France 56 Romania 8

France started their World Cup preparations with an easy 56-8 win over Romania in their warm-up match at Stade Felix-Bollaert in Lens.  The French outscored the Romanians by eight tries to one, to illustrate their dominance in this game.

It was the best possible start for Les Bleus' World Cup preparations as they dominated all aspects of play.  They enjoyed a 35-5 lead (five tries to one) at half-time and scored another three tries without reply after the break.

The win, on a good pitch in great conditions, will also boost the French team's self-confidence ahead of their two warm-up games against the World Cup favourites and topped-ranked team on the Zurich World Rankings, England.

French coach Bernard Laporte was delighted with his team's performance.  "In this type of match, against a reputedly weaker adversary, the risk is not taking the match the right way," he told reporters.

"Here, the guys played seriously and with desire."

France took an early lead, with Damien Traille, Aurélien Rougerie and Imanol Harinordoquy collecting tries inside the first quarter as the weak Romanian defence struggled to control the French runners.  They continued to dominate proceedings for the remainder of the match.

Romania winger Gabriel Brezoianu helped the visitors save face with a try in the waning minutes of the first half.

South African-born centre Brian Liebenberg won his first cap for France, scoring a try in the process.

Yellow card(s):  Marius Tincu (Romania)

The Teams:

France:  1 Jean-Jacques Crenca, 2 Yannick Bru, 3 Sylvain Marconnet, 4 Fabien Pelous, 5 Jerome Thion, 6 Serge Betsen Tchoua, 7 Olivier Magne, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 9 Fabien Galthie (c), 10 Frederic Michalak, 11 Aurelien Rougerie, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 13 Damien Traille, 14 Christophe Dominici, 15 Pepito Elhorga
Reserves:  Olivier Brouzet, Raphael Ibanez, Gerald Merceron, Christian Labit, Brian Liebenberg, Olivier Milloud, Dimitri Yachvili

Romania:  1 Petru Balan, 2 Marius Tincu, 3 Marcel Socaciu, 4 Sorin Socol, 5 Cristian Petre, 6 George Chiriac, 7 Costica Mersoiu, 8 Ovidiu Tonita, 9 Lucian Sirbu, 10 Ionut Tofan, 11 Gabriel Brezoianu, 12 Romeo Gontineac (c), 13 Valentin Maftei, 14 Cristian Sauan, 15 Dan Dumbrava
Reserves:  Augustin Petrechei, Cristian Podea, Cezar Popescu, Petrisor Toderasc, Marian Tudori, Mihai Vioreanu
Unused:  Iulian Andrei

Attendance:  18005
Referee:  De santis g.

Points Scorers:

France
Tries:  Rougerie A. 1, Jauzion Y. 1, Traille D. 1, Crenca J-J. 1, Betsen Tchoua S. 1, Harinordoquy I. 1, Magne O. 1, Liebenberg B. 1
Conv:  Michalak F. 7, Merceron G. 1

Romania
Tries: 
Brezoianu G. 1
Pen K.:  Dumbrava D. 1

Wales 12 Ireland 35

Ireland beat Wales 35-12 at Lansdowne Road in Dublin in the first of their 2003 Rugby World Cup warm-up games, handing the struggling Wales team their ninth consecutive Test defeat.

Ireland never looked threatened by a young and largely untested Wales team, consisting of six new caps with coach Steve Hansen, in an effort to settle on his final 30-man squad for the World Cup, picking Wales Under-21 outside half Nicky Robinson to make his first full Test debut at fullback and Gwent Dragons back row forward Rhys Oakley on the flank, as well as another four former or current Under-21 players on the bench.

For Ireland, inspirational captain Keith Wood made his first appearance in over a year since being ruled out by a shoulder injury, while star centre Brian O'Driscoll, who hasn't seen any action since injuring a hamstring in the Heineken Cup semi-final against Perpignan in April, also made his return, impressing, as always, alongside his skipper.

It took only four minutes for the hosts to cross over for the first try of the game when lock forward Paul O'Connell touched down following a relentless Irish surge up the field, with fly-half David Humphreys stretched the lead to seven points with the conversion.

Wales, however, answered back almost immediately after an Ireland handling error led to a turnover, with their young backline sweeping across the field, allowing veteran winger Gareth Thomas to touch down in the corner.

That, however, was to be the only joy for Wales in the first half.

What followed was wave upon wave of green jerseys as Ireland sent the ball wide at every opportunity and were it not for some poor handling and over-eagerness by Ireland, the scoreline could have looked entirely different.  As it turns out, the Irish managed to cross the tryline once only, going to the break at 14-5.

Ireland began the second half the same way they began the first, when replacement loose forward David Wallace crossed over in the first two minutes, Humphreys making no mistake with the conversion attempt.

Ireland again threatened to break loose, but a courageous Welsh defence limited the damage until lock Malcolm O'Kelly stormed down centre-field, cut inside young winger Garan Evans, and went down underneath posts to effectively finish off the game.

O'Connell was rewarded with a second try for his efforts on attack as well as defence, putting in some big tackles that left the Welsh reeling backwards in a display that may just leave more questions than answers, but the decision by Hansen to leave out all four of his "squad captains" -- Colin Charvis, Stephen Jones, Martyn Williams and Robin McBryde -- left the side with little in the leadership role.

Man of the match:  Wales showed plenty of courage on defence as well as on attack, but it was always going to be too much for such a young and inexperienced side to seriously threaten Ireland and while any number of the Irish could pick up the award, Paul O'Connell's work-rate was exceptional and his defence was at times simply devastating -- reason enough for the lock forward to be named as our Man of the match.

Moment of the match:  The massive lock Malcolm O'Kelly stepping inside Garan Evans to score underneath the posts for Ireland.  One up to the forwards!

Villian of the match:  Evans for letting O'Kelly step inside him to score underneath the posts.

The Teams:

Wales:  1 Duncan Jones, 2 Mefin Davies, 3 Ben Evans, 4 Michael Owen, 5 Gareth Llewellyn, 6 Richard Parks, 7 Rhys Oakley, 8 Alix Popham, 9 Dwayne Peel, 10 Ceri Sweeney, 11 Garan Evans, 12 Iestyn Harris, 13 Jamie Robinson, 14 Gareth Thomas (c), 15 Nicky Robinson
Reserves:  Huw Bennett, Gethin Jenkins, Vernon Cooper
Unused:  Nathan Brew, Andy Williams, Andy Marinos, Robin Sowden-Taylor

Ireland:  1 Simon Best, 2 Keith Wood (c), 3 Reggie Corrigan, 4 Malcolm O'Kelly, 5 Paul O'Connell, 6 Keith Gleeson, 7 Alan Quinlan, 8 Anthony Foley, 9 Peter Stringer, 10 David Humphreys, 11 Tyrone Howe, 12 Brian O'Driscoll, 13 Kevin Maggs, 14 Anthony Horgan, 15 Geordan Murphy
Reserves:  Shane Byrne, Gordon D'Arcy, Girvan Dempsey, Guy Easterby, David Wallace, Justin Fitzpatrick, Donncha O'Callaghan

Attendance:  20000
Referee:  Dume j.

Points Scorers:

Wales
Tries:  Evans G.R. 1, Thomas G. 1
Conv:  Harris I.R. 1

Ireland
Tries:  O'Kelly M.E. 1, O'Connell P.J. 2, Quinlan A. 1, Wallace D.P. 1
Conv:  Murphy G.E.A. 1, Humphreys D.G. 4

Australia 17 New Zealand 21

The All Blacks won back the Bledisloe Cup courtesy of a 21-17 win over the Wallabies in an enthralling Tri-Nations encounter -- the final one in the 2003 competition -- at Eden Park in Auckland.

This match had a bit of everything, with the New Zealanders once again impressing when they sent the ball wide, but when the weather conditions worsened, both sides kept it tight as they tried to outwit each other when handling became that much tougher.

The Kiwis were deserved winners, which gave them a Tri-Nations clean-sweep -- the fourth squad to achieve this, after New Zealand in 1996 and 1997 and South Africa in 1998, but the Wallabies certainly pushed them to the very end, with a well-taken try from George Smith just six minutes from full-time, no doubt raising the ABs' stress-levels.

Smith's touchdown, Australia's only try of the day, came after incessant Wallaby pressure in the All Black 22 had gone unrewarded.  Skipper George Gregan -- as he did in the Tri-Nations opener in Cape Town -- spurned kicking opportunities at goal, opting, instead, for tries.

The All Black defence, however, which leaked just six tries in four Tri-Nations fixtures, was once again up to it, with the Kiwis even launching a wonderful counter-attack from their own 22, threatening the Wallaby defence at that late stage.

But the Wallabies turned the ball over on the half-way line and when they sent the ball wide, with George Smith sending a neat pass out to Mat Rogers, the All Black defence became brittle, with a Gregan probe and pass freeing Smith on the left-wing for a try in the corner.

