Wales edge Samoa in Apia

Wales made it two wins out of two in their June internationals as they came from behind to defeat Samoa 19-17 at Apia Park on Friday.

Two tries from Steff Evans proved the difference while Sam Davies slotted three penalties as the Samoans came up just short at home.

Alapati Leiua and Maatulimanu Leiataua did cross for the islanders but they couldn't bounce back from last week's loss to New Zealand.

Conditions were difficult in Apia following a heavy downpour but it didn't stop Samoa from opening the scoring inside four minutes when wing Leiua slid over on the right after a long cut-out pass.  Tusi Pisi was on-target from the touchline as Samoa went 7-0 in front.

Wales couldn't get their hands on the ball early on and when Pisi landed a penalty on 11 minutes, they were 10-0 down and deservedly so.

Soon after, however, they got on the board through the reliable Davies with his first of three first-half penalties, this one from range.

The Ospreys fly-half further reduced the margin on 20 minutes following an offside from the hosts, who now led 10-6 as the game underwent a shift in momentum.

Try-scoring opportunities were few and far between at this point, with only another Davies shot troubling the board going into the break.

That all changed after the turnaround though as, like Samoa in the first, Wales struck early.  The try came thanks to back-row Aaron Shingler charging down Pisi's attempted clearing kick and from the recycled ball, quick hands from prop Dillon Lewis allowed Evans to dive over.

Despite Davies being unable to add the two due to the width of a post, Wales did have the lead for the first time at 14-10 to the good.

Their advantage didn't last long in Apia as a smart run from scrum-half Kahn Fotuali'i through a ruck led to hooker Leiataua going over wide on the left.  With fly-half Pisi's touchline conversion, despite his slip while striking, the islanders were back in front at 17-14.

Samoa missed the chance to make it a six-point advantage on 65 minutes as Pisi was wayward with a difficult penalty after a maul collapse.

And it came back to haunt them with six minutes remaining as sustained pressure on the Samoan line again led to quick hands out to wing Evans, whose rich vein of form continued with his second try of the contest.  Despite Davies' missed conversion Wales held on to win 19-17.

The scorers:

For Samoa:
Tries:  A Leiua, Leiataua
Cons:  Pisi 2
Pen:  Pisi

For Wales:
Tries:  Evans 2
Pens:  S Davies 3

Samoa:  15 D'Angelo Leuila, 14 Alapati Leiua, 13 Kieron Fonotia, 12 Rey Lee-Lo, 11 David Lemi (c), 10 Tusi Pisi, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i, 8 Fata Alafoti Faosiliva, 7 Galu Taufale, 6 Piula Faasalele, 5 Faatiga Lemalu, 4 Chris Vui, 3 Paul Alo-Emile, 2 Maatulimanu Leiataua, 1 Viliamu Afatia
Replacements:  16 Seilala Lam, 17 Nephi Leatigaga, 18 Bronson Fotualii-Tauakipulu, 19 Faifili Levave, 20 Vavae Tuilagi, 21 Dwayne Polataivao, 22 Henry Taefu, 23 Tila Mealoi

Wales:  15 Gareth Anscombe, 14 Cory Allen, 13 Tyler Morgan, 12 Jamie Roberts (c), 11 Steffan Evans, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Aled Davies, 8 Josh Navidi, 7 Ellis Jenkins, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Rory Thornton, 4 Seb Davies, 3 Dillon Lewis, 2 Ryan Elias, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements:  16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 Adam Beard, 20 Thomas Young, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Owen Williams, 23 Scott Williams

Referee:  Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
Assistant Referees:  Mike Fraser (New Zealand), Rohan Hoffmann (Australia)

Georgia edge USA in Atlanta

Georgia claimed a 21-17 win over USA in Atlanta on Saturday as the Eagles go into their 2019 World Cup qualifiers on a negative note.

USA take on Canada on June 24 in Hamilton, Ontario, and on July 1 in San Diego, California, as they look to book a spot in the tournament.

Merab Kvirikashvili opened the scoring for Georgia with a try before the kickers traded blows, making it 11-3 to the Lelos on 25 minutes.

Georgia went in 18-3 ahead thanks to a penalty try but when Nate Augspurger crossed for the US, suddenly it was 21-10 to the visitors.

Matt Jensen made it a four-point game late on but Georgia managed to hold on as they followed up last week's win over Canada in style.

The scorers:

For USA:
Tries:  Augspurger, Jensen
Cons:  MacGinty 2
Pen:  MacGinty

For Georgia:
Tries:  Kvirikashvili, Penalty Try
Pens:  Kvirikashvili 3

USA:  15 Mike Te'o, 14 Matai Leuta, 13 Bryce Campbell, 12 AJ MacGinty, 11 Nate Augspurger, 10 Will Magie, 9 Shaun Davies, 8 Cam Dolan, 7 Tony Lamborn, 6 Todd Clever (c), 5 Ben Landry, 4 Nate Brakeley, 3 Chris Baumann, 2 James Hilterbrand, 1 Tony Purpura
Replacements:  16 Peter Malcolm, 17 Ben Tarr, 18 Dino Waldren, 19 Matthew Jensen, 20 Andrew Durutalo, 21 Ben Cima, 22 Marcel Brache, 23 Ryan Matyas

Georgia:  15 Merab Kvirikashvili, 14 Giorgi Koshadze, 13 Davit Katcharava, 12 Merab Sharkadze (c), 11 Sandro Todua, 10 Lasha Khmaladze, 9 Vasil Lobzhanidze, 8 Beka Bitsadze, 7 Vito Kolelishvili, 6 Lasha Lomidze, 5 Kote Mikautadze, 4 Giorgi Nemsadze, 3 Levan Chilachava, 2 Jaba Bregvadze, 1 Mikheil Nariashvili
Replacements:  16 Shalva Mamukashvili, 17 Tornike Mataradze, 18 Soso Bekoshvili, 19 Giorgi Chkhaidze, 20 Otar Giorgadze, 21 Giorgi Begadze, 22 Lasha Malaghuradze, 23 Giorgi Tsutskiridze

Referee:  Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
Assistant Referees:  Luke Pearce (England), Chris Assmus (Canada)
TMO:  Neil Paterson (Scotland)

Romania claim win over Canada

Canada were beaten 25-9 by Romania in Edmonton on Saturday in their final Test match before their 2019 Rugby World Cup qualifying series.

Canada kicked three penalties from Gordon McRorie but also had two tries disallowed in a fierce game that saw a red card and two yellows.

The hosts went 3-0 up through McRorie in the 12th minute but Romania hit back with their first try, coming from back-row Viorel Lucaci.

However, the 23rd minute saw a red card for Romania's Otar Turashvili after punching Canada's Tyler Ardron.  On the same play, Ardron saw yellow.  From the ensuing penalty, McRorie cut the Romania lead to 7-6, a lead the visiting team would take into the half-time turnaround.

It was an exceptional start to the second half for Romania as they scored less than a minute in through Fonovai Tangimana before McRorie hit back with another penalty to make it 14-9.

Florin Vlaicu's penalty made it 17-9 before controversy struck again.  Van der Merwe seemed to win a high ball from a cross-field kick and a few phases later Ardron had scored for Canada.  But after another TMO review, the try was ruled off and Van der Merwe was sent to the sin bin for contesting a high ball and making contact above the shoulders.

Tangimana would grab his second try of the day in the 62nd minute before a late Vlaicu penalty sealed the result.

The scorers:

For Canada:
Pens:  McRorie 3
Yellow Cards:  Ardron, Van der Merwe

For Romania:
Tries:  Lucaci, Tangimana 2
Cons:  Vlaicu 2
Pens:  Vlaicu 2
Red Card:  Turashvili

Canada:  15 Ciaran Hearn, 14 DTH van der Merwe (cc), 13 Conor Trainor, 12 Nick Blevins, 11 Sean Duke, 10 Connor Braid, 9 Gordon McRorie, 8 Aaron Carpenter, 7 Matt Heaton, 6 Tyler Ardron, 5 Evan Olmstead, 4 Brett Beukeboom (cc), 3 Matt Tierney, 2 Ray Barkwill, 1 Anthony Luca
Replacements:  16 Benoit Piffero, 17 Djustice Sears-Duru, 18 Ryan Ackerman, 19 Conor Keys, 20 Kyle Baillie, 21 Phil Mack, 22 Shane O'Leary, 23 Andrew Coe

Romania:  15 Luke Samoa, 14 Fonovai Tangimana, 13 Paula Kinikinilau, 12 Sione Fakaosilea, 11 Ionut Dumitru, 10 Florin Vlaicu, 9 Florin Surugiu, 8 Mihai Macovei (c), 7 Viorel Lucaci, 6 Vlad Nistor, 5 Valentin Poparlan, 4 Johannes Van Heerden, 3 Andrei Ursache, 2 Otar Turashvili, 1 Ionel Badiu
Replacements:  16 Constantin Pristavita, 17 Andrei Radoi, 18 Alexandru Tarus, 19 Marius Antonescu, 20 Andrei Gorcioaia, 21 Tudorel Bratu, 22 Vladut Popa, 23 Marius Simionescu

Referee:  Shuhei Kubo (Japan)
Assistant Referees:  Andrew Brace (Ireland), Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

Series joy for England

England sealed a 2-0 series win over Argentina in Santa Fe on Saturday as they beat the Pumas 35-25 in an impressive victory.

Tries from Charlie Ewels, Piers Francis, Danny Care and Will Collier helped them to the success, with George Ford contributing 15 points.

In reply, Joaquín Tuculet, Pablo Matera and Emiliano Boffelli crossed for Argentina, but they fell short as Ford's late drop-goal was key.

Following on from last week's thrilling match, the opening 40 minutes also brought plenty of excitement as England went in 18-13 ahead.

It took the visitors just six minutes to cross the whitewash as quick lineout ball saw Nathan Hughes bust through the heart of Argentina's defence before Joe Launchbury's subsequent run led to him offloading to second-row partner Ewels for a try.  Ford converted for a 7-0 lead.

The buffer didn't last long though as two minutes later Argentina hit back, with width on the ball seeing Tuculet go over for the crossing.

Ford was on target again off the tee soon after to make it 10-7 but again the Pumas responded, this time a scrum penalty saw them level.

Argentina had their tails up at this point and duly edged ahead for the first time on 19 minutes as an offside from England made it 13-10.  Sánchez though couldn't extend the lead five minutes later from wide out before Ford made no such mistake, with the score now 13 apiece.

On 31 minutes England would cross for their second try and it was a thing of beauty.  From a poor cross-kick from Sánchez, Mike Brown would leap highest near halfway and set off, with his fine offload 15 metres from the line finding debutant Francis for the unconverted score.

