Barbarians too hot for Springboks

Two tries from Drew Mitchell were the difference between the Barbarians and Boks, with the 'hosts' winning 26-20 in an entertaining clash at HQ.

It was a fine advert for this historic spectacle, not least because the Baa-Baas were celebrating their 120th year.  It was a very happy birthday.

Mitchell was again a key outlet on the wing while Anton van Zyl, very much a South African, put in a dominant performance in his adopted pack.

Several games across Britain were called off due to the weather this weekend but the London pitch looked in surprisingly decent nick for the contest.  And that was great news for the supporters who had braved the cold to come out and watch such a star-studded Barbarians team in action.  They did not disappoint either, with Ma'a Nonu dominating the midfield, Neemia Tialata lapping up some running up front and James O'Connor roaming.

It was that man Nonu who got the 'hosts' on the front-foot too as he slipped the net on halfway, beating three defenders to take his side up to the 22.  From there the Barbarians mounted serious pressure on the Springbok whitewash with the score looking ominous.  Finally it came on six minutes when Will Genia popped an inside ball to in-form Wallaby team-mate Drew Mitchell for the opening score of the day.

South Africa did knock over a response through a penalty from fly-half Elton Jantjies four minutes later, who made a nervy debut in green and gold particularly from the kicking tee.

But that only awoke the Baa-baas beast as a mistake at the Bok line-out saw All Blacks prop Tialata rampaging at the visitors' whitewash.  He came close but the damage was done, with numbers to the left resulting in a simple run-in for O'Connor, who kicked the extras.

More was to come for the now warmed spectators though and it was arguably the moment of the match.  Yet again from turnover ball, captain Matt Giteau stretched his legs down the left wing before a slick inside ball to Adam Ashley-Cooper then saw the centre chip over and from there it was a foot-race that Mitchell won.  The Waratahs winger was definitely following up his hat-trick against France with another strong performance, this time at Twickenham.

Peter de Villiers had obviously had a stern word with his charges at the break and credit to them, the Springboks came out firing on 44 minutes.  The try came from a Barbarians mistake however, as Nonu's speculative pass found the hands of Odwa Ndungane.

Jantjies sent over the simple conversion and the scores were 19-10 with a great deal of time remaining.  But the Lions number ten then proceeded to miss the opportunity to cut the lead further just before the hour, and it was not the most difficult of shots.

A South African-born player then scored a five-pointer however, it was the Italian lock forward Quintin Geldenhuys who got over following another sustained period of possession.  O'Connor added two more points and the game as a contest seemed to be over.

The Boks did rally late on though as Bakkies Botha and replacement hooker Bandise Maku crossed on 71 and 80 minutes respectively to cap an entertaining affair at Twickenham.

Man-of-the-match:  Many put their hand up for this gong but we have gone for a South African playing in Barbarians colours.  Anton van Zyl was a real physical presence for his side and led the pack with a powerful performance.  Mentions go to Ma'a Nonu, Adam Ashley-Cooper and Drew Mitchell, who were all threatening throughout.

The scorers:

For Barbarians:
Tries:  Mitchell 2, O'Connor, Geldenhuys
Con:  O'Connor 3

For South Africa:
Try:  Ndungane, Botha
Con:  Jantjies
Pen:  Jantjies

Barbarians:  15 James O'Connor, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Matt Giteau (c), 9 Will Genia, 8 Colin Bourke, 7 Martyn Williams, 6 Rodney So'oialo, 5 Chris Jack, 4 Anton van Zyl, 3 Neemia Tialata, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Salvatore Perugini.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 John Yapp, 18 Quintin Geldenhuys, 19 Daniel Braid, 20 Andy Ellis, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Seru Rabini.

South Africa:  15 Patrick Lambie, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Adi Jacobs, 12 Andries Strauss, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 François Hougaard, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Juan Smith (c), 6 Willem Alberts, 5 Alistair Hargreaves, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Coenie Oosthuizen.
Replacements:  16 Bandise Maku, 17 Tendai Mtawarira, 18 Werner Kruger, 19 Flip van der Merwe, 20 Keegan Daniel, 21 Charl McLeod, 22 Gio Aplon.

Referee:  Pascal Gauzere (France)
Assistant referees:  Christophe Berdos (France), Peter Allan (Scotland)

Ireland end on a high

Ireland ended their November Test series on a high thanks to a hard-fought 29-9 victory over Argentina at Aviva Stadium on Sunday.

It wasn't pretty, it wasn't ugly either -- but it was effective as fly-half Jonathan Sexton contributed seventeen points with the boot to keep his untroubled side ahead of an uninspired Pumas outfit.

A late try from Gordon D'Arcy in injury time flattered Ireland's final scoreline a wee bit, but the end result was never in doubt as the home side were always on top in a rather dour contest.

Once they fell behind, Argentina's conservative game-plan was badly exposed and, in the end, they had only a trio of Felipe Contepomi penalties to show for their efforts.  The Pumas pivot missed three shots at goal, and Argentina also failed to sink two drop-goal attempts.

Freezing conditions greeted both teams, with the Aviva Stadium passing a morning pitch inspection despite heavy snowfall over the last 48 hours.  However if the crowd expected to be warmed up with an entertaining game of rugby -- they were to be highly disappointed.

After a diabolical display against the Springboks, Ireland picked up a scratchy win over Samoa, and then tested the All Blacks with a determined but ultimately insufficient effort.  Their first-half performance against Argentina was encouraging, although their consistency left a lot to be desired.

