Triple Crown for Wales at Twickenham

A solo try from Scott Williams in the 76th-minute handed Wales a 19-12 Six Nations victory over England at Twickenham on Saturday and with it the Triple Crown.

The replacement back's breakaway try at the death put Wales into the lead for the first time in an enthralling battle after England had led 9-6 at half-time.

There was tension right up to the final whistle however as England wing David Strettle crossed after the final hooter but television match official Iain Ramage adjudged there to be insufficient evidence that he managed to ground the ball.

While Stuart Lancaster's team will be bitterly disappointed by the narrow defeat, the young side can take encouragement from their best performance of this year's Six Nations.

Wales meanwhile remain on course for the Grand Slam, with home games against Italy and France still to play.

Wales did most of the early playing but England opened the scoring in the 24th minute when Owen Farrell split the uprights.  It took Wales less than two minutes to reply as Leigh Halfpenny landed his second attempt at goal to level the scores.

After a slow start England were growing in confidence and looking dangerous.  A brilliant tackle from Sam Warburton denied Manu Tuilagi a try but Farrell was able to restore the hosts' lead with another penalty around the half-hour mark.

A beautiful strike from long range by Halfpenny drew Wales level once again as the game began to grow in pace and the big hits continued to rain down.

England would head into the changing rooms in front however as Farrell made it three-from-three on the stroke of half time.

The second period started terribly for Wales as Rhys Priestland was charged down and then shown a yellow card as he tried to make amends by preventing an England try by jumping the gun at the breakdown on his own try-line.

Farrell duly added three more but Halfpenny restored the status quo before Priestland's time in the sin-bin had been served.

Farrell missed his fifth attempt at goal before being limping off to be replaced by Toby Flood but Halfpenny was on target with nine minutes left on the clock to leave the scores locked at 12-12.

Williams then turned match-winner, ripping the ball off Courtney Lawes and chasing down his own kick to score, before Strettle was denied at the death.

Man of the match:  There are a number of candidates with Owen Farrell belying his young age with another cool performance.  Manu Tuilagi made an impressive return to the English midfield but Wales skipper Sam Warburton gets the nod after a top show.  A try-saving tackle on Tuilagi in the first half was just one of countless hits.

Moment of the match:  The 81st minute.  David Strettle dives over.  He is rolled over by Jonathan Davies and tries to ground the ball behind his head before it is pushed back over to the wrong side of the line.  Does it graze the surface?  The TMO looks at it from every possible angle.  It could go either way.  Twickenham waits … in vain.

Villain of the match:  N/A

The scorers:

For England:
Pens:  Farrell 4

For Wales:
Try:  S. Williams
Con:  Halfpenny
Pens:  Halfpenny 4

Yellow card:  Priestland (Wales — 45th min — professional foul)

England:  15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Manusamoa Tuilagi, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 David Strettle, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Chris Robshaw (capt), 6 Tom Croft, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Mouritz Botha, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Alex Corbisiero.
Replacements:  16 Rob Webber, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Courtney Lawes, 19 Phil Dowson, 20 Ben Youngs, 21 Toby Flood, 22 Mike Brown.

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (capt), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Alun-Wyn Jones, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Richard Hibbard, 17 Paul James, 18 Ryan Jones, 19 Justin Tipuric, 20 Lloyd Williams, 21 James Hook, 22 Scott Williams.

Venue:  Twickenham
Referee:  Steve Walsh (Australia)
Assistant referees:  Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland), Pascal Gauzere (France)
TMO:  Iain Ramage (Scotland)

Wales put Scotland to the sword

Leigh Halfpenny scored 22 points as Wales claimed a 27-13 Six Nations victory over Scotland at the Millennium Stadium on Sunday.

The scores were locked at 3-3 at half-time but a fifteen-minute spell early in the second period saw Wales score three tries to build an unassailable lead.

The result at the end of an exciting, high-paced clash will leave Wales brimming with confidence as they head to Twickenham in a fortnight looking to claim the Triple Crown.

Scotland, meanwhile, will head home harbouring a number of regrets after a handful of errors spoiled what was otherwise a strong performance.

Both sides made their intentions to play an open game very clear from the first whistle but two well-organised defences ensured that a breathless first quarter ended scoreless.

Scotland finally broke the deadlock when Greig Laidlaw landed a penalty after an impressive 20-phase build up from the visitors.

A well-struck penalty from Halfpenny drew the hosts level at 3-all and the scoreboard remained unchanged until half time, despite a prolonged period of pressure from the Scots.

Wales were dealt a blow just before the break as in-form George North was forced off with a knee injury but his wing partner Alex Cuthbert got the hosts off to the prefect start in the second period by running straight through Laidlaw's attempted tackle to score.

The Scots only had themselves to blame as they had handed Wales a golden opportunity by making a hash of the restart and the visitors were guilty of another crucial mistake when Nick De Luca tackled Jonathan Davies without the ball to earn a yellow card.

Halfpenny split the uprights in a nightmare spell for Scotland, who had coughed up ten points in five minutes.

Laidlaw managed to reduce the deficit with his second three-pointer but Scotland were still trailing 13-6 and a were man down.

And the extra player proved crucial as Wales were able to move the ball from one touchline to the other until they had the overlap and Halfpenny could cruise over, before converting his own try.

Things went from bad to worse for the men in blue as Wales cut loose and Rory Lamont was his given marching orders for making a tackle from an offside position.

The game was essentially over were when Mike Phillips' offload found Halfpenny in acres of space down the blindside, giving the full-back had an easy run-in for his second try.

Any hopes Scotland had of fighting back looked to have been scuffed when referee Romain Poite incorrectly adjudged that Stuart Hogg had knocked on before scoring, but Laidlaw had no such worries when he found a gap on the side of ruck to snatch Scotland's first try in five games.

But it wasn't enough to trouble the home side and few would deny that Wales were deserved winners as they had the better of the closing minutes to secure a convincing win.

Man of the match:  A number of candidates here and Leigh Halfpenny's contribution is difficult to look past.  But the official gong went to flank Dan Lydiate, who had a storming game, carrying well and tackling tirelessly.

Moment of the match:  It was anyone's game at half-time but Scotland's two yellow cards in the space of eight minutes left them with too much work to do against a free-running Welsh side.

Villain of the match:  No rough stuff to report in an excellent game.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  Cuthbert, Halfpenny 2
Cons:  Halfpenny 3
Pens:  Halfpenny 3

For Scotland:
Try:  Laidlaw
Con:Laidlaw
Pens:  Laidlaw 2

Yellow cards:  De Luca (Scotland — 45th min — tackle without ball); R. Lamont (Scotland — 53rd min — professional foul); Jenkins (Wales — 77th min —

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Aaron Shingler, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Ryan Jones (c), 3 Adam Jones, 2 Huw Bennett, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Paul James, 18 Lou Reed, 19 Andy Powell, 20 Lloyd Williams, 21 James Hook, 22 Scott Williams.

Scotland:  15 Rory Lamont, 14 Lee Jones, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Sean Lamont, 11 Max Evans, 10 Greig Laidlaw, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 David Denton, 7 Ross Rennie, 6 Alasdair Strokosch, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Ross Ford (c), 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements:  16 Scott Lawson, 17 Ed Kalman, 18 Alastair Kellock, 19 John Barclay, 20 Mike Blair, 21 Duncan Weir, 22 Stuart Hogg.

Venue:  Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Referee:  Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees:  Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland), Simon McDowell (Ireland)
TMO:  Giulio De Santis (Italy)

England survive Italy storm

It was a case of close but no cigar for Italy as England claimed another unconvincing 19-15 Six Nations victory in Rome on Saturday.

Italy outscored their hosts two tries to one, however it was once again the boot of Owen Farrell that saved the day for England as the young centre contributed 14 points in horrendous conditions.

The Azzurri will be kicking themselves after leading 12-6 at half-time thanks to two quickfire tries before the break, but weren't able to keep up the pressure in the second half as England were forced to dig deep against their stubborn hosts to claim back-to-back away wins.

After a scrappy opening littered with poor kicking out of hand, England were unfortunate not to bag the game's opening try on the half-hour when David Strettle's kick-through was eventually touched down by Phil Dowson.

Referee Jerome Garces had already blown for obstruction on Strettle — and Farrell converted the resulting penalty before adding another soon afterwards.

But two minutes before the break, a pair of grubber kicks caused confusion and wing Giovanbattista Venditti was on-hand to punish Ben Foden's fumble by falling over the line in the corner.

England seemed set to enter the dressing room one point to the good but from the restart, Foden's attempted off-load was intercepted for centre Tommaso Benvenuti to race under the posts from the halfway line and ignite the stadium.

Italy pivot Kris Burton capitalised with a penalty that made it 15-6 early in the second period, but England immediately clawed their way back into it when opposite number Charlie Hodgson charged down Andrea Masi's attempted clearance for a try out of nowhere.

It was the England fly-half's second charge-down try in as many games — and once again proved to be the turning point in the match.

The introductions of Lee Dickson and Ben Morgan cemented the visitors' momentum — providing the opportunity for the flawless Farrell to drive over a 54th minute penalty and secure the narrowest of leads.

With Martin Castrogiovanni injured in the first period, England had more than held their own up front and Farrell stretched the advantage to 19-15 in the 65th minute from a penalty awarded at a scrum.

Tobias Botes replaced Burton for the final half-hour and was handed two shots at goal that would have won the game — but the South African-born scrum-half was woefully off-target with both as England crept home.

Man of the match:  A committed display by a number of Italians ultimately went unrewarded, with skipper Sergio Parisse once again leading from the front.  However, a nerveless and flawless display of kicking from Owen Farrell amid freezing conditions in Rome helped the visitors claim their come-from-behind win.

Moment of the match:  The dramatic double strike from Giovanbattista Venditti and Tommaso Benvenuti had given the Azzurri a clear lead at the half-time interval before England managed to turn the tables through that second-half try from Charlie Hodgson that sparked England into life.

