France claim incredible Crunch

A 78th-minute try saw France recover to claim a 26-24 victory over England in a breathless Six Nations clash at the Stade de France on Saturday.

It What a game!

France led 16-8 at the interval thanks to two early tries from Yoann Huget before Mike Brown scored just before the break to keep England in the contest.

An incredible comeback from England saw a 16-3 advantage for France at the end of the first quarter turn into 16-21 in England's favour going into the final 20 minutes, as Luther Burrell touched down and Danny Care slotted a drop goal.

France produced the best half-hour of the Philippe Saint-André era to start the game but progressively ran out of steam against an England side that went from strength to strength.

It was the home team that would have the last laugh though as a Gael Fickou try at the death sealed a memorable win.

France dominated at scrum time but England will harbour a number of regrets having seen their pack take the game by the scruff of the neck and dominating most of the second half.

It's worth repeating — what a game!

France got off to the perfect start when Huget latched onto a grubber from debutant fly-half Jules Plisson, stepped past the wrong-footed Mike Brown and raced home after just 32 seconds.

Jean-Marc Doussain missed the conversion, Owen Farrell pulled a penalty back for England before Doussain hit the target with his second kick at goal to leave France 8-3 ahead at the end of a frantic opening ten minutes.

The pace didn't slow though as Huget bagged his second try of the first quarter.  The French wing beat a poor tackle from Alex Goode before passing inside to Brice Dulin, whose chip ahead bounced favourably for his flying team-mate.

Again Doussain missed the conversion but found the mark shortly afterwards as France's superiority at scrum time earned a penalty that gave the hosts a 16-3 lead.

England finished the half strongly however, and Brown's try just before the break kept his team alive.  Care took the bold decision to run a very kickable penalty but he linked with Billy Vunipola and Brown beat three defenders, stretching an arm out over the whitewash in the corner.

Farrell missed the conversion but England came out of the dressing room after the interval breathing fire.

Care was denied a try when he was held inches short of the line but Farrell reduced the gap to five points with penalty.

England drew level after Vunipola bust through the French defence for the umpteenth time, offloading to Burrell, who could cruise in under the sticks.

Farrell's conversion gave England the lead for the first time as France's fast start seemed like a distant memory.

A cheeky drop-goal from Care ensured England got something in return for their sustained pressure as the hosts' composure disintegrated.

Maxime Machenaud and Goode traded penalties but although England clearly held the upper hand, they were unable to land the killer blow as Tom Youngs failed to find his jumpers at a five-metre lineout, letting a golden opportunity slip by.

With the game hanging in the balance, Dimitri Szarzewski bolted into space, held his line before finding Fickou, who dummied past Goode to score behind the posts and leave Machenaud with an easy conversion.

Man of the match:  Huget scored two tries and both Yannick Nyanga and Danny Care deserve mentions but we'll go for Billy Vunipola, who went forward every time he got the ball, irrespective of how many defenders were on hand to stop him.

Moment of the match:  Only one option here, Dimitri Szarzewski's break and pass to Gael Fickou to break English hearts and set up wild celebrations in the French capital.

Villain of the match:  No real nasty stuff worth mentioning.

The scorers:

For France:
Tries:  Huget 2, Fickou
Cons:  Machenaud
Pens:  Doussain 2, Machenaud

For England:
Tries:  Brown, Burrell
Con:  Farrell
Pens:  Farrell 2, Goode
Drop:  Care

France:  15 Brice Dulin, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Maxime Médard, 10 Jules Plisson, 9 Jean-Marc Doussain, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Bernard Le Roux, 6 Yannick Nyanga, 5 Pascal Papé (c), 4 Alexandre Flanquart, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Thomas Domingo
Replacements:  16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Yannick Forestier, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Yoann Maestri, 20 Antoine Burban, 21 Damien Chouly, 22 Maxime Machenaud, 23 Gael Fickou

England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Luther Burrell, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Jonny May, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Danny Care, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Tom Wood, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements:  16 Tom Youngs, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Henry Thomas, 19 Dave Attwood, 20 Ben Morgan, 21 Lee Dickson, 22 Brad Barritt, 23 Alex Goode

Venue:  Stade de France, Paris
Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees:  Alain Rolland (Ireland), Stuart Berry (South Africa)
TMO:  Jim Yuille (Scotland)

Italy push Wales close in opener

Reigning champions Wales saw off a promising Italian side 23-15 thanks to tries from Alex Cuthbert and Scott Williams.

It Italy showed huge improvement from their substandard outings last November, exciting centre Michele Campagnaro grabbing a brace with two opportunistic tries.

History beckons for Wales;  the objective of becoming the first side to complete a hat-trick of consecutive titles has been drilled into their squad over the last few weeks.

This, though, was an unconvincing performance.  Wales worked harder in defence than attack and struggled to sustain phases going forward, although they did control the breakdown.

This is a special group of players without doubt, perhaps whose true destiny will be the Rugby World Cup next year, but they were worryingly flat in the second half.

Italy fielded their most experienced pack in Test history but had three 20-year-olds in the backline, still trying to find that balance between set-piece excellence and exciting back play.  Judging by this game they appear to be leaning towards the latter.

Such was their decline at the back end of 2013 it was easy to forget they defeated both Ireland and France in last year's competition.  Going against tradition, the Italian scrum struggled, but the backs were dangerous and exciting.  Campagnaro at outside centre sparkled.

Two crucial lapses at either end of the first half though were Italy's undoing, highlighting the need for composure as well as plenty of enthusiasm.  Wales are too good to cough those chances up.  The Italian scrum disintegrated, Wales winning the penalties in that area and at the breakdown as the match wore on to secure victory.

Angelo Esposito endured every debutant's nightmare early on, rushing across to cover Rhys Priestland's grubber kick and missing it completely to allow Alex Cuthbert to scoop up and dive over in the corner with only three minutes on the clock.

Italy got on the board thanks to Tommaso Allan's simple penalty in an even opening quarter, Wales' supremacy at the breakdown just handing them the territorial advantage.

Halfpenny's 28th-minute strike opened up a 10-3 lead for the champions but Italy were dogged for large swathes of the first half, keeping the door shut on Wales and working hard to chase their kicks and put the hosts under pressure.

Sergio Parisse couldn't gather Edoardo Gori's clever cross-field kick for what would have been a impressive try as the Azzurri maintained their tenacious start.

It faltered just before the break — Scott Williams releasing Jamie Roberts to bust through Alberto Sgarbi's tackle before receiving the inside ball to go over, handing Wales a comfortable 17-3 cushion.  Italy's energy and enthusiasm had worked against them as Sgarbi leapt out of the defensive line too soon.

Campagnaro bagged an excellent try for his first, his pass to Leonardo Sarto coming under scrutiny from the TMO but he raced after the winger's kick to bring Italy within nine points of the lead.

Italian rugby currently weighs on the shoulders of the 20-year-old Allan and his missed conversion and penalty were vital, particularly when Italy were enjoying the majority of possession.

Wales were left to soak up attacking waves and bide their time, Priestland nearly pouncing with a winding run to the corner only for his pass to find a man in blue rather than red.

Sam Warburton received a rousing reception following his introduction off the bench, political differences put to one side, as the Wales scrum continued to dominate in the eyes of the referee.  It generated a second penalty for Halfpenny, helping Wales breath easier at 20-8.

Halfpenny's breathing was considerably less easy a few minutes later when Campagnaro pounced with an interception try, narrowing the deficit to five.

The Wales full-back though added another penalty — again won by great work from the hosts at the breakdown — to keep the Italians at arm's length.  It was far from a masterclass from Wales, but a job done.

Man of the Match:  With two tries and causing plenty of danger for the Welsh defence, Michele Campagnaro gets the nod for a very impressive performance in midfield.

Moment of the Match:  A pick for Campagnaro again, with his interception of Halfpenny's pass seeing him streak away for a long-range try to narrow the scoreboard late on and leave Wales sweating.

Villain of the match:  No real nasty stuff worth mentioning.

The scorers:

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

For Italy:
Tries:  Campagnaro 2
Con:  Allan
Pen:  Allan

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Scott Williams, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun-Wyn Jones (c), 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Paul James.
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 Andrew Coombs, 20 Sam Warburton, 21 Rhys Webb, 22 James Hook, 23 Liam Williams.

Italy:  15 Luke McLean, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Alberto Sgarbi, 11 Leonardo Sarto, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Marco Bortolami, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Michele Rizzo.
Replacements:  16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Alberto De Marchi, 18 Lorenzo Cittadini, 19 Joshua Furno, 20 Francesco Minto, 21 Tobias Botes, 22 Luciano Orquera, 23 Tommaso Iannone.

Referee:  John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant Referees:  Glen Jackson (New Zealand), Francisco Pastrana (Argentina)
TMO:  Iain Ramage (Scotland)
Assessor:  Clayton Thomas (Wales)

Barbarians hammer Fiji in classic

The Barbarians outclassed Fiji 43-19 in an entertaining match played in front of a near 70,000 crowd to mark the Islanders' centenary.

It was a match played in great spirit, with both teams exhibiting the running rugby craved by the Twickenham supporters, and some of the game's greats showcasing their silky handling and offensive prowess.

A scrappy opening five minutes was quickly overcome by a wonderful 80 metre try from the Fijians.  Fly-half Seremai Bai chipped over the flat Barbarians defence for Glasgow Warriors full-back Niko Matawalu.

The onrushing Matawalu gathered and danced his way round several defenders before offloading to Asaeli Tikoirotuma who cruised in under the posts to open the scoring.  Bai knocked over the simple conversion.

The Barbarians proceeded to dominate the next fifteen minutes, with virtually all the play inside the Fijian 22, and the Islanders infringing time and again.

Steve Hansen's side gained the upper hand in the set-piece, and efforts from Bismarck du Plessis and Matias Diaz were denied after referral to the TMO.

The Fijian defence — not unlike their sevens counterparts who so comprehensively outplayed New Zealand in Dubai earlier on Saturday — was aggressive and quick to pressure the Barbarians, but their resistance was finally broken when du Plessis powered over from close range.  Lambie failed with the conversion from out wide.

From the resultant kick-off, openside Mala Ravulo paid the price for his team's indiscipline, tackling an opponent in the air, and was shown a yellow card by Pascal Gauzere.

And despite the subsequent wave of pressure from the BaaBaas, Fiji held firm, and continued to look to play fast, high-tempo rugby.  They welcomed the flanker back onto the field with the scores still 7-5 in their favour.

But a quick tap on their own 22 proved to be their undoing, as the ball was spilled, and Springbok number eight Duane Vermeulen scooped up to stroll under the posts for one of Test rugby's more surreal tries.  Lambie, this time, could scarcely miss from straight in front, and added the extras for a 12-7 lead approaching half-time.

