Wales put away struggling France

Wales moved top of the Six Nations table with a victory to forget over France in Cardiff on Friday, winning 19-10.

George North's comical try in the second-half proved to be the key score as Wales went on to keep an uninspiring French attack at bay.

A Grand Slam is beyond Wales, but another championship?  Whatever happens between England and Ireland on Saturday, the journey to Twickenham for Warren Gatland's troops is already looming large.

Wales were solid in the set-piece, more than competent defensively and even when their execution was far from perfect still won by more than enough points.

Guy Novès can at least move forward without wins glossing over how much work France have left to do to become competitive again.

For starters they need some identity, but that takes time, and Novès deserves all the sympathy he can get after having to watch his players come through a gruelling Top 14 weekend whilst Wales' stars had their feet up.  Shaun Edwards' defence gave France no free opportunities.

This first-half won't exactly be remembered fondly with true chances at a premium.

Two penalties from Dan Biggar outscored one effort from Jules Plisson, but neither were perfect off the tee.

Instead this was a half best remembered for the continued efforts of Wayne Barnes to try and set a scrum which fidgeted prior to almost every engagement, chewing away at both the clock and the enthusiasm of all watching on.

Virimi Vakatawa's break highlighted just how rare a defence-splitting attack had been, with the winger looking this way and that before slipping into a tackle.  Somewhat poignant.

It looked as though Gareth Davies might be the difference as he burst free before the interval, only for Wales to be denied at the breakdown under the French posts to thankfully bring the half to a close.

Jonathan Danty's tip tackle allowed Biggar to make it 9-3 minutes into the second-half as Wales showed a fraction more intent.

What followed naturally was a calamitous try perfectly suited for the occasion.

Haring after a kick from Jonathan Davies, somehow North went to control the ball with his foot and missed, only to watch with glee as a chasing Plisson blunderingly hacked the ball into North's path for a second bite, from which he scored for a commanding 16-3 lead.

A remarkable counter-drive from France short of the line, from which afterwards Dan Lydiate looked offside, halted a driving maul as they responded trying to somehow get back into the contest.

Full of momentum France had to capitalise on a long spell inside the Welsh 22 but on every occasion they dared to go wide they looked aimless, lacking the penetration from a backline which looked undersized in comparison to their opponents.

France in the end were repelled in what was fast becoming a test of character for Novès and his side, facing their first defeat of the year.

A fourth Biggar penalty came after that failed French stint in Welsh territory, which totalled 19 minutes, more or less settling the contest at 19-3.

One saving grace for France was the introduction of François Trinh-Duc.  Judging from the horrorshow Plisson endured it would be no surprise to see Trinh-Duc come in against Scotland based on the direction he added to their attack.

France captain Guilhem Guirado, who deserved better for his efforts, grabbed a late consolation try which meant nothing to the result.

Man of the Match:  Liam Williams and Rob Evans both went well but Gareth Davies always looked a threat when given a half-chance.

Moment of the Match:  After so many phases inside the Welsh 22, France left with nothing as Dan Biggar's fourth penalty killed off the contest.

Villain of the Match:  Nothing nasty to report.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Try:  North
Con:  Biggar
Pens:  Biggar 4

For France:
Try:  Guirado
Con:  Trinh-Duc
Pens:  Plisson

Wales:  15 Liam Williams, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Rob Evans
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Gethin Jenkins, 18 Tomas Francis, 19 Jake Ball, 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Gareth Anscombe

France:  15 Maxime Médard, 14 Virimi Vakatawa, 13 Maxime Mermoz, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Djibril Camara, 10 Jules Plisson, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Damien Chouly, 7 Antoine Burban, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Alexandre Flanquart, 4 Paul Jedrasiak, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Guilhem Guirado (c), 1 Jefferson Poirot
Replacements:  16 Camille Chat, 17 Vincent Pelo, 18 Uini Atonio, 19 Yoann Maestri, 20 Loann Goujon, 21 Sébastien Bézy, 22 François Trinh-Duc, 23 Gaël Fickou

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (RFU)
Assistant Referees:  JP Doyle (RFU), Luke Pearce (RFU)
TMO:  Shaun Veldsman (SARU)

Joseph treble inspires England

Three second-half tries from centre Jonathan Joseph helped England brush off the challenge of Italy on Sunday as they won 40-9 in Rome.

Leading by just two points at the interval, the pre-game script went to form after the turnaround as England moved through the gears to claim their second victory in as many rounds, with George Ford and Owen Farrell scoring their other tries in what was ultimately an easy win.

The Six Nations now takes a week's break before a confident England play host to Ireland while Italy take on Scotland at this same venue.

As expected it was a rugged first-half with little given by the Italians, who enjoyed a decent slice of possession and territory in Rome.

In fact they took the lead in the ninth minute when a wayward English line-out led to an offence and Carlo Canna did the rest off the tee.

England soon levelled courtesy of a strong scrum as Farrell stepped up to make it 3-3 in an even opening twelve minutes to the game.

What was noticeable was a fired-up Italian side and centre Michele Campagnaro was leading that hunger in defence, making two massive tackles and one strong carry that lifted the crowd.  As coach Eddie Jones watched on, he might have regretted his pre-game public message.

Fortunately for England they would get back into the Italian red zone on seventeen minutes and when the hosts failed to release a tackled player on the ground, Ford stepped up in the absence of Farrell, who was off for a Head Injury Assessment, to nudge his team back in front.

It didn't last long though as soon after England lock George Kruis was caught doing the same offence, Canna making it 6-6 off the tee.

The first-half looked like being try-less until the 25th minute when a high testing kick from Ford led to Italy scrum-half Edoardo Gori being put under pressure and turned over.  From there the recycled ball saw Farrell set up his fly-half nicely as Ford ran in on the left sideline.

Farrell struck the post from the resulting conversion so Italy remained very much in touch, however losing inside centre Gonzalo Garcia to a leg injury was a worry.  A Canna penalty before the break helped cushion that, coming from Ben Youngs' high tackle on Sergio Parisse.

Italy withstood a strong English start to the second-half and could have moved in front had Canna landed a penalty.  But it was to be England who opened the account in fortuitist fashion when centre Joseph intercepted Leonardo Sarto's pass for a clean run-in to the try-line.

Farrell added the simple extras to make it 18-9 and it was 25-9 before the hour mark when replacement scrum-half Danny Care's nice grubber through found Joseph for his brace.  That try arrived after the English crowd had cheered the arrival of Maro Itoje in place of James Haskell.

More was to the come from England, who had now thrown on their bench for the remaining fifteen minutes, as Joseph powered over on the left for his hat-trick.  Farrell could not land the difficult conversion but at 33-9 the game was done as England looked for more five-pointers.

One more did arrive when replacement hooker Jamie George offloaded to Farrell for a walkover under the posts, as the English march into Round Three sitting pretty at the Six Nations summit, leading France on points difference.

Man of the match:  It's tough to look past Jonathan Joseph as his treble will take the headlines in Rome.  After a difficult first segment of the season, England will be delighted to see him in this kind of form.

Moment of the match:  Italy were trailing by just two points until minute 53 when a loose pass from Leonardo Sarto gifted England a try.  From there the visitors did not look back as they cruised to victory.

Villain of the match:  Nothing unsavoury to report.

The scorers:

For Italy:
Pen:  Canna 3

For England:
Tries:  Ford, Joseph 3, Farrell
Con:  Farrell 3
Pen:  Farrell 2, Ford

Italy:  15 Luke McLean, 14 Leonardo Sarto, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Mattia Bellini, 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Alessandro Zanni, 6 Francesco Minto, 5 Marco Fuser, 4 George Fabio Biagi, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Ornel Gega, 1 Andrea Lovotti
Replacements:  16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Matteo Zanusso, 18 Martin Castrogiovanni, 19 Valerio Bernabo, 20 Andries van Schalkwyk, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Edoardo Padovani, 23 Andrea Pratichetti

England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Jack Nowell, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 James Haskell, 6 Chris Robshaw, 5 George Kruis, 4 Courtney Lawes, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley (c), 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements:  16 Jamie George, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Joe Launchbury, 20 Maro Itoje, 21 Jack Clifford, 22 Danny Care, 23 Alex Goode

Referee:  Glen Jackson (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees:  Jérôme Garcès (France), Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand)
TMO:  George Ayoub (Australia)

Wales rally to edge Scotland

Tries in the second half from Jamie Roberts and George North secured a 27-23 win for Wales over Scotland at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

The most entertaining game of the 2016 Six Nations to date was far from flawless but Wales kept faith in Warrenball over width to get back to winning ways after that draw in Dublin, before North's solo effort — his first try in six Tests — took the game away from the visitors.  Duncan Taylor's consolation score came too late to change the outcome.

Wales though were behind at the break thanks to the boot of Greig Laidlaw, the Scotland captain, trying to propel his side to victory after they hadn't won in Cardiff since 2002.  It was also nine long years since their last triumph over Wales, a scoop of extra motivation if any was needed after fluffing their lines against England.  This was a vast improvement but in the end an almighty opportunity missed as Vern Cotter's side faded.

Broken field of course is Gareth Davies' best friend and the scrum-half sped into it for the game's first points.  From Dan Biggar's short chip over the top the ball rebounded perfectly into the hands of the livewire scrum-half, who turned Tommy Seymour inside out on a superb 50-metre sprint to the try line.

Scotland's response was more a less instant — patient build-up controlled by Laidlaw and the Scottish carriers reaching 21 phases, before Finn Russell chipped over the top of the defence to the corner where Tommy Seymour was ready and waiting.  Laidlaw's conversion from the touchline made it 7-7.

Line breaks were at a premium, John Barclay's burst a moment of promise that ended by the flanker opting to kick — just as Russell did the week before against England — when a pass was the better option.

Wales' preference to test Seymour under the high ball ended without success, the winger rising to the challenge in a brilliant first half an hour.

Scotland though were hit by the early loss of Stuart Hogg to injury shortly before Laidlaw's first penalty put the visitors ahead for the first time, after John Hardie's success at the breakdown.

