favour a couple of minutes later when he sent a penalty wide but he got another shot at goal on the stroke of half-time when Byrne was sin-binned for a lifting tackle on Donnelly close to the Welsh line and the All Blacks fly-half made no mistake.

More Welsh indiscipline after the break allowed Carter to extend the home side's lead to 22-3 with three more penalties and the game became scrappier as both coaches turned to their benches.

Biggar lost the ball forward on attack after some good strong running by Phillips and then Roberts was held up over the line when Guildford somehow managed to get his body underneath the centre.

More staunch All Blacks defence from a combination of Kahui and Guildford denied Jonathan Davies a minute later before Roberts finally earned some reward for the hard-working visitors.

But it was Cruden who had the final say when he chipped behind the on-rushing Welsh defence.  Byrne failed to ground the ball and the young fly-half pounced for his maiden Test try, Weepu adding the conversion.

Man of the match:  The effervescent Cory Jane once again sparkled, notching yet another try.

Moment of the match:  A nice touch at the end, with Aaron Cruden's first Test try.

Villain of the match:  Nothing -- even the anthems were nice this time!

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Jane, Cruden
Cons:  Carter, Weepu
Pens:  Carter 5

For Wales:
Try:  Roberts
Con:  S.  Jones
Pen:  Halfpenny

New Zealand:  15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Richard Kahui, 12 Benson Stanley, 11 Zac Guildford, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Tom Donnelly, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Neemia Tialata, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Aled de Malmanche, 17 Owen Franks, 18 Sam Whitelock, 19 Adam Thomson, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Rene Ranger.

Wales:  15 Lee Byrne, 14 Leigh Halfpenny, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Tom Prydie, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Ryan Jones (c), 7 Gavin Thomas, 6 Jonathan Thomas, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Paul James.
Replacements:  16 Huw Bennett, 17 Craig Mitchell, 18 Deiniol Jones, 19 Rob McCusker, 20 Richard Rees, 21 Stephen Jones, 22 Will Harries.

Referee:  Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Craig Joubert (South Africa), James Leckie (Australia)
TMO:  George Ayoub (Australia)

Maori edge epic against England

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The scorers:

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

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

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

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

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)

Scotland make history in Argentina

Scotland recorded an impressive if workmanlike 13-9 win over Argentina on Saturday, putting the seal on their series success in Mar del Plata.

The wet weather did not help the match in an attacking sense as Scotland looked to follow up their Tucaman success.  And that they did as a fine effort completed a double over the Pumas, who could not claw their way back after Jim Hamilton's early try was aided by Dan Parks' boot.

Scotland started the sprightlier with decent phase play that began inside their own half before a penalty saw last week's hero, Parks, push his forwards right into the corner.  And from that resulting line-out, it was the soon-to-be Gloucester lock who powered over for the opener on three minutes.  Parks' extras made it 0-7.

But after ten minutes of trying hard to find their feet and coughing up penalty after penalty, the hosts finally got onto the board via the boot of Felipe Contepomi after John Barclay had come off his feet at the breakdown.  It proved to be the first segment of a Puma-dominated period in the rain as Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe led from the front while his pivot knocked over another three on 20 minutes to cut the lead to one.

Ample offences were keeping French referee Christophe Berdos' arms busy but that did not halt what was becoming a free-flowing entertaining spectacle -- the sight of veteran Rodrigo Roncero rampaging in the open spaces being a pleasure to watch for everyone except defending full-back Hugo Southwell.

And it was Berdos' whistle that preceded Parks knocking over his second of the game from halfway as his fine tour continued, taking the score up to 6-10 closing in on the half-hour.  More was to come.

Scotland really are starting to look like a nation that is firmly buying into Andy Robinson's ideas, first apparent during the tail end of the Six Nations, and this double over the Pumas will be the ideal boost to their cause -- not least the fact the duo meet each other in the pool stages of the 2011 World Cup.

Argentina would do well to address their discipline ahead of that tasty group as their penalty offences were a problem and finally got to Berdos, who sent Roncero to the sin-bin with three minutes remaining until the interval.  Chance to get out of the rain for the doctor?

Santiago Phelan must have then dished out a few stern words to his men in the sheltered changing rooms, with the men in light blue showing a great deal more bite in defence upon the turnaround.  The tacklers did well to soak up the best that Scotland had to offer and you just sensed a passage of Puma pressure was not too far away as their response.