The BaaBaas still had time to build upon their lead, however, and a driving maul saw du Plessis barrel over for his second of the game, continuing the South African scoring theme.  Lambie's conversion drifted wide of the mark, and the teams went into the break with score 17-7 in favour of Hansen's charges.

Scrum-half TJ Perenara spilled the ball from the kick-off, but his pack bailed him out with a monstrous scrum against the head, catching the Fijians cold, and allowing substitute Willie le Roux to race away up the right-hand-side.

The break came to nothing when Frank Halai spilled possession, but the TMO was called for again as Perenara hacked through into the in-goal area, but the covering Sam Speight got hands to the ball before Vermeulen.

Du Plessis' last act was a powerful burst up the left touchline, but the tries kept coming for the BaaBaas.

A cross-kick from le Roux found All Black Charles Piutau on the 22, who spun beautifully out of one tackle before cutting inside to touch down under the posts, and kill off any lingering hopes of a Fijian comeback.

Just three minutes later, a break and offload from the outstanding Steven Luatua released Springbok skipper Jean de Villiers to dot down in the corner.  Lambie made the touchline conversion to bring the scores to 31-7.

With the game well out of sight, the Barbarians turned on the style with some considerable aplomb, and notched what proved to be the try of the day.

Glorious offloads from le Roux, de Villiers and Burger splintered the Fijian defence and had the crowd purring as Tom Taylor finished off in the corner.

The Twickenham supporters were brought to the feet again in the closing stages, as play swung from end to end, and possession changed hands time and again.

This time, it was the Fijians' power and handling abilities that won through, as Henry Seniloli finished off a great counter-attack.

Vermeulen was yellow-carded in the build-up for a nasty high tackle.

The BaaBaas thought they had the final say, when a delightful Lambie chip set up team-mate de Villiers to gather under the posts and bring up 40 points for the composite side.

But, fittingly on their centenary, Fiji broke away with the final score from Alex Rokobaro an fine end to a fine occasion.

Man of the match:  Plenty candidates for the Barbarians, with Matawalu sticking his hand up for the Islanders, but Steven Luatua gets my vote for a superb all-round performance.  Devastating in attack and defence, thriving in both the tight exchanges, and when the game began to break up.

Villain of the match:  No villains today, but Vermeulen's high shot was cynical and unnecessary late on.

Moment of the match:  Great tries all-round, but Piutau's fine gather, spin, and finish ended the match as a contest.

The scorers:

For Barbarians:
Tries:  du Plessis 2, Vermeulen, Piutau, de Villiers 2, Taylor
Cons:  Lambie 4
Yellow Card:  Vermeulen

For Fiji:
Tries:  Tikoirotuma, Seniloli, Rokobaro
Cons: Bai 2
Yellow Card:  Ravulo

Barbarians:  15 Santiago Cordero, 14 Frank Halai, 13 Gavin Williams, 12 Jean de Villiers (captain), 11 Charles Piutau, 10 Patrick Lambie, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Steven Luatua, 5 Dominic Bird, 4 Mick O'Driscoll, 3 Matias Diaz, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Guillermo Roan, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Manuel Carizza, 20 Luke Whitelock, 21 Martin Landajo, 22 Tom Taylor, 23 Willie le Roux.

Fiji:15 Nikola Matawalu, 14 Adriu Delai, 13 Asaeli Tikoirotuma, 12 Levani Botia, 11 Sam Speight, 10 Seremaia Bai, 9 Nemia Kenatale, 8 Nemani Nagusa, 7 Sam Matavesi/Netani Talei, 6 Mala Ravulo, 5 Api Naikatini, 4 Leone Nakarawa, 3 Manasa Saulo, 2 Peni Ravai, 1 Campese Ma'afu.
Replacements:  16 Jerry Naureure, 17 Jerry Yanuyanutawa, 18 Sete Somoca, 19 Maku Koroiyadi, 20 Sam Matavesi/Netani Talei, 21 Henry Seniloli, 22 Waisea Luveniyali, 23 Alex Rokobaro.

Referee:  Pascal Gauzere (France)

Wales beaten again by Australia

Australia continued their dominant run over Wales with a sublime, exhausting 30-26 victory in the final Test of the year in Cardiff.

It could only ever be agonisingly close, such has been the nature of the battles between these two in recent times.

It came down to the simple matter of whether Wales were good enough to finally win.  With territory and possession five minutes from the finish and only four points down, the chance was there and then destroyed.

In the end Australia found that extra gear.  The acceleration in intensity after going 16-10 down was breathtaking — tries from Israel Folau and Joe Tomane flipping the match on it's head and leaving Wales to chase their way back in.

It was an absolute thriller;  no question.  Take your pick for a standout moment from a pre-Christmas treat littered with them served up under the roof of the Millennium Stadium.

Ireland's noble effort against New Zealand a week ago had seen them playing above their level, but this was a contest between two evenly-matched teams full of running and bruising force that surged and subsided one way and then the other.  There is no love lost between Wales and Australia, that is for sure.

Perhaps it was the lack of scrums in the first half that resulted in such a high level of magnificent entertainment.  It certainly meant that the absence of Adam Jones for Wales was not as dear as predicted.

The Wallabies were ruthless.  Last week against Scotland chances slipped away and the scoreboard failed to reflect the gulf between the two teams but here, against a rival, they endlessly tore up Shaun Edwards' defensive system.

It was Wales though who struck first.  North pounced on a rare lackadaisical mistake from Adam Ashley-Cooper to hack on and then finish in the left corner, sending the Millennium Stadium into raptures.  It was an omen.  It left you breathless.

Quade Cooper marked his 50th cap for Australia with a world-leading performance.

His reverse pass around the back will be his legacy, mimicked in backyards around the world on Sunday, and it came off twice — first for Christian Leali'ifano's equalising try and then creating a chance on a silver platter for Will Genia that the scrum-half left behind.

Leigh Halfpenny's boot faltered only once in the first half, a penalty pinging back off the post but his other two efforts were successful.  Added to an attempt from Dan Biggar, Wales were 16-10 ahead.

Israel Folau though had other plans.  First he was brilliantly denied in the far corner by Scott Williams with a try-saving tackle, with Biggar heading to the bin from the resulting ruck.

But despite monstrous tackles from first North and then Richard Hibbard, Folau cruelly bounced off Mike Phillips and powered through two more tacklers to snatch the try — standing over his victims with the air of a world champion boxer.  By scoring he levelled Lote Tuqiri's Wallaby record of ten tries in a single Test year.

It sling-shotted the Wallabies into the lead following Leali'ifano's conversion, Australia up 17-16 at half-time.

There was to be no second half let up in intensity.  Australia sniffed blood and pummeled the Welsh defensive front through breaks from Nick Cummins and Cooper to leave the home side scuttling backwards.

Leali'ifano added a penalty before Tomane added the Wallabies third try — following close consultation with the TMO over the final pass.  It created a chorus of boos but the more alarming aspect for Wales were the 20 unanswered points added by Australia to put them in the driving seat.

Wales grew desperate, the next score all but deciding the result at 30-16 down.  Liam Williams did his part by racing away down the left touchline, but the Wallabies prowess at the breakdown was too much as they scrambled to safety.

North though was not done.  The Northampton wing flew through Scott Fardy's tackle attempt and then had the power to outmuscle Folau to go in under the posts and drag Wales back within seven points.

Driven by hope and that burning fire to finally put one over the Wallabies, Wales turned to their bench and their pack to suck away the wide channels for Australia.

Three points came after Ben Mowen's indiscretion at the breakdown as the oxygen disappeared ahead of another typically tight finish in this fixture.

Cooper's yellow card then gave Wales the impetus, the fly-half binned for an early tackle as the clock ticked away.

It came down to a tapped penalty for Wales in their own half, the length of the pitch to run in order to finally break that losing streak.  It was a task too far, bringing a pulsating Test match to a close.

Man of the Match:  Quade Cooper's tribute was already written until he was harshly yellow carded.  But he was so good that he still takes this award.  Sensational throughout.  George North a close second.

Moment of the Match:  With a line-out in the Australian 22, Wales sought to deploy their famous 12-man maul but the execution was off and a huge chance wasted.

Villain of the Match:  Despite the sin-binnings of Cooper and Biggar, there was nothing nasty here.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  North 2
Cons:  Halfpenny, Biggar
Pens:  Halfpenny 2, Biggar, Priestland
Yellow Card:  Biggar

For Australia:
Tries:  Leali'ifano, Folau, Tomane
Cons:  Leali'ifano 3
Pens:  Leali'ifano 3

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Owen Williams, 12 Scott Williams, 11 George North, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (capt), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Alun-Wyn Jones, 3 Rhodri Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Samson Lee, 19 Ryan Jones, 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Liam Williams.

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Joe Tomane, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Christian Leali'ifano, 11 Nick Cummins, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Ben Mowen (c), 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 James Horwill, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Benn Robinson, 18 Ben Alexander, 19 Kane Douglas, 20 Dave Dennis, 21 Nic White, 22 Mike Harris, 23 Bernard Foley.

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees:  Alain Rolland, John Lacey (both Ireland)

Fiji power past Romania

Fiji ended Romania's unbeaten run in 2013 on Saturday with a 26-7 victory at Stadionul National Arcul de Triumf in Bucharest.

After losing narrowly to Italy last week, Fiji, who led 16-7 at half time, outscored their hosts three tries to one.

The Islanders' three tries came from Metuisela Talebula, Nemani Nadolo and Timoci Nagusa, with Romania replying through a penalty try.

The scorers:

For Romania:
Try:  Penalty try
Con:  Vlaicu

For Fiji:
Tries:  Talebula, Nadolo, Nagusa
Con:  Bai
Pens:  Bai 2, Nadolo
Yellow card:  Nadolo

Romania:  15 Catalin Fercu, 14 Ionut Dumitru, 13 Catalin Dascalu, 12 Csaba Gal, 11 Florin Ionita, 10 Florin Vlaicu, 9 Valentin Calafeteanu, 8 Mihai Macovei (c), 7 Viorel Lucaci, 6 Alexandru Mitu, 5 Marius Sirbe, 4 Valentin Poparlan, 3 Paulica Ion, 2 Otar Turashvili, 1 Mihaita Lazar.
Replacements:  16 Andrei Radoi, 17 Constantin Pristavita, 18 Horatiu Pungea, 19 Alin Coste, 20 Dorin Lazar, 21 Florin Surugiu, 22 Stephan Hihetah, 23 Cristian Dinis.

Fiji:  15 Metuisela Talebula, 14 Timoci Nagusa, 13 Asaeli Tikoirotuma, 12 Nemani Nadolo, 11 Napolioni Nalaga, 10 Serenaia Bai, 9 Nemia Kenatale, 8 Sakiusa Matadigo, 7 Akapusi Qera (c), 6 Malakai Ravulo, 5 Apisai Naikatini, 4 Wame Lewaravu, 3 Setefano Somoca, 2 Seremaia Namaralevu, 1 Jereremaia Yanuyanutawa.
Replacements:  16 Peni Ravai, 17 Campese Ma'afu, 18 Manasa Saulo, 19 Sam Matavesi, 20 Nemani Nagusa, 21 Henry Seniloli, 22 Waisea Luveniyali, 23 Malakai Bakaniceva.