On top at the scrum, the Welsh pack squeezed another penalty out of Scotland for Biggar to tie the score again at 10-10.  Their visitors however had the final say of the half, winning another kickable penalty for Laidlaw as the captain sent Scotland into the break ahead at 13-10.

Thanks to the brilliant break of North it was the hosts who responded first after the interval, a second Biggar penalty levelling the scores.

Seeking more energy from his tight five Warren Gatland brought on Gethin Jenkins, Ken Owens and Bradley Davies only seven minutes into the second half, as Scotland continued to pressure Gareth Davies on his clearance kicks.

A contest seemingly destined to hinge on one mistake, Liam Williams' knock-on under the high ball presented Scotland with a vital opportunity and their scrum delivered, winning a penalty for Laidlaw to restore the lead at 13-16.

A break however from Tom James up the touchline threatened to turn the tide, stopped only by Taylor's covering tackle, as Scotland rallied initially before coughing up a five-metre scrum from which Wales eventually scored.

It took multiple resets before Roberts fulfilled his objective by crashing over from short range for a second Welsh try.

After Roberts had battered down the door North ran through it, ending his Test match drought.  Cutting back on the angle onto an inside ball from Biggar, the wing hit an outstanding line and had too much pace for the defence to catch him.

And while Taylor held off the defence to go over for Scotland shortly before full-time, his efforts were in vain — Wales doing enough to secure their first win of the Championship.

Man of the Match:  One of Tommy Seymour's best games for Scotland but Jamie Roberts capped off another productive, if unglamourous, afternoon with a key try to flip the lead in the second half.

Moment of the Match:  We've waited for a glimpse of George North at full flight for some time and he delivered with an outstanding solo score to put Wales out of reach.

Villain of the Match:  Nothing nasty to report.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  G Davies, Roberts, North
Cons:  Biggar 3
Pens:  Biggar 2

For Scotland:
Tries:  Seymour, Taylor
Cons:  Laidlaw, Weir
Pens:  Laidlaw 3

Wales:  15 Liam Williams, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Tom James, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Sam Warburton (c), 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Rob Evans
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Gethin Jenkins, 18 Tomas Francis, 19 Bradley Davies, 20 Dan Lydiate, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Gareth Anscombe

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Duncan Taylor, 11 Tommy Seymour, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Greig Laidlaw (c), 8 David Denton, 7 John Hardie, 6 John Barclay, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Willem Nel, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Alasdair Dickinson.
Replacements:  16 Stuart McInally, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Blair Cowan, 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Sean Lamont

Referee:  George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant Referees:  John Lacey (Ireland), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

France muscle past Ireland

France made it two wins out of two in this year's Six Nations after they beat Ireland 10-9 in a dour clash in Paris on Saturday.

Ireland did lead 3-9 at the break but after the turnaround it was all France as a Maxime Médard try came on the back of a solid scrum, moving les Bleus top of the standings.  The Irish meanwhile are left to contemplate how they remain without a win as they head home empty handed.

In wet weather conditions it was a first half lacking in attacking quality but the physicality was clear to see as Ireland lost three players to either injury or the blood bin.  They were Sean O'Brien, Dave Kearney and Mike McCarthy with the former sustaining a worrying knee injury.

Jonathan Sexton was the man taking most of the punishment however as a late shoulder charge on the fly-half gifted him the opening points.  The Leinster man made no mistake from 40 metres as Ireland led before flanker O'Brien's rotten luck with injury struck on 20 minutes.

Nine minutes later the lead was doubled when, after enjoying plenty of possession and territory, Ireland added a second penalty as France offended at ruck time.  Again Sexton was on target, this time from his left, amid another change as Fergus McFadden came on for Kearney.

France finally got some field position after the opening 30 minutes and it didn't take long for them to turn that into points, with Devin Toner going off his feet at the ruck to allow Jules Plisson to strike.  The playmaker would later miss a snap drop goal as the home side rallied.

Fortunately for Ireland that French territory was short-lived as a powerful scrum earned the visitors three points to stretch the lead back out to six.  But when Toner failed to collect the resulting restart and Andrew Trimble held on in the tackle, Plisson had the chance to make it a three-point game.  He missed that kick as Ireland went into the dressing rooms to dry off 9-3 to the good, but thinking it could have been more.

Guy Novès was clearly unhappy with his troops and changes soon followed after the break as Hugo Bonneval replaced Teddy Thomas on the wing while a brand new front row also entered the fray, although captain Guilhem Guirado's absence was only temporary as he returned after treatment.

Still trailing 9-3 the French continued to ring the changes as Maxime Machenaud and Paul Jedrasiak soon appeared as they set up camp in Ireland's final third.  However, handling errors in the rain continued to hurt their game, Ireland easily keeping them out as the hour mark neared.

France would keep banging on the door though and came close to scoring when Damien Chouly was over the line from a short carry.  But he was judged to have not grounded after TMO intervention.  Still Ireland led by six but a five-metre les Bleus scrum kept up the pressure.

Eventually, after several penalty resets, France got their reward and it came thanks to a good angle from full-back Médard, with Plisson's conversion pushing the hosts in front for the first time in the game.  At 10-9 up, the French had nine minutes to hold on for an ugly triumph.

They comfortably did that as the hosts ended the second half well on top, with Ireland left to ponder how they failed to win as one point from two games means their Championship crown is slipping away from their grasp.

Man of the match:  In a match short on quality, the contest was ultimately won up front and hooker Guilhem Guirado was a key part of this French victory.  Solid in the scrum and also the tackle — Dave Kearney can vouch for that after receiving a heavy impact from the captain — Guirado was also at the heart of France's try in a series of attacking scrums.  A mention for Maxime Médard too for landing the vital blow.

Moment of the match:  It took 71 minutes for the game's first try and Maxime Médard got it after running a nice line from ten metres out.  That took the wind out of Ireland's sails as it was a second-half to forget at the set-piece, with France dominating the forward battle.

Villain of the match:  Other than that late Yoann Maestri hit on Jonathan Sexton, it was a relatively clean Six Nations contest in Paris.

The scorers:

For France:
Try:  Médard
Con:  Plisson
Pen:  Plisson

For Ireland:
Pens:  Sexton 3

France:  15 Maxime Médard, 14 Teddy Thomas, 13 Maxime Mermoz, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Virimi Vakatawa, 10 Jules Plisson, 9 Sébastien Bézy, 8 Damien Chouly, 7 Yacouba Camara, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Alexandre Flanquart, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Guilhem Guirado (c), 1 Jefferson Poirot
Replacements:  16 Camille Chat, 17 Rabah Slimani, 18 Eddy Ben Arous, 19 Paul Jedrasiak, 20 Loann Goujon, 21 Maxime Machenaud, 22 Jean-Marc Doussain, 23 Hugo Bonneval

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Jared Payne, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 CJ Stander, 5 Devin Toner, 4 Mike McCarthy, 3 Nathan White, 2 Rory Best (c), 1 Jack McGrath
Replacements:  16 Richard Strauss, 17 James Cronin, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Donnacha Ryan, 20 Tommy O'Donnell, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Fergus McFadden

Referee:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant Referees:  Nigel Owens (Wales), Stuart Berry (South Africa)
TMO:  George Ayoub (Australia)

Ireland and Wales draw in Dublin

Ireland and Wales couldn't be seperated after 80 minutes, the two sides drawing 16-16 at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.

The first draw between these two nations since 1974 hands them both just one point after both failed to find a late breakthrough with the clock ticking down after an exhausting physical battle.

Ireland through Conor Murray's try and two Jonathan Sexton penalties raced out into a 13-0 lead, but it's a testament to the experience of Wales in this tournament that they never panicked, chipping their way back to level the scores ten minutes into the second half.

Jamie Roberts' spearheaded an impressive defensive effort from Wales, a second-half tackle on Robbie Henshaw angering the crowd despite being clearly legal.

Unglamorous perhaps, but no less impressive as his side gradually ground down Ireland's lead before Rhys Priestland's penalty gave them a late advantage.  Sexton however held his nerve to level the scores once more as the game ended 16-16.

CJ Stander started brightly in his long-awaited debut for Ireland after belting out the national anthem before kick-off, carrying hard to force a penalty against Wales which Sexton converted after six minutes for a 3-0 lead.

Persistent pressure from the hosts forced Wales into putting in a high number of tackles, eventually resulting in a penalty against the visitors for not rolling away as Sexton doubled his tally.

The early departure of in-form Dan Biggar seemed crucial for Wales, Rhys Priestland entering the fray months after his international future looked momentarily over following his move to Bath.

The momentum of the first half hour continued to flow Ireland's way, culminating eventually in the game's first try.

Ireland's big runners were effective and after carries from Robbie Henshaw and Stander, Murray darted his way over around the fringes for an efficient score.

That bright start however nearly came undone after Keith Earls appeared to make a dangerous tackle on Liam Williams, a late call-up at full-back for Gareth Anscombe.  The Ireland winger escaped a yellow card but Priestland did convert the resulting penalty to put Wales on the board.

Taking the initiative Wales continues to hit back and despite an unsteady scrum, Taulupe Faletau was able to power his way over from close-range, having too much energy and strength for Sexton as Ireland looked weary towards the end of the first half — leading 13-10 at the break.

Priestland's early drop goal attempt at the start of the second half fell wide but he made no mistake with a penalty not long after to tie the scores at 13-13.

As the physicality rose so did the number of handling errors from each side in a contest now filled with tension, the Dublin crowd bursting into a rare roar when Sexton cut through the defensive line and delivered a perfect pass wide to Andrew Trimble only for the winger to be bundled into touch.

A monster set of phases from Wales in Irish territory, 28 in total, resulted finally in a penalty at the ruck for Wales to take the lead for the first time with eight minutes remaining.  Priestland rose to the challenge, converting to make it 16-13.

Naturally based on how close the contest had been Ireland were given an immediate chance to reply, the Aviva Stadium descending into a hush as Sexton delivered to make it all square.

