England do enough against Samoa

England survived an early second-half scare to record a 26-13 victory over a spirited Samoan outfit at Twickenham.

Martin Johnson's side were trailing 6-8 in the 42nd minute after Sale full-back Paul Williams had caught the Red Rose napping.  But from there, the home side clicked into gear as scores from Matt Banahan and Tom Croft won it.

It was not a thing of beauty though and this week there were no wonder tries at HQ.

Yet against a steel-like Samoan defence Johnson's side did what they had to do.

They won, professionally and clinically.  When we remember how difficult victories came just twelve months ago that is another measure of progress.

Indeed, the really encouraging thing was that England tried to continue from where they left off against Australia.

They tried to play with width and adventure.  They used the pace of Ben Foden and Chris Ashton and the superb Mark Cueto, who has now gone sixteen matches without scoring a try for England in what is one of rugby's great mysteries.

Cueto again epitomised everything Johnson's team are striving to become.  Quick to run, swift to see the gap.  Daring.

The problem was that whereas against Australia everything came off in a match which was near perfect technically, against Samoa too often they were sloppy and imprecise in their passing and kicking.

Give Samoa credit.  They had lost by only 10 points to Ireland last weekend.  They were no pushovers.  In fact, they play a brand of rugby which is as physical as it is entertaining.

It is full of quick thinking and enterprising handling and it rocked England, especially in the early exchanges.

Where last weekend England had carved great holes in Australia's defence almost from the first whistle this time they met men in blue who have added organisation to their undoubted flair.

Men who frustrated their progress with crushing tackles, especially London Irish centre Seilala Mapusua.  It is easy in such circumstances to try too hard and England were guilty of that in the first half.

Toby Flood, so imperious against Australia, threw too many long, looping passes which struggled to reach their destination.

Foden failed to get the ball down in the corner when it appeared he must score and Ashton burst through and over the whitewash only to be recalled for a forward pass.

The action, however, was never fluent, unless we count one almighty slugging match mid-way through the half which saw more punches thrown than Audley Harrison has managed in an entire career.

Partly, the erratic nature of the skirmish was down to the domination of England's scrummage.

Samoa, who had performed so creditably against Ireland's pack, could not cope with England's front row of Andrew Sheridan, David Wilson and Dylan Hartley.  There was too much weight, too much technique coming their way and time and again they buckled.

It did not make for pretty viewing, even if England did spurn penalty after penalty in favour of another push-fest.

The stats board, however, told the story.  In that first half Samoa made 77 tackles against 17 from England.  Total domination from England, just the execution was lacking.

It meant the teams went in with England leading 6-3, courtesy of two tries from Flood and one from Samoa full-back Paul Williams.

England could hardly have started the second half in worse fashion, sluggishly allowing Williams to cruise over for the first touchdown after 40 seconds.

It was the first try of Williams' career and the first by Samoa at Twickenham.  And they deserved it.

The Twickenham faithful might have been a little worried at that point, although there was no hint of panic down on the pitch.

If anything that is the virtue of Johnson's side.  They have belief in their character as well as their ability.

And they produced the try of the match when Shontayne Hape made the break, fed Ashton and there was Banahan to secure the touchdown.  Croft added another to give the scoreline a flattering look.

It was a long way from perfect, especially as Gavin Williams crossed for a late try for Samoa.  But it was a reasonably comfortable victory.  One which provides another brick in Johnson's rebuilding programme.

Man-of-the-match:  Despite being on the losing team, we had to go for Samoa full-back Paul Williams, who contributed a try and a penalty.  Extremely effective in attack and painfully solid in defence.  Spot on, as was an in-form Mark Cueto on the left wing for England.

Moment-of-the-match:  ''Moments'' ... Andrew Sheridan's rampaging runs through the heart of the Samoan defence.  His comeback to international rugby following injury has been a swift one, but my has it been impressive.

Villain-of-the-match:  Answers on a postcard.  Little really to speak of.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Banahan, Croft
Con:  Flood 2
Pen:  Flood 3

For Samoa:
Tries:  P Williams, G Williams
Pen:  P Williams

England:  15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Matt Banahan, 12 Shontayne Hape, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Nick Easter (c), 7 Hendre Fourie, 6 James Haskell, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 David Wilson, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements:  16 Steve Thompson, 17 Dan Cole, 18 Dave Attwood, 19 Tom Croft, 20 Danny Care, 21 Charlie Hodgson, 22 Delon Armitage.

Samoa:  15 Paul Williams, 14 David Lemi, 13 George Pisi, 12 Seilala Mapasua, 11 Alesana Tuilagi, 10 Tasesa Lavea, 9 Kahn Fotualii, 8 George Stowers, 7 Manaia Salavea, 6 Ofisa Treviranus, 5 Filipo Levi, 4 Kane Thompson, 3 Anthony Perenise, 2 Mahonri Schwalger (c), 1 Sakaria Taulafo.
Replacements:  16 Ti'i Paulo, 17 Census Johnston, 18 Joe Tekori, 19 Afa Aiono, 20 Junior Poluleuligaga, 21 Jamie Helleur, 22 Gavin Williams.

Referee:  Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)
Assistant referees:  Alan Lewis (Ireland), Cobus Wessels (South Africa)
Television match official:  Giulio De Santis (Italy)

Australia fail to impress in Florence

Australia claimed their second win on their November tour with a 32-14 win over an ill-disciplined Italian outfit.

In a match that lacked any really quality, it was the boot of Berrick Barnes that ensured that Robbie Deans' men picked up the second scalp on their end-of-year tour.  However, it was far from a performance that will quell the growing discontent amongst the Australian press and public.

While the Australian scrum showed some signs of stability against Munster, on Saturday the front-row again suffered the indignity of conceding penalties at almost every scrum.  The line-outs didn't fare much better with Stephen Moore often failing to find his jumpers.

Barnes set the tone for the match when he opened the scoring in the third minute with his first of six penalties.

Drew Mitchell claimed the visitors' first five-pointer of the encounter in the ninth minute when he crashed over from five minutes out after Australia went close in the right hand corner, there was some suspicion that the pass to Mitchell was forward but referee Berdos was happy.

What followed was a mêlée of forward grind from both sides that failed to yield any substantial gain.  It was the Italians propensity to concede penalties at will within their own half that ensured the Wallabies continued to stretch their lead, one that stood at 13-9 at the break.

Neither side saw fit to involve their wide men with any regularity, with Adam Ashley-Cooper barely touching the ball during his 50th game for the Australians.  Indeed, Italian full-back Luke McLean seemed so surprised to be passed the ball as the Italians broke down the right hand touchline that he fumbled the ball with the try-line in his sights.

Barnes continued to show great accuracy with his place-kicking but it was the Azzurri who were next to cross the whitewash.  From a scrum five metres from the line, skipper Sergio Parisse picked up from the back of the scrum and drove forward, the ball dropped backwards in the tackle and replacement Robert Barbieri dived over the line.

With just under ten minutes to go and the deficit reduced to just eleven, the home side briefly held hopes that an unlikely victory could be recorded, but Rocky Elsom crashed over in the last movement of the game after the ball spewed out of an Italian scrum to ensure there was no late charge.

Man of the match:  The Italians certainly played with great courage and for all the interest surrounding his debut, Edoardo Gori enjoyed a productive start.  But it was the boot of Berrick Barnes that was the difference between the two teams.

Moment of the match:  Such was the dire nature of play that a rather humorous incident in which Drew Mitchell's tattooed backside got extended airtime provided one of the few reasons to smile during the 80 minutes.

Villain of the match:  The Australian scrum were at their appalling best in Florence.  James Slipper was the primary culprit, conceding three penalties at scrum time before he was substituted in the second-half.  But Slipper was not alone, with Benn Robinson and Ben Alexander also falling foul of the referee's whistle.

The scorers:

For Italy:
Tries:  Barbieri
Pens:  Bergamasco 2, Orquera

For Australia:
Tries:  Mitchell, Elsom
Cons:  Barnes 2
Pens:  Barnes 6

The teams:

Italy:  15 Luke McLean, 14 Tommaso Benvenuti, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Alberto Sgarbi, 11 Mirco Bergamasco, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Alessandro Zanni, 6 Paul Derbyshire, 5 Quintin Geldenhuys, 4 Carlo Antonio Del Fava, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Fabio Ongaro, 1 Andrea Lo Cicero.
Replacements:  16 Carlo Festuccia, 17 Lorenzo Cittadini, 18 Santiago Dellape, 19 Robert Barbieri, 20 Pablo Canavosio, 21 Riccardo Bocchino, 22 Andrea Masi.

Australia:  15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom (c), 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Benn Robinson, 18 Mark Chisholm, 19 Matt Hodgson, 20 Will Genia, 21 Matt Giteau, 22 Pat McCabe.

Referee:  Christophe Berdos (France)

Fiji beat Wales 16-16

Wales had to settle for a 16-16 draw against Fiji in Cardiff, but the islanders will consider Friday's result as another huge victory.

The talk before the game had been of restoring morale after defeats by Australia and South Africa, in preparation for the visit of New Zealand next week.

But Welsh spirits will be close to rock-bottom after this woeful display - disjoined and error-strewn, lacking in direction and purpose, Wales only avoided a defeat thanks to their dominance at the scrum.

Seremeia Bai kicked an injury-time penalty to earn Fiji a draw which was the very least their spirit and ambition deserved.  Had they possessed a decent front row, they probably would have won comfortably.

Wales edged ahead after six minutes through a Dan Biggar penalty and attempted to play the tight, controlled game which Warren Gatland had demanded.

But there were too many errors to take advantage of a clear dominance at the breakdown and Wales quickly became bogged down.