Venue:  Stadionul National Arcul de Triumf, Bucharest
Referee:  Dudley Phillips (Ireland)

Perfect year for All Blacks

New Zealand made history on Sunday as a late converted try saw them beat Ireland 24-22 at the Aviva Stadium, ending the year with 14 wins from 14.

It was an incredible 80 minutes of rugby that reminded us why we love this sport so much.

Played on a pitch light-years ahead of some of its northern hemisphere rivals, Ireland and the All Blacks put on an outstanding spectacle in Dublin that had everyone captivated from start to finish.

And boy did this one go down to the wire as New Zealand, down 17-22 with time up on the clock, finally managed to bust the green wall through replacement Ryan Crotty before Aaron Cruden added the match-winning touchline conversion.

It will be a defeat that particularly hurts Ireland as they spurned a chance to move eight points clear in the closing stages, but Jonathan Sexton pushed a penalty inches wide of the upright.

Blowing a 0-19 advantage is going to sting.

Ireland had came out of the blocks in devastating fashion as they took on the All Blacks three gears up from last weekend's opening efforts against the Wallabies.

New Zealand were immediately rocked backwards as the hosts scored those 19 points in as many minutes, with Conor Murray, Rory Best and Rob Kearney crossing the try-line.

The first score came inside four minutes when the scrum-half - recalled to the side in place of Eoin Reddan - barged over after good build-up play from the Irish.  However, there was some doubt over whether he grounded the ball but TMO Graham Hughes deemed it a try.

Sexton added the extras but Ireland weren't done there and promptly went over again in the tenth minute when hooker Best finished a move he started by crossing on the right side.  With Sexton's extra two points the hosts were 0-14 up as the All Blacks attempted to catch their breath.  Dublin was rocking as Ireland took the game to the world champions.

New Zealand did recover somewhat and enjoyed some semblance of possession for the ensuing minutes but when Israel Dagg fumbled a pass on the right wing, 20 metres from the Irish line, the grateful Kearney gathered and set off for a foot race to the whitewash.

Finally this appeared to spark the flat All Blacks into putting together some fluent running rugby, which produced a try in the 26th minute of the game, certainly against the run of play.

Cruden spotted a huge gap behind the Irish defence, chipped through and Savea, who was unmarked on the wing, ran onto the ball to touch down with the conversion making it 7-19.

The Irish, though, were not deflated by that in the least and stormed back deep into All Black territory, only prevented from scoring by some gritty defence and were eventually rewarded with a penalty which Racing-Metro fly-half Sexton slotted over for a 7-22 advantage.

The Irish came out fired up for the second-half but it was their defence that held up as Dagg thought he had got over in the 50th minute only for Murray to be judged to have held him up.

However, impressive Irish lock Devin Toner handed Cruden an easy three points, for 10-22, as he obstructed loosehead Wyatt Crockett when the Irish were about to clear their lines.

Cruden, though, missed an opportunity to cut the deficit further with a long range penalty as the rampaging O'Brien attracted the ire of referee Nigel Owens, who was superb on the day.

Nevertheless, the All Blacks started to really test the Irish resilience and with 15 minutes remaining they went over through replacement prop Ben Franks and Cruden made it 17-22.

However, the indomitable spirit of the Irish shone as they drew on their last dregs of energy, pressuring the All Blacks into conceding a penalty which Sexton took an age over, but to gasps of disbelief he sent it wide of the posts.  An eight-point lead had gone begging.

The costliness of that miss was laid bare in the final remarkable passage of play by the All Blacks as replacement centre Crotty went over in the corner and Cruden, at the second time of asking because of encroachment, slotted over the conversion to achieve that unlikely win.

Man of the match:  We go for Ireland number eight Jamie Heaslip, who was everywhere.  Mentions too for Gordon D'Arcy, Devin Toner, Paul O'Connell and Sean O'Brien while New Zealand's star man was Sam Whitelock, with Beauden Barrett impressing off the bench.

Moment of the match:  It's hard on Jonathan Sexton but missing that late penalty came back to haunt the Irish.  It handed New Zealand a sniff and that was all they needed.

Villain of the match:  Nothing to report on a great surface and day for rugby.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  Murray, Best, Kearney
Con:  Sexton 2
Pen:  Sexton

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Savea, B Franks, Crotty
Con:  Cruden 3
Pen:  Cruden

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 David Kearney, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Paul O'Connell (capt), 4 Devin Toner, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Declan Fitzpatrick, 19 Mike McCarthy, 20 Kevin McLaughlin, 21 Isaac Boss, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Luke Fitzgerald.

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Ben Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (capt), 6 Steven Luatua, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Charlie Faumuina, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements:  16 Dane Coles, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Owen Franks, 19 Liam Messam, 20 Sam Cane, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Ryan Crotty.

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees:  J駻e Garc鑚 (France), Greg Garner (England)
Television match official:  Graham Hughes (England)
Assessor:  Donal Courtney (European Rugby Cup)

Springboks complete unbeaten tour

South Africa beat France on French soil for the first time in 16 years on Saturday with a hard-fought 19-10 victory at the Stade de France.

The Springboks led from start to finish and were 13-7 ahead at the interval thanks to an opportunistic early try from JP Pietersen, with France replying just before half-time via a Yoann Huget try.

In what turned out to be a disappointing spectacle, neither side was particularly impressive with ball in hand — indeed both tries came from opposition errors — but both teams must be commended for their defensive efforts.

One must question the French tactics, especially in the first stanza, as the hosts consistently played themselves into trouble by trying to spread it wide too early with runners from deep, often resulting in them losing ground to the fast approaching Springbok defensive line.

The shoddy Parisian pitch turned the scrums into somewhat of a lottery but their was no luck in South Africa's dominance of the contact area.

The Boks got off to an ideal start as Pietersen charged down French scrum-half Morgan Parra before regathering and touching down inside the first minute.

Parra had a nightmare start to the game, missing an easy penalty shortly afterwards as he lost his footing on the sub-standard surface.

Morne Steyn had no such problems as he added two penalties to his earlier conversion to give the tourists a 13-0 lead with half-time looming large.

The signs were ominous for les Bleus but they struck back immediately.  Pascal Papé latched onto the loose ball on the edge of a ruck after the restart and Parra was up in support to put Huget over in the corner.

Parra slotted the conversion from the touchline to cut the gap to six points as the teams swapped ends.

As in the first half, South Africa looked to have landed a blow early in the second period when Jaque Fourie crossed, only to see the try denied by the TMO for a knock-on by Steyn in the build up.

Again the television ref was called upon when Huget just managed to get a touch on a bobbling ball ahead of Francois Louw in-goal to maintain the status quo.

The first points of the second half finally came around the hour mark when Steyn landed his third penalty to give the Boks some breathing room at 16-7.

Steyn miss-hit an attempted drop goal before French replacement prop Thomas Domingo saw yellow for a tip tackle on Bryan Habana.

The hosts survived eight minutes with a man down but would finish a man up as Louw was sent to the bin for a silly hand to the face of the prone Papé.

Parra's replacement Jean-Marc Doussain slotted the three points to bring the French within striking distance at 16-10 but a late Pat Lambie penalty secured the victory for Heyneke Meyer's men.

Man of the match:  We had Louw's name pencilled in until his rush of blood to the head — which could have cost his team dearly — but we'll go with Flip van der Merwe, who ran the show at line-out time and put in plenty of thundering hits.

Moment of the match:  It took less than 60 seconds for Pietersen to score the first try.  From then on France were playing catch-up and never managed to get their noses in front.

Villain of the match:  The Stade de France pitch is simply not good enough for Test rugby.

The scorers:

For France:
Try:  Huget
Con:  Parra
Pen:Doussain
Yellow card:  Domingo

For South Africa:
Try:  Pietersen,
Cons:  Steyn
Pens:  Steyn 3, Lambie
Yellow card:  Louw

France:  15 Brice Dulin, 14 Sofiane Guitoune, 13 Florian Fritz, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Yoann Huget, 10 Rémi Talès, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Damien Chouly, 7 Wenceslas Lauret, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Pascal Papé, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Benjamin Kayser, 1 Yannick Forestier.
Replacements:  16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Thomas Domingo, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 20 Yannick Nyanga, 21 Jean-Marc Doussain, 22 Frédéric Michalak, 23 Mathieu Bastareaud

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Flip van der Merwe, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Coenie Oosthuizen, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Gurthrö Steenkamp, 18 Lourens Adriaanse, 19 Bakkies Botha, 20 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 21 Siya Kolisi, 22 Jano Vermaak, 23 Patrick Lambie.

Venue:  Stade de France, Paris
Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees:  Glen Jackson (New Zealand), Leighton Hodges (Wales)
TMO:  Iain Ramage (Scotland)

Wallabies do enough at Murrayfield

Australia outscored Scotland two tries to nil to claim the third victory of their November tour, winning 21-15 at Murrayfield on Saturday.

The depleted Wallaby side overcame a much-improved Scotland side in a scrappy Test punctuated by penalties and errors but could easily have won by a lot more had Christian Leali'ifano not missed five kicks at goal.

The Scots had something of a point to prove after last week's humiliating 28-0 home defeat to South Africa, but the signs were a tad ominous after they coughed up possession from the kick-off, and then infringed to allow Leali'ifano to put the visitors in front.

Referee Jaco Peyper was quick with the whistle at the breakdown, rewarding the defending side with penalties for not releasing, and this contributed to an early barrage of three-point opportunities.

Scotland's set-piece struggled in the opening portion of that Springbok hammering, and despite improvements, it continued to pester Scott Johnson's men, as scrum and lineout possession proved unreliable.

The Murrayfield pitch once again hindered scrummaging, and Peyper did not pick up on several blatantly squint feeds from Australian scrum-half Will Genia.

But while the Scots lost five of their lineouts, the Australians secured every one of their own.

An early injury to Ross Ford saw Pat MacArthur enter the fray just 20 minutes into the game, with the Glasgow Warriors hooker afforded the game-time many had called for in the wake of the Borderer's misfiring throwing.

The Australians were guilty of straying offside with cynical regularity in the first-half when Scotland got themselves in attacking positions, conceding a total of 13 penalties (with the Scots not far behind on 11) and it was from one of these infringements that Greig Laidlaw was given the simple chance to level the scores.

Scott Johnson's side enjoyed a brief period in the Wallaby 22, and after a series of big carries from Jim Hamilton, and a jinking run from Duncan Weir, were awarded another straightforward penalty from which Laidlaw gave his side the lead.