Priestland missed once again going for a drop goal to snatch victory with two minutes left and Ireland had a chance to kick the ball out from a scrum with time up on the clock, but instead went for the win.

There was to be however no final score, Ireland and Wales settling for a 16-16 draw and nursing some battered bodies heading into Round Two.

Man of the Match:  A superb debut for CJ Stander but the tackling of Jamie Roberts was so impressive for Wales in midfield.

Moment of the Match:  After all those phases Rhys Priestland finally put Wales in front with less than ten minutes to go, his penalty appearing to complete an impressive comeback until Sexton responded.

Villain of the Match:  Nothing nasty to report.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  Murray
Cons:  Sexton
Pens:  Sexton 3

For Wales:
Tries:  Faletau
Cons:  Priestland
Pens:  Priestland 3

Ireland:  15 Simon Zebo, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Jared Payne, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Tommy O'Donnell, 6 CJ Stander, 5 Devin Toner, 4 Mike McCarthy, 3 Nathan White, 2 Rory Best (c), 1 Jack McGrath
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Jerry Cronin, 18 Tadhg Furlong, 19 Donnacha Ryan, 20 Rhys Ruddock, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Dave Kearney

Wales:  15 Liam Williams, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Tom James, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Sam Warburton (c), 5 Alun-Wyn Jones, 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Rob Evans
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Gethin Jenkins, 18 Tomas Francis, 19 Bradley Davies, 20 Dan Lydiate, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Alex Cuthbert

Referee:  Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant referees:  Glen Jackson (New Zealand), Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

England win to lift Calcutta Cup

England got their Six Nations campaign off to a winning start at Murrayfield on Saturday, edging Scotland 15-9 to lift the Calcutta Cup.

Eddie Jones hinted it wouldn't be pretty but a victory is all the English wanted to start their new era on a positive note after a poor World Cup.

Tries were scored by second-row George Kruis and wing Jack Nowell, with Owen Farrell kicking five points to Greig Laidlaw's nine for Scotland.

It was a pulsating first-half in Edinburgh as England edged the opening quarter before Scotland finished strongly, making the 7-6 scoreline a fair reflection of the first 40 minutes.  Those points came via England lock Kruis' converted score and two Laidlaw penalties in reply.

However, Scotland would rue a Laidlaw penalty miss and also a 40th minute drop-goal attempt from fly-half Finn Russell that went well wide.

England had a pot shot of their own in the first opportunity of the game on ten minutes as George Ford sat back in the pocket.  That effort drifted just wide of the post but the visitors did not have to wait long before Kruis reached out after a series of close carries for 7-0.

At this point England were enjoying 80 percent of possession in decent areas so when Scotland came to life in the 17th minute, Murrayfield was full of relieved faces as their charges began to improve.  Laidlaw landed a penalty for some reward after Chris Robshaw didn't roll away.

It could have been 7-6 on the half-hour mark when Ford was penalised for not releasing under pressure from Stuart Hogg and Tommy Seymour.  But Laidlaw was off-target as Scotland had to wait until the 38th minute for their next points, this time Joe Launchbury the man not releasing.

As mentioned though, Vern Cotter's side would possibly feel they should have gone into the dressing room in front after that Russell miss.

The momentum continued to be with Scotland after the turnaround but once again they had little to show for their dominance, with a second crooked lineout throw from hooker Ross Ford not helping their cause, allowing England to clear their lines for a much-needed respite.

Enter Mako Vunipola whose fine form this season in club colours continued for his country, with lovely hands leading to Nowell racing over on the right wing.  Farrell though could not land the difficult touchline extras which meant Scotland remained within a score at 12-6 down.

It was predicted that England's powerful bench would have a say on proceedings and that proved to be the case coming up to the hour as they set up camp in the home 22.

Fortunately for Scotland a loose pass from Ben Youngs gave them a welcome escape up to halfway.  However, had that ball been kept in hand there was more than a chance of a breakout try.

The clearance wouldn't shield them from three key points in the game though as a scrum penalty led to Farrell sending one over to make it 15-6.

Scotland were gifted a route back into the game on 69 minutes when England replacement Courtney Lawes was caught offside from a Mike Brown kick, Laidlaw making no mistake from in front of the uprights as the gap was cut to six points with plenty of time still on the clock.

But England held on and deservedly won the match, seeing out the clash on the front foot as the Jones era began on a positive note.

Man of the Match:  A force throughout at number eight for England, Billy Vunipola gets the nod for our star man.  Scotland struggled to keep a lid on his power as Vunipola made good metres with his carries.  Despite a mixed day off the tee, and one careless penalty, centre Owen Farrell was also impressive.

Moment of the Match:  Maybe Scotland fly-half Finn Russell will be kicking himself for booting the ball upfield after intercepting a pass in his 22.  Had he looked to his left he would have found full-back Stuart Hogg who would surely have won a foot race with George Ford.  Costly.

Villain of the Match:  All in all, a clean game with no mischief.

The scorers:

For Scotland:
Pens:  Laidlaw 3

For England:
Tries:  Kruis, Nowell
Con:  Farrell
Pen:  Farrell

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Tommy Seymour, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Greig Laidlaw (c), 8 David Denton, 7 John Hardie, 6 John Barclay, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Willem Nel, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Alasdair Dickinson
Replacements:  16 Stuart McInally, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Blair Cowan, 21 Sam Hidalgo-Clyne, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Duncan Taylor

England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Jack Nowell, 10 George Ford, 9 Danny Care, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 James Haskell, 6 Chris Robshaw, 5 George Kruis, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley (c), 1 Joe Marler
Replacements:  16 Jamie George, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Courtney Lawes, 20 Jack Clifford, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Alex Goode, 23 Ollie Devoto

Referee:  John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant Referees:  Romain Poite (France), Stuart Berry (South Africa)
TMO:  George Ayoub (Australia)

Plisson’s penalty holds off Italy

Jules Plisson's late penalty was enough for France to hold off Italy 23-21 in a gripping Six Nations opener at the Stade de France.

Virimi Vakatawa crossed on his debut as France outscored their visitors three tries to two, but Sergio Parisse's late drop-goal attempt nearly snatched victory for the Azzurri, only for his effort to miss.

As tactical performances go this was one of Italy's finest for years and they surpassed all pre-tournament expectations, arguably deserving more for their efforts in an entertaining contest.

There is so much hope around France's new caps, four of which started in Paris with Yacouba Camara an early replacement for Louis Picamoles.  That experience felt like a burden until their fly-half Plisson, just 24 himself, landed the crucial penalty with only minutes remaining.

Written off in a hurry before the tournament, this was a fine response from Italy.  Competitive as ever in the set-piece, whenever their passes stuck they appeared a real threat, exposing France's flawed defence.  It almost goes without saying that Parisse was excellent such is his class, but this was one of his finest games for some time.

Leonardo Sarto came so close to a moment of brilliance chasing down Edoardo Gori's box kick but their bright start was rewarded through a drop-goal from Carlo Canna.

Vakatawa's try shortly followed, despite his foot coming dangerously close to the touchline, but it came at a cost as Picamoles trudged off the field helped by the French medical staff.

A missed penalty and conversion from Sébastien Bezy prevented France's lead from being healthier after the opening quarter.

By persistenly testing Vakatawa's positioning with kicks over his head Italy eventually struck back, forcing Maxime Médard to turn and find the safety of touch with his boot.  Attacking from the resulting five-metre lineout, Parisse was found at the bottom of the pile after Italy's maul rumbled over the line to score.

The quick-thinking of Gaël Fickou, taking a tap penalty after Parisse's deliberate knock-on, helped to spin the ball through the hands allowing Damien Chouly to finish in the corner.  Bézy missed his third kick of the contest from out wide.

Canna had the chance to put Italy ahead just before the break, but his penalty drifted wide yet again to leave Italy trailing 10-8 at the interval despite banging on the door late on through Michele Campagnaro who was stopped just short.

Italy's young fly-half found his range with a first penalty after the break to put the Azzurri ahead, but what happened next stunned the Stade de France.

With so much space on offer Italy profited by getting their runners into gaps at speed, Parisse's carry putting him on the verge of a second score were it not for Vakatawa's try-saving tackle.  After Italy recycled Canna was there to touch down, converting to make it 18-10.

Now under pressure France looked short of both leadership and also direction in their attack, trying to spread the ball as often as they could with little success.  Plisson's chip and chase was a rare exception, even if the attack came to nothing.

France at last clicked with a sweeping score, started by Vakatawa's thunderous carry as he dragged tacklers into the 22.  Wide the French went as Danty released Hugo Bonneval to score right in the corner.  Plisson's conversion made it a one-point game.

The switch in kickers paid off with a Plisson penalty with 11 minutes to go, putting France back ahead at 20-18, only for replacement number ten Kelly Haimona to swing the lead back Italy's way with six minutes left.

Parisse, shaking his head after being penalised for playing the ball after being tackled, then watched his Stade Français team-mate Plisson hammer over a monster penalty to make it 23-21.

Italy did their best to force a penalty out of JP Doyle through the scrum, and then for a drop goal — bizarrely taken by all people by Parisse in familiar territory.  The number eight's effort desperately missed, France clinging on.

Man of the Match:  Contenders from both sides, with Canna excellent for Italy, but Jules Plisson's late kicks were absolutely vital when France needed direction.

Moment of the Match:  Parisse, penalised for trying to carry on after being tackled, and Plisson's huge penalty thereafter to secure the win.

Villain of the Match:  Nothing nasty to report.

