England put 50 on Fiji

England opened their November Test series account with a decisive 54-12 victory over Fiji, which sets them up nicely for tackling Australia next week.

Following an early blip whereby the islanders held the upper hand, England clicked into gear to claim a seven-try win that will please Stuart Lancaster.

Test debuts were taken by Tom Youngs, Mako Vunipola and Joe Launchbury but it was full-back Alex Goode who stole the show on Saturday as he put in an accomplished performance at fifteen.

Much sterner tests are yet to come however.

Fiji had opened the game in impressive style and despite conceding a penalty at the first scrum of the match, they soon settled into a period of huge dominance of both territory and possession.  Late call-up from Gloucester, Akapusi Qera was prominent early on alongside Api Naikatani.

Their hopes further improved on nine minutes when England scrum-half Danny Care was shown a yellow by referee Glen Jackson — who was advised by fourth official Craig Joubert — for an alleged tip tackle.  It was a tough call from the officials and one that offered the visitors an extra boost, particularly with their 81 per cent possession statistic at that point in the game.

However, England weathered the storm and in fact scored three points while Care was in the bin, Toby Flood knocking over a penalty with 20 minutes played.  It proved to be the start of a turnaround in the statistics as confidence started flowing into England's gameplan.

Goode was England's main strike weapon as he vindicated coach Lancaster's decision to move him ahead of Mike Brown.  He was popping up in the first line of attack on countless occasions and his one-two combination with Care always kept Fiji's defence guessing.

Two minutes later and the home side had their reward when Care's smart line off the shoulder of Thomas Waldrom led to Manu Tuilagi and Goode combining before wing Charlie Sharples cut back against the grain to beat three defenders.  Flood made it 10-0.

England were beginning to turn the screw in front of 82,000 supporters at HQ, and when a Flood penalty on 26 minutes was compounded for the islanders with Deacon Manu yellow carded for repeated infringements, it looked like being the perfect chance to kill the game.

They did just that when a penalty try was awarded before a break then Care almost set up Sharples for his second try only for the TMO to rule "no try" after the ball had hit the flag.

England were over soon after though when Goode's quick thinking on the stroke of half-time saw him tap before setting up Ugo Monye for a simple try that sent them in 25-0 ahead.

Following the turnaround, England came out firing and should have scored to back up Flood's 43rd-minute penalty but Dan Cole chose to run instead of pass.  But when a flowing move saw Goode combine with fly-half Flood, England were over with Johnson on the right.

Fiji hit back with a superb solo effort from Glasgow's Nicola Matawalu, who picked off Ugo Monye's pass, stepped past centre Tuilagi and then won the race to his own chip ahead.

England, though, soon had another try on the board when Flood's looping pass sent in Sharples for his second as he gave Lancaster food for thought in Chris Ashton's absence.

Amidst changes, Ben Youngs came on for Care to make the Youngs family the 10th set of brothers to play in the same England side and the first since Steffon and Delon Armitage.

Then, inside the final ten minutes of the match at Twickenham, Tuilagi bolstered England's victory margin with two tries before Fiji replacement Sekonaia Kalou had the final word by crashing over to cap a match that was entertaining from start to finish.

Man of the match:  Faultless at the back.  Alex Goode wins this one hands down after he slotted into the English line-up with ease.  Many had questioned the move to pick him over Mike Brown at number fifteen but Goode silenced all those doubters on Saturday.

Moment of the match:  Although it didn't result in a try, Charlie Sharples' grubber down the line which hit the corner flag and bounced back into play could have been brilliant.  A close second has to be the try from Nicola Matawalu, a move he had started 60 metres downfield.

Villain of the match:  Few incidents to speak of.  Danny Care's yellow card was harsh.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Sharples 2, Penalty, Monye, Johnson, Tuilagi 2
Con:  Flood 4, Farrell
Pen:  Flood 3

For Fiji:
Tries:  Matawalu, Kalou Qaraniqio
Con:  Matavesi

England:  15 Alex Goode, 14 Charlie Sharples, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Ugo Monye, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Danny Care, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Tom Johnson, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Tom Palmer, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Tom Youngs, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements:  16 David Paice, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Joe Launchbury, 19 Tom Wood, 20 Ben Youngs, 21 Owen Farrell, 22 Mike Brown.

Fiji:  15 Simeli Koniferedi, 14 Samu Wara, 13 Vereniki Goneva, 12 Sireli Naqelevuki, 11 Watisoni Votu, 10 Metuisela Talebula, 9 Nicola Matawalu, 8 Akapusi Qera 7 Malaki Ravulo, 6 Api Naikatani, 5 Apisolame Ratuniyarawa, 4 Leone Nakawara, 3 Deacon Manu, 2 Viliame Veikoso, 1 Ratu Makutu.
Replacements:  16 Seremaia Naureure, 17 Setafano Samoca, 18 Manasa Saulo, 19 Sekonaia Kalou, 20 Iliesa Ratuva, 21 Kelemedi Bola, 22 Josh Matavesi, 23 Ravai Fatiaki.

Referee:  Glen Jackson (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  Craig Joubert (South Africa),Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Television match official:  Gareth Simmonds (Wales)

Pumas power past Wales

Argentina caused the first upset of the November internationals after beating Wales 26-12 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday.

When Wales had possession they were guilty of forcing passes, and their high error-count merely played into Argentina's hands.  The only positive note for a disjointed home team was that they were in front approaching the last quarter of the match.

But that's as good as it got for the hosts, before the Pumas scored two quickfire tries through wingers Juan Imhoff and Gonzalo Camacho to open up a sizeable lead which they never relinquished.

It was only the second win for Argentina in Cardiff and their first since 2001, whilst Wales were dealt a woeful fourth defeat on the trot.

Argentina dominated the opening exchanges and were on the scoreboard first through the boot of their evergreen centre Felipe Contepomi, but Wales were quick to level proceedings thanks to a Leigh Halfpenny penalty.

A drop-goal from Pumas pivot Nicolas Sanchez a few minutes later put his team back in front, however disaster then struck for the South Americans when Contepomi was stretchered off the field after taking a knock to the knee.

As soon as the 35-year-old was off the pitch, Halfpenny rubbed further salt into the Pumas' wounds with his second penalty of the match to draw the scores level (6-6) once again in the thirteenth minute.

The Pumas continued to dominate for long periods in the first half and should have had more than six points for their efforts.  They came close to scoring the first try, only for Gonzalo Tiesi to spill a cross-field grubber from Gonzalo Camacho forward with the tryline begging.

In what was an unspectacular first half thus far, Wales suffered a setback of their own when Jamie Roberts was forced off the pitch in the 24th minute after clashing heads with Tiesi — both sides now without their first-choice inside centres.

But it wasn't all doom and gloom for Wales as the hosts took the lead three minutes later for the first time in the match courtesy of another Halfpenny penalty (9-6).  However on the stroke of half-time, Alun Wyn Jones was the next Wales casuality after the lock left the field clutching his wrist.

The second half proved more eventful, as Argentina once again got out of their starting blocks first only for Sanchez to miss two early shots at goal — six points down the toilet.  Halfpenny then showed the Pumas goal-kicker how it was done after nailing his fourth successive penalty to extend Wales' lead (12-6).

But while Sanchez failed from the tee, he was on target with another drop-goal to close the gap to three points and keep the pressure on the Grand Slam winners.

For 55 minutes, Wales were still in the game.  But that was all about to change when Argentina produced two well-timed scores.

Their forwards initially made the hard yards, with number eight Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe delivering a scoring pass to Imhoff,, who galloped over from 20 metres out.

And before Wales could recover, Camacho found himself on the end of a Juan Martin Hernandez pass as the Pumas posted a second try in the space of four minutes — both were converted by Sanchez, who would go on to seal the deal with a late penalty.

Man of the match:  For Wales, their front row deserves a pat on the back for matching the Pumas at scrum-time.  And of course, Leigh Halfpenny did well from the tee.  For Argentina — take your pick!  From 1-15, everyone put their body on the line from start to finish.  But if we have to single out one player, it has to be captain and number eight Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe who once again led from the front superbly — surely a front-runner for an IRB Player of the Year nomination.

Moment of the match:  Juan Imhoff's try gave the Pumas a shout at victory, but Gonzalo Camacho's effort simply confirmed it.

Villain of the match:  No malice to report.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Pens:  Halfpenny 4

For Argentina:
Tries:  Imhoff, Camacho
Cons:  Sanchez 2
Pens:  Contepomi, Sanchez
Drops:  Sanchez 2

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Scott Williams, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Tavis Knoyle, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (capt), 6 Josh Turnbull, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Alun Wyn Jones, 3 Aaron Jarvis, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Richard Hibbard, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Paul James, 19 Rob McCusker, 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Mike Phillips, 22 James Hook, 23 Liam Williams.

Argentina:  15 Juan Martin Hernandez, 14 Gonzalo Camacho, 13 Gonzalo Tiesi, 12 Felipe Contepomi, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Martin Landajo, 8 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, 7 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 6 Leonardo Senatore, 5 Julio Farias Cabello, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Eusebio Guinazu, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements:  16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Bruno Postiglioni, 18 Juan Gomez, 19 Tomas Vallejos Cinalli, 20 Tomas Leonardi, 21 Nicolas Vergallo, 22 Horacio Agulla, 23 Joaquin Tuculet.

Referee:  Romain Poite (France)

Italy scrape past Tonga

Italy needed three tries courtesy of their front row to scrape past Tonga in a hard-fought Test in Brescia on Saturday.

Italy warmed up for the visit of two heavyweights in the coming weeks with an unconvincing win over a feisty Tongan side.

With the All Blacks up next for Italy in Rome next week and Australia a week later, Azzurri coach Jacques Brunel came into the first of three November internationals claiming the pressure was off the Azzurri.

Having won the last two of their three fixtures against Tonga, Italy's starting 15 contained a mix of youth and experience with Tomasso Iannone making his full debut and a number of Italy regulars not making their appearance until the second half.

Tonga, meanwhile, came to perform and did so in a dominant first half which saw the hosts pull back in front only thanks to a late Leonardo Ghiraldini try that was converted by Kris Burton.

Tonga started strongly and took a third-minute lead when Fangatapu 'Apikotoa sent a penalty between the posts, however Italy replied almost immediately when Lorenzo Cittadini pushed over for their opening try in the sixth minute.