The hosts showed some resilience in the first 10 minutes when Argentina enjoyed terrific momentum through the rolling maul and scrum.  But while the Pumas started strongly up front, their discipline cost them dear and it didn't take long for Sexton to get the first three-pointer on the board.

With the momentum provided by the pack, the Irish runners produced several good touches.  Stephen Ferris rounded off some sparkling interplay between forwards and backs in the 21st minute.

The blindside flanker, who passed a fitness test on his ankle to make the starting XV, was left with a simple finish out on the right after his back-row colleague Jamie Heaslip had burst through and drawn the final line of defence.

Sexton converted and added three further penalties before half-time to put Ireland 19-3 up at the break, the Pumas' only points having come via Contepomi's 31st-minute penalty.

The second half was a tight affair, clear-cut chances few and far between as both sides instead relied on the boot of their respective fly-halves.

Sexton added a further penalty to take his personal tally to 17 before making way for veteran Ronan O'Gara for the final 12 minutes.

Contepomi, who also missed three penalty chances, landed kicks of his own in the 58th and 68th minutes to reduce Argentina's deficit to 22-9.  But Ireland remained resolute in defence and never looked likely to surrender their lead.

Replacement Keith Earls was denied a late try when the video referee ruled he had knocked on but moments later centre D'Arcy did manage to seal the win in style, collecting his own chip over the top before touching down.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Try:  Ferris
Con:  Sexton, O'Gara
Pens:  Sexton 5

For Argentina:
Pens:  Contepomi 3

Ireland:  15 Geordan Murphy, 14 Tommy Bowe 13 Brian O'Driscoll (c) 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Andrew Trimble, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Peter Stringer , 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 David Wallace, 6 Stephen Ferris, 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 Devin Toner, 19 Denis Leamy, 20 Eoin Reddan , 21 Ronan O'Gara, 22 Keith Earls.

Argentina:  15 Martin Rodriguez, 14 Horacio Agulla, 13 Gonzalo Tiesi, 12 Marcelo Bosch, 11 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino, 10 Felipe Contepomi (c), 9 Nicolas Vergallo, 8 Juan Fernandez Lobbe, 7 Julio Farias Cabello, 6 Genaro Fessia, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Mariano Galarza, 3 Martin Scelzo, 2 Mario Ledesma, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements:  16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Marcos Ayerza, 18 Juan Figallo, 19 Santiago Guzman, 20 Alvaro Galindo, 21 Alfredo Lalanne, 22 Lucas Borges.

Referee:  Mark Lawrence (South Africa)

Wallabies humble France

After being level at half time, Wallabies eventually cantered past France with a seven-try 59-16 victory in Paris on Saturday.

Les Bleus were booed off the field by their home crowd as a second-half meltdown saw them concede a whopping 46 points after the break.

Despite being annihilated at scrum time, Australia notched up a record victory over France, proving that attack truly is the best form of defence as Drew Mitchell scored a hat-trick in the space of a few minutes.

This must surely be a wake-up call for Marc Lièvremont whose side looked completely disjointed and lacked any sort of direction.

The hosts were completely outplayed in very department expect for the scrum, and even the Wallabies' disastrous set piece become largely irrelevant in the second half.

The constant chopping and changing of the French team has left them without any sort of cohesion.  In front of 80 000 of their fans on Saturday, the XV de France was exposed by arguably the world's most electrifying attacking team.

Just as worrying for French fans must be the way their team simply capitulated once the Wallabies had a decent lead.  This is not the first time it's happened -- similar beatings were dished out by the All Blacks in Marseille last November and by the Springboks in Cape Town in June.  The manner in which French heads dropped and tackles were missed in Paris was all too familiar.

As for Australia, despite the impressive scoreline this victory must be taken with a pinch of salt.  Yes, they were fantastic on attack.  Yes, they managed to win handsomely against one of the world's rugby powers, but there is simply no way they can expect to win the World Cup with that scrum.

France were able to hang on for 40 minutes almost entirely thanks to their scrum dominance which was not only worth a penalty try but also a bagful of penalties.

Australia took an early lead thanks to wonderfully executed move that saw Adam Ashley-Cooper bust through the midfield to score.

James O'Connor and Morgan Parra exchanged penalties until referee Bryce Lawrence was left with no choice but to hand France a penalty try -- and send Ben Alexander to the sin bin -- as the Aussie scrum repeatedly collapsed meaning the teams headed to the changing rooms at 13-all.

Parra gave France a 16-13 lead shortly after the break but it was one-way traffic for the rest of the game.

Tries from Benn Robinson and Will Genia in the 48th and 51st minutes put Australia in control, before Mitchell claimed a quickfire hat-trick and James O'Connor added a try of his own to complete a personal haul of 29 points.

Man of the match:  A lot was made of the size and class of the French midfield but they were completely outshone by Adam Ashley-Cooper whose running lines were simply outstanding.

Moment of the match:  There was an air of inevitability about Benn Robinson's try with half an hour left on the clock.  As it turned out, it was the straw that broke the camel's back as France imploded.