Villain of the match:  The weather!  In freezing conditions, scores were always going to be hard to come by and it was no surprise that both sides struggled to create much.

The scorers:

For Italy:
Tries:  Venditti, Benvenuti
Con:  Burton
Pen:  Burton

For England:
Try:  Hodgson
Con:  Farrell
Pens:  Farrell 4

Italy:  15 Andrea Masi, 14 Giovanbattista Venditti, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Gonzalo Canale, 11 Luke McLean, 10 Kristopher Burton, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Robert Barbieri, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Quintin Geldenhuys, 4 Marco Bortolami, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Andrea Lo Cicero.
Replacements:  16 Tommaso D'Apice, 17 Lorenzo Cittadini, 18 Antonio Pavanello, 19 Mauro Bergamasco, 20 Fabio Semenzato, 21 Tobias Botes, 22 Luca Morisi.

England:  15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Brad Barritt, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 David Strettle, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Phil Dowson, 7 Chris Robshaw (c) 6 Tom Croft, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Mouritz Botha, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Alex Corbisiero.
Replacements:  16 Rob Webber, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Geoff Parling, 19 Ben Morgan, 20 Lee Dickson, 21 Jordan Turner-Hall, 22 Mike Brown.

Referee:  Jérôme Garces (France)

Wales pip Ireland at the death

Wales full-back Leigh Halfpenny kicked a 79th-minute penalty to break Irish hearts and steal a 23-21 Six Nations win in Dublin on Sunday.

Revenge was on the menu for Ireland following their World Cup exit against the Welsh, but defeat is what they were served at the Aviva Stadium where they have now lost three games on the trot.

At 21-15, it looked like Ireland's game for the taking with five minutes left on the clock and Wales lock Bradley Davies in the bin.  However, the visitors had other ideas and cut the deficit to a one-point ball game through a George North try.

Halfpenny missed the conversion to take the lead, but held his nerve to slot over a last-gasp penalty four minutes later — after Stephen Ferris was sin-binned for a tip tackle on Ian Evans — to deny the Irish and help open his team's Six Nations account with an upset win.

Wales played with an energy that Ireland failed to match for the majority of the first half, and were desperately unlucky not to have a try awarded early on by the TMO who — after several replays — decided it was "inconclusive" after a sea of red jerseys barged over the line.

But the Welsh weren't to be denied again by the TMO following centre Jonathan Davies's well-worked try in the corner that was set up by Rhys Priestland, but which the pivot failed to convert.

Priestland, in doubt for this match before he was declared fit to play on Friday, showed no signs of discomfort from the knee injury that kept him out of action for two weeks with ball in hand.

However, he was off-target with the boot after missing his second shot at goal with a penalty attempt from bang in front that would have extended his team's lead to five points.

Instead, it was Ireland who managed to find some spark produced from a rare attack inside Wales' 22 that started with Tommy Bowe breaking the line and ended with hooker Rory Best crossing the whitewash for a crucial score before half-time.

Sexton added the extras from far out and Ireland went into the half-time sheds 10-5 in front.

Ireland opened up the second half in the same fashion as they did the first courtesy of another three points from Sexton.

Halfpenny, who had taken on the kicking duties, landed a long-range attempt in reply and centre Davies capitalised on North's bulldozing run for a superb second try.

Halfpenny converted but Wales' lead was only brief as Sexton booted a tricky penalty and, when Bradley Davies was sin-binned for tipping Donnacha Ryan on his head, Bowe soon scored in the corner after taking a magnificent pass from his pivot.

Sexton missed the conversion and a penalty — both difficult kicks — and the irrepressible North crashed over only for Halfpenny to miss the conversion before accepting the second invite after Ferris's indiscretion.

Man of the match:  For Ireland, Tommy Bowe created one and scored one, while Jamie Heaslip was the pick of the Irish forwards.  For Wales, Ryan Jones ran hard and offered Wales leadership when Sam Warburton had left the pitch through injury and Jonathan Davies richly deserved his two-try haul.  However, wing George North was undoubtedly Wales' star man.  He bullied Ireland's backline at will, showing superb skill setting up Davies's second try and tremendous strength for his own five-pointer.  Who needs Shane Williams when you got this guy out wide?

Moment of the match:  Take your pick … Davies' second try … Bowe's five-pointer … North's score … Halfpenny's last-gasp penalty.  This game was full of them!

Villain of the match:  There's two of them — Bradley Davies and Stephen Ferris, with the latter's brain implosion ultimately proving very costly indeed.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  Best, Bowe
Cons:  Sexton
Pens:  Sexton 3

For Wales:
Tries:  J Davies 2, North
Cons:  Halfpenny
Pens:  Halfpenny 2

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Fergus McFadden, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Andrew Trimble, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Paul O'Connell (capt), 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Tom Court, 18 Donnacha Ryan, 19 Peter O'Mahony, 20 Eoin Reddan, 21 Ronan O'Gara, 22 David Kearney.

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton, 6 Ryan Jones, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Huw Bennett, 1 Rhys Gill.
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Paul James, 18 Andy Powell, 19 Justin Tipuric, 20 Lloyd Willians, 21 James Hook, 22 Scott Williams.
Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)

France sprint past impressive Italy

Tournament favourites France got their 2012 Six Nations campaign off to an ideal start on Saturday with a 30-12 victory over Italy in Paris.

Philippe Saint-André's team ran four tries past their visitors for a comfortable win although the scoreboard belies the quality of the Italian performance.

Indeed, Italy dominated possession and territory in the first half but France held a 15-6 lead at the break thanks to two well-taken tries from Aurélien Rougerie and Julien Malzieu.

The scoreline was by no means a fair reflection of the first 40 minutes but Les Bleus pounced on their only two opportunities while Italy failed to finish off a number of promising build-ups.

The trend continued early in the second half as Vincent Clerc touched down for France to put victory well out of reach of their rivals from across the Alps.

The French turned the screw in the closing minutes as their performance grew in fluidity and confidence.  Debutant centre Wesley Fofana added a late try to send a message across the Channel — France mean business.

The Azzurri started with plenty of positive intent and impressed with their ball retention.  But France's tackling early on was just as noteworthy.

The French opened the scoring when Dimitri Yachvili slotted a penalty after a 60m break by Malzieu put the Italian defence under pressure.  But the visitors domination of possession in the first quarter was rewarded when fly-half Kris Burton landed a neat drop goal to level matters.

France struck soon afterwards though when Rougerie spotted two font rowers in the Italian defensive line and ghosted between them to score.

Yachvili's extras put the hosts 10-3 in front and helped settle a few nerves after a jittery start, but a Burton penalty on the half-hour mark cut the gap to four points.

France had been struggling at scrum time but bucked the trend to produce a big shove and lay the platform for their second try.  Louis Picamoles broke off the back and burst into space before finding Malzieu on his outside.  The Clermont winger still had plenty to do but beat five defenders to find his way over after a brilliant run to give Les Bleus a comfortable advantage at the break.

Burton and Yachvili traded penalties early in the second period as Italy continued to do most of playing while France continued to profit from every opportunity offered them.

The wind was taken out of Italy's sails in the 54th minute when Vincent Clerc grabbed a third try for France after François Trinh-Duc had chipped ahead before the fly-half and Rougerie displayed some good football skills to give their wing an easy run-in.

Fofana rubbed salt into the Italian wounds as he finished off for try number four at the end of big overlap to cap France's best period of the game.

Italy will head home well beaten but Jacques Brunel will take plenty of positives from an encouraging performance.

Man of the match:  Louis Picamoles justified the new French staff's confidence in him with impressive display but we agree with the official gong for Julien Malzieu, who looked a dangerous whenever the ball found it's way to his wing.

Moment of the match:  The jury was unanimous here — Julien Malzieu's try just before half-time will go down as a candidate for Try of the Year.  Not only was it a fantastic solo effort from the big wing (and Louis Picamoles's work to create it was equally good) but it gave France an 11-point lead and dented the visitors' morale.

Villain of the match:  No nasty stuff to report.

The scorers:

For France:
Tries:  Rougerie, Malzieu, Clerc, Fofana
Cons:  Yachvili 2
Pens:  Yachvili 2

For Italy:
Pens:  Burton 2, Botes
Drop:  Burton

Yellow card:  Geldenhuys (Italy — 70th min — pulling maul down)

France:  15 Maxime Medard, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Aurelien Rougerie, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Julien Malzieu, 10 François Trinh-Duc, 9 Dimitri Yachvili, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Julien Bonnaire, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Lionel Nallet, 4 Pascal Pape, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 William Servat, 1 Vincent Debaty.
Replacements:  16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 18 Yoann Maestri, 19 Imanol Harinordoquy, 20 Morgan Parra, 21 Lionel Beauxis, 22 Maxime Mermoz.

Italy:15 Andrea Masi, 14 Giovanbattista Venditti, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Alberto Sgarbi, 11 Luke McLean, 10 Kristopher Burton, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse (c) 7 Robert Barbieri, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Quintin Geldenhuys, 4 Cornelius van Zyl, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Andrea Lo Cicero.
Replacements:  16 Tommaso D'Apice, 17 Lorenzo Cittadini, 18 Marco Bortolami, 19 Simone Favaro, 20 Fabio Semenzato, 21 Tobias Botes, 22 Gonzalo Canale.

Venue:  Stade de France, St. Denis (Paris)
Referee:  Nigel Owens

Scotland gift England Calcutta Cup

England profited from a self-destructing Scotland side to open their Six Nations campaign with a 13-6 victory at Murrayfield on Saturday.

Stuart Lancaster's new-look team claimed England's first win in the Scottish capital since 2004 but the result had less to do with a new-era of creativity that English fans had been hoping for than the hosts' inability to convert their chances into points.