Coming out for the second-half at 18-13, both teams knew the first score would be crucial.  That made Sánchez's missed penalty following a lovely counter attack down the right that saw Brown make a high tackle all the more disappointing for the Pumas.  England dodged a bullet.

England would have no such luck on 53 minutes as Francis turned from hero to villain when his grubber near halfway was blocked by Matera, before the flank showed good footballing skills to kick ahead and collect for a try on the left.  Sánchez again though missed off the tee.

At 18-18 the game wasn't locked up for long as turnover ball saw the slick Brown put pace on an attack before finding Care on his inside.  Ford was having no such trouble with his kicking and with his extras England now led 25-18 as the game approached its final 20 minutes.

It was far from over and looked like being a repeat of last week in terms of drama, with Boffelli's crossing down the left wing handing Sánchez the opportunity to level matters once again.  This time he made no mistake and at 25 apiece the excitement was growing in Santa Fe.

England extinguished that somewhat in the 65th minute when a line-out drive saw replacement Collier burrow over, which made it 32-25.

Argentina still had plenty of time to claw themselves back within sight of a series-levelling victory but it was to be England who had the final say, with Ford's smart drop-goal on 76 minutes putting the seal on an impressive personal performance and a 2-0 series win.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Tries:  Tuculet, Matera, Boffelli
Cons:  Sánchez 2
Pens:  Sánchez 2

For England:
Tries:  Ewels, Francis, Care, Collier
Cons:  Ford 3
Pens:  Ford 2
Drop Goal:  Ford

Argentina:  15 Joaquín Tuculet, 14 Ramiro Moyano, 13 Matías Orlando, 12 Jerónimo de la Fuente, 11 Emiliano Boffelli, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 9 Martín Landajo, 8 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 7 Javier Ortega Desio, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomás Lavanini, 4 Matías Alemanno, 3 Enrique Pieretto, 2 Agustín Creevy, 1 Lucas Noguera Paz
Replacements:  16 Julián Montoya, 17 Santiago García Botta, 18 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 19 Guido Petti, 20 Leonardo Senatore, 21 Gonzalo Bertanou, 22 Juan Martín Hernández, 23 Matías Moroni

England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Piers Francis, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Chris Robshaw, 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Harry Williams, 2 Dylan Hartley (c), 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements:  16 Jack Singleton, 17 Matt Mullan, 18 Will Collier, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Mark Wilson, 21 Jack Maunder, 22 Alex Lozowski, 23 Denny Solomona

Referee:  John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant Referees:  Nigel Owens (Wales), Egon Seconds (South Africa)
TMO:  Aaron Paterson (New Zealand)

Springboks overwhelm France to clinch series

South Africa clinched their three-match series against France with a comprehensive 37-15 win at Kings Park in Durban on Saturday.

The Springboks have now taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series after last week's 37-14 victory in Pretoria with the final match to take place next weekend in Johannesburg.

The Boks continue on the road to redemption after last year's annus horribilis.  However, coach Allister Coetzee cannot rest on his laurels as a defeat next weekend could still cost him his job after the SARU ultimatum which said he had to win the series 3-0.

However, Coetzee would be satisfied with not just the winning margin but also the style of rugby his side are playing this year.  And so the Springbok supporters should be.

Tries from Jan Serfontein, Siya Kolisi, Coenie Oosthuizen and Elton Jantjies proved too much for the French who scored through Scott Spedding and Damian Penaud.  Jantjies produced another solid kicking display in which 17 points came from his boot.

South Africa attacked the gainline ferociously and were immense on defence, driving the French back as well as creating a number of turnovers.  The opening 20 minutes of the second half in which they resisted a sustained French onslaught was a throwback to the glory days of 2007 under Jake White.  The Boks made 153 tackles with three players making over 15 tackles whereas the French only made 44.

Despite the French enjoying 66 percent possession and 64 percent territory, the Boks showed it is not about how much ball or territory you have, but how you use it and how clinical you are.

Some good work by the French backline down the left wing resulted in the game's first try.  Virimi Vakatawa broke three tackles to create the momentum and from the recycled ball Penaud managed to stay in the field of play before feeding Spedding who finished well in the corner.  Francois Trinh-Duc added the extras to give les Bleus a 7-0 lead inside three minutes.

France had the better of the early possession enjoying over 70 percent of the ball in the first quarter.  Despite this the Boks made a few promising line breaks but failed to convert.  Oupa Mohoje was then knocked out after a heavy collision with Louis Picamoles and Jean-Luc Du Preez came on for his debut after only 13 minutes.  Jantjies then pulled a penalty back for the Boks to make it 7-3.

On the 20 minute mark, the South Africans responded with a try.  Good interplay saw the ball go down the left wing through the hands of Serfontein, Lionel Mapoe, Courtnall Skosan and Kolisi who offloaded brilliantly on the inside for Serfontein to dot down.  Jantjies added the extras.

Soon after, Kolisi got in on the act with a sublime intercept in which he plucked the ball out of the air from inches above the ground and showed good speed to race in under the posts.  It all came from a good Serfontein kick in behind the French defence which pressured the French defence into throwing an errant pass.

Jantjies added a further two penalties in the first-half to ensure the Boks went in to the interval at 23-7 in the lead.

The French dominated the possession and territory stakes and applied persistent pressure on the Springbok try-line for the opening 20 minutes of the second half.

Credit must go to the Boks for surviving this onslaught with a heroic defensive effort.  This will please the coaching staff and supporters greatly as it is something the Boks have always prided themselves on.  All the French had to write home about for their sustained pressure was a sole Francois Trinh-Duc penalty.

Having soaked up the pressure, the Boks went on to score their third try in the 69th minute.  Pieter-Steph Du Toit showed the subtle touch and vision of a backline player with an expertly timed pass to Oosthuizen who ran a marvellous line and with that sort of momentum was not going to be stopped.  Jantjies converted to give the Boks a 30-10 lead.

However, the French responded immediately from the re-start.  South Africa were unable to secure the ball from the French kick-off and launched a swift counter-attack with Vakatawa integral to the move that saw Penaud dotting down on his debut.

The fourth Bok try came courtesy of some more Kolisi magic.  Again he made an excellent intercept and ran 40 metres before producing a wonderful offload for Jantjies to cruise in under the posts.  And that's how it stayed until the final whistle with the Boks winning the match 37-15.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Serfontein, Kolisi, Oosthuizen, Jantjies
Cons:  Jantjies 4
Pens:  Jantjies 3

For France:
Tries:  Spedding, Penaud
Con:  Serin
Pen:  Trinh-Duc

South Africa:  15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Raymond Rhule, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Ross Cronjé, 8 Warren Whiteley (c), 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements:  16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 20 Jean-Luc du Preez, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Frans Steyn, 23 Dillyn Leyds

France:  15 Scott Spedding, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Damian Penaud, 12 Gaël Fickou, 11 Virimi Vakatawa, 10 François Trinh-Duc, 9 Baptiste Serin, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Kévin Gourdon, 6 Yacouba Camara, 5 Romain Taofifeuna, 4 Yoann Maestri, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Guilhem Guirado (c), 1 Jefferson Poirot
Replacements:  16 Clément Maynadier, 17 Eddy Ben Arous, 18 Uini Atonio, 19 Julien le Devedec, 20 Bernard le Roux, 21 Antoine Dupont, 22 Jean-Marc Doussain, 23 Nans Ducuing

Referee:  Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees:  Glen Jackson (New Zealand), Angus Gardner (Australia)
TMO:  Rowan Kitt (England)

Lions too strong for Maori All Blacks

The British and Irish Lions bounced back with a commanding 32-10 win over the Maori All Blacks in Rotorua on Saturday.

Leigh Halfpenny finished with 20 points as the Lions scored second half tries through a penalty try and second-row Maro Itoje, having completely dominated after half-time as the Maoris failed to add any points.

As with the Crusaders, for all their firepower out wide the Maori All Blacks could not get firing against a miserly Lions pack, whose kicking game dominated the contest.

The so-called 'fourth Test' certainly played out like a Test match, aided by difficult, slippery conditions in Rotorua.  The Lions simply outpowered their opposition in the second half, moving clear thanks to two quick tries.

Finishing off line breaks and soft penalties, familiar issues on this tour, appeared once again in Rotorua and especially in the first half, before the Lions ultimately settled.

They started patiently, showing good ball retention and involving their forwards before winning a penalty for not rolling away, converted by Halfpenny with four minutes on the clock.

Their initial approach was tight but effective, momentum from the maul and then Murray's box kick forcing an offside penalty for Halfpenny to make it 6-0.

Understandably the Maori All Blacks wanted to lift the tempo, opting for quick lineouts, but with the ball slipping and sliding all over the place it was the hosts who scored the first try against the run of play.

Milner-Skudder's grubber kick wasn't covered by George North and Leigh Halfpenny, the two colliding with the loose ball then hacked on into space for Messam to slide and score.  McKenzie converted to give the Maori a 7-6 lead.

Slightly deflated as a result of that the Lions needed a lift, and it came from a Jonathan Davies break, spotting the space and cutting through as the Lions came away with a third penalty from Halfpenny.  The lack of a try however was symptomatic of the Lions' issues in the red zone on this tour.

McKenzie responded instantly with his first three-pointer, with his opposite man Sexton growing in confidence and enjoying his best game so far on tour.

Tries might have looked unlikely for the Lions but the work of their tight five especially in defence and attack continued to win penalties, the Maori penalised for not rolling away as Halfpenny made it 12-10.

McKenzie attempted a long-range strike from 60 metres to swing the lead back, his kick having the distance but not the direction.

A soft breakdown penalty conceded by Tadgh Furlong threatened to put the Lions under pressure, but the defence held firm to win a penalty, ensuring the Lions led at the break despite not knowing their laws and kicking straight to touch from the penalty, consequently forced to take another lineout.

The heavens opening naturally suited the Lions' approach perfectly, Halfpenny adding three more points, as Lowe continued to struggle under the high ball.

And the tourists' control on the contest continued to grow after Tawera Kerr-Barlow's yellow card for leading with the shoulder on Halfpenny metres out from the line.

Jamie George claimed to have scored, the TMO ruling he was short of the line, and the Lions simply had to come away with points so close to the home side's line.  Winning successive scrum penalties with huge power from the tight five, Jaco Peyper awarded a penalty try.

A second try wasn't far behind, Itoje burrowing his way over after another five-metre scrum, with the Maori All Blacks having been harried back into their own dead-ball area by more accurate kicking.  Halfpenny, yet to miss, converted from out wide.

Peter O'Mahony's treatment on his knee saw him swiftly replaced by Sam Warburton with the game wearing on, the Lions pack continuing to dictate.