Quade Cooper's nasty late charge on Sean Maitland gave Weir a long-range opportunity for three points, but the fly-half's kick was short of the target, and Leali'fano was once more able to tie things up after David Denton strayed offside at the breakdown.

But Cooper redeemed himself in typically swash-buckling fashion minutes later, after a stolen Scottish lineout gave the visitors possession in the hosts' 22.

Exploiting loosehead Ryan Grant in midfield, the pivot gave a lovely inside ball to the onrushing Israel Folau, who finished from 20 metres out.  Leali'ifano converted without issue.

Laidlaw added his third penalty, before the Scots burst into life two minutes from half-time.

A scything 50 metre Johnnie Beattie break caught the Wallaby defence on the hop, and his pass released Sean Maitland into space.  The full-back fed Sean Lamont 25 metres from the line with Folau covering back, but the winger failed to back himself and stuttered to a halt a metre from the line.

Johnson's men hammered the Wallaby line for the next few phases, but Denton spilled the ball in contact, and a free-kick from the resultant scrum allowed Cooper to end the first half with the visitors leading 13-12.

Folau again showed his menace straight after the break, with a powerul run and offload into the Scottish 22.

But the Wallabies were celebrating again soon after, as fine handling in midfield allowed the visitors to exploit a sizeable overlap up the right-hand-side, and Chris Feauai-Sautia scrambled over in the corner after Maitland failed to complete the tackle.

Leali'fano missed the tricky conversion, and the Wallabies then put themselves under pressure with a barrage of needless infringements.

Second-row Rob Simmonds unleashed a flurry of blows on Moray Low, who was holding the Australian back at a ruck, and after referral to the TMO, Peyper showed the lock a yellow-card.

Laidlaw made no mistake with the subsequent penalty opportunity, and cut the deficit to three points with his fifth successful goal of the night.

But, straight from the kick-off, Scotland were penalised in typically swift fashion by Peyper, as the arriving players failed to stay on their feet, and Leali'fano canceled out Laidlaw's kick.

Scotland pressed hard from the restart, with a powerful burst up the left-hand-side from Denton, and another break from Maitland taking the hosts to within eight metres of the Wallaby line.

Again, though, imprecision saw them spill the ball into touch, and Genia removed the danger with a solid box-kick.

The hosts continued to enjoy the better of the second-half, and indeed looked far more threatening with ball in hand than they did a week ago.

Laidlaw's last act was to scuff a penalty attempt short from some 40 metres, but the miss was not to prove immediately costly as Leali'fano miscued from similar range.

Genia probed the Scottish cover defence with a neat array of box kicks, and Hooper — constantly courting infringements — forced a penalty for his side on the home 22.

Again, though, Leali'fano's radar was off, and the Scots remained in touch six points adrift going into the final ten minutes.

The centre was given an easier chance to effectively put the game beyond the Scots with five minutes to play after Lamont ran into his own player straight in front of the posts from around 35 metres out.

But Leali'ifano missed his fourth kick of the match, and Murrayfield was poised for a grandstand finish.

It ended in something of an anticlimax, however, as Hooper seized upon the isolated Pat MacArthur to win a penalty, and Nic White could send the ball into touch to round off proceedings.

Man of the Match:  Australian openside Michael Hooper flirted with illegality aplenty, but his work at the breakdown frequently prevented the Scots from building momentum, or gaining quick ball.

Moment of the Match:  There weren't many highlights in this scrappy affair, but Joe Tomane receiving a pass while two yards off the pitch in touch brought about plenty of smiles.

Villain of the Match:  The Murrayfield crowd were less than impressed by Jaco Peyper's officiating, but the game's pantomime villain was Rob Simmonds for his poorly-executed boxing attempts.

The scorers:

For Scotland:
Pens:  Laidlaw 5

For Australia: 
Tries:  Folau, Feauai-Sautia
Con:  Leali'ifano
Pens:  Leali'ifano 3
Yellow card:  Simmons

Scotland:  15 Sean Maitland, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Duncan Taylor, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 Dave Denton, 7 Kelly Brown (c), 6 John Beattie, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Moray Low, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Ryan Grant
Replacements:  16 Pat MacArthur, 17 Al Dickinson, 18 Euan Murray, 19 Jonny Gray, 20 Kieran Low, 21 Chris Cusiter, 22 Ruaridh Jackson, 23 Max Evans

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Joe Tomane, 13 Christian Leali'ifano, 12 Mike Harris, 11 Chris Feauai-Sautia, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Ben Mowen (c), 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 James Horwill, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 James Slipper
Replacements:  16 Saia Fainga'a, 17 Ben Alexander, 18 Paddy Ryan, 19 Sitaleki Timani, 20 Ben McCalman, 21 Nic White, 22 Nick Phipps, 23 Bernard Foley

Venue:  Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Referee:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Pascal Gauzère (France), Francisco Pastrana (Argentina)
Television match official:  Geoff Warren (England)

Argentina conquer Rome

Juan Imhoff's first-half try and 14 points from the boot of Nicolás Sánchez propelled Argentina to a 19-14 win over Italy in Rome.

It was wet and by no means wonderful, but Argentina bounced back following their humiliating defeat to Wales last week.

The Southern Hemisphere side held their nerve in conditions that weren't favourable towards their attacking style of play, while it was evident that last weekend's bruiser against Fiji would have an influence Italy's approach to the close exchanges.They looked almost dysfunctional and uninterested at times.

With a try apiece and the difference at the end turned out to be the accuracy of the respective kickers.

While debutant Tomasso Allan missed three kickable penalties — Allan also converted three — Nicolás Sánchez was successful with the same number of penalty conversions, but also banged-over a brilliant conversion and sealed victory with a perfectly timed drop-goal with only eight minutes remaining in the match.

Defensively, both sides weren't up to scratch, but it was the visitors who found the gap first through winger Imhoff, who scored his team's first points in the 20th minute of the match.

Up to that point Italy enjoyed a 6-0 lead though before Sánchez had to converted Imhoff's try from right on the lefthand touchline despite heavy rain.

Italy scored their five-pointer in the 62nd minute through Michele Campagnaro, and would only threaten again in the closing quarter.

The contest started with a dreadfully boring game cat and mouse as both sides relied heavily on their kickers to turn the opposition.  Unfortunately that theme was adopted for most of the match.

This initial reluctance to hold on to possession for more than five phases left very little for the imagination, but perhaps it served as a good indication of just how desperate both sides were to pick themselves up after a rather disappointing June.

The Pumas, in particular, would have been down in the dumps following their 40-6 loss to the Six Nations while Italy were not exactly convincing in their showdown against a below-par Fiji the previous week.

Allan gave his side a 6-0 lead at the start, but Argentina did well to get the upper-hand at scrum time with the battle between former Leister Tigers team-mates Martin Castrogiovanni and Marcos Ayerza providing some form of entertainment in a match will be remembered for a lack of fluidity.

To his credit, Castrogiovanni was instrumental in ripping possession from his southern hemisphere rivals who were also looking a tad on the tired side.

Apart from superb break by wing Juan Imhoff, who failed to convert because he kicked possession away, the Argentinian backs played second fiddle to their forwards who were making solid hits in defence.

Had the Pumas' line-outs functioned better, chances are that they would have been on the scoreboard far earlier when Imhoff finished off their most impressive passage of play.

The Pumas were put on the front-foot by Benjamin Macome — who attracted several defenders after picking up from the base of the scrum.

From there Argentina spread it to Imhoff who nipped past Edoardo Gori to score in the corner.

Itally clawed their way back through Allan who converted but poor discipline started creeping into their game and the visitors were also allowed to increase their score through penalties.

By the final whistle, it was clear that both sides were glad that their international season had come to an end.

The scorers:

For Italy:
Try:  Campagnaro
Pens:  Allan 3

For Argentina:
Try:  Imhoff
Con:  Sánchez
Pens:  Sánchez 3
Drop Goal:  Sánchez
Yellow Card:  Ayerza

Italy 15 Luke McLean, 14 Giovambattista Venditti, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Gonzalo Canale, 11 Tommaso Iannone, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Robert Barbieri, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Valerio Bernabo, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Michele Rizzo.
Replacements:  16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Matias Aguero, 18 Lorenzo Cittadini, 19 Marco Bortolami, 20 Joshua Furno, 21 Tobias Botes, 22 Luciano Orquera, 23 Tommaso Benvenuti.

Argentina:  15 Joaquín Tuculet, 14 Lucas González Amorosino, 13 Horacio Agulla, 12 Gabriel Ascárate, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 9 Martín Landajo, 8 Benjamín Macome, 7 Julio Farías Cabello, 6 Juan Manuel Leguizamón (c), 5 Mariano Galarza, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Maximiliano Bustos, 2 Eusebio Guiñazú, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements:  16 Santiago Iglesias Valdez, 17 Nahuel Lobo, 18 Matías Díaz, 19 Tomás Lavanini, 20 Pablo Matera, 21 Tomás Cubelli, 22 Javier Rojas, 23 Santiago Cordero.

Referee:  Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees:  George Clancy (Ireland), JP Doyle (England)
TMO:  Gareth Simmonds (Wales)

Eagles see off Russia

The USA secured a hard-fought 28-7 victory over Rusia at Allianz Park in London on Saturday.

Chris Wyles the USA full-back, and Saracens stalwart, was in familiar surroundings at Sarries' home ground and got his side off to a solid start with an early try which was converted by fly-half Adam Siddal.

The lead was extended to 12-0 when Samu Manoa was rewarded with a five-pointer after a period of sustained pressure and good teamwork.  Unfortunately the conversion was missed, but the Eagles would hold a solid defensive line throughout the first half.

Siddal added another penalty, after the break, before Russia scored their first points via a try from Andrey Garbuzov.  Ramil Gaysin slotted the conversion to make it 15-7.

This was just the wake-up call the USA needed and from that point onwards they would not allow their opponents much field possession.  Cameron Dolan also got in for a late try for the Eagles which was converted by Siddal.  The pivot also succeeded with two further penalties during this period.

The scorers:

For USA:
Tries:  Wyles, Manoa, Dolan
Cons:  Siddal 2
Pen:  Siddal 3

For Russia:
Try:  Garbuzov
Con:  Gaysin

Russia:  15 Ramil Gaysin, 14 Vasily Artemyev, 13 Igor Galinovskiy, 12 Dmitry Gerasimov, 11 Vladimir Ostroushko, 10 Sergey Sugrobov, 9 Anton Ryabov, 8 Victor Gresev, 7 Pavel Butenko, 6 Alexander Khudyakov, 5 Andrey Garbuzov, 4 Alexander Voytov (c), 3 Evgeny Pronenko, 2 Valery Tsnobiladze, 1 Grigory Tsnobiladze.
Replacements:  16 Vladislav Korshunov, 17 Aleksey Volkov, 18 Innokentiy Zykov, 19 Denis Antonov, 20 Artem Fatakhov, 21 Yury Kushnarev, 22 Andrey Otrokov, 23 Denis Simplikevich.