Tonga dominated an Italian line-out just outside their own 22 but from an attempted clearance the visitors gave up possession and Cittadini bundled the ball over the line.

Looking comfortable and more confident in their passing game, Tonga forced their way into Italy's 22 several times, and were rewarded for their efforts.

'Apikotoa kicked a penalty 10 minutes into the game but Burton restored the hosts' lead when he landed a penalty three minutes later.

Tonga's big break came when Italy captain Sergio Parisse was shown a yellow card in the 23rd minute for holding up play.

'Apikotoa kicked the penalty to give them a one-point lead and although Burton restored Italy's advantage with a penalty in the 27th minute Tonga were soon back in front with their opening try.

Italy had dominated the scrum but gave up possession, allowing Sione Piukala to carry the ball deep into territory where Italy's defence had to be at their best to repel the red tide.

As Tonga pushed forward they won a penalty, but kicked out for a line-out.  Eventually, the ball found its way to Alisona Taumalolo deep on the left and he burst towards the corner flag to squeeze the ball in at the corner to put Tonga 11-14 ahead.

'Apikotoa converted from a tight angle near the 22 line to add two points, but Tonga's lead did not last long.

As half-time approached the Azzurri moved up a gear and were rewarded after a determined push which saw Leonardo Ghiraldini cross over to level the scores.  Burton handed Italy a two-point lead with the boot to stop the clock at 18-16.

Italy looked more organised and enjoyed better possession in the second half, but failed to finish several promising moves and Tonga proved a menace throughout.

A Burton penalty goal took the hosts' lead to 21-16 in the 52nd minute, and on the hour mark both sides made a series of substitutions.

Martin Castrogiovanni's arrival made an almost immediate impact for Italy and the hosts extended their lead with a penalty try on 63 minutes.

Burton converted to take Italy to 28 points, but a defiant Tonga scored a try through Vainikolo after a good run on the left brought the scores to 28-23 after 'Akipotoa had converted with the boot.

The scorers:

For Italy:
Tries:  Taumalolo, Vainikolo
Cons:  'Apikotoa 2
Pens:  'Apikotoa 3
Yellow cards:  Parisse

For Tonga:
Tries:  Cittadini, Ghiraldini, Penalty try
Cons:  Burton 2
Pens:  Burton 3
Yellow cards:  Lokotui, Lilo

Italy:  15 Andrea Masi, 14 Tommaso Iannone, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Alberto Sgarbi, 11 Luke McLean, 10 Kristopher Burton, 9 Tobias Botes, 8 Sergio Parisse (capt), 7 Robert Barbieri, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Joshua Furno, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini 1 Andrea Lo Cicero.
Replacements:  16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Alberto De Marchie, 18 Martin Castrogiovanni 19 Antonio Pavanello, 20 Simone Favaro, 21 Edoardo Gori, 22 Luciano Orquera, 23 Giovambattista Venditti.

Tonga:  15 Vungakoto Lilo, 14 Fetu'u Vainikolo, 13 Sukanaivalu Hufanga, 12 Sione Piukala, 11 Viliami Helu, 10 Fangatapu 'Apikotoa, 9 Taniela Moa (capt), 8 Viliami Ma'afu, 7 Sione Vaiomo'unga, 6 Sitiveni Mafi, 5 Tukulua Lokotui, 4 Joe Tu'ineau, 3 Halani 'Aulika, 2 Elvis Taione, 1 Alisona Taumalolo.
Replacements:  16 Ilaisa Ma'asi, 17 Tevita Mailau, 18 Hale T-Pole, 19 Paula Kaho, 20 Samisoni Fisilau, 21 Alipate Fatafehi, 22 Viliame Iongi, 23 Soane Tonga'uiha.

Venue:  Stadio Mario Rigamonti, Brescia
Referee:  Greg Garner (England)
Assistant referees:  Alain Rolland (Ireland), Mathieu Raynal (France)
Television match official:  Eric Gauzins (France)

Eagles outclass Russia

The November Test window kicked off with an exciting fixture on Friday as the USA Eagles easily beat Russia 40-26 at Parc Eirias in Wales.

The Americans ran in six tries to build a commanding lead by the hour mark but let their intensity drop in the final quarter to allow the Russians to bring a semblance of respectability to the scoreline.

Eagles scrum-half Robbie Shaw put in a stellar performance, scoring two tries and marshalling the American attack excellently.

The USA were a step ahead of their opposition in just about every aspect of the game.  Indeed, the scoreboard was a little flattering to the Russians, who nevertheless should be given credit for fighting to the end and scoring three tries in the last half-hour.

The USA paid the price for taking the foot of the gas as they missed out on a IRB Rankings bonus which would have come with a 15-point victory.

The American forwards dominated the Russian pack, winning the battle at the breakdown and in the set pieces.

The USA led 21-9 at the interval thanks to an early try from Eric Fry (his first in Test rugby), another from debutant fly-half Toby L'Estrange and one for lock Brian Doyle.

Shaw claimed his first early in the second half to give the USA a 33-9 lead but the Russians replied as wing Vladimir Ostroushko touched down.

Flanker Andrey Temnov grabbed two more for Russia in the final quarter but Shaw's second try — under the posts — had already put the result beyond doubt.

The scorers:

For Russia:
Tries:  Ostroushko, Temnov 2
Con:  Klyuchnikov
Pens:  Klyuchnikov 3
Yellow cards:  Gresev, Shcherban

For USA:
Tries:  Fry, L'Estrange, Doyle, Wyles, Shaw 2
Cons:  Wyles 5
Yellow card:Biller

Russia:  15 Igor Klyuchnikov, 14 Denis Simplikevich, 13 Vasily Artemyev, 12 Alexey Makovetskiy, 11 Vladimir Ostroushko, 10 Sergey Sugrobov, 9 Alexey Shcherban, 8 Victor Gresev, 7 Pavel Butenko, 6 Andrey Temnov, 5 Kirill Kulemin, 4 Alexander Voytov (capt), 3 Evgeny Pronenko, 2 Valery Tsnobiladze, 1 Grigory Tsnobiladze.
Replacements:  16 Vladislav Korshunov, 17 Alexey Volkov, 18 Innokentiy Zykov, 19 Andrey Garbuzov, 20 Ramil Gaysin, 21 Gleb Babkin, 22 Vladimir Boltenkov, 23 Dmitry Gerasimov.

USA:  15 Chris Wyles, 14 Cornelius Dirksen, 13 Paul Emerick, 12 Andrew Suniula, 11 Luke Hume, 10 Toby L'Estrange, 9 Robbie Shaw, 8 Todd Clever (capt), 7 John Quill, 6 Scott LaValla, 5 Louis Stanfill, 4 Brian Doyle, 3 Eric Fry, 2 Chris Biller, 1 Shawn Pittman.
Replacements:  16 Zachary Fenoglio, 17 Nick Wallace, 18 Tony Purpura, 19 Inaki Basauri, 20 Peter Dahl, 21 Mike Petri, 22 Rolan Suniula, 23 Gearoid McDonald.

Referee:  Leighton Hodges (Wales)

Samoa crush Canada

Samoa sent a warning to Wales ahead of next week's Test by destroying Canada 42-12 at Parc Eirias in Colwyn Bay on Friday.

The Pacific Islanders dominated from the start, scoring five tries — including four for debutant wing Robert Lilomaiava — to cruise into a 42-0 lead.

Cananda saved some face with two late consolation tries in the dying minutes

The writing was on the wall early on as the Samoa pack rumbled forward.  Number eight Taiasina Tui'fua grabbed the first try after taking a quick-tap penalty and barging through three defenders to score.

Samoan fly-half Tusi Pisi was pulling the strings on attack masterfully and found Lilomaiava out wide with an pin-point cross-field kick for the young Sevens flyer's first try.

Lilomaiava bagged his second thanks to the TMO before the break to give Samoa a 22-0 lead at the interval.

Lilomaiava had an easy run in for number three and was at the end of neat chip ahead from Pisi for number four.

Moonlight wriggled his way over in the dying minutes to get Canada on the scoreboard before Connor Braid's rounded off a string finish for the Canucks.

The scorers:

For Canada:
Tries:  Moonlight, Braid
Con:  Pritchard

For Samoa:
Tries:  Tui'fua, Lilomaiava 4
Cons:  So'oialo 4
Pens:  So'oialo 3

Samoa:  15 James So'oialo, 14 Paul Perez, 13 George Pisi, 12 Setaimata Sa, 11 Robert Lilomaiava, 10 Tusi Pisi, 9 Jeremy Su'a, 8 Taiasina Tui'fua, 7 Fomai Tivaini, 6 Ofisa Treviranus, 5 Filo Paulo, 4 Fa'atiga Lemalu, 3 Census Johnston, 2 Ole Avei, 1 Sakaria Taulafo (c).
Replacements:  16 Ropeti Lafo, 17 James Johnston, 18 Joe Tekori, 19 Alafoti Faosiliva, 20 Kahn Fotuali'i, 21 Johnny Leota, 22 Fa'atoina Autagavaia.

Canada:  15 James Pritchard, 14 Taylor Paris, 13 Ciaran Hearn, 12 Phil Mackenzie, 11 Matt Evans, 10 Connor Braid, 9 Sean White, 8 Aaron Carpenter, 7 Chauncey O'Toole, 6 Tyler Ardron, 5 Tyler Hotson, 4 Jon Phelan, 3 Doug Wooldridge, 2 Ray Barkwill, 1 Hubert Buydens.
Replacements:  16 Ryan Hamilton, 17 Jason Marshall, 18 Andrew Tiedemann, 19 Brett Beukeboom, 20 John Moonlight, 21 Eric Wilson, 22 Nick Blevins, 23 Jeff Hassler.

Referee:  Francisco Pastrana (Argentina)

All Blacks earn 100th win for McCaw

The All Blacks completed an impressive clean sweep in the Rugby Championship on Saturday, overcoming South Africa 32-16 at Soccer City on the outskirts of Johannesburg.

In a performance worthy of their status as the top-ranked team in the world, New Zealand weathered an early storm to overturn a half-time deficit and eventually run out comfortable winners.

The result extends the All Blacks' winning streak to 16 consecutive games, moving them within touching distance of the world record.

The Springboks led 16-12 at the break having dominated for most of the first half but were given a lesson in counter attacking to be outscored two tries to one in the opening stanza.

The All Blacks reversed the trend in the second period, adding two more tries while denying their hosts any points to underline their supremacy.