The scorers:

For France:
Tries:  Vakatawa, Chouly, Bonneval
Cons:  Plisson
Pens:  Plisson

For Italy:
Tries:  Parisse, Canna
Cons:  Canna
Pens:  Canna, Haimona
Drop:  Canna

France:  15 Maxime Médard, 14 Hugo Bonneval, 13 Gaël Fickou, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Virimi Vakatawa, 10 Jules Plisson, 9 Sébastien Bezy, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Damien Chouly, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Paul Jedrasiak, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Guilhem Guirado (c), 1 Eddy Ben Arous
Replacements:  16 Camille Chat, 17 Uini Atonio, 18 Jefferson Poirot, 19 Alexandre Flanquart, 20 Yacouba Camara, 21 Maxime Machenaud, 22 Jean-Marc Doussain, 23 Maxime Mermoz

Italy:  15 David Odiete, 14 Leonardo Sarto, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Mattia Bellini, 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Alessandro Zanni, 6 Francesco Minto, 5 Marco Fuser, 4 George Fabio Biagi, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Ornel Gega, 1 Andrea Lovotti
Replacements:  16 Davide Giazzon, 17 Matteo Zanusso, 18 Martin Castrogiovanni, 19 Valerio Bernabo, 20 Andries van Schalkwyk, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Kelly Haimona, 23 Luke McLean

Referee:  JP Doyle (England)
Assistant Referees:  George Clancy (Ireland), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

NZ Baa-baas too strong for Maori ABs

The New Zealand Barbarians outscored the Maori All Blacks five tries to two to secure a 34-17 win at Eden Park on Saturday.

Despite the wet and windy conditions, the Maori All Blacks opted to run the ball but they committed too many unforced errors which the Baa-baas capitalised on.

Although most of the early exchanges were restricted to the forwards, the second half was a more entertaining affair as both sides played expansively.

The New Zealand Barbarians made a solid start and dominated the territory and possession statistics in the first half and were rewarded with tries from Blake Gibson and Mitchell Drummond.

Tom Taylor and Marty McKenzie traded early penalties to put both sides on the board but the Barbarians created more chances as the game progressed.

Gibson and Drummond then crossed over for their tries which were both converted by Taylor which meant the Baa-baas led 15-3 at half-time.

The Maori All Blacks made the brighter start in the second half and were rewarded with a try from Damian McKenzie which his brother Marty converted.

The Baa-baas responded with tries from Seta Tamanivalu and Patrick Osborne with Tamanivalu's effort particularly impressive.  The big midfielder fielded a clearance kick close to the Maori All Blacks' 10-metre line and shrugged of four challengers before crossing over.

The Maori All Blacks struck back with a try from Cody Rei but the Baa-baas sealed victory when Taylor rounded off three minutes before full-time after Richard Buckman did well in the build-up.

The scorers:

For New Zealand Barbarians:
Tries:  Gibson, Drummond, Tamanivalu, Osborne, Taylor
Cons:  Taylor 3
Pen:  Taylor

For Maori All Blacks:
Tries:  D McKenzie, Rei
Cons:  M McKenzie, Black
Pen:  M McKenzie

New Zealand Barbarians:  15 Andrew Horrell, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Seta Tamanivalu, 12 George Moala, 11 Patrick Osborne, 10 Tom Taylor, 9 Mitchell Drummond, 8 Luke Whitelock, 7 Blake Gibson, 6 Brad Shields (c), 5 Dominic Bird, 4 Alex Ainley, 3 Ofa Tu'ungafasi, 2 Liam Coltman, 1 Mitchell Graham.
Replacements:  16 James Parsons, 17 Reg Goodes, 18 Ben Tameifuna, 19 Mark Reddish, 20 Jordan Taufua, 21 Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 22 Ihaia West, 23 Richard Buckman.

Maori All Blacks:  15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Rieko Ioane, 13 Sean Wainui, 12 Charlie Ngatai (c), 11 Matt Proctor, 10 Marty McKenzie, 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Elliot Dixon, 7 Mitchell Crosswell, 6 Blade Thomson, 5 Hayden Triggs, 4 Joe Wheeler, 3 Brendon Edmonds, 2 Ash Dixon, 1 Joe Moody.
Replacements:  16 Quentin MacDonald, 17 Joe Royal, 18 Marcel Renata, 19 Akira Ioane, 20 Joe Edwards, 21 Brad Weber, 22 Otere Black, 23 Codey Rei.

Referee:  Kane McBride

Springboks third but Habana misses record

Bryan Habana failed to break Jonah Lomu's World Cup try-scoring record but South Africa cruised to a 24-13 victory in the third place play-off at the Olympic Stadium.

JP Pietersen and Eben Etzebeth scored a try in each half for the Springboks, while Handré Pollard slotted four penalties and a conversion before Habana was removed with quarter of an hour remaining.

Argentina at least had the final word though with a converted try from prop Juan Pablo Orlandi in a subdued atmosphere.

Habana had three glorious chances in the first half, but just couldn't quite find his way over, with the record clearly playing on his mind as he tried to do too much.  He will finish on 15 tries, just like Lomu, while Drew Mitchell could yet overtake them both in the final.

It seemed to be almost the only thing riding on the game, with Argentina clearly still suffering from their loss to Australia, and decimated by injury.

Victor Matfield and Juán Martín Fernández Lobbe bid their farewells to the international scene, and could yet be joined by more, but that wasn't enough to make up for the sloppy play on show.

Argentina showed all the adventure we've enjoyed during tournament, but were outclassed early, as a Pietersen try and three Pollard penalties were enough to establish a 16-0 half-time lead.

An early Nicolas Sánchez drop goal got Argentina on the board in the second half but the Springboks hit straight back with an Etzebeth try, as if to reinforce their superiority.

The biggest surprise came with 14 minutes to go as Jan Serfontein was introduced for Habana, the South African legend going off to huge applause and a little bewilderment.

And fittingly Argentina finally got over the line with the final play of the game, Orlandi powering over from close range.

South Africa flew out of the blocks and when Ruan Pienaar took a quick tap penalty, Tomás Cubelli couldn't resist and grabbed him immediately.  The scrum-half was sin-binned and South Africa capitalised.

After a driving maul, they spread the ball quickly to the right, where Pietersen was on hand to work his way over.  Pollard converted from the touchline and South Africa led 7-0 after just six minutes.

They were almost over again three minutes later when Habana thought he'd scored the record-breaking try, but Lucas Amorosino got back in time to dot down before him.

Still, they were soon 10-0 ahead when Argentina were penalised for offside, Pollard slotting from in front as the Springboks made the most of their extra man.

Cubelli returned but it was still the Springboks dominating, and Habana was almost in again when he pounced on a loose ball, but the scrum-half got back to tackle him and force a knock-on.  Earlier in the move Santiago Cordero had produced a stunning step away from a Schalk Burger tackle, and the diminutive winger certainly looked Argentina's biggest threat with ball in hand.

Having looked thoroughly overwhelmed early on, Argentina finally established some field position just before the half-hour, and could have scored a try when Cubelli dummied and went on the 22, only to be hauled down just short of the line.

Habana then had his third chance at the record when Pollard stepped his way through but his wide pass was knocked on as the winger got over-excited at the chance of the try.

Another penalty for in at the side conceded by Argentina allowed Pollard to stretch the lead to 13 with his second penalty of the evening.

That was followed by yet another Habana opportunity, as he was released out wide, but after chipping over the top, he clipped the heels of Sánchez, who was also running back, and conceded a penalty as a result.

While South Africa dominated on the scoreboard, it was Argentina who were winning the crowd over by trying to run at every opportunity, with Matias Moroni beating a number of men before being tackled deep in the Bok 22.

However Argentine indiscipline was proving costly, as Pollard slotted a third penalty to make it 16-0 at the break after Juan Figallo was pinged at a breakdown.

The Pumas got hold of the ball early in the second half, and after a couple of drives, Sánchez dropped back into the pocket and slotted a sweet drop goal to get his team off the mark.

South Africa responded immediately, and while Habana wasn't the scorer, he delivered the pass as Etzebeth went over on the left wing to make it 21-3.

Despite their huge lead, South Africa seemed happy to keep the scoreboard ticking over, with another Pollard penalty making it 24-3 when Argentina were caught offside after a Jesse Kriel break.

In an equally baffling decision, Argentina, trailing by three scores, also took a shot at goal, Sánchez knocking over a penalty when Francois Louw came in from the side.

With half an hour remaining, Daniel Hourcade started rolling out his replacements, notably removing Fernández Lobbe for what was his final appearance in a Pumas jersey.

Schalk Burger looked equally emotional as he departed a minute later, although he would return a little later as a blood replacement for Louw.

Just before the hour Argentina should have had their first try when they broke down the blindside.  However Juán Leguizamon held onto a ball when Cordero was free outside him.

The game was a mess but not lacking in fight, with one melee occurring after South Africa had knocked on five metres out, with Etzebeth at the heart of it of the pushing and shoving.

Matfield then made his farewell for the Boks in his 127th and final appearance, four years after his last retirement before the curious removal of Habana.

What little rhythm there had been in the match had disappeared, and as if to show the farce of this match-up between two disinterested teams, replacement Pat Lambie attempted a penalty with 12 minutes left finding only the upright, before somehow missing touch from 15 metres away a minute later.

Still, Argentina kept coming and finally got their reward in the last minute, Orlandi finishing off a series of pick and drives.  Sánchez converted to cap off a fine tournament, but it was the Springboks who finish fourth.

Man of the match:  It's hard to stand out in such an awkward atmosphere, neither team really wanting to be there, but Eben Etzebeth gets the nod for an all-action display as well as his try.

Moment of the match:  Bryan Habana couldn't manage a score of his own, but provided the final pass for Etzebeth's try in the second half.  It was small consolation for the Springbok legend.

Villain of the match:  Nothing particularly nasty to report, but Heyneke Meyer must be up there for his decision to take off Habana with 14 minutes remaining.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Try:  Orlandi
Con:  Sánchez
Pen:  Sánchez
Drop Goal:  Sánchez
Yellow Card:  Cubelli

For South Africa:
Tries:  Pietersen, Etzebeth
Con:  Pollard
Pens:  Pollard 4

Argentina:  15 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino, 14 Santiago Cordero, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Jeronimo De La Fuente, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Nicolás Sánchez (c), 9 Tomas Cubelli, 8 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 7 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, 6 Javier Ortega Desio, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Matias Alemanno, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Julian Montoya, 1 Juan Figallo.
Replacements:  16 Lucas Noguera, 17 Juan Pablo Orlandi, 18 Santiago Garcia Botta, 19 Guido Petti, 20 Facundo Isa, 21 Martin Landajo, 22 Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias, 23 Juan Pablo Socino.