The scorers:

For France:
Try:  Penalty try
Cons:  Parra
Pens:  Parra 3

For Australia:
Tries:  Ashley-Cooper, Robinson, Genia, Mitchell 3, O'Connor
Cons:  O'Connor 6
Pens:  O'Connor 4

Yellow card:  Alexander (Australia -- 30th min- repeated scum infringements)

France:  15 Jérôme Porical, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Aurelien Rougerie, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 11 Alexis Palisson, 10 Damien Traille, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Sebastien Chabal, 7 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Jerome Thion, 4 Julien Pierre, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 William Servat, 1 Thomas Domingo.
Replacements:  16 Guilhem Guirado, 17 Jerome Schuster, 18 Romain Millo-Chluski, 19 Julien Bonnaire, 20 Dimitri Yachvili, 21 Fabrice Estebanez, 22 Marc Andreu.

Australia:  15 Kurtley Beale, 14 James O'Connor, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 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 Scott Higginbotham, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Matt Giteau, 22 Lachie Turner.

Venue:  Stade de France.
Referee:  Brice Lawrence (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  Wayne Barnes (England), Carlo Damasco (Italy)
Television match official:  Hugh Watkins (Wales)

All Blacks bag another Grand Slam

Wales made New Zealand work hard for their Grand Slam decider, with the visitors eventually running out 37-25 winners in Cardiff.

Dan Carter broke Jonny Wilkinson's world Test points record at the Millennium Stadium as the All Blacks completed their third Grand Slam tour of Britain and Ireland in six seasons.

All Blacks fly-half Carter missed four first-half kicks, but an early long-range penalty took him past England star Wilkinson's mark of 1,178.

Wales gave the red-hot 2011 World Cup favourites a real fright though, trailing 13-12 early in the second period after Carter's opposite number Stephen Jones landed four penalties.

But the All Blacks displayed their renowned ruthless streak when it mattered, with Hosea Gear scoring two tries -- his second when substitute Daniel Braid was in the sin-bin -- while full-back Mils Muliaina, Gear's fellow wing Isaia Toeava and substitute prop John Afoa also touched down.

Carter added three conversions and two penalties, and Jones slotted two more three-pointers, plus a conversion of full-back Lee Byrne's well-worked late try to see him finish with 20 points.

But Wales have now lost 24 successive games against New Zealand and gone seven matches without a win since beating Italy in last season's Six Nations Championship.

They can take a degree of comfort from their fiercely-committed display, a quality they will again need in abundance when opening Six Nations opponents England arrive in Cardiff on February 4.

Scrum-half Mike Phillips, flanker Sam Warburton and centre Tom Shanklin all delivered powerful performances, yet Wales ultimately went the same way as England, Scotland and Ireland this month, beaten comfortably by the best team on planet rugby.

Wales took the lead inside two minutes when Jones slotted a penalty after he was tackled late by Gear.

The All Blacks wing turned his ankle after landing awkwardly following the challenge, but he soon ran it off by punishing Wales with a soft fifth-minute try.

Missed tackles by Shanklin and wing George North on Toeava gifted New Zealand an opportunity, and Gear went over unopposed in the corner.

Carter missed the touchline conversion attempt, yet he found his range just four minutes later from 49 metres to overtake Wilkinson and give the visitors an 8-3 advantage.

Gear's score served as a graphic reminder to Wales they could not afford such defensive lapses, but the lesson went unheeded.

New Zealand struck again midway through the first-half as Carter injected pace into a routine counter-attack, and Muliaina glided in from halfway, eluding half-hearted challenges from Wales flanker Dan Lydiate and his back-row colleague Ryan Jones.

Carter failed to convert -- his third miss in four attempts -- and that was just as well for Wales as the All Blacks built an imposing 10-point lead.

Wales showed glimpses of their renowned attacking ability, creating chances when they put width on the ball, but centre James Hook could not quite stretch over the line, knocking on under pressure from Muliaina's tackle.

Jones cut the with a second penalty, and with Wales enjoying territorial dominance, New Zealand had to step up their defensive work-rate.

The visitors were not helped when their influential number eight Kieran Read limped off just before the break, and Wales maintained impressive momentum as Jones completed his penalty hat-trick.

Carter then missed another kick on the stroke of half-time, ending a fast and furious opening period that saw Wales firmly in touch despite their misfiring lineout and occasional defensive fragility.

Wales, desperate to avoid going through their four-match autumn series without a win, gained fresh impetus with the arrival of back-row substitutes Andy Powell and Jonathan Thomas after 48 minutes.

The All Blacks were rattled, confirmed by Braid -- Read's replacement -- being yellow-carded for not rolling away after tackling Stephen Jones.

Jones brought Wales to within a point by booting the resulting penalty, yet it was the cue for New Zealand to step up intensity levels, and slick passing saw Gear claim his second try.

Carter added the extras and then kicked a penalty, but two more Jones penalties during a four-minute spell gave Wales renewed hope.

An upset briefly looked possible -- then New Zealand emphatically snuffed out any prospect through late scores from Toeava and Afoa.

It was rough justice on Wales, and their frustration was underlined when Powell high-tackled All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw -- an incident which could easily result in him being cited by match commissioner Rob Flockhart.

But they at least had the final word through Byrne's consolation effort that Jones improved, although New Zealand once again emerged victorious and extended an unbeaten record against Wales that stretches back to 1953.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Try:  Byrne
Con:  S Jones
Pens:  S Jones 6

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Gear 2, Muliaina, Toeava, Afoa
Cons:  Carter 3
Pens:  Carter 2

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

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 Jerome Kaino, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 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:  Alan Lewis (Ireland

Scotland sneak past Samoa at the death

Scotland needed an 80th minute penalty from Ruaridh Jackson to edge past Samoa 19-16 at Pittodrie on Saturday.

