Ruthless Ireland claim bonus-point victory over France

Ireland made it back-to-back bonus-point victories in this year’s Six Nations as they overcame title rivals France 32-19 in Dublin on Saturday.

Tries from Hugo Keenan, James Lowe, Andrew Porter and Garry Ringrose helped the Irish to a record 13th triumph on home soil as France were well beaten.

Les Bleus’ only crossing came from Damian Penaud, with their remaining points kicked by Thomas Ramos via a conversion, three penalties and a drop goal.

Fabien Galthie’s side have subsequently suffered a major dent in their championship title defence as their phenomenal winning run dating back to the summer of 2021 was halted at 14 matches.

Andy Farrell has now beaten each of rugby’s major nations as Ireland head coach, with fly-halves Johnny Sexton and Ross Byrne contributing seven and five points respectively on another landmark day in the team’s recent history.

His side go into a two-week break in the tournament ahead of a trip to Italy with maximum points, having begun with last week’s bonus-point dismantling of Wales.

Scores of fans were desperately seeking spare tickets ahead of kick-off, underlining the significance of the first time the world’s top two countries had met in a Six Nations fixture.

France arrived as the only visiting side to have won at the ground during the Farrell era but having survived a major scare in last weekend’s unconvincing success in Rome.

This year’s World Cup hosts were on the back foot for large parts of a breathless and bruising first-half of rugby which ebbed and flowed.

A pair of Ramos penalties kept them in contention in the early stages, coming either side of Keenan racing clear to claim the opening try courtesy of a fine Finlay Bealham offload.

The lively capacity crowd contained a sizeable French contingent and they were soon saluting a stunning breakaway score from Penaud.

The Clermont wing collected the ball deep inside his own 22, burst clear to exchange passes with flanker, before holding off Conor Murray and Mack Hansen to complete a sensational diagonal dart to the left corner.

The helter-skelter action continued and home fans erupted minutes later when a lengthy review concluded Lowe had grounded the ball with an outrageous dive for the left corner before Penaud could propel him into touch.

Momentum was well and truly with Ireland when prop Porter marked his 50th Test cap by bulldozing his country’s third try of the afternoon, just after France tighthead Uini Atonio was sin-binned for a high tackle which forced Ireland hooker Rob Herring off for a head injury assessment from which he did not return.

But the hosts could not fully capitalise on their temporary numerical advantage.

Gael Fickou and Antoine Dupont denied Keenan and Hansen what appeared to be a certain score, leaving the home side just 22-16 ahead at the interval after Ramos and Sexton exchanged penalties.

☘️ Here's that James Lowe finish. Wow! #GuinnessSixNations #IREvFRA pic.twitter.com/PKmrlsLxNW

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) February 11, 2023

France flew out of the blocks in the second half, yet failed to make further inroads on the scoreboard.

Ramos missed a long-range kick for the posts, while Ireland’s dogged defence eased mounting pressure by forcing a turnover close to their own try-line.

Byrne, on for influential captain Sexton, briefly stretched Ireland’s lead before Ramos quickly reduced his side’s deficit back to six points with a drop goal to leave a pulsating encounter delicately poised.

But French resistance was fatally broken nine minutes from time when Ringrose wriggled through three French tackles on the left to dot down at the end of sustained pressure.

Scotland claim maximum against Wales at Murrayfield

A second-half masterclass helped Scotland claim their second bonus-point win of the Six Nations campaign as they beat Wales 35-7 at Murrayfield.

Tries from George Turner, Kyle Steyn (2), Blair Kinghorn and Matt Fagerson helped the Scots to a comfortable victory that puts them level with Ireland.

Scotland now head into the fallow week with their tails up while in contrast Wales will lick their wounds as they suffer back-to-back losses this season.

Ken Owens claimed Wales’ only crossing, converted by Dan Biggar, but Finn Russell was the star of the show as he turned on the style after the interval.

Scotland got the first points on the board in the ninth minute when Russell kicked a penalty from in front of the posts after Wales were penalised for offside during a brilliant attack by the hosts ― led by a Huw Jones line-break ― that threatened to bring a try.

The Scots were dealt a blow in the 13th minute when Stuart Hogg went off with blood in his mouth and was replaced by Kinghorn.  The Exeter full-back’s injury was subsequently deemed serious enough to prevent him returning to the fray.

Two minutes later, Russell added another penalty from just outside the 22 after Wales were penalised for not releasing.

The visitors had an opportunity to reduce their deficit in the 25th minute when they won a penalty in a central position just under 40 metres out, but Biggar hooked his kick left of the posts.

Scotland looked all set to notch their first try of the afternoon on the half hour but Steyn, darting clear on the right, was denied by a sensational tackle from Rio Dyer just in front of the line.

The hosts were not to be denied, however, and in the next phase of play Turner wriggled his way free of a tackle to touch down following a lineout drive on the left.

There was initial doubt about whether the Glasgow hooker had grounded the ball but the celebrations were allowed to ensue following a TMO review.  Russell duly added the extras.

Turner’s joy was short-lived as he found himself in the sin-bin within two minutes of scoring his try following a high tackle on George North.

Wales almost immediately made the extra man count as captain Owens touched down following a maul in the 35th minute, with Biggar successfully kicking the conversion.

Warren Gatland’s men enjoyed a strong finish to the half and they should have had another try in the last action before the break, only for Dyer to drop the ball just in front of the line as he tried to run on to a pass from Biggar.

It would prove a pivotal moment as the Scots ― with their full quota of 15 back on the pitch ― stretched their advantage in the 52nd minute when Steyn was left with an easy touchdown on the right after brilliant play by Russell to set him up.  Russell added the extras to put Scotland 20-7 ahead.

Five minutes later, the Welsh suffered a further blow when Liam Williams was yellow-carded for going off his feet.  Within seconds, Steyn bounded over on the right for a second time when he was picked out by a magnificent cross-field kick from Russell.  This time the mercurial number 10 hooked his kick wide of the posts.

🔥 What an offload from Finn Russell to Kyle Steyn. #SCOvWAL pic.twitter.com/1nrJ36wErc

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) February 11, 2023

Scotland were firmly in the ascendancy and Russell was heavily involved again in their fourth try of the afternoon in the 71st minute as he kicked the ball out to Duhan van der Merwe on the left and the Edinburgh winger teed up clubmate Kinghorn to burst through the Welsh defence.  Russell missed his conversion.

The fly-half was not finished and he produced another stunning assist in the 79th minute when his looping pass out to the left sent Fagerson free to score.

Russell was again unsuccessful with his conversion attempt but he had already inflicted more than enough damage on the Welsh, who crashed to a second successive heavy Six Nations defeat.

France hang on for opening round victory over Italy in Rome

France survived a major scare against Italy in Rome as they hung on to win 29-24 in a nerve-racking Six Nations triumph on Sunday.

Tries from Thibaud Flament, Thomas Ramos, Ethan Dumortier and Matthieu Jalibert saw Les Bleus seal a bonus-point win, with Ramos also kicking nine points.

Italy came agonisingly close to claiming a memorable victory though, with Ange Capuozzo’s score and a penalty try added to by four penalties from Tommaso Allan.

The visitors were dealt a second-half scare when Charles Ollivon was sent to the sin bin and Italy were awarded that penalty try, at one point taking a second-half lead through Allan.

But Les Bleus fended off the threat and will look to extend their winning streak to 15 when they travel to Ireland next weekend in round two of the Six Nations.

France were on the scoresheet after four minutes when Italy scrum-half Stephen Varney attempted a box-kick only to be thwarted by the six-foot-eight Flament, who intercepted before going on an unstoppable run over the whitewash, with Ramos adding the extras.

Allan booted in a penalty to narrow the deficit before France had a try ruled out, but Les Bleus soon restored their advantage through Ramos.

Allan added another penalty for the Azzurri before Dumortier collected Romain Ntamack’s cross-field kick and dotted down to open his account for France.

Impressive finish from Capuozzo

Italy responded through Capuozzo, who went on a spritely run and was able to evade Gregory Alldritt before getting the ball down in the left corner, with Allan adding a penalty to make it 19-14 at the halfway point.

Ramos added three more but Ollivon was soon punished for bringing down the maul and the penalty try was awarded after a review.  Allan soon made no mistake to slot his fourth penalty through the posts to give his side the lead for the first time in the 61st minute.

Five minutes later, however, France displayed their depth when Jalibert came off the bench and made an instant impact, scoring with his first touch to secure the bonus point.

Duhan van der Merwe double helps Scotland beat England

A try double from Duhan van der Merwe helped Scotland to a 29-23 win over England as they kicked off their Six Nations in style at Twickenham.

This was the Scots’ third successive victory over the Auld Enemy as they stunned their hosts, with Van der Merwe’s 74th-minute score sealing the victory.

Scotland‘s other try scorers on the day were Huw Jones and Ben White, with Finn Russell kicking nine points off the tee in a pulsating game throughout.

For England their new chapter under head coach Steve Borthwick did provide plenty of positives as Max Malins (2), and Ellis Genge crossed the try-line.

England were booed from the pitch after a limp defeat by South Africa in their last appearance, the climax to a dire 2022 that resulted in Eddie Jones being sacked, but this seven-try Six Nations thriller was very different.

They had won only one of the last five Calcutta Cup matches, and the early omens signposted that run continuing when Scotland centre Jones touched down Sione Tuipulotu’s grubber in the 15th minute.

Earlier in the move, Jones had raced through a wide gap in the midfield defence as Scotland struck off their first attack of the game having been on the ropes for the opening exchanges.