Halfpenny twisted the screw with a sixth penalty after the Maoris strayed offside, making the score 32-10, with the Lions unable to add to their tally but leaving Rotorua with a spring in their step.

The scorers:

For Maori All Blacks:
Try:  Messam
Con:  McKenzie
Pen:  McKenzie
Yellow Card:  Kerr-Barlow

For British and Irish Lions:
Tries:  Penalty Try, Itoje
Con:  Penalty Try, Halfpenny
Pens:  Halfpenny 6

Maori All Blacks:  15 James Lowe, 14 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 13 Matt Proctor, 12 Charlie Ngatai, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Liam Messam, 7 Elliot Dixon, 6 Akira Ioane, 5 Tom Franklin, 4 Joe Wheeler, 3 Ben May, 2 Ash Dixon (c), 1 Kane Hames
Replacements:  16 Hikawera Elliot, 17 Chris Eves, 18 Marcel Renata, 19 Leighton Price, 20 Kara Pryor, 21 Bryn Hall, 22 Ihaia West, 23 Rob Thompson

British and Irish Lions:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Ben Te'o, 11 George North, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Peter O'Mahony (c), 5 George Kruis, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Sam Warburton, 21 Greig Laidlaw, 22 Dan Biggar, 23 Elliot Daly

Referee:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant Referees:  Jérôme Garcès (France), Romain Poite (France)
TMO:  Ian Smith (Australia)

Lions too strong for Maori All Blacks

The British and Irish Lions bounced back with a commanding 32-10 win over the Maori All Blacks in Rotorua on Saturday.

Leigh Halfpenny finished with 20 points as the Lions scored second half tries through a penalty try and second-row Maro Itoje, having completely dominated after half-time as the Maoris failed to add any points.

As with the Crusaders, for all their firepower out wide the Maori All Blacks could not get firing against a miserly Lions pack, whose kicking game dominated the contest.

The so-called 'fourth Test' certainly played out like a Test match, aided by difficult, slippery conditions in Rotorua.  The Lions simply outpowered their opposition in the second half, moving clear thanks to two quick tries.

Finishing off line breaks and soft penalties, familiar issues on this tour, appeared once again in Rotorua and especially in the first half, before the Lions ultimately settled.

They started patiently, showing good ball retention and involving their forwards before winning a penalty for not rolling away, converted by Halfpenny with four minutes on the clock.

Their initial approach was tight but effective, momentum from the maul and then Murray's box kick forcing an offside penalty for Halfpenny to make it 6-0.

Understandably the Maori All Blacks wanted to lift the tempo, opting for quick lineouts, but with the ball slipping and sliding all over the place it was the hosts who scored the first try against the run of play.

Milner-Skudder's grubber kick wasn't covered by George North and Leigh Halfpenny, the two colliding with the loose ball then hacked on into space for Messam to slide and score.  McKenzie converted to give the Maori a 7-6 lead.

Slightly deflated as a result of that the Lions needed a lift, and it came from a Jonathan Davies break, spotting the space and cutting through as the Lions came away with a third penalty from Halfpenny.  The lack of a try however was symptomatic of the Lions' issues in the red zone on this tour.

McKenzie responded instantly with his first three-pointer, with his opposite man Sexton growing in confidence and enjoying his best game so far on tour.

Tries might have looked unlikely for the Lions but the work of their tight five especially in defence and attack continued to win penalties, the Maori penalised for not rolling away as Halfpenny made it 12-10.

McKenzie attempted a long-range strike from 60 metres to swing the lead back, his kick having the distance but not the direction.

A soft breakdown penalty conceded by Tadgh Furlong threatened to put the Lions under pressure, but the defence held firm to win a penalty, ensuring the Lions led at the break despite not knowing their laws and kicking straight to touch from the penalty, consequently forced to take another lineout.

The heavens opening naturally suited the Lions' approach perfectly, Halfpenny adding three more points, as Lowe continued to struggle under the high ball.

And the tourists' control on the contest continued to grow after Tawera Kerr-Barlow's yellow card for leading with the shoulder on Halfpenny metres out from the line.

Jamie George claimed to have scored, the TMO ruling he was short of the line, and the Lions simply had to come away with points so close to the home side's line.  Winning successive scrum penalties with huge power from the tight five, Jaco Peyper awarded a penalty try.

A second try wasn't far behind, Itoje burrowing his way over after another five-metre scrum, with the Maori All Blacks having been harried back into their own dead-ball area by more accurate kicking.  Halfpenny, yet to miss, converted from out wide.

Peter O'Mahony's treatment on his knee saw him swiftly replaced by Sam Warburton with the game wearing on, the Lions pack continuing to dictate.

Halfpenny twisted the screw with a sixth penalty after the Maoris strayed offside, making the score 32-10, with the Lions unable to add to their tally but leaving Rotorua with a spring in their step.

The scorers:

For Maori All Blacks:
Try:  Messam
Con:  McKenzie
Pen:  McKenzie
Yellow Card:  Kerr-Barlow

For British and Irish Lions:
Tries:  Penalty Try, Itoje
Con:  Penalty Try, Halfpenny
Pens:  Halfpenny 6

Maori All Blacks:  15 James Lowe, 14 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 13 Matt Proctor, 12 Charlie Ngatai, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 8 Liam Messam, 7 Elliot Dixon, 6 Akira Ioane, 5 Tom Franklin, 4 Joe Wheeler, 3 Ben May, 2 Ash Dixon (c), 1 Kane Hames
Replacements:  16 Hikawera Elliot, 17 Chris Eves, 18 Marcel Renata, 19 Leighton Price, 20 Kara Pryor, 21 Bryn Hall, 22 Ihaia West, 23 Rob Thompson

British and Irish Lions:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Ben Te'o, 11 George North, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Peter O'Mahony (c), 5 George Kruis, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Jamie George, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements:  16 Ken Owens, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Sam Warburton, 21 Greig Laidlaw, 22 Dan Biggar, 23 Elliot Daly

Referee:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant Referees:  Jérôme Garcès (France), Romain Poite (France)
TMO:  Ian Smith (Australia)

Ireland put 50 points on Japan

Ireland made light work of Japan, putting up 50 points in their comfortable 50-22 win at Ecopa Stadium in Shizuoka.

Keith Earls, Dan Leavy and Jack Conan all finished with braces for Joe Schmidt's side, with Garry Ringrose the other try scorer for Ireland.

Japan did score three tries of their own, but all of them came late in the second half when the contest was already long over.  Ryuji Noguchi, Kenki Fukuoka and Yutaka Nagare added some respectability to the scoreline.

Ireland opened the scoring as soon as the sixth minute through a Paddy Jackson penalty after Japan strayed offside, before getting the first try thanks to Conan's offload to Earls, Jackson converting to make it 10-0.

Yu Tamura responded with a penalty for Japan but the home side were under pressure notably in the scrum, coughing up multiple penalties before losing prop Heiichiro Ito to a yellow card.

Three quick tries followed, two to Leavy and one to Conan, making the sin-bin a costly one for Japan.  Jackson converted all three scores to give Ireland a 31-3 half-time lead.

A breakaway score from Conan then added to the rout at the start of the second half, his second try, but Ireland's good run was hampered slightly by the loss of winger Andrew Conway to a yellow card for a high tackle.

Spurred on Japan scored through Noguchi, after multiple phases, but Ireland responded through Ringrose, finishing off a spectacular try made by Tiernan O'Halloran's cross-field kick after starting in their own 22.

Earls then made it 50 for Ireland after more impressive handling, before Fukuoka and Nagare crossed late on for Japan.

The scorers:

For Japan:
Tries:  Noguchi, Fukuoka, Nagare
Cons:  Matsuda 2
Pen:  Tamura
Yellow Card:  Ito

For Ireland:
Tries:  Earls 2, Leavy 2, Conan 2, Ringrose
Cons:  Jackson 5, Scannell
Pen:  Jackson
Yellow Card:  Conway

Japan:  15 Ryuji Noguchi, 14 Kotaro Matshima, 13 William Tupou, 12 Timothy Lafaele, 11 Kenki Fukuoka, 10 Yu Tamura, 9 Fumiaki Tanaka, 8 Amanaki Mafi, 7 Yoshitaka Tokunaga, 6 Michael Leitch, 5 Uwe Helu, 4 Kotaro Yatabe, 3 Heiichiro Ito, 2 Shota Horie (c), 1 Keita Inagaki
Replacements:  16 Yusuke Niwai, 17 Shintaro Ishihara, 18 Takuma Asahara, 19 Hendrik Tui, 20 Shuhei Matsuhashi, 21 Yutaka Nagare, 22 Derek Carpenter, 23 Rikiya Matsuda

Ireland:  15 Simon Zebo, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Rory Scannell, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Dan Leavy, 6 Rhys Ruddock (c), 5 Devin Toner, 4 Quinn Roux, 3 John Ryan, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Cian Healy
Replacements:  16 James Tracy, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Kieran Treadwell, 20 Jack O'Donoghue, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Rory O'Loughlin, 23 Tiernan O'Halloran

Referee:  Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant Referees:  JP Doyle (England), Alex Ruiz (France)
TMO:  Glenn Newman (New Zealand)

Scotland stun Australia in Sydney

Scotland continued with their fine recent form when they claimed an historic 24-19 victory over Australia in Sydney on Saturday.

The last five Tests between these sides were decided by six points or less and, as the scoreline suggests, this one was no different with this result being Scotland's first-ever triumph over the Wallabies in Sydney.

Both sides scored three tries apiece and the game was in the balance until the end although a 61st minute try from Hamish Watson was the difference between the sides.

The visitors held a 17-12 lead at half-time thanks largely to tries from Duncan Taylor and Finn Russell with a brace of five-pointers from Israel Folau keeping the home side in the game.

Scotland took an early lead courtesy of a long range penalty from Greig Tonks in the fifth minute after Scott Higginbotham infringed at a ruck.

The visitors spent the next 10 minutes camped in Australia's half and were rewarded when Taylor intercepted a Tatafu Polota-Nau pass just outside the home side's 22 and had an easy run-in for the opening try.

Midway through the half, Will Genia made a telling break inside Scotland's 22 before offloading to Bernard Foley and he did well to get a long pass out to Israel Folau who glided through a gaping hole in Scotland's defence before crossing for Australia's first try.

Five minutes later, Foley was yellow carded for a shoulder charge on Russell and it did not take long for Scotland to benefit from their numerical advantage when Russell charged down an attempted clearance from Genia before regathering and diving over for his side's second try.

Just before half-time, referee Wayne Barnes sent Ryan Wilson to the sin bin for slowing the ball down cynically at a ruck close to his try-line and the Wallabies made them pay when Folau gathered a pin-point cross-field kick from Foley before diving over for his second try.