Inside centre Elton Flatley missed the near-touchline conversion, leaving the score at 21-17, but the New Zealanders held out and the final whistle was sounded as the self-same Flatley managed to break a tackle, only to see his wild pass not going to hand, signalling a scrum for the knock-on, which then became full-time.

The home side ran in two first-half tries, both from speedy right-wing Doug Howlett, with the Australians once again guilty -- as they were in Sydney -- of kicking the ball at the Kiwi back three and giving them enough time and space to run it back with interest.

Howlett's first try came directly from a stray Wallaby kick, as fullback Mils Muliaina ran the ball back, hooker Keven Mealamu ran into space perfectly and popped up a pass to Howlett, who glided over for yet another Test try.

Howlett then made history a few minutes later when he became the first All Black to score more than one try against the Wallabies at Eden Park when he chased a clever kick-ahead from Carlos Spencer after Jerry Collins had stolen the ball from an Australian ruck.

Spencer's chip, from the Wallaby 10-metre line, was well-weighted, giving Howlett enough time to hunt the ball down in the Australian deadball area, beating a helpless Elton Flatley to the ball in process.

Interestingly enough, that kick from Spencer was the 20th time New Zealand had put boot to ball.  It was, however, the first time that they managed to regain the ball -- and how it mattered.

Spencer's conversion attempt hit the uprights, but a penalty from the Blues and Auckland first five-eighth took his side into a 15-9 lead -- Australia's points having come from three Elton Flatley penalties.

Wallaby coach Eddie Jones made an interesting substitution shortly before half-time, bringing on debutant tighthead prop Al Baxter for Glenn Panoho, the latter seemed sluggish around the park, but it mattered little as New Zealand stepped up a gear shortly before the half-time whistle, with Chris Jack coming very close to getting over on the stroke of half-time.

South African referee Jonathan Kaplan, who was playing advantage for a Wallaby infringement, needed the Television Match Official's help, but the request was turned down and the visitors could breath a sigh of relief.

A converted try would have given New Zealand a 22-9 half-time lead, and as it turns out Spencer missed the subsequent penalty attempt, leaving the score at the break at 15-9.

Man of the Match:  Plenty of contenders here from both sides.  Let us start with New Zealand, where Keven Mealamu, Chris Jack, Richie McCaw, Tana Umaga and Doug Howlett impressed.  For Australia, David Giffin, Phil Waugh and George Smith all stood out.  Our winner, however, is a Kiwi, with all-action hooker Keven Mealamu impressing in most facets of play.  His line-out throwing was a bit off-colour at times, but his ball-carrying and support-play are a joy to witness.  At times he moves like a flank, but, then, with the simple drop of his head he can transform himself into a powerful front rower.

Moment of the Match:  The final whistle and New Zealand's celebrations.  Despite the fact that these teams play against each other so often, the All Blacks' delight was evident as they managed to win back the Bledisloe Cup for the first time since 1997.  It was a superb encounter, with plenty of power and skill on show, but the final whistle was a joy to behold.

Villain of the Match:  The rain!  It nearly spoilt this wonderful encounter ...

The Teams:

Australia:  1 Glenn Panoho, 2 Brendan Cannon, 3 Bill Young, 4 David Giffin, 5 Daniel Vickerman, 6 George Smith, 7 Phil Waugh, 8 Toutai Kefu, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Wendell Sailor, 12 Elton Flatley, 13 Mat Rogers, 14 Lote Tuqiri, 15 Chris Latham
Reserves:  Matthew Burke, Owen Finegan, Matt Giteau, Jeremy Paul, Alastair Baxter, Nathan Sharpe
Unused:  Chris Whitaker

New Zealand:  1 David Hewett, 2 Keven Mealamu, 3 Greg Somerville, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Ali Williams, 6 Richie McCaw, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Jerry Collins, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Carlos Spencer, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Aaron Mauger, 13 Tana Umaga, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 15 Mils Muliaina
Reserves:  Leon MacDonald
Unused:  Daniel Carter, Steve Devine, Marty Holah, Brad Thorn, Mark Hammett, Kees Meeuws

Attendance:  45000
Referee:  Kaplan j.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Smith G.B. 1
Pen K.:  Flatley E.J. 4

New Zealand
Tries:  Howlett D.C. 2
Conv:  Spencer C.J. 1
Pen K.:  Spencer C.J. 3

New Zealand 19 South Africa 11

The boot of first five-eighth Carlos Spencer proved to be the difference as New Zealand clinched the 2003 Tri-Nations title with a 19-11 win over the Springboks at Carisbrook in Dunedin.  The teams ended the game with one try each.

In the end it was a conversion and four penalties by Spencer, who produced a 100 percent kicking record, which beat an erratic Louis Koen's two penalties.

For a change there were far more positives coming out of a game involving South Africa than the negatives.  It was a traditional hard scrap between New Zealand and South Africa, with the Springboks showing that pride and passion which have been so inconspicuous in other matches this year as they managed to keep the Kiwis in check with some solid defending, another aspect which was badly lacking in most of their games this year.

The one question which has to be asked, and deserves an honest non-sugar coated answer, is why do the Springboks only play like this when they are under pressure after weeks of shocking execution?

This is a game that will certainly provide some answers to the Boks, even though a couple of key questions remain.  It is also a result which will ensure that they keep their feet firmly on he ground.

As for the Kiwis, they showed that their game is better suited to the dry grounds of South Africa, as opposed to a night game in the cool and windy evening air of Dunedin, where the night-time dew affects the handling.

The Springboks also put the Kiwis under pressure, from the outset, and contested every facet with the ferocity one would expect from the men in Green and Gold.

In fact, from the moment Bok prop Lawrence Sephaka and his All Black counterpart Kees Meeuws came into contact during the Haka, it was clear this was a game in which the Boks would not back off.

And by half-time, with the score at 13-11, in favour of the Kiwis, the Springboks had enjoyed a significant advantage in both territory and possession.  They held the ball for 57 percent of the time and took it through 51 phases (rucks and mauls).

At that stage the All Blacks managed just 26 rucks and mauls, as they attempted to spread it wide and stretch the big Bok pack.

But after the break the Kiwis picked up the pace and when the final whistle went they had secured a massive advantage in both territory and possession, with the visitors reduced mainly to a defensive role.

The All Blacks had enjoyed an overall advantage in the possession stakes of 54 percent, having taken the ball through 68 phases after the break, which saw them spend most of the second half in the Boks' territory.  In return, the Boks managed to take the ball through 45 phases only.

The Boks used their big forwards to take the ball up the middle and close to the rucks, where the All Blacks traditionally have fewer defenders.  This worked for most part, but South Africa's finishing let them down.

The All Blacks, with Spencer in control as usual, varied their options better, but found the Boks' defence much harder to break down this time.  As a result, they were forced into kicking more often than they normally would have.

The big difference is that their kicking was far more purposeful, effective and not as erratic as some of the South African punts were.

For the All Blacks the big question is still how they will react when their forwards are really under pressure.  At times, with the Bok pack in full cry, they did look vulnerable.  An England pack at their best could make life very unpleasant for this All Black team.

The Springboks will be concerned about their scrumming, with the All Blacks again putting them under pressure and even managing to hook once against the head.

Then there is their decision-making at scrum-half and fly-half, which certainly contributed to some of their problems on Saturday.

Man of the match:  When games get this close the difference is usually one moment of brilliance from one player.  All Black first five-eighth Carlos Spencer is not known for his kicking, but on the day he produced a 100 percent goal-kicking performance -- the difference on the board in the end -- and his overall kicking out of hand was also far more effective.

Moment of the Match:  It is a simple choice -- Richard Bands' try in the 16th minute.  There was a ruck just inside the All Blacks' half and the burly tighthead prop came charging up.  Scrum-half Joost van der Westhuizen popped the ball to him as he charged into a gap.  30 metres downfield Carlos Spencer made a brave attempt to stop the rampaging Bok, but was brushed aside and Bands dropped over for his first Test try and one of the best forward tries you will ever see.

Villain of the Match:  Springbok fly-half Louis Koen and scrum-half Joost van der Westhuizen both qualify for this award.  Van der Westhuizen for some of the shocking passes he flung in the general direction of his backline and Koen for trying to kick three drop-goals, with good quality ball, and all three were shockers.  He kicked far too many up and unders -- which may have been under instruction -- but his execution left a lot to be desired.  And his goal-kicking, the real reason why he is in the side, also left a lot to be desired.