Scotland led 6-3 at the end of a boring, error-strewn first half that saw both sides fail to seriously threaten the opposition tryline.  On the basis of those 40 minutes and the day's earlier game in Paris, neither England nor Scotland will travel to Rome confident of victory this year.

With both sides flooding the breakdown, attacking opportunities from quick ball were few and far between.  And rare chances to spread the ball were generally ruined by poor handling or aimless kicking.

An opportunistic try from England fly-half Charlie Hodgson just seconds after the restart sparked the game into life however.

A far more-exciting second period saw Scotland throw the kitchen sink at a well-disciplined English defence but the home fans were left frustrated as their team conspired to make a hash of a number of scoring opportunities.

A scrappy opening quarter ended the with scores locked at 0-0 as Dan Parks kicked most of Scotland's possession away and a series of handling errors and ruck infringements prevented England from finding any sort of rhythm on attack.

It took just over 22 minutes for the first points to be scored courtesy of the boot of debutant England centre Owen Farrell.  The hosts took less than three minutes to reply however as the visitors failed to stay on their feet and Parks slotted an easy penalty to restore the status quo.

The Scots began to ply the pressure and Parks split the uprights once again just after the half-hour mark to give his side a deserved lead which they held until the half-time whistle.

The game desperately needed a try and it came within seconds of kick-off when Hodgson charged down a lethargic Parks on the Scottish tryline before pouncing on the loose ball.

Farrell's extra's gave England a 10-6 lead, prompting Scotland up the tempo and the men in blue did most the playing in the second half, dominating territory and possession.

The introduction of Glasgow half-backs Greg Laidlaw and Mike Blair added extra impetus to their attack but the hosts continued to be the architects of their own downfall.

Laidlaw came within inches — literally — from grabbing the lead for Scotland after a kick and chase, but the TMO ruled he failed to touch the ball down ahead of Ben Youngs, while Ross Rennie butchered a fantastic chance to put Blair through.

A late penalty from Farrell settled England's nerves and secured a winning start to a new era.

Man of the match:  It's rare that a player from the losing side gets this award but number eight David Denton was a tireless grafter and a standout performer in Scotland's back row.

Moment of the match:  Scotland's match cam be summed up it one moment.  Ross Rennie's wasted opportunity when he failed to find the two runners on his outside and instead decided to hang on was classic example of the hosts' inability land the killer blow.

Villain of the match:  No rough stuff to report.

For England:
Try:  Hodgson
Con:  Farrell
Pen:  Farrell

Scotland:  15 Rory Lamont, 14 Lee Jones, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Sean Lamont, 11 Max Evans, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 David Denton, 7 Ross Rennie, 6 Alasdair Strokosch, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford (capt), 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements:  16 Scott Lawson, 17 Geoff Cross, 18 Alastair Kellock, 19 John Barclay, 20 Mike Blair, 21 Greig Laidlaw, 22 Graeme Morrison.

England:  15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Brad Barritt, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 David Strettle, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Phil Dowson, 7 Chris Robshaw (capt) 6 Tom Croft, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Mouritz Botha, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Alex Corbisiero.
Replacements:  16 Rob Webber, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Geoff Parling, 19 Ben Morgan, 20 Lee Dickson, 21 Jordan Turner-Hall, 22 Mike Brown.

Venue:  Murrayfield
Referee:  George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant referees:  Romain Poite (France), Leighton Hodges (Wales)
Television match official:  Tony Redmond (Ireland)

Shane's send-off pooped by Wallabies

Despite scoring a late try in his final game for Wales, Shane Williams was handed a losing send-off in Cardiff as Australia prevailed 24-18 on Saturday.

The result made it four wins in a row for Australia over Wales, as they backed up their victory when the teams last met in the RWC bronze final, and extended the hosts' poor record against the Tri-Nations to just one success in sixteen Tests.

But the 34-year-old Williams, to the delight of a crowd of more than 61,000, had the last word when, with his final act in a Wales jersey, he scored a typically jinking try in the corner just before full-time to extend his record to 58 tries.

The clash, played under a closed roof, changed when, with Wales 6-3 up early in the second half, home full-back Leigh Halfpenny was sent to the sin-bin and Australia scored 21 unanswered points while he was off the field.

Wales took a sixth minute lead when Rhys Priestland kicked a 40 metre penalty.

Shane Williams had to wait thirteen minutes to get his first touch but, soon afterwards, he came across from the left wing to the right to help keep an attack alive.  But a promising move ended when centre Scott Williams dropped the ball short of the line.

Australia's James O'Connor, playing his first Test at fly-half, then missed a straightforward penalty chance that would have levelled the game before Australia went close to scoring a try on the half hour.

After a surging run by full-back Adam Ashley-Cooper, Berrick Barnes's clever cross kick was gathered close to Wales's line by Wallaby right wing Lachie Turner.

But Shane Williams, once again showing his defensive worth, just did enough to force Turner into touch before he grounded the ball.  Although it needed several minutes' study by video referee Geoff Warren before Australia were denied a try.

Priestland and O'Connor then exchanged penalties, both awarded for offside, to leave Wales three points in front at half-time.

Australia emerged for the second period without openside flanker David Pocock, replaced by Radike Samo, and soon went close after a fine handling move saw O'Connor launch a counter-attack involving Barnes and Ashley-Cooper.

But after Barnes, involved for a second time, kicked ahead, O'Connor was tackled without the ball in sight of the line by Halfpenny and Jonathan Kaplan sent him to the sin-bin.

It was an expensive error, with Australia scrum-half Will Genia forcing his way over for a close range try which O'Connor converted.  O'Connor then missed a simple penalty, the ball hitting the post, minutes later but it hardly mattered.

It was O'Connor's excellent cut-out pass that sent Turner in for a try at the corner and he then made no mistake with the tricky conversion.

Wales were still a man down when Samo's pass found Barnes for Australia's third try.

The home side did staunch the flow of Australia points with their first try in the 66th minute after Priestland followed up after good work out wide by replacement forward Ryan Jones.

But Priestland's conversion attempt hit the post and Australia were still 24-11 in front before Shane Williams scored the try the crowd wanted.  An ideal way for him to cap his Test career.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  Priestland, Williams
Con:  Biggar
Pen:  Priestland 2

For Australia:
Tries:  Genia, Turner, Barnes
Con:  O'Connor
Pen:  O'Connor 3

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 George North, 13 Scott Williams, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (c), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Scott Andrews, 2 Huw Bennett, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Matthew Rees, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Ryan Jones, 19 Justin Tipuric, 20 Tavis Knoyle, 21 Dan Biggar, 22 Alex Cuthbert.

Australia:  15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Anthony Fainga'a, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 James O'Connor, 9 Will Genia, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 David Pocock, 6 Scott Higginbotham, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 James Horwill, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 Stephen Moore, 17 Ben Alexander, 18 Nathan Sharpe, 19 Radike Samo, 20 Ben Lucas, 21 Ben Tapuai, 22 Nick Phipps.

Referee:  Jonathan Kaplan
Assistant referees:  Dave Pearson, Jérôme Garces
TMO:  Geoff Warren

Wallabies thrash Baa-Baas at Twickers

Australia registered an emphatic 60-11 win over the Barbarians in their Killik Cup clash at Twickenham on Saturday.

As expected, running rugby was the order of the day but in the end the Wallabies were more clinical in the execution of their moves and were rewarded with eight tries against the men in black and white hoops.

Leading the way for the Australians were wings Digby Ioane and Lachlan Turner as well as replacement lock James Horwill, who each crossed over for a brace of tries.

The Baa-Baas' solitary try came via rugby league sensation Sam Tomkins who crossed over for a consolation score in the dying seconds of the match.

Playing on the right wing, Tomkins got little opportunities to showcase his talents as the Wallabies had the bulk of the possession for most of the match.

The Tri-Nations champions' experiment of playing James O'Connor at fly-half proved a success and the 21-year-old rewarded the faith shown in him by Wallabies coach Robbie Deans by scoring 20 points via seven conversions, a penalty and a drop-goal.

As the scoreline suggests Australia dominated most facets of play, although poor discipline in the first half saw Adam Ashley Cooper and James Slipper spending time in the sin bin.

Ashley-Cooper received his marching orders for a deliberate knock-on after Robbie Fruean tried to get a pass away to Tomkins early in the half and Slipper was sent off for a late tackle on Danny Cipriani.

The Barbarians failed to capitalise on their numerical advantage and they were made to pay for this.

The Wallabies led 18-3 at half-time, after Ioane and Turner scored tries and turned on the style in the second half against their hapless opponents.

Australia's dominance was emphasised in the 51 st minute when Horwill crossed over for his first try.

The regular Wallabies captain, who started on the replacements bench, combined brilliantly with replacement hooker Stephen Moore from a lineout on the edge of the Baa-baas' 22 metre area and barged over the tryline mere minutes after he came on to the field.

The Barbarians gave a lacklustre performance from the start and several high-profile players in their ranks seemed disinterested for most of the match.

Their veterans Victor Matfield and Stirling Mortlock toiled manfully but without the support of their team-mates they were always going to struggle against a Wallabies side who gave an almost perfect display.

The scorers:

For Barbarians:
Try:  Tomkins
Pens:  Cipriani 2

For Australia:
Tries:  Horwill 2, Turner 2, Ioane 2, Horne, Samo
Cons:  O'Connor 7
Pen:  O'Connor
Drop-goal:  O'Connor

Barbarians:  15 Isaia Toeava, 14 Sam Tomkins, 13 Robbie Fruean, 12 Stirling Mortlock, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Peter Stringer, 8 Adam Thomson, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Sylvain Marconnet, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Eusebio Guinazu.
Replacements:  16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Salvatore Perugini, 18 Jason White, 19 Marco Bortolami, 20 Nemia Kenatale, 21 Richard Kahui, 22 Seru Rabeni.