The second half was a more measured affair although the Wallabies showed more urgency on attack, they were met by a solid defensive effort from the visitors.

The Wallabies continued to probe at Scotland's try-line and were eventually rewarded in the 55th minute when Genia barged over from close quarters.  Foley added the extras which meant the Wallabies held the lead for the first time with the score at 19-17.

The visitors did not take that lying down and five minutes later, Lee Jones found himself in space down the right-hand touchline.  He threw an inside pass to Taylor who did well to draw in Folau before offloading to Watson, who crossed for the matchwinning try.

The Wallabies tried gallantly to fight back in the final quarter and spent large periods camped inside their opponents' half during that period but they were kept at bay by a superb defensive effort from the Scots.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Folau 2, Genia
Cons:  Foley 2
Yellow Card:  Foley

For Scotland:
Tries:  Taylor, Russell, Watson
Cons:  Russell 3
Pen:  Tonks
Yellow Card:  Wilson

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Dane Haylett-Petty, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Karmichael Hunt, 11 Eto Nabuli, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Will Genia, 8 Scott Higginbotham, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Ned Hanigan, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Sam Carter, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Tom Robertson
Replacements:  16 Stephen Moore, 17 Scott Sio, 18 Sekope Kepu, 19 Rory Arnold, 20 Richard Hardwick, 21 Joe Powell, 22 Quade Cooper, 23 Reece Hodge

Scotland:  15 Greig Tonks, 14 Lee Jones, 13 Alex Dunbar, 12 Duncan Taylor, 11 Rory Hughes, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ali Price, 8 Ryan Wilson, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 John Barclay (c), 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Ben Toolis, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Fraser Brown, 1 Gordon Reid
Replacements:  16 Ross Ford, 17 Allan Dell, 18 Willem Nel, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Josh Strauss, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Ruaridh Jackson, 23 Matt Scott

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees:  Matthew Carley (England), Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)

Volavola drop goal sinks Italy

Ben Volavola's 82nd-minute drop goal clinched a dramatic 22-19 win for Fiji over Italy at ANZ Stadium in Suva on Saturday.

Facing each other for the first time since 2014, when Fiji also won in Suva, the contest went right down to the wire as Fiji outscored the visitors by three tries to one.

The match had looked set to end in a draw after Italy number ten Tomasso Allan added his fourth penalty with three minutes left, before Volavola stepped up to win the game.

It was Fiji who led at the interval 14-9 after tries from both of their centres, Eroni Vasiteri and Jale Vatubua crossing within the first 20 minutes of the match.  Italy's response came from three Allan penalties.

Vereniki Goneva's score in the 45th minute then gave Fiji a healthy ten-point lead at the start of the second half.

However the match turned when Fiji were reduced to 14 men following a yellow card for winger Timoci Nagusa.  Italy's pack was also well on top, winning multiple scrum penalties, and eventually the Azzurri registered a first try through Maxime Mbanda to make the score 19-16.

Allan's penalty in the 77th minute then followed to level the scores, before a Leone Nakarawa break with time running out ultimately created the platform for Volavola to make himself a hero.

The scorers:

For Fiji:
Tries:  Vasiteri, Vatubua, Goneva
Cons:  Volavola 2
Drop Goal:  Volavola

For Scotland:
Try:  Mbanda
Con:  Allan
Pens:  Allan 4

Fiji:  15 Kini Murimurivalu, 14 Timoci Nagusa, 13 Jale Vatubua, 12 Eroni Vasiteri, 11 Vereniki Goneva, 10 Ben Volavola, 9 Serupepeli Vularika, 8 Nemani Nagusa, 7 Akapusi Qera (c), 6 Dominiko Waqaniburotu, 5 Leone Nakarawa, 4 Apisalome Ratuniyarawa, 3 Kalivati Tawake, 2 Tuapati Talemaitoga, 1 Peni Ravai
Replacements:  16 Jale Sassen, 17 Joeli Veitayaki, 18 Manasa Saulo, 19 Tevita Cavubati, 20 Viliame Mata, 21 Mosese Voka, 22 Nikola Matawalu, 23 Benito Masilevu

Italy:  15 Edoardo Padovani, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Tommaso Boni, 11 Leonardo Sarto, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Marcello Violi, 8 Abraham Steyn, 7 Maxime Mbanda', 6 Francesco Minto (c), 5 Dean Budd, 4 Marco Fuser, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Luca Bigi, 1 Andrea Lovotti
Replacements:  16 Ornel Gega, 17 Federico Zani, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Andries Van Schalkwyk, 20 Federico Ruzza, 21 Tito Tebaldi, 22 Carlo Canna, 23 Tommaso Benvenuti

Referee:  Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
Assistant Referees:  Pascal Gauzère (France), Graham Cooper (Australia)

All Blacks hit their stride against Samoa

New Zealand cruised to a 78-0 thrashing of Samoa at Eden Park on Friday, running in 12 tries in their warm-up for the Lions series.

Tries from Anton Lienert-Brown, Beauden Barrett, Ardie Savea and Sonny Bill Williams gave New Zealand a comfortable 28-0 lead, at the end of a first half where Samoa had big chances to score but failed to capitalise, not to mention being on the wrong side of a contention decision for the first try.

Once Samoa's confidence dipped after Savea's ruthless score off first-phase, the outcome of the contest felt familiar as the All Blacks shook off that early rust.

Israel Dagg continued the rout with Julian Savea, Codie Taylor, a second for Beauden Barrett, Vaea Fifita on debut, TJ Perenara, Ardie Savea's second and Sam Cane all crossing.

It was the visitors who had the better start, impressively retaining the ball for 20 phases and testing the All Blacks' defence early on.  An attack that started right back in their own half moved all the way up to just short of New Zealand's try line, only to be brought to an end for a neck roll by Faifili Levave.

Inevitably after a tough opening the All Blacks began to settle, Lienert-Brown scoring a fortuitous opener.

After a five-metre scrum Beauden Barrett did his best to power over, before his loose offload luckily fel into the hands of his centre to dot down.  Replays suggested Ardie Savea may have lost the ball forward at the initial scrum, but the score stood.

Albert Nikoro attempted to respond swiftly for Samoa, his long-range penalty from inside his own half falling short of the sticks, but there was no faulting their attitude early on as the opening quarter ended 7-0.

A sweet sidestep from Tim Nanai-Williams left his cousin Sonny Bill Williams rooted to the spot, only for the Samoa break to come to nothing.  A second long-range penalty effort came up short again, but Samoa continued to dominate at the breakdown, winning multiple penalties in that area in the first half.

Frankly it was an excellent first half an hour for Samoa, who deserved some points as a reward, Alapati Leiua cutting the All Blacks' defence open again.

Instead the hosts countered, turnover ball deep in their own 22 transformed into an attack by captain Ben Smith, mutiple offloads leading to Beauden Barrett hacking on and producing a quality slide to regather the ball and add New Zealand's second try on his 50th cap.  His subsequent conversion made it 14-0.

There was nothing lucky about their third try.  A set-piece move off the scrum, Barrett's speed to beat the cover defence opened up the space, with Lienert-Brown's inside pass putting away Ardie Savea to make it 21-0.

It could have soon been four, a one-two between Brodie Retallick and Israel Dagg ending with the All Blacks lock unable to haul the ball in with the line in front of him.

There was still time however before the half was out.  Opting for a short-range scrum off a penalty, Sonny Bill Williams could not be be stopped crashing up close to the posts.  Beauden Barrett's conversion meant the All Blacks went into the break up 28-0.

It was a similar story to start the second half, Lienert-Brown's quick feet and well-timed pass giving Dagg an easy run to the line.  Faced with his toughest kick of the night, Beauden Barrett converted from out wide.

Julian Savea got in on the act with his 46th Test try, and possibly the easiest, thanks to Retallick's rampaging run before the All Blacks spread the ball wide, Lienert-Brown again with the final pass.  Beauden Barrett missed for the first time, leaving the score at 40-0.

There was always more to come, Scott Barrett and Beauden Barrett combining and despite the best work of Ahsee Tuala, New Zealand drove over all too easily only for Aaron Smith to bomb a golden chance.  With Samoa out on their feet and still having a man treated Taylor added to the tally, Ben Smith too quick and too sharp for a scattered defence.

On came Vaea Fifita for his All Blacks debut with the pick of the tries coming next.  TJ Perenara's run, Williams' straightening and offload all made the space down the touchline for Beauden Barrett to slide over for his second try, adding his seventh conversion before being replaced by Lima Sopoaga.

Fifita then capped his debut with a try, finishing off a sweeping move started by a Scott Barrett break but truly made by Dagg's goose step and acceleration past Tusi Pisi.

Perenara added try number ten after Sopoaga's break, making the score 66-0, before an all-Hurricanes score saw Perenara and Julian Savea combining to put away Ardie Savea with a cute chip over the top.

Jordie Barrett's fine offload on debut then started the move for the 12th and final try by Cane, as Sopoaga had a late score ruled out.  All Blacks rusty?  No chance.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Lienert-Brown, B Barrett 2, A Savea 2, Williams, Dagg, J Savea, Taylor, Fifita, Perenara, Cane
Cons:  B Barrett 7, Sopoaga 2

New Zealand:  15 Ben Smith (c), 14 Israel Dagg, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements:  16 Nathan Harris, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Scott Barrett, 20 Vaea Fifita, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Lima Sopoaga, 23 Jordie Barrett

Samoa:  15 Ah See Tuala, 14 Albert Nikoro, 13 Kieron Fonotia, 12 Alapati Leiua, 11 Tim Nanai-Williams, 10 Tusiata Pisi, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i, 8 Faifili Levave, 7 Faalemiga Selesele, 6 Piula Faasalele, 5 Faatiga Lemalu, 4 Chris Vui, 3 Census Johnston, 2 Maatulimanu Leiataua, 1 Viliamu Afatia
Replacements:  16 Seilala Lam, 17 Nephi Leatigaga, 18 Paul Alo-Emile, 19 Taiasina Tuifua, 20 Alafoti Faosiliva, 21 Dwayne Polataivao, 22 D'Angelo Leuila, 23 Ken Pisi

Referee:  Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant Referees:  Rohan Hoffmann (Australia), Jordan Way (Australia)
TMO:  Ian Smith (Australia)

Wales see off plucky Tonga

Wales got their mid-year tour of to a winning start but were made to work hard before beating Tonga 24-6 in Auckland on Friday.

Despite what the scoreline suggests, this was a tight affair and the result was in the balance until late in the game.  Wales eventually outscored their opponents by two tries to none but they battled to cope with Tonga's physicality, especially in the forward exchanges.