Bai levelled the scores after an obstruction at the ruck and although Biggar kicked another penalty for a spear-tackle on Aled Brew which earned Bai a yellow card, Josh Matavesi levelled the scores soon afterwards.

And it was Fiji who went in ahead at the break after taking advantage of the half's only clear-cut chance.

Wales lost a lineout in their own 22 and Sisa Koyamaibole rumbled to within five metres of the line.  The ball was shipped out wide and Albert Vulivuli brushed aside James Hook's attempted tackle to crash over, with the returning Bai adding he extras.

Wales changed a third of their side on 50 minutes and it paid almost immediate dividends.

They wasted a clear overlap as Lee Byrne was adjudged to have been short as he slid towards the line, but the subsequent 5m scrum eventually produced a try.

After a free-kick, repeated re-sets and two penalties, the referee's patience was exhausted and he awarded a penalty try, Stephen Jones levelling the scores.

Wales dominated from there on but had only a Jones penalty to show for it and they paid the price.

The forwards were attempting to run down the clock with repeated pick and drives in midfield, but were penalised for failing to release.

That set up a final attack for Fiji inside the Welsh 22 - virtually their only visit of the half - and after an offside around the ruck, Bai slotted over a straightforward penalty with the last kick of the match.

Man of the match:  George North looked Wales' most threatening attacking force on only his second international appearance, but flanker Dan Lydiate was probably the best player on the pitch.  A workaholic attitude that too few of his colleagues matched.

Moment of the match:  Seremaia Bai's injury-time penalty that broke Welsh hearts as Fiji shared the spoils in Cardiff.

Villain of the match:  Poor Ryan Jones.  It was the Wales captain who crept offside which allowed Bai to land the penalty to salvage a draw for the Islanders.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Try:  Penalty try
Con:  S Jones
Pens:  Biggar 2, S Jones

For Fiji:
Try:  Vulivuli
Con:  Baikeinuku
Pens:  Baikeinuku 2, Matavesi

Wales:  15 Lee Byrne, 14 George North, 13 James Hook, 12 Andrew Bishop, 11 Aled Brew, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Richie Rees,8 Jonathan Thomas, 7 Dan Lydiate, 6 Ryan Jones (c), 5 Deiniol Jones, 4 Ian Gough, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Huw Bennett, 1 Paul James.
Replacements:16 Richard Hibbard, 17 John Yapp, 18 Bradley Davies, 19 Toby Faletau, 20 Mike Phillips, 21 Stephen Jones, 22 Tom Shanklin.

Fiji:  15 Josh Matavesi, 14 Michael Tagicakibau, 13 Albert Vulivuli, 12 Gabriele Lovobalavu, 11 Vereniki Goneva, 10 Seremaia Baï, 9 Nemia Kenatale, 8 Sisa Koyamaibole, 7 Malakai Ravulo, 6 Semisi Saukawa, 5 Jone Qovu, 4 Ifereimi Rawaqa,3 Deacon Manu (c), 2 Viliame Veikoso, 1 Campese Ma'afu.
Replacements:  16 Tuapati Talemaitoga, 17 Graham Dewes, 18 Sekonaia Kalou, 19 Akapusi Qera, 20 Seveci Taka, 21 Ropate Ratu, 22 Taniela Rawaqa.

Referee:  Jérôme Garces (France)

Canada thump Spain

18-year-old Taylor Paris notched two of his team's eight tries for Canada to claim a 60-22 win over Spain in the first-ever test between the two nations.

Playing in front of 8,000 at University of Madrid's Complutense University Stadium on an overcast Saturday afternoon in Madrid, the Canadian men utilized a strong forward presence with a backline that was eager to run to notch a handy victory over the Lions.

For his part in the historic test, Paris said his nerves settled as soon as he took the field and that the leadership and experience within the team allowed him to cross the line for his first test try with ease.

''It was a good win for sure,'' Paris said.  ''The tries were walk ins because it was a team effort.  I was nervous, but the leaders in the team, like Pat Riordan and Adam Kleeburger, got us ready for the game.''

Paris' first try was the result of a break by DTH Van der Merwe in the first ten minutes of the game.  Van der Merwe broke into space and offloaded to James Pritchard, who drew the last defender before sending Paris streaming down the wing for a short run to the in goal.

''My first try, I touched the ball down, high-fived a few of the guys and got back into the game,'' he said.

Bolstered by the return of their professionals, Canada had a strong start to the test, scoring within the first two minutes, despite a late change in the starting line up due to injury concerns over Ander Monro.

Monro was removed from the starting line up and winger Ciaran Hearn was moved to fly half.  Justin Mensah-Coker was moved from the bench to starting wing and Nick Blevins was brought onto the bench.

Forward coach Neil Barnes said it was a testament to the composure of the team that they were able to stay focussed despite the last-minute changes.

''We had a bit of a glitch just before kick off with Ander Monro injured,'' Barnes said.  ''Credit to the guys, they pulled together and put a lot of points on.

''We're trying to get some accuracy in our plays and sometimes the score is irrelevant, but we're very happy with the amount of points we scored.''

Both teams brought a very physical approach to the game, which wasn't without its moments of confrontation, but Barnes was impressed with the discipline shown.

''It was a very physical game and everything on the edges of the ruck was a battle,'' he said.  ''But when we sent it out wide, the backs made good yards.''

Riordan was in fine form, leading Canada by example, opening the scoring two minutes into the game on a pick-and-go, to tally his third try in two tests.

Canada took a 31-12 lead at half time following tries by Riordan, Paris, Aaron Carpenter and Chauncey O'Toole.  Pritchard was sure with the boot, nailing all four conversions and one penalty goal in the first half.

Canadian prop Jason Marshall received a yellow card late in the first half for collapsing a maul, but Barnes said the team had prepared for the possibility of shorthanded play.

''The yellow card was certainly disruptive, but we had it covered defensively and we managed to keep them out during that period,'' he said.

All 12 of the Lions' first-half points were courtesy of the boot of scrum half Santiago Fernandez.

Canada made two changes at half time, giving Jon Phelan his second test cap as a substitute for Josh Jackson in the second row and Kevin Tkachuk for Dan Pletch in the front row.

Three minutes into the second half, Canada was back on the scoreboard with a try for Van der Merwe.  O'Toole and Paris notched their second tries, while Sean Michael Stephen rounded out the scoring.  Pritchard successfully kicked three from four conversions in the second half, plus one penalty goal.

The Lions proved they were down, but not out, scoring tries in the 47th, by Anthony Pradalie, and Pierre Belzunce in the 82nd minute.

Barnes and the rest of the coaching staff were happy with the result, but would have liked to keep the Lions try-less.

''There's definitely excitement about playing any test match and when you're playing a country for the first time,'' Barnes said.  ''We're excited about the win, but there's obviously some disappointment with the late tries, so that's something we need to fix.''

Canada made five changes in the second half.

Carpenter was rewarded for his try with a rest when Michael-Stephen replaced him at the 51-minute mark.

Eight minutes later, Jamie Mackenzie earned his second cap as a replacement for Sean White at scrum half.  Then in the 69th minute, Canada made its final three substitutions.

Blevins came on for Van der Merwe in the centres, Tom Dolezel replaced his captain at hooker and Jebb Sinclair gave double-try scorer O'Toole a rest on the flank.

The scorers:

For Spain:
Tries:  Pradalie, Belzunce
Pens:  Fernandez 4

For Canada:
Tries:  Riordan, Paris 2, Carpenter, O'Toole 2, Van der Merwe, Michael-Stephen
Cons:  Pritchard 7
Pens:  Pritchard 2

Spain:  15 Ignacio Gutiérrez Muller, 14 Pierre Belzunce, 13 Martín Heredia, 12 Bruno Angulo, 11 Baptiste Sanchez, 10 Mathieu Gratton, 9 Santiago Fernández, 8 Federico Negrillo, 7 Gautier Gibouin, 6 Martín Aceña (c), 5 Damien Elgoyhen, 4 Jesús Recuerda, 3 Jesús Moreno, 2 Mathieu Cidré, 1 Anthony Pradalie.
Replacements:  16 Sylvain González, 17 Rodrigo Martínez, 18 Mattin Auzqui, 19 David Barrera, 20 Matthew Cook, 21 Sebastien Rouet, 22 Diego Alvarez.

Canada:  15 James Pritchard, 14 Taylor Paris, 13 DTH van der Merwe, 12 Phillip Mackenzie, 11 Ciaran Hearn, 10 Ander Monro, 9 Sean White, 8 Aaron Carpenter, 7 Adam Kleeberger, 6 Chauncey O'Toole, 5 Tyler Hotson, 4 Josh Jackson, 3 Jason Marshall, 2 Pat Riordan (c), 1 Dan Pletch.
Replacements:  16 Tom Dolezel, 17 Kevin Tkachuk, 18 Jon Phelan, 19 Jebb Sinclair, 20 Sean Michael Stephen, 21 Jamie Mackenzie, 22 Justin Mensah-Coker.

Referee:  Frank Himmer (Germany)

France get the job done

It wasn't pretty but France got the result they were looking for on Saturday, beating Fiji 34-12 in pouring rain in Nantes.

In atrocious conditions it was never going to be the high-thrills match we had all hoped for.  France scored three tries, including a penalty try as their scrum came good in the closing stages after a rather poor start.

Unsurprisingly considering the conditions and their lack of preparation time, Fiji never really threatened the French try-line.

Fiji competed well in the early stages and were holding on at 6-all at the end of the first quarter.

France broke through just after the half-hour mark when Napolioni Nalaga failed to hold onto a wayward penalty attempt and David Marty pounced on the loose ball for les Bleus' first try.