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Jannie du Plessis, 19 Lodewyk de Jager, 20 Willem Alberts, 21 Rudy Paige, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Jan Serfontein.

Venue:  Olympic Park, London
Referee:  John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant referees:  Glen Jackson (New Zealand), Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

All Blacks make history with third RWC

New Zealand made history at Twickenham, surviving a comeback from Australia to win 34-17 and become 2015 Rugby World Cup champions.

The Wallabies bravely defied the odds to claw their way back from 21-3 down to make it 21-17 in the second half, but it wasn't to be their day.

Instead Steve Hansen’s extraordinary side became the first team to win three World Cups, and the first to win consecutive titles.

In the process they tore to shreds that nagging old record of having never won a World Cup away from home soil and sent off Richie McCaw and Dan Carter on the final high that their illustrious careers deserved.

It’s the oldest cliché but points right before half-time are like a sledgehammer, except this time the Wallabies took one to the stomach either side of the break thanks to tries from Nehe Milner-Skudder and Ma'a Nonu.

However, Australia scored twice during Ben Smith’s period in the sin-bin — thanks to David Pocock’s effort from a maul and Tevita Kuridrani — to bring a Halloween fixture that looked dead very much back to life.

Carter, finally playing on the game’s biggest stage, stepped up with a drop goal followed by a 49-metre penalty to put the All Blacks definitively out of reach.

Big hits in the first minute from Owen Franks and Conrad Smith and a chargedown set the tone, the beginning of a seven-minute assault inside the Wallabies' half which ended with Carter scoring the game’s first points through a penalty.

Pocock and the Wallabies have been kings of the turnovers at this World Cup but the All Blacks were prominent early on, thrice stealing the ball out of Australia’s hands.

Franks’ bind on the arm of Scott Sio allowed Foley to level the scores at 3-3 after 12 minutes, just before Kane Douglas departed early with a knee injury.

The pressure was obvious — a decision to tap by New Zealand close to the Australian line backfiring as the Wallabies won the penalty.

Penalties against Sekope Kepu for two dangerous tackles were spot-on calls from the referee, the latter allowing Carter to put New Zealand back ahead on 26 minutes as Matt Giteau departed for a Head Injury Assessment that brought his remarkable return to the World Cup stage to a sorry end.

New Zealand then got a lucky break — Nehe Milner-Skudder’s forward pass somehow going undetected by either the referee or his assistant Wayne Barnes before Carter was set up to make it 9-3 from out wide.

The same winger then finished off a moment of magic.  With the Wallabies defence creaking before half-time, Conrad Smith’s deep inside pass set the All Blacks up for a second wave as Aaron Smith and Richie McCaw fluidly moved the ball out wide to Milner-Skudder for a try a minute ahead of the interval.  Exquisite;  there’s no other way to describe it.

Carter’s conversion, perfection from the sideline, gave the All Blacks a monster 16-3 half-time lead.  Seven clean breaks to none from Australia and domination of the possession (68 percent) and territory (76 percent) were damning statistics.

Conrad Smith’s Test career came to an end when he was replaced during the break by Sonny Bill Williams.  Not that because of it the All Blacks were worse off.

Williams produced two offloads instantly but the second one was key, finding Nonu.  The future Toulon star tore through a stretched Australia defence before twisting Kurtley Beale inside out and powering over to score.

Now 21-3 it felt as though Australia were done, but a yellow card to Ben Smith for a tip tackle on Drew Mitchell created the opportunity to get the rolling maul on the charge.  As we’ve seen so often this year Pocock scored from the tail, Foley converting to close the gap.

The comeback was on, and Australia were right back in it when Kuridrani finished off a fine chip and take by Foley.  The fly-half converted to make it a four-point game.

Carter’s drop goal came just at the right time, a sublime effort from 40 metres and then a long-range penalty just inside Australia’s half stretching the lead to 27-17 with less than ten minutes remaining.

There was time for one more moment of inspiration.  Breaking out from their own half Ben Smith kicked ahead with Beauden Barrett leading the chase to dot down to spark rapturous celebrations on the sidelines.

Now, at last, it feels like New Zealand have truly backed up their dominance of the sport with the silverware to show for it.  Australia never gave up, but we are living in the golden age of the All Blacks.

Man of the Match:  The all-time leading Test points scorer bows out on top.  Dan Carter, on sublime form, finished with 19 points.

Moment of the Match:  The game seemed long over but Tevita Kuridrani's score to make it 21-17 was an unexpected twist that set up a thrilling finish.

Villian of the Match:  The tip tackle from Ben Smith was a little careless, but nothing major.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Milner-Skudder, Nonu, Barrett
Cons:  Carter 3
Pens:  Carter 4
Drop Goal:  Carter
Yellow Card:  B Smith

For Australia:
Tries:  Pocock, Kuridrani
Cons:  Foley 2
Pen:  Foley

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Will Genia, 8 David Pocock, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Kane Douglas, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore (c), 1 Scott Sio.
Replacements:  16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 James Slipper, 18 Greg Holmes, 19 Dean Mumm, 20 Ben McCalman, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Matt Toomua, 23 Kurtley Beale.

New Zealand:  15 Ben Smith, 14 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Joe Moody.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Sam Cane, 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Sonny Bill Williams.

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees:  Jérôme Garcès (France), Wayne Barnes (England)
TMO:  Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Wallabies to face All Blacks in final

Australia set up a World Cup final against New Zealand as an Adam Ashley-Cooper hat-trick helped them edge past Argentina 29-15 at Twickenham on Sunday.

The Wallabies went over three times in the first half and despite the excellent goal-kicking of Nicolás Sánchez, Ashley-Cooper's third, following a magnificent break from Drew Mitchell, sealed the win.

Australia will have to be better to beat the All Blacks, with their discipline a real issue, but in Bernard Foley and Matt Giteau they have two distributors of the highest order, while David Pocock was back to his incomparable best as he ruled at the breakdown.

A disastrous first half for the Pumas began with an intercept try after barely a minute, Rob Simmons grabbing Sánchez's inside pass before showing his pace to run in from the 22.

After a Sánchez penalty cut the deficit, Australia went over again through Ashley-Cooper, with a wide pass from Foley carving up the Pumas.

Argentina lost a wobbly Juan Imhoff to injury, closely followed by Tomás Lavanini to a marginal yellow card.  Skipper Agustín Creevy joined them on the sidelines, clearly not 100 per cent having only just been passed fit this week.

Against 14 men, Australia were clinical, Giteau putting Ashley-Cooper over for his second, and despite a third penalty from Sánchez, the Wallabies led 19-9 at the break.

Two more penalties from Sánchez, to one from Foley made it a one-score game heading into the last ten minutes, but Mitchell then produced a moment of magic as he shrugged off a succession of tackles from his left wing, and delivered a scrappy final pass to create Ashley-Cooper's third and kill off the Puma challenge.

With just a minute on the board Australia were 7-0 up as Argentina paid the price for too much adventure in their own half.  After Mitchell had narrowly failed to hang on to one interception, Simmons showed his handling skills to stick out a mitt and collect Sánchez's inside ball before racing over from the 22.  Foley converted from in front to give the Wallabies a dream start.

Argentina came straight back when Juan Martín Hernández perfectly delayed his pass to send Marcelo Bosch clean through.  For a second it looked like he might have the pace to cross but Foley came across to make the cover tackle.  The Wallabies infringed, allowing Sánchez to get his team on the board with a penalty, but Hernández was shaken up in the move after a big hit as he passed.

Australia had clearly done their homework though and scored a simple try from a perfect training ground move.  Spotting that the Pumas keep their wingers narrow in defence, Foley threw a perfect wide pass that sent Ashley-Cooper over on the right after a scrum opposite the posts in the Argentinian 22.  Foley converted from the touchline and Australia led 14-3 after just ten minutes.

It could have been even worse for Argentina when another fantastic wide pass from Foley opened up the Pumas again.  Israel Folau fed Tevita Kuridrani, who burst through, but Santiago Cordero brought him down and the support was too far away to deliver the final pass.

Argentina were trying to play too much rugby in their own half, while Pocock showed his worth for the Wallabies with a number of a turnovers at the breakdown.

The Pumas lost Imhoff to injury with barely quarter of an hour gone, their top scorer clearly knocked out in a huge collision and replaced by Lucas González Amorosino.

Midway through the half they looked to have an opportunity to get back in contention, but a five-metre lineout and maul was easily dealt with by the Wallabies.  From the resulting scrum, Argentina earned a penalty which Sánchez converted from out wide to cut the deficit to eight.

Having been overwhelmed early, Argentina really needed to build on that penalty, but instead they were reduced to 14 men when Lavanini was sin-binned for a no-arms tackle on Israel Folau, Wayne Barnes earning jeers from the Pumas-dominated crowd for his decision.

Australia turned down a shot at goal a minute later as they went to their maul, but Argentina defended it well and earned a scrum.

Still, things weren't going to plan for Argentina and it got worse when Creevy, who had been a doubt this week, had to leave his teammates after half an hour, replaced by Julián Montoya.

A minute later Australia were in again, taking advantage of their extra man to send Ashley-Cooper over once more.  A couple of missed tackles on Folau allowed him to get in behind.  Argentina held initially but Australia showed their class with Giteau's long miss-pass giving the winger the easy finish, on the left this time.  Foley pulled the conversion wide but Australia led 19-6.

An offside from Sekope Kepu with five minutes left in the half allowed Sánchez to knock over his third penalty of the afternoon and make it a ten-point deficit.

And they could have been back to within a score on the stroke of half-time when Cordero went clean through.  He managed to find Hernández outside him, but the centre's pass didn't go to hand.