The opening half was evenly contested with Alex Cuthbert's try and a Sam Davies penalty giving the visitors an 8-3 lead at the break, with Sonatane Takulua slotting a penalty for Tonga.

Cuthbert was in the thick of the action from the outset and had two tries disallowed during the opening quarter.  In the third minute he dotted down in the right-hand corner, but his effort was disallowed after the TMO ruled that he had a foot in touch.

Sam Davies opened Wales' account shortly afterwards via a penalty after Tonga's backs strayed offside on defence.

Five minutes later, Davies delivered an inch-perfect crossfield kick and Cuthbert dived on the ball behind Tonga's try-line, but televison replays revealed that there was no downward pressure from the wing.

Midway through the half, Cuthbert eventually crossed for the opening try after gathering his own kick ahead, inside Tonga's 22, and although Davies failed to convert, Wales looked well set with the score 8-0 in their favour.

Takulua added a penalty in the 23rd minute and the rest of the half was a tight affair and Wales knew they would have to dig deep if they wanted to see off their hosts.

Shorlty after the start of the second half, Takulua narrowed the gap with his second penalty but conditons became more difficult as most of the second half was played in driving rain.

Davies added his second penalty and there was little interesting to report for the next 15 minutes as the rainy conditions led to a plethora of unforced errors from both sides.

Tonga mistakes proved costly as the half progressed, especially at the breakdowns, with the highlight of the second period being a monster tackle by David Halaifonua on Cory Allen as two further penalties from Sam Davies meant his side led 17-6 by the 78th minute.

And just before full-time, Wales sealed victory when referee Nick Briant awarded them a penalty try after Tonga's forwards collapsed a maul illegally close to their try-line.

The scorers:

For Tonga:
Pens:  Takulua 2

For Wales:
Tries:  Cuthbert, Penalty Try
Pens:  S Davies 4

Tonga:  15 David Halaifonua, 14 Nafi Tu'itavake, 13 Siale Piutau (c), 12 Vili Tahitu'a, 11 Cooper Vuna, 10 Latiume Fosita, 9 Sonatane Takulua, 8 Valentino Mapapalangi, 7 Nili Latu, 6 Dan Faleafa, 5 Sitiveni Mafi, 4 Leva Fifita, 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Paula Ngauamo, 1 Latu Talakai
Replacements:  16 Suliasi Taufalele, 17 Sila Puafisi, 18 Phil Kite, 19 Sione Tau, 20 Mike Faleafa, 21 Leon Fukofuka, 22 Kali Hala, 23 Kiti Taimani

Wales:  15 Gareth Anscombe, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Scott Williams, 12 Jamie Roberts (c), 11 Steffan Evans, 10 Sam Davies, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Josh Navidi, 7 Thomas Young, 6 Aaron Shingler, 5 Cory Hill, 4 Seb Davies, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Kristian Dacey, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements:  16 Ryan Elias, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Ellis Jenkins, 20 Ollie Griffiths, 21 Aled Davies, 22 Owen Williams, 23 Cory Allen

Referee:  Nick Briant (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees:  Paul Williams (New Zealand), Mike Fraser (New Zealand)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Georgia blank Canada in Calgary

Georgia full-back Merab Kvirkashvili scored all the points of the match in his side's 13-0 victory over Canada in Calgary on Saturday.

The game was played in extremely windy and rainy conditions and served as a precursor to the Rugby World Cup qualifiers later this month.

Georgia's dogged defence ensured the Canadians went tryless in this game as Georgia continue to make a name for themselves in World Rugby.

Canada's Aaron Carpenter became the most-capped Canadian player ever, tied alongside Al Charron with 76 caps to his name.

The first-half saw both sides employing conservative gameplans, taking the ball up through the forwards around the fringes of the ruck.

As a result, the opening 40 minutes was a largely scoreless affair, except for Kvirkashvili's early penalty which saw Georgia take a 3-0 lead in to the interval.

Kvirkashvili added three points to double the away side's lead in the 46th minutes.  However, he failed to further double their lead when he missed two more opportunities before the hour mark.

The veteran number 15 made up for this when he pounced on a wayward Canadian pass to score the only try of the match which he converted himself.

The scorers:

For Georgia:
Try:  Kvirkashvili
Con:  Kvirkashvili
Pens:  Kvirkashvili 2

Canada:  15 Andrew Coe, 14 Dan Moor, 13 Conor Trainor, 12 Guiseppe Du Toit, 11 Sean Duke, 10 Shane O'Leary, 9 Phil Mack, 8 Admir Cejvanovic, 7 Matt Heaton, 6 Kyle Baillie, 5 Conor Keys, 4 Brett Beukeboom (c), 3 Jake Ilnicki, 2 Benoit Piffero, 1 Djustice Sears-Duru
Replacements:  16 Eric Howard, 17 Anthony Luca, 18 Matt Tierney, 19 Liam Chisholm, 20 Aaron Carpenter, 21 Andrew Ferguson, 22 Gradyn Bowd, 23 Ciaran Hearn

Georgia:  15 Merab Kvirikashvili, 14 Soso Matiashvili, 13 David Kacharava, 12 Merab Sharikadze (c), 11 Sandro Todua, 10 Lasha Khmaladze, 9 Vasil Lobzhanidze, 8 Beka Bitsadze, 7 Giorgi Tkhilaishvili, 6 Lasha Lomidze, 5 Kote Mikautadze, 4 Giorgi Nemsadze, 3 Anton Peikrishvili, 2 Jaba Bregvadze, 1 Mikheil Nariashvili
Replacements:  16 Badri Alkhazashvili, 17 Kakha Asieshvili, 18 Soso Bekoshvili, 19 Nodar Cheishvili, 20 Otar Giorgadze, 21 Giorgi Begadze, 22 Lasha Malaghiradze, 23 Giorgi Chkhaidze

Referee:  Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant Referees:  Shuhei Kubo (Japan), Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

Nine-try Ireland put 50 past USA

Ireland made a fine start to their mid-year tour when they claimed a deserved 55-19 victory over the USA in New Jersey on Saturday.

As the scoreline suggests, Ireland dominated for large periods and they eventually outscored their hosts by nine tries to three with Keith Earls leading the way with a brace scored in the first half.

The visitors were in control from the outset and Earls' two tries and further five-pointers from Jacob Stockdale, Niall Scannon and Kieran Marmion helped their side to a 29-7 half-time lead, with the USA's points registered via a Nic Civetta try which AJ MacGinty converted.

Ireland showed their intent from the outset and they opened the scoring as early as the third minute when Earls went over for the opening try after combining with Tiernan O'Halloran, who tore the Eagles' defence to shreds with a superb line break in the build-up.

The USA had some good moments during the next 10 minutes with Marcel Brache and David Tameilau doing well with impressive carries but poor decision making meant those attacks were snuffed out by Ireland's defence.

In the 14th minute, Earls turned provider and after making a decisive break in midfield he floated out a long pas to debutant Stockdale, who outpaced the cover defence before diving over in the left-hand corner.

Shortly afterwards, O'Halloran breached the USA's defence with ease again before getting a pass out to Marmion, who did well to free his arms close to the USA's tryl-line, and Earls had an easy run-in for his second try.

Midway through the half, the USA opened their account when Civetta charged down a Joey Carbery chip kick inside Ireland's 22 before regathering the loose ball and diving over for his side's first try.

Ireland finished stronger though and further tries from Scannell and Marmion meant the visitors were cruising as the teams changed sides at the break.

Like the first half, Ireland were fastest out of the blocks after the interval when Jack Conan crossed for their sixth try in the 44th minute but shortly afterwards, the USA replied with their second try, scored in a remarkably similar fashion to their first.

This time it was John Quill who charged down a Carbery kick before pouncing on the loose ball and crossing the whitewash.  And 10 minutes later, things got better for the hosts when Ryan Matyas crossed for their second try after selling O'Halloran a dummy deep inside Ireland's 22.

Ireland finished stronger though and they scored three tries during the final quarter.  First, replacement James Ryan went over with his first touch of the game after the ball went through several pairs of hands in the build-up.

And further tries from Luke McGrath and Simon Zebo, in the game's closing stages, brought up a half century of points and sealed the result for the visitors.

The scorers:

For USA:
Tries:  Civetta, Quill, Matyas
Cons:  MacGinty 2

For Ireland:
Tries:  Earls 2, Stockdale, N Scannell, Conan, James Ryan, McGrath, Zebo
Cons:  Ringrose, Carbery 2, R Scannel 2

USA:  15 Ben Cima, 14 Mike Te'o, 13 Ryan Matyas, 12 Marcel Brache, 11 Martin Iosefo, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Nate Augspurger (c), 8 David Tameilau, 7 Tony Lamborn, 6 John Quill, 5 Nic Civetta, 4 Nate Brakeley, 3 Chris Baumann, 2 Peter Malcolm, 1 Ben Tarr
Replacements:  16 James Hilterbrand, 17 Joe Taufete'e, 18 Paddy Ryan, 19 Matthew Jensen, 20 Andrew Durutalo, 21 Shaun Davies, 22 Will Magie, 23 Bryce Campbell

Ireland:  15 Tiernan O'Halloran, 14 Keith Earls, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Luke Marshall, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Joey Carbery, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Rhys Ruddock (c), 5 Devin Toner, 4 Quinn Roux, 3 John Ryan, 2 Niall Scannell, 1 Cian Healy
Replacements:  16 Dave Heffernan 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Andrew Porter, 19 James Ryan, 20 Dan Leavy, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Rory Scannell, 23 Simon Zebo

Referee:  Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant Referees:  Federico Anselmi (Argentina), Chris Assmus (Canada)
TMO:  Neil Paterson (Scotland)

Solomona's late score edges Argentina in epic Test

Denny Solomona made his England debut a game to remember with a sensational late solo try, defeating Argentina 38-34 in an epic Test match.

A loose, entertaining contest full of running, it was Argentina who led at half-time thanks to tries from Emiliano Boffelli and Tomás Lavanini, plus a Nicolás Sánchez penalty, with Marland Yarde crossing for England as the score stood at 17-13.

George Ford's firing boot and a try from Jonny May put England ahead before the lead changed hands again in San Juan, two quick tries from Jerónimo de la Fuente and Joaquín Tuculet giving Argentina a 31-23 cushion with a pair of sensational finishes.

Ford tied things up with a penalty on try, building up to a tense conclusion, before Juan Martín Hernández slotted over a drop goal that looked to have to won an enthralling contest.

Up stepped Solomona, at fault for two of Argentina's tries, to race clear for a sensational solo score with two minutes left, winning the game as a result.

Sánchez's early attempt to open the scoring was unsuccessful, after Nathan Hughes was penalised at the scrum, with his effort from a long way out missing the posts.