Apart from the all-too-familiar penalty count, there had been much to admire about England’s start, and in the 23rd minute, they were over, pouncing on the 15th phase of a sustained assault in the 22 when Malins produced a fine finish of Marcus Smith’s cross-field kick.

The brittle home defence was exposed once again as Van der Merwe, taking a pass from Kyle Steyn, left a host of white shirts in his wake as he weaved a path to the whitewash.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Ben White showing how lethal he is. 20-19 right now. #ENGvSCO pic.twitter.com/oYGLYjV5Zq

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) February 4, 2023

It was a classy individual score, but England showed their own flair to engineer a second for Malins as patient build-up and smart handling created a simple run-in on the right wing.

An Owen Farrell penalty gave the hosts a one-point interval lead, and they were over for a third time through Genge in the 48th minute after a succession of dynamic carries by their pack.

Scotland’s visits to the home 22 were rare, but they showed a ruthless streak when they arrived, with White taking advantage of an absent ruck defence to plunder a sharp try.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 SCOTLAND WIN AGAIN AT TWICKENHAM! #ENGvSCO pic.twitter.com/sxQVCBqBzV

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) February 4, 2023

Veteran prop Dan Cole came on for his first cap since the 2019 World Cup final and forced a penalty at the scrum in his first involvement of the match, giving England the platform to renew their attack.

Farrell landed his second penalty, and Russell replied in kind as a nailbiting conclusion approached.

Scotland kept pressing, and the breakthrough arrived with six minutes left as Van der Merwe showed his strength to bulldoze over in the left corner and keep the Calcutta Cup in Edinburgh.

Dominant Ireland begin with bonus-point triumph over Wales

Ireland kicked off their Six Nations title charge with an impressive bonus-point victory over Wales as they ran out 34-10 winners in Cardiff.

Tries from Caelan Doris, James Ryan, James Lowe and Josh van der Flier saw the Irish home, with Johnny Sexton and Ross Byrne adding extra points.

For Wales they endured a nightmare first half as they went in 27-3 adrift but, to their credit, Warren Gatland’s team did improve after the turnaround.

Their try came from Liam Williams while Dan Biggar slotted a conversion and penalty, with the Welsh discipline and wastefulness a worry for Gatland.

Ireland though will be thrilled to get their Six Nations campaign off to such a positive start, with France in Dublin their next assignment in Round Two.

It was another defeat after a miserable 12 months that featured humiliating home losses to Italy and Georgia under Gatland’s predecessor Wayne Pivac, while off the field the Welsh Rugby Union has been rocked to its core by sexism and discrimination allegations in the organisation.

And Ireland were in no mood to allow Wales a reprieve, dominating every critical area, most notably the battle up-front.

Scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park was ruled out with a hamstring injury as Ireland were forced into making a late change with Conor Murray replacing him, while Munster’s Craig Casey provided bench cover.

Wales had been forced into changing their line-up on Thursday, with Williams coming in for full-back Leigh Halfpenny, who suffered a back spasm during training.

Ireland needed just two minutes to deliver a reminder of their quality, scoring from an opening attack that was all about patient build-up play.

They went through the phases close to Wales’ line, before Doris powered over and Sexton’s conversion gave Ireland a dream start.

Ireland’s high-tempo game had Wales in all sorts of trouble, and they moved 14 points clear with only nine minutes gone.

Wales could not deal with Ireland’s impressive ball-carriers, and after sufficient dents had been made in the home defence, Ryan claimed their second try, with Sexton again converting.

Wales needed something to stir them, and wing Rio Dyer almost provided it when he broke clear following an Irish midfield mistake, but full-back Hugo Keenan beat him to the ball behind Ireland’s line.

Biggar opened Wales’ account through a 15th-minute penalty, but Sexton quickly cancelled that out with a penalty from in front of the posts, closing a dominant first quarter from his team.

But the visitors had no intention of slowing down, and Wales were unlocked again when Biggar’s intended pass to Williams found Lowe instead, and he sprinted clear to touch down, before Sexton again converted.

Ireland were in cruise control, leading 24-3 with almost an hour of the game remaining, and Wales already appeared in damage-limitation mode.

Another Sexton penalty made it 27-3 at the interval, and even when Wales flanker Jac Morgan found a way over Ireland’s line, prop Andrew Porter got underneath him to prevent a try.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿☘️ A bonus-point victory for Ireland! #GuinnessSixNations #WALvIRE pic.twitter.com/ZlEDFNPoFc

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) February 4, 2023

Wales began the second period with far greater intent, and Williams’ 45th-minute try ― converted by Biggar ― at least gave the home supporters something to shout about.

It was a far better performance by Wales, with Dyer a consistent threat to the Irish defence, yet the lineout remained Wales’ problem area in contrast to Ireland’s exemplary set-piece efforts.

Full-back Williams was then sin-binned for a shoulder-led challenge on Sexton, and Ireland moved past 30 points through Van der Flier’s score that underlined Wales’ shortcomings as they fell to an opening defeat.

Springboks muscle past disappointing England

South Africa produced a powerful performance as they beat a dismal England side 27-13 in their Autumn Nations Series clash on Saturday.

Tries from Kurt-Lee Arendse and Eben Etzebeth as well as three penalties and a conversion from Faf de Klerk and Damian Willemse’s two drop-goals saw the Springboks to an impressive victory, gaining revenge for last year’s narrow defeat at Twickenham.

Despite South Africa having replacement prop Thomas du Toit red carded for a dangerous tackle on 60 minutes, they comfortably saw off England, whose only try came late on through Henry Slade as they end their Autumn Nations Series on a poor note.

Signalling their discontent, the home fans booed when the final whistle sounded.

Unfortunately for South Africa director of rugby Rassie Erasmus, he was not present to witness a comprehensive victory as he completed a two-match ban for criticising referees during the past month.

Erasmus’ actions meant the half-time presentation intended to mark Wayne Barnes’ 100th Test as a referee was cancelled out of fear he might receive abuse after he was targeted online having overseen the Springboks’ defeat by France.

It was clear early on that referee Angus Gardner had a job on his hands with multiple reset scrums and extensive back chat from both sides keeping him busy.

A high error count scarred the first half and, once De Klerk and Owen Farrell had missed simple penalties, the Springboks scrum-half drew first blood.

Farrell missed a penalty and, when Alex Coles was penalised for the second time, South Africa used their line-out to turn the screw with Siya Kolisi held up over the line.

England were unable to escape their half and, shortly after Willemse landed a drop goal, the Springboks fly-half launched a stunning counter-attack starting on his own 22.

Accelerating into space and with help from a block on Freddie Steward, he found Willie le Roux, who presented Arendse with a one-on-one against Marcus Smith that the Bulls wing completed through his sheer pace.

Willemse was causing havoc as he broke free once more and, once England had been warned for repeated defensive infringements, De Klerk increased the lead to 14-3.

Another drop-goal from Willemse

England changed their entire front-row and also brought on wing Jack Nowell for the second half but it made no difference to South Africa as Willemse booted another drop goal.

Farrell replied with a penalty but Jonny Hill’s moment of madness with De Klerk allowed the Springboks to attack and, with Tom Curry sent to the sin-bin for a ruck offence, Etzebeth touched down under the posts.

De Klerk converted and rifled over another three points only for Du Toit to receive his marching orders.

England were finally over in the 72nd minute, Slade darting over to end a long-range move started by Nowell, but they had nothing left in the tank against a resolute South Africa.

Wales stunned as Australia claim comeback win

Wales produced an excellent performance for 55 minutes only to be left shocked by a remarkable comeback from Australia, who secured a 39-34 triumph in Cardiff.

Wayne Pivac’s men played with tempo, intensity and physicality for the first hour, scoring four tries via Jac Morgan, who went over twice, Taulupe Faletau and Rio Dyer.

A weakened Wallabies side looked dead and buried but the visitors displayed tremendous spirit to respond.

Youngster Mark Nawaqanitawase was excellent throughout and began the fightback by touching down in the 58th minute before adding another 10 minutes later.

A penalty try reduced the arrears further before Lachlan Lonergan crossed the whitewash as Australia snatched an unlikely win.

It is a result which eases the pressure on Dave Rennie but asks further questions of Wales’ boss Pivac, who has overseen yet another defeat.

Whether Pivac remains in charge heading into this season’s Six Nations Championship now looks unlikely, with Wales’ woes continuing just 10 months before the World Cup in France.

Pivac handed a Test debut to Ospreys centre Joe Hawkins, while world record cap holder Alun Wyn Jones made his first Wales start since March.

But a late injury blow saw full-back Leigh Halfpenny ruled out after he suffered a back spasm during the warm-up, so wing Josh Adams was promoted off the bench and handed the number 15 shirt.

Wales made a poor start, with lock Adam Beard dropping the kick-off, Australia dominating an ensuing scrum and Ben Donaldson booting his team ahead through a third-minute penalty.

But the home side hit back impressively, as scrum-half Tomos Williams linked well with Jones, whose one-handed pass found Morgan, and he powered over for his third try in two Tests.

Gareth Anscombe converted, before Williams went off for a head injury assessment and was replaced by Kieran Hardy.

Donaldson and Anscombe exchanged penalties as Wales led 10-6 after the opening quarter, and there was an impressive momentum about Pivac’s team.

Australia then fell further behind following a slick handling move that ended in Faletau crossing wide out after he collected wing Dyer’s scoring pass.

Anscombe converted and added another penalty, putting Australia firmly behind the eight-ball as they trailed by 14 points midway through the second quarter.

Australia needed a response before the interval, and it arrived through a 33rd-minute try for Fainga’a after the Wallabies executed an impressive lineout drive.

Donaldson converted, but Australia had scrum-half Jake Gordon yellow-carded for deliberate offside following a sharp Dyer break.