The second half could have started perfectly for Australia, but Foley was off-target with a penalty after Fardy had stolen the ball at the restart.

Hernández, who had been struggling since the early Bosch break, finally left the field three minutes into the half, but Argentina took advantage of a big scrum to cut the deficit to seven with Sánchez's fourth penalty.

It was quickly cancelled out by Foley, making no mistake this time after Fernández Lobbe couldn't resist and handled in a ruck.

The game was really opening up, with Argentina looking dangerous, particularly thanks to one break from Joaquín Tuculet.  After Australia were penalised at a maul, Sánchez cut the deficit to seven once again.

Another break from Amorosino almost had Argentina in, with Tuculet on his shoulder, but Australia held firm before the ball went loose in a ruck.

When a poor kick from Tuculet gave Australia a shot at goal from 45 metres out with 15 minutes to go, they curiously turned it down, and a loose lineout allowed the Pumas to clear.

The game was still on a knife-edge, but that changed when Mitchell intervened and ended the game as a contest setting up Ashley-Cooper's treble.  Foley converted and there was no way back for Argentina.

Man of the match:  Australia comprehensively won the breakdown battle, and it was in large part thanks to the returning David Pocock.  Back from injury, he made turnover after turnover and took advantage of Argentinian naïvety in the first half.  Hat tip to Ashley-Cooper for his well-taken hat-trick.

Moment of the match:  Argentina were somehow still in it with ten minutes to go.  Drew Mitchell then stepped up, broke down the left, cut inside and found Adam Ashley-Cooper for his hat-trick.

Villain of the match:  Nothing nasty to report.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Pens:  Sanchez 5
Yellow Card:  Lavanini

For Australia:
Tries:  Simmons, Ashley-Cooper 3
Cons:  Foley 3
Pen:  Foley

The teams:

Argentina:  15 Joaquin Tuculet, 14 Santiago Cordero, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Juan Martin Hernandez, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Martin Landajo, 8 Leonardo Senatore, 7 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Agustin Creevy (c), 1 Marcos Ayerza
Replacements:  16 Julian Montoya, 17 Lucas Noguera Paz, 18 Juan Figallo, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Facundo Isa, 21 Tomas Cubelli, 22 Jeronimo de la Fuente, 23 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Will Genia, 8 David Pocock, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Kane Douglas, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore (c), 1 James Slipper
Replacements:  16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Toby Smith, 18 Greg Holmes, 19 Dean Mumm, 20 Sean McMahon, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Matt Toomua, 23 Kurtley Beale

Venue:  Twickenham Stadium, London
Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa), George Clancy (Ireland)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

All Blacks book fourth final

Defending champions New Zealand booked their place in the Rugby World Cup Final thanks to a 20-18 win over South Africa at Twickenham on Saturday.

The All Blacks are still on track to become the first team to defend the world title as they will now face the winners of Sunday's second semi-final between Argentina and Australia.

In a nail-biting encounter, the two-time champions and tournament favourites outscored their fiercest rivals two tries to none to advance to their first RWC Final in the northern hemisphere.  But it didn't come easily.

South Africa led 12-7 at the interval thanks to four penalties from the boot of Handré Pollard while Jerome Kaino scored the only try of the first half for New Zealand.

The All Blacks ruled both the territory and possession stats in the first 40 minutes but the Springboks held the edge in the physical arm wrestle, especially at the breakdown while also enjoying the upper hand at the rare scrums.

It was the classic clash of s we had all expected as New Zealand constantly probed with ball in hand while the Boks turned defence into attack.

The Springbok lineout was under pressure however and four stolen lineouts over the course of the game robbed them of vital momentum.

The half-time break also signaled a change in conditions as steady rain began to fall, which should have worked in South Africa's favour, but a Dan Carter drop goal and a Beauden Barrett try put New Zealand back in front for good.

South Africa made an excellent start with Jesse Kriel given a chance to stretch his legs in the opening minutes.  And the Boks were first on the scoreboard when Pollard split the uprights after Kieran Read came in from the side of a maul.

The All Blacks' response was typically clinical as they scored the opening try with their first attack.  Richie McCaw found Kaino out wide on the overlap and the flanker shrugged off the challenge of Lood de Jager to cross in the corner.  Dan Carter was crucially given a second chance at the conversion after Bryan Habana started his run too soon and the Kiwi fly-half coolly made it 7-3.

Pollard landed his second penalty to cut the gap to a single point after McCaw jumped the gun at a lineout and was penalised for offside around the ten-minute mark.

The All Blacks were clearly targeting Willie le Roux under the high ball but the Bok full-back was up to the early tests while Nehe Milner-Skudder was the target of a few kicks by the Boks.  Habana beat the young New Zealander in the air before Ma'a Nonu was caught offside as he chased back, which allowed Pollard to give South Africa the lead (9-7) at the end of the first quarter.

It took 25 minutes for the first scrum as the South African defence was made to do a lot of work by New Zealand's phase play.  The men in black were rewarded for their pressure as Schalk Burger was pinged for a no-arms tackle but Carter's shot at goal bounced off the upright.

With half-time looming large, Kaino was sent to the sin bin for a silly kick of a loose ball from an offside position.  Pollard made no mistake and stretched to the lead to five points as the teams headed for the changing rooms.

There was a slight change of script early in the second stanza as Carter slotted a cheeky drop goal, meaning that when Kaino returned from the bin the gap was the same three points as when he saw yellow.

The game turned on its head when first New Zealand's scrum shoved the Boks and then Carter ripped the ball from Burger's hands.  A few phases later, Nonu's pass wide found Barrett (on for Milner-Skudder) out wide for a well-taken try.

The Boks suffered a double whammy as Habana saw yellow for knocking the ball from Aaron Smith's hands in the build-up and Carter slotted the conversion to make it 17-12.

A handful of changes to the respective front rows restored South Africa's scrum dominance as Charlie Faumuina conceded three points to Pollard for dropping his bind but Carter replied almost immediately when Eben Etzebeth went off his feet.

Habana returned with New Zealand leading 20-15 as the game entered it's final quarter with Sonny Bill Williams proving a danger with every touch of the ball and the Boks looking dead on their feet.

Read was again penalised for coming in from the side of a maul — his fourth penalty — and Pat Lambie hit the mark from long range to reduce the gap to two points and set up a grandstand finish.

Crucially, Damian de Allende lost the ball in contact with South Africa pressing hard and yet another stolen lineout gave New Zealand field position in the dying minutes.

With the rain driving down, the Boks tried to run their way out of their 22, but to no avail.

Man of the match:  A tough call to make considering he was shown a yellow card, but Jerome Kaino was New Zealand's best player, scoring a try, carrying like a monster and even making a lineout steal.  Mentions too for Ben Smith and Sam Whitelock.

Moment of the match:  The writing was on the wall when Barrett scored New Zealand's second try.  The Boks could have cleared quickly, but instead saw the ball ripped from Schalk Burger's hands as the tried to force a better position.

Villain of the match:  Nothing nasty enough to mention.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Pens:  Pollard 5, Lambie
Yellow card:  Habana

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Kaino, Barrett
Cons:  Carter 2
Pen:  Carter
Drop:  Carter
Yellow card:  Kaino

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Fourie du Preez (c), 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Jannie du Plessis, 19 Victor Matfield, 20 Willem Alberts, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Jan Serfontein.

New Zealand:  15 Ben Smith, 14 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Joe Moody.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Sam Cane, 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Sonny Bill Williams.

Venue:  Twickenham, London
Referee:  Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant Referees:  Romain Poite (France), Johnny Lacey (Ireland)
TMO:  George Ayoub (Australia)

Australia edge brave Scotland

Australia outscored Scotland five tries to three to ensure it will be a set of all-Southern Hemisphere semi-finals next weekend after a 35-34 win at Twickenham on Sunday.

Scotland were outstanding and went desperately close as Mark Bennett's interception score looked to have clinched an enormous upset, after opportunist tries from Peter Horne and Tommy Seymour kept them in the hunt.

But the Wallabies' attack was too dangerous as Drew Mitchell crossed twice along with Adam Ashley-Cooper, Tevita Kuridrani and Michael Hooper, before Bernard Foley snatched back the lead in the 78th minute with a penalty to win the game.

If Australia play with this much width and quick ball at the breakdown next week, then their semi-final with Argentina could be a classic.

Never has Twickenham been so loud for the men in blue from north of the border.  Vern Cotter's team were willed on by the top half of the earth to make sure a northern hemisphere side made the final four, but now no sides from the north are left in the competition.

The Six Nations wooden-spooners though are undeniably on an upward curve and while this was a step too far for now, they should not be too downhearted after leaving everything on the pitch.

Every time Australia entered the Scottish 22 they looked certain to score and the number of chances that went begging were minimal.

However even with that try-scoring threat they were never comfortably out of reach, as Scotland doggedly battled away, backed by a roaring Twickenham crowd.

The Wallabies' ability to recycle the ball at the ruck quicker than Will Genia can click his fingers has made them a nightmare to contain throughout this tournament, and it was the same again early on.

Scotland's defence was put to work in the opening exchanges, with Mitchell unable to gather an inside pass from Foley from two metres out, but it wasn't long before the Wallabies crossed the whitewash.

Tommy Seymour burst out of the line to try and stop Kuridrani early only to miss his tackle, allowing the big centre through to release Ashley-Cooper into the space that Seymour had left behind.

Scotland though are not a side who mope on mistakes and they deservedly scored three points through a Laidlaw penalty after a patient attack inside Australia's 22, making it 5-3.

Peter Horne's try soon followed, the centre smartly spotting no Wallaby tacklers behind the ruck before scooping the ball up and darting behind the defence from five metres out.  Laidlaw's conversion gave them a 10-5 lead.

Australia's scrum has been the talk of the World Cup but it buckled to give Laidlaw a penalty shot from 47 metres out, the Scotland captain making no mistake as he side extended their lead.