Australia:  15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Lachie Turner, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Ioane Digby, 10 James O'Connor, 9 Will Genia, 8 Dave Dennis, 7 David Pocock (captain), 6 Scott Higginbotham, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Tatafu Polota Nau, 1 James Slipper
Replacements:  16 Stephen Moore, 17 Ben Alexander, 18 James Horwill, 19 Radike Samo, 20 Matt Hodgson, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Ben Tapuai.

Yellow card:  Adam Ashley-Cooper (Australia — 14th minute), James Slipper (Australia — 30th minute)

New Zealand claim the World Cup!

It was not as convincing as many fans expected but the All Blacks held on to claim an 8-7 success over France and with it their second World Cup crown.

Les Bleus were a completely different side to the one that had fallen to the 2011 hosts and also Tonga during the Pool stages.  And they pushed the Kiwis right up until the death in a highly-charged 80 minutes at Eden Park on Sunday.

But New Zealand managed to beat their rivals who had caused them such bother in the past, ultimately banishing their 1999 and 2007 ghosts.

The score has a certain eeriness to it too -- '87?

Auckland was alive with All Blacks supporters all afternoon as the whole population hoped for an end to their 24 years of Webb Ellis hurt.  Tickets were not sold out however as only hours before kick-off, sales were still going:  cheapest for $401 ranging up to £1280 for the most expensive.

France meanwhile had banked on proving that their 6/1 bookmaker price for a game of such magnitude was way off the mark, and they duly racked up the phases inside opposition territory.  This followed les Bleus not backing down from the Kapa O Pango -- in fact they walked into it.

A marker was well-and-truly thrown down by France.

It was always going to be key for France to deprive New Zealand of the same start they enjoyed against the Wallabies and that was exactly what they managed, keeping the All Blacks away from the red zone despite an early penalty miss from fan favourite Piri Weepu.

Their starvation attempt did not last as back came the All Blacks following a solid touch-finder from scrum-half Weepu.  And from that ensuing line-out, superb off-the-top ball back inside to Tony Woodcock saw the prop ghost through unopposed.  Cue a big sigh of relief.

Suddenly the momentum had swung while Morgan Parra continued to struggle, which eventually led to Francois Trinh-Duc replacing him.  France were not going to be alone in losing their fly-half though as six minutes before the break, Aaron Cruden exited injured.

Breakdown supremacy was also always going to be vital and as is their wont in 2011, the All Blacks soon dominated matters, which should have resulted in another three from Weepu.  However, the former Hurricane looked like he was kicking in one with another missed shot.

Despite those eight points from the tee having gone begging, there was little worrying New Zealand heading past the half-hour mark but as this nation had become accustomed to, France aren't to be taken lightly, particularly with only a five-point lead taken into the sheds.

Marc Lievremont was clearly encouraged from what he had seen from his charges and sent the French back out from the break with the greater intent, but this time it was they who counted the cost of a penalty miss.  Dimitri Yachvili sending the ball just wide of the uprights.

It looked like New Zealand had made the visitors pay for that failed attempt when first-half replacement Stephen Donald slotted from bang in front, but as the French have a habit of doing in this tournament, they soon came back to haunt their hosts.  Thierry Dusautoir it was who crossed as the All Blacks fell asleep in defence following Donald's effort.  The visiting captain burrowed his way over close to the post to make it an easy conversion for Trinh-Duc.

Suddenly the nerves of yesteryear were weighing on the hearts and shoulders of the 61,000 supporters at Eden Park as play nervously pitched itself on the halfway line coming up to the hour mark.  That aforementioned 6/1 bookies price tag had become a great amount shorter.

France had the chance to snatch an unlikely World Cup crown on 63 minutes when Trinh-Duc lined up a 45-metre penalty but it proved unsuccessful as New Zealand weathered both the French storm and the pressure they'd put on themselves after almost a quarter-of-a-century without the Webb Ellis trophy.

The game was on a knife edge right until the final moments but the hosts just managed to hold on and end 24 years of waiting for their second RWC, McCaw left holding the prize.

Man of the match:  Yet another towering performance from Imanol Harinordoquy has gone into the locker of the Biarritz stalwart.  The number eight proved once again he is a must in this French line-up as he foiled several home line-outs, ran well in open play and also had a good night in close quarters.  However, along with Thierry Dusautoir, Richie McCaw put in captain's performance on Sunday and was colossal at the breakdown.  Big game effort.

Moment of the match:  It had looked like France were going to upset New Zealand in 1999, 2007 and now 2011 when Francois Trinh-Duc lined up a long-range penalty attempt with only a quarter of the game remaining.  The replacement fly-half did not get hold of his attempt though and that proved the difference between the two when it came down to it.

Villain of the match:  A game played in good spirits.  Nothing to report.

The scorers:

For France:
Try:  Dusautoir
Con:  Trinh-Duc

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Woodcock
Pen:  Donald

France:  15 Maxime Médard, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Aurélien Rougerie, 12 Maxime Mermoz, 11 Alexis Palisson, 10 Morgan Parra, 9 Dimitri Yachvili, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Julien Bonnaire, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Lionel Nallet, 4 Pascal Papé, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 William Servat, 1 Jean-Baptiste Poux.
Replacements:  16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Fabien Barcella, 18 Julien Pierre, 19 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 20 Jean-Marc Doussain, 21 François Trinh-Duc, 22 Damien Traille.

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Richard Kahui, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Brad Thorn, 4 Samuel Whitelock, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Andrew Hore, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Ali Williams, 19 Adam Thomson, 20 Andy Ellis, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Sonny Bill Williams.

Referee:  Craig Joubert

Australia take home the bronze

Australia ended their World Cup campaign in third place after getting the better of Wales 21-18 in Friday's battle for bronze at Eden Park.

Both sides crossed the whitewash twice, with Wales bagging a consolation second try on full-time to end the match -- but not the tournament -- on a high note.

The two teams held nothing back, and went at it hammer and tongs from the kick-off in what was a fast and furious third place play-off encounter that left bodies battered and bruised.

Australia's casualty list was the longer of the two teams -- losing playmakers Kurtley Beale and Quade Cooper early on to injuries.

It was a double blow for the Wallabies, who had to change tack somewhat after being forced into a backline reshuffle with Berrick Barnes at pivot, Anthony Faingaa and Robert Horne forming the new midfield partnership and Adam Ashley-Cooper shifted to full-back.

It didn't disrupt Australia's momentum though, with Barnes showing some deft touches and superb vision in Cooper's absence while James O'Connor caused Wales all sorts of trouble out wide with ball in hand as well as from the kicking tee.

Barnes and O'Connor combined to contribute all but five of their side's points -- Barnes picking up a try and a drop-goal, while O'Connor slotted two penalties and a conversion.

The same couldn't be said of the Welsh kickers, whose three missed kicks -- four if you include a drop-goal -- would come back and haunt them -- just as it did against France in last weekend's semi-final.  Like catches win matches in cricket, so do goal-kicks in rugby.

Leading 7-3 at half-time, the Wallabies relinquished their lead only once in the match when Wales wing Shane Williams went over for a sensational solo try eight minutes after the break.  But with the touchline conversion missed, O'Connor put his team back in front with two quick-fire penalties and the Wallabies never looked back.

There was little separating the two teams when the match got underway in front of a capacity crowd in Auckland.

Both sides showed their intentions to run the ball at every opportunity that came their way, which paved the way for a free-flowing spectacle -- stopped only for the wounded.

Before Beale and Cooper hobbled off the field, the latter was able to put Barnes over from close range after a delayed pass caught the Welsh off-guard.  O'Connor landed the simple conversion, and Australia led by seven points after twelve minutes played.

The Wallabies came close to bagging try number two, only for Ashley-Cooper to spill the ball forward with the tryline begging.

Prop James Slipper was then penalised in the scrum which allowed James Hook to kick the opening points for his team, but then badly missed a straight-forward penalty attempt five minutes after the restart.

O'Connor should have restored Australia's advantage but his penalty effort rebounded back off the posts.

Wales were then off-target with another three-pointer as Leigh Halfpenny's long-range attempt sailed wide, leaving Australia to head into the interval with a four-point lead.

Wales had a chance to cut the deficit to just a point a few minutes into the second half, but once again Hook missed a regulation penalty attempt.

However, Wales gave their red-clad fans hope when they finally took their chance after a stab kick ahead and regather by Hook saw the ball flung wide to Williams who showed his footballing skills to score.  The initial pass out wide looked forward but Williams hacked on and won the foot-race to the ball.

Australia replied with two O'Connor penalties in the 54th and 57th minutes respectively to open up a five-point lead, however Wales were let off the hook when his next attempt hit the posts.  Barnes, though, gave the Wallabies some breathing space as he slotted over a cheeky drop-goal.

With Hook off and Stephen Jones on, the veteran set up a nail-biting finale with his 70th-minute penalty to take the scores to 11-16 and Wales requiring a converted try to win the match.

Australia should have sealed the deal through Ashley-Cooper with six minutes left on the clock, but a try-saving tackle by Wales wing George North kept his team's chances alive as the ball spilled from the full-back's grasp.

However, the Wallabies launched another raid and weren't to be denied a second time after number eight Ben McCalman made no mistake two minutes later as he took Saia Fainga'a's offload to score in the corner for the match-winner.

O'Connor missed the conversion from far out, but it mattered not as Wales trailed by 10 points with two minutes left.

Wales never gave up though, and were rewarded for their never-say-die attitude after Halfpenny dived over 28 phases later to finish the game on a positive note.

It was Australia's first win at Eden Park since 1986, but not against their Bledisloe Cup rivals New Zealand, who take on France at their fortress in Sunday's final.

This victory meant two-time champions Australia won their first bronze at the World Cup after losing 22-21 to Wales in the play-off for third place at the inaugural 1987 tournament in New Zealand.

Man of the match:  For Wales, number eight Ryan Jones was simply superb, whilst James O'Connor was a threat throughout for the Wallabies.  But Berrick Barnes delivered a masterly performance after moving from inside centre to fly-half and is deservedly our man of the match.