The Teams:

New Zealand:  1 David Hewett, 2 Mark Hammett, 3 Kees Meeuws, 4 Brad Thorn, 5 Ali Williams, 6 Marty Holah, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Jerry Collins, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Carlos Spencer, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Aaron Mauger, 13 Tana Umaga, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 15 Mils Muliaina
Reserves:  Keven Mealamu, Chris Jack, Greg Somerville
Unused:  Daniel Carter, Leon MacDonald, Rodney So'oialo, Byron Kelleher

South Africa:  1 Richard Bands, 2 Danie Coetzee, 3 Lawrence Sephaka, 4 Geo Cronje, 5 Victor Matfield, 6 Corne Krige (c), 7 Joe Van Niekerk, 8 Juan Smith, 9 Joost Van Der Westhuizen, 10 Louis Koen, 11 Ashwin Willemse, 12 Gcobani Bobo, 13 Jorrie Muller, 14 Stefan Terblanche, 15 Thinus Delport
Reserves:  Lukas Van Biljon, Christo Bezuidenhout, Selborne Boome
Unused:  De Wet Barry, Neil De Kock, Andre Pretorius, Pedrie Wannenburg

Attendance:  30200
Referee:  Marshall p.

Points Scorers:

New Zealand
Tries:  Rokocoko J. 1
Conv:  Spencer C.J. 1
Pen K.:  Spencer C.J. 4

South Africa
Tries:  Bands R.E. 1
Pen K.:  Koen L.J. 2

Canada 9 NZ Maori 30

The New Zealand Maori wrapped up their three-match tour of Canada with a 30-9 win over the Canucks in the second "Test" at York University in Toronto.

The visitors outscored their hosts by five tries to nil, but Maori first five-eighth Willie Walker forgot his kicking boots at home, missing all but one of his team's conversions and adding just one penalty.

All Black back five forward Troy Flavell scored a brace of tries, Crusaders and Canterbury wing Joe Maddock scored a try -- to go with his two last week -- All Black discard Christian Cullen got on the scoresheet and hooker Slade McFarland, a replacement for Corey Flynn in the Maori touring party, scored the fifth and final try.

Canadian fullback Jamie Pritchard, who was born in Australia, slotted three penalties for his side, but the home side were unable to breach the rock-solid Kiwi defence.

The NZ Maori won last week's "international" against Canada in Calgary by 65-27, while the New Zealanders also won their midweek encounter, against the Rugby Canada All Stars in Ottawa, by 52-11.

The teams:

Canada:  1 Garth Cooke, 2 Pat Dunkley, 3 Kevin Tkachuk, 4 Mike James, 5 Colin Yukes, 6 Jim Douglas, 7 Adam Van Staveren, 8 Ryan Banks (c), 9 Morgan Williams, 10 Ryan Smith, 11 John Cannon, 12 Marco Di Girolomo, 13 Matt King, 14 Winston Stanley, 15 James Pritchard
Reserves:  Ed Fairhurst, Mark Lawson, Phil Murphy, Nik Witkowski, Kevin Wirachowski
Unused:  Sean Fauth, Bobby Ross

New Zealand Maori:  15 Christian Cullen, 14 Shayne Austin, 13 Rico Gear, 12 Joe Maddock, 11 Norm Berryman, 10 Willie Walker, 9 Brendan Haami, 8 Ron Cribb, 7 Wayne McEntee, 6 Troy Flavell, 5 Paul Tito (captain), 4 Kristian Ormsby, 3 Carl Hayman, 2 Slade McFarland, 1 Joe McDonnell.
Replacements:  16 Scott Linklater, 17 Deacon Manu, 18 Warren Smith, 19 Germaine Anaha, 20 Glen Jackson, 21 David Gibson, 22 Bryce Robins.

Referee:  Maybank r.

Points Scorers:

Canada
Pen K.:  Pritchard J. 3

New Zealand Maori
Tries:  Flavell 2, Maddock, Cullen, McFarland
Con:  Walker
Pen:  Walker

Australia 29 South Africa 9

The world champion Wallabies bounced back from their big loss to the All Blacks last week, recording a 29-9 win over the Springboks at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, relegating the South Africans to third-place on the Tri-Nations standings.

While the obvious headlines of "Wallabies bounce back" and "Still the world champions" would be expected, truth be told, the Australians still face some hard work ahead, but, at least they came away from this match with a win, which is more than the South Africans can say.

The home side scored two second-half tries, which ultimately proved to be the major difference on the scoreboard, but the kicking boot of Elton Flatley -- he kicked seven from seven -- and the ill-discipline of the visitors also played into the Wallabies' hands.

Flatley kicked two conversions and five penalties, with Springbok fly-half Louis Koen managing just three penalties from five attempts, as the Boks attempted to play a low-risk game, trying to remain in Wallaby territory and hoping to force the penalties.

But the South Africans would have surprised even themselves as they managed to hold the ball for long periods of play, forcing the Australians into making some tackles, but when it came to the moment critique, the visitors were just not up to it, with Koen just not the man to take the game by the scruff of its neck and call the shots.

Wallaby No.10 Stephen Larkham was not his usual dominant self either -- his kicking out of hand is still not where it should be -- but he did force a few clever passes in the second stanza, especially to powerhouse wing Wendell Sailor when the Bok pack began to tire, stretching the South African defence to its limit.

Just two tries were scored in the match, both by the Wallabies, with centre Mat Rogers snapping up a stray long pass from Louis Koen early in the second half, when the scores were still tied at the half-time score of 6-6, before racing away from debutant Jorrie Muller for the try.

Flatley's conversion took the score to 13-6, and although Koen replied soon afterwards with his third penalty, Flatley managed to keep his team ahead with two more penalties, before Koen missed his second attempt just after the advent of the final quarter to leave the score at 19-9.

Cynical play from Robbie Kempson just a few minutes later saw the Boks forced to play with one man down again -- hooker Danie Coetzee had spent 10 minutes in the sin bin between minutes 38 and 48 for foul at the tackle -- but Flatley's subsequent penalty, in the 67th minute, took his team out to 22-9, with time quickly running out.

The introduction of Brent Russell -- on the right-wing for Stefan Terblanché -- soon afterwards signalled the intention of the Boks at that stage, but the solid Australian defence, which did not seem threatened for much of the game, held out once again before one final strike to put daylight between the two sides.

The Wallabies worked the ball wide to left-wing Lote Tuqiri, who did not see too much off the ball, and he held off Russell for long enough before being hauled down.  The ball went to the right where Toutai Kefu drew in the final defence out wide before Phil Waugh dotted down in the corner despite a brave tackle from Bok No.8 Juan Smith.

For his efforts, Kefu was stretchered off the field after taking a late and high hit from Kempson, but the Wallaby elation proved just how much this win meant to them, having, before this match, lost three games on the trot, to England, South Africa and New Zealand, conceding 50 points in the latter fixture.

The South Africans certainly deserve some praise for their brave showing, but if they are to have any say at the World Cup later this year -- or in Dunedin next week -- they need to get more flair and authority into their game and have a good, hard look at their ill-discipline.

Man of the Match:  Two Waratahs men stood out for the Wallabies, hooker Brendan Cannon, who was excellent against the All Blacks last week, and one of the two Wallaby opensides, Phil Waugh.  For the Boks, Selborne Boome began well, while the rest of his tight five was not far behind, while Joe van Niekerk hardly looked rusty.  In the end, however, our obvious choice was Waugh, who was everywhere on attack, supporting the ball-carrier at every opportunity, defending strongly and competing well at the breakdown, along with George Smith.

Moment of the Match:  We have two moments, and both occurred within six minutes of each other.  First Wallaby No.12 Elton Flatley struck a tough penalty in the 57th minute, which bounced off the uprights to put his side ahead by 19-9, just past that crucial seven-point barrier.  Then, in the 63rd minute, South African kicking ace Louis Koen missed a relatively easy shot at goal, leaving the scoreline at 19-9.  If Flatley had missed and Koen been successful, the score would have been 16-12 in the home team's favour.  It still would have been game on ...

Villain of the Match:  Danie Coetzee was pencilled in early on for his silly misdemeanour, which earned him a yellow card in the 38th minute.  But our vote, here, goes to fellow Bok front rower, Robbie Kempson, firstly for a yellow card for tripping George Gregan in the 67th minute, and then for his high tackle on Wallaby No.8 Toutai Kefu, which knocked the Australian vice-captain out and saw him stretchered from the field.