The hosts' second try came soon after break when centre Fabrice Estebanez thumped a huge kick cross-field for Maxime Medard to latch onto and put down in the corner.

Worn out by their hosts, the Fijian scrum crumbled under the posts with ten minutes left, and referee Andrew Small handed France five points under the posts.

France will face Argentina next week having learnt very little from match where they were seldom troubled, but failed to find any rhythm.

Man of the match:  Dimitri Yachvili was his usual reliable self from the kicking tee but we'll go for France captain Imanol Harinordoquy who gained plenty of metres on the ground and stole of couple of balls in the air at line-out time.

Moment of the match:  It'll go down as the least spectacular try of the year, but David Marty's try gave France a gap that Fiji were never going to close.

Villain of the match:  Who do we blame for the weather?

The scorers:

For France:
Tries:  Marty, Medard, Penalty try
Cons:  Yachvili 2
Pens:  Yachvili 5

For Fiji:
Pens:  Baï 4

France:  15 Jerome Porical, 14 Julien Arias, 13 David Marty, 12 Fabrice Estebanez, 11 Maxime Medard, 10 Damien Traille, 9 Dimitri Yachvili, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy (c), 7 Alexandre Lapandry, 6 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 5 Jerome Thion, 4 Romain Millo-Chluski, 3 Luc Ducalcon, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Jerome Schuster
Replacements:  16 Benjamin Noirot, 17 Thomas Domingo, 18 Julien Pierre, 19 Sebastien Chabal, 20 Morgan Parra, 21 David Skrela, 22 Alexis Palisson, 23 Nicolas Mas.

Fiji:  15 Norman Ligairi, 14 Sereli Nakelevuqi, 13 Albert Vulivuli, 12 Seru Rabeni, 11 Napolioni Nalaga, 10 Seremaia Baï, 9 Nemia Kenatale, 8 Sisa Koyamaibole, 7 Akapusi Qera, 6 Semisi Naevo, 5 Jone Qovu, 4 Wame Lewaravu, 3 Deacon Manu (cap), 2 Tuapati Talemaitoga, 1 Graham Dewes
Replacements:  16 Setefano Somoca, 17 Viliame Veikoso, 18 Sekonaia Kalou, 19 Malakai Ravulo, 20 Seveci Taka, 21 Josh Matavesi, 22 Gabriele Lovobalavu

Venue:  Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes
Referee:  Andrew Small (England)
Assistant referees:  Nigel Owens (Wales), James Jones (Wales)
Television match official:  Carlo Damasco (Italy)

Easy does it for All Blacks

New Zealand ran in seven tries past Scotland to beat their hosts 49-3 in a completely one-sided game at Murrayfield on Saturday.

It was a demoralising defeat for the Scots, who could only look on helplessly as the All Blacks condemned their hosts to a record home defeat.

The visitors' back division proved altogether too hot to handle as Hosea Gear and Mils Muliaina each claimed a brace during the visitors' success, which saw the Kiwis back on top after rather disappointing performances in the last two weeks.

The match was over as a contest as early as the 17th minute following four early tries to New Zealand who took control from kick-off and never looked back.

If anything, New Zealand's dominance of territory and possession increased in the second half and they added three further tries -- through Muliaina, Conrad Smith and Andy Ellis -- to cap a dazzling display.

Dan Parks slotted a third-minute penalty from long-range to give Scotland the opening points.  But the Murrayfield faithful's hopes of witnessing their country's first win over the All Blacks in 105 years of trying were soon dashed as the tourists raced into a 25-point lead by half-time.

Gear opened the floodgates in the ninth minute, crossing under the posts after Sonny Bill Williams had straightened the angle of attack and found the winger out of the back of his hand.  Dan Carter converted and was soon crossing the whitewash himself as turnover ball was ruthlessly exploited close to the half-way line.

With Scotland's defence out of position, full-back Muliaina and wing Isaia Toeava combined down the left flank to give Carter a free run to the line.

The fly-half then turned provider, his inside pass releasing Muliaina and Gear took advantage of a mismatch with Scotland hooker Ross Ford to add his second in the 27th minute.  Carter slotted the extra two points to put his side 28-3 up and, at that stage, they had scored a point-per-minute.

Scotland suffered a further blow just before the interval when skipper Mike Blair was forced off by injury and Greig Laidlaw came on for his first cap.

New Zealand continued to dominate after the break and it was no surprise when another Williams offload allowed Muliaina to squeeze over in the right corner in the 48th minute for his second try -- and his team's fifth.  Carter's conversion took his personal tally to 15 points but was also his final act as Stephen Donald was brought on for the final half-hour.

It took until the 66th minute for New Zealand to create their sixth try, Smith applied the final touches after Scotland's overworked defence was outnumbered on the left.

Replacement scrum-half Ellis added a seventh late on before the match finished amid worrying scenes as Scotland centre Max Evans, whose brother Thom was forced to retire after breaking his neck in last year's Six Nations encounter with Wales, was stretchered off with his neck in a brace.

Graham Henry's side are now halfway through their November tour as they seek a third Grand Slam in five years, following the successes in 2005 and 2008, and meet Ireland in Dublin next weekend.

Man of the match:  Hard one after such an accomplished team effort.  But it was the distribution of rugby league convert Sonny Bill Williams in midfield that particularly caught the eye.  Williams, who made his Test debut in the 15-man code in last weekend's win over England at Twickenham, consistently opened holes in Scotland's defence with the timing and vision of his offloads.

Moment of the match:  Take your pick out of the seven tries scored ... all had their own bit of All Blacks' class to it.

Villain of the match:  Nothing to report.

The scorers:

For Scotland:
Pens:  Parks

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Gear 2, Carter, Muliaina 2, Smith, Ellis
Cons:  Carter 5, Donald 2

Scotland:  15 Hugo Southwell, 14 Rory Lamont, 13 Max Evans , 12 Graeme Morrison , 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Mike Blair (c), 8 Richie Vernon , 7 John Barclay , 6 Kelly Brown, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Richie Gray , 3 Euan Murray , 2 Ross Ford, 1 Allan Jacobsen .
Replacements:  16 Scott Lawson, 17 Alasdair Dickinson, 18 Nathan Hines , 19 Ross Rennie, 20 Rory Lawson, 21 Ruaridh Jackson, 22 Nikki Walker.

New Zealand:  15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Isaia Toeava, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu/Hikawera Elliot, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Andrew Hore, 17 John Afoa, 18 Anthony Boric, 19 Daniel Braid, 20 Andy Ellis, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Ma'a Nonu.

Referee:  Dave Pearson (England)

Boks hold on for victory

Defence was the order of the day in the last five minutes at the Millenium Stadium as South Africa held on to beat Wales 29-25 on Saturday.

Needing a try to snatch victory, Wales laid siege to the South African line in the closing stages, going through some 15 phases of possession in injury-time, but some superb defence kept them at bay as the Springboks made it two wins from two games on European soil.

As hard as they tried, Wales were left to rue yet another defeat at the hands of their southern hemisphere visitors who at one stage looked dead and buried before staging a spirited fightback.

Up 17-3 in the first half, the Welsh looked a sure bet at ending their eleven-match losing drought over Tri-Nations opposition.  But the boot of Morne Steyn (19 points) coupled with tries to debutant Willem Alberts and captain Victor Matfield in the second half, set up a thrilling finish that ultimately ended in heart-break for Wales.

In a game of two halves, Wales were worthy 17-9 leaders at half-time after getting the better of the sluggish world champions who looked a far cry from the team that dismantled the Irish only a week ago and were somewhat fortunate to head in just eight points down at the interval.

It got better for South Africa after the break, with their two quick-fire tries in the space of three minutes proving to be the deciding factor in this nail-biter of a Test.

The Boks got the start they were looking for, after Wales were penalised for entering the ruck from an offsides position and Morne Steyn's boot did the rest -- three points to South Africa after just two minutes played.

However, that would be the last we would see of the visitors for the first quarter of the match as Wales hit back in emphatic fashion with two converted tries during a dominant 20 minute spell.

The first was just reward for the Welsh after turning down three points for a line-out eight meters out from South Africa's line.  Alun-Wyn Jones did the business in the air, the ball went through the backs, Tom Shanklin seemed to obstruct a Bok tackler and George North went under the posts for a try on debut.

Stephen Jones added the extras from bang in front, and the shell-shocked Springboks strolled back for the restart.  Ten minutes later, South Africa resumed their place under the posts to watch another Jones conversion sail between the uprights after James Hook got himself on the scoresheet.

Morne Steyn responded by landing his second penalty, with Andy Powell somewhat harshly penalised for going off his feet at a tackle.

But with Wales on the front foot and dominating both territory and possession, an increasingly ragged Springbok outfit paid for their indiscipline.  Although Hook saw a penalty attempt from inside his own half drift just wide, Jones made no mistake from closer range after Deon Stegmann was pinged for an infringement at a ruck.

But it was the South Africans who finished the half the stronger as Wales were forced to desperately defend their line.  The Springboks should have gone over for a try but, having wasted a clear chance to score out wide, they had to settle for a third penalty from Steyn to make the half-time score 17-9.

That lead was quickly extended to 20-9 after the restart when Bismarck du Plessis was called for trying to play the ball while on the floor, allowing Jones to kick his second penalty.

But from a position of apparent power, Wales suddenly found themselves on the back foot as the South Africans finally roused themselves to demonstrate just why they are the current world champs.

Bryne was penalised for not rolling away allowing Steyn to kick his fourth penalty and the Springboks then came alive with their two tries in three minutes.

After sustained pressure, the Welsh line was finally breached when substitute Alberts crashed over from close range out wide -- Steyn adding a fine conversion to bring the visitors back within one at 20-19.