Wales could not make them pay, though, with Hardy being held up over the line, and Australia trailed 20-13 at half-time.

Australia then briefly went down to 13 men when replacement prop Tom Robertson, who was on for Wallabies skipper James Slipper, received a yellow card following a scrummaging infringement.

A driving maul rumbling towards the line is a thing of beauty. 😍pic.twitter.com/Ilqw2oGohg

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) November 26, 2022

And Wales made it count, driving a lineout at relentless pace, with Morgan claiming his second try and Anscombe’s conversion restoring a 14-point advantage.

Australia could not handle a rampant Welsh pack, and Dyer scored Wales’ fourth try, with Anscombe converting before he went off after suffering a nasty-looking shoulder injury.

But the game was turned on its head during a scarcely believable final quarter, with Nawaqanitawase’s second try prompting a Welsh collapse as Justin Tipuric was sin-binned for a trip and Elias followed after he collapsed a maul that led to the penalty try.

And there was still time for Lonergan to win a game that was probably Pivac’s 34th and final Test in charge of Wales.

France beat Japan to end year with perfect record

France ended 2022 with an unbeaten record as they beat Japan 35-17 in Toulouse, becoming only the third nation ever to finish a year without defeat.

This was Les Bleus’ 13th successive win as they condemned the Brave Blossoms to a fifth straight loss in an entertaining game despite the wet conditions.

France’s tries came via Damian Penaud (2), Charles Ollivon and Anthony Jelonch while Thomas Ramos kicked 15 points in front of his home supporters.

Naoto Saito and Siosaia Fifita crossed for Japan in the second half, with Seung Sin Lee slotting seven points via the tee as the visitors fought until the end.

Japan started the meeting in impressive fashion as Kazuki Himeno burst through non-existent French ruck defence to take his side into the opposition 22.  A penalty soon came for offside and the Brave Blossoms opted for the corner instead of posts and it backfired, with Les Bleus avoiding an early setback on the scoreboard.

France regrouped and on eight minutes did what Japan couldn’t when Romain Ntamack’s kick through was eventually grounded by Penaud for a 5-0 lead.

Ramos couldn’t add the difficult extras but he made amends with a couple of penalties before the 17 minute mark, making it 11-0 to a settled looking France.

Japan did get on the board soon after via a Lee penalty but Ramos was on target again 10 minutes later after Ryoto Nakamura was penalised at a breakdown.

France were calmly building their score by threes as the prospect of an unbeaten year was possibly on their mind.  However, they would have their second try before the break when scrum-half Maxime Lucu ― in for the suspended Antoine Dupont ― weaved his way through the lineout traffic before sending Ollivon over for 21-3.

That was the half-time score but Japan came out from the interval firing, with Saito finishing off a run from Shogo Nakano to reduce the lead to 11 points.

Impact from Matthieu Jalibert

Neither side could trouble the scoreboard for the next 18 minutes until replacement Matthieu Jalibert’s chip and chase led to Penaud scoring on the left wing.

With Ramos’ successful conversion it was now 28-10 but once again the Brave Blossoms would not give up their charge, with hooker Atsushi Sakate’s inside ball to wing Fifita capping a perfectly executed lineout move.  Lee added the conversion and the match was back to an 11-point margin with less than a quarter to play.

An old France side might have started to feel the pressure, but this is a different animal under Fabien Galthie and Les Bleus weren’t deterred, with centre Jonathan Danty going incredibly close to grounding on the right wing before another Jalibert chip kick resulted in Danty finding Jelonch to add the gloss to a fine year.

France’s perfect 2022 stands them in excellent stead going into a Rugby World Cup year and they will rightly enter their home tournament as heavy favourites.

England rescue stunning draw with the All Blacks

England, who looked dead and buried after 70 minutes, touched down three times late on to somehow rescue a 25-25 draw against the All Blacks at Twickenham.

After lightening fast openings to the games against Wales and Scotland, New Zealand repeated the trick and went 14-0 up.

Ian Foster’s men used the cross-field kick to great effect and were rewarded with tries for Dalton Papali’i and Codie Taylor.

The Red Rose were poor, meanwhile, with their only score in the first half coming from an Owen Farrell penalty, before Jordie Barrett kicked a three-pointer for a 17-3 advantage at the interval.

Although Marcus Smith reduced the arrears for the Red Rose, the visitors continued to control matters and Rieko Ioane’s try, allied by Beauden Barrett’s drop-goal, appeared to seal the win.

But Eddie Jones’ side had other ideas.  A Beauden Barrett yellow card after a Smith break changed the course of the match, with Will Stuart also going over in that passage of play.

England had the momentum and the All Blacks looked shattered as the hosts crossed the whitewash twice more via Freddie Steward and Stuart to complete a dramatic finale.

Jack van Poortvliet has barely put a foot wrong in his six caps, but the 21-year-old scrum-half gifted New Zealand their first try when his pass off a well executed line-out was easily picked off by the lurking Papali’i who ran half the pitch to score.

The All Blacks had started like a freight train and England were stunned when they ran in a second try in the ninth minute, their maul defence crumbling for Taylor to cross.

Van Poortvliet’s nightmare continued when he was hunted down while taking too long with his clearance kick but the ensuing try by Ioane was ruled out because of a neck roll by the New Zealand centre on Farrell, who was winning his 100th cap.

When they had possession England attacked with urgency through their ball carrying forwards and Sam Simmonds, Maro Itoje and Billy Vunipola made sizeable dents that forced the tourists to scramble.

An action packed opening quarter settled down into a series of scrums, penalties and free-kicks with play unfolding between the two 22s, but when the fireworks resumed it was the All Blacks lighting the fuse and only committed home defence limited them to a Jordie Barrett penalty.

Dramatic second half

Farrell was struggling with an ankle injury and while the centre soldiered on, Smith had taken over the kicking duties to land three points.

It was the Harlequins fly-half’s delayed pass that created a half-chance for Manu Tuilagi only for the Sale centre to be stopped short and after a tidal wave of pick and goes, England were penalised on the line for going to ground.

An opportunity had gone begging and they were made to pay as the All Blacks sprung into action, seizing on Sam Simmonds losing the ball in contact to construct a brilliant try from their own 22.

Beauden Barrett chipped cross-field for Caleb Clarke who turned and offloaded to Ioane on the loop and the outside centre had the gas to race over.

Beauden Barrett landed a drop-goal and was then sin-binned for holding on to Smith and England were finally over in the 72nd minute through Stuart.

Under two minutes later and they were in again, a stunning counter-attack that was finished by Steward shredding New Zealand’s defence, before another sweeping move was finished by super-sub Stuart with Smith sealing the draw.

Ireland battle past Wallabies in dour game

Ireland held on to end their Autumn Nations Series campaign with another win as they edged Australia 13-10 in Dublin on Saturday.

A match that will not go down with fond memories, both teams were error-strewn and disappointing in possession and that showed on the scoreboard.

Ireland’s only try came late in the second period through replacement Bundee Aki while Jack Crowley converted and added a penalty before another substitute, Ross Byrne, nailed a touchline three-pointer with three minutes remaining that won the contest.

Crowley was a late starter after Johnny Sexton pulled out with a calf injury and the Munster man gave an assured performance at the Aviva Stadium.

For the Wallabies, this is their third successive loss on tour as their try came via Jordan Petaia, with Bernard Foley adding a conversion and penalty.

Victory for Ireland saw them become the first nation to defeat New Zealand, South Africa and the Wallabies in a calendar year since England in 2002.

Sir Clive Woodward’s men went on to lift the World Cup the year after achieving that feat and that remains the ultimate goal for Andy Farrell’s side looking ahead to next year’s showpiece tournament in France.

On this evidence, that dream seems a distant reality.

Farrell was far from pleased with what he witnessed in last weekend’s underwhelming 35-17 win over Fiji and ― Sexton aside ― welcomed back a host of players from injury as part of eight alterations.

The world coach of the year nominee would have taken little encouragement from a painfully stop-start encounter littered with sloppy errors, penalties and exchanges of possession.

Ireland defended doggedly in the face of incessant pressure for large parts of the opening period, including at one stage repelling 21 phases which sparked a rousing rendition of the Fields of Athenry, but offered little from an attacking perspective.

Australia thought they had scored a fourth-minute try, only for scrum-half Nic White’s effort to be disallowed on review due to Dave Porecki’s neck roll on Josh van der Flier.

Crowley, wearing the number 10 jersey embroidered with Sexton’s name, calmly slotted the only points of the half in the 10th minute, while rival fly-half Foley was wayward with a penalty at the other end.

Wallabies head coach Dave Rennie had retained just five of the players who began the embarrassing 28-27 loss in Florence.

Replacement hooker Folau Fainga’a was among the 10 men dropped and, having come on to replace the stricken Porecki, was sin-binned in the 37th minute after Van der Flier endured another high tackle, before Irish number two Dan Sheehan was held up on the line just before the whistle.

A poor ― and, at times, tetchy ― Test match was in desperate need of a spark.

Ireland scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park looked to have provided it seven minutes after the restart but his score was subsequently chalked off as Canberra-born team-mate Mack Hansen had gone into touch just before a fine offload.

Australia had briefly been reduced to 13 men at that point due to the temporary absence of Fainga’a prompting uncontested scrums.

Aki’s try was cancelled out by Petaia’s

The Wallabies came through a crucial period in the contest unscathed and were level in the 56th thanks to Foley finding his range with his second penalty.

Below-par Ireland eventually made a significant dent on the scoreboard 10 minutes later when replacement Aki came back with a bang by bulldozing over at the end of relentless pressure which prompted the sell-out crowd to finally find their voices.