After the 49-3 defeat by New Zealand and a 21-17 win over South Africa, Scotland were seeking a fifth win from six Tests to finish the year on a high.

But they were tested to the full by Samoa and had to come from behind to take a 13-10 half-time lead.

After Dan Parks' early penalty, Kahn Fotuali'i's fine ninth-minute converted try put Samoa ahead, but Nikki Walker touched down under the posts for Scotland's first try of the three-match autumn series.

Parks converted and added another penalty, but Paul Williams narrowed the deficit with three points of his own.

Williams twice kicked Samoa level with penalties either side of a Parks drop goal but 15 years after drawing with Scotland, Samoa were denied.

Replacement fly-half Jackson, aged 22 and winning his second cap off the bench, stepped up to give the hosts victory after Iosefa Tekori was penalised at the breakdown.

Allan Jacobsen and Sean Lamont won their 50th caps as Scotland looked to end 2010 on a high at Pittodrie.

But Samoa, too, were looking to end their year on a winning note after a 20-10 loss to Ireland and a 26-13 defeat by England.

Scotland had won five and drawn one -- in November 1995 -- of their previous six meetings with Samoa, who last recorded a European win in 2001 in Italy, but had previously defeated Wales and Ireland.

Scotland, reverting to the white change strip they wore in the humbling by the All Blacks a fortnight ago, immediately began by applying forward pressure on the Samoa line and Parks' early penalty gave the hosts a 3-0 lead.

But Samoa went in front after nine minutes, breaching the Scotland defence with a move which demonstrated their full range of talents.

George Pisi broke down the left and kicked on, Seilala Mapusua picked up and fed inside to scrum-half Fotuali'i to score.  Williams converted.

Scotland responded with a converted try of their own.

After a scrum on the right, Walker burst through on an angled run off his right wing and touched down under the posts.

Walker scored two tries the last time Scotland played in Aberdeen, against Canada in 2008, and touched down for his fifth international try -- the first Andy Robinson's side have scored in the autumn series.

Parks, who had a 100 per cent success rate against South Africa, missed a penalty before being granted another opportunity after Ross Ford had initiated a driving maul.

Williams cut the interval deficit to three points with a penalty after Kelly Brown was penalised for not rolling away from a tackle on Alesana Tuilagi.

The full-back levelled two minutes into the second half.

Parks missed a second straightforward penalty of the game as he failed to restore Scotland's lead.

The hosts then spread the ball the width of the field trying to puncture a hole in the Samoa defence, but no break was forthcoming and Parks dropped a goal to make amends for his missed penalty and keep the scoreboard ticking over.

Scotland were on the defensive from the restart and Samoa were continually held up short of the hosts' line.

The hosts creeped offside and Samoa drew level again with Williams kicking a penalty from in front of the posts.

Robinson turned to his bench for reinforcements with 20 minutes remaining, with scrum-half Mike Blair, prop Moray Low, fly-half Jackson, lock Jim Hamilton and centre Max Evans coming on.

Blair was immediately required in defence and caught Ofisa Treviranus in the corner, denying Samoa a second score.

Graeme Morrison, Blair and John Barclay drove through the middle as Scotland responded, but Lamont knocked on down the blindside to save Samoa.

Lamont was forced off, with Vernon switching to the wing for the final six minutes and Ross Rennie coming into the back row.

But Scotland's frailties out wide were not exposed and Samoa replacement Iosefa Tekori was penalised at the breakdown in the last minute, handing Scotland an opportunity to steal victory.

And Glasgow Warriors number 10 Jackson stepped up to convert the resulting penalty with his first points in international rugby.

The scorers:

For Scotland:
Try:  Walker
Con:  Parks
Pens:  Parks 2, Jackson
Drop:  Parks

For Samoa:
Try:  Fotuali'i
Con:  Williams
Pens:  Williams 3

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

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 Census Johnston, 2 Mahonri Schwalger (c), 1 Sakaria Taulafo.
Replacements:  16 Ti'I Paulo, 17 Anthony Perenise, 18 Iosefa Tekori, 19 Afa Aiono, 20 Junior Poluleuligaga, 21 Daniel Leo, 22 Fautua Otto.

Venue:  Pittodrie, Aberdeen
Referee:  Steve Walsh (Australia)
Assistant referees:  Marius Jonker (South Africa), Cobus Wessels (South Africa)
Television match official:  Tony Redmond (Ireland)

Boks redeem themselves at Twickers

Following a demoralising defeat to Scotland, the embattled Springboks went from zero to hero in the space of a week after beating England 21-11 at Twickenham on Saturday.

South Africa dusted themselves off from a miserable afternoon at Murrayfield to silence their critics with a powerful performance that made up for last week's effort ten-fold.

It was an incredible return of serve from the world champions who may have had their Grand Slam dreams dashed, but at least restored some pride with one game left to play on tour against the Barbarians at the same venue next weekend.

Once again, the Boks' proved that they are a different kettle of fish with their backs up against the wall as England were left to find out the hard way -- enduring a seventh consecutive defeat to the men in green and gold.

The visiting pack was immense, dominating the collisions and set-pieces -- their line-out was simply outstanding -- however the backline were less impressive, making too many handling errors and lacking penetration on attack.