Yellow card(s):  Danie Coetzee (South Africa, 38), Robbie Kempson (South Africa, 67)

The Teams:

Australia:  1 Patricio Noriega, 2 Brendan Cannon, 3 Bill Young, 4 David Giffin, 5 Daniel Vickerman, 6 George Smith, 7 Phil Waugh, 8 Toutai Kefu, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Wendell Sailor, 12 Elton Flatley, 13 Mat Rogers, 14 Lote Tuqiri, 15 Chris Latham
Reserves:  Matthew Burke, Owen Finegan, Matt Giteau, Jeremy Paul, Glenn Panoho, Chris Whitaker, Nathan Sharpe

South Africa:  1 Richard Bands, 2 Danie Coetzee, 3 Robbie Kempson, 4 Victor Matfield, 5 Selborne Boome, 6 Corne Krige (c), 7 Joe Van Niekerk, 8 Juan Smith, 9 Craig Davidson, 10 Louis Koen, 11 Ashwin Willemse, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Jorrie Muller, 14 Stefan Terblanche, 15 Andre Pretorius
Reserves:  Wikus Van Heerden, Bakkies Botha, Brent Russell, Dale Santon, Lawrence Sephaka, Joost Van Der Westhuizen
Unused:  Gcobani Bobo

Attendance:  51188
Referee:  O'brien p.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Rogers M.S. 1, Waugh P.R. 1
Conv:  Flatley E.J. 2
Pen K.:  Flatley E.J. 5

South Africa
Pen K.:  Koen L.J. 3

Canada 27 NZ Maori 65

The New Zealand Maori began their three-match tour of Canada with a comprehensive 65-27 win over the Canadian national team in Calgary.

The home team began strongly, with centre Nik Witkowski scoring an early, which was converted by fly-half Bob Ross, before the tourists hit back with unconverted tries by forward Troy Flavell and back Rico Gear.

A penalty from Ross tied the scores at 10-all, but a double from Canterbury winger Joe Maddock and a try by Shayne Austin saw the NZ Maori run into a useful 31-15 half-time lead.

Hurricanes halfback Brendan Haami, who replaced Aucklander Dave Gibson after the break, ran in an early second-half try, but a try from Canadian loosehead prop Kevin Tkachuk cut the scoreline to 39-22 before the New Zealanders turned it on, scoring another four tries, with Canada replying with one from Ross.

Austin and Haami completed their doubles, with replacement first five-eighth Glen Jackson getting over for a try, along with former All Black No.8 Ron Cribb.

"We're rapt with that [the result]," NZ Maori coach Matt Te Pou told NZPA.

"We had a lot of young guys in the side and we all had to cope with the altitude; it's 3500 feet [above sea level] and the heat and humidity, so to finish so strongly was great."

The New Zealand Maori face a Canadian All Stars XV in Ottawa on Wednesday, with the second "Test" against Canada in Toronto on Saturday, August 2.

The teams:

Canada:  1 Garth Cooke, 2 Mark Lawson, 3 Kevin Tkachuk, 4 Mike James, 5 Colin Yukes, 6 Ryan Banks (c), 7 Adam Van Staveren, 8 Phil Murphy, 9 Morgan Williams, 10 Bobby Ross, 11 Sean Fauth, 12 John Cannon, 13 Nik Witkowski, 14 Winston Stanley, 15 James Pritchard
Reserves:  Marco Di Girolomo, Jim Douglas, Pat Dunkley, Ed Fairhurst, Jeff Reid, Ryan Smith
Unused:  Kevin Wirachowski

New Zealand Maori:  15 Christian Cullen, 14 Shayne Austin, 13 Rico Gear, 12 Norm Berryman, 11 Joe Maddock, 10 Willie Walker, 9 David Gibson, 8 Ron Cribb, 7 Germaine Anaha, 6 Troy Flavell, 5 Kristian Ormsby, 4 Paul Tito (captain), 3 Carl Hayman, 2 Slade McFarland, 1 Joe McDonnell.
Replacements:  16 Scott Linklater, 17 Deacon Manu, 18 Warren Smith, 19 Wayne McEntee, 20 Glen Jackson, 21 Brendan Haami, 22 Justin Wilson.

Attendance:  6500
Referee:  ?

Points Scorers:

Canada
Tries:  Witkowski N. 1, Stanley W.U. 1, Ross R.P. 1, Tkachuk K. 1
Conv:  Ross R.P. 2
Pen K.:  Ross R.P. 1

New Zealand Maori
Tries:  Flavell, Gear, Maddock 2, Austin 2, Haami 2, Jackson, Cribb
Cons:  Walker 4, Jackson 2
Pen:  Walker

Australia 21 New Zealand 50

New Zealand finally laid their recent Sydney bogey to rest with an emphatic 50-21 win over the world champion Wallabies at the Telstra Stadium, the Men in Black outscoring their hosts by seven tries to three in their Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup fixture.

The Kiwis were simply awesome as they blew the Wallabies away, much like last week against the Springboks, after recovering from a slow start, which saw the home side run into an early 5-0 lead.

Matthew Burke was the Wallaby try-scorer after a scorching break from outside centre Mat Rogers, who broke through a tackle from Justin Marshall before speeding down the touchline.  The support was there, with Wendell Sailor and Elton Flatley both handling the ball before Burke nipped through a gap from a well-timed Toutai Kefu pass.

Burke missed the conversion, allowing New Zealand to narrow the gap to just two points through a well-struck Carlos Spencer penalty just two minutes later.

Daniel Vickerman conceded a silly penalty soon after the re-start, for holding back an opponent at a line-out, which saw the Kiwis turn up the heat.  A stray line-out throw from the Wallabies saw the ball get out to new wing sensation Joe Rokocoko and he flew past his marker Wendell Sailor, who looked like his feet were stuck in a cement block.

Sailor was obviously keen to make amends for his defensive blunder soon afterwards, but his over-exuberance saw the complexion of the match change completely when he was yellow-carded for a dangerous tackle on All Black fullback Mils Muliaina.

The All Blacks were ahead by 8-5 when Sailor went into the bin and although the Wallabies made a good fist of things initially, with Burke slotting a penalty soon after Sailor's sin-binning, the Kiwis were patient as they slowly began gunning for the jugular.

With just minutes remaining in Sailor's spell off the field Aaron Mauger ripped the Wallaby defence apart when he spotted Pat Noriega in the backline before unloading to Doug Howlett to finish under the uprights.  Spencer converted for a 15-8 lead, but the Kiwis were not done yet as Rokocoko completed his brace, flying down the right-hand touchline with his marker warming up on the sidelines.

Spencer missed the conversion, but at 20-8 the Kiwis had knocked the stuffing out of the bewildered Australians, exactly as they had done to the Springboks last week.

Burke slotted his second penalty of the night to narrow the scoreline to 20-11, but Spencer cancelled that out with a long-range effort on the half-time hooter.  At 23-11 the Australians needed to come out firing after the break.

The start of the second half was muted in comparison with the end of the first period, but when the Kiwis had a chance to add to their scoreline they did, Spencer kicking another penalty to stretch his side's lead to 26-11.

More Kiwi pressure forced the Wallabies back into their 22-metre area, a wonderful kick-ahead from Chris Jack pinning them near their tryline before a failed touch-finder from Stephen Larkham found Rokocoko.  The Blues flyer flung the ball in-field and two long passes later it found Muliaina, who switched inside to Tana Umaga, the veteran Kiwi changing angle slightly and leaving George Smith clutching at thin air as he crashed over for try number four.

Spencer converted and at 33-11 it was game over for the home team, with All Black coach John Mitchell getting Spencer off the field soon afterwards -- a sure sign that it was mission accomplished for the "Men in Black".

Young Daniel Carter -- Spencer's replacement -- got in on the act soon after entering the fray, a show of the ball and a surprising turn of pace taking him to the goalline.  He missed the conversion of his own try, with the ball hitting the left-hand upright, but at 38-11 the Australians were facing a record loss.

Sailor, who missed Rokocoko twice on defence, got one back shortly before the start of the final quarter as he powered through the All Black defence from first receiver to add to his try against the Boks in Cape Town.

Rogers also got in on the act later on, with a superb long-range effort, but Rokocoko had already completed his hat-trick before then, while Mauger danced over from close-range on the final hooter to complete the humiliation.

This was not Australia's biggest-ever Test loss.  That record belongs to the class of '97, going down by 61-22 to the Springboks in Pretoria, while this was also not Australia's biggest-ever loss to New Zealand, with Sean Fitzpatrick's All Blacks handing the Wallabies a 43-6 thrashing in 1996.  It was, however, the biggest-ever score that they have conceded to New Zealand.

The All Blacks already have one hand on the Tri-Nations trophy with their second successive away win, while the Australians would need to play with some authority when they travel to Auckland in August for their return clash against the old enemy.

The Kiwis are a class above South Africa and Australia at present -- any bets for next week's clash in Brisbane? -- and the only team capable of stopping the rampant English side at the Rugby World Cup in Australia later this year.

Man of the Match:  It really is hard to single out one All Black player, with every single "Man in Black" impressing on the night.  For the Wallabies, hooker Brendan Cannon fought a lone battle, while the rest of his team-mates wilted under pressure.  Keven Mealamu and Chris Jack were the best Kiwi forwards and the entire New Zealand backline had the better of their opponents.  But one man in particular that was at the heart of the New Zealand's brilliant performance was second five-eighth Aaron Mauger, who was playing in only his second Test since last year's Tri-Nations series.  He combines so well with Spencer and takes the pressure off the classy Blues No.10 with his decision-making and power.