The momentum had swung dramatically with the brute force of the Argentine pack coming into the game and enjoying the close exchanges just five metres from the visiting line.  Three points on the hour from impressive full-back Martin Rodriguez -- taking over the kicking tee from a hobbling Contepomi -- was eventually their reward.

But Parks settled Scotland's nerves by kicking over from almost 40 metres and the visitors enjoyed a relatively comfortable spell despite a missed drop-goal from the fly-half.

The pressure then returned in the closing seconds but Scott MacLeod stole possession from an Argentinian line-out to spell the end of the home side's hopes as Robinson's outfit recorded three straight away wins for the first time since 1982 and their first ever away series win.  Good times for Scotland, but Argnetina have stepped back from the glory days of 2007.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Pen:  Contepomi 2, Rodriguez

For Scotland:
Tries:  Hamilton
Con:  Parks
Pen:  Parks 2

Argentina:  15 Martin Rodriguez, 14 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino, 13 Gonzalo Tiesi, 12 Santiago Fernandez, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Felipe Contepomi (c), 9 Agustin Figuerola, 8 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, 7 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 6 Genaro Fessia, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Martin Scelzo, 2 Mario Ledesma, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements:  16 Marcos Ayerza, 17 Santiago Guzman, 18 Alejandro Campos, 19 Agustin Creevy 20 Nicolas Vergallo, 21 Rafael Carballo, 22 Lucas Borges.

Scotland:  15 Hugo Southwell, 14 Sean Lamont, 13 Max Evans, 12 Graeme Morrison, 11 Simon Danielli, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Rory Lawson, 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 John Barclay, 6 Kelly Brown, 5 Alastair Kellock (captain), 4 Jim Hamilton, 3 Moray Low, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements:  16 Scott Lawson, 17 Alasdair Dickinson, 18 Scott MacLeod, 19 Alasdair Strokosch, 20 Mike Blair, 21 Phil Godman, 22 Nick De Luca.

Referee:  Christophe Berdos (France)

Springboks stutter to victory

South Africa got the job done against Italy in Witbank on Saturday -- winning 29-13 -- but the world champions failed to live up to their own high standards.

The score might suggest a lopsided encounter, but the action on the field was far more evenly balanced.

The Springboks lacked cohesion that saw them dominate France last week, which was perhaps unsurprising considering the number of changes to the side made both before and during the game.

The scoreline is Italy's best ever result against South Africa, not what one would have expected from the Springboks at home.

In stark contrast to their performance at Newlands, the home side made a number of handling errors and failed to impose their own rhythm.

The Springboks visited the Italian 22 just three times in the first half -- but crossed the whitewash on every occasion!

With the wind at their backs in the second period, the home side made sure that the result went their way, despite being outscored after the break.

Italy had hoped to rely on their strong scrum, but the Springbok starting front row will consider themselves victors of the set-piece battle.

Gurthrö Steenkamp in particular can hold his head high after an impressive display of power.  Martin Castrogiovanni's early departure didn't help the visitors although he wasn't able trouble his opposite number from the Bulls in his 20 minutes on the field.

Italy enjoyed plenty of early possession and territory, camping in the South African half for most of the first 40 minutes.  Mirco Bergamasco duly opened the scoring from the kicking tee with an easy penalty to reward the Azzurri for their strong start.

The hosts' reply came soon after the restart however as Morné Steyn leveled the scores with his metronomic boot.

The first try would come from turnover ball as the Italians looked to keep the pressure on.  Butch James linked with Zane Kirchner whose chip ahead bounced perfectly for a flying Bryan Habana to coast over.

The Springboks' second visit to the Italian 22 resulted in their second try, as the green-clad pack produced a solid maul from which Francois Louw broke away for his second try in as many weeks.

Steyn got the home team's third try with a neat step and dart to which he added the conversion to give South Africa a 22-3 lead at the break.

The Boks finally managed to build on some continuity and phase play in the second half, producing a try for Kirchner out wide, arguably the pick of the day's scores.

James was sent to the bin for a silly high tackle and Italy used the extra man to put skipper Sergio Parisse in for well-worked try.

James returned to take up the fly-half position with Ruan Pienaar on his inside but failed to ignite a back line that had flattered to deceive on attack for much of the afternoon.