USA:  15 Chris Wyles, 14 Blaine Scully, 13 Folau Niua, 12 Andrew Suniula, 11 Tim Maupin, 10 Adam Siddal, 9 Robbie Shaw, 8 Cameron Dolan, 7 Scott LaValla, 6 Todd Clever (c), 5 Samu Manoa, 4 Tai Tuisamoa, 3 Titi Lamositele, 2 Phil Thiel, 1 Nick Wallace
Replacements:  16 Zach Fonoglio, 17 Olive Kilifi, 18 Eric Fry, 19 Graham Harriman, 20 Derek Asburn, 21 Shaun Davies, 22 Seamus Kelly, 23 Luke Hume

Referee:  Marius Mitrea (Italy)

Japan hammer Spain

Japan ended their November tour of Europe on high with a 40-7 victory over Spain at Madrid's Ciudad Universitaria Stadium on Saturday.

The Brave Blossoms outscored their hosts four tries to one with flanker Michael Broadhurst grabbing a brace.

Japan led 15-7 at the interval thanks to five penalties from full-back Ayumu Goromaru, who finished with a total of 20 points.

These visitors moved from defence to attack in the second half, overpowering the Spanish with four unanswered tries.

The scorers:

For Spain:
Try:  Sempere
Con:  García
Yellow cards:  Cook, Pradalie

For Japan:
Tries:  Horie, Broadhurst 2, Hirose
Cons:  Goromaru
Pens:  Goromaru 6
Yellow cards:  Thompson, Hirasima

Spain:  15 César Sempere 14 Sebastien Ascarat, 13 Martín Heredia, 12 Jaime Nava, 11 Ignacio Contardi, 10 Mariano García, 9 Pablo Feijoo (c), 8 Gauthier Gibouin, 7 Matt Cook, 6 Glen Rolls, 5 David Barrera, 4 Alejandro Blanco, 3 Agustín Ortiz, 2 Juan Anaya, 1 Frank Labbe,
Replacements:  16 Anthony Pradalie, 17 Xabier Garmendia, 18 Ignacio Villanueva, 19 Adam Newton, 20 Matias Tudela, 21 Javier Canosa, 22 Igor Genua, 23 Unai Lasa.

Japan:  15 Ayumu Goromaru 14 Toshiaki Hirose, 13 Male Sau, 12 Yu Tamura, 11 Akihito Yamada, 10 Kosei Ono, 9 Fumiaki Tanaka, 8 Takashi Kikutani, 7 Michael Broadhurst, 6 Hendrik Tui, 5 Luke Thompson, 4 Hitoshi Ono, 3 Hiroshi Yamashita, 2 Shota Horie, 1 Hisateru Hirashima.
Replacements:16 Hiroki Yuhara, 17 Masataka Mikami, 18 Kensuke Hatakeyama, 19 Shinya Makabe, 20 Justin Ives, 21 Atsushi Hiwasa, 22 Seiichi Shimomura, 23 Yuta Imamura.

Referee:  Joaquín Montes (Uruguay)

Seven-try Canada thrash Portugal

Canada finished their November Test campaign on a high after beating Portugal 52-8 in Lisbon on Saturday.

James Pritchard was the visitors' hero, contributing 27 points via two tries, four conversions and three penalties.

Canada opened the scoring in the 11th minute when Ciaran Hearn got in for a try after running on to a pass from Harry Jones.

Pritchard converted and 10 minutes later got his first five-pointer — after gathering his own chip kick — which he also converted.  He added a penalty before Russia got their first points on the board through a penalty from their full-back Pedro Leal.

Canada took their foot off the pedal for the rest of the half with Pritchard adding a penalty and his second try to give them a comfortable 25-3 lead at half-time.

After the interval the visitors upped the ante, with Hearns scoring his second try and Nick Blevins, Taylor Paris and Connor Braid also crossing the whitewash.

The scorers:

For Portugal:
Tries:  Bettencourt
Pen:  Leal

For Canada:
Tries:  Hearn 2, Pritchard 2, Blevins, Braid, Paris
Cons:  Pritchard 4
Pens:  Pritchard 3

Portugal:  15 Pedro Leal, 14 Gonçalo Foro, 13 Pedro Bettencourt, 12 Miguel Leal, 11 Frederico Oliveira, 10 Francisco V. Almeida, 9 Francisco P. Magalhães, 8 Vasco Uva, 7 António Duarte, 6 Fernando Almeida, 5 Gonçalo Uva, 4 Rafael Simões, 3 Jorge Segurado, 2 João Correia (capt), 1 Bruno Medeiros.
Replacements:  16 João Almeida, 17 Bruno Rocha, 18 Francisco Tavares, 19 Luís Portela, 20 Eric dos Santos, 21 Nuno Penha e Costa, 22 Francisco Appleton, 23 Adérito Esteves.

Canada:  15 James Pritchard, 14 Conor Trainor, 13 Ciaran Hearn, 12 Nick Blevins, 11 Taylor Paris, 10 Harry Jones, 9 Phil Mack, 8 Adam Kleeberger, 7 Nanyak Dala, 6 John Moonlight, 5 Tyler Hotson, 4 Jon Phelan, 3 Andrew Tiedemann, 2 Ray Barkwill, 1 Hubert Buydens (capt).
Replacements:  16 Benoit Piffero, 17 Djustice Sears-Duru, 18 Jake Ilnicki, 19 Brett Beukeboom, 20 Kyle Gilmour, 21 Jamie Mackenzie, 22 Pat Parfrey, 23 Connor Braid.

Referee:  Ian Davies (Wales)

Wales labour past Tonga

First-half tries from Owen Williams and Ashley Beck gave Wales a scrappy, incohesive 17-7 win over Tonga at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Friday's showpiece simply spluttered its way through a catalogue of handling errors and set-piece calamities, interspersed with thunderous moments of physicality from Tonga as they kept themselves in the game until the death.

Despite the quality of Leigh Halfpenny, George North and James Hook in the backs, Wales laboured to victory over the Pacific Island side — who showed technical excellence at the breakdown but were too often let down by their handling and tactics when it mattered most.

Tonga had impressed in patches against France last Saturday in Le Havre, but their flashes of indiscipline undermined their efforts.  This time there was no nonsense, simply enormous defence from a squad that physically imposed themselves on the right side of the law.

Lloyd Williams came close to a charge-down try after five minutes — had Ryan Jones got a hand on the bouncing ball he might have been in — but both teams fell victim of the choke tackle in a disrupted opening that set the tone.

Viliami Ma'afu's fine tackle on Owen Williams halted another Welsh surge but scrum troubles for Tonga gave Wales a second successive penalty for Hook to boot into the corner to set up field position.  It ended in three points off Halfpenny's boot.

Williams then bounced back from Ma'afu's thunderous hit by scoring an excellent try on debut.

The outside centre was released by Leigh Halfpenny in a counter-attack and broke through outstretched Tongan arms to race away for the first try.  Consultation from the TMO deemed that Sione Kalamafoni's questionable hit on Hook was not illegal.

A flat first-half wasn't aided in any shape by some painful handling errors from Tongas, with Viliami Helu in particular having a minute to forget with two knock-ons, but Wales did their best to lift the tempo.

Ashley Beck stepped his way to a brilliant finish in the left corner, coming after George North had been released on an inside ball that left Tonga back-pedalling.  It put Wales 17-0 up after only 25 minutes and suggested they would score many more, rather than none whatsoever.

Set-piece turmoil meant Tonga had no key to stick in the ignition, Taniela Moa showing sparks but knock-ons again sucked away any momentum.

Everything just needed to click and with enough effort, Tonga made it happen.  Ma'afu's powerful carry and offload released Helu on the angle as he shot like an arrow to dive over by the right of the posts.

Hallam Amos was denied a try on his first start for Wales after the break as his heel scraped the touchline, with the hosts only holding out a ten-point lead over their abrasive visitors.

Tonga's forward pack though began to take control — winning consecutive scrums and continuing their good work at the breakdown by winning penalties.

It left the home crowd twitchy under the Millennium Stadium's closed roof — Luke Charteris dropping the ball over the line not doing them any favours — and when the TMO correctly denied Wales for a third time after North burrowed over in the 70th minute it was destined to end as a tussle.

Given the second half finished scoreless, you would have been forgiven for deciding to give it a miss.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  O Williams, Beck,
Cons:  Halfpenny 2
Pen:  Halfpenny

For Tonga:
Try:  Helu
Cons:  Fosita

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 George North, 13 Owen Williams, 12 Ashley Beck, 11 Hallam Amos, 10 James Hook, 9 Lloyd Williams, 8 Ryan Jones (c), 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Andrew Coombs, 5 Ian Evans, 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Rhodri Jones, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Paul James.
Replacements:  16 Emyr Phillips, 17 Ryan Bevington, 18 Samson Lee, 19 Dan Lydiate, 20 Sam Warburton, 21 Rhodri Williams, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Jordan Williams.

Tonga:  15 Vunga Lilo, 14 Fetu'u Vainikolo, 13 Siale Piutau, 12 Mata'ali Paea, 11 Viliami Helu, 10 Latiume Fosita, 9 Taniela Moa, 8 Viliami Ma'afu, 7 Nili Latu Langilangi (c), 6 Sione Kalamafoni, 5 Joe Tu'ineau, 4 Lua Lokotui, 3 Sila Puafisi, 2 Vaea Taione, 1 Eddie Aholelei.
Replacements:  16 Suliasi Taufalele, 17 Taione Vea, 18 Tevita Mailau, 19 Hale T Pole, 20 Opeti Fonua, 21 Samisoni Fisilau, 22 Fangatapu 'Apikotoa, 23 David Halaifonua.

Referee:  Mike Fraser (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  Craig Joubert (South Africa), Luke Pearce (England)
Television match official:  Carlo Damasco (Italy)
Assessor:  Clayton Thomas (Wales)

Springboks shut out Scotland

South Africa were comprehensive winners over Scotland after running in four tries in a 28-0 victory at Murrayfield on Sunday.

Tries from Willem Alberts, WIllie le Roux, JP Pietersen and Coenie Oosthuizen were enough to see off a home side that were blighted by handling errors and imprecision.

The Scots could not be faulted for the way they threw themselves at their illustrious guests, but a combination of blunt attack and bruising Springbok defence rendered them both tryless and pointless come the full-time whistle.

The Boks were rarely troubled, as Scott Johnson's side coughed up possession and penalties on numerous occasions, stunting opportunities, and spoiling good field position.

The set-piece too was a nightmare for the hosts, as they lost a string of lineouts thanks to poor throwing and good contention from the visitors, and the Murrayfield pitch once again made for less than ideal scrummaging conditions.