Moment of the match:  It may have been a forward pass that allowed Wales to hit the front, but we're going with that fortuitous try to wing Shane Williams.

Villain of the match:  Hmmm ... Australia hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau can consider himself lucky for escaping any punishment for his late shoulder charge on Shane Williams that saw the Welsh Wizard go flying behind the touchline.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Barnes, McCalman
Con:  O'Connor
Pens:  O'Connor 2
Drop:  Barnes

For Wales:
Tries:  S Williams, Halfpenny
Pens:  Hook, S Jones
Cons:  S Jones

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Shane Williams, 10 James Hook, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Ryan Jones, 7 Toby Faletau, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Luke Charteris, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Paul James, 2 Huw Bennett, 1 Gethin Jenkins (c).
Replacements:  16 Lloyd Burns, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Alun Wyn Jones, 19 Andy Powell, 20 Lloyd Williams, 21 Stephen Jones, 22 Scott Williams.

Australia:  15 Kurtley Beale, 14 James O'Connor, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 David Pocock, 6 Scott Higginbotham, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 James Horwill (c), 3 Salesi Ma'afu, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 Saia Faingaa, 17 Ben Alexander, 18 Rob Simmons, 19 Radike Samo, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Anthony Faingaa, 22 Robert Horne.

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)

All Blacks march into World Cup Final

New Zealand are just 80 minutes away from possible Rugby World Cup glory after booking their place in the final with a convincing 20-6 victory over Australia at Eden Park on Sunday.

The hosts -- the only unbeaten team left in the tournament -- will face France at the same venue in seven days in a repeat of the 1987 RWC final.

New Zealand led 14-6 at half-time thanks to a try from centre Ma'a Nonu, created by a brilliant run and offload by full-back Israel Dagg.  And further points from Piri Weepu provided the cement.

Conditions were perfect for a fixture many had billed as being fitting of a final.  The anthems and Kapa O Pango were stirring but the biggest cheer before 21:01 arrived at the kick-off when public enemy number one, Quade Cooper, sent his drop-kick out on the full.  Cue happy Kiwis.

What also caused bums off seats was the form of Dagg -- back in the team following injury -- and he immediately caught the eye with his fine running ability.  The full-back was slicing Australia to bits during the first six minutes and when he cut down the right before offloading back inside to Nonu, the hosts were on the board.  Inspirational nine Weepu was unsuccessful with his first kick but nine Wallaby missed tackles was far cry from their effort against the Boks.

Weepu struck the post moments later when openside flanker David Pocock was penalised at the ruck but did discover his range on twelve minutes from a similar position.

Australia needed a foothold at 8-0 down as a fired-up New Zealand looked to work the body of their trans-Tasman rivals.  Digby Ioane almost provided the perfect fillip to their cause from a counter-attack but fell just short of the line following a good fend on the covering defence.  It resulted in three points however via the boot of James O'Connor which helped ease the early loss of prop Sekope Kepu to injury, James Slipper was his replacement.

Their reprieve was shortlived though as back came the hosts with a Cruden drop-goal.  Meanwhile, Cooper was having the game of his nightmares, slicing numerous kicks from hand to go with that initial kick-off, with many a coach probably eyeing up Berrick Barnes.

In fact Barnes did emerge as a blood-bin replacement for Pat McCabe soon after fly-half Cooper had shown character when sitting back in the pocket in response to Cruden's effort.  At 11-6 the game was nicely poised for Australia going into the break but then an unlucky ricochet off lock Dan Vickerman that went forward to Adam Ashley-Cooper promptly put the lead back to eight at 14-6.  New Zealand's public were breathing a lot easier for their side.

It was looking like being the same final as 1987.

History being repeated gained further momentum not three minutes after the resumption too when an Owen Franks tackle led to McCabe holding on in a kickable position, Weepu having the simple task of extending matters to eleven as Australia and Robbie Deans worked out the next score would be vital.  The probability that would be Gold was reducing by the minute however as mistake after mistake, such as obstruction and fumbles, foiled them.

What was also noticeable was the lack of impact Pocock was having on proceedings, with a tighter rule on the breakdown applied by Craig Joubert.  Sunday's official did not however have to be a rocket scientist to spot the side-entry from hooker Stephen Moore but Weepu sent his penalty wide from distance, which was set to be his last act due to the arrival of Andy Ellis for the final fourteen minutes.  Australia had also put on Tatafu Polota-Nau.

The Wallabies' front-row change made little impact to their cause and it was in fact New Zealand's Andrew Hore who enjoyed the better closing stages, first winning a breakdown penalty and then being the middle of All Black dominance at scrum-time.  The game was all but sealed thanks to returning scrum-half Weepu -- on for a bloodied Ellis -- knocking over three points to make it 20-6.  The Kiwis were home and hosed, or so they thought.

Why?  A yellow card for replacement Sonny Bill Williams for a shoulder charge on Cooper made for an anxious final four minutes but the hosts stood firm.  Next, France -- again.

Man of the match:  New Zealand's forwards were dominant from minute one but it was the cutting edge that Israel Dagg brought from full-back that sees him wrestle this award from one of his pack.  Dagg was a calming presence when Australia kicked long, sending fine returns into touch while also combining those with the mesmeric step that has been thrilling Crusaders fans all year.  Mils Muliaina leaves his fifteen jersey in very good hands.

Moment of the match:  The All Blacks came out of the blocks firing and when Ma'a Nonu crossed with just six minutes gone, they were well on their way to a first final in 16 years.

Villain of the match:  You know him, New Zealand loves to dislike him.  Quade Cooper played the villain for those wearing black in the stands.  Not his best night in Gold.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Pen:  O'Connor
Drop:  Cooper

For New Zealand:
Try:  Nonu
Pens:  Weepu 4
Drop:  Cruden

Yellow card:  S.B. Williams (New Zealand -- 76th min -- shoulder charge)

Australia:  15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 James O'Connor, 13 Anthony Faingaa, 12 Pat McCabe, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Radike Samo, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 James Horwill (c), 4 Dan Vickerman, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Sekope Kepu.
Replacements:  16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 James Slipper, 18 Rob Simmons, 19 Ben McCalman, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Berrick Barnes, 22 Rob Horne.

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Richard Kahui, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Brad Thorn, 4 Samuel Whitelock, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Andrew Hore, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Ali Williams, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Andy Ellis, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Sonny Bill Williams.

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Nigel Owens (Wales), Romain Poite (France)
Television match official:  Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

France edge fourteen-man Wales

France booked their place in the 2011 Rugby World Cup Final with a 9-8 win over Wales at Eden Park on Saturday.

Did they deserve it for the way they played against fourteen men?  No.  But that is rugby as Wales bow out following what was a superb tournament.

Sam Warburton was the man shown red for a dangerous tackle after just 18 minutes but that didn't stop Wales from scoring the only try of the game, through Mike Phillips on the hour mark.

But it wasn't enough in the end as three Morgan Parra penalties ultimately trumped a solitary three-pointer from James Hook and that try.

A repeat of the 1987 final is almost complete.

Not ten minutes before kick-off the heavens opened over Eden Park as hopes of an open spectacle took a knock before the semi-final had even got going.  Perhaps the nagging question was who would the new conditions favour but before opinions were given, the rain abated.

Despite an almost immediate Welsh pack foray through the driving maul, it was France who came out of the blocks with the bit between their teeth when William Servat found space on the blindside to allow go-forward ball that took them into the red zone.  However, Wales were solid enough to counteract that attack and soon set off on one of their own, fly-half Hook it was who put the ball into George North's grasp which led to the game's first three points.

Wales were looking like the confidence they had picked up during earlier rounds was still coursing through the veins and a dominant first scrummage against the French -- which saw them awarded a penalty by referee Alain Rolland -- gave them an extra shot in the arm.  Hook's missed attempt at goal definitely was not what the doctor ordered though.  Neither was the sight of in-form prop Adam Jones limping off with only twelve minutes gone.

It was all going swimmingly for the Welsh until the moment arrived that turned the game and all but ended their hopes of making the World Cup final.  France were looking to attack the fringes of a line-out on halfway but Vincent Clerc found his path firmly shut by flanker Warburton -- the skipper lifting, turning and tipping Clerc much to the displeasure of Rolland.  Warburton was shown red amid mass boos and jeers from the supporters wearing that colour.  As expected, the fallout of that refereeeing decision is already well underway.

For Wales it was abundantly clear that they now needed the performance of their lives while France could almost smell another final on New Zealand soil.  Parra -- given the kicking tee earlier in the day -- quickly helped them on their way with a penalty just after the quarter and another on minute 33.  That saw France go 6-3 up but there was still a feeling Wales had something in their locker, before or after Warren Gatland and Shaun Edwards got their say.

What might have given the Wales players and coaching staff encouragement was the statistic that France made 22 more tackles during the first-half.  A sign of Welsh pride.

Let's be honest, Wales had to clutch all of the mini-victories they could at this stage but seeing Servat and Jean-Baptiste Poux being replaced by the fresh legs of forwards Dimitri Szarzewski and Fabien Barcella just four minutes into their return was not something they could spin into a positive.  Neither was another three from Parra after a collapsed driving maul brought an end to a sustained period of territory for Les Bleus.  9-3 was now their lead.

Gatland had obviously sensed that without their captain on the field, Wales needed real experience in the middle and who better to call upon than someone with 100+ caps in his cabinet.  Enter Stephen Jones in place of Hook and so it began as Wales did superbly to weather that passage of pressure before Phillips, like against Ireland, caught the defence napping, fending and ghosting through for a key score.  Jones missed the extras though.

The crowd had found their voice and feet once again, as did the replacement benches of both sides as Bradley Davies and Julien Pierre joined the fray ahead of the final fifteen.