Moment of the Match:  Every single New Zealand try deserves a mention here, while the two Australian tries were not half-bad either.  But our Moment of the match came from a delightful bit of work from All Black second rower Chris Jack -- a deft kick-ahead off his left boot rolling into touch just metres from the Wallaby goalline in the build-up to Tana Umaga's try.  That kick would have pleased most fly-halves.

Villain of the Match:  Quite an easy one here -- Wallaby wing Wendell Sailor.  The "Big Del" was shown a yellow card for a silly tackle on Mils Muliaina as the All Black fullback was in the air fielding a high kick.  Sailor was guilty of ball-watching and it cost his team dearly.  He was carded in the 24th minute, with the score at 8-8.  When he returned to the field of play New Zealand were leading by 20-8.  Interestingly, Sailor's team-mate, hooker Brendan Cannon, was lucky to escape censure just a few minutes later for exactly the same offence on Muliaina.

Yellow card(s):  Wendell Sailor (Australia, 24)

The Teams:

Australia:  1 Patricio Noriega, 2 Brendan Cannon, 3 Bill Young, 4 David Giffin, 5 Daniel Vickerman, 6 George Smith, 7 Phil Waugh, 8 Toutai Kefu, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Wendell Sailor, 12 Elton Flatley, 13 Mat Rogers, 14 Lote Tuqiri, 15 Matthew Burke
Reserves:  Owen Finegan, Chris Latham, Ben Darwin, Adam Freier, Nathan Sharpe, Steve Kefu
Unused:  Chris Whitaker

New Zealand:  1 David Hewett, 2 Keven Mealamu, 3 Greg Somerville, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Ali Williams, 6 Richard McCaw, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Jerry Collins, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Carlos Spencer, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Aaron Mauger, 13 Tana Umaga, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 15 Mils Muliaina
Reserves:  Daniel Carter, Steve Devine, Marty Holah, Brad Thorn, Mark Hammett, Kees Meeuws, Caleb Ralph

Attendance:  82096
Referee:  Spreadbury t.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Burke M.C. 1, Rogers M.S. 1, Sailor W.J. 1
Pen K.:  Burke M.C. 2

New Zealand
Tries:  Carter D.W. 1, Howlett D.C. 1, Mauger A.J.D. 1, Umaga J.F. 1, Rokocoko J. 3
Conv:  Carter D.W. 1, Spencer C.J. 2
Pen K.:  Spencer C.J. 3

New Zealand 52 South Africa 16

Reuben Thorne's All Blacks, who have been under pressure in New Zealand of late for some poor performances, got their 2003 Tri-Nations campaign off to the best possible start with a record 52-16 win over the Springboks at Securicor Loftus.

All Black coach John Mitchell has received a hammering in New Zealand of late for dropping Anton Oliver and not selecting Taine Randell and Christian Cullen, but this victory would have bought the Kiwi mentor some time as the "Men in Black" plan their assault on the William Webb Ellis trophy later in the year.

In the process the All Blacks also re-wrote a host of records for Test matches against the Springboks, but for Rudolf Straeuli it was the second time in five Test matches that his side has conceded 50 points or more, with England being the most recent nation to do so (at Twickenham last year).

Not only was this New Zealand's biggest-ever win over the Springboks -- both home and away -- surpassing the 28-nil scoreline in Dunedin in 1999, but it was also South Africa's biggest-ever loss in the Tri-Nations, while New Zealand's record of seven tries on the day equalled their previous record of tries against the Boks in a single game.

Both wingers Joe Rokocoko -- on his Tri-Nations debut -- and Doug Howlett scored two tries, joining Christian Cullen, Jeff Wilson, Frank Bunce, Ben Tune, Joe Roff and Chris Latham as players to have done so in Tri-Nations Tests against South Africa.

The Springboks began the game like the proverbial house on fire, but a 15-minute try-scoring blitz from the New Zealanders shortly after the 10-minute mark shut the Boks out, with the "Men in Black" weighing in with tries from Carlos Spencer, Howlett and Rokocoko, with the visitors' superior skill proving too much for the home team.

Spencer's try came after a wonderful burst from lock Chris Jack, who spotted the smallest of gaps around a ruck in the Bok half.  He simply leant down, picked the ball up and ran ahead before powering through a tackle from Brent Russell.

The ball was re-cycled and Spencer went left, showed the ball to Stefan Terblanché and then coasted in.  Spencer missed the conversion -- after missing an earlier penalty attempt -- but the Kiwis were in the lead at 5-3 after 11 minutes.

But New Zealand's lead was to be short-lived, with Koen succeeding with a well-struck drop-goal from the All Blacks' 10-metre line, after the home side had come close to scoring their first try of the day -- only for Brent Russell, the hero from last week, to knock-on with an open tryline after the initial break from Koen and a superb assist from skipper Corné Krige.

Then the All Blacks stepped into over-drive, with their highly-skilled backs either punching holes or creating holes in SA's brittle defence through their superior power and pace.

New Zealand's second try came off a simple backline move, with Spencer passing to Aaron Mauger, who had drifted down the backline past his marker André Snyman, before unloading to a flying Howlett, who sped over.  Spencer finally converted and the visitors led by 15-6.

The Kiwis then began attacking from their own territory, with fullback Mils Muliaina exploiting some space down the blindside before Rokocoko got in on the act.

Russell managed to half-stop the powerful Kiwi wing and the ball eventually went loose when Richie McCaw could not control it, but a wild inside pass from Russell found the All Black No.11 again, instead of Krige, Russell's intended target, and Rokocoko ran over unopposed.

Spencer converted and suddenly the Boks were staring down the barrel at 22-6, which soon became 22-9 after Koen's second successful penalty attempt.

Any hopes of a Springbok comeback were dashed early in the second stanza when Spencer slotted a penalty soon after the break, while, crucially, just minutes later Stefan Terblanché somehow contrived to lose the ball as he dived for the corner with Thorne in close attendance.

The build-up to Terblanché's try -- courtesy of a strong run from De Wet Barry -- suggested that the Boks had some fight left, but his silly error, and the Kiwi's subsequent scrambling on defence, took them back into enemy territory where Spencer's boot earned them another three points.

A flood of replacements from both sides saw the game lose a bit of shape and structure, but when it returned some delightful handling from Spencer, Jerry Collins and Tana Umaga led to Rokocoko's second try -- which, it must be said, was not as easy as his first five-pointer.  Although his first score was like taking candy from a baby ...

Three more All Black tries -- and two Spencer conversions -- took their score past the 50-point mark, while South Africa's best back on the day, greenhorn left-wing Ashwin Willemse, scrambled over for his team's only try of the day.  Not that it mattered for much.

Amazingly, Willemse's try -- in the 72nd minute -- signalled South Africa's first points since a Koen penalty in the 33rd minute.

The Kiwis, who still need to brush up their forward play, can take a lot of confidence from this win -- their sixth out of a possible eight on South African soil in the Tri-Nations -- while South Africa must be wishing that these 80 minutes were nothing but a dream.

The truth is, the Boks can pinch themselves well into the night, but the sooner they realise their shortcomings the better, with some individuals -- Joost van der Westhuizen, André Snyman and Stefan Terblanché in particular -- just not up to the required standard of Test rugby, especially when compared to their awesome All Black opponents on the day.

Man of the match:  Just about all 15 of the New Zealanders deserve a look-in here, while for the home team, only Juan Smith and Ashwin Willemse can look back at this game with any pride at all.  The three key men in the All Black machine were back rowers Richie McCaw and Jerry Collins and first five-eighth Carlos Spencer, who recovered from a nervy start to control the game superbly from the No.10 position.  But, in the end we opted for Collins for his powerful defence and strong ball-carrying on attack, with the Hurricanes No.8 slowly, but surely, making a name for himself at the back of the All Black scrum.

Moment of the Match:  Joe Rokocoko's second try was a prime example of wonderful handling from the New Zealanders and the patience required to putting points on the board at the highest level.  Spencer timed his pass well, past two Bok defenders, Collins flung the "hot potato" out to Tana Umaga, who went inside, before flicking the ball out to the newest All Black wing sensation, who simply dived over for the try.

Villain of the Match:  The bumbling Boks were all headed for this award, but All Black replacement prop Kees Meeuws wins this award for his silly elbow in the face of Springbok front rower Robbie Kempson.  Meeuws had just scored a try, Kempson's hand fell on his face and Meeuws responded with a swift elbow into Kempson's nose.  Why do that when your team is winning?