The breakdown was an aspect of play largely dominated by the South Africans, as the immovable objects of Duane Vermeulen and Francois Louw planted themselves over the ball time and again to deny the hosts quick ball, or win penalties and turnovers.

The game began in ominous fashion for Scotland, with the Boks opting to kick to touch after winning what was a very kickable penalty in the home 22.

There was something of an air of inevitability as the visitors set up a driving maul, and Alberts was the man in possession as the forwards piled over the try-line.

The Scots reacted well, and begun to build phases in midfield with some strong carrying from the likes of Al Strokosch and Dave Denton.

But an error cost them dear once again.  With the opportunity of a potential overlap presenting itself, Ruaridh Jackson's pass went loose, and was scooped up by the flying Le Roux.  The full-back juggled for a moment, but gathered possession to sprint home untouched from some sixty metres.

With the Scots staring at a 14-0 deficit, the Boks struck again with a truly magnificent score, and Le Roux was once again at the forefront.

The sort of incisive running that lit up the Rugby Championship came to the fore in Edinburgh as he exploited a midfield gap to scythe through the home line, before flighting a perfect kick to the far corner and the onrushing Pietersen.

The winger, on his fiftieth cap, gathered and crossed the line for his side's third try, and Pat Lambie converted for a 21-0 half-time lead.

Scotland came out strongly in the second-half, but their attacking play was too static, too slow and too far behind the gain line to trouble a typically abrasive Springbok defence.

And another driving maul from close range saw them fall further behind, with replacement tighthead Oosthuizen burrowing over for try number four.

From that point on it was virtually all Scotland.

The Scots continued to lack penetration, though, despite enjoying over 70% in both possession and territory in the second-half.

The offensive effort improved with the introduction of the feisty Duncan Weir at fly-half, and more good carrying from Strokosch and Sean Lamont saw the hosts camped in their opponents' 22 for much of the final quarter.

It was a moment of intelligence from the Warriors' pivot that almost put Scotland on the scoreboard, as his crossfield grubber kick to the corner was chased down by Max Evans.

But the Castres utility back failed the ground the ball, and the Boks were able to close out the game without conceding a single point.

Man of the Match:  Plenty of contenders in the green and gold, with Willie Le Roux an outstanding performer.  But for his brilliant work at the breakdown in constantly stifling the home attack, Francois Louw gets the nod from us.  The openside suffered a late injury and was stretchered from the field in the closing stages, and we hope he makes a full and speedy recovery.

Moment of the Match:  Undoubtedly JP Pietersen's stunning long-range try, with a fine assist from Le Roux.

Villain of the Match:  Nothing nasty to report beyond the usual handbags, although Pietersen rubbing David Denton's face into the ground was unnecessary.

The scorers:

For Scotland:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Alberts, Le Roux, Pietersen, Oosthuizen
Cons:  Lambie 4
Yellow Card:  Coetzee

Scotland:  15 Sean Maitland, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Duncan Taylor, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Greig Laidlaw (c), 8 Dave Denton, 7 John Barclay, 6 Al Strokosch, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Moray Low, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Al Dickinson.
Replacements:  16 Scott Lawson, 17 Ryan Grant, 18 Geoff Cross, 19 Jonny Gray, 20 Johnnie Beattie, 21 Chris Cusiter, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Max Evans.

South Africa:  15 Willie Le Roux, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Patrick Lambie, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts/Siya Kolisi, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Flip van der Merwe, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Adriaan Strauss, 1 Gurthrö Steenkamp.
Replacements:  16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Tendai Mtawarira, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Marcell Coetzee, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Morné Steyn, 23 JJ Engelbrecht.

Referee:  Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant referees:  Pascal Gauzère (France), Dudley Phillips (Ireland)

Uruguay squeeze past Spain

Uruguay came from behind to claim a deserved 16-15 victory over Spain in Montevido on Saturday.

The hosts made a bright start and raced into a 6-0 lead, after 15 minutes, via two penalties from Agustín Ormaechea but Spain struck back with a three-pointer of their own from Igor Genua.

Spain held a 10-6 lead at half-time after Genua scored a try, which he also converted, just before the break.

The visitors raced into a 15-6 lead, shortly after the restart, when Matías Tudela scored their second try but Uruguay finished stronger thanks to another Ormaechea penalty and a converted try by Gastón Mieres.

The scorers:

For Uruguay:
Try:  Mieres
Con:  Ormaechea
Pens:  Ormaechea 3

For Spain:
Tries:  Genua, Tudela
Con:  Genua
Pen:  Genua

Uruguay:  15 Gastón Mieres, 14 Santiago Gibernau, 13 Andrés Vilaseca, 12 Alberto Román, 11 Jerónimo Etcheverry, 10 Felipe Berchesi, 9 Agustín Ormaechea, 8 Diego Magno, 7 Juan De Freitas, 6 Juan Gaminara, 5 Santiago Vilaseca, 4 Franco Lamanna, 3 Mario Sagario, 2 Nicolás Klappenbach (c), 1 Alejo Coral.
Replacements:  16 Arturo Ãvalo, 17 Francisco Jiménez, 18 Rodolfo De Mula, 19 Mathías Palomeque, 20 Alejandro Nieto, 21 Fernando Bascou, 22 Alejo Durán, 23 Joaquín Prada.

Spain:  15 César Sempere, 14 Marcos Poggi,13 Ignacio Contardi, 12 Javier Canosa, 11 Matías Tudela, 10 Daniel Snee, 9 Pablo Feijoo (c), 8 Federico Negrillo, 7 Glen Rolls, 6 Gauthier Gibouin, 5 Jesús Recuerda, 4 Matt Cook, 3 Jesús Moreno, 2 Fabien Rofes, 1 Beñat Auzqui.
Replacements:16 Jon Insausti, 17 Joe Hutchinson, 18 Alejandro Blanco, 19 Anibal Bonán, 20 Adam Newton, 21 Igor Genua, 22 Nil Baró, 23 Agustín Ortíz.

Venue:  Estadio Charrúa, Montevideo
Referee:  Chris Assmus (Canada)

French Barbarians edge Samoa

The star-studded French Barbarians edged Samoa 20-19 at Clermont's Parc des Sports Marcel-Michelin on Saturday.

Samoa, coming off the back of a 40-9 mauling by Ireland last week, raced out to an early lead thanks to tries from Alapati Leiua and Brando Vaaulu.

The Baa-Baas hit back with a brace of their own from South Africans Henie Adams and Gerhard Vosloo before Samoa captain Kahn Fotuali'i crossed for a third try.

Adams crossed for his second with 20 minutes to play before Grenoble fly-half Valentin Courrent hit a late penalty to edge the game.

The scorers:

For French Barbarians:
Tries:  Adams 2, Vosloo
Con:  Trinh-Duc
Pens:  Courrent

For Samoa:
Tries:  Leiua, Vaaulu, Fotuali'i
Cons:  Fotuali'i 2

French Barbarians:  15 Sylvain Tian, 14 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 13 Aurelien Rougerie, 12 Rémi Lamerat, 11 David Smith, 10 François Trinh-Duc, 9 Heini Adams, 8 Julien Bonnaire, 7 Rabadan Rabadan, 6 Gerhard Vosloo, 5 Robins Tchale-Watchou, 4 Christophe Samson, 3 David Attoub, 2 Brice Mach, 1 Jean-Baptiste Poux
Replacements:  16 Rémi Bonfils, 17 Kenan Mutapcic, 18 Aretz Iguiniz, 19 Thibault Lassalle, 20 Jonathan Best, 21 Valentin Courrent, 22 David Skrela, 23 Alexis Palisson.

Samoa:  15 Faatoina Autagavaia, 14 Alapati Leiua, 13 Isaia Tuifua, 12 John Leota, 11 Brando Vaaulu, 10 Kahn Fotualii (captain), 9 Jeremy Sua, 8 Faifili Levave, 7 Jack Lam, 6 Alafoti Faosiliva, 5 Iosefa Tekori, 4 Piula Faasalele, 3 James Johnston, 2 Tii Paulo, 1 Viliamu Afatia
Replacements:  16 Wayne Ole Avei, 17 Anthony Perenise, 18 Benjamin Sa, 19 Teofilo Paulo, 20 Ofisa Treviranus, 21 Patrick Faapale 22 Sinoti Sinoti, 23 Ken Pisi

Eagles see off Georgia

A late penalty from fly-half Adam Siddall secured the USA's first win in a year as they overcame Georgia 25-23 in Tbilisi on Saturday.

Merab Kvirikashvili opened the scoring in style for the hosts with a penalty and a converted try in the corner in the opening fifteen minutes.

The Eagles responded well, however, after speedster Folau Niua chased down a kick deep in Georgian territory to win a lineout.

The pressure told, and Saracens winger Chris Wyles was sent over for his side's first points.

Kvirikashvili and Siddall then exchanged penalties, before the visitors scored a superb try.

Wyles again showed his pace, bursting some fifty metres downfield before finding captain Todd Clever.  Clever offloaded well to the supporting Blaine Scully, who beat the last Georgian defender and touched down under the posts.

With Siddal's conversion, the USA had a narrow 15-13 lead at half-time.

Another fine try for the visitors, albeit through an unlikely source, saw them extend their lead shortly after the break.

Prop Nick Wallace caught out the Georgian rearguard with a dummy, and had the pace to reach the line from around forty metres out.

The hosts hit back moments later, as last-ditch defence from Scully failed to prevent Merba Sharikadze scooping up the loose ball and dotting down.

Another three-pointer for the Georgians saw them draw ahead 23-22 in the closing minutes, before the Eagles won a penalty over forty metres out.

The New Zealand-born Siddall, enjoying his first start in the Eagles number ten jersey, stepped up and made no mistake from the tee to give his side a morale-boosting away victory.

Scorers:

For Georgia:
Tries:  Kvirikashvili, Sharikadze
Conversions:  Kvirikashvili 2
Penalties:  Kvirikashvili 3

For USA:
Tries:  Wyles, Scully, Wallace
Conversions:  Siddall 2
Penalties:  Siddall 2

The teams:

Georgia:  15 Merab Kvirikashvili, 14 Tamaz Mchelidze, 13 David Kacharava, 12 Merab Sharikadze, 11 Tedo Zibzibadze, 10 Lasha Khmaladze, 9 Giorgi Begadze, 8 Giorgi Chkhaidze, 7 Mamuka Gorgodze, 6 Shalva Sutiashvili, 5 Levan Datunashvili, 4 Kote Mikautadze, 3 David Kubriashvili, 2 Shalva Mamukashvili, 1 David Khinchagishvili
Replacements:  16 Simon Maisuradze, 17 Mikheil Nariashvili, 18 Levan Chilachava, 19 Giorgi Nemsadze, 20 Giorgi Tkhilaishvili, 21 Vazha Khutsishvili, 22 Lasha Malaguradze, 23 Beka Tsiklauri

USA:  15 Chris Wyles, 14 Blaine Scully, 13 Folau Nina, 12 Andrew Suniula, 11 Tim Maupin, 10 Adam Siddall, 9 Mike Petri, 8 Cameron Dolan, 7 Derek Asbun, 6 Todd Clever (c), 5 Samu Manoa, 4 Graham Harriman, 3 Shawn Pittman, 2 Phil Tiel, 1 Nick Wallace
Replacements:  16 Zach Fenoglio, 17 Olive Kilifi, 18 Eric Fry, 19 Inaki Basauri, 20 John Quil, 21 Shaun Davies, 22 Seamus Kelly, 23 Luke Hume

Referee:  Mike Fraser (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  Ian Davies, Chris Williams (both Wales)

Last-gasp penalty sinks Canada

A last-minute penalty from centre Florin Vlaicu saw Romania overcome touring Canada 21-20 in dramatic fashion Bucharest on Saturday.