It had turned into a true semi-final as no one knew which way the game would turn next.  A single point was all that was in it and the tension was palpable, no more so than when Wales set up camp five out on two occasions.  Their first charge resulted in a horrible left-footed drop-goal attempt by Jones before he failed to get into the pocket for the second.

There was further drama to come, however, when Nicolas Mas was ruled offside at a ruck.  But full-back Leigh Halfpenny's 75th minute long-range penalty dipped under the crossbar.

And those three chances proved golden moments as France held on for an undeserved place in the final, with several of their players looking embarrassed about celebrating.

Man of the match:  All fourteen Welsh players on the field.  They played with their hearts on their sleeves for their country and were desperately unlucky not to be in next week's final.

Moment of the match:  Simple;  the red card for Sam Warburton.

Villain of the match:  While the law is the law, a quick decision from referee Alain Rolland pretty much sealed the fate of Wales.  If he had of taken time to talk to his touch-judges Wayne Barnes and Jonathan Kaplan then maybe the game might not have been soured.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Try:  Phillips
Pen:  Hook

For France:
Pens:  Parra 3

Red card:  Warburton (Wales -- 18th min -- tip tackle)

The teams:

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Shane Williams, 10 James Hook, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (capt), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun-Wyn Jones, 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Huw Bennett, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Lloyd Burns, 17 Paul James, 18 Bradley Davies, 19 Ryan Jones, 20 Lloyd Williams, 21 Stephen Jones, 22 Scott Williams.

France:  15 Maxime Médard, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Aurélien Rougerie, 12 Maxime Mermoz, 11 Alexis Palisson, 10 Morgan Parra, 9 Dimitri Yachvili, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Julien Bonnaire, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (capt), 5 Lionel Nallet, 4 Pascal Papé, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 William Servat, 1 Jean-Baptiste Poux.
Replacements:  16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Fabien Barcella, 18 Julien Pierre, 19 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 20 Francois Trinh-Duc, 21 Jean-Marc Doussain, 22 Cedric Heymans.

Referee:  Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Assistant referees:  Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa), Wayne Barnes (England)
Television match official:  Giulio De Santis (Italy)

All Blacks grind past Pumas

New Zealand were made to work very hard but got the job done by beating Argentina 33-10 on Sunday to advance to the Rugby World Cup semi-finals.

The All Blacks were far from their best but teams seldom are in knockout rugby.  What may be a concern to them though was the loss of Colin Slade to injury.  Dan Carter's fly-half replacement left the field during the first stanza with a leg injury, being replaced by third-choice Aaron Cruden.

It was a scrum-half who stole the headlines though at Eden Park as Piri Weepu kicked 21 points, missing just one attempt on the night.

Seen as the dead-cert of the quarter-finals, it was always going to be critical for the Pumas to repel any swift score from the All Blacks.  Which was exactly what they did whilst forcing some early mishaps from a nervous playmaker Slade.  Quickly, most of the crowd noise was Argentina's.

But on twelve minutes the early Pumas stampede was finally weathered and New Zealand posted their first calming points via the boot of Weepu.  It arrived following a line-out indiscretion which allowed the nine, arguably chosen to take the kicking load off Slade, to slot from 40 metres.

In 1987, these two battled to a 46-15 scoreline in favour of the All Blacks.  However, any sort of a repeat was always going to be unlikely with times markedly different in 2011.  So much so that, despite an almost try from number eight Kieran Read in the left corner, Argentina were more than standing steady going into the second quarter.  Only a couple of set-piece offences proved their downfall as again Weepu was successful, this time on 25 minutes.

Argentina had never been trailing by more than six points in the 2011 tournament and they soon demonstrated why with a superb break off the base of their scrum seeing number eight Leonardo Senatore pierce the All Black defence before recycled ball led to Julio Farias Cabello crashing over due to a lapse in the home guard system.  Felipe Contepomi added the extra two points for a 6-7 advantage which coincided with Slade departing the action.

New Zealand needed to, and ultimately did, recompose as they captured some of that early territory they had enjoyed previously.  Weepu again was on the mark from the kicking tee as the Pumas' lead was short-lived.  The visitors had however silenced Eden Park and given themselves belief of the impossible.  They would have to come back from 12-7 down though in the second-half following another penalty being awarded.  Weepu was four from four.

Still though the Pumas would not roll over as they did not hang around with their task at hand.  Marcelo Bosch it was who landed a long-range penalty that brought them back to within two points.  New Zealand, who were without Test centurion Mils Muliaina for the second-half, again hit back soon after though in what was turning into a ding-dong battle.  Very few had expected such a close-fought encounter to decide who would play Australia.

Nevertheless, the home side were beginning to take a grip on the game towards the hour mark and almost crossed the whitewash when Richie McCaw stretched for the post protector.  Television match official Shaun Veldsman though otherwise however, in a passage that coincided with Nicolas Vergallo being shown a yellow card.  Things were starting to look bleak for the Pumas, who were camped on their own line for long periods as New Zealand went for the kill.  Consolation for the All Blacks was another advantage having been played during those aforementioned phases, which opened up a key two-score lead.

And that was the cushion the All Blacks needed as they continued to enjoy their territorial and phase dominance that saw Kieran Read left unattended to wide on the left wing.  New Zealand were 23-10 to the good as the game approached its final ten minutes and Argentina's challenged neared its end.  Weepu added another three to his personal tally in the closing stages before Thorn iced the nervous yet measured display.  Australia next.

Man of the match:  A near faultless kicking display from Piri Weepu sees him take the award.  He marshalled well from the base and seems to have secured the nine jersey.

Moment of the match:  It was tit for tat for long periods at Eden Park before Kieran Read put the game to bed with a try wide out.  Argentina had a mountain to climb after that score.

Villain of the match:  All clean and fair at Eden Park.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Try:  Cabello
Con:  Contepomi
Pen:  Bosch

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Read, Thorn
Con:  Cruden
Pens:  Weepu 7

Yellow card:  Vergallo (Argentina -- 58th min -- professional foul)

Argentina:  15 Martín Rodríguez, 14 Gonzalo Camacho, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Felipe Contepomi (capt), 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Santiago Fernández, 9 Nicolás Vergallo, 8 Leonardo Senatore, 7 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 6 Julio Farias Cabello, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Mario Ledesma, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements:  16 Agustín Creevy, 17 Martín Scelzo, 18 Marcos Ayerza, 19 Alejandro Campos, 20 Alfredo Lalanne, 21 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino, 22 Juan Jose Imhoff.

New Zealand:  15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Sonny Bill Williams, 10 Colin Slade, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Brad Thorn, 4 Samuel Whitelock, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Andrew Hore, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Ali Williams, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Jimmy Cowan, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Isaia Toeava.

Venue:  Eden Park, Auckland
Referee:  Nigel Owens
Assistant referees:  Jonathan Kaplan, George Clancy
Television match official:  Shaun Veldsman

Wallabies send defending champs home

Despite being under the cosh for most of the game, Australia held on to beat South Africa 11-9 in a thrilling World Cup quarter-final in Wellington on Sunday.

The Wallabies scored the only try of the game but needed a late James O'Connor penalty to scrape past the dominant Springboks.

The defending champions made most of the running but failed to convert their chances into points and Australia held a 8-3 advantage when the teams swapped ends.

Indeed the Boks were on top in just about every sector bar the scoreboard for most of the encounter but it took them an hour to put their noses in front.

But the lead was short-lived as O'Connor put the Wallabies back in front from long range with nine minutes left on the clock.

South Africa will head home wondering just how they lost after ruling the set pieces and forcing the Wallabies to make almost three times as many tackles as they did.

Credit to the Wallaby defence though for holding wave after wave of attack at bay.

The battle at the breakdown between David Pocock and Heinrich Brüssow had been billed as potentially decisive and many will consider that to have been the case with Brüssow forced off injured after 20 minutes while Pocock went on to put in a man-of-the-match performance.

In perfect conditions for running rugby, the Springboks were out of the blocks at a furious pace, looking dangerous with ball in hand and enjoying the upper hand in the opening exchanges while Australia were not helped by some hesitant touches from playmaker Quade Cooper.

Of particular worry for the Wallabies was how their scrum struggled from the second call of 'engage' while Victor Matfield ruled the line-outs.

But the Wallabies would be first to score, albeit against the run of play.  Cooper set up a line-out deep in South African territory with a deft kick.  Matfield secured possession for the Boks but Schalk Burger was turned over at the ensuing ruck.  Wallaby skipper James Horwill didn't need a second invitation to grab the opportunity and powered his way over the line.

O'Connor missed the conversion but having points on the board sparked the Wallabies into life and the young wing made no mistake with his next shot at goal, giving Australia an 8-0 lead after Kurtley Beale had sliced through the opposition defensive line.

New Zealand referee Bryce Lawrence adopted a lenient approach with hands in the ruck from both sides and Aussie poacher Pocock was making his presence felt.

It was all going wrong for the Boks as star flank Brüssow was forced off with a rib injury at the end of the first quarter.  His absence was immediately felt when another turnover was conceded just inches from the Wallaby tryline.

Morne Steyn sent a long-range penalty wide before the Boks turned down another chance for points, opting rather for an attacking line-out.  But once again a turnover within touching distance of the whitewash denied the men in green.

Steyn found the mark on the stroke of halt-time however to keep South Africa within striking distance at 8-3 at the break.

Soon after the restart South Africa thought they finally had the try they sought but Pat Lambie was called back for a forward pass.

The 50-minute mark saw form players Bismarck du Plessis and François Hougaard enter the fray.  A few minutes later Steyn reduced the gap to two points from the kicking tee while Berrick Barnes took over at inside centre for Australia.

The Boks continued to ply the pressure and drop goal from Steyn on the hour mark saw the South Africans take the lead for the first time.

Lambie also had a tilt from 45metres, but his drop sailed just wide.

But O'Connor struck the winner for Australia in the dying minutes after Danie Rossouw took Radike Samo out in the air at a line-out.