Yellow card(s):  Kees Meeuws (New Zealand, 66)

The Teams:

New Zealand:  1 David Hewett, 2 Keven Mealamu, 3 Greg Somerville, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Ali Williams, 6 Richie McCaw, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Jerry Collins, 9 Steve Devine, 10 Carlos Spencer, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Aaron Mauger, 13 Tana Umaga, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 15 Mils Muliaina
Reserves:  Rodney So'oialo, Brad Thorn, Mark Hammett, Justin Marshall, Kees Meeuws
Unused:  Daniel Carter, Caleb Ralph

South Africa:  1 Richard Bands, 2 Danie Coetzee, 3 Lawrence Sephaka, 4 Victor Matfield, 5 Bakkies Botha, 6 Wikus Van Heerden, 7 Corne Krige (c), 8 Juan Smith, 9 Joost Van Der Westhuizen, 10 Louis Koen, 11 Ashwin Willemse, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Andre Snyman, 14 Stefan Terblanche, 15 Brent Russell
Reserves:  Craig Davidson, Selborne Boome, Robbie Kempson, Andre Pretorius, Dale Santon, Pedrie Wannenburg
Unused:  Gcobani Bobo

Attendance:  50000
Referee:  Rolland a.

Points Scorers:

New Zealand
Tries:  Howlett D.C. 2, Mauger A.J.D. 1, Rokocoko J. 2, Spencer C.J. 1, Meeuws K.J. 1
Conv:  Spencer C.J. 4
Pen K.:  Spencer C.J. 3

South Africa
Tries:  Willemse A.K. 1
Conv:  Koen L.J. 1
Pen K.:  Koen L.J. 2
Drop G.:  Koen L.J. 1

Australia 22 South Africa 26

The Springboks were always going to need something special to pull off a win in their Tri-Nations opener against the Wallabies.  Brent Russell provided that bit of magic as South Africa maintained their good record at home against Australia, with a 26-22 win over the world champions.

Russell, an early replacement for injured fullback Jaco van der Westhuyzen, helped himself to a try, while he also set up SA's second five-pointer, a crucial score in the final analysis.

The match started off well enough for the Springboks when Van der Westhuyzen fielded a high ball from the Wallabies, but that simple act could have destroyed his World Cup dream, with the Bok No.15 limping off immediately afterwards.

It was confirmed at half-time that Van der Westhuyzen tore the ligaments in his left knee, ruling him out of action for at least three months.

But Van der Westhuyzen's departure did not have an affect on the home side, with the energetic Russell breathing life into the Bok side just minutes after his arrival.

He ran with purpose and verve, teasing the Wallaby defence with every step he took, and with his forwards controlling the ball well through a series of phases, he was on hand just two minutes after he replaced Van der Westhuyzen, to round off the first try-scoring movement of the day.

Fly-half Louis Koen added the conversion and the Boks held a handy 7-3 lead – after an early Matthew Burke drop-goal.

The home side continued to pressurise the Wallabies, who were battling in the line-outs, with three throws going astray, but when former Cape Town boy Daniel Vickerman claimed some clean line-out ball the Wallabies put Wendell Sailor over for a try off a clever inside ball from his fellow Rugby League convert Mat Rogers.

Burke added the extras to put his side ahead by 10-7, but Koen equalised soon afterwards with his first penalty attempt in the 28th minute.

Another Koen penalty saw the Boks creep ahead at 13-10 before another moment of Russell brilliance led to their second try of the afternoon.

Sailor had made some ground down the right-hand touchline and after getting past Thinus Delport he chipped the ball in-field to his team-mates.  While it seemed like a clever enough move at the time, Sailor managed only to kick the ball straight to Russell on his own 22-metre line.

The little Sharks utility set off immediately, leaving a trail of Wallabies on the ground, before finding support from De Wet Barry.  The Bok No.12 found Russell in support again, who in turn found Stefan Terblanché, before the final pass going to lock Victor Matfield, who was up in support.

Koen, predictably, added the two points, but he missed a penalty on the stroke of half-time to leave his side ahead by 20-10.

The Wallabies got into their stride in the second half, outscoring the Boks by 12-6, but the home team managed to hold on after their rousing first-half display.

Interestingly, as with the start of the match, the Boks once again lost a player to injury, with centre Marius Joubert not returning after the first half.  He was replaced by Gcobani Bobo, with the Lions man having a solid half alongside the big hitting De Wet Barry.

Barry, recalled to the side after an absence of nearly one year, rattled the Wallabies' cages with some ferocious hits in the crucial inside centre position, and that helped unsettle his opposite number, rookie Steve Kefu.  Barry did, however, blot his copy-book when he was yellow-carded early in the second period for a foul at the tackle.

The Wallabies ran in two second-half tries, through Phil Waugh -- in Barry's absence -- and Joe Roff, but Koen's boot kept his team ahead at crucial moments, with the visitors continually having to chase a try in the latter stages of the match, instead of just a penalty, many of which were in kicking distance.

As it turns out, Matthew Burke did not have one penalty attempt at goal, with the much-talked about Bok discipline holding out at key moments -- except for Barry's 10 minutes in the sin bin, despite some huge pressure from the Wallabies.

For Wallaby coach Eddie Jones his team's line-out and ball control will be of major concern, while Bok coach Rudolf Straeuli and his charges will be full of confidence after this win, with the All Blacks in wait in Pretoria next week.

The Boks, however, have not beaten the Kiwis since 2000 -- something they will be keen to rectify next week, with this win coming at just the right time after uninspiring victories over Scotland (twice) and Argentina in June.

Man of the Match:  A host of contenders here, with the passionate Springboks providing most of them.  There was Lawrence Sephaka's work-rate, Victor Matfield's line-out prowess, Corné Krige's defence, Louis Koen's boot, De Wet Barry's punishing defence and Russell's running from the back.  For the Wallabies, hard-working flank Phil Waugh stood out, powerhouse No.8 Toutai Kefu and the clever Mat Rogers.  But our final vote goes to Brent Russell for his match-winning effort on attack and defence.  Yes, the little man can tackle, with a try-saving tackle on Toutai Kefu in the 22nd minute.

Moment of the Match:  Sailor's try was impressive, so, too, Russell's, but our moment was Victor Matfield's try, started, of course, by the Bok pocket-rocket from the edge of his 22.  The Boks showed good skill and composure when the move could so easily have broken down, but it was down to Russell, who did the initial running.

Villain of the Match:  Wallaby replacement Lote Tuqiri gets our vote here for his "little" flurry of kicks and/or punches on Springbok hard man Rob Kempson.  Sure, Kempson is no angel, but Tuqiri was lucky to escape any censure.

The Teams:

Australia:  1 Patricio Noriega, 2 Brendan Cannon, 3 Bill Young, 4 David Giffin, 5 Daniel Vickerman, 6 David Lyons, 7 Phil Waugh, 8 Toutai Kefu, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Elton Flatley, 11 Joe Roff, 12 Mat Rogers, 13 Steve Kefu, 14 Wendell Sailor, 15 Matthew Burke
Reserves:  Owen Finegan, Steve Larkham, Ben Darwin, Adam Freier, Nathan Sharpe, Lote Tuqiri
Unused:  Chris Whitaker

South Africa:  1 Richard Bands, 2 Danie Coetzee, 3 Lawrence Sephaka, 4 Victor Matfield, 5 Bakkies Botha, 6 Wikus Van Heerden, 7 Corne Krige (c), 8 Juan Smith, 9 Joost Van Der Westhuizen, 10 Louis Koen, 11 Thinus Delport, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Marius Joubert, 14 Stefan Terblanche, 15 Jaco Van Der Westhuyzen
Reserves:  Gcobani Bobo, Selborne Boome, Robbie Kempson, Brent Russell, Dale Santon, Pedrie Wannenburg
Unused:  Craig Davidson

Attendance:  48678
Referee:  Walsh s.r.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Sailor W.J. 1, Roff J.W.C. 1, Waugh P.R. 1
Conv:  Burke M.C. 2
Drop G.:  Burke M.C. 1

South Africa
Tries:  Matfield V. 1, Russell R.B. 1
Conv:  Koen L.J. 2
Pen K.:  Koen L.J. 4

England A 55 Japan 20

The England XV completed their tour of the Far East with a convincing 55-20 victory over Japan at Tokyo's National Stadium, with Bath fullback Iain Balshaw sending a timely reminder to England senior coach Clive Woodward with a pair of tries.

New Harlequins prop Mike Worsley scored the tourists' first try of the day early on when he crossed the line from short range, ensuring that England were never behind their hosts on the scoreboard, leading 24-10 at the interval.

A try from Namba for the Japanese after some good forward work in the tight kept the game open as a contest, but the intervention of Balshaw from fullback saw the visitors accelerate away.

He intercepted and ran nearly the whole length of the pitch for one of his scores, as well as setting up a try for prop Will Green with a well-judged kick.

England ran in nine tries in total as their strength told late on, with three of them coming from props -- Neal Hatley adding to Green and Worsley's tries.

New Bath scrum-half Martyn Wood helped himself to a pair of tries as the field opened up in hot and humid conditions.