The Maple Leaves defended well early on, and indeed were dynamic and powerful when given the chance to attack, but fell behind to two Vlaicu penalties in the opening fifteen minutes to trail 6-0.

Canada responded well, however, with sustained pressure on the Romanian line yielding a try under the posts for captain Tyler Ardron, with the conversion putting the visitors into the lead for the first time.

A brace of three-pointers from Vlaicu saw the home side regain the ascendancy and a 12-7 lead going into the break.

The early portion of the second-half belonged to the transatlantic team, and Harry Jones was able to slot a penalty to cut the gap to two points.

Jones himself then bagged a try less than ten minutes later, and slotted the conversion to give the Canadians a 17-12 lead.

But the Maple Leaves' indiscipline was to prove costly, as they fell behind once more to another duo of Vlaicu penalties.

Substitute James Pritchard managed to restore a slender two-point advantage for the visitors, but there was to be a twist in the tale.

With time dead, Vlaicu stepped up once more to nail his sixth penalty, and a more-boosting win for the hosts.

Scorers:

For Romania:
Penalties:  Vlaicu 6

For Canada:
Tries:  Ardron, Jones
Conversions:  Jones 2
Penalties:  Jones 2

The teams:

Romania:  15 Catalin Fercu, 14 Ionut Dumitru, 13 Csaba Gal, 12 Florin Vlaicu, 11 Florin Ionita, 10 Valentin Calafeteanu, 9 Florin Surugiu, 8 Sandu Stelian Burcea, 7 Mihai Macovei (c), 6 Viorel Lucaci, 5 Marius Sirbe, 4 Alin Coste, 3 Paulica Ion, 2 Otar Turashvili, 1 Mihaita Lazar
Replacements:  16 Andrei Radoi, 17 Constantin Pristavita, 18 Horatiu Pungea, 19 Valentin Poparlan, 20 Dorin Lazar, 21 Catalin Robert Dascalu, 22 Cristian Dinis, 23 Gabriel Conache

Canada:  15 Matt Evans, 14 Jeff Hassler, 13 Ciaran Hearn, 12 Nick Blevins, 11 Phil MacKenzie, 10 Harry Jones, 9 Phil Mack, 8 Tyler Ardron (c), 7 Nanyak Dala, 6 Jeff Sinclair, 5 Brett Beukeboom, 4 Tyler Hotson, 3 Andrew Tiedemann, 2 Benoit Piffero, 1 Hubert Buydens
Replacements:  16 Ryan March, 17 Djustice Sears-Duru, 18 Jake Ilnichi, 19 Adam Kleeberger, 20 Jon Phelan, 21 Jamie Mackenzie, 22 James Pritchard, 23 Conor Trainor

Referee:  Greg Garner
Assistant referees:  Marius Mitrea, Giuseppe Vivarini (both Italy)

Four-try win for Wallabies

The Wallabies built on the momentum accrued last week in Turin by beating a disappointing Irish side 32-15 at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday.

With many expecting a much closer scoreline than the one recorded, the visiting outfit will undoubtedly be delighted with their four-try win.

This sets them up nicely for remaining fixtures against Scotland and Wales, with head coach Ewen McKenzie's plans seemingly bearing fruit.

Ireland meanwhile will not look forward to their Monday video session as the Wallabies' wide game hurt the home side dearly in the first-half.

Joe Schmidt will have a whole host of questions at that meeting and should ask his side about their defensive frailties as tries for Nick Cummins, Michael Hooper (one of his two) and Quade Cooper left a lot to be desired from an Irish point of view.  If they don't right those wrongs then the All Blacks should have little issue making it 14 wins.

The first for the Wallaby wing came in the seventeenth minute via slick hands that led to hooker Stephen Moore slipping a tackle before he found the Western Force finisher hitting a nice angle to go in under the posts.  Cooper's easy conversion put Australia 10-3 up.

Ireland did not learn from their mistake though of being slack in the defensive line and when Scott Fardy put Hooper over to take Australia 15-6 up, the hosts could only be thankful that Cooper was enduring an off spell with the boot.  Everything else he touched turned to gold.

Schmidt's outfit did finally find some form from then until the break as Sean O'Brien's power led the charge en route to two more Sexton penalty goals.  And because of those strikes, the head coach would have been warmed that Ireland were just three points down at 12-15.

Sexton did not return to the fray after the break due to a hamstring injury as Ian Madigan, selected ahead of Paddy Jackson because of his versatility, was handed a chance to shine.

The Wallabies didn't have to wait long for their third try as Cooper produced an individual moment of magic, feinting to pass before stepping inside some weak 10-12 defence to touch down for a converted score that made it 22-12 at a silent Aviva Stadium.

Cooper, rewarded by head coach McKenzie for his change in attitude by being named vice-captain for the tour, then added a penalty from long range to leave Ireland in danger of a real hammering as the Wallabies led 25-12 with half-an-hour remaining in Dublin.

Madigan landed a penalty shortly before the hour to just about keep the Irish in touch at 25-15 but the hosts were lacking any sort of spark or inspiration to suggest they may recover.

The Irish eschewed the possibility of a relatively easy three points to go for touch with 20 minutes remaining but it went to waste as the Australians once again forced a turnover.

The clincial Wallabies added a fourth try through openside flanker Hooper after the Australian pack pushed the Irish back over their line, Cooper adding the kick for 32-15.

The visitors' superb day ended on a sour note when Tevita Kuridrani speartackled Peter O'Mahony and Pollock wielded the red card after consulting the television match official.

Man of the match:  Australia seem to be clicking on this end-of-year tour after the initial loss to England and Michael Hooper is a major part of that.  He edges this award from the always threatening Israel Folau because of the openside flank's hard graft and two scores.

Moment of the match:  The second-half score for Quade Cooper summed up the Ireland defence as the fly-half slipped through a gap that shouldn't have been there.  Work needed.

Villain of the match:  The lift-tackle on Peter O'Mahony was not good from Tevita Kuridrani.  Ben Mowen's reaction to the red card summed up the feeling.  Silly move from the centre.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Pen:  Sexton 4, Madigan

For Australia:
Tries:  Cummins, Hooper 2, Cooper
Con:  Cooper 3
Pen:  Cooper 2
Yellow card:  Hooper (32 mins)
Red card:  Kuridrani

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 12 Luke Marshall, 11 Fergus McFadden, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Stephen Archer, 19 Mike McCarthy, 20 Kevin McLaughlin, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Robbie Henshaw.

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Nick Cummins, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 Will Genia, 8 Ben Mowen (capt), 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 James Horwill, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Benn Robinson, 18 Paddy Ryan, 19 Sitaleki Timani, 20 Liam Gill, 21 Nic White, 22 Christian Leali'ifano, 23 Joe Tomane.

Referee:  Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  Romain Poite (France), Stuart Berry (South Africa)
Television match official:  Geoff Warren (England)
Assessor:  Tappe Henning (South Africa)

France too hot for Tonga

France exacted revenge for their 2011 Rugby World Cup Pool defeat as they overcame a spirited Tonga side 38-18 at Stade Océane on Saturday.

A healthy level of passion from the Pacific Island side boiled over at the beginning of the second half, when Perpignan prop Sona Taumalolo unleashed a flurry of punches on Yoann Maestri.

After a fair scrap, both players were shown straight red cards by referee Glen Jackson to send them down to 14 men for the remainder of the match.

Tonga were already down a man after scrum-half Taniela Moa was sin-binned for an unacceptable elbow on Dimitri Szarzewski.  It was unfortunate that those two moments of complete indiscipline will overshadow what for large parts was a exciting performance of attacking rugby from the visitors.

The early signs appeared slightly more ominous however, with Morgan Parra slotting a penalty in the second minute before debutant Sofiane Guitoune scored his first try for his country.

Rémi Talès' perfectly-executed cross kick found Guitoune in space in the right corner after good build-up in the middle by Wesley Fofana to put France up 8-0 after only a few minutes.

Fangatapu 'Apikotoa's first penalty for Tonga cannoned back off the post and it would take the fly-half half an hour to eventually put his team on the board, after Parra had added another three points to make the score 14-3.

Tonga however did enjoy large swathes of possession and their big carriers — centres Siale Piutau and Sione Piukala — along with Vunga Lilo broke plenty of tackles to keep France busy in defence.

They were unable though to register anything substantial on the scoreboard, 'Apikotoa adding a second penalty to cut the gap to eight points.

That changed right before the break when Damien Chouly dove over after a dominant five-metre scrum whilst Moa was in the bin.

Once the dust had settled from the Taumalolo-sparked brawl, France's composure grew and they delivered an excellent third try after Guitoune turned provider to send over Brice Dulin for Les Bleus' third try.

Fetu'u Vainikolo was then rewarded for Tonga's persistence with a try, Parra cautiously re-extending the gap to 20 points with a penalty, before replacement hooker Benjamin Kayser wrapped things up late on following an effective French maul for their fourth try.

Vainikolo would add a second try with a fingertip finish as time ran out, no doubt much to the frustration of Phillipe Saint-André, but France by the end were comfortable winners — emerging on top from a game that could have descended into a boxing match.

Man of the Match:  For scoring a try and providing a cute assist, Sofiane Guitoune is our main man from Le Havre.  His fade and then the delivery of his pass for Dulin's try was exceptional.

Moment of the Match:  The classless elbow from Taniela Moa on Szarzewski was pointless and gave France a numerical advantage that ended in a try before the break.

Villain of the Match:  Maestri also saw red, but Sona Taumalolo's first swing appeared to be completely unprovoked.  Bizarre.

The scorers:

For France:
Tries:  Guitoune, Chouly, Dulin, Kayser
Con:  Parra 2, Michalak
Pen:  Parra 4
Red card:  Maestri (42 mins)

For Tonga:
Tries:  Vainikolo 2
Con:  Fosita
Pen:  'Apikotoa 2
Yellow card:  Moa (40 mins)
Red card:  Taumalolo (42 mins)

France:  15 Brice Dulin, 14 Sofiane Guitoune, 13 Gael Fickou, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Maxime Médard, 10 Rémi Talès, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Damien Chouly, 7 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Yannick Forestier.
Replacements:  16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Rabah Slimani, 19 Pascale Papé, 20 Bernard Le Roux, 21 Jonathan Pélissié, 22 Frederic Michalak, 23 Mathieu Bastareaud.