They then hit the front as captain Matfield went over to mark his record-breaking 103rd cap.  Having worked the ball from right to left, the Wales defence was left horribly exposed when the South Africans quickly moved the ball back the other way and Matfield, up in the line, careered over despite the attention of two would-be tacklers -- Steyn added the extras.

A frantic five-minute period was capped by North who, alone in oceans of space on the right wing, was spotted by Stephen Jones, the young winger collecting an astute cross-field kick from his fly-half to drop over the line for his second try.

But Jones was unable to add the conversion and South Africa's slender lead was stretched to four points with 16 minutes remaining when Wales' backs were caught offside at a maul handing Steyn a simple penalty chance in front of posts.

Steyn increased his side's lead, but Wales finished the match camped just metres from South Africa's tryline, rumbling on through their forwards for repeated phases before the Springboks finally -- and with a huge sigh of relief -- shut up shop.

Man of the match:  The 18-year-old giant Wales wing George North, who has already been dubbed the Welsh Jonah Lomu, matched his billing with a barnstorming display.

Moment of the match:  Wales' last-gasp effort at the end -- anyone watching will no doubt have shorter nails and less hair for it.

Villain of the match:  No cards.  But perhaps Wales were their own worst enemies for letting the Boks back in the match in what could have been a memorable Welsh victory.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  North 2, Hook
Cons:  S Jones 2
Pens:  S Jones 2

For South Africa:
Tries:  Alberts, Matfield
Cons:  M Steyn 2
Pens:  M Steyn 5

Wales:  15 Lee Byrne, 14 George North, 13 Tom Shanklin, 12 James Hook, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Jonathan Thomas, 7 Martyn Williams, 6 Andy Powell, 5 Bradley Davies, 4 Alun-Wyn Jones, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Paul James.
Replacements:  16 Huw Bennett, 17 John Yapp, 18 Ryan Jones, 19 Deiniol Jones, 20 Richie Rees, 21 Andrew Bishop, 22 Chris Czekaj.

South Africa:  15 Gio Aplon, 14 Bjorn Basson, 13 Frans Steyn, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Victor Matfield (capt), 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira,
Replacements:  16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Willem Alberts, 20 Francois Hougaard, 21 Zane Kirchner, 22 Patrick Lambie.

Referee:  Steve Walsh (Australia)

England dominate the Wallabies

England finally put in the performance Martin Johnson had been longing for on Saturday with a ruthless 35-18 win against Australia at Twickenham.

It was an 80-minute effort that saw Lewis Moody lift the Cook Cup and the champagne sprayed.  The victory -- inspired by two tries from wing Chris Ashton and 25 points via the assured boot of Toby Flood -- has also sent out a warning shot to rivals ahead of next year's World Cup.

Moody had come out of the dressing rooms in a manner that summed up his ''Mad Dog'' nickname -- smiling yet scowling in a fired up fashion.  And it seemed that the captain's late pep talk before kick-off rubbed off on his team-mates, who took the fight to the Wallabies in the early stages.

England unsurprisingly had set about looking to take the heart out of their opponents, attacking Australia down the middle of the field through Courtney Lawes and Nick Easter.  However, the visitors weathered the early storm and were in fact the first to have an opportunity for posts.  Wing James O'Connor missed from the touchline though in what was a bad day from the tee in which he was unsuccessful with his first three.

The hosts soon capitalised in what quickly became the enterprising brand that Martin Johnson has been desperate for for some time now.  England were running the ball from all areas, had options and were backing themselves to claim successive wins against Oz.

It paid off too as a Shontayne Hape crash ball led to the impressive Mark Cueto carrying on the move before Tom Croft's offload found Ashton, who showed strength to cross close to the posts.  The score was 10-0 on 25 minutes with England enjoying all of the possession.

However, it probably should have been 10-9 after Force youngster hit the post with his third penalty attempt just after the half-hour.  Matters then got worse for Australia when England again showed their counter-attacking ability in a move that was started by the in-form Ben Youngs.  The number nine spotted something from his own 22 and the hosts ultimately motored downfield before centre Matt Giteau was blown for lying on the ball.

Flood accepted the three-point attempt, which he landed and then cancelled out O'Connor's second penalty shortly after the restart before Australia mounted their first real assault.

But when Will Genia darted himself he was swallowed up by a combination of Flood, Mike Tindall and Tom Palmer, England snatched the turnover and scored one of the great tries.

Youngs spotted the opening and sent Lawes away down the blindside.  The lock then slipped the pass to Ashton who roared clear to score from 85 metres and send HQ wild.

Ashton still had to beat Drew Mitchell but he stepped inside and out-stripped the Wallaby winger to score under the posts, leaving Flood a simple conversion, and England led 26-6.

Australia found a toe-hold in the game when Kurtley Beale scored a brilliant individual try, breaking England's line and then chipping over Ben Foden before touching down.

It did nothing to dampen England's confidence.  Cueto surged through two tackles straight from the restart and when Nathan Sharpe was penalised for holding on Flood slotted another penalty.

Australia struck again when Dylan Hartley missed his jumpers on halfway and Luke Burgess snatched possession and raced clear before off-loading to prop James Slipper.

Moody hauled the replacement prop down but Australia recycled the ball quickly and Beale crashed over.

But still England tore into the Wallabies, with Cueto scything through their defence, and Flood sealed a famous victory with two more penalties.

Man-of-the-match:  A tough call between Ben Youngs and Chris Ashton.  The former was so often the catalyst for England while Toby Flood and Courtney Lawes also put in good shifts, but Ashton's two tries see him take this one.

Moment-of-the-match:  It has to be Chris Ashton's memorable try that left Wallaby winger Drew Mitchell tasting dirt.  One of the great tries to ever be scored at Twickenham and it left Australia having it all to do.

Villain-of-the-match:  Slightly harsh to dish this award out so we have decided to share it out with the charcoal shirt subplot, James O'Connor missing those early kicks and Matt Giteau for getting yellow carded.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Ashton 2
Con:  Flood 2
Pen:  Flood 7

For Australia:
Tries:  Beale 2
Con:  O'Connor
Pen:  O'Connor 2

England:  15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Mike Tindall, 12 Shontayne Hape, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Lewis Moody (capt), 6 Tom Croft, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements:  16 Steve Thompson, 17 David Wilson, 18 Simon Shaw, 19 Hendrie Fourie, 20 Danny Care, 21 Charlie Hodgson, 22 Delon Armitage.

Australia:  15 Kurtley Beale, 14 James O'Connor, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom (capt), 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Mark Chisholm, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 Huia Edmonds, 17 James Slipper, 18 Dean Mumm, 19 Richard Brown, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Berrick Barnes, 22 Lachie Turner.

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Christophe Berdos (France), Simon Mcdowell (Ireland)
Television match official:  Jim Yuille (Scotland)

Pumas secure scrappy victory in Verona

Argentina continued their dominance over Italy away from home with a 22-16 victory over the Azzurri in Verona.

Neither side were able to build any momentum in a game punctuated by a plethora of knock-ons and schoolboy errors.

In what was billed as a battle of the tight five, neither team asserted their authority up front, with the level of commitment not matched by the level of execution.

Felipe Contepomi and Mirco Bergamasco traded penalties during an error-strewn first half before Argentine full-back Martin Rodriguez crossed over for the game's first five-pointer after 49 minutes.

The ball was spread wide to Lucas Gonzalez who raced down the touchline before delicately chipping the ball back in field where Rodriguez collected and dived over for the score.

Sergio Parisse's chip and chase in the second minute the closest the home side came to crossing the tryline until five minutes from the final whistle.

Luke McLean's desperate surge for the line resulted in a trip to the sin bin for Pumas lock Mariano Galarza.  Referee Chris Pollock had seen enough when a scrum from the resulting penalty was collapsed by the Argentines and handed the Italians a lifeline by awarding a penalty try.

But it was a case of too little too late for the Italians as they conceded a penalty from the restart to ensure that the Pumas extended their winning streak in Italy to five games.

Man of the match:  In a game of little quality where place kitting was key, Felipe Contepomi's 17 points were the difference between the two teams.  The fly-half did not not have matters his own way, missing two kicks he would have expected to get, but his ''superior'' accuracy was crucial.

Moment of the match:  Had Sergio Parisse been able to make more of the opportunity presented to him when Craig Gower released him behind the Argentine defence, the game may have had a very different complexion.

For Italy:
Tries:  Penalty try
Cons:  Mirco Bergamasco
Pens:  Bergamasco (3)

For Argentina:
Tries:  Martin Rodriguez
Cons:  Felipe Contepomi
Pens:  Contepomi (5)

Yellow card:  Mariano Galarza

The teams:

Italy:  15 Luke McLean, 14 Tommaso Benvenuti , 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Andrea Masi, 11 Mirco Bergamasco, 10 Craig Gower, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Robert Barbieri, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Quintin Geldenhuys, 4 Carlo Antonio Del Fava, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Salvatore Perugini
Replacements:  16 Fabio Ongaro, 17 Andrea Lo Cicero, 18 Santiago Dellape', 19 Paul Derbyshire, 20 Pablo Canavosio, 21 Luciano Orquera, 22 Alberto Sgarbi.

Argentina:  15 Martin Rodriguez, 14 Gonzalo Camacho, 13 Gonzalo Tiesi, 12 Santiago Fernandez, 11 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino, 10 Felipe Contepomi (c), 9 Nicolas Vergallo, 8 Juan Fernandez Lobbe, 7 Miguel De Achaval, 6 Genaro Fessia, 5 Mariano Galarza, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Martin Scelzo, 2 Mario Ledesma, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements:  16 Agustín Creevy, 17 Marcos Ayerza, 18 Juan Figallo, 19 Esteban Lozada, 20 Álvaro Galindo, 21 Alfredo Lalanne, 22 Horacio Agulla.