The Wallabies remained eager to go wide and a penalty for hands in the ruck, despite Sean Maitland's smart cover tackle, set Australia up in Scotland's 22 from which they eventually scored in the corner through Mitchell after sucking in the Scottish defence.  Foley again missed the conversion from out wide.

Another penalty though against the Australian scrum, after Scott Sio collapsed, allowed Laidlaw another shot at the posts to make it 16-10.

Runs from Maitland, Mark Bennett and Blair Cowan meant Scotland were always asking questions of Australia, but back-to-back penalties set the Wallabies up for a driving maul five metres out for Michael Hooper to score the third try.

Again Foley missed going for the extra two, leaving him zero from three by half-time as Scotland went in ahead 16-15.

Scotland needed everything to go their way to pull off a shock, so an extremely harsh yellow card on Maitland was the worst possible start.

After the success of their maul earlier on the Wallabies understandably returned to the corner, except this time Genia darted down the blindside and released Mitchell for his second try in the corner.

A fourth Laidlaw penalty kept Scotland right in the contest at 22-19 but a huge loss of composure from the restart led to Seymour being bundled into touch five metres from his own line.

It appeared that Ashley-Cooper had matched Mitchell with a second try of his own after the Wallabies whipped the ball wide, but a small knock-on from Genia at the ruck brought the play back to keep Scotland alive.

Foley's first penalty after 52 minutes gave Australia a six-point cushion as the error counts rose on either side, with Foley committing the biggest of all.

An undercooked chip kick was charged down by Finn Russell and despite Genia tracking back to bring the fly-half down, his offload off the ground released Seymour to score as Twickenham erupted.  Laidlaw however couldn't add the crucial conversion, leaving Australia ahead 25-24.

Kuridrani responded for Australia after a timely steal at the lineout from Rob Simmons had Scotland on the rack again before the outside centre powered his way over.

Scotland were now more than a score behind but pressed on, adding another Laidlaw penalty to make it 32-27 heading into the final ten minutes.

Bennett looked to have snatched a famous win with a well-taken interception that sent the crowd crazy but a fiercely debated call for accidental offside deep in Scottish territory set Foley up with a penalty for the win.

He didn't miss, ending the hopes of Scotland and those north of the equator.  Heartbreak for Cotter's side.  The Wallabies slip through.

Man of the Match:  Greig Laidlaw, Richie Gray and Mark Bennett deserve huge credit but Adam Ashley-Cooper was a massive threat throughout.

Moment of the Match:  If Twickenham had a roof it would be blown off when Mark Bennett broke away for the line and a huge upset looked on the cards.

Villain of the Match:  An absurd call for a deliberate knock-on saw Sean Maitland yellow carded by TMO Ben Skeen, with Drew Mitchell then scoring in his corner.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Ashley-Cooper, Mitchell 2, Hooper, Kuridrani
Cons:  Foley 2
Pens:  Foley 2

For Scotland:
Tries:  Horne, Seymour, Bennett
Cons:  Laidlaw 2
Pens:  Laidlaw 5
Yellow Card:  Maitland

Australia:  15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Will Genia, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Kane Douglas, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore (c) 1 Scott Sio
Replacements:  16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 James Slipper, 18 Greg Holmes, 19 Dean Mumm, 20 Sean McMahon, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Matt Toomua, 23 Quade Cooper

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Peter Horne, 11 Tommy Seymour, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Greig Laidlaw (c), 8 Dave Denton, 7 John Hardie, 6 Blair Cowan, 5 Richie Gray, 4 Tim Swinson, 3 WP Nel, 2 Fraser Brown, 1 Alasdair Dickinson.
Replacements:  16 Kevin Bryce, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Jon Welsh, 19 Alasdair Strokosch, 20 Josh Strauss, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Richie Vernon, 23 Sean Lamont.

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant Referees:  Glen Jackson (New Zealand), Pascal Gauzere (France)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Pumas charge into semi-finals

Argentina booked their place in the 2015 Rugby World Cup semi-finals after stunning Ireland 43-20 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Sunday.

Fully refreshed from a game's rest in their final pool match, los Pumas' first XV won the physical battle and fully deserved their passage into the last four, showing a great deal of attacking prowess to prove they are an ever-evolving outfit.

Tries were scored by Matías Moroni, Juan Imhoff (2) and Joaquin Tuculet while Nicolás Sánchez landed 23 points as Ireland had no answer to a side that cannot be taken lightly.  In this form, they are capable of going all the way.

The loss of Paul O'Connell, Jonathan Sexton and Peter O'Mahony was clearly felt by Ireland early on but maybe that's doing a disservice to los Pumas, who were outstanding in the first quarter.  During that passage they scored 20 points via two converted tries and a couple of penalties.

Moroni, in for the suspended Marcelo Bosch at outside centre, got the ball rolling inside three minutes following a powerful carry from Pablo Matera.  The recycled ball came right to where the in-form Santiago Cordero ghosted round Dave Kearney before setting up Moroni for the opener.

Fly-half Sánchez continued his excellent recent form off the tee with the touchline conversion before adding the two from Imhoff's try only six minutes later.  That try — his fifth of the competition — double Argentina's lead as he grounded Cordero's kick ahead just before it went dead.

Ireland were shell-shocked and wouldn't feel much better when Sánchez landed a penalty on 14 minutes.  They desperately needed an in in the game, especially after adding Tommy Bowe to their already weighty injury list.  He left the action with a knee injury, with Luke Fitzgerald coming on.

That came via Pumas prop Ramiro Herrera being yellow carded for a late tackle on Keith Earls, which lifted both Ireland players and supporters.

Madigan and Ireland's first points of the game soon followed before Sánchez struck back to make it 20-3 with 18 minutes remaining in the half.

One sensed from an Irish point of view they needed something more to cling to and fortunately for them it came 13 minutes before the turnaround from an opportunistic break-out.  Sánchez's penalty hit the post and Ireland pounced on it, with replacement Fitzgerald crossing down the left.

The first score after the interval was always going to be critical and it went the way of the Irish, whose comeback continued thanks to Murphy popping up on the shoulder of Fitzgerald after the wing's bust into the 22.  Madigan landed the extras and suddenly it was 20-17 to Argentina.

The momentum had well-and-truly swung in favour of the Irish at this point and they set about not letting it go to waste.  Argentina though were steadfast and soaked up the pressure before making a break-out of their own through Cordero and Imhoff, which resulted in three points from Sánchez.

Argentina's six-point buffer was short-lived as on 51 minutes Herrera was penalised for a ruck clearout and Madigan made no mistake for 23-20.

He was not so fortunate from 45 metres out on the hour mark as his penalty attempt to level drifted wide, with both sides now having utilised their respective benches.  The final quarter was all set up to be as fascinating as the opening three as a place in the semi-final was looming.

Los Pumas took a firmer grip on proceedings in the 64th minute when Devin Toner was punished for a high tackle on Sánchez, who made no mistake from the tee.

Cue an increase in tempo from Argentina as they ran in a further two tries in the closing stages through full-back Tuculet and a second from Imhoff before Sánchez rubbed salt into Irish wounds for 43-20 as the Pumas march on semi-final date against either Australia or Scotland next Sunday.

Man of the match:  Pablo Matera deserves a special mention for his bruising opening half-hour but for another faultless 80 minute performance in blue and white, Nicolás Sánchez wins this award.  23 points from the Pumas maestro.  Such an assured player.

Moment of the match:  It was the perfect start from Argentina and while Ireland recovered to get within three points, los Pumas had landed crucial early body blows which they then exploited late on.  An excellent opening 20 minutes from Agustin Creevy's men.

Villain of the match:  Nothing overly untoward to report.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  Fitzgerald, Murphy
Con:  Madigan 2
Pen:  Madigan 2

For Argentina:
Tries:  Moroni, Imhoff 2, Tuculet
Con:  Sánchez 4
Pen:  Sánchez 5
Yellow:  Herrera (late, no arm tackle — 17 mins)

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Tommy Bowe, 13 Keith Earls, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Ian Madigan, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip (c), 7 Chris Henry, 6 Jordi Murphy, 5 Iain Henderson, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements:  16 Richardt Strauss, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Nathan White, 19 Donnacha Ryan, 20 Rhys Ruddock, 21 Eoin Reddan, 22 Paddy Jackson, 23 Luke Fitzgerald.

Argentina:  15 Joaquin Tuculet, 14 Santiago Cordero, 13 Matías Moroni, 12 Juan Martín Hernández, 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 9 Martín Landajo, 8 Leonardo Senatore, 7 Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomás Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Agustín Creevy (c), 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements:  16 Julián Montoya, 17 Lucas Noguera, 18 Juan Pablo Orlandi, 19 Matías Alemanno, 20 Facundo Isa, 21 Tomás Cubelli, 22 Jerónimo De La Fuente, 23 Lucas González Amorosino.

Referee:  Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant Referees:  Romain Poite (France), Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
TMO:  George Ayoub (Australia)

All Blacks humiliate France in Cardiff

New Zealand laid to rest the ghosts of 1999 and 2007 as they embarrassed France 62-13 with a dominant performance at the Millennium Stadium.

The All Blacks set up a mouthwatering semi-final thanks to a hat-trick from Julian Savea, never giving France a sniff of a third World Cup upset as they claimed the biggest win in World Cup knock-out history.

The Philippe Saint-André era came to the most shuddering of ends against a clinical All Black side that ran in four first-half tries to end the game as a contest in their best performance of the tournament to date.

The boos rang out for the French, but on this form New Zealand will rightfully be restored as World Cup favourites after adding five more tries in the second half.  They will face better opposition next week and potentially in the final, but they will take some stopping if they can recreate performances like this.

Brodie Retallick got them started with a chargedown score which also proved to be Frédéric Michalak's last contribution, injuring his leg in the process.

Nehe Milner-Skudder then added a second and when Savea ran in his first, the All Blacks were cruising at 24-6.

Louis Picamoles pulled one back for France but any thoughts of a comeback were quickly dismissed as Savea crashed his way through for a Jonah Lomu-esque second to make it 29-13 at the break, equalling the great man's 37 Test tries before overtaking it in the second half.