Tonga:  15 Vunga Lilo, 14 Fetu'u Vainikolo, 13 Siale Piutau, 12 Sione Piukala, 11 Viliami Helu 10 Fangatapu 'Apikotoa, 9 Taniela Moa, 8 Opeti Fonua, 7 Nili Latu (c), 6 Sione Kalamafoni, 5 Joe Tu'ineau, 4 Lua Lokotui, 3 Tevita Mailau, 2 Elvis Taione, 1 Sona Taumalolo.
Replacements:  16 Viliami Ma'asi, 17 Taione Vea, 18 Sila Puafisi, 19 Viliami Ma'afu, 20 Hale T-Pole, 21 Samisoni Fisilau, 22 Latiume Fosita, 23 David Halaifonua.

Referee:  Glen Jackson

Wales hammer Argentina

Four-try Wales impressed to overcome a fatigued Pumas side 40-6 in an entertaining Test at the Millenium Stadium on Saturday.

Scores from Mike Phillips, George North, Toby Faletau and Ken Owens coupled with twenty points from the boot of Leigh Halfpenny were too much for a Pumas team that failed to capitalise on their early opportunities.

Where last week, against South Africa, Wales lacked a clinical element in attack, on Saturday they took the chances their play created, and quickly racked up a handsome lead.

Both teams began with plenty of enterprise in attack, and a high-tempo, offloading game was the order of the day.  The Argentines had the better of the first-half, and indeed were briefly a man up after Justin Tipuric was sin-binned for tackling a player without the ball.

Sparkling runs from Santiago Cordero and a lovely chip and chase from captain Juan Leguizamon put the visitors in good attacking positions, but errors and good Welsh defence shut them down time and again.

It was from one of these attacks that Wales broke away to open the scoring.  A loose Argentine pass on the home 22 was scooped up by Phillips, who raced home untouched, aided by the supporting run of North.

That added to an early Halfpenny penalty, and the full-back converted for a 10-0 lead inside the opening ten minutes.

The British and Irish Lions Man of the Series knocked over another three-pointer, before a textbook training maneouvre off a line-out in the visitors' 22 allowed Phillips and North to combine again, with the latter powering through the defence for Wales' second try.

Argentina continued to press, and in fact played most of the rugby in the first half.  They eventually got on the board with a Nicolas Sanchez penalty, but that was soon cancelled out by another three-pointer from Halfpenny, taking the scores to 23-3 at half-time.

The second-half started slowly, with a penalty apiece for Halfpenny and Sanchez, but it well and truly burst into life on 56 minutes.

Faletau broke off the back of a Welsh scrum on half-way, the ball was spread wide to Halfpenny running the sweeping outside channel, and Liam Williams was put away up the left-hand-side.

He drew covering full-back Lucas Amorisino and sent the number eight galloping home for the game's third try.

Halfpenny converted, and Wales were left to cut loose in the final quarter.  The match opened up and became scrappy as both sides began to tire, and fatigue looked to be an issue throughout for an Argentine side embattled by a lengthy and grueling season.

The hosts scored another effort, this time via a powerful driving maul, through replacement hooker Owens, which — surprise, surprise — was converted by Halfpenny.

Argentina, to their credit, continued to try things and play through the hands right to the death.  While unquestionably guilty of trying to play too much rugby in the wrong areas of the pitch, Los Pumas showed some tidy stuff, with Cordero and Marcelo Bosch involved.

The game began to peter out in the final ten minutes;  Samson Lee was yellow-carded late on for cynical play, and neither side was able to add to the scoreline.

A morale-boosting and much needed victory for Wales, then, while a ragged Argentina are left to lick their wounds after another disappointing loss.

Man of the Match:  Leigh Halfpenny was typically outstanding, and Mike Phillips recorded his best performance in a Welsh jersey for some time.  But number eight Toby Faletau was at the heart of all Wales' tight grunt and attacking verve.  His try was just reward for a performance that reaffirmed how important he is to the Dragons and Welsh rugby.

Moment of the Match:  Faletau's try was the pick of the bunch, and extinguished any faint hopes of an Argentine comeback.

Villain of the Match:  A few niggles, but nothing malicious to report.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  Phillips, North, Faletau, Owens
Conversions:  Halfpenny 4
Penalties:  Halfpenny 4
Yellow cards:  Tipuric, Lee

For Argentina:
Penalties:  Sanchez 2

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 George North, 13 Cory Allen, 12 Scott Williams, 11 Liam Williams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Toby Faletau, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Sam Warburton (c), 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Rhodri Jones, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Gethin Jenkins
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Paul James, 18 Samson Lee, 19 Luke Charteris, 20 Ryan Jones, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 James Hook, 23 Ashley Beck

Argentina:  15 Joaquin Tuculet, 14 Horacio Agulla, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Santiago Fernandez, 11 Santiago Cordero, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Martin Landajo, 8 Juan Leguizamon, 7 Pablo Matera, 6 Julio Farias Cabello, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Maximiliano Bustos, 2 Eusebio Guinazu, 1 Marcos Ayerza
Replacements:  16 Santiago Iglesias, 17 Nahuel Lobo, 18 Matias Diaz, 19 Tomas Lavanini, 20 Leonardo Senatore, 21 Tomas Cubelli, 22 Gabriel Ascarate, 23 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino

Referee:  John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant referees:  Steve Walsh (Australia), Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa)

Italy down ill-disciplined Fiji

A bizarre, high-scoring and heated affair in Cremona saw Italy overcome touring Fiji 37-31 in their second November Test on Saturday.

Despite what the scoreline might suggest, the game was a terrible advertisement for Test match rugby.

Italy owe their success largely to the five yellow cards coughed by the Fijians, four of which came in an eight-minute spell of madness late in the first half.

A week after a 50-20 mauling by Australia in Turin, coach Jacques Brunel had called for a determined performance by his Azzurri but he will not be happy man as his team put in a woeful display in almost very department bar the scrums.

Indeed, on what was the 100th appearance for skipper Sergio Parisse and prop Martin Castrogiovanni, the hosts were made to work by Fiji, who launched a late fightback with two tries in the final eight minutes to eventually outscore their hosts five tries to four.

Italy went in for half-time with a 20-5 lead after Akapusi Qera, Asaeli Tikoirotuma, Masi Matadigo and Nemani Nadolo were all sin-binned.

Before then, Italy had dominated possession but had been largely unconvincing as Fiji's size and aggression caused problems.

Centre Luca Morisi was floored by a crushing tackle from Tikoirotuma in the opening minutes and although he returned in time for fly-half Luciano Orquera to put the first three points on the board with a penalty, he was soon forced off.

Two minutes later Fiji pounced on a fumble near their try line to grab their opening try.  Tikoirotuma took possession and ran the length of the field before offloading to full-back Metuisela Talebula to touch down wide of the posts.

Parisse then crossed for the hosts but suspicions that Orquera's pass was forward were soon confirmed by officials.  Orquera then missed a penalty from 30 metres out and with Fiji still leading 5-3 the match took a turn for the worse.

Tempers frayed after Qera up-ended Gori, prompting Castrogiovanni to react angrily with a punch as others joined the fray.

Fiji's ill-discipline left them with 11 men for the closing 12 minutes of the half, allowing Italy to finally capitalise.

Parisse was awarded the try after Italy's ruck pushed the big number eight over the line, with Orquera adding two points with the boot for the conversion.

Full-back Luke McLean added another try on 33 minutes with Orquera on target to seal a 20-5 half-time lead for the hosts.

Brunel replaced Gori with Tobias Botes for start of second half, which provided a far better demonstration of rugby from both sides but saw the hosts come close to being stunned at the death.

Fiji replied to an Orquera penalty soon after the restart with a persistent chase which gave them a deserved try, after Parisse failed to deal with Talebula's chip and Nagusa run in to touch down deep in the corner.

Bai narrowly missed the conversion from a difficult angle, while at the other end Orquera missed a penalty attempt to the left of the posts.

Italy finally began to find their rhythm and, after Gonzalo Canale was hauled down by Wame Lewaravu, the hosts won a penalty try from the scrum, with Orquera adding the conversion for a 30-10 lead.

But despite looking in command, Italy took their foot off the pedal.

Nadolo made up for his past infringement to burst through on the right and touch down, with Bai adding the conversion.

Fiji lost replacement Sisa Koyamaibole to the sin-bin 13 minutes from the final whistle but despite Parisse putting Fijian-born replacement Manoa Vosawai through to touch down and Tommaso Allan adding an easy conversion, Fiji fought back defiantly.

Nalaga touched down on 71 minutes, with Bai converting, and after Parisse was sin-binned, Nagusa grabbed his second try with Bai taking the score to 37-31 with five, nervous minutes to play.

Scorers:

For Italy:
Tries:  Parisse, McLean, Penalty try, Vosawai
Conversions:  Orquera 3, Allan
Penalties:  Orquera 3
Yellow card:  Parisse

For Fiji:
Tries:  Talebula, Nagusa 2, Nadolo, Nalaga
Conversion:  Baikeinuku 3
Yellow cards:  Qera, Tikoirotuma, Matadigo, Nasiganiyavi, Koyamaibole

Italy:  15 Luke McLean, 14 Giovambattista Venditti, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Luca Morisi, 11 Tommaso Iannone, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse (capt), 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Valerio Bernabo, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Michele Rizzo.
Replacements:  16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Matias Aguero, 18 Lorenzo Cittadini, 19 Joshua Furno, 20 Manoa Vosawai, 21 Tobias Botes, 22 Tommaso Allan, 23 Michele Campagnaro.

Fiji:  15 Metuisela Talebula, 14 Timoci Nagusa, 13 Asaeli Tikoirotuma, 12 Nemani Nadolo, 11 Napolioni Nalaga, 10 Serenaia Bai, 9 Nemia Kenatale, 8 Sakiusa Matadigo, 7 Akapusi Qera (c), 6 Dominiko Waqaniburotukula, 5 Wame Lewaravu, 4 Apisai Naikatini, 3 Setefano Somoca, 2 Viliame Veikoso, 1 Jereremaia Yanuyanutawa.
Replacements:  16 Seremaia Namaralevu, 17 Campese Ma'afu, 18 Manasa Saulo, 19 Sisa Koyamaibole, 20 Malakai Ravulo, 21 Nikola Matawalu, 22 Waisea Luveniyali, 23 Adriu Delai.

Venue:  Stadio Zini, Cremona
Referee:  Leighton Hodges (Wales)
Assistant referees:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Joaquin Montes (Uruguay)
Television match official:  Eric Gauzins (France)