Referee:  Chris Pollock (New Zealand)

Ireland battle past Samoa

Ronan O'Gara scored fifteen points, including a try, as Ireland battled their way to a 20-10 win over Samoa in Dublin on Saturday.

Ireland ended their six-match losing streak but will remain deeply concerned by their deteriorating form after struggling to dispatch the visitors.

It was not until his O'Gara's 66th-minute try that the Irish, who entered the match as much as 1/66 favourites, took control.

Number eight Jamie Heaslip crossed in the first half to help them into a 10-0 lead that was pegged back by a touch down from winger Alesana Tuilagi.

Facing their weakest opposition of the autumn and a team ranked outside the world's top ten, they toiled woefully in the third quarter.

Had Samoa made better use of their enormous superiority in possession and territory, Declan Kidney's side would surely have been facing a second defeat of the month.

The Irish scrum, anchored by props John Hayes and Tom Court, were overwhelmed in a department where they were supposed to have the ascendancy.

It was only when Cian Healy and Rory Best came on that the set-piece was sured up and it was this change in fortunes that preceded O'Gara's try.

But the result fails to mask the fact that less than a year from the World Cup Ireland have significant problems that must be urgently addressed by Kidney.

Samoa, containing nine players from the Aviva Premiership and French Top 14, looked more dangerous when they abandoned the structured gameplan that blunted their attacking instincts and will view this as a missed opportunity.

The Pacific Cup holders' Haka was greeted by only a 30,955 crowd at Aviva Stadium with pre-match fears of another low attendance proving correct.

And the likelihood of many of the crowd returning looks bleak after another poor spectacle at Lansdowne Road, which was swept with rain all afternoon.

O'Gara settled Irish nerves with a penalty moments into the game but it was due to sound defence from Tommy Bowe that their lead was not immediately overturned.

A fine tackle saw Bowe fell Tuilagi as the Leicester winger charged for the left corner, thwarting a strong attack from Samoa.

Brian O'Driscoll ran down several blind alleys before knocking on, victim of some typically robust tackling from the South Sea Islanders.

It was a competitive, finely-balanced opening quarter that was lit up when Ireland broke from their 22 through side-stepping full-back Luke Fitzgerald only to eventually run out of options in support.

Their tails up, the Irish renewed the assault through their pack and were rewarded when a series of pick and goes concluded with Heaslip driving over.  O'Gara converted.

Samoa's response was emphatic with a second penalty against prop Tom Court at a scrum enabling them to set up a superb field position.

A great pick up by fly-half Tasesa Lavea and rapid hands from Seilala Mapusua released Tuilagi, who came marauding off his wing to cross under the posts with Lavea converting.

Ireland's problems at the scrum continued, a five-metre attacking platform ending when referee Keith Brown decided Hayes was guilty of collapsing.

With five minutes of the half remaining Ireland worked their way back into the opposition 22 and, spying acres of space on the left, O'Gara expertly changed the points of attack but ruined his quick thinking with a stray pass to Paddy Wallace.

Samoa lacked urgency at times with their poor kicking foiling attempts to break from their 22.

The start of the second half saw some anxious moments for Ireland as Samoa probed close to their line.

The constant drizzle had made the ball slippery and this undermined the tourists on two occasions, the second seeing openside Manaia Salavea spill forward when 10 metres from the line.

But now it was Ireland who could not escape their 22 with their backpedalling scrum causing almighty problems.

O'Driscoll eventually cleared the ball but Samoa were soon back on the offensive, ignoring one clear overlap before reducing the deficit to 13-10 with Lavea's first penalty.

Any time Ireland attempted to build some momentum, they were met by a brick wall that more often than not sent them hurtling backwards.

Winger David Lemi was lucky to escape punishment for an elbow on Stephen Ferris after Samoa had been shoved backwards at a scrum.

For all their possession, Samoa were struggling to trouble the scoreboard, and this time when Ireland escaped their 22 they struck.

A quickly-taken free kick saw Stringer pass to O'Gara, who jinked his way over the line in the 66th minute before improving his own try.

The fight had all but drained out of Samoa, who sensed their moment had passed, but the South Sea Islanders' pride prevented Ireland from scoring again.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  Heaslip, O'Gara
Cons:  O'Gara 2
Pens:  O'Gara 2

For Samoa:
Try:  Tuilagi
Con:  Williams
Pen:  Williams

Ireland:  15 Luke Fitzgerald, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (capt), 12 Paddy Wallace, 11 Andrew Trimble, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Peter Stringer, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Denis Leamy, 5 Devin Toner, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Tom Court.
Replacements:  16 Rory Best, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Donnacha Ryan, 19 Stephen Ferris, 20 Isaac Boss, 21 Jonathan Sexton, 22 Keith Earls.

Samoa:  15 Paul Williams, 14 David Lemi, 13 George Pisi, 12 Seilala Mapusua, 11 Alesana Tuilagi, 10 Tasesa Lavea, 9 Kahn Fotualii, 8 George Stowers, 7 Manaia Salavea, 6 Ofisa Trevarinus, 5 Kane Thompsen, 4 Filipo Lavea Levi, 3 Anthony Perenise, 2 Mahonri Schwalger (capt), 1 Sakaria Taulafo.
Replacements:  16 Tii Paulo, 17 Simon Lemalu, 18 Iosefa Tekori, 19 Afa Aiono, 20 Junior Poluleuligaga, 21 Gavin Williams, 22 Jamie Helleur.

Referee:  Keith Brown (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  Jérôme Garces (France), Neil Paterson
Television match official:  Geoff Warren (England)

Canada open Euro tour with a win

Canada beat Belgium 43-12 at the Stade Roi Baudouin on a wet day in Brussels to open their four-match European tour.

Certainly the conditions were heavy, with a steady drizzle and muddy pitch conspiring to slow quick movements down and put the onus on the set piece and control in the forwards to open the match.

This was in evidence as the front row combined for three first-half tries as hooker and captain Pat Riordan touched down twice, while prop Tom Dolezel got his first test try.

Canada coach Kieran Crowley said after the match that despite the final scoreline, the match had its moments.

''They scored to finish of the first half and then opened the second half with a score, so that put us under some pressure,'' he said.

''But in the last fifteen minutes we pulled away.''

Indeed -- having a fresh Ander Monro come onto the field after Nathan Hirayama's shoulder popped out of place, managed to generate 12 second half points as he scored a try, penalty and two conversions.

The game was the debut start for 18-year-old Taylor Paris, who usurps Gareth Rees' Test debut record of age 19, by nearly a year.  The speedy wing did not make it onto the score sheet, but he did well for his first senior start.

Scrum-half Sean White also scored -- and fly-half Nathan Hirayama had three of four conversions for six points for the 26-5 half-time lead.  In the second half, wing Sean Duke and Monro scored a try each, with Monro converting his own score and also adding a penalty, in front of nearly 5,000 fans at Stade Roi Baudouin.

Hirayama will now be out for the remainder of the tour with the shoulder injury, while number eight Jeremy Kyne came off with a hamstring pull that will keep him off the pitch for around 10 days.

Canada moves to the warmer climes of Madrid for a first ever Test against Spain on Saturday.

Springboks rumble to victory in Dublin

South Africa survived a late comeback from Ireland to record their first victory on Irish soil in ten years, winning 23-21 at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

There have been a few comments regarding ''traditional'' Test match rugby of late and the purists wouldn't have been disappointed in Dublin.

A late conversion from Ronan O'Gara bounced off an upright to deny Ireland a draw that had seemed unlikely only a few minutes earlier after South Africa had controlled the game from the outset.

In soaking wet conditions, the set piece was always going to be primordial and the Springboks' dominance in both the scrums and line-outs laid the platform for victory.

With a few familiar faces missing from the Bok back-line, the visitors probably welcomed the rain as it allowed their experienced pack to rule the roost.

The hosts weren't doing themselves any favours though -- crooked throw-ins, early engagements and fumbled passes became all too frequent under the pressure from the tourists.

Ireland did enough however to remain in contact and a purple patch in the final quarter brought them within inches of grabbing a share of the spoils as the Boks switched off.

With expansive play not advisable, South Africa's ball retention in the tight stuff was key to the outcome and few can deny the right team came out on top.

The hosts could hardly get their hands on the ball in the first quarter and South Africa's 10-0 lead after seventeen minutes was a fair reflection of the early proceedings.

An Irish fumble under pressure at a line-out allowed Juan Smith to latch onto the loose ball and gallop 50m for the game's first try to add to Morné Steyn's early penalty.

Jonathan Sexton got Ireland on the board from the tee just before the half-hour mark but the men in green had hardly threatened the South African try-line.

The respective fly-halves exchanged penalties with Sexton adding his second just before the break to send the teams to the changing rooms at 13-6 to the South Africans.

A change of shirts for Ireland at half-time didn't change the complexion of the match and Steyn was allowed to extend the lead with half-an-hour left on the clock.

Sexton replied a few minutes later to keep the home side in touch going into the final quarter.

A number of eyebrows were raised when Springboks coach Peter de Villiers replaced Steyn with 20-year-old Patrick Lambie.  The young Shark missed a sitter with his first attempt at goal and will be a relieved man that O'Gara couldn't find the target at the death.

The killer blow seemed to have been dealt with fifteen minutes to play when Gio Aplon cut inside off his wing to take a switch pass from Zane Kirchner and cruise home untouched.

Ireland hadn't played their last card however.

Replacement pivot O'Gara's cross-field kick found Tommy Bowe out wide and the winger raced home to set up a grandstand finish.

Ireland finally sparked into life and their best spell of the game saw Rob Kearney at the end of a long pass (that was almost intercepted by Aplon) to score in the corner.