Argentina started far better and were rightly rewarded through a try for Boffelli on debut, the hard carrying from the Argentine pack making the space down the blindside.  The grubber from Sánchez was spot on, with Boffelli winning the race and rightly celebrating with plenty of enthusiasm.

England needed to settle, a youthful team showing their nerves, and after Lucas Noguera Paz was penalised around the breakdown Ford stepped up to make it 7-3.

As time wore on however England's confidence grew, winning penalties at the scrum and ruck, with Ford stepping up for his second penalty to cut the gap to a point.

Much was made of England's lighter backline but the resulting speed and skill was on full display for England's opening try, all starting from Alex Lozowski's break.

England stayed calm, recycling the ball through offloads before getting it wide where Yarde had the easy task or rounding prop Enrique Pieretto.  Ford's conversion made the score 13-7.

The visitors' enthuiasm then proved costly, Ellis Genge sticking out a hand for a pass and knocking in the process as Argentina pounced through Jerónimo de la Fuente.  Lavanini capitalised, the big lock powering his way over the line as Argentina hit back.  With the conversion from Sánchez, Argentina led again, in a contest that whilst littered with turnovers certainly had the crowd entertained.

Argentina had the final say of the half, winning a penalty from the maul which Sánchez knocked over to move past 500 points for his country, joining the great Hugo Porta and Felipe Dominguez as the only players to pass that landmark, as los Pumas led 17-13.

England started the second half with Ford closing the gap thanks to his third penalty, after another ruck offence from Argentina, and they might have had more if Marland Yarde's break had been capitalised on shortly after.

Turns out the score wasn't far off, a brilliant step and grubber kick from Henry Slade finished off by May, with Brown not far behind him.  Ford converted from the touchline, making the score 17-23.

Argentina then hit back from a set-piece, Denny Solomona on debut slipping as Martín Landajo raced clear, feeding De la Fuente for the try.  Sánchez made no mistake with the conversion, switching the lead once more.

The best was still to come, Argentina with their tails up scoring an outsanding try starting deep in their 22, Solomona again at fault with a missed tackle as Matías Orlando and Matías Moroni combined to release Tuculet for try number four, and a 31-23 lead.

Eager to extend the lead Sánchez attemped a drop goal, his attempt falling way wide, but the Argentine scrum impressed with a pushover penalty.  Sánchez couldn't convert, the gap staying at eight points.

England soon closed in, Ford adding a penalty before scoring a breakout try of his own, Piers Francis off he bench on debut with a quality offload.  For once Ford missed off the tee, tying the scores at 31-31 to set up a grandstand finish.

Hernández stepped up for the drop goal, leaving Argentina three minutes to hang on for the win.  They couldn't do so, Francis releasing the fleet-footed Solomona, who brushed off a tackle before outpacing Moroni to race clear for the winning try.  It was a fitting end to a spectacular contest.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Tries:  Boffelli, Lavanini, De la Fuente, Tuculet
Cons:  Sánchez 3
Pen:  Sánchez
Drop Goal:  Hernández

For England:
Tries:  Yarde, May, Ford, Solomona
Cons:  Ford 3
Pens:  Ford 4

Argentina:  15 Joaquín Tuculet, 14 Matías Moroni, 13 Matías Orlando, 12 Jerónimo de la Fuente, 11 Emiliano Boffelli, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 9 Martín Landajo, 8 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 7 Javier Ortega Desio, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomás Lavanini, 4 Matías Alemanno, 3 Enrique Pieretto, 2 Agustín Creevy, 1 Lucas Noguera Paz
Replacements:  16 Julián Montoya, 17 Santiago García Botta, 18 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 19 Guido Petti, 20 Leonardo Senatore, 21 Gonzalo Bertanou, 22 Juan Martín Hernández, 23 Ramiro Moyano

England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Marland Yarde, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Alex Lozowski, 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Danny Care, 8 Nathan Hughes, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Mark Wilson, 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Harry Williams, 2 Dylan Hartley (c), 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements:  16 Jack Singleton, 17 Matt Mullan, 18 Will Collier, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Don Armand, 21 Jack Maunder, 22 Piers Francis, 23 Denny Solomona

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees:  John Lacey (Ireland), Egon Seconds (South Africa)
TMO:  Aaron Paterson (New Zealand)

Winning start for new-look Springboks

South Africa got their 2017 Test campaign off to a superb start when they secured a 37-14 victory over France in Pretoria on Saturday.

With five Springboks making their Test debuts, the home side still managed to see off les Bleus after outscoring the visitors four tries to two.

The Boks were the better side during the opening half and although a Jesse Kriel try was cancelled out by one from Henry Chavancy, three Elton Jantjies penalties gave the home side a 16-7 lead at half-time.

Much was said of Bok coach Allister Coetzee's decision to field seven Lions players in his starting line-up and for large periods they looked like the Johannesburg-based side in disguise with several of their players leading the way.

Chief amongst those was the half-back pairing of Jantjies and Ross Cronjé who impressed with their game management with Jantjies, who was the object of much anger from Bok supporters after some underwhelming performances last year, delivering arguably his best showing at Test level and he eventually finished with a 17-point haul courtesy of four conversions and three penalties.

France had the better of the early exchanges although Jules Plisson missed an early opportunity to give them the lead when he pushed his shot at goal wide of the psots after Franco Mostert collapsed a maul illegally.

The Boks soon got into the game and held a 6-0 lead by the 15th minute thanks to two penalties from Jantjies after defensive indiscretions by les Bleus.

The next 15 minutes was a tight affair and although both sides came close to scoring tries, a combination of handling errors and scrambling defence meant that neither side managed to cross the whitewash during this period.

First, Virimi Vakatawa found himself in space down inside the Boks' 22 and did well to get a pass out to Gaël Fickou, who was stopped just short of the try-line by a superb cover tackle from Jan Serfontein.

Then, Siya Kolisi set off on a superb run before offloading to Cronjé, who got a pass out to Franco Mostert who was penalised for holding onto the ball at a ruck deep inside France's 22.

On the half-hour mark, the Boks extended their lead when Andries Coetzee showed a great appreciation of the game's laws when, after being tackled close to the halfway line, he released the ball on the ground before regathering immediately.

This caught the French defenders napping and he set off on a darting run towards the try-line before offloading to Malcolm Marx and the burly hooker delivered a well-timed pass to Jesse Kriel, who crossed for the opening try.

Shorlty afterwards, France struck back when Coetzee failed to deal with a chip kick from Yoann Huget, behind the Boks' try-line, and the wing did well to knock the ball backwards to Chavancy who dotted down.

On the stroke of half-time, Fickou infringed at a ruck and Jantjies slotted the penalty to extend the Boks' lead as the sides changed sides at the interval.

The second half saw both sides continuing to show attacking intent although there were some worried looks on Bok supporters' faces when Baptiste Serin crossed for his side's second try in the 54th minute after selling the hosts' defence a dummy close to their try-line.

Plisson converted, which meant France trailed by two points, but things went pear-shaped for the visitors on the hour-mark when they conceded a penalty try after Brice Dulion tackled Courtnall Skosan as he tried to gather the ball behind les Bleus' try-line.

Dulin was also yellow carded for his indiscretion and the Boks would score two tries during his stint off the field.

The first one was straight out of the Lions' playbook when, from a lineout just outside France's 22, Whiteley gathered at the back of the set-piece before throwing an inside pass to Cronje, who glided through a gaping hole and dotted down under the posts.

And just before Dulin's return, Coetzee put in a good run before getting a pass out to Serfontein, who went over in the right-hand corner.

That try sealed the win for the hosts and although France tried gallantly to fight back in the last 10 minutes, they could not breach the Boks' try-line again.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Kriel, Penalty Try, Cronjé, Serfontein
Cons:  Jantjies 4
Pens:  Jantjies 3

For France:
Tries:  Chavancy, Serin
Cons:  Plisson 2
Yellow Card:  Dulin

South Africa:  15 Andries Coetzee, 14 Raymond Rhule, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Ross Cronjé, 8 Warren Whiteley (c), 7 Oupa Mohoje, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements:  16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 20 Jean-Luc du Preez, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Frans Steyn, 23 Dillyn Leyds

France:  15 Brice Dulin, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Henry Chavancy, 12 Gaël Fickou, 11 Virimi Vakatawa, 10 Jules Plisson, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Loann Goujon, 6 Yacouba Camara, 5 Yoann Maestri (c), 4 Julien le Devedec, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Clément Maynadier, 1 Jefferson Poirot
Replacements:  16 Camille Chat, 17 Eddy Ben Arous, 18 Mohamed Boughanmi, 19 Bernard le Roux, 20 Kévin Gourdon, 21 Baptiste Serin, 22 Jean-Marc Doussain, 23 Vincent Rattez

Referee:  Glen Jackson (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees:  Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand), Marius Mitrea (Italy)
TMO:  Rowan Kitt (England)

Scotland dispatch the Azzurri

Scotland continued their stranglehold on Six Nations rivals Italy with a 34-13 victory at the Singapore National Stadium on Saturday.

Tries from Ali Price, Tim Visser, Damien Hoyland and a brace from Ross Ford proved too much for Italy, who scored through tries from Michele Campagnaro and Angelo Esposito.

The Scots have now won eight of the nine previous meetings between these sides with that solitary loss only coming by a three-point margin.

Following up their 29-0 trouncing of the Azzurri in the Six Nations in March, the Scots asserted their dominance over the Italians here once again.

It was a convincing performance in Gregor Townsend's first match in charge of the Scottish national team.  What will please him the most is their creativity on attack and Finn Russell's excellent display at fly-half.

Despite the Scots dominating the territory and possession stakes, they were unable to turn this dominance into points for the majority of the first-half.  Much of this had to with the Italians' dogged defence and conservative gameplan.  The Azzurri seemed to be more focused on not conceding points than scoring any of their own.  Their attack lacked in imagination and was largely blunt and route one, preferring to take it up through the forwards on the fringes of the ruck as opposed to going wide.

The first half was largely devoid of any try-scoring opportunities with the fly-halves exchanging penalties.  It was a stop-start 40 minutes in which both sides struggled for continuity on attack until the Scots came to life with five minutes to go.

Finally, the try came on the stroke of half-time and it was a well-deserved one.  It was scrum-half Price who reached over after good work by his forwards.

There was still time for one more.  With the hooter already gone, Russell showed his class by chipping over an onrushing Italian defence for wing Visser to collect and dot down.  It was superb play from Finn who exploited the space behind the Azzurri defence to great effect as Scotland took a 15-3 lead in to the interval.

Scotland continued their dominance straight after the break with their third try.  This time it came from a well-controlled driving maul with hooker Ford going over at the back.  Russell added the extras as they took a 22-3 early second-half lead.