It was a classic case of shifting momentum — while South Africa started with a bang and ended with a whimper, the Kiwis progressively upped the tempo until there was only one team left in the contest.

The much-vaunted Highveld crowd mirrored their team's effort as they made it very clear to the All Blacks they weren't in Auckland anymore in the early stages but the corridors were filled with fans leaving the stadium with ten minutes left on the clock.

As was the case a week ago, Johan Goosen missed his first two attempts at goal but the hosts would nevertheless open the scoring with a rare sight:  A South African try from a set-piece move.  Willem Alberts bust through the All Black defence before offloading to Jean de Villiers, who showed off some juggling skills but managed to hold on.  Bryan Habana was in space outside his skipper and had an easy run in, scoring behind the posts.

Goosen had no problems with the conversion and could further extend the lead to 10 points at the end of the first quarter when Brodie Retallick was penalised for a dangerous tackle.

The All Blacks had hardly ventured into the South African half but took their first chance to score in typical fashion, with a blistering counter-attack from broken play to send lock Sam Whitelock over in the corner.

If the hosts weren't already alerted to the New Zealand's ability to punish their mistakes, they were given a reminder on 35 minutes.  Habana came flying up in search of an intercept, it didn't work, and Hosea Gear ghosted through the gap left in the Bok defensive line before offloading to Aaron Smith, who finished.  Dan Carter's conversion gave the visitors a lead that made a mockery of the possession and territory stats.

The Boks were dealt another blow as Goosen was forced off injured but replacement fly-half Elton Jantjies held his nerve with his first kick to put South Africa back in front at 13-12.

Jantjies found the target again from 48 metres with the last act of the half to give the hosts a deserved four-point advantage at the interval.

The All Blacks moved back in front almost immediately after the restart however after Jaco Taute missed a tackle on Israel Dagg, who combined with Kieran Read to set up a try for Ma'a Nonu.

Disorganised defending cost the Boks another try as Conrad Smith touched down to put the visitors ten points clear once Carter had added the easy extras.

Two misses from Jantjies suggested the Boks' woes at the kicking tee were far from finished, prompting De Villiers to turn down a shot at goal in favour of chasing a try.  And it nearly paid off, but Habana was not able to hang on when presented with a chance in the corner.

The last quarter was one-way traffic.  Carter added a neat drop and a penalty to move his team well clear … in more ways than one.

Man of the Match There were a number of candidates in black but the official award went to Kieran Read, who was once again the ultimate example of a complete number eight as his ball skills matched his contribution in the tight exchanges.

Moment of the match:  The All Blacks' second try, scored by Aaron Smith, summed up where these teams are at the moment.  An instance of a Springbok trying too hard to do something special was punished by a clinical finish.  Give All Blacks scraps, and they will feast!

Villian of the match:  The 'fans' who left early.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Try:  Habana
Cons:  Goosen
Pens:  Goosen, Jantjies 2

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Whitelock, A. Smith, Nonu, C. Smith
Cons:  Carter 3
Pen:  Carter
Drop goal:  Carter
Yellow card:  Dagg (66th min — offside)

South Africa:  15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Bryan Habana, 13 Jaco Taute, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Francois Hougaard, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Tiaan Liebenberg, 17 Coenie Oosthuizen, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Marcell Coetzee, 20 Elton Jantjies, 21 Juan de Jongh, 22 Pat Lambie.

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Luke Romano, 19 Adam Thomson, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Tamati Ellison.

Referee:  Romain Poite (France), Greg Garner (England)
Assistant referees:  Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Wallabies win 18-18

Australia ended New Zealand's 16-match winning streak with an 18-all draw at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday.

Though honours were shared by the trans-Tasman rivals, Australia will treat this result as a mental victory seeing that Robbie Deans' troops weren't given a chance in hell of matching the All Blacks prior to kick-off.

In a match decided exclusively by penalties, Kurtley Beale and Mike Harris combined for 18 points for Australia, while Daniel Carter slotted six penalties for the All Blacks.

But with the scores locked at 18 points apiece at the death, the world champions were camped in the Australia's 22 and Carter was given one last opportunity to kick a drop-goal to hand the All Blacks victory.

His shot was just wide, however, and the match ended in a hard-fought draw.

New Zealand were bidding to join the 1969 All Blacks and 1998 Springboks with 17 successive victories but were once again foiled by the Wallabies, who ended New Zealand's unbeaten 15-match run in a 26-24 win in Hong Kong in 2010.

Harris was on great form in the first half, kicking all his four penalty goal attempts to give the under-strength Wallabies a 12-6 half-time advantage.

The Wallabies began well when they charged down a clearing kick in the opening seconds only for the ball to elude Adam Ashley-Cooper over the dead-ball line.

Carter kicked the All Blacks to a 6-3 lead before New Zealand came the closest to scoring in the first half through winger Hosea Gear.  Israel Dagg's kick ahead was just forced dead by Harris with Gear in hot pursuit midway through the half.

Wallabies' blindside flanker Scott Higginbotham could be in hot water after his scuffle with All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw.  Higginbotham appeared to knee McCaw in the head to trigger the skirmish before appearing to head-butt the All Blacks skipper on the ground.  Both players were cautioned by referee Craig Joubert.

Joubert made good on his warning of 'next one goes' when he gave All Blacks prop Tony Woodcock a yellow card for repeated ruck infringements on the half-time siren.

Harris kicked his fourth penalty to give the Wallabies a six-point buffer at the turnaround.  Beale lifted the Wallabies' confidence even further with a prodigious penalty from just inside his own half for a 15-6 lead.

But Carter kicked his third penalty and the Wallabies lost openside flanker Michael Hooper to the sin-bin after taking out All Blacks scrum-half Aaron Smith after he had kicked ahead.

Carter then pulled New Zealand to within three points with the resulting penalty in the 56th minute.

Australia lost a line-out on their throw giving the All Blacks possession inside their quarter and they mounted successive mauls before they received a penalty for Carter to level the scores at 15-15 with 13 minutes left.

New Zealand got the big breakthrough when Adam Ashley-Cooper spilled Aaron Cruden's high kick and Nick Phibbs was in an off-side position in picking up the ball for an All Blacks penalty.

Carter kicked his sixth penalty nine minutes from time to edge New Zealand in front and in sight of victory.  But Harris levelled with his fifth penalty with five minutes left in what proved to be the final score.

Man of the match:  Kurtely Beale was Australia's most dangerous player and skipper Nathan Sharpe led from the front, but Kieran Read once again loomed large for the All Blacks.  The number eight was heavily involved throughout and deservedly named the official man-of-the-match at Suncorp Stadium.

Moment of the match:  Geez, take your pick!  But in the end it just has to be Carter's last-gasp drop-goal attempt.

Villain of the match:  Two yellow issued — one to Tony Woodcock and the other to Michael Hooper.  But the real villain that got away was Scott Higginbotham after his headbutt on Richie McCaw.

The scorers:

For Australia: 
Pens:  Beale 2, Harris 4

For New Zealand:
Pens:  Carter 6

Yellow cards:  Tony Woodcock (NZ), Michael Hooper (Aus)

The teams:

Australia:  15 Mike Harris, 14 Nick Cummins, 13 Ben Tapuai, 12 Pat McCabe, 11 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Higginbotham, 5 Nathan Sharpe (c), 4 Sitaleki Timani, 3 James Slipper, 2 Tatafu Polota Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 James Hanson, 17 Sekope Kepu, 18 Kane Douglas, 19 Dave Dennis, 20 Liam Gill, 21 Brett Sheehan, 22 Drew Mitchell.

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Charlie Faumuina, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Andrew Hore, 17 Owen Franks, 18 Luke Romano, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Ben Smith.

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)

Rosario victory for Wallabies

Australia ended the inaugural Rugby Championship with a morale-boosting 25-19 win against Argentina in Rosario.

It wasn't pretty but one feels the Wallabies won't mind that as the success supersedes a forgetful period of injuries and off-field issues (hopefully).

What was noticeable at the final whistle was a togetherness in the squad as they celebrated their gritty victory over the passionate Pumas.

The result leaves them level on points with South Africa but they ultimately finish the tournament in second position due to their higher win count.

Conditions were difficult at the Estadio Gigante de Arroyito as the humidity was 93%, which made for an error-strewn contest particularly in the first-half.

There was also a phenomenally high penalty count blown by the match referee Craig Joubert as a total of sixteen marred the opening stanza.

Subsequently it was a half dominated by the boot of Mike Harris and Juan Martin Hernandez, with Harris slotting fifteen points to El Mago's nine.

The second-half in Rosario thankfully saw a reduction in penalty offences but what it lacked in infringements it certainly made up for in spillages, with wing Digby Ioane a regular culprit.

However, all was forgiven in the Wallaby camp when first-phase ball came back swiftly to fly-half Kurtley Beale in the 65th minute and Ioane drifted in from the left to take a pass that split the home defence for an easy run-in.  It was a seven-pointer that cut the Pumas deep.

Assured Reds full-back Harris converted to give Australia a 22-12 lead that he increased eight minutes later with a penalty which lifted his personal contribution to 20 points.

Argentina set up a tense finish after Australian replacement scrum-half Brett Sheehan was sin-binned when wing Juan Imhoff claimed a pushover try that Marcelo Bosch converted.

Beale missed a late penalty, offering Argentina a chance to snatch a late win by running the ball the length of the pitch and scoring a converted try, but it was not to be as a knock-on quickly ended the move and the final whistle blew for a much-needed win for the Wallabies.

Man of the match:  Mike Harris kicked well while Scott Higginbotham performed strongly when he arrived onto the field as a replacement.  But for a towering defensive effort in the midfield, we go for Brumbies centre Pat McCabe.  Had someone else been defending in the 12 channel then it is likely Argentina would have scored more than just their one try today.

Moment of the match:  It has to be Michael Hooper's breakout from his own 22 up to the opposition's.  Impressive pace from the openside as he left plenty of backs floundering.

Villain of the match:  The person(s) with the laser in the crowd.  It's not big, it's not clever.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Try:  Imhoff
Con:  Bosch
Pen:  Hernandez 3, Bosch

For Australia:
Try:  Ioane
Con:  Harris
Pen:  Harris 6

Argentina:  15 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino, 14 Gonzalo Camacho, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Santiago Fernandez, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Juan Martin Hernandez, 9 Martin Landajo, 8 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe (c), 7 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 6 Julio Farias Cabello, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Eusebio Guinazu, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements:  16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Juan Pablo Orlandi, 18 Leonardo Senatore, 19 Tomas Leonardi, 20 Nicolas Vergallo, 21 Nicolás Sánchez, 22 Juan Imhoff.