The Wallabies will now face the winners of Sunday's second quarter-final between Argentina and New Zealand.

Man of the match:  The thorn in the Springboks' side from start to finish, David Pocock lived up to his billing as a game breaker.  Crucial turnovers at crucial times -- that's what they call big match temperament.

Moment of the match:  It all went wrong for the Springboks in minute 21.  Moments after Brüssow hobbled off, a drive at the Wallaby line was stopped inches short and ending with the ball in Wallaby hands.  It left the Boks trailing by eight and set the trend for things to come ...

Villain of the match:  No nasty stuff in a magnificent game.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Try:  Horwill
Pens:  O'Connor 2

For South Africa:
Pens:  Steyn 2
Drop:  Steyn

Australia:  15 Kurtley Beale, 14 James O'Connor, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Pat McCabe, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Radike Samo, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 James Horwill (c), 4 Dan Vickerman, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Sekope Kepu.
Replacements:  16 Tatafu Polota Nau, 17 James Slipper, 18 Nathan Sharpe, 19 Ben McCalman, 20 Luke Burgess, 21 Berrick Barnes, 22 Anthony Fainga'a.

South Africa:  15 Pat Lambie, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Heinrich Brüssow, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Danie Rossouw, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Replacements:  16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 CJ van der Linde, 18 Willem Alberts, 19 François Louw, 20 François Hougaard, 21 Butch James, 22 Gio Aplon.

Venue:  Regional Stadium, Wellington
Referee:  Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  Dave Pearson (England, Romain Poite (France)
TMO:  Giulio De Santis (Italy)

French renaissance ends England

France bounced back from last week's humiliation to stun England at Eden Park, winning 19-12 to advance to the 2011 Rugby World Cup semi-finals.

England were second best as they could not make it three finals in a row, while les Bleus deservedly march on to face Wales next week.

First-half tries from Vincent Clerc and Maxime Medard ultimately gave France a 16-0 cushion that England could not claw their way back from.

Going into the game, Jonny Wilkinson was hovering on a dismal 45 per cent tournament kicking record while Toby Flood had kicked 62.5 per cent.  In stark comparison, France scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili was considered a sharp shooter at 81.25 in conditions that went against the initial forecast.  Statistics would not matter though at Eden Park as neither Flood nor Wilkinson were given an opportunity to improve their averages during the whole 40 minutes of the first period.

In fact -- as these midweek subplots have a way of working out -- Wilkinson was afforded just a single attempt at goal during his 65 minutes on the field.

A great deal had been made of Martin Johnson's decision to employ Flood outside Wilkinson, with many predicting a kicking style from the team in white.  But in fact it was the distribution the Tiger offered that was apparent for the 2003 champions as Flood showed a longer, flatter pass that allowed outside centre Manu Tuilagi and full-back Ben Foden to hit the line in the same fashion Chris Ashton did against Scotland the week previously.

But like England's backline, this was not the same France that fell to Tonga as passes went to hand, running lines were excellent and more importantly, they were putting points on the board.  Two successful attempts from Biarritz's Yachvili pushed them 6-0 ahead in a frantic opening seventeen minutes.

Yachvili did have the opportunity to extend the lead before the quarter but drifted his third shot to the right of the uprights.  France might not have cared in truth as they were controlling all facets of play.  Two scrum penalties, ample territory and also heaps of possession were the catalysts to their march while England were not helping themselves in losing three early line-outs, which ultimately came back to haunt them when Toulouse's Clerc sliced down the left wing, brushing off the attempted last-ditch tackle of Foden to score in the corner.

Slowly but surely England were managing to get themselves a foothold in the game though, with the 11-0 score not looking too daunting for a side that had shown they were more than capable of coming from behind in this World Cup.  A mini period of possession in French territory gave them hope but then came the moment that made Marc Lievremont stand up and applaud.  A rumble through the heart of England's tight five was duly shifted left where superb work by winger Alexis Palisson drew three tacklers before he handed the ball back inside to grateful recipient Medard.  16-0 and England were well-and-truly on the rack.

Some home truths were needed at half-time or England would be going home.  Graham Rowntree had to work some of the magic that halted Euan Murray while Brian Smith was required to instill a cutting edge in the backs instead of just nice passing.  Neither were achieved for the opening fifteen minutes as Johnson threw on trio Courtney Lawes, Simon Shaw and Alex Corbisiero for Tom Croft, Louis Deacon and Matt Stevens respectively.

But then arrived the moment the majority of the largely-filled stadium had been waiting for as a sustained passage of play, which was sparked by scrum-half Ben Youngs' quick tap, saw Shaw involved before Foden cut a line to go in under the posts.  Wilkinson's extras made it 16-7 with ample time to go.

Cue the French offending, with referee Steve Walsh having words with skipper Thierry Dusautoir after an English jumper was handled in the air.  The looming question was whether les Bleus would begin to capitulate or not?  They did not and swiftly set about attempting to strike back, comforted by the knowledge that they were still two scores ahead of their rivals, who were ringing the changes by bringing off Youngs and captain Moody for James Haskell and Richard Wigglesworth.  Even fly-half Wilkinson was cut from the action as Johnson looked to throw his kitchen sink of a replacements bench at France.

It proved fruitless before French substitute Francois Trinh-Duc did a Wilkinson on England by slotting a drop-goal that took the game beyond reach at 19-7.  England did set up a grandstand finish when Mark Cueto was adjudged to have grounded the ball over the line after television match official approval, but it was all too little too late as France prevailed to set up a mouth-watering semi-final clash with Wales at the same venue next Saturday.

Man of the match:  Plenty of heart was shown by France -- even when the going was tough -- and no one epitomised that more than Julien Bonnaire.  The flank tackled all night for his country, putting in key hits to halt England gaining any sustainable momentum.

Moment of the match:  The step and assist from Alexis Palisson.  It was magic from the French winger as he set up Maxime Medard for a key score just after the half-hour mark.

Villain of the match:  Scratch villain for disappointment.  Large pockets of grey seats were evident at Eden Park as the quarter-final was not sold out.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Foden, Cueto
Con:  Wilkinson

For France:
Tries:  Clerc, Medard
Pens:  Yachvili 2
Drop:  Trinh-Duc

England:  15 Ben Foden, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Toby Flood, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Lewis Moody, 6 Tom Croft, 5 Tom Palmer, 4 Louis Deacon, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Steve Thompson, 1 Matt Stevens.
Replacements:  16 Dylan Hartley, 17 Alex Corbisiero, 18 Courtney Lawes, 19 Simon Shaw, 20 James Haskell, 21 Richard Wigglesworth, 22 Matt Banahan.

France:  15 Maxime Médard, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Aurélien Rougerie, 12 Maxime Mermoz, 11 Alexis Palisson, 10 Morgan Parra, 9 Dimitri Yachvili, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Julien Bonnaire, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Lionel Nallet, 4 Pascal Pape, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 William Servat, 1 Jean-Baptiste Poux.
Replacements:  16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Fabien Barcella, 18 Julien Pierre, 19 Louis Picamoles, 20 Francois Trinh-Duc, 21 David Marty, 22 Cédric Heymans.

Referee:  Steve Walsh
Assistant referees:  Alain Rolland, George Clancy
Television match official:  Shaun Veldsman

Wales march on to Auckland

Wales broke Irish hearts after booking their place in the Rugby World Cup semi-finals thanks to a 22-10 victory in Wellington on Saturday.

In what was a breathless encounter in the New Zealand capital, the Welsh outscored Ireland by three tries to one to seal a semi-final spot on rugby's biggest stage for the first time since 1987.

It was tough to predict a winner before the start of this quarter-final, but it was clear from the kick-off which team would be marching on to Auckland and who would be heading home in arguably the game of the tournament.

It was simple:  Wales took their chances, Ireland did not.

Outstanding defence from the Welsh also paved the way to victory with Luke Charteris and talismanic Sam Warburton immense in the tackle -- frustrating the Irish as a solid red wall kept them out.

Wales roared out of the starting blocks and made the perfect start possible after wing Shane Williams went over for the game's opening try in the corner with barely two minutes up on the clock.

It was a team effort, with the Welsh counter-attacking from a turnover.  The ball was sent high by pivot Rhys Priestland and then taken and carried strongly by Jamie Roberts, who fended off Donncha O'Callaghan -- from there, Ireland were always on the backfoot.

A sea of red jerseys flooded Ireland's tryline, before the pigskin was sent through the hands out to left wing Williams waiting on the right and he finished off.  The TMO was called in to confirm, but there was never any doubt.  The swirling wind couldn't prevent Priestland from slotting over the touchline conversion to hand his team a 7-0 lead after three minutes played.

The shell-shocked Irish composed themselves and made their way towards Wales' dangerzone, where they turned down three penalty attempts at goal only for the Welsh to thwart every attack thrown at them from Ireland's catch and drive at the line-out.

Ireland finally gave in to three points from bang in front and Ronan O'Gara put his team on the board in the 24th minute.  However, Wales stretched their lead back to seven points thanks to a monster penalty effort from full-back Leigh Halfpenny on halfway.

Ireland, playing with more possession and territory, failed to convert pressure into points and trailed their Celtic rivals 3-10 at half-time.

The start to the second half proved to be more pleasant than the first for Ireland, who gave Wales a taste of their own medicine by making the ideal start by crossing the whitewash early on.

At first it seemed that Ireland had made a mess of it as Tommy Bowe's pass to Keith Earls hit the deck and rolled towards the Irishman.  But Earls did well to pick up and turn on the gas with little space to work with, before sliding over in the corner.  Again, the TMO was brought into play, and again he gave the green light.

O'Gara showed he was just as able to nail conversions from the sideline and punched the air as the ball sailed between the uprights to level the scores.  10-10!