But it didn't matter as England were a shadow of the team that smashed the Wallabies two weeks ago.  Out-thought and out-fought.  That was the bottom line for England in an encounter which was not so much a rugby match as an arm-wrestle.

Gone were the pretty patterns woven by England in recent weeks.  Instead they found themselves scrapping for possession.  Desperately shoring up their defence.  Fighting for their lives against the toughest, meanest team in rugby.  They came up short.

The sides were level at half-time but after losing the influential Tom Croft and Toby Flood shortly before the break, England conceded a soft penalty straight after and it was all South Africa thereafter as the hosts wilted under pressure.

Replacement Willem Alberts was sent over in the right-hand corner before debutant winger Lwazi Mvovo ghosted through a stationary England backline five minutes later to effectively seal matters.

An intercept try from full-back Ben Foden two minutes from the end represented scant consolation for Martin Johnson's men, who battled hard but ultimately failed to deal with the might of the Springboks pack.

Toby Flood got the ball rolling with a straight-forward penalty in the fifth minute after a scintillating 30m run from Tom Croft that took play into kicking range for his fly-half, who didn't disappoint.  It was just reward for an all-out England counter-attack instigated by Nick Easter.

The physicality of the match nearly claimed its first victim in the form of Chris Ashton following a mistimed tackle on Bok skipper Victor Matfield that saw the England winger come off second best.  Dazed, Ashton saw more than stars flying over his head as Morne Steyn leveled the scores with a well-struck penalty in the tenth minute.

The big hits kept coming in, and this time it was the impressive-looking Croft who felt the punishing effects of a brutal Test that would see the flanker forced off the pitch clutching his forearm.  It was a cruel blow for England, but the hosts pressed on and took the lead once more thanks to another three points from Flood.

At this point it seemed whatever England did, South Africa could do better as the world champions clicked into a higher gear and nearly accelerated over the line only for Matfield to have the ball knocked from his grasp with the tryline begging.

The missed opportunities wouldn't end there for the Boks, however, after the two Steyns -- Morne and Francois -- watched in angst as their respective penalty efforts hit the posts and denied South Africa six points.

Flood, injured in the build-up to the Matfield effort, failed to make the interval and was replaced by Charlie Hodgson, while opposite number Steyn levelled matters four minutes before the end of the half after England spoiled a ruck on their own line.

Three minutes after the break and South Africa were ahead for the first time -- veteran Mike Tindall spotted in an offside position.

England responded well though, driving towards the line through Dylan Hartley and Easter, and although they camped on the try-line for several minutes looking for an opening, Easter was hit by three defenders and the ball fell clear as the Springboks survived.

South Africa began to ring the changes with prop CJ Van Der Linde and flanker Alberts sent on -- and both made an immediate impact.

The England scrum struggled as the Springboks wheeled one and then hooked a ball against the head.  Morne Steyn kicked ahead and wing Mark Cueto conceded the line-out.

South Africa drove through phase after phase before moving the ball wide and number eight Pierre Spies' wonderful, delayed pass sent Alberts over in the corner.  Morne Steyn was off-target with the conversion, but it had become a war of attrition and in such circumstances there was only likely to be one outcome.

Hodgson tried a cross-kick which Mvovo gathered and he then drew the penalty as Ashton and Shontayne Hape came off their feet and Morne Steyn teed up the attacking line-out.

Both Steyns dropped back into position for a drop goal but the Springboks instead worked the ball wide for Mvovo, who brushed past Ashton to score on 70 minutes.

England never really looked like creating an opening were before they gifted a late try after Foden picked off Van Der Linde's offload and sprinted 90 metres to score.  Tindall tried the quick drop-goal conversion and hit the post, summing up their afternoon.

Man of the match:  While Bismarck du Plessis was named the official man of the match, it could have gone to any of the Bok heavies.  Which is why we're going for a collective effort!  Special mention for England lock Courtney Lawes -- he was everywhere!

Moment of the match:  Tough to choose between new Bok recruits Willem Alberts and Lwazi Mvovo.  But we'll go for Mvovo's touchdown, as the Bok speedster sealed the win with his first Test try.

Villain of the match:  None spring to mind, but we have a funny feeling you'll prove us wrong -- answers on a postcard please!

The scorers:

For England:
Try:  Foden
Pens:  Flood 2

For South Africa:
Tries:  Alberts, Mvovo
Cons:  M Steyn
Pens:  M Steyn 3

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 (c), 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 Hendre Fourie, 20 Danny Care, 21 Charlie Hodgson, 22 Matt Banahan.

South Africa:  15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Frans Steyn, 12 Jean De Villiers, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 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 Adriaan Strauss, 17 CJ Van der Linde, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Willem Alberts, 20 Francois Hougaard, 21 Patrick Lambie, 22 Adi Jacobs.

Referee:  George Clancy (Ireland)

Bergamasco boots Italy to victory

Italian winger Mirco Bergamasco kicked eight penalties from eight as the Azzurri beat Fiji 24-16 in Modena.

In a game that was riddled with handling errors and penalties, the power of the Italian pack in the second-half was enough to quell the attacking prowess of the Fijians in the first forty minutes.

The Fijians demonstrated great flair and power when going forward and opened the scoring in the eight minute when hooker Talemaitoga Taupati dived over after some good build up work from Napolioni Nalaga and Semisi Naevo.