Italy pulled three more points back with Bergamasco's second penalty.

The visitors finished well, turning the tables around on the Springboks' replacements in the scrums.

Italy piled the late pressure but were unable to crack the South African defence -- which was one of the few areas where Peter de Villiers' side was up to scratch.

Man of the match:  Impressive at scrum time, Gurthrö Steenkamp had another big game.

Moment of the match:  The result was already done and dusted, but credit to Italy for Sergio Parisse's try and for fighting back despite being way behind on the scoreboard.

Villain of the match:  James' tackle was silly, but not malicious, so no villain this week.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Habana, Louw, Steyn, Kirchner
Cons:  Steyn 3
Pen:  Steyn

For Italy:
Try:  Parisse
Con:  Bergamasco
Pens:  Bergamasco 2

Yellow card:  James (SA -- 53rd min -- High tackle);

South Africa:  15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Jean de Villiers, 12 Butch James, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Dewald Potgieter, 6 François Louw, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Replacements:  16 Bandise Maku, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Alistair Hargreaves, 19 Ryan Kankowski, 20 Ruan Pienaar, 21 Juan de Jongh, 22 Bjorn Basson.

Italy:  15 Luke McLean, 14 Kaine Robertson, 13 Andrea Masi, 12 Matteo Pratichetti, 11 Mirco Bergamasco, 10 Craig Gower, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Alessandro Zanni, 6 Simone Favaro, 5 Quintin Geldenhuys, 4 Valerio Bernabò, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini 1 Salvatore Perugini.
Replacements:  16 Fabio Ongaro, 17 Lorenzo Cittadini, 18 Marco Bortolami, 19 Paul Derbyshire, 20 Simon Picone, 21 Riccardo Bocchino, 22 Gonzalo Canale.

Venue:  Puma Stadium, Witbank
Referee:  Andrew Small (England)
Assistant referees:  Keith Brown (New Zealand), David Changleng (Scotland)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

England break Aussie duck Down Under

It only took seven years, but England finally got the better of the Wallabies on Australian soil thanks to a thrilling 21-20 victory in Sydney on Saturday.

Both side's crossed the whitewash twice, but the difference came from the tee -- Matt Giteau missing on two occasions from an easy range to put his side in front that ultimately allowed the visitors to hang on for a memorable win.

It was a case of déjà vu for the hosts as 2003 World Cup hero Jonny Wilkinson's boot ruined Australia's weekend.

Wilkinson, who made his first appearance at the Sydney Olympic Stadium since slotting the famous late drop-goal all those years ago, converted a 55th minute three-pointer that was the significant difference in England's win.

England had taken a half-time lead with maiden Test tries from Ben Youngs and Chris Ashton but the Wallabies hit back with Giteau scoring twice in a 20-point haul.

Wilkinson replaced Toby Flood early in the second half -- and his first act was to land the penalty that pushed England ahead to seal only their third Test victory Down Under against the Wallabies.

England were barely recognisable from the team that was so soundly put in its place by the Wallabies in Perth last week.  In what was by far their finest performance under Martin Johnson, the tourists played with confidence, intelligence and inventiveness throughout the 80 minutes and no-one can argue that they thoroughly deserved the win.

While England's scrum was their dominant weapon in the first Test in Perth last weekend, it was barely used on Saturday as an improved defence and dominant field position secured the unlikely result.

England opened the match with much greater intensity compared to last week and pressured the Australian inside backs, forcing a host of early errors.  They were rewarded when the Wallabies gave away a defensive penalty in front of the posts and Toby Flood put England ahead 3-0 after just three minutes.

Five minutes later referee Romaine Poite penalised English prop Tim Payne for a punch in the scrum and Matt Giteau duly equalised with a simple kick at goal.

He made it 6-3 soon after with a penalty from 45 metres out, but the English were rewarded for their enterprise when Youngs scored a wonderful solo try, taking the ball from the back of the line-out, darting past the Australian forwards and outpacing Drew Mitchell to score.

In an entertaining first half the Wallabies struck back almost immediately, Giteau scoring after a superb break from winger Digby Ioane to put Australia ahead 13-10.

But England were soon in again as winger Ashton scored his first Test try, steaming onto an inside ball from lock Tom Palmer and breaking through the attempted tackle of James O'Connor.