Crowley added the extras but the joy was swiftly cut short as Wallabies substitute Petaia broke clear to cross wide on the right, with Foley landing the tricky conversion.

Ireland looked like they would have to settle for a rare draw but Byrne impressively held his nerve as the world’s top-ranked team scraped a ninth win from 11 Tests to round off an unforgettable year in unconvincing but victorious fashion.

Georgia stun Wales in historic victory in Cardiff

Georgia produced one of the biggest shocks in the sport’s history by overcoming Wales 13-12 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

The Lelos have shown plenty of improvement this year, defeating Italy in July and almost securing a victory over Samoa last weekend, but few saw this coming.

Although Welsh rugby is in the doldrums, Wayne Pivac still has plenty of talent at his disposal and were expected to dispatch the visitors with relative comfort.

That evidently did not happen, however, despite the hosts going into the break with a 12-3 advantage through a Jac Morgan brace.

Georgia had opened the scoring via Tedo Abzhandadze before Morgan’s double and were competitive throughout the first half.

They then lifted the intensity in the second period while Pivac’s men faltered.  Sandro Todua’s try when Alex Cuthbert was off the field following a yellow card reduced the arrears and that gave Levan Maisashvili’s charges real hope going into the final quarter.

The Lelos controlled the last 20 minutes and deservedly won the game when Luka Matkava’s three-pointer bisected the uprights.

It was one of the greatest upsets in international rugby union history, and will inevitably pile pressure on Wales boss Wayne Pivac building towards next weekend’s autumn finale against Australia.

Scarlets back-row forward Josh Macleod made his Wales debut, packing down at number eight, while other changes from the team that beat Argentina last weekend included starts for Rhys Priestland, wing Josh Adams and lock Ben Carter.

Abzhandadze kicked Georgia into a second-minute lead, before full-back Davit Niniashvili sparked a thrilling counter-attack as the visitors settled impressively.

Wales were slow out of the blocks in comparison, but they began to exert pressure inside Georgia’s 22, with wing Alex Cuthbert going close following two lineout drives that were defended well by the visitors.

But Wales pounced in the 20th minute after lock Adam Beard won lineout ball and flanker Morgan surged over for a try that Priestland converted, making it 7-3.

Morgan struck again just three minutes later when he collected scrum-half Tomos Williams’ pass, building impressively on his outstanding display against Argentina after going on as a first-half replacement.

Wales thought they had scored again eight minutes before the break when Adams finished impressively after a kick and chase, but Williams’ pass to him was ruled forward.

It was a let-off for Georgia, and they accrued no further damage on the scoreboard as Wales led 12-3 at half-time.

Pivac made a first change just five minutes into the second period, sending on prop Sam Wainwright for Dillon Lewis.

The turning point

But Wales were temporarily reduced to 14 men when Cuthbert received a yellow card from referee Andrea Piardi following an aerial collision that saw Todua fall awkwardly.

Macleod then made way, with Taulupe Faletau taking over from him and making his 99th Test-match appearance for Wales and the British and Irish Lions.

Georgia dominated the third quarter, capitalising on aimless kicking from Wales, and scrum-half Vasil Lobzhanidze went close to a try that was thwarted by strong defensive work from Adams.

Wales were predictable, lacking creativity, and Georgia seemed to thrive on that.

And they cut the deficit to just two points midway through the half when Todua collected a well-placed kick and crossed unopposed, with Abzhandadze’s conversion making it 12-10.

Abzhandadze had a chance to put Georgia ahead, but he drifted an angled penalty attempt wide and Wales escaped.

Faletau made a considerable impact, and he looked to have created a hat-trick try for Morgan, only for the Cardiff number eight to knock on during approach play.

The final few minutes were inevitably tense, especially from a Welsh perspective, and Matkava put Georgia in dreamland with his long-range penalty.

Georgia’s players celebrated wildly, and they held on to win, claiming the greatest victory in their rugby history, beating Wales for the first time and leaving their hosts crestfallen.

Eight-try Scotland ease past 14-man Argentina

Scotland ran in eight tries as they eased past a 14-man Argentina 52-29, the Pumas having Marcos Kremer red carded at Murrayfield on Saturday.

Kremer was given his marching orders in the 23rd minute for a dangerous clearout on Scotland captain Jamie Ritchie, which severely dented their hopes.

For Scotland it was a fixture to remember for wing Darcy Graham, who scored a hat-trick, while Sione Tuipulotu (2), Duhan van der Merwe, Cam Redpath and Stuart Hogg also crossed.  Finn Russell converted six of those scores as he was named player of the match.

The hosts got off to a bad start though when they conceded a penalty within 20 seconds, after Jonny Gray entered the first ruck of the match illegally.  Edinburgh wing Emiliano Boffelli duly put the first points on the board for Argentina when he sent his kick between the posts.

Scotland responded with a brilliant try in the 11th minute, when Tuipulotu received a perfectly-timed offload from Russell and darted his way beyond a cluster of Pumas to score.  Russell converted.

The home support were silenced five minutes later, however, when Jeronimo De La Fuente bounded over on the left despite the close attentions of Ali Price.  Boffelli was wide with his conversion attempt.

Argentina’s hopes of a result were dealt a major blow in the 23rd minute when they were reduced to 14 men after back-rower Kremer was shown a red card for a dangerous tackle on Ritchie following a TMO review.

Scotland made the extra man count almost immediately as Russell offloaded to Van der Merwe just in front of the line and the wing juggled the ball between his hands before forcing it down in the 25th minute.  Russell was successful with the conversion.

Just three minutes later, the Scots scored again when Graham bolted his way over on the right after an excellent flowing move, with Russell the architect in chief ― but this time Russell’s kick was inaccurate.

Argentina refused to capitulate and in the last action of the half, Matias Alemanno barged his way over to score following a sustained period of pressure in front of the Scottish line.  Boffelli converted to ensure the Scots went in only 19-15 ahead at the interval.

Scotland reasserted their authority just a minute into the second half, however, when Graham was released on the right following good play by Russell and Hogg.  Russell hooked his kick wide of the posts.

Gregor Townsend’s side ― at this point leading 24-15 ― were presented with a great opportunity to turn the screw on their opponents going into the closing half-hour when the Pumas were temporarily reduced to 12 men after Alemanno and Tomas Lavanini were both sent to the sin-bin within a minute of each other.

Late flurry from lethal Scotland

Incredibly, despite having three men less than their hosts, Argentina scored a breakaway try when Boffelli raced beneath the posts in the 52nd minute and added the extras himself.

Three minutes later, Tuipulotu went over on the right for his second try of the afternoon, with Russell kicking the conversion.

Almost as soon as Argentina had welcomed their two players back from the sin-bin, a mass brawl erupted just after the hour mark which resulted in Scotland captain Ritchie and Pumas prop Thomas Gallo being yellow-carded.

The Scots eventually started to pull away from their bedraggled visitors in the closing 11 minutes when Redpath, Hogg and Graham all helped themselves to tries, with Russell converting all three.

Tuipulotu was sin-binned right at the death, before Argentina replacement Ignacio Ruiz scored a try ― converted by Nicolas Sanchez ― in the last action of an eventful match featuring 12 tries and six cards.

Nine-try Springboks put Italy to the sword

South Africa got their Autumn Nations Series campaign back on track when they sealed an impressive 63-21 victory over Italy in Genoa on Saturday.

In a fast-paced and entertaining encounter, the visitors were full value for their win as they soaked up early pressure from their hosts before taking control of proceedings with an outstanding second half display.

The Springboks outscored their hosts by nine tries to two with Kurt-Lee Arendse leading the way with a brace with Bongi Mbonambi, Cheslin Kolbe, Kwagga Smith, Malcolm Marx, Steven Kitshoff, Damian Willemse and Cobus Reinach crossing for their other five-pointers.  Kolbe also succeeded with a couple of penalties and a conversion while Manie Libbok slotted five conversions.

For Italy, Ange Capuozzo and Lorenzo Cannone crossed the whitewash with Tommaso Allan adding 11 points courtesy of three penalties and two conversions.

The Springboks made the perfect start when Willie le Roux found Arendse with a skip pass out wide close to the home side’s 22.  The diminutive flyer still had work to do but did well to outpace the cover defence before diving over in the left-hand corner.

Kolbe failed with the conversion attempt before the Azzurri narrowed the gap with a penalty from Allan five minutes later.

From the restart, Giacomo Nicotera infringed at a breakdown and Kolbe slotted the resulting penalty but Italy struck back shortly afterwards when Capuozzo tore the visitors’ defence to shreds before crossing for a well-taken try.  Allan slotted the conversion from close to the touchline which meant the home side were leading 10-8 after 12 minutes.

The next 15 minutes were evenly contested and the scoreboard kept ticking as Allan and Kolbe traded further penalties, before Mbonambi broke away from a Bok maul inside Italy’s 22 and crashed over for his side’s second five-pointer, on the half-hour mark.

Kolbe made no mistake off the kicking tee and although the Azzurri spent some time in the visitors’ 22 during the latter stages of the half, no further points were scored during that period and the teams changed sides with the Boks leading 18-13 at the interval.

The Azzurri drew first blood via another Allan penalty early in the second half but the visitors struck back immediately when Kolbe gathered the restart from under the nose of Luca Morisi and raced away before crossing the whitewash.

That try seemed to reinvigorate the Boks as they upped the ante on attack and shortly afterwards Arendse went over for his second try out wide, after Le Roux and Siya Kolisi laid the groundwork in the build-up.

Libbok, who came on as an injury replacement for Kolbe after his try, slotted the conversion from close to the touchline to score his first international points and with the score 30-16 in their favour, the Boks took more liberties on attack.