Gloucester wing James Simpson-Daniel and Saracens centre Ben Johnston were the other try-scorers in a game which showed the growing strength in the English game.

The England side was based on the same second-string outfit which claimed the Churchill Cup title in Canada last month, as well as getting the better of a Japan Select XV on Thursday.

But Japan dug in and never gave up, their effort being rewarded right at the end when replacement Takashi Yoshida crossed the line -- Hirose converting for the second time after previously strikng two penalties.

The Teams:

Japan:  T Kurihara (Suntory), D Ohata (Montferrand), H Namba (Toyota Motor), Y Motoki (Kobe Steel), H Onozawa (Suntory), K Hirose (Toyota Motor), Y Sonoda (Kobe Steel), S Hasegawa (Suntory), M Amino (NEC), M Toyoyama (Toyota Motor), H Kiso (Yamaha Motor), A Parker (Toshiba Fuchu), T Ito (Kobe Steel), T Miuchi (capt, NEC), Y Saito (Colomiers).
Reps:  M Yamamoto (Toyota Motor), H Matsuo (Toshiba Fuchu), K Kubo (Yamaha Motor), Y Watanabe (Toshiba Fuchu), W Murata (Yamaha Motor), R Parkinson (Sanix), T Yoshida (Suntory).

England:  I Balshaw (Bath), M Cueto (Sale Sharks, D Scarbrough Leeds Tykes 67), B Johnston (Saracens), H Paul (Gloucester), J Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester), D Walder (Newcastle Falcons, O Barkley Bath 73), M Wood (Bath), M Worsley (NEC Harlequins, N Hatley London Irish 58), P Greening (London Wasps, A Titterrell Sale Sharks 65), W Green (London Wasps), A Codling (Saracens, P Volley London Wasps 27), C Jones (A Sheridan 58 both Sale Sharks), P Anglesea (Sale Sharks), A Hazell (Gloucester, D Hyde Leeds Tykes 60), H Vyvyan (capt, Newcastle Falcons).

Points Scorers:

For Japan:
Tries:  Yoshida, Namba
Cons:  Hirose 2
Pens:  Hirose 2

For England:
Tries:  Balshaw 2, Wood 2, Simpson-Daniel, Johnston, Worsley, Green, Hatley
Cons:  Walder 5

Attendance:  20000
Referee:  Deaker k.

United States 6 England XV (non-cap) 43

England confirmed their standing as the top side in the world as their A-side romped to glory in the Churchill Cup Final, beating the USA Eagles by 43-6 at the Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver.

First-half tries from powerful centre Ben Johnston and skipper and No.8 Hugh Vyvyan, all of which were converted by fly-half Dave Walder, put England into a useful 17-6 half-time lead, with the visitors scoring another four tries in the second half.

Back rower Pete Anglesea, inside back Henry Paul, mobile hooker Phil Greening and starting fullback Iain Balshaw scored England's second-half tries, with Walder kicking another two conversions and Olly Barkley adding one conversion.

However, it wasn't plain sailing early on, with flanker Kort Schubert signalling USA's ambition in an early charge to the posts.  That resulted in a Link Wilfley penalty and Johnston finally put England on the scoresheet in the 24th minute.  The Saracens centre was first to Walder's chip over the Eagles' defence for an easy run-in.

Walder converted and then traded penalties with Wilfley for a 10-6 lead before Vyvyan picked up the ball from Paul's long pass and galloped in.

Pete Anglesea scored England's third try in the second half when he crashed over next to the flag from James Simpson-Daniel's pass and Walder's extras gave them some daylight at 24-6.

The Newcastle Falcon, relishing some game time after missing most of the season with a broken leg, created Paul's try with a dribbled drop-out on his own 22, Vyvyan provided the link and the Gloucester centre beat David Fee to the corner.

There was still time for Phil Greening and Martyn Wood to employ a one-two at the front of the line-out for the hooker to go over, while Iain Balshaw had the last word with a try from Simpson-Daniel's feed.

"English rugby is on a real high at the moment," said Paul after the match.  "It doesn't matter whether you're in New Zealand and Australia or over here -- it's all about playing well as a squad.

"We have done a job here and hopefully we will be good enough if we have to step up.  It's good that England has a pool of around 60 players to chose from rather than just 20 or so."

Paul also saluted Mallinder and assistant Steve Diamond, saying:  "The coaching staff have really fired us.  We have learnt a lot from Jim and Steve and they have done a good job of keeping everyone tight."

England now travel to Tokyo for two games against a Japan Select XV (Thursday, July 3) and Japan (Sunday, July 6) and for Mallinder the job is only half done.

"Three from three -- you can't ask for anything more than that but we set out our goals from the outset and that's winning all five games; that is our No.1 priority.  We have got two tough games in difficult humid conditions; we don't know much about Japan so the challenge is there for us."

The Teams:

United States:  1 Dan Dorsey, 2 Kirk Khasigian, 3 Mike MacDonald, 4 Luke Gross, 5 Brian Surgener, 6 Conrad Hodgson, 7 Kort Schubert, 8 Dan Lyle (c), 9 Kimball Kjar, 10 Matt Sherman, 11 David Fee, 12 Kain Cross, 13 Phillip Eloff, 14 Riaan Van Zyl, 15 Link Wilfley
Reserves:  Jason Keyter, Mark Griffin, Kevin Dalzell, Olo Fifita, Jurie Gouws, John Tarpoff, Mose Timoteo

Referee:  Deluca p.

Points Scorers:

United States
Pen K.:  Wilfley L.M. 2

South Africa 26 Argentina 25

Louis Koen's boot once again saved some blushes for the Springboks as they recorded a lucky 26-25 win over Argentina at the Eastern Province Rugby Football Union (EPRFU) Stadium in Port Elizabeth.

Koen struck a penalty goal from just outside the Puma 22 only seconds before the final whistle was sounded by Welsh referee Nigel Williams to secure a win that could very easily have gone the other way after the visitors led by 25-16 going into the final five minutes.

A try from replacement back Brent Russell -- and Koen's conversion from in front of the uprights -- put the Boks within striking distance before Koen's final penalty burgled the win for South Africa after a Pedrie Wannenburg dash down the right-hand side touchline had won the favourable field position for the home side.

After South Africa's less-than-convincing two-Test triumph over Scotland earlier this month, more questions remain unanswered despite the Boks' unbeaten record this year.

Despite his 100 percent kicking record, is Koen the right man for the fly-half spot given his hesitancy on attack?  Why were the Puma forwards so efficient at hitting rucks and mauls, with the Bok pack lumbering around the park?

And lastly, why was Russell given just seven minutes to weave his magic, when, clearly, he is the only back in South Africa with the pace and vision to test opposition defences?

The Pumas preyed on the Boks' poor hands and option-taking at crucial moments, with the visitors scoring three wonderfully-constructed tries from long-range, with the hapless home team managing one try off a Puma error in the first period and Russell's effort after finally taking the ball through enough phases to tire the Puma defence.

Before Russell's score, Argentina were well in control at 25-16, but they would be kicking themselves for trying to protect their lead at that stage instead of trying to build on it.

A sensational try from young fullback Juan Martín Hernández -- and Gonzalo Quesada's conversion -- had given them a nine-point lead, but they could well have enjoyed a bigger advantage at that stage had an earlier try not been disallowed.

Argentina inside centre Felipe Contepomi scored what looked to be a legitimate intercept try in the 64th minute, only for referee Williams to disallow it on the advice of one of his touch judges.

Lock Rimas Álvarez, who was yellow-carded in the first half, was the man fingered for punching, although the Pumas did not have to wait too long for their third try, with Hernández's effort coming less than five minutes later.

It all began when Puma right-wing José Maria Núñez Piossek got past his marker Pieter Rossouw, replacement lock Patricio Albacete took the ball further and Hernández's pace saw him over the tryline.

Rossouw seemed set to make up for his defensive lapse from the re-start when he chased and re-gathered his own kick-ahead, only to go for the tryline himself, despite having the necessary support on his outside.

The Pumas did well to snuff out any of SA's try-scoring chances in those final frantic minutes, but Russell's fresh legs and try-scoring appetite eventually foiled them.

Earlier, the visitors went into the dressing-room with a slender 15-13 half-time lead after South Africa had run into an early 10-nil lead.

A try from hooker Danie Coetzee, after scrum-half Craig Davidson charged down his opposite number's clearance kick, together with the conversion and a penalty goal from Koen seemingly put the home side in control.

But the visitors were merely waiting for their chance and when Bok lock Quinton Davids coughed up possession in the Puma 22, they counter-attacked, with Contepomi eventually emerging from a maul on the SA line with ball in hand.

Surprisingly, Quesada missed the conversion, but he was on song less than five minutes later when the Pumas worked an innocent looking line-out ball down the short-side through back rowers Lucas Ostiglia and Rolando Martin -- right-wing Núñez Piossek having enough pace to go all the way.