But Wales scrum-half Mike Phillips restored Wales' lead with a clever dart down the blindside from a ruck 15 metres out.  The number nine fended off Gordon D'Arcy and launched himself spectacularly for the line, dotting down one handed as Bowe came in with the tackle.

Priestland's conversion drifted wide and the fly-half, whose form has seen him keep Stephen Jones and James Hook out of the team, then saw a 58th minute penalty come back off the upright.

Ireland were then caught napping out wide and a quick ball from Phillips found Priestland, who offloaded to centre Jonathan Davies.  The centre split through Cian Healy and Earls, before shaking off Eoin Reddan's weak tackle for a fine individual try.

Priestland hit the conversion to make it 22-10 with 15 minutes to play.

The Irish threw everything but the kitchen sink at Wales in the last quarter of the match, but poor decisions -- which summed up their match -- either saw penalties given away, or balls being spilled thanks to some steely defence and superiority at the breakdown from the Welsh.

Wales, knocked out of the last World Cup four years ago at the group stage, now await the winner between England and France at Eden Park.

Man of the match:  Wales captain Sam Warburton excelled in the loose and centre Jamie Roberts stood out as a midfield battering ram, but we felt Leigh Halfpenny had a blinder at full-back for the Welsh.  Cool, calm and collected -- Halfpenny was simply sublime.

Moment of the match:  Shane Williams' opening try set the scene for what was to come, but Jonathan Davies put the icing on the cake at the Cake Tin with his match-winning score.

Villain of the match:  The wind!  It was nasty.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  Earls
Cons:  O'Gara
Pens:  O'Gara

For Wales:
Tries:  S Williams, Phillips, Davies
Cons:  Priestland 2
Pens:  Halfpenny

Ireland:  15 Robert Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (capt), 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Tom Court, 18 Donnacha Ryan, 19 Denis Leamy, 20 Eoin Reddan, 21 Jonathan Sexton, 22 Andrew Trimble.

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (c), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun-Wyn Jones, 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Huw Bennett, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Lloyd Burns, 17 Paul James, 18 Bradley Davies, 19 Ryan Jones, 20 Lloyd Williams, 21 James Hook, 22 Scott Williams.

Referee:  Craig Joubert

Italy sent packing by solid Ireland

Ireland created a mouth-watering quarter-final date with Wales next week after overcoming Italy 36-6 at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Sunday.

There was little to separate the two nations at the break with three Ronan O'Gara penalties edging Mirco Bergamasco's two.  But after their rest, the Irish stepped up through the gears in Dunedin.

Scores from Brian O'Driscoll and Keith Earls sealed the victory and with it, Italy's tournament in New Zealand came to a premature conclusion.

What will be a concern Ireland though will be the injury to hooker Rory Best, who apparently went straight to hospital with a collar bone injury.  With Jerry Flannery also recently ruled out of action, Sean Cronin is now first-choice number two.

Italy had made their presence felt in the first minute via their defensive line as Best found himself in the midst of a blue wave of Azzurri tacklers.  And it seemed to send a message to Ireland as O'Gara, who kept his spot ahead of Jonathan Sexton, soon began to take territory.

We knew going in there was going to be spice in the fixture and it came as no surprise that was what brought about the first points of the evening, Gonzalo Canale deemed the guilty party after some shenanigans with Gordon D'Arcy.  O'Gara stepped up to make it 3-0.

Back to the nitty gritty Italy went, this time demolishing the opposition scrum on the Irish 22 to allow Bergamasco a sweet levelling effort.  Parity did not look like lasting long though when hands at ruck-time from Italy allowed O'Gara to push what seemed like the 'home' side back in front.  He missed from the right but soon followed it up with a successful effort.

Despite the 62 per cent territory at this stage, Ireland were certainly not having things all their own way under the roof in Dunedin and Italy in fact almost opened the try account when a sudden wealth of possession saw them pitch up camp five metres from the green line.  Three points was their consolation.

The teams remained deadlocked going past the half-hour mark.  However, that could have been very different for Ireland had referee Jonathan Kaplan not spotted a forward pass from Sean O'Brien to an untouched Tommy Bowe.  The right wing celebrated the try under the posts along with the rest of the fans, yet it was short-lived as the South African had already blown his whistle.  Italy had survived despite being under the cosh.  However, it didn't last.

Ireland kept on knocking at the door and finally got reward for their efforts in two fold.  While key prop Martin Castrogiovanni was hobbling from the action -- and the 2011 Rugby World Cup -- O'Gara cooly pushed Ireland back in front by nine points to six as the first-half clock counted down.  Bergamasco should have made it 9-all before the break but struck the post from 40 metres and then, for reasons unknown, Italy had a penalty reversed by Kaplan.

Declan Kidney must have been quietly satisfied during the break at how the game was progressing while knowing they would need a couple more scores to create a comfortable finish.  And he soon got his wish from two of his old stagers when first O'Gara knocked over another three before O'Driscoll finished a superb initial break of the line from right wing Bowe.  It looked like the Italians' hopes had been firmly tucked away for another four years.

But the Irish weren't done there and soon went about extending their 19-6 advantage with a free-flowing move across the backs that had Italy clutching desperately for a foothold.  This time it was young Keith Earls who joined the party, a party that filtered into in the stands.

Replacement fly-half Sexton rubbed further salt into Azzurri wounds on 70 minutes with a penalty as the scoreline became 29-6 before Earls grabbed a brace of scores following good work from Andrew Trimble.  The 'Octagon' town centre of Dunedin was set have its eyes well-and-truly opened by the masses of jubilant Irish fans decked out in green.

Man of the match:  He just continues to get better and better in a green jersey.  Sean O'Brien was again immense for Ireland in what is shaping up to be a lethal weapon of a back-row.

Moment of the match:  Just when Ireland wanted their old stagers to step up and be counted, Tommy Bowe picked the Italian lock to send over captain Brian O'Driscoll.

Villain of the match:  The streaker in the North Stand, who was wearing only a green cape.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  O'Driscoll, Earls 2
Con:  O'Gara 2, Sexton
Pen:  O'Gara 4, Sexton

For Italy:
Pen:  Bergamasco 2

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (capt), 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Tom Court, 18 Donnacha Ryan, 19 Denis Leamy, 20 Eoin Reddan, 21 Jonathan Sexton, 22 Andrew Trimble.

Italy:  15 Andrea Masi, 14 Tommaso Benvenuti, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Mirco Bergamasco, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Fabio Semenzato, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Cornelius van Zyl, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Salvatore Perugini.
Replacements:  16 Fabio Ongaro, 17 Andrea lo Cicero, 18 Marco Bortolami, 19 Paul Derbyshire, 20 Edoardo Gori, 21 Riccardo Bocchino, 22 Luke McLean.

Referee:  Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand), Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Television match official:  Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Wales cruise past Fiji

Wales confirmed their place in the World Cup quarter-finals on Sunday with a comfortable 66-0 win over a second-string Fiji side in Hamilton.

Wales secured a four-try bonus point in the first half of a one-sided affair and will now face either Australia or Ireland in Wellington next Saturday.

Wales went on to run in a total of nine unanswered tries and landed all their kicks in yet another impressive display in both the set-pieces and from their free-running backs.

Fiji arrived with somewhat naive tactics and selected a team based on the concept of "having fun", but they could not have enjoyed being run ragged by a better-organised Welsh side.

Tries from Jamie Roberts, Scott Williams, George North and Sam Warburton gave Wales a 31-0 lead at the break to put any doubts over the final result to bed.

The Fijian defence was cut to shreds at regular intervals and with the weather conditions deteriorating, Roberts claimed his brace before tries from Lloyd Burns, Leigh Halfpenny, Lloyd Williams and Jonathan Davies rubbed salt into the Fijian wounds.

Despite the lopsided scoreline, Wales coach Warren Gatland will not be entirely happy with the performance as his side were heavily penalised at the breakdown, especially for leaving their feet.

But one cannot deny that Wales will take plenty of momentum into the knock-out stages as arguably the most impressive northern hemisphere side on display.

Man of the match:  Plenty of names to choose from with two-try Roberts and skipper Warburton strong candidates.  But the official award went to barnstorming wing George North for his eye-catching runs and offloads.  We won't argue.

Moment of the match:  A handful of quality tries to choose from, but we'll go for Jamie Roberts's opening try off the back of a line-out lost by Fiji.  Not only did Roberts pick the perfect angle for his run, but it set the tone for things to come.  Fiji never looked like recovering.

Villain of the match:  No nasty stuff to report

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  Roberts 2, Sc. Williams, North, Warburton, Burns, Halfpenny, L. Williams, Davies
Cons:  Priestland 5, S. Jones 4
Pen:  Priestland

The teams:

Wales:  15 Lee Byrne, 14 George North, 13 Scott Williams, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Leigh Halfpenny, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (c), 6 Ryan Jones, 5 Luke Charteris, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Huw Bennett, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Lloyd Burns, 17 Paul James , 18 Alun Wyn Jones, 19 Andy Powell, 20 Lloyd Williams, 21 Stephen Jones, 22 Jonathan Davies.

Fiji:  15 Iliesa Lomani Rakuka Keresoni, 14 Albert James Vulivuli, 13 Ravai Susau Fatiaki, 12 Gaby Lovobalavu, 11 Michael Tagicakibau, 10 Nicky Little, 9 Vitori Tomu Buatava, 8 Netani Edward Talei (c), 7 Sakiusa Matadigo, 6 Rupeni Nasiga, 5 Wame Lewaravu, 4 Leone Nakarawa, 3 Setefano Somoca, 2 Sunia Koto, 1 Waisea Nailago.
Replacements:  16 Viliame Veikoso, 17 Campese Ma'afu, 18 Akapusi Qera, 19 Mala Ravulo, 20 Nemia Kenatale, 21 Seremaia Bai, 22 Vereniki Goneva.

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees:  Craig Joubert (South Africa), Stuart Terheege (England)
Television match official:  Graham Hughes (England)