Strong Bok finish

Five minutes later, South Africa were rewarded with their fifth try when Smith crashed over from close quarters and they were also rewarded in the 63rd minute when Marx scored his five-pointer off the back of a lineout drive deep inside Italy’s 22.

The home side needed a response and that came courtesy of a brilliant try from Cannone, who rounded off after the ball went through several pairs of hands in the build-up.

Despite that score, the Boks did not take their foot off the pedal and Kitshoff soon crossed for their seventh try, before excellent handling from Andre Esterhuizen, Arendse and Le Roux put Willemse in the clear for his five-pointer.

The visitors were not done and in the game’s dying moments Arendse set off on a mazy run inside the Azzurri’s half before throwing an inside pass to Reinach, who cantered in for his side’s last try which was the final nail in their opponents’ coffin.

All Blacks launch late fightback to edge Scotland

New Zealand scored 17 unanswered points to claim a 31-23 win over Scotland in an entertaining Autumn Nations Series fixture on Sunday.

A brace of tries on Test debut for Mark Telea followed Samisoni Taukei’aho’s opening score while Scott Barrett also crossed for the All Blacks at Murrayfield.

For Scotland they were awarded a penalty try while Darcy Graham scored, with Finn Russell kicking their remaining 11 points on his return to the starting XV.

The All Blacks, however, will be relieved to come away with the win as an out-of-sorts performance meant they were behind for a large spell of the game.

There was an emotional start to proceedings as 52-year-old former Scotland international Doddie Weir, in the throes of his battle with motor neurone disease, made a rare appearance at the national stadium to present the ball before kick-off.

But Scotland ― with Weir’s famous yellow and blue tartan adorning the numbers on the back of their purple kits to mark the fifth anniversary of his charity foundation ― got off to the worst possible start when Taukei’aho seized possession following a lineout and eased his way over the line from close range in the third minute.  Jordie Barrett kicked the conversion.

And just four minutes later things got worse for the hosts as debutant Telea ran onto a cross-field kick from Beauden Barrett and burrowed over.  Jordie Barrett was again successful in adding the extras.

At 14-0 down and having failed to lay a glove on the All Blacks, Scotland looked in serious danger of being ripped to shreds but they dug in and found a way back into the game, led by Stuart Hogg.

In the 12th minute, the full-back kicked the ball over the top and scampered after it himself.  Just as he looked set to slam it down for a try, Anton Lienert-Brown took him out.

Following a TMO review, a penalty try was awarded and Lienert-Brown was sent to the sin-bin.

Incredibly, the Scots were level three minutes later when Graham intercepted an All Blacks attack near halfway and burst forward to claim a magnificent individual try.

Russell ― back in the team for the first time in eight months after being contentiously left out of the initial squad named for the autumn internationals ― kicked the conversion.

The Scots’ tails were up and, after recovering from their chastening start, suddenly they had the All Blacks rattled.

For all the pressure they enjoyed, Gregor Townsend’s team would have been disappointed not to have added a third try before the break, although they did make sure they had a half-time lead to show for their efforts when Russell kicked a 31st-minute penalty following an offside.

The hosts picked up where they left off at the start of the second half, with Russell scoring a second penalty three minutes after the restart.

The Racing 92 fly-half then kept up his perfect kicking record for the day with another penalty in the 54th minute, taking the Scots nine points clear and seemingly on course for their first-ever victory over the All Blacks.

But Jordie Barrett brought New Zealand back into it with their first points since the opening seven minutes when he kicked a penalty in the 63rd minute.

And the momentum of the game continued to turn in favour of the tourists two minutes later when Jack Dempsey was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on following a TMO review.

From the scrum that followed, Scott Barrett forced his way over the line and Jordie Barrett once again made no mistake with the conversion to edge New Zealand back in front.

And the Scots’ hopes of a famous win were effectively ended in the 75th minute when Telea bounded over for his second try of the match, with Jordie Barrett again converting.

Dupont and Du Toit sent off as France edge Boks

The last two winners of the World Rugby Player of the Year award, Antoine Dupont and Pieter-Steph du Toit, were both red carded as France edged past South Africa 30-26 in a dramatic encounter.

Du Toit was deservedly sent off in the first half for connecting with the head of Jonathan Danty, who was forced off and later revealed to have sustained a fractured eye socket.

Les Bleus immediately benefited from the flanker’s absence, going 13-0 ahead thanks to Cyril Baille’s try and a brace of Thomas Ramos penalties, but the visitors impressively fought back.

Siya Kolisi touched down and Cheslin Kolbe added a conversion and a penalty to reduce the arrears before Ramos gave the hosts a 16-10 advantage at the break.

Then came the next big talking point in the contest.  South Africa were on the attack when Faf de Klerk chipped to the wing, where Kolbe was lurking.  Dupont had his eyes on the ball but took the wing out as the Springbok leapt into the air, resulting in the speedster landing on his head.

Referee Wayne Barnes, for the second time in the match, had little option but to red card the player.

With both teams down to 14, the Boks took control as Kurt-Lee Arendse touched down and De Klerk kicked a conversion and a penalty.

And after Ramos and Damian Willemse had traded three-pointers, the defending world champions were still ahead going into the latter stages, but Sipili Falatea’s try and a penalty from France’s full-back snatched the win in one of the great Test matches.

In one of the most hotly-anticipated encounters during the Autumn Nations Series, it did not disappoint.  The physicality was off the charts as both sides went head-to-head, but unfortunately for the Boks Du Toit did that quite literally.

France were already 3-0 in front through Ramos when the flanker went to clear out a ruck.  However, he did not attempt to wrap and instead led with his head, resulting in him being sent off.

The victim of the collision, Danty, was duly withdrawn, but he was not the only player to be forced off in was what a brutal encounter.

Fabien Galthie’s men saw four players in total replaced through injury, with Thibaud Flament and both props, Baille and Uini Atonio, also substituted, although the latter returned for the second period.

It disrupted what had, at that point, been a fine French display, with Ramos adding a second three-pointer and Baille going over from close range for their first try, but credit must go to the Boks, who displayed tremendous spirit and quality to respond.

Jacques Nienaber’s charges had shown a bit more ambition in comparison to recent matches, with Arendse and Kolbe both very much involved, but it was their trusty maul which did most of the damage.

They dominated France’s much-altered forward pack and it led to a three-pointer for Kolbe before Kolisi touched down from another lineout drive minutes later.

Ramos’ third penalty opened up a six-point buffer at the interval before the kickers traded efforts off the tee at the start of the second half.

South Africa, despite being down to 14 men, were starting to get on top, however, and they were soon being helped by their opponents’ ill-discipline.

France’s star sees red

Almost immediately after star playmaker Dupont had been red carded, the Springboks took the lead for the first time as Arendse crossed the whitewash for a converted try.

De Klerk then extended their lead with a penalty before Ramos made it a one-point game with a quarter of the match remaining.

The Boks continued to be clinical, though, and their third kicker of the evening, Willemse, made it 26-22 with 15 minutes to go.

Nienaber’s men had done a superb job in stopping France from getting into their rhythm but in the latter stages Les Bleus increased the pressure.

South Africa cynically infringed, resulting in a yellow card for Deon Fourie, before Falatea crossed the whitewash to take France back ahead.

Ramos missed the conversion but added a three-pointer soon after to secure the victory in an absolute thriller.

Wales hold off Argentina to return to winning ways

Wales got their Autumn Nations Series campaign back on track with a hard-fought 20-13 victory over Argentina at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday.

Wayne Pivac’s troops were well beaten by the All Blacks last weekend but delivered a much improved effort against Los Pumas and eventually outscored their visitors by two tries to one in a tighly contested affair.

Taulupe Faletau and Tomos Williams crossed the whitewash for the home side while their other points came via the boot of Gareth Anscombe, who succeeded with a penalty and two conversions, while Rhys Priestland also added a three-pointer off the kicking tee.

For Argentina, Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro scored a try and Emiliano Boffelli slotted a conversion and two penalties.

Argentina, recent conquerors of the All Blacks, England and Australia, were kept at bay by a defensive red wall as Michael Cheika’s men endured an evening to forget.

It was a welcome result for Wales head coach Pivac, who oversaw only a third win this year.

The South Americans could not reproduce the intensity and organisation that saw them defeat England at Twickenham six days ago.

Pivac made three personnel changes following that 55-23 defeat seven days ago, calling up wing Alex Cuthbert, prop Dillon Lewis and flanker Dan Lydiate.

Argentina, meanwhile, were without captain Julian Montoya due to a rib injury, so Agustin Creevy deputised at hooker and number eight Pablo Matera took over as skipper.

The Wales players wore black armbands in memory of Lydiate’s father John, who died last weekend.

Louis Rees-Zammit and wing Rio Dyer, a try-scorer on debut against New Zealand, were quickly involved in the action, but Argentina comfortably weathered early pressure and Boffelli kicked an eighth-minute penalty.

A second successful Boffelli penalty doubled Argentina’s advantage five minutes later, and Wales ended the opening quarter 6-0 behind.

Wales’ forwards grew into the contest and they should have opened their account after 27 minutes, but hooker Ken Owens spilled possession as he tried to burrow over Argentina’s line.

Lydiate then left the action a minute later, clutching his left wrist, and he was replaced by Jac Morgan, with Tipuric moving from openside to blindside.

Wales had territorial dominance and they were rewarded nine minutes before half-time when a powerful lineout drive ended with a try for Faletau on his 32nd birthday, and Anscombe’s successful conversion edged the home side ahead.