France weren't actually playing that poorly in the first half, but the All Blacks punished any errors before cutting loose in the second 40 minutes.

Their job got harder early in the second half when Picamoles was sin-binned for a shove to Richie McCaw's face on the ground, and in his absence Jerome Kaino scored New Zealand's fifth.

As if to underline their dominance, Savea raced in for an easy third when Noa Nakaitaci was stripped in midfield and the ball was delivered to the winger to race in from halfway.

The seventh came from Kieran Read before Tawera Kerr-Barlow scored two as France completely collapsed, although Brice Dulin at least came back to deny Ma'a Nonu the tenth try with a fantastic cover tackle on the final play.

The signs were ominous early on, with New Zealand making ground with every carry, stealing the first French lineout and generally looking a step-up from their performances to date in the competition.

France meanwhile saw Yoann Maestri turned over on his first carry, while Thierry Dusautoir, on what was likely a sorry goodbye to Test rugby, missed two tackles in the first five minutes, having famously not missed one in the corresponding fixture eight years ago.

And yet France could have had the first try as Wesley Fofana, France's best player by a country mile, pounced on messy ruck ball on halfway and was in the clear.  Nigel Owens had spotted a French infringement though, and it was Carter who slotted the first points for the All Blacks.

France hadn't been in the New Zealand half, but they levelled the scores with a long-range penalty from Scott Spedding after New Zealand had slowed the ball down in a ruck.

That didn't last long though as Retallick charged down Michalak from a dreadfully slow clearance kick, with the ball popping up for the simplest stroll in.  Literally adding insult to injury, Michalak appeared to pull his groin in the process of kicking, and had to leave the field after just 11 minutes.

Rémi Talès replaced him, but after Carter converted les Bleus, playing in red, pulled three points back through a Morgan Parra penalty.

They should have been back to within a point thanks but Parra missed a sitter after France nearly scored.  Conrad Smith was brilliantly scragged in midfield by Picamoles before inexplicably chucking the ball backwards and Nakaitaci was first onto it as Savea dallied.  The winger did enough to stop Nakaitaci but the All Blacks were offside and Parra should have knocked over his second penalty, only to pull it to the right.

France were starting to get into the game, with New Zealand looking a little rattled but on 23 minutes, Milner-Skudder showed why he had been selected with a trademark step.  After a Carter drop goal was charged down New Zealand scrambled back, but calmly recycled before Milner-Skudder stepped back off his right past Brice Dulin and raced away for the try.  Carter converted and New Zealand 17-6.

That try appeared to kill off any French hopes, and New Zealand were soon in again, this time thanks to some magic from Carter.  The All Black fly-half spotted a mismatch in midfield and handed off Pascal Papé before a delightful backhand flick for the easy finish for Savea.  Carter again added the extras and the game was over as a contest, New Zealand leading 24-6.

France needed a try before half-time to have any hope and they got it with their first real period of sustained possession.  Regularly making ground with ball in hand, they worked their way into the 22.  When a pass was missed by Bernard le Roux, Picamoles pounced and then had the strength to barge his way over from ten metres out.  Parra converted to cut the deficit to 11 with four minutes left in the half.

The doubts could have crept in, but instead New Zealand fired straight back with a brutal, bludgeoning second from Savea.  Ben Smith got up highest to beat Picamoles to a Carter bomb and with France in disarray, Savea bounced off both Nakaitaci and Spedding for the try.  Carter missed the conversion but New Zealand led 29-13 at the break.

France started the second half the stronger and set up camp in the New Zealand 22.  When McCaw pulled down a French maul and then refused to release the ball as Parra tried to take it quickly, Picamoles reacted with a push to the face, causing the penalty to be overturned and earning ten minutes in the sin-bin.

Down to 14, France were up against it, and New Zealand had their fifth on 50 minutes.  Beauden Barrett, on at half-time for Milner-Skudder delivered the final pass to Kaino after an initial break on the right by Ben Smith.

Savea completed his hat-trick with a turnover score and New Zealand were in cruise control, with every offload going to hand, and Read and then Kerr-Barlow popping up in support following line breaks to finish off more tries.

Back to their very best, this All Black team will be big favourites against South Africa next week.  For France a miserable four years comes to an end in embarrassing fashion, Saint-André appearing to a chorus of boos at the final whistle.

Man of the match:  For a man who is seemingly out of form, Julian Savea was excellent once more, overtaking Jonah Lomu with a stunning hat-trick as France never found a way to stop him.

Moment of the match:  Nine minutes in Frédéric Michalak was too slow clearing the ball as France finally got hold of the ball.  Brodie Retallick charged him down, collected and scored, while Michalak limped off.  It only got worse from there for les Bleus.

Villain of the match:  Despite Louis Picamoles' yellow card, the game was played in good spirit.

The scorers:

For France:
Try:  Picamoles
Con:  Parra
Pens:  Spedding, Parra
Yellow Card:  Picamoles

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Retallick, Milner-Skudder, Savea 3, Kaino, Read, Kerr-Barlow 2
Cons:  Carter 7
Pen:  Carter

The teams:

France:  15 Scott Spedding, 14 Noa Nakaitaci, 13 Alexandre Dumoulin, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Brice Dulin, 10 Frédéric Michalak, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Bernard le Roux, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Pascal Papé, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Eddy Ben Arous
Replacements:  16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Nicolas Mas, 19 Damien Chouly, 20 Yannick Nyanga, 21 Rory Kockott, 22 Rémi Talès, 23 Mathieu Bastareaud

New Zealand:  15 Ben Smith, 14 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Joe Moody, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Sam Cane, 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Sonny Bill Williams.

Venue:  Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa), John Lacey (Ireland)
Television match official:  Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Du Preez try takes Boks into semi-finals

South Africa advanced to the 2015 Rugby World Cup semi-finals thanks to a 23-19 victory over Wales in an intense battle at Twickenham on Saturday.

Springbok skipper Fourie du Preez scored in the 75th minute to snatch victory in an epic game that could have gone either way.

South Africa will now face the winners of Saturday's other quarter-final between France and defending champions New Zealand next weekend at the same venue.

You could not have asked for the greater physical battle in a match played at a furious pace.  It was simply thrilling as the lead constantly swapped hands.

A monumental effort from the South African pack was at the heart of this victory as their big ball carriers worked tirelessly, relentlessly hammering away at the gainline.

There was precious little to separate the sides at the interval as Wales led 13-12 thanks to a try from scrum-half Gareth Davies and a drop-goal on the stroke of half-time from Dan Biggar.

The battle of the breakdown had been billed as the decisive area by both camps before kick-off and the ruck penalty count against Wales proved significant, meaning that South Africa led for most of the opening 40 minutes.

It was a tale of missed chances early on and Wales had a great opportunity to score after Tyler Morgan ripped the ball off Damian de Allende, setting up George North to charge up field, but Gethin Jenkins threw a shocker of a pass when Morgan had acres of space on the overlap after the ball was recycled.

Three consecutive ruck penalties allowed Handre Pollard to give South Africa a 6-0 lead although Biggar pulled three points back when South Africa were pinned down in front of their own posts.

But Wales were being hammered by referee Wayne Barnes at the breakdown and Pollard made it 9-3 just after the 15 minute mark.

Wales hit back with the first try of the game as Biggar collected his own bomb before offloading to Davies, who ghosted over.  Biggar added the conversion to give Wales the lead for the first time.

The Springboks edged back in front at the end of the first quarter as Pollard slotted his fourth penalty, this time for obstruction.

A tense territorial battle ensued as bombs rained down in both directions with the Boks just holding the upper hand in terms of possession, but twice Du Preez's cross-field kicks just missed the chasing JP Pietersen.

Biggar hit the post with a long-range shot but with time up, he sent a drop-goal straight through the middle to give Wales the narrowest of advantages as the teams headed for the changing rooms.

Pollard sent a penalty wide early in the second-half after Wales were pinged for pulling down a maul but Biggar hit the target from over 40 metres out after Schalk Burger went offside.

The Springbok pack turned up the heat with a prolonged period of massive ball carrying but the Welsh defence brilliantly held firm.  The men in green eventually turned to Pollard to slot a drop of his own, to make it a one-point ball game once again.

The Springbok fly-half should have given his team the lead but missed the mark for the second time.  A scything run from Willie le Roux gave Bryan Habana a glimpse of the line and the World Cup try-scoring record only to be stopped just short, meaning Wales hit the hour mark 16-15 up.

The Boks wrestled the lead back as Jesse Kriel forced Gareth Anscombe to hang on and Pollard landed his sixth penalty but Eben Etzebeth was penalised on the deck immediately after the restart and Biggar duly restored the Welsh advantage, setting up a nail-biting finale.

With 'Bread of Heaven' resounding around Twickenham Wales were in sight of their second consecutive RWC semi-final but a big scrum set up Duane Vermeulen to break off the back with his offload sending Du Preez over in the corner.

Pollard missed the conversion, leaving Wales within touching distance but the Boks held on.

Man of the match:  Du Preez obviously deserves a mention and Vermeulen was instrumental but Schalk Burger was phenomenal, making 26 carries in a vintage performance.

Moment of the match:  There can be only one;  Vermeulen's offload to set up the winning try in the dying minutes was sublime.

Villain of the match:  No nasty stuff to report.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Try:  Du Preez
Pens:  Pollard 5
Drop:  Pollard

For Wales:
Try:  Davies
Con:  Biggar
Pens:  Biggar 3
Drop:  Biggar

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Fourie du Preez (c), 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Jannie du Plessis, 19 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 20 Willem Alberts, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 Jan Serfontein.

Wales:  15 Gareth Anscombe, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Tyler Morgan, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (c), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Paul James, 18 Tom Francis, 19 Bradley Davies 20 Justin Tipuric, 21 Lloyd Williams, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 James Hook

Venue:  Twickenham Stadium, London
Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees:  JP Doyle (England), George Clancy (Ireland)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)