The try sparked the Italians into life and Bergamasco and Fijian fly-half Seremaia Bai proceeded to trade penalties, with both sides serial penalty offenders in defence, with the players seemingly deciding that infringing was the only manner in which to halt an attack.

Nick Mallet must have been a worried man at the break having just seen prop Martin Castrogiovanni sin-binned on the stroke of half-time for continued infringements and his side trailing 9-16.

He need not have been though as the Islanders ran out of steam in the second forty minutes as the Italian pack began to stamp their authority on proceedings.

When Castrogiovanni returned from his ten minutes off the park, the Azzurri forwards stepped up a gear and with Fiji now conceding penalties at will, Bergamasco made the most of their indiscretions, with his pinpoint accuracy producing a world record-equalling performance of eight penalties from eight attempts.

Man of the match:  Without a doubt Mirco Bergamasco.  Italy didn't off much on attack, but Bergamasco made the most of every points scoring opportunity that was afforded to him.

Moment of the match:  Italy and their players don't hold many records of a positive nature, but with Bergamasco equalling the record for the most successful attempts at goal, they certainly do now.

The scorers:

For Italy:
Pens:  Bergamasco (8)

For Fiji:
Tries:  Taupati
Cons:  Bai
Pens:  Bai (3)

Yellow cards:  Castrogiovanni (Italy)

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

Fiji:  15 Norman Ligairi, 14 Vereniki Goneva , 13 Albert Vulivuli, 12 Gabriele Lovobalavu, 11 Napolioni Nalaga , 10 Seremaia Baï, 9 Nemia Kenatale, 8 Sisa Koyamaibole, 7 Akapusi Qera, 6 Semisi Saukawa, 5 Jone Qovu, 4 Wame Lewaravu, 3 Deacon Manu (c), 2 Tuapati Talemaitoga, 1 Campese Ma'afu.
Replacements:  16 Viliame Veikoso, 17 Vesi Rarawa, 18 Sekonaia Kalou, 19 Jimilai Naikadawa, 20 Seveci Taka, 21 Seru Rabeni, 22 Taniela Rawaqa.

Date:  Saturday, November 27
Venue:  Stadio Braglia, Modena
Referee:  Dave Pearson (England)
Assistant referees:  Christophe Berdos (France), James Jones (Wales)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

Canada go down to Georgia

Canada suffered its first loss in three games on their current European tour after going down to Georgia 22-15 in Tbilisi.

It was just the second Test match between the two rugby nations.

Canada conceded a penalty and then a penalty try at the scrum to go down 10-0 in the first half before prop Jason Marshall touched down to make it 10-5.

Georgia responded with another forwards oriented try -- mauling over from one metre to take the score to 15-5.  James Pritchard hit for a penalty to make the half-time score 15-8.

In the second half the Georgians kept Canada under pressure -- eventually scoring a try off a chip and chase that was gathered in right at the tryline -- to give the homeside a 22-8 cushion with fifteen minutes to go.

With time running out Canada organized a ragged attack at the Lelos line -- eventually seeing Aaron Carpenter across for a converted try and a 22-15 score.

In the final seconds of the game DTH van der Merwe made a dramatic line break but was stopped after a thirty metre run and that was the game.

Georgia, ranked 17th to Canada's 14 will surely enjoy such a huge home victory.

For Canada -- it is time to regroup and head to Lisbon for the final match of the four test set -- next weekend.

France win battle of the boot

France got revenge over Argentina for their loss in June thanks to a morbid 15-9 victory in Montpellier on Saturday.

In a contest which produced no tries, it was left to the boots of Morgan Parra and Felipe Contepomi to decide the outcome with France's scrum-half coming out tops.

Parra sent four penalties between the uprights, while fly-half Damien Traille added a cheeky drop goal for good measure.

France had been steamrollered in South America last June having travelled with high hopes on the back their first Six Nations Grand Slam since 2004, while the Pumas also beat them twice on French soil at the last World Cup -- including the match for third place.

Les Bleus coach Marc Lièvremont had demanded the record be put straight and a performance more solid than last weekend's shoddy 34-12 win over Fiji in Nantes.

In rainy conditions in the deep south of France, Lièvremont got the result -- if not entirely the performance, he craved.

Contepomi sent over a trio of penalties for the visitors who nonetheless in the slithery conditions never looked like turning in the festival of rugby they had delivered the last time they faced their rivals.

Parra gave the hosts a lead in the tenth minute only for Contepomi to belt over a 40-metre riposte six minutes later following a knock-on by Aurelien Rougerie.

France, who were largely dominating the scrum in the opening quarter, retook the lead with Parra sweeping over two penalties in six minutes to send the hosts in 9-3 to the good at the interval.

The 35,000 crowd were further cheered with Traille's drop nine minutes after the restart and Parra ultimately gave the Argentinians too much to do when he made it 15-6 on the hour.

Contepomi slammed over his third penalty almost immediately but any hopes that would spark a revival proved unfounded as the French made it 32 wins in 44 outings against the men in sky blue and white.

The French will now hope to make it three wins on a roll in this November series when they go up against Australia next Saturday at the Stade de France.

Man of the match:  Hard to look beyond Morgan Parra and his golden boot.

Moment of the match:  There's wasn't many, if any.  But perhaps Argentina's late surge at the end did it for us.