Australia:  15 Mike Harris, 14 Nick Cummins, 13 Ben Tapuai, 12 Pat McCabe, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Radike Samo, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Sitaleki Timani, 5 Nathan Sharpe (capt), 4 Kane Douglas, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 Saia Fainga'a, 17 Benn Robinson, 18 Dave Dennis, 19 Scott Higginbotham, 20 Liam Gill, 21 Brett Sheehan, 22 Dominic Shipperley.

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Pascal Gauzere (France)
Television match official:  Francisco Pastrana (Argentina)

All Blacks outclass Argentina

New Zealand clinched the inaugural Rugby Championship title with a round to spare on Saturday with a 54-15 win over Argentina in La Plata.

The All Blacks produced their best performance of the year to demolish los Pumas, scoring seven tries including a hat-trick for Cory Jane and two for his fellow wing Julian Savea.

Centre Ma'a Nonu and scrum-half Aaron Smith also got their names on the scorecard to complete the rout.

The result sees the All Blacks extend their winning streak to 15 games ahead of next weekend's showdown with the Springboks in Johannesburg.

The world champions were given a scare early on as the hosts started in the best possible fashion by taking a 5-0 lead thanks to a wonderful try from scrum-half Martin Landajo.

But it didn't take long for New Zealand to strike back and once the visitors had found their rhythm, it was one-way traffic for the rest of the game and the men in black raced to a 32-8 lead by half-time.

Argentina were not allowed to get away with their customary spoiling tactics at the breakdown by referee Jaco Peyper, and with quick ball at their disposal, the All Black backs were at their devastating best.

The hosts tried to adopt a much more open style than we've seen in the past but while they produced two very good tries, they were unable to match the Kiwis at what they do best — moving the ball into space at pace.

The locals were looking good after Landajo's opening score from a well-worked first-phase backline move that saw full-back Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino burst through on halfway.

But the Argentine defence was nowhere to be seen when Nonu escaped from the fringe of a ruck to put Smith over in the 17th minute.

A few minutes later Read strolled through to set up Jane in the corner, Savea chased down his own chip ahead for his first try and then bagged another on the stroke of half-time.

Although Gonzalo Camacho shrugged off Andrew Hore to score after the interval, the All Blacks killed the game off as Savea manhandled two defenders to set up Jane's second.

Dan Carter kicked five from seven before being taken off along with Richie McCaw on the hour mark.  But it didn't stop the points from flowing as replacement Aaron Cruden broke the line with his first touch and set up Nonu for an easy try.

Jane clinched his hat-trick with a 50m intercept with the last play of the game.

Man of the Match It's hard not to give the gong to one of the backs since they scored all the points.  Richie McCaw deserves a mention but Kieran Read was phenomenal and had a direct hand in creating at least two of the tries for the flash boys out wide.

Moment of the match:  There were a number of excellent tries — with Landajo's score a highlight — but Cory Jane's first try, thanks to a brilliant offload from Read, was out of the top drawer.  It put the All Blacks 10 points up and they never looked back.

Villian of the match:  No bad guys to be seen.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Tries:  Landajo, Camacho
Con:  Hernandez
Pens:  Hernandez

For New Zealand:
Tries:  A. Smith, Jane 3, Savea 2, Nonu
Cons:  Carter 3, Cruden 2
Pens:  Carter 2, Cruden

Argentina:  15 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino, 14 Gonzalo Camacho, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Santiago Fernandez, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Juan Martin Hernandez, 9 Martin Landajo, 8 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe (c), 7 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 6 Julio Farias Cabello, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Eusebio Guinazu, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements:  16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Marcos Ayerza, 18 Tomas Vallejos, 19 Tomas Leonardi, 20 Nicolas Vergallo, 21 Martin Rodriguez, 22 Juan Imhoff.

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Charlie Faumuina, 18 Brodie Retallick, 19 Sam Cane, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Ben Smith.

Venue:  Estadio íšnico Ciudad de La Plata
Referee:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Craig Joubert (South Africa), Pascal Gauzere (France)
Television match official:  Francisco Pastrana

Springboks rule at Loftus

South Africa bounced back from consecutive defeats on the road with a comprehensive 31-8 Rugby Championship victory over Australia at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday.

The Springboks led 14-3 at the interval but the Wallabies were lucky not to be much further behind.  Two tight calls from the TMO meant the home side did not have the four-try bonus point by half-time, but Heyneke Meyer's men secured a full house of points after the break as Bryan Habana bagged a hat-trick to add to earlier scores from Zane Kirchner and Francois Louw.

Mike Harris touched down in the last quarter for the Wallabies, but the horse had already bolted.  Once Kirchner had scored the first try, the visitors never looked like getting back into the contest.

While Bok fans will certainly sleep better after their side showed the most attacking prowess of the Meyer era so far, their enthusiasm should be held in check by the fact that this was not Australia's strongest team by any stretch of the imagination (and Robbie Deans' squad looks to have been even further depleted by injuries as they head to Argentina after Adam Ashley-Cooper was taken from the field on a stretcher).

The first quarter ended scoreless after Berrick Barnes missed an early chance to open the scoring before his opposite number Johan Goosen also failed with his only two shots at goal.

But the Boks showed their positive intentions by turning down another penalty — won thanks to an impressive rolling maul — in the 21st minute, opting rather for an attacking line-out.  The decision paid off as, after a few phases of pressure, Zirchner did well to twist and turn his way over for the first try.

Ruan Pienaar took over the kicking duties and provided the extra two points from the tee but Goosen showed why he was chosen at ten with a scintillating line-break that took him to within inches of the line.  The TMO confirmed that he was short of his first Test try, but Bok fans would have nevertheless been chuffed to see their fly-half attacking with ball in hand.

A well-taken try from short range from Habana and another conversion from Pienaar doubled the lead as the Wallabies struggled to contain their hosts.

The Wallabies got on the scoreboard as the half drew to a close when Kurtley Beale split the uprights but the visitors where lucky not to go further behind when Kirchner bolted into the same corner as his earlier score.  The full-back's heal clipped the touchline though thanks to a try-saving tackle from Ashley-Cooper which left the Wallaby centre out cold.

Australia's woes, especially at the breakdown, continued after the break and the visitors were reduced to fourteen men in the 53rd minute when James Slipper was sent to the bin for his transgressions on the deck.

His absence proved to be extremely costly for the tourists with the Boks adding two more tries while he watched from the sidelines.

Louw, who was excellent once again, was rewarded for his efforts as he scored from the back of a rolling maul.

Six minutes later Habana added his second after some quick thinking from the speedster, who took a quick throw-in to hooker Adriaan Strauss, who also had clarity of mind when he pulled in the defenders and offloaded to the flyer.

Harris scored in the right hand corner as the Wallabies refused to go down quietly but Habana had the last say when he raced home for his third touchdown after Louw took a gap and sent the winger on his way to his 46th Test try in the 79th minute.

Man of the Match:  There were handful of candidates in green with the home loose trio doing very well, but you can't look further than the hat-trick hero Bryan Habana, who seems to have found his mojo again and had the fans at his former home ground out of their seats.

Moment of the match:  It might not have come from a classic bolt down the touchline, but Habana's first try was the product of the Boks' willingness to keep the ball moving (and the veteran wings knack for finding gap).  It put the hosts 14-0 up and the Wallabies looked beaten for all money.

Villian of the match:  No nasty stuff to report

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Kirchner, Habana 3, Louw
Con:  Pienaar 3

For Australia:
Try:  Harris
Pens:  Beale

Yellow card:  Slipper (53rd min — ruck infringements)

The teams:

South African:  15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Bryan Habana, 13 Jaco Taute, 12 Jean de Villiers (captain), 11 Francois Hougaard, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Tiaan Liebenberg, 17 Pat Cilliers, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Marcell Coetzee, 20 Elton Jantjies, 21 Juan de Jongh, 22 Pat Lambie.

Australia:  15 Berrick Barnes, 14 Dominic Shipperley, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Pat McCabe, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Radike Samo, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Dave Dennis, 5 Nathan Sharpe (captain), 4 Kane Douglas, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Tatafu Polota Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 Saia Fainga'a, 17 James Slipper, 18 Rob Simmons, 19 Liam Gill, 20 Brett Sheehan, 21 Mike Harris 22 Anthony Fainga'a.

Referee:  Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Assistant referees:  Romain Poite (France), Greg Garner (England)
TMO:  Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Boks blow it in Dunedin

New Zealand took one step closer to claiming the Rugby Championship title after seeing off South Africa 21-11 at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin on Saturday.

The All Blacks, unbeaten in 14 Tests, outscored the Springboks two tries to one for a win that sees them take a commanding lead in the competition.

It certainly wasn't the best performance by the home side and they can count themselves lucky to come away with four points after South Africa blew several scoring opportunities — particularly in goal-kicking — that could have seen the match end in their favour.

Morne Steyn, Frans Steyn and Johan Goosen managed only two of nine attempts between them, whilst the visitors also let three chances slip with the try-line begging.

Indeed, this was a Test the Boks could have and should have won.  Instead, South Africa's woeful kicking display and questionable tactics eventually proved costly and now leave New Zealand empty-handed after Aaron Cruden denied the visitors a losing bonus-point thanks to his successful penalty kick on full-time.

South Africa drew first blood when Morne Steyn raised the flags for the first and only time on 18 minutes after his namesake Francois had missed earlier from long range and Bryan Habana failed to hold an awkward pass with the line open.

The All Blacks struck back immediately though.  Hooker Andrew Hore put in some hard yards before a beautiful offload from number eight Kieran Read set speedster Israel Dagg — who also handled four times in the movement — away for the opening try.  Cruden missed the conversion, but the All Blacks were in front (5-3).

The two Steyns then missed three penalties between them, including a regulation shot from the Bok number ten on the stroke of half-time that could've put his team in front at the break.

But it was New Zealand who held the slender lead, even though the Springboks had 58 per cent territory and forced six turnovers from the All Blacks while conceding two.

South Africa came out firing in the second forty, but once again squandered points after Habana lost the ball on the run with the try-line in sight while Zane Kirchner's drop attempt missed the posts.