One can't blame O'Gara from missing a difficult conversion and his wry smile told the tail of a disappointing evening for Ireland.

Man of the match:  Hats off the South African pack.  Victor Matfield was supreme in the line-outs, but we'll go for Juan Smith -- not just for his try, but for carrying the ball like a gladiator and tackling like a machine.

Moment of the match:  Ireland were hanging on until Aplon's try gave the visitors a fourteen-point lead.  In the final reckoning it proved decisive but also sparked a revival from the hosts that produced the most exciting period of the match.

Villain of the match:  What a shame this thrilling Test was to see so many empty seats in such a magnificent stadium.  Whoever came up with IRFU's ticketing strategy got it horribly wrong!

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  Bowe, Kearney
Con:  O'Gara
Pens:  Sexton 3

For South Africa:
Tries:  Smith, Aplon
Cons:  Steyn, Lambie
Pens:  Steyn 3

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (c), 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Luke Fitzgerald, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 David Wallace, 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Mick O'Driscoll, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 Tony Buckley, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Tom Court, 18 Donncha Ryan, 19 Denis Leamy, 20 Peter Stringer, 21 Ronan O'Gara, 22 Keith Earls.

South Africa:  15 Gio Aplon, 14 Bjorn Basson, 13 Zane Kirchner, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Deon Stegmann, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Keegan Daniel, 20 François Hougaard, 21 Adi Jacobs, 22 Patrick Lambie.

Venue:  Aviva Stadium, Dublin
Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees:  Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand), Keith Brown (New Zealand)
TMO:  Hugh Watkins (Wales)

All Blacks back on horse at Twickers

New Zealand managed to survive a spirited second-half fightback from England as they recorded a 26-16 victory at Twickenham on Saturday.

It really was a game of two halves in London, the visitors enjoying a great deal of ball in the first 40 before England upped their game in the second.

But tries from Hosea Gear and Kieran Read along with Dan Carter's sixteen points saw them edge their hosts, who will be encouraged by their effort.

England were adventurous and can head into next week's clash against Australia with greater belief, with New Zealand having been on the rack.

As expected, the All Blacks did come out swinging following events in Hong Kong and quickly set about putting England under some sustained pressure.  Gear, Ma'a Nonu and Read were leading the fight, with the Hurricanes wing starring in the first period.  He would later be rewarded.

But despite their early dominance, New Zealand would in fact be forced to wait until the seventeenth minute for the breakthrough.  And as they were in the English capital, it was the old bus scenario as two quick-fire scores soon arrived.  First it was Gear who managed to squeeze his way over wide out after TMO backing and then a driving finish from Read came in between conversions from the calm Carter.

England were clearly rattled and did muster some sort of pressure on the visitors' line.  But it was hardly penetrable as a lack of incision seemed worrying for the home fans.  One area that did bear fruit however, was the scrum as Dan Cole went well against Tony Woodcock.

Mike Ford had this week said that the Tri-Nations did not live up to proper Test rugby and he was eating his words early on.  Cole, Andrew Sheridan and Steve Thompson were getting the better of their front-row opponents but it was in back-play that the Kiwis had the edge.

Carter missed a tenth-minute penalty before debutant Sonny Bill Williams showed his running strength to slip through the English midfield and feed Gear.  Carter did not miss the touchline conversion though to make it 7-0.

Read then capitalised on some weak fringe defence and burrowed his way over, with the extra two points making things look ominous for England.

But fly-half Flood was starting to put his side in the right areas and his three points on 25 minutes was a boost.  However, it was soon cancelled out when Lewis Moody infringed to allow Carter to add three more points for New Zealand.

After taking a hammering for the best part of 35 minutes, England finished the half promisingly although ultimately they had nothing to show for it.

The hosts' dominance of New Zealand's scrum grew in the second-half and Flood slotted a second penalty but Carter again responded immediately after Thompson had been penalised for hands in the ruck.  Dylan Hartley came on and made an immediate impact, scoring his first Test try to bring England back into the game just before the hour.

England had momentum but kept shooting themselves in the foot, allowing Carter to strike two penalties either side of one from Flood that kept the All Blacks two scores clear.

Martin Johnson's charges then spent the last fifteen minutes camped in New Zealand territory and Jerome Kaino was sin-binned as the pressure began to tell.

Easter charged forward and England spread play wide left to Hape, who dived for the line but spilled the ball under pressure from Isaia Toeava as the All Blacks held on for the win.

Man of the match:  Call him old fashioned or one dimensional, but Nick Easter put in the hard graft for England and just beats Dan Carter to the gong.

Moment of the match:  Italian television match official Giulio De Santis awarding New Zealand their first try after one angle showed Hosea Gear having a foot in touch.

Villain of the match:  A few grapples and one forearm from Dylan Hartley but all in all no one stood out for the award.  Mike Ford was up there until England's second-half performance.

The scorers:

For England:
Try:  Hartley
Con:  Flood
Pen:  Flood 3

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Gear, Read
Con:  Carter 2
Pen:  Carter 4

England:  15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Mike Tindall, 12 Shontayne Hape, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Lewis Moody (capt), 6 Tom Croft, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Steve Thompson, 1 Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements:  16 Dylan Harltey, 17 David Wilson, 18 David Attwood, 19 Hendrie Fourie, 20 Danny Care, 21 Charlie Hodgson, 22 Delon Armitage.

New Zealand:  15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Sonny Bill Williams, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Alby Mathewson, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (capt), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Hika Elliot, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Anthony Boric, 19 Liam Messam, 20 Andy Ellis, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Isaia Toeava.

Referee:  Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees:  Stuart Dickinson (Australia), David Changleng (Scotland)
Television match official:  Giulio De Santis (Italy)

Wallabies take the spoils in Cardiff

It wasn't anything to shout home about, but Australia got the job done at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff after beating Wales 25-16 on Saturday.

The Wallabies were a far cry from the team that humbled the mighty All Blacks a week ago, but made the most of their opportunities to record back-to-back wins on the road.

Australia outscored their hosts three tries to one -- David Pocock, Kurtley Beale and Ben Alexander all touching down for the Wallabies who produced some dazzling running rugby at times in Cardiff.

However, their scrummaging left plenty to be desired as they were repeatedly overpowered and outmanoeuvred by the Welsh pack.

Wales, though, could not turn that forward dominance into points and had just a converted Richie Rees try and three Stephen Jones penlaties to show for their efforts as Australia ran out worthy winners.

Wales got off to the perfect start and were in front as early as the second minute, after forcing a turnover from the kick-off which then led to three points for Stephen Jones courtesy of hooker Saia Fainga'a strolling offsides.

Australia responded in the best possible way with the simplest of tries to David Pocock, who took advantage of a lack of Welsh defenders to dive over from close range beside the posts.

It was a rather comical error from the hosts, who had used the majority of their resources to fish out what they thought was turnover ball from a ruck, before Will Genia popped up with ball in hand to put Pocock over for the score.

James O'Connor added the extras from bang in front and the Wallabies stole the lead with seven minutes gone on the clock.  Stephen Jones had a chance to close the gap, but pulled his second penalty attempt wide.

The Welsh pivot's third, however, sailed through the uprights which cut Australia's lead to a single point with nine minutes of the first half remaining.

O'Connor then failed to raise the flags with his first penalty shot of the match, before lock Nathan Sharpe was denied a try by some extraordinary defence by Wales on their line.

A hack upfield from centre Tom Shanklin relieved the pressure and gave Wales some much-needed territory inside Australia's scoring zone.

The hosts had a chance to end the half in the same manner they started, but Stephen Jones was unsuccessful once again -- a miss that cost Wales a certain lead at the break.  Instead, the Wallabies headed into the half-time sheds 7-6 up and well aware they had a game on their hands.

However, Wales' tight grip on their southern hemisphere rivals was loosened slightly in the second half following a second try to the Wallabies.

A Quade Cooper grubber came flying back into Kurtely Beales' hands like a boomerang after rebounding off a Welsh player's knee, which allowed the Wallaby full-back to run around prop Gethin Jenkins and put O'Connor away down the touchline.

With one man to beat, O'Connor swung the ball inside to the supporting Beale who finished off with an easy run-in that stretched Australia's lead to eight points following O'Connor's conversion.

Down but not out, Wales kept themselves in with a shout after Stephen Jones found his target to take the scores to 14-9.  Though it seemed whenever the home side threatened any resemblance of a comeback, Australia replied by scoring a try as Ben Alexander crossed the whitewash next -- the prop's first for his country.

Beale almost scored a brilliant individual second try as he beat Mike Phillips to a high ball before sending a cheeky kick around James Hook, but the marauding full-back could not quite collect and touch down under pressure from the retreating Hook.

Minutes later, Tom Shanklin tackled Pocock without the ball when a try was on and was sent to the sin bin.  O'Connor kicked the ensuing penalty to make it 22-9 in favour of the Wallabies.

Wales, though, remained competitive even with 14 men thanks to their pack, which won two scrum penalities five metres out from Australia's tryline.  When the teams scrummed for the third time in as many minutes, the ball popped out the back and replacement scrum-half Richie Rees scored a try that gave the hosts hope.

However, that was shortlived as a 72-minute penalty from O'Connor secured the result for the Wallabies, who lost the scrum battle but won the war.

Man of the match:  Without a doubt, Kurtley Beale who was the inspiration behind Australia's win.

Moment of the match:  There weren't many, but Beale's try certainly was a crucial score to open the second half, and kept Australia in the driving seat.