The scorers:

For France:
Pens:  Parra 4
Drop:  Traille

For Argentina:
Pens:Contepomi 3

France:  15 Alexis Palisson, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Aurelien Rougerie, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 11 Marc Andreu, 10 Damien Traille, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Sebastien Chabal, 7 Julien Bonnaire, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Lionel Nallet, 4 Julien Pierre, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 William Servat, 1 Thomas Domingo
Replacements:  16 Guilhem Guirado, 17 Luc Ducalcon, 18 Jerome Thion, 19 Imanol Harinordoquy, 20 Dimitri Yachvili, 21 Fabrice Estebanez, 22 Jerome Porical.

Argentina:15 Martin Rodriguez, 14 Gonzalo Camacho, 13 Gonzalo Tiesi, 12 Santiago Fenandez, 11 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino, 10 Felipe Contepomi (c), 9 Nicolas Vergallo, 8 Miguel De Achaval, 7 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, 6 Genaro Fessia, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Mario Galarza, 3 Martin Scelzo, 2 Mario Ledesma, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements:  16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Marco Ayerza, 18 Santiago Guzman, 19 Julio Farias Cabello, 20 Alvaro Galindo, 21 Alfredo Lalanne, 22 Marcelo Bosch.

Referee:  Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)

All Blacks see off spirited Irish

New Zealand remained on course to complete the Grand Slam after completing a 38-18 victory over Ireland at Aviva Stadium.

The All Blacks were on the attack from the outset, collecting the kick-off and racing down to the Irish 22 with backs and forwards combining with great ease and effect.

Many in Aviva Stadium must have thought they were in for a similar fate suffered by those at Murrayfield last week, but the Irish refused to be completely brushed aside.

It was only a matter of time before the scoring was opened and Carter got the scoreboard ticking over with a penalty in the eighth minute.  Spurred into life after the early barrage from the visitors, Jonny Sexton levelled matters a mere three minutes later when his long-range effort crept over the crossbar.

As the game ebbed and flowed, Carter and Sexton traded penalties before Stephen Ferris scored the first try of the match -- and amazingly, the first of his Test career -- in the 31st minute.

After some good work bashing it up by the forwards, the ball was spread wide where Jamie Heaslip delivered a neat pop pass to the onrushing Ferris who crashed over.  There was some suspicion that the pass from Heaslip was forward but the try stood and Sexton applied the extras.

New Zealand picked up a five-pointer of their own on the stroke of half-time after some sustained pressure.  The ball was moved from left to right where Andy Ellis fumbled the ball at the back of the ruck, the Irish defence rushed out to hammer the scrum-half but Ellis managed to scoop the ball up to Anthony Boric who powered through the onrushing defenders.  Carter added the conversion to give New Zealand a 19-13 lead at the break.

The visitors looked to pick up from where they left off after half-time and managed to do just that in the 45th minute when Kieran Read crossed over for his first try.

The score came on the back of some good work from Ma'a Nonu, with the centre's in-and-out allowing the All Blacks the space to break forward and move the ball wide to Read who dived over in the right-hand corner.

Graham Henry's men appeared to be running away with matters when Sam Whitelock crossed for the All Blacks' third try and an incredible one at that.

The try-scoring movement emanated from an up-and-under into the New Zealand half, Corey Jane fielded the kick, bounced of one defender and spread the ball down the line.  The New Zealanders worked the ball all the way out to Whitelock on the touchline who cut inside and carried a few defenders over the tryline with him.

Carter again made no mistake with the conversion, this time from wide on the left.

Slightly against the run of play the Irish struck back through their skipper Brian O' Driscoll.  An intercept from Heaslip brought the Irish into the opposing 22 where the home side where awarded a penalty.  With tries the order of the game, Ireland took the line-out and after a few stop start moments from a resulting scrum, were able to spread the ball wide.

As Rob Kearney entered the line his attempted inside ball was spilt but it didn't go forward and O' Driscoll superbly picked it up with one hand and dived over.

Henry responded to the try by introducing a host of substitutes and the move nearly paid immediate dividends, with a number of scrums near the Irish line just not producing the desired result.

As if in a game of chess, Declan Kidney made substitutions of his own to counter Henry's move as the home side upped the pressure.

Replacement Keith Earls appeared to have given the hosts a lifeline when he dived over in the corner following some good work from Sexton and Tommy Bowe.  However, the covering defence did just enough, ensuring the winger entered touch before he was able to ground the ball.

It was Ireland's final chance and in the end it was the All Blacks who enjoyed the last of the scoring opportunities with Read completing his brace after some superb quick hands from Mils Muliaina.

Man of the match:  Dan Carter marshalled his troops brilliantly and was particularly prominent in the first-half.  The fly-half was as reliable as ever with the boot, missing just one kick, his final strike of the game, which sees him move to within two points of Jonny Wilkinson at the top of the world's points-scoring charts.

Moment of the match:  A moment to savour for Richie McCaw and Mils Muliaina as they became joint holders of the title of highest capped All Black, surpassing Sean Fitzpatrick's record of 92 Tests.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Try:  Ferris, O'Driscoll
Con:  Sexton
Pens:  Sexton 2

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Boric, Read 2, Whitelock
Cons:  Carter 3
Pens:  Carter 4

Ireland:  15 Robert 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 Tom Court, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 John Hayes, 18 Devin Toner, 19 Denis Leamy, 20 Peter Stringer, 21 Ronan O'Gara, 22 Keith Earls.