Flood's conversion attempt went just wide and England went into the break with a well-deserved 15-13 lead.

The Wallabies backs had been well contained in the first half but they gave a show of their brilliance three minutes into the second as Quade Cooper and O'Connor broke away down the sideline before sending Giteau away for his second try and a 20-15 lead.

An Australian scrum collapse allowed Flood to narrow the gap to 20-18, almost his last act before being replaced by Wilkinson.  Another scrum collapse saw Wilkinson kick a penalty from in front and an England lead.

Giteau had three chances to put the Australians back in front but missed them all, including one from right in front of the posts with 10 minutes to go while Wilkinson had an opportunity to kick a 79th minute penalty but his attempt also went wide.

Nevertheless, England managed to hold on to possession in the dying seconds and cleared the ball into touch at the sound of the final hooter.

Man of the match:  Newcomers Ben Youngs at scrum-half and lock Courteney Lawes justified their selections, while the back three of Ben Foden, Mark Cueto and Chris Ashton, hardly seen in the first Test, looked dangerous every time they touched the ball.  However our vote was an unanimous one in the end -- Nick Easter played his best game in an England shirt and simply dominated from start to finish.  He was found everywhere on the pitch, never dropped a ball and put in big hits.

Moment of the match:  All the tries were eye-catching, but Ben Youngs' effort to put England back ahead thanks to a great individual run through the gap showed the visitors meant business.

Villain of the match:  Matt Giteau may have scored all the Wallabies' points, but memories of his blunder against Scotland came back to haunt him as he missed one, and another and then another from bang in front that would have put his side in front!

The scorers:

For Australa:
Tries:  Giteau 2
Cons:  Giteau 2
Pens:  Giteau 2

England:
Tries:  Youngs, Ashton
Cons:  Flood 2
Pens:  Flood 2, Wilkinson

Australia:  15 James O'Connor, 14 Digby Ioane, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Richard Brown, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom (c), 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Dean Mumm, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Saia Faingaa, 1 Ben Daley.
Replacements:  16 Huia Edmonds, 17 James Slipper, 18 Mark Chisholm, 19 Matt Hodgson, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Berrick Barnes, 22 Adam Ashley-Cooper.

England:  15 Ben Foden, 14 Mark Cueto, 13 Mike Tindall, 12 Shontayne Hape, 11 Chris Ashton, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Lewis Moody (c), 6 Tom Croft, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Steve Thompson, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements:  16 George Chuter, 17 David Wilson, 18 Simon Shaw, 19 James Haskell, 20 Danny Care, 21 Jonny Wilkinson, 22 Delon Armitage.

Referee:  Romain Poite (France)

Clinical All Blacks dispense with Wales

Better finishing proved the difference between New Zealand and Wales as the All Blacks won 42-9 at Dunedin on Saturday.

The House of Pain was given its winning send-off and Wales' 57-year tale of woe continued against the All Blacks, who looked in fine form by the end of the match, but had the Welsh capitalised on their impressive fist half we could have seen more of a match.

Instead, each time the Welsh got within striking distance, something would go wrong.  A maul would go down, a pass would escape the recipient's clutches, ball would be stolen, a penalty would be conceded.  At one such moment, Cory Jane was able to pick up a loose ball off the side of a ruck and race 70m for his side's second try, which was probably the game's defining moment.

Any other contenders for that award involved Dan Carter, who gave a mesmerising performance just when his team needed it most.  He scored two tries, made numerous other breaks and controlled the second half superbly with the boot:  a complete fly-half performance.  He left the field to a standing ovation ten minutes from the end.

Wales enjoyed 60 oer cent of the first-half possession and territory but were 15-9 down at the break.

They even led 6-0 after nearly a quarter of the game and were excellent value for that, with Stephen Jones knocking over a drop goal and Leigh Halfpenny landing a monster penalty.  By contrast, Carter had fluffed his early line, miscuiing a tough attempt from 45m.

But the difference between the teams became apparent on 18 minutes.  A line-out close to the Welsh line was New Zealand's first meaningful foray into Welsh territory and although the initial thrusts were repelled, they came at the cost of a penalty.  Jimmy Cowan tapped and went, drove close, and Keven Mealamu took the ball off the back of the ruck and went through whee the Welsh defensive pillars ought to have been for the opening score.  Wales with all the territory, New Zealand with all the tries.