They finally broke through when Habana produced a moment of genius, chipping over the top and gathering for a super try — Morne Steyn missed the conversion, but the Boks were in front and deservedly so (5-8).

Cruden levelled the scores with a successful penalty (8-8) and then converted another sensational solo try — this time from replacement half-back Aaron Smith who dummied and sidestepped through the defence from 25 metres out.

Disaster then struck for the men in green and gold when replacement prop Dean Greyling was binned for taking out All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw.  It was a night to forget for the Bulls prop, who also coughed the ball up with the try-line beckoning in the dying minutes and conceded a string of penalties.

Down to 14 players, South Africa's kicking woes spread to a third player when replacement Johan Goosen missed from halfway but he kept the game alive going into the final 10 minutes with a successful effort to make it 15-11.

But two penalty calls handed Cruden a pair of three-pointers that he made no mistake with to deny South Africa a bonus-point and make it four wins from four for New Zealand.

Man of the match:  For South Africa, Duane Vermeulen was rock-solid while try-scorer Bryan Habana injected plenty of pace into the backline.  However, it's hard to look beyond the inspirational performance from All Blacks captain Richie McCaw who gave as good as he received in the forward exchanges.

Moment of the match:  Habana's touchdown was certainly one for the highlights reel, but replacement scrum-half Aaron Smith — dropped to the bench for a breach of team protocol last weekend — turned disgrace into triumph when he came off the bench to score New Zealand's decisive try.

Villain of the match:  We seriously doubt we'll see Dean Greyling in a Bok jersey again after his error-prone and ill-disciplined 30 minutes on the field … oh, make that 20 minutes on the field — he spent 10 in the bin for his assault on McCaw.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Dagg, A Smith
Cons:  Cruden
Pens:  Cruden 2

For South Africa:
Try:  Habana
Pens:  M Steyn, Goosen

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Charlie Faumuina, 18 Brodie Retallick, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Aaron Smith, 21 Beauden Barrett, 22 Tamati Ellison.

South Africa:  15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Bryan Habana, 13 Jean de Villiers (c), 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Francois Hougaard, 10 Morne Steyn, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Juandre Kruger, 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Tiaan Liebenberg, 17 Dean Greyling, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Marcell Coetzee, 20 Johan Goosen, 21 Juan de Jongh, 22 Pat Lambie.

Referee:  George Clancy (IRE)

Pumas close but no cigar

Argentina stood on the brink of a remarkable first victory in the Rugby Championship before Australia rallied to prevail 23-19 on Saturday.

The Pumas looked on course for a famous win after two quick-fire tries saw the tournament newcomers lead 19-6 with just over a quarter of the match remaining.

However, the Wallabies showed superb composure and scored 17 unanswered points to hit the front and deny the South Americans who once again proved to be mighty tough opponents.

Ruthless and relentless, the unforgiving Argentineans pounded the shell-shocked Wallabies for 59 minutes before tries by Pat McCabe and Digby Ioane edged them in front.

A late Kurtley Beale penalty gave the hosts some breathing space, before the Wallabies were forced to defend their line in the dying stages to avert what would have been an embarrassing defeat.

The Pumas powered their way to a deserved 6-3 lead at half-time after Argentina pivot Juan Martin Hernandez and Australia centre Berrick Barnes traded penalties in a tense first-half.  The Wallabies could've hit the front before the break had number eight Radike Samo not lost the ball when diving over the line.

Barnes made it six apiece from right in front eight minutes into the second-half, but it didn't get any easier for Australia when Tomas Leonardi charged down Quade Cooper's kick for a opportunistic try.

The Pumas looked to have delivered the knock-out blow when two minutes later, replacement Juan Imhoff sprinted along the touchline before passing inside to Julio Faras Cabello for a sensational score and an upset looked on the cards.

Hernandez missed the conversion from far out, leaving the score at 16-6, but made no mistake with a penalty to extend his side's lead to 13 points over the Wallabies.

Australia's reply finally came on the hour when sustained pressure finally broke down the Argentine defence and McCabe charged in from close range.

Barnes struck a simple conversion to make it 13-19 and eight minutes later winger Ioane reduced the deficit to a single point when he latched onto Nick Phipps's pass to score after the scrum-half had broken up the left.

Barnes' conversion made it 20-19 and saw Australia take the lead for the first time in the match with just 10 minutes to go, albeit by a single point.  And inside the final minute Beale stretched the lead to four points with a penalty to end Argentine hopes of a dream win and ensure under-pressure coach Robbie Deans will sleep somewhat easier this week.

The win moved the Wallabies (eight points) into second place on the tournament standings — eight points behind New Zealand (16) who have a vice-like grip on the series with just two rounds to play.

Man of the match:  Hats off to the entire Pumas team for yet another physical display that would have left the Wallabies battered and bruised.  But we thought Julio Faras Cabello made up for his yellow card shown last week against the All Blacks with a strong performance that included a try while his monster hits a real feature in a physical Test that was perfect for him.

Moment of the match:  Cabello's try would have had Robbie Deans chewing the last of his finger nails off, but Pat McCabe's score proved to the beginning of the end for the Pumas.

Villain of the match:  Yes, McCabe's yellow for a foul play was a fair call.  But talk about going from zero to hero...

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  McCabe, Ioane
Cons:  Barnes 2
Pens:  Barnes 2, Beale

For Argentina:
Tries:  Leonardi, Cabello
Pens:  Hernandez 3

Australia:  15 Berrick Barnes, 14 Dom Shipperley, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Pat McCabe, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Radike Samo, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Dave Dennis, 5 Nathan Sharpe (capt), 4 Kane Douglas, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Tatafu Polota Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 Stephen Moore/Saia Fainga'a, 17 James Slipper, 18 Scott Higginbotham, 19 Liam Gill, 20 Brett Sheehan, 21 Anthony Fainga'a, 22 Kurtley Beale.

Argentina:  15 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino, 14 Gonzalo Camacho, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Santiago Fernandez, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Juan Martin Hernandez, 9 Martin Landajo, 8 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe (capt), 7 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 6 Julio Faras Cabello, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Eusebio Guinazu, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements:  16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Juan Pablo Orlandi, 18 Leonardo Senatore, 19 Tomas Leonardi, 20 Nicolas Vergallo, 21 Martin Rodriguez, 22 Juan Imhoff.

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)

All Blacks see off brave Pumas

New Zealand battled past a committed Argentina side to eventually ground out a 21-5 Rugby Championship victory at a rain-soaked Westpac Stadium on Saturday.

The world champion All Blacks, number one in the world and undefeated since beating France in the RWC final last year, were hanging on the ropes for three quarters of the match until two quick-fire tries secured a hard-fought win.

It was a bad case of déjí vu for the visitors, who — just like they did in their last meeting with NZ in last year's RWC quarter-final — kept the home side tryless until a five-pointer in the 67th minute from Julian Savea gave the All Blacks some breathing space.

Another touchdown from Cory Jane five minutes later sealed the deal for New Zealand as Argentina simply ran out of gas after trailing 6-5 at half-time.

Difficult conditions meant both sides were never going to produce champagne rugby, but the tourists will take satisfaction from another respectable scoreline.  Indeed, the Pumas once again refused to be push-overs and rattled the home side through some courageous defence that forced the All Blacks into making uncharacteristc mistakes.

But as the weather calmed in the second period so did New Zealand as the men in black gained control to claim their third of the tournament, while the Pumas now have two losses and a draw.

The All Blacks made their intentions clear from the start by playing a wide game despite the conditions, however the Pumas well-organised defence kept the hosts at bay.  Fly-half Aaron Cruden missed an early penalty attempt, but found his target 10 minutes in to put the hosts 3-0 ahead.

Argentina hit back brilliantly though a try to veteran prop Rodrigo Roncero who powered over from close-range after the Argentinian pack followed up on an earlier knock-on from Ma'a Nonu who lost the ball in contact.  Martin Rodriguez's conversion attempt hit the post and bounced wide, but the crowd were stunned to see their beloved All Blacks trailing 3-5.

Nerves were settled slightly when Cruden slotted his second penalty to nudge New Zealand back in front (6-5) in the 25th minute, after a ruck infringement by Roncero.

The All Blacks were denied a chance to open up a significant lead on the stroke of half-time when, with Victor Vito in full flight down the left wing, Marcelo Bosch produced a crucial try-saving tackle and took the flanker into touch.

The severe winds caused a half-time power-cut at Westpac Stadium — a mishap that stretched the normal ten-minute interval to 27.  The scrappy Test match continued after the lights came back on, and it didn;t take long for Cruden to stretch his side's lead to four points (9-5).

But the hosts were immediately on the back foot again following the restart, but Rodriguez missed an excellent chance to cut the deficit back to one point after pushing an attempt from bang in front.

New Zealand finally started to click and threatened to score before flank Julio Farias Cabello was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on and the writing was on the wall for Pumas who were now forced to battle on with 14 men.

As the game neared its end, the All Blacks finally gave themselves a comfortable position with 13 minutes to go after Conrad Smith drew three defenders before offloading to Nonu who unselfishly gave the glory to Savea in the corner.

And Jane soon dived over for a second try after racing onto a long miss pass from Cruden which was ruled not to be forward.  Cruden landed an excellent conversion from far out on the right to seal the deal.

Man of the match:  Argentina pivot Juan Martin Hernandez stood out for both his hard tackling and tactical nous, while once again Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe led admirably from the front.  All Blacks centre Conrad Smith was the best of the backs and tried his best to create chances.  But we're giving this gong to lock Luke Romano who did everything asked of him for 80 minutes, including taking all his line-outs as well as flying up in the air to challenge the Pumas' throws on every occasion while his work in the tight was immense.

Moment of the match:  There weren't many.  But whilst the two touchdowns by Julian Savea and Cory Jane buried the brave Pumas, it was prop Rodrigo Roncero's try that warned the All Blacks that the visitors meant business and weren't in the windy city to make up the numbers.

Villain of the match:  Whilst Julio Farias Cabello saved a certain five-pointer with his deliberate slap-down of the ball, the ensuing yellow card gave the All Blacks a one-man advantage and it was only a matter of time before they scored their first try.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Try:  Savea, Jane
Con:  Cruden
Pens:  Cruden 3

For Argentina:
Try:  Roncero

New Zealand:15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Victor Vito, 5 Brodie Retallick, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Andrew Hore, 17 Charlie Faumuina, 18 Sam Whitelock, 19 Liam Messam, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Beauden Barrett, 22 Ben Smith.