Anscombe kicked a 30-metre penalty as the interval approached, and it was a much-improved effort by Wales in the second quarter.

Argentina’s early momentum and control had disappeared, and Wales were good value for a 10-6 half-time lead.

Rees-Zammit, making just the third start of his career at full-back, continued to attack from deep and kept Argentina’s defence on red alert.

Crucial try

Wales extended their lead just seven minutes into the second period when Pumas full-back Juan Cruz Mallia’s attempted clearance was charged down by Williams, who then scored easily.

Anscombe’s conversion opened up an 11-point advantage, and Argentina needed to find a way back into the contest, but they could make little headway against a well-organised Welsh defence.

Pivac began making changes, sending on Priestland and centre Owen Watkin, but Wales did not help themselves when lock Will Rowlands was yellow-carded for a technical infringement.

Argentina could not capitalise on a temporary one-man advantage, though, and a Priestland penalty put Wales 14 points clear with 17 minutes remaining.

But the Pumas struck after Rowlands returned, driving a lineout inside Wales’ 22, and replacement prop Tetaz Chaparro touched down, with Boffelli’s conversion narrowing the gap to 20-13.

Wales, though, displayed admirable composure during the closing minutes, despite losing Rowlands to what appeared to be a serious arm injury, and Argentina could find no way back.

England ease to dominant victory over Japan

England produced an improved performance to easily see off a dangerous Japan outfit with a 52-13 triumph at Twickenham on Saturday.

Coming into the game off the back of a shock 30-29 reversal to Argentina, the pressure was on Eddie Jones and his charges, but they responded well.

Against a side that had run the All Blacks close two weeks ago, the hosts were expected to be given a stern examination of their capabilities.

But although the Brave Blossoms came close to stunning New Zealand, they were overpowered by the Red Rose in London.

Jones’ men took a 24-6 lead into the break thanks to tries from Freddie Steward, Marcus Smith and Guy Porter ― Takuya Yamasawa providing the visitors’ response with a brace of penalties.

England continued to dominate in the second period and passed the 50-point mark as Porter and Smith completed their braces, while Ellis Genge also went over and they were awarded a penalty try.

Japan did cross the whitewash once via Naoto Saito but it was a disappointing display from Jamie Joseph’s team.

England liberated themselves from the overthinking that was identified as the source their problems against the Pumas to give their Autumn Nations Series lift off ― at least until the All Blacks arrive.

Even amid a cagey opening the atmosphere was livelier than against Argentina six days earlier and home fans were soon able to celebrate an early Owen Farrell penalty and Steward try.

Steward raced over in the 13th minute after Japan’s midfield defence became too compressed following a line-out drive and with Farrell converting the lead became 10-0.

England were showing enterprise as Farrell kicked to Jonny May inside his own 22, but they were being assisted by a Japan team that were freely conceding penalties and just could not get going.

Successive knock-ons stemmed the tide of pressure building on the tourists’ line but once Smith had got a couple of low key errors out of the system, he plundered a try in the right corner after Steward had broken from inside his own half.

Japan finally came to life by producing the type of attacking rugby that brought the last World Cup to life, but their reward was limited to two penalties from Yamasawa.

May, making his first Test appearance in a year because of injury and Covid, was sin-binned for killing the ball as the Brave Blossoms seemed destined to score.

First international tries for Guy Porter

Although a man down, England poured forward on the stroke of half-time as their opponents wobbled close to their line and Sam Simmonds crabbed across the pitch to set up an easy run in for Porter.

Cohesion threaded through the hosts’ play as a drive upfield ended with Genge driving over and when Farrell grubbered ahead for Porter to touch down, Japan’s prospects were looking increasingly gloomy.

Warner Dearns capitalised on a ruck error to send Saito scampering over to stem the flow of one-way traffic, but any danger of a fightback has evaporated long ago.

England secured a penalty try and then Smith was over for his second following a move that involved Steward and Henry Slade, driving the final nail into Japan’s coffin.

Italy claim first-ever win against wobbly Wallabies

Italy claimed their first-ever win over the Wallabies courtesy of a nail-biting 28-27 triumph in Florence on Saturday.

Tries from Ange Capuozzo (2) and Pierre Bruno helped the Azzurri to victory while Tommaso Allan finished with a 10-point haul, after succeeding with a couple of penalties and as many conversions, and Edoardo Padovani also slotted a three-pointer off the kicking tee.

For Australia, Tom Wright, Fraser McReight, Tom Robertson and Cadeyrn Neville scored tries while Noah Lolesio added two conversions and a penalty.

The Wallabies had the chance to clinch a last-gasp victory, when Ben Donaldson lined up a shot at goal to convert Neville’s try with the final act of the match, but his kick was off target.

The hosts were the first team on the board with an Allan penalty in the second minute before Lolesio levelled the scores with a penalty of his own only three minutes later.

The Italians built solid momentum through their structured phase play and could have gone into a three-point lead, but Allan missed a penalty attempt.

A yellow card for Wallabies scrum-half Jake Gordon in the 16th minute, for cynically obstructing an Italian player on a kick chase, opened the door for a well-worked try from the hosts as Bruno crashed over in the corner three minutes later for a converted try.

The Azzurri made the most of their ascendency when Capuozzo went over in the 26th minute for another converted try as the hosts built a solid lead.

The Wallabies had the final say in the first half as Wright scored in the corner with an acrobatic finish.  Lolesio missed the conversion from the touchline.

Australia drew first blood in the second period when McReight scored a converted try in the 44th minute as the visitors launched a comeback.

Allan then added a 53rd-minute penalty before Italy upped the tempo as Capuozzo scored his second try 12 minutes later, which was unconverted.

The Wallabies responded immediately through Robinson, who scored in the 68th minute, with Lolesio adding the extras.

A crucial Padovani penalty in the 76th minute put Italy up 28-22 before the Wallabies ensured a tense finish when Neville scored with the clock in the red.

The pressure fell onto debutant Donaldson to convert the try to win the game, but a miss meant Italy would create history with their first win against Australia.

Ireland muscle past Fiji in far from perfect showing

A much-changed Ireland got the job done against Fiji in their second Autumn Nations Series fixture as they won 35-17 in Dublin on Saturday.

Two tries from Nick Timoney were added to by a score apiece from Robert Baloucoune, Mack Hansen and Cian Healy as the Irish prevailed once again.

In reply there were Fijian tries from Kalaveti Ravouvou and Simione Kuruvoli but a red card for Albert Tuisue hurt their hopes of a taking a shock win.

Fiji played most of a stop-start second half a man down after Gloucester flanker Tuisue was dismissed for ploughing into the head of Joey Carbery, while Manasa Saulo and Api Ratuniyarawa each spent spells in the sin bin.

Despite a fragmented display featuring opportunities for a handful of fringe players, the stuttering Irish were never in serious danger of slipping to a first defeat to the Pacific islanders as they warmed up for next weekend’s showdown with Australia in victorious fashion.

Yet, in addition to the premature departure of Carbery, an early injury sustained by Robbie Henshaw was further concern for the home team following their 16th victory from 18 Tests.

Head coach Farrell made nine alterations to the starting XV which toppled South Africa amid a mini injury crisis, with Tadhg Furlong becoming the 109th man to captain Ireland.

Ahead of kick-off the crowd paid tribute to former Ireland international Paul McNaughton, who died on Sunday aged 69.

The subdued atmosphere continued into the game and those spectators who were contributing noise were quickly stunned into silence by Fiji’s rapid start.

Teti Tela was wayward with an early penalty but, having regained possession, the free-running Fijians ripped through the Irish defence, culminating in centre Ravouvou racing clear to dive over following slick interplay between captain Waisea Nayacalevu, Seta Tuicuvu and Vinaya Habosi.

There was ripple of appreciative applause among the home fans and Ireland’s sloppy beginning was compounded by Henshaw limping off in the aftermath of Tela’s successful conversion.

With the Irish having downed the Springboks and poised to take on the Wallabies, rival coach Vern Cotter claimed the hosts may have their minds on other matters and would use this match as a “training session”.

Farrell’s men eventually began to dispel that theory as flanker Timoney burrowed over twice in quick succession, either side of Kieran Treadwell seeing a score ruled out on review due to a failure to ground.

Fiji, who had prop Saulo sin-binned following an accumulation of infringements, briefly reduced the arrears through a Teti penalty, before Jimmy O’Brien’s superb line break followed by a fine Jamison Gibson-Park pass gave Baloucoune a simple finish on the right.

Carbery, given another opportunity to deputise for influential captain Johnny Sexton, nailed the difficult conversion, to maintain his flawless record and tighten the home side’s grip on the scoreboard going into the break.

The unfortunate Munster man’s opportunity to impress was cut short as he left the field in the 46th minute following Tuisue’s crude shoulder-led challenge, resulting in a Test debut for provincial team-mate Jack Crowley.

Cards hurt Fiji during the game

Fiji were then briefly down to 13 players as London Irish lock Ratuniyarawa was yellow carded.

Ireland eventually capitalised on their numerical advantage when Hansen crossed for a deserved try, with 22-year-old Crowley adding the first of his two conversions.

Vintage Fijian rugby featuring slick hands and fine offloads sent replacement Kuruvoli over 16 minutes from time to give the depleted visitors faint hope of an unlikely fightback.

But veteran prop Healy ensured Ireland had the last say, bulldozing over to cap an 11th consecutive win on home soil, a record Farrell’s men will hope to improve when they round off their November appointments against Australia in seven days.

Brilliant Argentina stun England at Twickenham

Michael Cheika’s Argentina produced a superb second half display to overcome England 30-29 at Twickenham on Sunday.