When Cory Jane picked up that loose ball and scored to make it 15-6 on the half-hour -- again at the end of a good spell of Welsh pressure -- the writing was well and truly on the wall.

The Welsh could have been a try ahead inside the first couple of minutes after Andrew Bishop, who came into the side for James Hook, charged down a Carter kick inside the All Blacks 22.  Israel Dagg covered and won the chase to ground in.

Andrew Bishop made a couple of strong runs as did Jamie Roberts and Wales were recycling the ball well until they got to within about five metres of the All Blacks line and prop Adam Jones knocked on.

Although New Zealand were able to clear their lines Wales soon had them under pressure again with Stephen Jones' pinpoint kicks to Joe Rokocoko's left wing where he and Dagg did not look assured.

But then came the scores from Mealamu and Jane which turned the tide completely.

Stephen Jones replied immediately with Wales' third penalty but couldn't convert a fourth opportunity when Brad Thorn was penalised for killing the ball.

Wales were almost made to pay for another error at the start of the second period when Stephen Jones saw a kick charged down by Ben Franks on halfway and the All Blacks rumbled forward.

A couple of quick phases ended with Brad Thorn bearing down on the line but some solid Wales defending held him up before stealing the ball away.

There was little respite for Wales though as the All Blacks drove forward again, before Thorn's forward pass in the corner let the tourists off the hook.

New Zealand were now clearly stamping their authority on the game and it was not long before they made it count on the scoreboard.

Carter struck over a 50th-minute penalty before grabbing his team's third try almost from the restart.

Rokocoko splintered the away defence in a buccaneering run from his own half and set the All Blacks in motion towards a try that was sealed with a clever one-two between Carter and Jane.

Carter added the conversion and suddenly the All Blacks were pulling away with a 25-9 lead with 54 minutes played.

Wales almost pulled back an unlikely try when, after withstanding more pressure on their own tryline, a hasty kicked clearance set up a breakaway.

Halfpenny won the race to the ball on the halfway line and kicked forward off the ground again but Kahui outpaced him to extinguish the danger.

Carter, who became the first New Zealander to surpass 1,000 Test points in the thumping win over Ireland last weekend, added his second try in the 67th minute.

Wales were made to pay again for turnover ball when the industrious Mealamu snatched the ball away and began a eye-catching phase of play that was capped by the supreme finishing off Carter as he raced 40 metres almost untouched despite a maze of would-be defenders circling him.

The Welsh defence was now in tatters and Kahui was similarly untroubled as he raced from halfway to score his side's fifth try four minutes later.

Carter was then given an early rest but it hardly stopped the one-way flow as Ryan Jones had to scramble across his own tryline to stop another All Black try, Aaron Cruden denied his first Test score by Jones' tackle.

Man of the match:  Dan Carter:  Director of the show, starring role ... it was all about him today.

Moment of the match:  Cory Jane's breakaway try was the moment when you just knew New Zealand had a little too much class.

Villain of the match:  Whichever cretin is responsible for the musak infesting New Zealand's pre-match national anthems at the moment.  As if the singers through ill-set tannoys and the bad acoustics weren't enough, the hammond organ recital accompaniment was the true low point.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Mealamu, Jane, Carter 2, Kahui
Cons:  Carter 4
Pens:  Carter 3

For Wales:
Pens:  Halfpenny, S.Jones
Drop goal:  S.Jones

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Benson Stanley, 11 Joe Rokocoko, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Victor Vito, 5 Anthony Boric, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Ben Franks
Replacements:  16 Aled de Malmanche, 17 Tony Woodcock, 18 Sam Whitelock, 19 Adam Thomson, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Richard Kahui.

Wales:  15 Lee Byrne, 14 Leigh Halfpenny, 13 Andrew Bishop, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Tom Prydie, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Ryan Jones (c), 7 Gavin Thomas, 6 Jonathan Thomas, 5 Alun-Wyn Jones, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Paul James.
Replacements:  16 Huw Bennett, 17 John Yapp, 18 Deiniol Jones, 19 Rob McCusker, 20 Tavis Knoyle, 21 Dan Biggar, 22 Jonathan Davies.

Referee:  George Clancy (Ireland)