Villain of the match:  Poor Tom Shanklin, he comitted himself to the tackle ... but was perhaps a wee bit too enthusiastic.  Guilty as charged.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  R Rees
Cons:  Biggar
Pens:  S Jones 3

For Australia:
Tries:  Pocock, Beale, Alexander
Cons:  O'Connor 2
Pens:  O'Connor 2

Wales:  15 James Hook, 14 Will Harries, 13 Tom Shanklin, 12 Andrew Bishop, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Jonathan Thomas, 7 Sam Warburton, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun-Wyn Jones, 4 Brad Davies, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Matthew Rees (c), 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Huw Bennett, 17 Paul James, 18 Deiniol Jones, 19 Martyn Williams, 20 Richie Rees, 21 Dan Biggar, 22 Chris Czekaj.

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

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)

Last-gasp Wallabies prevail in HK

Australia finally ended their 10-game losing streak to New Zealand by beating their trans-Tasman rivals 26-24 in a thrilling Test spectacle in Hong Kong on Saturday.

It took an injury-time conversion by Wallaby wing James O'Connor to win the match for his team after leveling the scores with a last-gasp try in the corner.

O'Connor held his nerve to end Australia's miserable run against New Zealand as the man of the moment converted to seal a dramatic Bledisloe Cup victory at Hong Kong Stadium.

Another All Blacks victory seemed a sure thing after the Kiwis had thwarted a previous Wallaby attack just seconds earlier.  However replacement fly-half Stephen Donald failed to find touch with his clearance kick.  But trailing 24-19 with the final hooter having sounded, Australia managed to keep the ball alive through several phases of play before O'Connor crashed over the line.

As expected, the game was played at a frenetic pace from start to finish with both sides giving the dispersed crowd excellent value for their money.  What a shame a high-quality Test match such as this, couldn't be witnessed by a sold-out stadium.

Australia made much the better start and Kurtley Beale had two chances to give them an early lead following New Zealand infringements but the full-back was off target with penalties from almost identical positions on the right hand side.

The Wallabies continued to pressure the New Zealand line and after a couple of half-breaks came to nothing with passes not sticking, they finally took the lead in the eighth minute when the ball was moved out to Quade Cooper on the left and the fly-half's angled run took him over in the corner, although Matt Giteau missed the conversion.

Mils Muliania was on hand to tidy up Will Genia's dangerous grubber kick in the in-goal area before New Zealand began to gain a foothold in the contest and Dan Carter wasted two opportunities to reduce the arrears, his first penalty hitting the left upright and the second drifting wide.

Australia extended their advantage to 12-0 in the 22nd minute when following a lineout, Adam Ashley-Cooper broke a tackle in midfield to burst clear and score under the posts with Giteau adding the extras.

That stirred the All Blacks into life and they came close to their opening try when Kieran Reid flung the ball out to Keven Mealamu on the left wing after the number eight's strong run was halted five metres out by desperate Australian defence but Mealamu was held up over the line.

They finally got on the scoreboard on the half-hour mark.  Jimmy Cowan picked up from the base of a ruck after Jerome Kaino had gained good ground and the scrum-half darted over with Carter adding the conversion.

New Zealand took the lead three minutes later as the ball was moved out to Read on the right and his short pass afforded Corey Jane the space for the winger to barge over the line from inside the 22 with Carter again adding the two points.

Giteau then struck another penalty off target but Carter made no such mistake, slotting over from 45 metres to give his side a 17-12 half-time lead.

Australia began the second period with plenty of attacking intent and skipper Rocky Elsom was just unable to get the ball down after forcing his way over.

Giteau missed another penalty before New Zealand extended their lead to 12 points in the 53rd minute.

Richie McCaw's fantastic break down the right was the catalyst, the skipper shrugging off a couple of defenders to gain valuable yards before he was eventually hauled down.  The ball was recycled out to Ma'a Nonu and the centre was able to use his strength to touch down, Carter succeeding with the subsequent conversion.

Australia hit back just after the hour mark as Beale's incisive run ended with the full-back off-loading to Drew Mitchell and he powered in at the corner.  O'Connor reduced the deficit to five points with a fine conversion from the left touchline.

O'Connor then could not haul in Berrick Barnes' pass with New Zealand stretched following the substitute's break before Carter missed another penalty with four minutes to go.

Australia continued to press for the try they needed and having kept the ball alive following the final hooter, O'Connor managed to force his way over the line from close in before kicking the winning conversion.

Man of the match:  James O'Connor's heroics can't be ignored, but flanker David Pocock was the Wallabies' best player.  However our vote goes to the losing All Black team's loose trio of Richie McCaw, Jerome Kaino and Kieran Read -- all three were devastating on attack, rock solid in defence and provided a constant and invaluable source of possession from breakdown turnovers

Moment of the match:  Do we even need to say it?  In case you missed it -- James O'Connor's unerring conversion to win the Test match for Australia.

Villain of the match:  Stephen Donald isn't going to get many Christmas cards after first missing a penalty kick in the 75th minute which would have given the All Blacks a comfortable eight-point advantage.  Then he missed touch with a clearing kick moments from the end which led to a turnover and O'Connor's winning try.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Cooper, Ashley-Cooper, Mitchell, O'Connor
Cons:  Giteau, O'Connor 2

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Cowan, Jane, Nonu
Cons:  Carter 3
Pens:  Carter

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

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 Hika Elliot, 17 John Afoa, 18 Samuel Whitelock, 19 Daniel Braid, 20 Alby Mathewson, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Isaia Toeava.

Referee:  Alain Rolland (Ireland)

All Blacks end Tri-Nations unbeaten

Another Wallaby second-half meltdown handed New Zealand their tenth straight win over Australia on Saturday as they won 23-22 in Sydney.

After being on top for the best part of 65 minutes, Australia saw their 22-9 lead disappear in the final fifteen minutes as Richie McCaw's men turned on the class when it mattered most.

The result also means New Zealand extend their winning run in all Tests to fourteen.

What a game!  This is now rugby should be played.

As expected, both teams arrived with an attacking mindset and were keen to keep the ball alive and in hand.  Yet some sterling defensive work saw the protagonists all-square on two tries each at the final whistle.

Australia's 14-6 half-time lead was a fair reflection of a high-paced first 40 minutes.  Each side had been denied a try by mere inches and one mistake by Victor Vito was enough to allow the hosts to cross the whitewash first.

But the Wallabies were consistently half a second ahead of their visitors at point of contact, forcing the All Blacks to leak a couple of penalties.  David Pocock was once again the main instigator of the damage at the breakdown.

The truth be told, Australia could easily have been further ahead as Matt Giteau had left eight points behind (and another two in the second half) with an inconsistent performance from the kicking tee.

It was all going to plan for the men in gold, who looked to have the result wrapped up as they entered the final straight.

Was it fatigue from the long trip back from South Africa?  Burnout after three Tests in as many weeks?  Lack of conditioning?  Whatever it was, the hosts simply weren't the same side in the final quarter as the All Blacks' old tactic of turning up the heat at the death worked once again.

The Wallabies first try came from rare attack from the base of the scrum as Ben McCalman broke off, sent Vito the wrong way and found James O'Connor in aches of space on the blindside.  The fresh-faced wing's speed did the rest to give the Aussies an 8-6 lead on the quarter-hour mark.

Australia took a commanding 19-6 lead when a long pass out wide from Will Genia found Adam Ashley-Cooper, who powered his way over soon after the restart.

Piri Weepu's third penalty with half-an-hour left gave their All Blacks their first points in over 40 minutes to reduce the gap to ten.

Giteau's fourth miss prompted him to hand over the kicking duties to Kurtley Beale, who extended the hosts' lead at 22-9 going into the final quarter.

But it was all New Zealand in the run-in.  Robbie Deans lost all colour in his face as his side were unable to get their hands on the ball.

The All Black pack was suddenly a step ahead in the loose and their domination at scrum time finally paid dividends when McCaw broke down the blindside to cross the try-line unhindered.

Unlike Giteau, Weepu was able to add the extra points, giving the visitors sniff of victory.

When Kieran Read muscled his way over with six minutes left on the clock, it all took on a familiar air as the All Blacks' composure was contrasted by the dejected look on the Wallabies' faces.

Weepu's second conversion put his team ahead for good with six minutes left to play.  The rest is history.

Man of the match:  For 60 minutes we had David Pocock's name pencilled in.  Israel Dagg and Kieran Read deserve a mention, but on the day he became the All Blacks' most capped skipper, Richie McCaw gets our nod.  Not just for his try and tireless work, but for the fact that when he is at the helm, no matter what the scoreline, you can never count the Kiwis out.

Moment of the match:  It was almost in the bag until, the in the 67th minute, the Wallaby scrum went backwards (again).  It gave McCaw that half-second head start he needed to evade Rocky Elsom and break clear to score.

Villain of the match:  Nothing nasty worth reporting.  We witnessed an 80-minute advertisement for the game.

The scorers

For Australia:
Tries:  O'Connor, Ashley-Cooper
Pens:  Giteau 3, Beale

For New Zealand:
Tries:  McCaw, Read
Cons:  Weepu 2
Pens:  Weepu3

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

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

Venue:  ANZ Stadium, Sydney
Weather:  15°C.  Clear.  Almost windless
Referee:  Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa), Christie du Preez (South Africa)
Television match officials:Matt Goddard (Australia)

Beale wins it for Wallabies

Australia full-back Kurtley Beale kicked a 50m penalty in injury time to beat South Africa 41-39 in a dramatic Tri-Nations battle in Bloemfontein.

The last-gasp victory allowed the Wallabies to break a 47-year losing streak on the Highveld that goes all the way back to 1963, and will now finish the tournament in second place -- avoiding the dreaded wooden spoon.

Not even 38,000 booing South Africans could deter Beale in the dying seconds of the match, as the man of the moment showed some deep steel by nailing the match-winning penalty from a difficult angle on the halfway line.