Argentina:  15 Martin Rodriguez, 14 Gonzalo Camacho, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Santiago Fernandez, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Juan Martin Hernandez, 9 Nicolas Vergallo, 8 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe (c), 7 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 6 Julio Farias Cabello, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Eusebio Guinazu, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements:  16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Marcos Ayerza, 18 Juan Pablo Orlandi, 19 Leonardo Senatore, 20 Tomís Leonardi, 21 Martin Landajo, 22 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino.

Referee:  Romain Poite (France)

Wallabies prevail in Perth

Australia bagged their first win in the Rugby Championship after seeing off South Africa 26-19 at Perth's Patersons Stadium on Saturday.

Both sides desperately needed a win to have any chance of catching the All Blacks in the race for the trophy, and were under pressure to deliver.

With the scores locked at 19-19, the Wallabies showed more composure and celebrated a Ben Alexander try in the 70th minute that ultimately secured a much-needed victory for the hosts.

As for the Springboks, who led 13-6 at half-time, it's back to the drawing board as they face an even tougher assignment against the All Blacks next weekend.

It was Australia's fifth straight win over the South Africans and moves the Wallabies off the bottom of the Rugby Championship standings and above newcomers Argentina.  South Africa didn't leave Perth empty-handed though after securing a losing bonus point.

Victory for the home side may have come at a cost, however, as they suffered extensive injuries — most notably to that of captain Will Genia who was forced from the field in some distress.

The visitors started the match with a roar and hiss, putting several eight-plus phases together before pivot Morne Steyn made up for an early missed drop-goal attempt with a well-struck penalty to open the scoring in the third minute.

Berrick Barnes leveled proceedings with a three-pointer of his own, but the Boks hit back with a try after flyer Bryan Habana crashed over from close range and South Africa were well on top at 13-3 following Steyn's converson and a 55m penalty shot from his namesake Frans.

Barnes closed the gap slightly with his second successful penalty attempt, and the Boks did well to keep Australia scoreless for 10 minutes when prop Beast Mtawarira was sin-binned for foul play.

The Wallabies were a different kettle of fish after the break and continued to bank three-pointers whenever they ventured into South Africa's half.  The alarm bells started ringing in the Springbok camp ain the 56th minute after Wallabies super-sub Scott Higginbotham burst through for a try just two minutes after coming onto the field.

Barnes slotted over the conversion to give his team the lead for the first time in the match (16-13).

Long-range penalty specialist Frans Steyn launched another penalty kick from near the halfway line to put South Africa level (16-16), before Barnes' reliable boot once again put Australia in front.

Morne Steyn gave Bok supporters a glimmer of hope after tying the scores yet again (19-19) in the 60th minute.  But South Africa had no answer for Alexander, who made a 15m charge down the blindside to touch down in the left-hand corner — confirmed by the TMO.

Barnes converted from the sideline, It was to the be the last score of the game, a late surge for an equalising try by the Springboks ending with a penalty to Australia in the dying seconds.

Man of the match:  Lock Sitaleki Timani was named the official man of the match, but we felt the unerring accuracy of Berrick Barnes — who was six-from-six with the boot — takes the cake.

Moment of the match:  Ben Alexander's inspirational late try not only lifted Australia to a crucial victory, but also easeed pressure on coach Robbie Deans.

Villain of the match:  The Boks can thank their lucky stars they didn't concede a single point after Beast Mtawarira's yellow card after he ran into Kurtley Beale off the ball.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Higginbotham, Alexander
Cons:  Barnes 2
Pens:  Barnes 4

For South Africa:
Try:  Habana
Con:  M Steyn
Pens:  M Steyn 2, F Steyn 2

Australia:  15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Dominic Shipperley, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia (c), 8 Radike Samo, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Dave Dennis, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Sitaleki Timani, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 Saia Fainga'a, 17 James Slipper, 18 Scott Higginbotham, 19 Liam Gill, 20 Nick Phipps, 21 Mike Harris, 22 Anthony Fainga'a.

South Africa:  15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Bryan Habana, 13 Jean de Villiers (c), 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Francois Hougaard 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Juandre Kruger, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Beast Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Tiaan Liebenberg, 17 Pat Cilliers, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Francois Louw, 20 Johan Goosen, 21 Pat Lambie, 22 Lwazi Mvovo.

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)

Pumas claim historic draw with Boks

South Africa needed a charge-down try to snatch a 16-all draw against Argentina at Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza on Saturday.

The outcome is the Pumas' best result in 15 Tests with the Springboks, but the hosts will nevertheless be bitterly disappointed after leading the match until the 65th minute.

Argentina held a deserved 13-3 lead at half-time as the limitations of South Africa's predictable game plan were exposed.  Unable to dominate their opponents physically or at the set piece, the Boks no had alternative solution to get past the resolute Argentine defence.

Intensity is sometimes an overused word in rugby columns but the Pumas were positively breathing fire!  It's a rare sight to witness the Springboks outmuscled at the breakdown area but they were coming off second best as the hosts threw numbers into the contact area, especially in the first hour.

Poor decision making and an inexcusable number of missed tackles left Heyneke Meyer's men staring defeat in the face until Frans Steyn saved their blushes with an opportunistic try.

The verdict from Boks fans will be clear:  Simply not good enough.

Argentina were first on the scoreboard when Martín Rodríguez landed a penalty with his second attempt at goal.

The Pumas showed a refreshing commitment to keep the ball alive and were rewarded with a try via Route One at the end of an eight-phase charge.  Centre Santiago Ferníndez collected the ball after a strong run form prop Juan Figallo to ghost into a gap and score under the sticks.  Rodríguez added the easy extras.

The full-back missed another opportunity to extend the lead but visiting pivot Morné Steyn was also off target with his first penalty attempt, leaving the scores at 10-0 on the half-hour mark.

South Africa's fly-half landed his next shot though to become the Springboks' highest all-time points scorer, but Rodríguez replied in kind just before the interval to maintain the ten-point gap as the teams swapped ends.

Steyn and Rodríguez traded penalties early in the second period but referee Steve Walsh was starting to tire of Argentina's infringements on the deck and the South African fly-half could reduce the deficit to seven points.

Ferníndez narrowly missed a drop goal as the hosts tried to run down the clock, but the Pumas were getting ahead of themselves.  The game was far from over.

The boisterous crowd was finally subdued when Frans Steyn charged down Marcelo Bosch and jogged in for a match-changing try.  His namesake's conversion levelled matters and the scorers were not troubled again.

Man of the match:  Veteran prop Rodrigo Roncero had a storming game but we can't look past Pumas skipper Juan Martín Ferníndez Lobbe who was brilliant at the breakdown, outstanding on defence and made life very difficult for the Boks in the line-outs.

Moment of the match:  You've never heard a roar from a rugby crowd like the one after Santiago Ferníndez's try.  It was a great moment for Argentine rugby not only because it put the Pumas ten points ahead but because of the way the hosts threw themselves into contact to set it up.  'Commitment' does not even begin to describe it.

Villain of the match:  Heyneke Meyer.  Not even the Bulls play old-school Bulls rugby anymore.  Something needs to change.  Fast.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Try:  Ferníndez
Con:  Rodríguez
Pens:  Rodríguez 3

For South Africa:
Try:  F. Steyn
Con:  M. Steyn
Pens:  M. Steyn 3

Argentina:  15 Martín Rodríguez, 14 Gonzalo Camacho, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Santiago Ferníndez, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Nicolís Sínchez, 9 Nicolís Vergallo, 8 Juan Martín Ferníndez Lobbe (c), 7 ílvaro Galindo, 6 Julio Farías Cabello, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Eusebio Guiñazú, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements:16 Bruno Postiglioni, 17 Marcos Ayerza, 18 Leonardo Senatore, 19 Tomís Leonardi, 20 Martín Landajo, 21 Lucas Gonzílez Amorosino, 22 Juan Imhoff.

South Africa:  15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Bryan Habana, 13 Jean de Villiers (c), 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Willem Alberts, 7 Jacques Potgieter, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Tiaan Liebenberg, 17 Pat Cilliers, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Keegan Daniel, 20 Ruan Pienaar, 21 Pat Lambie, 22 JJ Engelbrecht.

Venue:  Estadio Malvinas Argentinas
Referee:  Steve Walsh (Australia)
Assistant referees:  Jérôme Garces (France), John Lacey (Ireland)

Wallabies nilled in Auckland

New Zealand eased to a comfortable 22-0 win over Australia in Auckland on Saturday, which sees the hosts retain the Bledisloe Cup.

The All Blacks once again underlined their status as world champions by keeping their trans-Tasman rivals scoreless for the first time since 1962.

Last week's victory was built largely on a dominant first-half performance, this time the home side came out firing after the break after leading 9-0 at half-time.

Once again the All Blacks dominated their Australian counterparts in general play, which saw them thrive with ball in hand.  But despite this ascendancy, the hosts failed to convert pressure into more than one five-pointer being scored due to a couple of knock-ons at key moments.

As a result, Dan Carter kept the scoreboard ticking over thanks to another 17-point haul from the talismatic All Blacks pivot who punished mistakes made by the ill-discliplined Wallabies as the hosts came at them.

The Wallabies enjoyed a good start to the match, and looked a far better unit than the one on display in Sydney as they kept New Zealand scoreless for 25 minutes.  But a yellow card shown to stand-in skipper Will Genia 10 minutes before the break arguably was the start of Australia's downfall, as the All Blacks kicked into gear and gained control of the match.

Robbie Deans' record against the All Blacks now reads three wins from 17 fixtures.  And with yet another Bledisloe out of reach and their points-less Rugby Championship campaign on life support, the pressure on the Wallabies' coach is sure to intensify.

New Zealand had the best chances to score during the opening exchanges, with only a superb cover tackle from Adam Ashley-Cooper denying Israel Dagg, while Liam Messam was held up over the line thanks to some superb work from lock Sitaleki Timani.

After missing an early first penalty attempt, Carter finally moved the All Blacks into the lead after 25 minutes and added his second three-pointer from the resulting penalty when Genia was given his marching orders.

The visitors, though, did well to restrict the All Blacks — who now had a one-man advantage — to only one more Carter penalty before the interval as Berrick Barnes took over scrum-half duties.

With the game still anyone's for the taking at half-time, Carter landed his fourth successful kick of the match with a monster 51m effort two minutes into the second half.