In a season where they have already beaten New Zealand for the first time away from home, they secured another historic win by edging past Eddie Jones’ men.

Replicating their victory at Twickenham 16 years ago, which spelled the end of Andy Robinson’s tenure as England head coach, they once again came to the ‘home of rugby’ and emerged victorious.

Los Pumas were thankful to Emiliano Boffelli in the opening period, who kicked four three-pointers in an error-strewn first 40 minutes, as they went in just 16-12 behind at the break.

Joe Cokanasiga touched down for the Red Rose and Owen Farrell added three penalties, but the hosts failed to build on that at the start of the second period.

Tries from Boffelli and Santiago Carreras helped the visitors into a 24-16 advantage before Jack van Poortvliet replied for the home side.

The respective kickers then traded penalties, leaving Argentina just one point in front with 10 minutes remaining, but they showed outstanding maturity to run down the clock and go away with a momentous win.

Heavy rain through the morning took its toll on the spectacle, making handling treacherous early on, but England were also guilty of snatching at their passes.

Drizzle gave way to bright sunshine as debutant second row Alex Coles made an off-the-ball tackle and then dropped a restart, helping Boffelli kick Argentina into the lead.

For the first time England launched Manu Tuilagi and Cokanasiga, forcing the Pumas defence to scramble, and their reward was a sustained spell of pressure spearheaded by the scrum.

Pinned on their line, Argentina were ahead on the scoreboard only but even that was shattered in the 25th minute when Cokanasiga used his strength to crash over the line after being picked out by Ben Youngs.

Boffelli kept the Pumas in the hunt with another successful kick but their visits into the home half were rare in a match that was struggling to get out of first gear and, to illustrate the point, Farrell and the goalkicking wing exchanged penalties.

Burst into life

Six minutes into the second-half Argentina burst into life, executing a pinpoint backs move off a scrum that saw Boffelli slide over in the corner.

Stung by the score, England attacked through Cokanasiga and Marcus Smith but the energy was sucked out of the move and then disaster struck when Farrell’s pass to Billy Vunipola landed on the floor.

Farrell stuck his arm up in claim of a Pumas knock-on but no offence was spotted by the TMO and so Carreras’ try was allowed to stand.

With no one at home around the breakdown for Argentina, Van Poortvliet showed his wits to score an opportunist touch down that made England breath a little easier.

But Farrell and Boffelli resumed trading penalties that meant Argentina led 30-29 heading into the decisive phase of the game.

England were pegged back deep in their own half and, as the clock ran down, they launched a do or die attack that was snuffed out on the halfway line, allowing the Pumas to celebrate victory.

Ireland claim scalp of South Africa in Dublin

Ireland kicked off their Autumn Nations Series campaign with a 19-16 victory over world champions South Africa at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday.

Tries from Josh van der Flier and Mack Hansen were added to by nine points from Johnny Sexton as the top ranked side on the planet won in Dublin.

For the Springboks their tries came via Franco Mostert and Kurt-Lee Arendse and penalties from Damian Willemse and Cheslin Kolbe on a tough night.

Victory, however, came at a cost as centre Stuart McCloskey, centurion Conor Murray and prop Tadhg Furlong were each forced off due to first-half injuries.

South Africa suffered their heaviest defeat to Ireland when the sides last met ― a humiliating 38-3 thrashing on this ground in 2017.

The Springboks returned as holders of the Webb Ellis Cup and seeking to avenge that embarrassment against hosts who shot to the top of the global rankings on the back of a stunning summer series win in New Zealand.

Murray was afforded a standing ovation by the capacity crowd as he led out his country on the occasion of his 100th cap amid the excitement of booming pyrotechnics.

The much-hyped contest took time to ignite, with Sexton and rival fly-half Willemse exchanging early penalties during a frantic opening which quickly developed into a more attritional affair.

South Africa enjoyed the better territory, while the Irish defended doggedly and were eventually beginning to show signs of their free-flowing best when Kolbe was sin-binned for a tip tackle on Hansen.

Willemse shanked his second penalty attempt before the hapless McCloskey was forced off, having only gained a rare Test opportunity due to Robbie Henshaw pulling out on the eve of the game, to be replaced by debutant Jimmy O’Brien.

Ireland hooker Dan Sheehan was unfortunate to be denied the opening try in the 32nd minute when he knocked on before grounding after superbly charging down Willemse’s attempted clearance.

Scrum-half Murray, who became only the eighth man to reach a century of Test caps for Ireland, then joined McCloskey in making a premature departure, leaving the field in obvious distress due to an apparent groin issue.

Sexton slotted between the posts to swiftly nudge his side back ahead but Kolbe’s kick wiped out the lead with the final action of a stop-start half in which defences were dominant to leave the score level at 6-6.

Prop Furlong did not reappear for the second period after sustaining an ankle issue just before the break.

Following a lengthy video check, Ireland claimed the first score of the bruising contest seven minutes after the restart when Van der Flier managed to ground wide on the left just before a rolling maul was bulldozed into touch.

The hosts quickly took control of the scoreboard courtesy of the best move of the match.

Hansen grabbed Ireland’s second try

Magical cross-field play sparked by Caelan Doris’ superb offload involved Van der Flier, Andrew Porter, Finlay Bealham, Jamison Gibson-Park, Tadhg Beirne, Hugo Keenan and O’Brien, before Hansen dived over on the left, prompting roars of delight on the terraces.

South Africa responded and it took a robust, last-ditch tackle from Gibson-Park to thwart the onrushing Deon Fourie.

Mostert, on in place of the injured Lood de Jager, successfully stretched for the line to set up a tantalising final 13 minutes but Kolbe somehow struck the posts with the conversion.

Sexton’s third penalty of the afternoon briefly calmed Irish nerves before Arendse crossed wide on the right to increase the tension.

Yet Ireland, dubbed “softies” by Springboks director of rugby Rassie Erasmus just three years ago, had the resilience to get over the line and make it 10 home victories in a row with another headline-grabbing result.

All Blacks seal dominant win over Wales in Cardiff

Wales are still searching for their first victory over New Zealand since 1953 after the All Blacks once again proved too strong with a 55-23 triumph at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

This was considered to be the Welshmen’s best chance in years of overcoming the All Blacks following the visitors’ poor season so far.  However, despite a spirited performance, in reality they were no match for Ian Foster’s men.

Wayne Pivac’s charges did well to come back after going 17-0 down at the end of the first quarter due to a Codie Taylor brace, but New Zealand pulled away late on.

Rio Dyer’s try on debut and a pair of Gareth Anscombe penalties meant Wales were 22-13 in arrears at the break ― Jordie Barrett scoring the All Blacks’ third try ― and the hosts thought they had a chance when Aaron Smith and Justin Tipuric traded scores.

With Anscombe adding a conversion and a penalty, six points separated the teams with just under 30 minutes remaining, but the away side finished the stronger.

Smith and Barrett both crossed the whitewash for a second time while Ardie Savea and Samisoni Taukei’aho also scored as they romped to an ultimately convincing win.

Wales need to regroup quickly, with Argentina and Australia among their remaining autumn opponents, after another performance that prospered at times, but they had nowhere near enough quality moments.

For New Zealand, it was the most points they have scored against Wales in Cardiff, eclipsing the 54 they racked up 12 months ago.

Wales full-back Leigh Halfpenny’s hopes of a Test match return 16 months after suffering major knee ligament damage were thwarted by a hamstring injury.

Anscombe moved from fly-half to replace him, with Rhys Priestland starting in the number 10 shirt and uncapped Scarlets back Sam Costelow joining the replacements.

Smith made his 113th Test match appearance for New Zealand, moving above Dan Carter as the All Blacks’ most-capped back, while Sam Whitelock took over as captain from an injured Sam Cane.

New Zealand settled quickly under the stadium’s closed roof, and Mo’unga kicked them into a fourth-minute lead through a 40-metre penalty.

It was an unsettling opening for Wales, and New Zealand extended their lead seven minutes later when flanker Dalton Papali’i breached Wales’ front-line defence and quickly recycled possession resulted in a try for Taylor that Mo’unga converted.

Wales looked off the pace and were defensively suspect as New Zealand punished them through a second Taylor try ― converted by Mo’unga ― that opened up a 17-point advantage inside the opening quarter.

The home side desperately needed some inspiration, and it arrived courtesy of new cap Dyer.

Wales attacked strongly from a short-range lineout, and Dyer touched down after cutting a superb attacking angle on receipt of centre Nick Tompkins’ pass, with Anscombe’s conversion making it 17-7.

An Anscombe penalty nine minutes before half-time further cut the gap, and there were promising signs shown by Wales after being run ragged in the early stages.

But New Zealand’s ruthless edge surfaced again when they returned to Wales’ 22, as a brilliant Mo’unga cross-kick saw Jordie Barrett catch it and outjump Dyer before touching down.

Anscombe then kicked a second penalty just before the interval, as Wales went off nine points adrift when it might have been a whole lot worse, given New Zealand’s initial onslaught.

🔥 Aaron Smith rolling back the years!

Superb individual try from the great scrum-half. 👏pic.twitter.com/a5XCEacaoh

― Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) November 5, 2022

Wales showed two changes for the second period, with prop Dillon Lewis replacing Tomas Francis and lock Alun Wyn Jones taking over from Adam Beard.

Anscombe completed his penalty hat-trick five minutes after the restart, and Wales were firmly back in contention as a third change saw Nicky Smith replace loosehead prop Gareth Thomas.

Just when questions were being asked of them, though, New Zealand hit back when livewire Smith broke clear from the base of a scrum for his team’s fourth try, and Mo’unga converted for a 29-16 lead.