New Zealand:  15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Tom Donnelly, 4 Anthony Boric, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Hika Elliot, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Andrew Hore, 17 John Afoa, 18 Sam Whitelock, 19 Liam Messam, 20 Alby Mathewson, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Sonny Bill Williams.

Scots shatter Boks' Grand Slam

South Africa's quest for a Grand Slam is over after Scotland defeated the world champions 21-17 on Saturday.

It was an amazing turnaround for the hosts who were thumped by New Zealand a week ago, but -- against all odds -- bounced back superbly to record a memorable victory and restore some pride.

The same couldn't be said of South Africa though, who would have targeted this encounter as the easiest of the four ''Home Nations''.  However, Scotland proved that no Test match is easy as the woeful Boks found out ... the hard way.

Scotland head coach Andy Robinson was seeking a response from the 49-3 loss to the All Blacks and he certainly got it as the hosts edged a scrappy encounter laden with penalties and decided by the boot of Dan Parks.

Scotland were without a win over South Africa since the 2002 Murrayfield meeting, but eight years on Parks demonstrated his unerring accuracy, kicking six penalties and a drop goal to punish the Springboks' indiscipline.

It was Scotland's fourth win in five Tests and just a second victory over South Africa in 13 post-Apartheid meetings.

Not for the first time on tour, South Africa were on the scoreboard first thanks to Morne Steyn's boot three minutes in.  It could have been a nine-point lead after nine minutes had Steyn and his namesake Francois not missed the target with their respective attempts.

The Scots were certainly left off the hook by the two Steyn's after giving away silly penalties that only slowed the game down as a spectacle, but the Bok fly-half wasn't to be denied his third crack -- the ball sailing through the uprights on the 13th minute mark.

At last, Gio Aplon woke the Murrayfield crowd from their slumber with a a trademark dart along the touchline, only to be brought down by Graeme Morrison who prevented a possible opening try for the South Africans.

That seemed to spark the Scots as the home side rumbled into South Africa's territory for the first time in the match, and were swiftly awarded with a penalty that Parks duly slotted for his team.

The Springboks knew they had a game on their hands when, three minutes later and Scotland once again on the attack, Parks opted for a cheeky drop goal that leveled the scores 6-6 with a quarter of the Test played.

To the Boks' horror and Murrayfield's delight, Parks doubled Scotland's score with two further penalties that accelerated the hosts into a rather surprising 12-6 lead.

It was a vastly different display from the home team that never had a look-in last week against the All Blacks, while South Africa looked the same messy bunch as seen in the first half in Cardiff.

But just as the Boks did in the Welsh capital, they did again in Edinburgh -- Morne Steyn's boot keeping the world champions in with a shout from the kicking tee that would take them into the half-time sheds three points behind (12-9).

Scotland had an opportunity to finish the first half off with a try, but their chance to extend a three-point lead fell flat like their pivot Parks who was on the receiving end of an almighty tackle that would only see him rise to his feet several minutes after the initial hit.

Still, Scotland were forty minutes away from only their second win over the Boks in the last decade.

South Africa had other ideas though and drew level once again with another Morne Steyn penalty six minutes into the second half.  Parks certainly didn't look like he had been smashed by a bus after responding with his fifth successful penalty of the afternoon.

He wasn't done there though as another one followed soon after to give Scotland the lead with a six-point cushion that left frustrated Bok captain Victor Matfield questioning referee Stu Dickinson's calls where on one or two occasions certainly looked a tad dubious.

Parks was the man of the moment after raising the flags yet again after Dickinson incorrectly blew Juan Smith for diving into a ruck.  At 21-12, South Africa were in trouble but responded in the only way they know how -- forward power.

Replacement loose forward Willem Alberts used his massive frame to bulldoze his way over after taking the ball from the back of a line-out that gave his team a sniff at another come-from-behind win.  Fellow replacement Patrick Lamble missed the ensuing conversion, which at 21-17, meant South Africa would need more than a penalty to snatch it.

Four points behind, the tourists pressed with Bok full-back Zane Kirchner making a run out towards the left flank but with six minutes left, Scotland won a penalty and kicked for the corner.

Parks' chip through went nowhere but Scotland were also killing time -- the game ending in the absence of any do or die efforts from their opponents.

Man of the match:  Dan Parks provided all the home side's points, but we giving this award to the entire Scotland team for proving their doubters wrong.

Moment of the match:  There weren't many, but every time Dan Parks thumped over another penalty, the more Scottish fans sensed a victory was in sight.

The scorers:

For Scotland:
Pens:  Parks 6
Drop:  Parks

For South Africa:
Try:  Alberts
Pens:  M Steyn 4

Scotland:  15 Hugo Southwell, 14 Nikki Walker, 13 Joe Ansbro, 12 Graeme Morrison, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Rory Lawson (c), 8 Kelly Brown, 7 John Barclay, 6 Nathan Hines, 5 Richie Gray, 4 Scott MacLeod, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements:  16 Dougie Hall, 17 Moray Low, 18 Richie Vernon, 19 Ross Rennie, 20 Greig Laidlaw, 21 Ruaridh Jackson, 22 Chris Paterson.

South Africa:  15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Frans Steyn, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 François Hougaard, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 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 Adriaan Strauss , 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Willem Alberts, 20 Ruan Pienaar, 21 Patrick Lambie, 22 Adi Jacobs.

Referee:  Stuart Dickinson (Australia)

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)