And the game was effectively put out of sight soon as New Zealand went through the phases before quick ball from Aaron Smith found a superb running line of Dagg for the full-back to score his second try in as many weeks.

Carter converted and then added another penalty to move New Zealand 22-0 in front.

Australia finally had their best spell and they thought they had found a way through but a desperate tackle from Kieran Read denied Barnes.  From there the All Blacks reassumed their dominance, with replacement Ben Smith and Dagg both having good breaks — while Read lost the ball reaching for the line.

The hosts coughed up another couple of chances when Richie McCaw dropped the ball trying to spin over after Hosea Gear had been held up, while Carter passed to no one when it looked easier to score.

But at that stage of the game, it really didn't matter as the one-sided result kept the Kiwis unbeaten after two matches in the Rugby Championship whilst the Bledisloe Cup stays in New Zealand for the 10th consecutive season.

Man of the match:  Dan Carter once again played a starring role with the boot whilst Sonny Bill Williams played a key role on attack.  But we're going to give this to Kieran Read — the number eight had a quiet first forty, but was sublime on attack, defence and everything else in between after the break.

Moment of the match:  13 points in the opening eight minutes of the second half saw New Zealand take the game by the scruff of the neck, and the Kiwis didn't look back.

Villain of the match:  Oh, Will Genia ... so gracious in defeat after the match, but forced to hang his head in shame for the brain implosion suffered during it.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Try:  Dagg
Con:  Carter
Pen:  Carter 5

Yellow card:  Genia, 29th min (Australia, professional foul)

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Ma'a Nonu, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements:  16 Andrew Hore, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Brodie Retallick, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Ben Smith.

Australia:  15 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 14 Drew Mitchell, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia (c), 8 Scott Higginbotham, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Dave Dennis, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Sitaleki Timani, 3 Ben Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 Saia Fainga'a, 17 James Slipper, 18 Radike Samo, 19 Liam Gill, 20 Nick Phipps, 21 Anthony Fainga'a, 22 Kurtley Beale.

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)

Boks teach Pumas a lesson

Argentina were welcomed into the Rugby Championship with a 27-6 hiding at the hands of the Springboks at Newlands on Saturday.

The Pumas arrived in Cape Town with high hopes of an historic upset but never looked like troubling the South Africans, who led from start to finish.

The men in green and gold scored three well-worked tries while Argentina could only reply with two penalties.

Defeat for the Boks would have spelt a drop to sixth place in the IRB rankings but it was clear from early on that was never going to happen.  Heyneke Meyer's team showed great composure and patience, taking their opportunities when they were presented and pressurising the Argentineans into errors which translated into a 20-6 lead at the break.

A single try in the second half was enough to seal the win for South Africa but they will be disappointed not to have secured a bonus point given the one-sided nature of the clash.

The miserable weather that had belted Cape Town all week finally packed it's bags for pastures further north and glorious sunshine greeted the players and the Newlands faithful.  But the perfect conditions didn't encourage either side to play adventurous rugby.  Argentina were, however, given a lesson on how to effectively employ a forwards-orientated approach.

The Pumas' game-plan was clear to see from the outset as they looked to give the Springboks a taste of their own medicine with a plethora of bombs from the boot of Juan Martín Herníndez.  But the kicks weren't quite accurate enough and the chase was lacking fire, meaning the home side's back three were seldom seriously troubled.

It took just five minutes for Morne Steyn to get the Boks on the board with a penalty but the opening score coincided with a massive blow for the hosts, who saw Bismarck du Plessis leave the field with a knee injury.

Herníndez levelled the scores on the 15-minute mark but when Lucas Amorosino spilt an easy pass just in front of his own try-line, the Pumas looked in trouble.

True enough, three phases after the scrum Zane Kirchner was over in the corner.  Steyn added the extras to give the Boks a 10-3 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Steyn added another penalty before Marcell Coetzee broke off the back of a rolling maul to stretch out an arm and thereby extend the hosts' lead.  The conversion took the scores to 20-3 after half-an-hour and the writing was on the wall for the visitors.

Herníndez landed a penalty just before half time and missed two more after the break but it would be the Boks who scored next.  Bryan Habana plucked Steyn's cross-field kick out of the sky (and Horacio Agulla's hands) for an all-too-easy try.

Credit must be given to the Pumas for holding on and not handing over a bonus-point try but their attack was woefully inadequate.  Next week's rematch in Mendoza should provide them with an opportunity to give the Boks a run for their money.

Man of the Match:  Schalk who?  South Africa has a new star openside and his name is Marcell Coetzee.  Another fantastic display from the Sharks youngster bodes well for the future.  A try was just reward.

Moment of the Match:  From the moment Zane Kirchner scored the Boks' first try the result never looked in doubt.

Villain of the Match:  Whoever decided that drum majorettes qualify as pre-game entertainment.  It's not 1981, man.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Kirchner, Coetzee, Habana
Con:  M Steyn 3
Pen:  M Steyn 2

For Argentina:
Pen:  Hernandez 2

South Africa:  15 Zane Kirchner, 14 Bryan Habana, 13 Jean de Villiers (c), 12 Frans Steyn, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Keegan Daniel, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Pat Cilliers, 18 Flip van der Merwe, 19 Jacques Potgieter, 20 Ruan Pienaar, 21 Pat Lambie, 22 JJ Engelbrecht.

Argentina:  15 Lucas Gonzílez Amorosino, 14 Gonzalo Camacho, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Santiago Ferníndez, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Juan Martín Herníndez, 9 Nicolís Vergallo, 8 Juan Martín Ferníndez Lobbe (c), 7 ílvaro Galindo, 6 Julio Farías Cabello, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Eusebio Guiñazú, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements:  16 Bruno Postiglioni, 17 Marcos Ayerza, 18 Juan Pablo Orlandi, 19 Tomís Leonardi, 20 Leonardo Senatore, 21 Martín Landajo, 22 Martín Rodríguez.

Referee:  Steve Walsh (Australia)
Assistant referees:  Jérôme Garces (France), John Lacey (Ireland)
TMO:  Johann Meuwesen (South Africa)

Winning start for All Blacks

New Zealand opened their Rugby Championship account with a 27-19 win over Australia at ANZ Stadium in Sydney on Saturday.

In a tale of two halves in an overall scrappy game, the All Blacks did enough in the opening forty minutes of the match to bag four competition points as they kicked off the inaugural championship with a hard-fought victory.

The world champions raced to a commanding lead after scoring 18 unanswered points which left the Wallabies with a mountain to climb.

However, the hosts clawed their way back after trailing 18-10 at half-time and continued to stay in touch with their trans-Tasman rivals who had to work a little harder in the second half before Dan Carter sealed the deal with his fifth penalty goal on full-time.

Carter's three-pointer after the siren also denied the Wallabies a losing bonus point, which could prove vital in the overall standings later down the line.

Australia drew first blood after Berrick Barnes opened the scoring with an early penalty with barely three minutes gone on the clock, before Carter leveled matters in the 10th minute.

Three minutes later the All Blacks struck from a scrum outside Australia's 22.  Two decoy runners in midfield allowed Carter to feed full-back Israel Dagg who stepped out of a tackle and then beat Kurtley Beale on the outside to score the opening try.  Carter added the tricky conversion and the All Blacks were smiling with a seven-point lead (3-10) after 14 minutes played.

Australia were found wanting again after New Zealand's relentless pressure and masterly forwards overwhelmed their hosts who coughed up another penalty that Carter dualy converted into three more points.

Whilst the visitors' attack was giving the Wallabies a throbbing headache, so too was the All Blacks defence as Robbie Deans' troops hammered at New Zealand's tryline in a bid to narrow the ever-increasing scoreline but to no avail.

A dropped pass by Scott Higginbotham with Australia hot on attack and then another by Beale didn't help matters for the Wallabies either — the moans and groans from the home crowd becoming a regular feature.

The well-oiled black machine continued to rumble forward and with the Australians' defence once again stretched, Cory Jane finished off superbly in the corner for the world champs' second try of the night — Beale once again exposed out wide.

Carter's conversion missed by inches, but his team-mates wouldn't have been too concerned with an 18-3 lead.  However, the same couldn't be said of their hosts, who looked down and out with eight minutes of the first half still remaining.

Finally, Australia struck gold when Digby Ioane made the intitial inroads after the wing found a chink in the All Blacks' armour only to be tackled inches short of the line.  Nathan Sharpe wasn't to be denied from close range though, and the soon-to-be retired lock powered over.  Barnes converted and the hosts headed into the half-time sheds with some restored confidence.

The second half became a battle of the boots as Carter and Barnes exchanged penalties.  But, even after drawing the second half 9-9, the Wallabies weren't able to bridge the gap.

The result also means Richie McCaw and his merry men have taken a giant stride towards holding onto the Bledisloe Cup which has been in their possession since 2003.

Man of the match:  All Blacks flanker Liam Messam repaid his coaches' faith by carrying his impressive Super Rugby form to the Test arena, while halfback pair Aaron Smith and Dan Carter proved once again to be a lethal combination.  But the player who stood head and shoulders above the rest was Israel Dagg.  The star full-back caused havoc whenever he touched the ball, bagged a try for his efforts and set up another.

Moment of the match:  You just can't keep a good Dagg down!  With only centimetres to work with, Dagg's 13th-minute touchdown after skinning his opposite number on the outside takes the cake.

Villain of the match:  Despite an improved second half from Australia, they were unable to atone for Kurtley Beale's critical blunders in what was an error-prone performance by the full-back who will carry some self-inflicted psychological damage to Eden Park after letting in both of New Zealand's tries.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Try:  Sharpe
Con:  Barnes
Pens:  Barnes 4

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Dagg, Jane
Con:  Carter
Pens:  Carter 5

Australia:  15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Rob Horne, 12 Anthony Fainga'a, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Berrick Barnes, 9 Will Genia, 8 Scott Higginbotham, 7 David Pocock (capt), 6 Dave Dennis, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Sitaleki Timani, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Tatafu Polota Nau, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 Stephen Moore, 17 James Slipper, 18 Rob Simmons, 19 Radike Samo, 20 Michael Hooper, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Drew Mitchell.

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Ma'a Nonu, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (capt), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Andrew Hore, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Brodie Retallick, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Aaron Cruden, 22 Ben Smith.

Referee:  Alain Rolland (IRFU)

Canada cruise past Georgia

Full-back James Pritchard scored 21 points as Canada defeated Georgia 31-12 in a one-off Test in Burnaby, British Columbia on Saturday.