But Wales displayed admirable resilience, and they chipped away at New Zealand again, this time through a Tipuric try that Anscombe converted, only for Smith to score again, with Mo’unga adding the extras to restore a 13-point gap.

Costelow made his Test match introduction 14 minutes from time, yet New Zealand had already stretched further away through Savea’s try, before Jordie Barrett’s second touchdown inched them closer to 50 points, a figure that was passed in injury time.

Damian Penaud stunner rescues France

France were indebted to the class of Damian Penaud as the wing touched down late on to give them a narrow 30-29 victory over a gallant Australia side.

Les Bleus struggled throughout as the visitors gave as good as they got.  Thomas Ramos and Bernard Foley initially traded two penalties apiece before the Aussies put together the try of the weekend for Lalakai Foketi.

Ramos then reduced the arrears with two more successful efforts off the tee, but it looked like Dave Rennie’s men would go into the break with a one-point advantage.  However, Julien Marchand touched down with the clock in the red and it could have been a sucker punch for the Wallabies.

They continued to battle, though, and went into the latter stages with a four-point buffer as Jock Campbell crossed the whitewash while Foley (twice) and Reece Hodge kicked penalties.

The Aussies were on the cusp of a famous win but Penaud’s brilliant score rescued the day for France.

Australia went into the game off the back of narrow victory over Scotland, but they needed a vast improvement against the defending Six Nations champions.

Few saw how they could compete against the French behemoths, but Rennie’s charges were quite simply outstanding.

They began the game by putting star scrum-half Antoine Dupont under pressure and it resulted in the hosts infringing, leading to a Foley three-pointer.

Ramos almost immediately responded before the full-back added a second off the tee soon after.

France thought they had scored when Charles Ollivon burrowed his way over, but that was disallowed for a double movement and the Australians benefited from that reprieve.

Receiving the ball deep inside their own 22, Australia spotted space on the left where Tom Wright was lurking.  The wing displayed outstanding pace to sprint clear of Penaud and showed equally good skills to pass the ball to Campbell.

Foketi was on the full-back’s shoulder and the Reds man duly found the centre to give the Wallabies a 13-6 advantage.

Deserved lead

It was a lead they absolutely deserved but Les Bleus would edge their way back into the contest thanks to the accurate kicking of Ramos.

They went into the latter stages of the first half 13-12 in arrears before Marchand touched down to take them 19-13 ahead going into the second period.

France had the momentum but Australia never went away and, after Ramos and Foley had traded penalties, Rennie’s men scored another well-worked try through Campbell.

The Wallabies’ fly-half brilliantly converted and then kicked a penalty to leave them 26-22 in front.

That four-point buffer remained going into the latter stages as Ramos and Hodge kicked a penalty apiece before Penaud’s piece of magic broke the Australians’ hearts.

Scotland made to graft for victory over spirited Fiji

Scotland got the job done but were made to work very hard for their 28-12 victory over Fiji in their Autumn Nations Series international at Murrayfield on Saturday.

Although the Scots outscored their visitors by four tries to two, their overall performance left a lot to be desired and it was only a strong second half effort from the hosts which eventually sealed their win.

In the end, tries from George Turner, Adam Hastings, Duhan van der Merwe and Ben White got the job done for the hosts with Hastings and Blair Kinghorn adding a brace of conversions apiece.

For Fiji, Setariki Tuicuvu and Ratu Rotuisolia crossed the whitewash while Vilimoni Botitu slotted a conversion.

The hosts looked set for a smooth afternoon when Turner’s early try put them ahead, but the visitors ― under the charge of former Scotland head coach Vern Cotter ― hit back with their tries and temporarily had the hosts on the ropes.

Touchdowns either side of the interval from Hastings and Van der Merwe helped Gregor Townsend’s side regain the upper hand, however, before replacement White added a further score in the closing stages.

In just the second minute, Fiji suffered a setback when debutant Rotuisolia was sent to the sin-bin for foul play.

The hosts made the extra man count as they bossed the early stages and after a sustained period of pressure, Turner pushed his way over from a rolling maul in the seventh minute for the game’s opening try.  Hastings ― given his chance to stake a claim for the stand-off berth vacated by high-profile absentee Finn Russell ― was successful with the conversion.

The Pacific islanders had a good chance to get their first points on the board in the 11th minute when they were awarded a penalty in front of the posts, but Tuicuvu sent his kick wastefully wide from.

Three minutes later, Tuicuvu made amends with a try on the right at the end of a lovely flowing Fijian attack.  Once again the wing’s kicking was well off, though, as he fluffed his conversion attempt.

Fiji had gained the initiative, however, and Rotuisolia ― back on after his early yellow card ― gave them the lead when he touched down on the left in the 23rd minute.

To add to Scotland’s woes, Stuart Hogg was sent to the sin-bin as a result of his team being persistently penalised.  Botitu took over kicking duties and made no mistake with the conversion.

During Hogg’s time on the sidelines, the Scots were on the back foot and fortunate not to concede any more points as they somehow withstood some intense Fijian pressure.

They rediscovered their composure after the full-back returned to the fray to even up the numbers.  In the last action of the first half, Hastings produced an impressive piece of skill to get himself free and touch down behind the posts after Ali Price had fed him following a scrum.

Narrow half-time lead for Scotland

The try-scorer converted from close range to edge Scotland back in front at the break, much to the relief of the home crowd.

It proved to be Hastings’ last notable involvement in the game as he was forced off with a head knock two minutes into the second half, with Kinghorn taking his place.

The Scots stretched their lead in the 49th minute when Van der Merwe received a looping pass from Chris Harris on the left and stepped away from two Fijians before touching down.

Kinghorn, who came under scrutiny after missing a last-gasp penalty in last weekend’s 16-15 defeat by Australia, kept his composure on this occasion to kick clinically between the posts from wide on the left.

Fiji’s Vinaya Habosi was sin-binned in the 61st minute for a high tackle on Scotland replacement Rory Sutherland.

Cameron Redpath thought he had scored in the 73rd minute, only for the try to be chalked off for a knock-on following a TMO review, although Fiji were penalised in the form of their third yellow card of the afternoon, which was shown to Livai Natave.

The Scots were able to celebrate their fourth try of the match just seconds later when White claimed possession from the back of the scrum and scurried over.  Kinghorn added the extras.

Scotland wing Darcy Graham was yellow-carded in the last minute but his team had already done enough to secure victory.

Impressive Italy dominate Samoa in Padua

Italy started their Autumn Nations Series with a brilliant 49-17 win over Samoa on Saturday afternoon.

Samoa applied the pressure in the first 10 minutes but failed to score any points before Italy found their feet, kicking a penalty in the 11th minute through Tommaso Allan and scoring two tries in as many minutes through Ignacio Brex Juan and Pierre Bruno.  Allan kicked both conversions.

Allan would add another penalty before the visitors had to end the first half with a man down after Nigel Ah Wong was yellow carded for dangerous play.

Italy wing Monty Ioane made the most of the numerical advantage, scoring either side of half-time to put his team in the driver’s seat.  Paolo Garbisi kicked a penalty just before the break, while Allan missed one conversion but added two points for the second try in the 47th minute.

Samoa then began to find a foothold in the game and, despite the scoreline, kept playing hard until the ball bounced their way.  Centre Ulupano Seuteni crossed for the visitors’ first try in the 52nd minute, with D’Angelo Leuila slotting the conversion.

The hosts were dialled in and responded only three minutes later through debutant Lorenzo Cannone, with Garbisi kicking the conversion on this occasion.

Garbisi then crossed the whitewash for a try of his own in the 63rd minute, which Pierre Bruno converted.

From then on, the game opened up, suiting Samoa, who scored two unconverted tries in the last 10 minutes through Duncan Paia’aua and Theo McFarland.

Damian McKenzie stars as tourists ease past Ireland 'A'

Shaun Stevenson scored two tries as the All Blacks XV comfortably beat Ireland ‘A’ 47-19 in an entertaining match at the RDS on Friday.

It was a result that saw the tourists cross seven times as Brodie McAlister, Ruben Love, Braydon Ennor, AJ Lam and Damian McKenzie also scored.

McKenzie added six conversions as Leon MacDonald’s men showed their class in possession in Dublin, with Ireland ‘A’ struggling with the visitors.

Ireland ‘A’s try-scorers were Ciaran Frawley, Marty Moore and Max Deegan, with Frawley and Jack Crowley slotting a conversion apiece on the night.

All Blacks XV dominated the game

Stevenson would open the scoring on 12 minutes after a perfectly weighted cross-kick from McKenzie found the wing, who beat Craig Casey in the air before racing over.  McKenzie would add the extras and the All Blacks XV had got the scoreboard moving.

The visitors would cross again on 21 minutes after opting to go for the corner, hooker McAlister finding his way to the try-line via the back of the maul.

Five minutes later they were over again, this time from a loose Irish lineout downfield as McKenzie raced clear before Love found Stevenson for 19-0.

Ireland ‘A’ did have something to cling to though going into the break as a lovely passage of handling led to Frawley crashing over just before half-time.

However, their joy was short-lived once the game restarted after the break when Stevenson turned provider for Love to make it 26-7 after 42 minutes.

Ennor would be the All Blacks XV’s next to cross the try-line 12 minutes later, but Ireland would hit back through replacement Moore from a metre out.

McKenzie picked up a deserved try

MacDonald’s side would regroup though and further scores from Lam and the impressive McKenzie on the 61st and 72nd minute took them 47-12 up.

Ireland ‘A’ did have the final say again before the whistle, however, as a moment of offloading magic from wing Calvin Nash led to back-row Deegan going over late on, with Crowley kicking the extra two points on a night that belonged to a slick All Blacks XV side.