After repeated warnings by referee Paul Williams to the Italians for infringements at the breakdown, Dean Budd was sin-binned six minutes into the second-half for going off his feet.

Scotland's fourth try was a combination of superb interplay and expert handling.  Russell made the break with Hoyland and Ben Toolis involved in the build-up that led to Ford grabbing his brace.  It was a memorable team try.

Italy got their first try of the match when they profited on an errant Scotland pass to intercept.  From the intercept, Maxime Mbanda offloaded to Campagnaro who showed good support play and a sharp turn of pace to dot down.

The Azzurri were guilty of more indiscipline.  Referee Williams yellow-carded Italian substitute Abraham Steyn in the 73rd minute for lifting Price off the ground and putting him down in a dangerous horizontal position after the whistle had blown.

Soon after, Hoyland got on the scoresheet as the pressure told on the Italians for playing with 14 men.  Taylor drew the man cleverly to tie in the last defender before giving the late pass to Hoyland who was not going to be stopped with his pace.

Italy grabbed a second in the closing minutes.  After sustained pressure on the Scottish defence, Edoardo Gori's box-kick was well collected by Esposito who went over the line.

The scorers:

For Italy:
Tries:  Campagnaro, Esposito
Pen:  Allan
Yellow Cards:  Budd, Steyn

For Scotland:
Tries:  Price, Visser, Ford 2, Hoyland
Cons:  Taylor, Russell
Pen:  Russell

Italy:  15 Edoardo Padovani, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Tommaso Boni, 11 Leonardo Sarto, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Edoardo Gori (c), 8 Robert Julian Barbieri, 7 Maxime Mata Mbanda, 6 Francesco Minto, 5 Dean Budd, 4 Marco Fuser, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Luca Bigi, 1 Andrea Lovotti
Replacements:  16 Ornel Gega, 17 Federico Zani, 18 Pietro Ceccarelli, 19 Andries van Schalkwyk, 20 Abraham Steyn, 21 Marcello Violi, 22 Carlo Cane, 23 Tommaso Benvenuti

Scotland:  15 Duncan Taylor, 14 Damien Hoyland, 13 Matt Scott, 12 Alex Dunbar, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ali Price, 8 Josh Strauss, 7 Ryan Wilson, 6 John Barclay (c), 5 Ben Toolis, 4 Tim Swinson, 3 Willem Nel, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Allan Dell
Replacements:  16 Fraser Brown, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Rob Harley, 20 Magnus Bradbury, 21 Cornell du Preez, 22 Henry Pyrgos, 23 Peter Horne

Referee:  Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees:  Mike Fraser (New Zealand), Tim Baker (Hong Kong)
TMO:  Minoru Fuji (Japan)

Japan too good for Romania

Japan claimed a 33-21 win over Romania in their first Test of their June campaign at Egao Kenko Stadium, Kumamoto on Saturday.

Tries from Akihito Yamada, Kenki Fukuoka and Michael Leitch saw them to the success, with Jumpei Ogura kicking 18 points from the tee.

In reply Mihai Macovei scored twice for Romania in defeat.

Japan led 23-9 at the interval after an impressive 40 minutes that saw them cross twice while limiting the Romanians to only penalty goals.

Vlaicu added two penalties to make it 0-6 but the Brave Blossoms hit back with scores from Yamada and Fukuoka with Ogura kicking well.

The first score of the second-half was always going to be crucial and it went the way of the home side when Leitch crossed two minutes in.  That made it 30-9 with the extras to leave Romania a mountain to climb as changes began to be made from both head coaches in Kumamoto.

Romania would strike next though through captain Macovei and with Heiichiro Ito yellow carded on 63 minutes, the visitors sensed a chance.

Macovei scored again on 66 minutes and with Vlaicu's conversion the Romanians were now just 33-21 behind, setting up an intriguing finish.

But Japan would hold on to start their June Test campaign on a positive note.

The scorers:

For Japan:
Tries:  Yamada, Fukuoka, Leitch
Cons:  Ogura 3
Pens:  Ogura 4
Yellow Card:  Ito

For Romania:
Tries:  Macovei 2
Con:  Vlaicu
Pens:  Vlaicu 3

Japan:  15 Ryuji Noguchi, 14 Akihito Yamada, 13 Timothy Lafaele, 12 Derek Carpenter, 11 Kenki Fukuoka, 10 Jumpei Ogura, 9 Fumiaka Tanaka, 8 Amanaki Mafi, 7 Yoshitaka Tokunaga, 6 Michael Leitch, 5 Uwe Helu, 4 Kotaro Yatabe, 3 Takuma Ashara, 2 Shota Horie (c), 1 Koki Yamamoto
Replacements:  16 Yusuke Niwai, 17 Keita Inagaki, 18 Heiichiro Ito, 19 Yuya Odo, 20 Hendrik Tui, 21 Keisuke Uchida, 22 Yu Tamura, 23 Kotaro Matsushima

Romania:  15 Sabin Stratila, 14 Fonovai Tangimana, 13 Paula Kinikinilau, 12 Sione Fakaosilea, 11 Jack Cobden, 10 Florin Vlaicu, 9 Florin Surugiu, 8 Mihai Macovei (c), 7 Viorel Lucaci, 6 Andrei Gorcioaia, 5 Marius Antonescu, 4 Johannes Van Heerden, 3 Andrei Ursache, 2 Otar Turashvili, 1 Ionel Badiu
Replacements:  16 Andrei Radoi, 17 Constantin Pristavita, 18 Alexandru Tarus, 19 Valentin Poparlan, 20 Vlad Nistor, 21 Tudorel Bratu, 22 Luke Samoa, 23 Ionut Dumitru

Referee:  Alex Ruiz (France)
Assistant Referees:  JP Doyle (England), Will Houston (Australia)
TMO:  Glenn Newman (New Zealand)

Five-try win for slick Wallabies

Australia got their June international campaign off to an impressive start on Saturday as they saw off Fiji 37-14 at AAMI Park in Melbourne.

Tries from Israel Folau (2), Henry Speight (2) and Stephen Moore saw them to victory, with Bernard Foley kicking 12 points in a slick showing.

This result will give the Wallabies plenty of confidence going into next weekend's fixture against Scotland before they face Italy on June 24.

It was an extremely positive opening 40 minutes to the Wallabies' June campaign as they ran in two tries to sit 18-0 up at the turnaround.

Australia were over after just four minutes when a cross-kick from Foley found Folau airborne, and after a tussle with Fiji full-back Kini Murimurivalu, the dangerous Wallaby gathered the loose ball before dotting down for the opener.  Foley would then make it 7-0 off the tee.

Fiji were struggling to live with the slickness of Australia's play and an offside saw Foley extend the gap to ten points on nine minutes.

The pattern was to continue soon after too as a second try came, this time thanks to lovely handling which saw lock Adam Coleman, number eight Scott Higginbotham and wing Dane Haylett-Petty combine to send over Speight on the right.  The unconverted score meant it was 15-0.

It wasn't all plain sailing for the Wallabies though as on 20 minutes Folau was yellow carded for a high tackle.  However, Niko Matawalu could not get his side on the board soon after as his crossing was chalked off due to holding of Michael Hooper at the scrum set-piece.

That was Fiji's best chance of a half they came out of distinctly second best, with Foley making it 18-0 on 29 minutes before Ben Volavola missed his own attempt at goal a minute before the interval, which summed up a hugely disappointing stanza for the islanders in Melbourne.

Australia came close to adding two further tries in the opening 10 minutes of the second half, with a knock-on foiling the first before a foot in touch from Tevita Kuridrani saw him denied wide on the right.  Michael Cheika was though encouraged by their positive early efforts.

It was only going to be a matter of time before they had their third try of the contest and it came from a lovely short ball from Foley to Folau, who set off for the right-hand corner to claim his brace on 56 minutes.  Foley slotted the extras to put the Wallabies 25-0 in front.

Finally though Fiji got themselves on the board after 64 minutes when loose ball was gathered by Vereniki Goneva, who backed himself from 40 metres to go in untouched.  Volavola added the conversion but they still required three scores in 15 minutes to pick up an unlikely win.

And any thought of a shock result was put to bed three minutes later when replacement hooker Moore crossed from the back of a maul to put the seal on a professional victory, with a late Timoci Nagusa try from close range coming only as a consolation for the Fijians before Speight would have the final say with an unconverted try in the dying embers.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Folau 2, Speight 2, Moore
Cons:  Foley 3
Pens:  Foley 2
Yellow Card:  Folau

For Fiji:
Tries:  Goneva, T Nagusa
Cons:  Volavola 2

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Dane Haylett-Petty, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Karmichael Hunt, 11 Henry Speight, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Will Genia, 8 Scott Higginbotham, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Ned Hanigan, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Sam Carter, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Tom Robertson
Replacements:  16 Stephen Moore, 17 Toby Smith, 18 Sekope Kepu, 19 Rory Arnold, 20 Richard Hardwick, 21 Joe Powell, 22 Quade Cooper, 23 Reece Hodge

Fiji:  15 Kini Murimurivalu, 14 Timoci Nagusa, 13 Albert Vulivuli, 12 Jale Vatubua, 11 Vereniki Goneva, 10 Ben Volavola, 9 Nikola Matawalu, 8 Akapusi Qera (c), 7 Naulia Dawai, 6 Dominiko Waqaniburotu, 5 Leone Nakarawa, 4 Tevita Cavubati, 3 Peni Ravai, 2 Sunia Koto, 1 Campese Maáfu
Replacements:  16 Tuapati Talemaitoga, 17 Joeli Veitayaki, 18 Kalivati Tawake, 19 Api Ratuniyarawa, 20 Viliame Mata, 21 Nemani Nagusa, 22 Seurpepeli Vularika, 23 Benito Masilevu

Referee:  Matthew Carley (England)
Assistant Referees:  Wayne Barnes (England), Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Ireland end England Slam hopes

England were denied successive Six Nations Grand Slams on Saturday as Ireland claimed a hard-fought 13-9 victory in Dublin.

Only one try was scored in the game and it went the way of Irish lock Iain Henderson, as the hosts held on for a morale-boosting success.

The result sees England's run of wins end on 18 as Ireland bounced back from last week's loss to Wales with a hugely spirited showing.

All of England's points came via the boot of Owen Farrell and in truth they were massively under-par against an Ireland side full of fight.

Ireland were always going to be much-improved from last Friday's defeat in Cardiff, especially in front of their fans, and they did not disappoint early on.

Johnny Sexton struck on 10 minutes after side entry from England at the ruck and they were well worth their early advantage.