Pritchard registered one try, two conversions and four penalties in front of a crowd of 3,661 at Swangard Stadium.

Canada led 23-7 at half time thanks to 16 points from Australian- born Pritchard.

The game wrapped up a three-game Test series for Canada that also included a 28-25 win over the United States and a 26-15 loss to Italy.

Canada's other trys came from winger DTH van der Merwe at the five minute mark and winger Sean Duke five minutes from full time.

Georgia got on the scoreboard around the half-hour mark after their scrum continually dominated Canada near the goal line and hooker Mikheil Nariashvili pushed the ball over from one yard out.

Georgia got their second try 27 minutes into the second half when Shalva Sutiashvili pushed the ball over from five yards out off another big scrum.

Pritchard, not taking credit for his offensive effort, said this was a team effort, especially from the team's younger players.

"We needed them to step up and that's what they did.  They put their hand up and that's what you want.  You want the entire team to be competitive."

"Our defense was great, especially in the first half.  If (Georgia) were able to get a try in the early going it might have been a different game but full credit to the guys, especially that one goal line stand which saved the game for us."

Canada are currently ranked 13th in IRB standings while Georgia are 15th.

The two teams met just twice previously, with Canada overpowering Georgia 42-10 in 2009 and Georgia defeating Canada 22-15 in 2010.

The scorers:

For Canada:
Tries:  Vandermerwe, Pritchard, Duke
Cons:  Pritchard 2
Pens:  Pritchard 4

For Georgia:
Tries:  Nariashvili, Sutiashvili
Con:  Kvirikashvili

Canada:  15 James Pritchard, 14 Sean Duke, 13 Conor Trainor, 12 Phil Mackenzie, 11 DTH Van der Merwe, 10 Matt Evans , 9 Edward Fairhurst, 8 Aaron Carpenter, 7 Nanyak Dala, 6 Tyler Ardron, 5 Tyler Hotson, 4 Jebb Sinclair, 3 Jason Marshall, 2 Andrew Tiedeman, 1 Tom Dolezel.
replacements:  16 Mike Pletch, 17 Doug Woolridge, 18 Brett Beukeboom, 19 Jon Phelan, 20 Sean White, 21 Jeff Hassler, 22 Ciaran Hearn.

Georgia:  15 Irakli Kiasashvili, 14 Irakli Machkhaneli, 13 David Kacharava, 12 Tedo Zibzibadze, 11 Lekso Gugava, 10 Merab Kvirikashvili, 9 Irakli Abuseridze, 8 Beka Bitsadze, 7 Giorgi Tkhilaishvili, 6 Gia Labadze, 5 Vakhtang Maisuradze, 4 Giorgi Chkhaidze, 3 David

Zirakashvili, 2 Revaz Belkania, 1 Mikheil Nariashvili.
Replacements:  16 Shalva Mamukashvili, 17 Levan Chilachava, 18 Shalva Sutiashvili, 19 Givi Berishvili, 20 Bidzina Samkharadze, 21 Lasha Malaguradze, 22 Alexander Todua

Italy dominate 13-man Eagles

Italy racked up their second win on their tour of the Americas with a 30-10 victory over the USA in Houston, Texas.

Carlo Festuccia, Edoardo Gori and Kristopher Burton scored tries as Italy took advantage of two American red cards in the second half.

Paul Emerick scored the lone try for the Eagles before he was sent off in the second half for an illegal tackle.  Andrew Suniula also earned a red card for the hosts who played with 13 men for the final 23 minutes in front of a 17,214 crowd — a record for an international rugby match on American soil.

The teams were meeting for the first time since September 2011, when Italy beat the USA 27-10 in pool play of the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.

Riccardo Bocchino kicked three penalties and three conversions for the Italians.

Azzurri captain Martin Castrogiovanni said both teams felt the effects of sweltering heat and humidity that lingered even after the sun went down

"It was really hard for both teams," said Castrogiovanni.

"After 10 minutes, we were both breathing heavy.  We tried to play quickly, but it wasn't easy."

Italy opened the scoring after just three minutes when Festuccia snatched a wayward line-out throw by the American hooker Chris Biller and outpaced the US defenders to the line.

"It was tough to get out of the gate like that," said US coach Mike Tolkin.

The USA attack started to gather momentum, putting together some solid phases highlighted by probing runs from the forward pack.  The Italians were pinged for not rolling away, and Chris Wyles got the Eagles on the board with a penalty kick from 22 meters out to close the Italian lead to 7-3.

From the ensuing kick-off though, the USA were penalised for obstruction while collecting the restart, and Bocchino slotted the penalty to put the Italians lead back to seven.

The Americans drove deep into Italy's half and Emerick found the tryline after a good USA line-out for the first try for the hosts.  Wyles made the conversion to tie it at 10-all.

Bocchino converted another penalty kick from the right with eight minutes left in the half, before Gori found a gap in the US defence and sprinted 40 metres for another Italian try.

Emotions were clearly running high early in the second half when Andrew Suniula was shown a red card for a late hit on Bocchino.  The US defence held its own with only 14 players, but then Emerick was whistled for not using his arms in a tackle and was also shown a red card.

"I thought the first one was a little harsh," said Tolkin.

"The second one, I still haven't seen clearly, so I'll look at that again."

Bocchino booted another penalty for a 23-10 lead.

In the end, the two-man advantage was an obstacle the Eagles couldn't overcome, and Burton put the final nail in the coffin for the US, diving over for a try in the 77th minute.

The scorers:

For USA:
Try:  Emerick
Con:  Wyles
Pen:  Wyles

For Italy:
Tries:  Festuccia, Gori, Burton
Cons:Bocchino 3
Pens:  Bocchino 3

Red cards:  A. Suniula (USA — 44th min);  Emerick (USA — 65th min )

The teams:

USA:  15 Chris Wyles, 14 James Paterson, 13 Paul Emerick, 12 Andrew Suniula, 11 Luke Hume, 10 Roland Suniula, 9 Mike Petri, 8 Todd Clever, 7 Scott Lavalla, 6 Taylor Mokate, 5 Brian Doyle, 4 Louis Stanfill, 3 Eric Fry, 2 Chris Biller, 1 Shawn Pittman.
Replacements:  16 Derek Asbun, 17 Mike MacDonald, 18 Tolifili (Andre) Liufau, 19 Andrew Durutalo, 20 Mose Timoteo, 21 Will Holder, 22 Colin Hawley.

Italy:  15 Luke McLean, 14 Giovanbattista Venditti, 13 Roberto Quartaroli, 12 Luca Morisi, 11 Tommaso Benvenuti, 10 Riccardo Bocchino, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Robert Barbieri, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Joshua Furno, 4 Antonio Pavanello, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni (capt), 2 Carlo Festuccia, 1 Alberto De Marchi.
Replacements:  16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Michele Rizzo, 18 Simone Favaro, 19 Tommaso D'Apice, 20 Tito Tebaldi, 21 Kristopher Burton, 22 Alberto Sgarbi.

Venue:  BBVA Compass Stadium
Referee:  Jerome Graces (France)
Assistant Referees:  Derek Stoltz (Canada), Marc Nelson (USA)
TMO:  Davey Ardrey (USA)

France strike back in Argentina

France exacted revenge for last week and recorded a comprehensive 49-10 victory over Argentina in their Test at Estadio José Fierro on Saturday.

In contrast to their clash in Cordoba, les Bleus looked a different side as their six changes paid off as Benjamin Fall and Maxime Mermoz shone.

First-half tries in Tucumán came from Fall, Yoann Huget and also Maxime Machenaud as it seemed Philippe Saint-Andre's rallying call had worked.

A slip into their infuriating style of looking for the drop-goal was looking like taking the gloss off what was a decent showing from the French.  But they thankfully reverted back to what had worked earlier as Mermoz swapped from being provider to scorer with a long-range breakout from his own 22 before Huget grabbed his brace.  Clermont's Alexandre Lapandry barged over for their last try.

The third-string Pumas, who are resting over 20 first-team players ahead of their big 2012 Rugby Championship debut, did get over the whitewash in the closing stages when Tomas De la Vega capitalised on weak fringe defence to allow Felipe Contepomi the final scoring act before he heads back to club duty.

France's victory ended a run of four straight internationals without a win.

Argentina coach Santiago Phelan meanwhile will now look ahead to the Pumas' Rugby Championship opener against South Africa at Newlands in Cape Town on August 18.

Man-of-the-match:  Yoann Huget and Benjamin Fall impressed on the wings but for his creativity, Maxime Mermoz take this.  A classy showing and he was deserving of his try.

Moment-of-the-match:  As soon as Maxime Mermoz broke the line on twelve minutes before drawing the last man to set up Benjamin Fall, one just got the feeling Argentina were not going to be as sturdy as last week.  So it proved as the half-time scoreline of 30-3 said it all.

Villain-of-the-match:  Few handbags here and there but nothing major.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Try:  De la Vega
Con:  Contepomi
Pen:  Contepomi

For France:
Tries:  Fall, Huget 2, Machenaud, Mermoz, Lapandry
Con:  Michalak 5
Pen:  Michalak 3

Argentina:  15 Joaquin Tuculet, 14 Facundo Barrea, 13 Agustin Gosio, 12 Felipe Contepomi (c), 11 Manuel Montero, 10 Benjamin Urdapilleta, 9 Tomas Cubelli, 8 Leonardo Senatore, 7 Tomas Leonardi, 6 Tomas De la Vega, 5 Esteban Lozada, 4 Julio Farias Cabello, 3 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 2 Andres Bordoy, 1 Eusebio Guinazu.
Replacements:  16 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 17 Bruno Postiglioni, 18 Santiago Guzman, 19 Benjamin Macome, 20 Rodrigo Baez, 21 Martin Landajo, 22 Gabriel Ascarate.

France:  15 Brice Dulin, 14 Benjamin Fall, 13 Florian Fritz, 12 Maxime Mermoz, 11 Yoann Huget, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 6 Alexandre Lapandry, 5 Yoan Maestri, 4 Pascal Pape (c), 3 David Attoub, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Vincent Debaty.
Replacements:  16 Christopher Tolofua, 17 Thomas Domingo, 18 Christopher Samson, 19 Wenceslas Lauret, 20 Morgan Parra, 21 Francois Trinh Duc, 22 Wesley Fofana.

Referee:  George Clancy (Ireland)