The raised flags behind the posts consigned the Springboks to their fifth defeat of a forgettable 2010 campaign, completing their spiralling journey to rock bottom.  Since the start of this year's tournament, they've surrendered the Tri-Nations title, the Freedom Cup, and now the Mandela Plate.

Australia haven't won in Bloemfontein since 1933 but came perilously close to ending second best for the second time in two weeks after dominating the opening quarter, but then -- like a bad case of deja vu -- let the Springboks battle all the way back to lead in the second half.

The world champions looked down and out shortly before half-time when they trailed 31-6, but a moment of inspiration from vice-captain Victor Matfield reinvigorated the hosts after he set up Jaque Fourie to score.

Further tries from Gurthro Steenkamp and Jean de Villiers added to a match haul of 24 points for Morne Steyn, helped edge the Boks in front with 90 seconds left to play.  But unbelievably, the hosts conceded a penalty in the final minute, and Australia captain Rocky Elsom asked Beale to have a crack for the unlikely win.

Australia were gifted an early three points when Bryan Habana was punished for not releasing and Matt Giteau easily slotted over the opening points.

Steyn responded for the hosts after Beale's illegal attempt to steal the ball, but the Waratahs star made amends almost instantly.  Jean de Villiers failed to hold his position, which allowed James O'Connor to send his team-mate away for the opening try after eight minutes.

Giteau added the extras, before another Springbok error, this time surprisingly at the line-out, led to another seven-pointer for Australia.  John Smit's put-in was too long enabling the Wallabies to steal the ball and spread it quickly through the hands to Adam Ashley-Cooper, whose pass sent O'Connor over.

The conversion by Giteau followed, and after Steyn put over another penalty, Stephen Moore crossed for his third Test try, set up by Drew Mitchell's break through the middle.

Australia added a bonus point-try after 24 minutes, but again had Habana to thank after the winger missed his tackle on O'Connor, who sliced through the centre and off-loaded to Elsom to score.

Giteau extended the lead to 31-6 and the score looked to be remaining that way heading into the half-time break, until the moment of genius from Matfield.

The veteran lock, who won his 100th cap last week, chipped the ball over the last defender and impressively regathered before laying the ball on for Fourie to score.

Steyn converted to leave Peter de Villiers' side trailing by 18 at the break.

Steenkamp cut that gap by five six minutes after the restart when he powered his way over and the conversion along with a penalty from Steyn further boosted the visibly rejuvenated hosts.

The upward swing in momentum gathered even more pace after 54 minutes when Jean de Villiers' angled run cut right through the Australia defence and saw the Stormers centre cross under the post.

It was a move that came from an initial Beale error and then a strong South Africa scrum.

The comeback was complete on the hour mark when a mammoth 50 metre penalty from Steyn put the home side ahead for the first time.  And Australia's woes deepened 10 minutes later when replacement hooker Saia Faingaa was sent to the sin-bin after a spear tackle on Flip van der Merwe.

Steyn extended the lead to five points, but there was another twist when Mitchell crossed under the posts with eight minutes to play and O'Connor handed the lead back to the tourists with a clean conversion.

But an error from Beale four minutes from time presented Steyn with his ninth opportunity at goal and he maintained his 100 per cent record by putting his side back ahead.

However, Beale had the final say to condemn South Africa to bottom place in the standings after a disappointing defence of their 2009 title.

Man of the match:  Could it be anyone else besides that Un-Beale-lievable last-gasp penalty kick for Australia?

Moment of the match:  Victor Matfield's individual brilliance in setting up South Africa's first try was simply spectacular, but it goes without saying that this match will be remembered for that kick from Beale.

Villain of the match:  Saia Faingaa's moment of madness that ended with Flip van der Merwe on his head in the 69th minute.  Steyn kicked the ensuing penalty and the Wallabies faced the impossible task of closing the gap with only 14 men.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Fourie, Steenkamp, De Villiers
Pens:  M Steyn 6
Cons:  M Steyn 3

For Australia:
Tries:  Beale, O'Connor, Moore, Elsom, Mitchell
Cons:  Giteau 5, O'Connor
Pen:  Giteau, Beale

South Africa:  15 Francois Steyn, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 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, 4 Danie Rossouw, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.
Replacements:  16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Ryan Kankowski, 20 Ricky Januarie , 21 Juan de Jongh, 22 Gio Aplon.

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

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)

Springboks win Loftus epic

South Africa salvaged some pride in Pretoria thanks to a thrilling 44-31 Tri-Nations win over Australia, a Test that will go down as one of the classics.

Nine scintillating tries were scored at Loftus Versfeld in a fast and furious encounter -- five of them coming from the Springboks -- but the one that counted the most belonged to JP Pietersen who sealed the deal in the last minute of play.

The result brought South Africa's four-game losing streak to an end in emphatic fashion, and moves the Springboks one point above the Wallabies on the tournament standings.

The bonus-point win also allowed vice-captain Victor Matfield to enjoy a triumphant 100th Test on his home ground -- the first of the three Bok centurions to have this satisfaction.

With New Zealand having already clinched the Tri-Nations title last week, the best both sides could aim for was second place in the remaining games.  But while the competition may be over as a contest, the hunger to win is still very much alive as witnessed in the Republic tonight.

South Africa were 14-0 behind after five minutes and trailed 28-24 at the break, but came back well in the second half.  However, as memorable as the breathless battle was, the defensive performances from both sides was one of the most inept in Tri-Nations history.

The Springboks were certainly the worse of the two for much of the contest, conceding four tries in the first half alone -- three of them thanks to defensive incompetence of the very highest order.  A year ago these same players were defensive giants, granitic in nature.  Now they're being dwarfed by a younger, fitter outfit.

The Wallabies should have been ahead inside the opening two minutes when good work from their backs set up Drew Mitchell, who looked to have scored on the left corner, only to be denied by the television official.

But it mattered little as Will Genia then picked up at the base of a ruck and sold a dummy to Flip van der Merwe and ran through Matfield before crossing.

After Matt Giteau converted, the lead was extended after some exceptional manoeuvring by Kurtley Beale in his own half, which saw the full-back ghost his way past at least five Springbok defenders.  He then found Rocky Elsom and picked out James O'Connor for his fifth Test try.

Another Giteau conversion followed, but the hosts finally managed to get on the board after nine minutes when Francois Hougaard's switched pass let flank Juan Smith run in under the posts.

Morne Steyn added the extras, although, Bryan Habana did his side little favour by gifting the advantage back to the tourists -- the Stormers winger made a mess of trying to take a high ball from the kick-off, allowing O'Connor in for his second.

Giteau made it three out of three to take the score to 21-7.

A remarkable fifth try of the game came in the 14th minute when captain John Smit cleverly chose to set up a line-out rather than take the points and he was rewarded when Matfield's powerful shift allowed prop Gurthro Steenkamp to barge his way over -- with Morne Steyn converting.

A 60m penalty from the Springbok number ten then cut the deficit even further and when Beale tried to do the same thing and missed, there was a sense from the home crowd that their luck was about to change.

However, it was again not to be -- Wallabies lock Dean Mumm landing the bonus-point try for his side after 26 minutes.  Mitchell's kick in-field from the left put Habana under pressure for the second time and the ensuing tap-and-go penalty led to the Waratahs lock powering his way over.

But the tries didn't stop there.  Nine minutes before the break Hougaard latched onto a pop pass, slipped through a gap and then found Pierre Spies who went over under the posts.

Morne Steyn reduced the deficit to four with his conversion to complete a rare 52-point half in international rugby.

The Bulls fly-half and Giteau exchanged penalties after the restart, before Habana's third blunder arised when he overran a pop pass from Morne Steyn that fortuitously bounced for Francois Steyn -- returning to the side for the first time since June -- to dot down and give the Boks the lead for the first time after 50 minutes.

Morne Steyn completed a tough conversion putting Peter de Villiers' team three points ahead (34-31).

The hosts were then put under pressure when they failed to score with a lost ball on the Wallabies' line, and the visitors ran the length of the field -- sparked by more Beale brilliance -- only to be denied by poor handling after a ruck or two on the Springboks line.

The visitors sustained the pressure and this time it took Hougaard to bring off a try-saving tackle on Adam Ashley Cooper metres from South Africa's tryline.

Francois Steyn, noted for his booming right boot, then landed a penalty from his own half to stretch the lead to six with 11 minutes to play.  And Pietersen added a late score, converted by Butch James, as the world champions closed out the win.

Man of the match:  South Africa largely have scrum-half Francois Hougaard to thank for the win.  He set up three of the Boks' five tries and made a try-saving -- even match-saving -- tackle when the home side were on the rack in the last quarter.

Moment of the match:  Nine tries!  Take your pick.  But with both sides' defence exhibiting the resistant qualities of a weathered, old barn door and the intensity of touch rugby players at the tackle point -- Hougaard's tackle on Ashley-Cooper takes the cake.

Villain of the match:  No cards, but one feels that Australia were their own worst enemies in the second half at Loftus.  The Wallabies' high error count prevented them from winning at altitude in South Africa for the first time since 1963!

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Smith, Steenkamp, Spies, F Steyn, Pietersen
Cons:  M Steyn 4, James
Pens:  M Steyn 2, F Steyn

For Australia:
Tries:  Genia, O'Connor 2, Mumm
Cons:  Giteau 4

South Africa:  15 Francois Steyn, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 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, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Janie du Plessis, 2 John Smit, 1 Gurtho Steenkamp.
Replacements:  16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Danie Rossouw, 19 Ryan Kankowski, 20 Ricky Januarie, 21 Butch James, 22 Juan de Jongh.

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

Referee:  Alain Rolland (Ireland)