Farrell did level matters eight minutes later due to Ireland not rolling away and the game was fascinatingly poised even at an early stage.

Ireland, who had lost the influential Jamie Heaslip to injury before kick-off, had to reshuffle their squad as CJ Stander moved to number eight with Peter O'Mahony coming off the bench to start on the blindside flank.  The tweaks did not fluster them though as they were on top.

Further reason to smile came in the 24th minute when lock Henderson reached out for a try which Sexton converted to make it a 10-3 cushion.  And that was the scoreline at the break after a first 40 that Ireland dominated, enjoying 74 percent possession and 77 percent territory.

Eddie Jones was clearly upset with his side's showing and duly made a change up front as Mako Vunipola replaced Joe Marler at prop.

A stern talking to seemed to improve their fortunes as Farrell reduced the score to 10-6 on 52 minutes and they appeared to be turning the screw in the tight exchanges.

Three minutes later Jamie George was the next to emerge, replacing captain Dylan Hartley for the run-in.

However, Jones' next changes were somewhat a knee-jerk reaction to Sexton sending over a crucial penalty from a tough angle after Farrell had tackled him high.

That made it 13-6 so Ireland had pushed England out to two scores from claiming that Grand Slam with 17 minutes left.

Farrell cut the margin four minutes later off the tee after strong mauling work from his forwards saw Ireland enter from the side, and thus we had the grandstand finish back on in Dublin at 13-9.

England though, importantly for Ireland, had yet to breach the whitewash in the match.

That pyschological fact seemed to get the Irish over the finish line with their noses in front as they held on for victory that sees them finish in second place, while England, upset to miss the Slam, must settle with the Six Nations title.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Try:  Henderson
Con:  Sexton
Pens:  Sexton 2

For England:
Pens:  Farrell 3

Ireland:  15 Jared Payne, 14 Keith Earls, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Johnny Sexton, 9 Kieran Marmion, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Peter O'Mahony, 5 Iain Henderson, 4 Donnacha Ryan, 3 Tadgh Furlong, 2 Rory Best (c), 1 Jack McGrath
Replacements:  16 Niall Scannell, 17 Cian Healy, 18 John Ryan, 19 Devin Toner, 20 Dan Leavy, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Paddy Jackson, 23 Andrew Conway

England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Elliot Daly, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 James Haskell, 6 Maro Itoje, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley (c), 1 Joe Marler
Replacements:  16 Jamie George, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Tom Wood, 20 Nathan Hughes, 21 Danny Care, 22 Ben Te'o, 23 Jack Nowell

Referee:  Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant Referees:  Mathieu Raynal (France), Marius Mitrea (Italy)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

France win in 100th minute

France scored a converted try in the 100th minute of the game to defeat Wales 20-18 in their Six Nations clash in Paris on Saturday.

A 20-minute spell on the Welsh line was the conclusion to this fixture as Camille Chat's try, converted by Camille Lopez, saw France win.

Les Bleus' other try-scorer was Rémi Lamerat, while for Wales full-back Leigh Halfpenny kicked six out of six penalty attempts, as they finish fifth.

France began with a real purpose in Paris and despite fly-half Lopez missing a long-range penalty, they led 7-0 in the seventh minute after said player's clever chip in the Welsh 22 saw centre Lamerat gather and cross.  Lopez's conversion was an easy one from in front.

Louis Picamoles was a catalyst for France up front while their pack also showed their power to hand Lopez a shot for 10-0 which he took.

Then came a controversial moment in the match on 19 minutes as Virimi Vakatawa was adjudged to have deliberately knocked down Dan Biggar's pass to George North, who had the line within reach.  Wayne Barnes was confident it was a card offence as Vakatawa went to the bin.

Halfpenny made an immediate dent in the score from wide out before nailing another penalty, this time from over 50 metres out, for 10-6.

Wales seemed to be growing in confidence and continued to flourish with ball in hand, possibly feeling aggrieved to go into the break with just one more Halfpenny penalty to their name.

As it was, 10-9 was a fair reflection on the fixture which looked set to go down to the wire.

France wanted to make a statement after the break, snubbing two penalties in favour of a quick tap and then scrum, which backfired when Barnes penalised them at the set-piece.

Barnes was becoming increasingly unpopular at the Stade de France with the local supporters.

And the experienced referee Barnes was in the firing line of boos again soon after when Wales were handed another scrum penalty, Halfpenny did the rest from halfway.

Wales were now leading for the first time in the game and with 20 minutes remaining France decided to send on the majority of their bench.

The visitors meanwhile had lost both Alun Wyn Jones and Jake Ball to injury, which meant replacement hooker Scott Baldwin had to play out of position, with more disruption set to come until the end of the match.

Halfpenny was on-target again from a similar position on 65 minutes to make it 15-10 to Wales but Lopez responded soon after for 15-13.

Crucially for Wales they reclaimed that five-point buffer on 72 minutes following Uini Atonio's high tackle, with Halfpenny slotting from in front.

They now had the clock and lead on their side with the possibility of back-to-back wins over Ireland and France looming large.

Then followed over 20 remarkable minutes of France play being camped on the Welsh line, which saw tighthead prop Samson Lee yellow carded, as France banged on the door.

Eventually they bust it open with replacement Chat crossing in the 100th minute, after a series of scrum penalties and attacks giong close, before Lopez slotted the match-winning conversion, ending a bizarre game at the Stade de France.

The scorers:

For France:
Tries:  Lamerat, Chat
Cons:  Lopez 2
Pens:  Lopez 2
Yellow Card:  Vakatawa

For Wales:
Pens:  Halfpenny 6
Yellow Card:  Lee

France:  15 Brice Dulin, 14 Noa Nakaitaci, 13 Rémi Lamerat, 12 Gaël Fickou, 11 Virimi Vakatawa, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Baptiste Serin, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Kévin Gourdon, 6 Fabien Sanconnie, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Sébastien Vahaamahina, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Guilhem Guirado (c), 1 Cyril Baille
Replacements:  16 Camille Chat, 17 Uini Atonio, 18 Eddy Ben Arous, 19 Julien Le Devedec, 20 Bernard Le Roux, 21 Antoine Dupont, 22 François Trinh-Duc, 23 Yoann Huget

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Scott Williams, 11 Liam Williams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Ross Moriarty, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Sam Warburton, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4 Jake Ball, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Rob Evans
Replacements:  16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Samson Lee, 19 Luke Charteris, 20 Taulupe Faletau, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Sam Davies, 23 Jamie Roberts

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees:  Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand), Matthew Carley (England)
TMO:  Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)

Scotland finish on a high

Scotland finished their Six Nations campaign on a high when they claimed a deserved 29-0 bonus-point win over Italy at Murrayfield on Saturday.

The home side were full value for their win as they dominated for large periods — especially during the first half — although Italy will be disappointed with their effort and poor goalkicking from Carlo Canna, who failed to convert three penalties in the first half, meant they failed to score any points.

The result was a perfect send-off for Scotland's head coach Vern Cotter under whose guidance the Scots have made tremendous strides, and they finish the tournament with an unbeaten home record having won three out of five matches, which is their best performance with the New Zealander at the helm since he took over the coaching reins in 2014.

Scotland started brightly made an early statement of intent when they overpowered Italy at the opening scrum.

The Azzurri's forwards were blown up for illegal scrummaging and Stuart Hogg opened the scoring when he slotted the resulting penalty from 45 metres out in the fifth minute.

The next 15 minutes was fairly even as both sides tried to gain the ascendancy although Italy missed a golden opportunity to open their account in the 21st minute when Canna was off target with a fairly straightforward shot at goal, after John Barclay was penalised for an indiscretion at a ruck.

Five minutes later, Huw Jones made a line break on the edge of his 22 but stumbled when trying to beat the final defender on Italy's five-metre line.  That was the Stormers midfielder's final act of this Test as he injured his ankle in that run and was then replaced by Matt Scott.

Scotland were eventually rewarded just before the half-hour mark when Finn Russell went over for the opening try after gathering a perfectly-timed pass from Ali Price close to Italy's try-line.

Russell dusted himself off and added the extras before Canna missed his second easy penalty attempt shortly afterwards after Jonny Gray was penalised for obstructing Sergio Parisse.

Scotland did not waste any time to extend their lead and just before half-time Scott got his name onto the scoresheet when he dived on a loose ball behind Italy's try-line, after Price delivered a teasing box kick which was knocked backwards by Hogg.

Russell failed with the conversion attempt and on the stroke of half-time Italy were awarded a penalty, but Canna's poor goalkicking continued as he failed with his third effort from the kicking tee.

Italy came out like men possessed after the interval and spent the first 15 minutes of the second half camped inside the home side's half.

The Azzurri restricted play mostly to their forwards but missed a golden opportunity to open their account when they did strike out wide with their backs, Hogg and Scott doing well to hold Angelo Esposito up in the tackle when he went over Scotland's try-line in the 49th minute.

Shorlty afterwards, Scotland were reduced to 14 men when their captain, Barclay, was sent to the sin bin for deliberately collapsing a maul close to his try-line.

But despite being a man down, Scotland launched a gallant defensive effort and kept the visitors at bay for the next 10 minutes.

This was best illustrated in the 51st minute when Edoardo Padovani knocked on a pass from Esposito with the try-line begging which summed up the lack of finishing power Italy had, having been largely in control since the break.

Ten minutes later, Scotland made them pay when Tim Visser beat Tommaso Benvenuti in a foot race to touch down after Hogg delivered a chip kick in the build-up.

Russell converted which sealed the win for the hosts, and when Tommy Seymour crossed for Scotland's fourth try, after running onto a pass from Hogg deep inside Italy's 22, they also had the bonus point in the bag to give Cotter the perfect send-off.

The scorers:

For Scotland:
Tries:  Russell, Scott, Visser, Seymour
Cons:  Russell 3
Pen:  Hogg
Yellow Card:  Barclay

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Alex Dunbar, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ali Price, 8 Ryan Wilson, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 John Barclay (c), 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Gordon Reid
Replacements:  16 Fraser Brown, 17 Allan Dell, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Cornell Du Preez, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Duncan Weir, 23 Matt Scott

Italy:  15 Edoardo Padovani, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Luke McLean, 11 Giovanbattista Venditti, 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Abraham Steyn, 6 Maxime Mata Mbanda', 5 George Biagi, 4 Marco Fuser, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Ornel Gega, 1 Andrea Lovotti
Replacements:  16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 Sami Panico, 18 Dario Chistolini, 19 Andries Van Schalkwyk, 20 Federico Ruzza, 21 Francesco Minto, 22 Marcello Violi, 23 Luca Sperandio

Referee:  Pascal Gauzère (France)
Assistant Referees:  Nigel Owens (Wales), Luke Pearce (England)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)