Koen also kicked a penalty at the end of the first half, with the Bok fly-half also having the final say at the end of the second period as the Boks rounded off preparations for the Tri-Nations.

It could be a long few months for Bok supporters ...

Man of the match:  Not many contenders from the home side, although Pedrie Wannenburg should be commended for his non-stop display, despite some unforced errors at the back of the Springbok scrum.  Brent Russell was a handful in his seven-minute cameo, while Jaco van der Westhuyzen was good under the high ball.  For Argentina, captain and No.8 Gonzalo Longo, scrum-half Nicolás Fernández Miranda and inside centre Felipe Contepomi all impressed, with the latter eventually winning Planet Rugby's vote.  His forwards laid the platform, but his decisive play from the No.12 position -- on attack and defence -- very nearly gave his side the edge at the end of the day.

Moment of the match:  One moment stands out -- Contepomi's disallowed try in the 64th minute, which was cancelled out when second rower Rimas Álvarez was spotted landing a few punches on Boks Corné Krige and hooker Danie Coetzee.  Fullback Hernández scored his team's third try shortly afterwards, but if the visitors had scored two tries in that short space of time the home team would have battled to fight back from that deficit.

Villain of the match:  Most of the Springboks' discipline was poor, and their ball-retention in the tackle-situation was once again way below-par.  But they won, and the man that could quite easily be blamed for Argentina's loss is Álvarez, who spent 10 minutes in the sin bin in the first half and had Contepomi's second-half try disallowed for punching.

The Teams:

South Africa:  1 Robbie Kempson, 2 Danie Coetzee, 3 Cobus Visagie, 4 Victor Matfield, 5 Quinton Davids, 6 A.J. Venter, 7 Corne Krige (c), 8 Pedrie Wannenburg, 9 Craig Davidson, 10 Louis Koen, 11 Pieter Rossouw, 12 Gcobani Bobo, 13 Marius Joubert, 14 Stefan Terblanche, 15 Jaco Van Der Westhuyzen
Reserves:  Richard Bands, Selborne Boome, Brent Russell, Bobby Skinstad
Unused:  Trevor Halstead, Lawrence Sephaka, Joost Van Der Westhuizen

Argentina:  1 Roberto Grau, 2 Mario Ledesma Arocena, 3 Mauricio Reggiardo, 4 Rimas Alvarez Kairelis, 5 Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, 6 Rolando Martin, 7 Lucas Ostiglia, 8 Gonzalo Longo Elia (c), 9 Nicolas Fernandez Miranda, 10 Gonzalo Quesada, 11 Diego Albanese, 12 Felipe Contepomi, 13 Jose Orengo, 14 Jose Nunez Piossek, 15 Juan Martin Hernandez
Reserves:  Patricio Albacete, Santiago Gonzalez Bonorino, Federico Mendez, Santiago Phelan, Hernan Senillosa
Unused:  Matias Albina, Bernardo Stortoni

Attendance:  34000
Referee:  Williams n.

Points Scorers:

South Africa
Tries:  Coetzee D. 1, Russell R.B. 1
Conv:  Koen L.J. 2
Pen K.:  Koen L.J. 4

Argentina
Tries:  Hernandez J.M. 1, Nunez Piossek J.M. 1, Contepomi F. 1
Conv:  Quesada G. 2
Pen K.:  Quesada G. 2

New Zealand 31 France 23

The All Blacks managed to hold on for a narrow eight-point 31-23 win against a resurgent French team in their one-off Test at the Jade Stadium in Christchurch.

It was a match full of excitement and some really high quality rugby, which produced five sparkling tries.  In the end it was a hat-trick by winger Joe Rokocoko that sealed the win for the Kiwis.

But it will be the French, far more so than the All Blacks, who will take most of the positives out of this match, with the Kiwis made to work very hard for the win.

In the end they showed good character to hold on, especially in the last 10 minutes, when they were reduced to 14 men after captain Reuben Thorne was yellow-carded for punching an opponent.

But the French showed that they should not be written off as World Cup prospects, after producing a spirited and sometimes very entertaining display against the highly-rated All Blacks.

What makes the French performance so noteworthy is that it follows their two-match series whitewash against Argentina, which ended in a heart-breaking 33-32 defeat in Buenos Aires last week.

But in Christchurch on Saturday they resembled the French one had come to expect over the years -- efficient and almost dominant up front, and very creative in the backline.

In fact they showed up some serious flaws in the Kiwi pack, often putting them under pressure in the scrums and stealing more than just a handful of line-outs on the All Blacks' throw.

As for the New Zealanders, they showed just how dangerous they can be when they get quick ball out wide.  With flyers like fullback Mils Muliaina, wing Doug Howlett and in particular Rokocoko, they have one of fastest back threes in the world.

Unfortunately, and this was particularly true in the second half, the Kiwis did not always managed to get the ball out wide quickly enough.  Maybe the French defenders also deserve some credit here, even if they did give away a number of goalable penalties after the break.

The game opened at a frenetic pace, with the first passage of play lasting all of three minutes as referee André Watson played advantage on several occasions.  It ended with a penalty to the French, from an All Black hand in the ruck.  But fly-half Frédérick Michalak fluffed his penalty shot from 25 metres out.

The next passage of play also last well over two minutes, with the Kiwis eventually getting their hands on the ball and taking the ball to within three metres of the French tryline -- through 11 phases -- before they lost control.

The first points came in the seventh minute, when the French worked their way up-field and Michalak made amends for his earlier miss by slotting a well-timed drop-goal.

The Kiwis, despite not seeing much of the ball in the early stages, kept their composure and managed to start putting some phases together again.

Their first points came after 15 minutes, when winger Joe Rokocoko went over in the left corner.  It started with a break in the midfield, at a ruck, by No.8 Jerry Collins.  At the next ruck the ball came quickly, with Carlos Spencer off-loading brilliantly to Rokocoko.  Daniel Carter added the conversion for a 7-3 lead.

It was another seven minutes before the All Blacks scored again, with Rokocoko there to finish off another fine move.  It started at a line-out, with first five-eighth Carlos Spencer timing his inside pass to Rokocoko brilliantly.  The French cover defence could not get to the All Blacks' flying Fijian and he scored his second five-pointer.

Carter's conversion made it 14-3.

Rokocoko completed his hat-trick in the 27th minute, at a time when it seemed the All Blacks would run away with the game.  Carter made the initial midfield break, the Kiwis took it through a number of phases and then it went wide quickly where Rokocoko went over.  Carter missed the conversion, but the score had moved to 19-3.

The French slowly started to fight their way back into the game, with Michalak kicking a penalty in the 31st minute, before Sylvain Marconnet went over for France's first try in the 38th minute.

It proved to be a crucial score, as the French won a line-out deep inside All Black territory, took it to the midfield where the ball went quickly through the hands, before a well-timed inside pass to Marconnet saw the prop going over under the posts.  Michalak added the conversion to narrow the gap to 19-13 at the break.

Some of the most interesting statistics that came out of the first half is the low penalty-count, with referee André Watson needing to award only six penalties (two against France and four against the All Blacks).  The referee's control of the match seemed far superior to some other performances by match officials in internationals this year.

Also the All Blacks had conceded their first try of the year, despite dominating possession -- a great compliment to the French.

The second half was probably not as exciting as the first, with mistakes starting to creep in as the players tired.  Also, the French conceded a few more penalties -- five in this half -- which allowed Carter to slot penalties in the 56th, 60th, 64th and 79th minutes.

The last of those was very crucial, with the French having narrowed the gap to just five points -- 28-23.

Following the first three of Carter's second-half penalties, it was French centre Yannick Jauzion who scored his team's second try in the 70th minute.  It came from a scrum and a midfield break.  Gérald Merceron, who had come on as replacement for Michalak, added the conversion.

A long-range Damien Traille penalty in the 76th minute narrowed the gap to just five points, before Carter's final strike.

Man of the match:  There is only one candidate, and a runaway winner.  Joe Rokocoko's hat-trick seals it for him.

Moment of the match:  Obviously anyone of Rokocoko's three tries would qualify, they were certainly of a high enough quality.  But French prop Sylvain Marconnet's try in the 38th minute gets our award.  Not only was it a crucial score, which brought the French back into striking-distance, but it showed how forwards should play -- not trying to be centres or wings, but taking the ball up hard at close quarters from great passes by backline players who can create.

Villain of the match:  Just one candidate and the winner -- All Black captain Reuben Thorne, who was shown a yellow card in the 69th minute for a silly punch when his team was on the attack.  It almost cost his team the game, with the French scoring 10 points and almost stealing a win.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Rokocoko 3
Cons:  Carter 2
Pens:  Carter 4

For France:
Tries:  Jauzion, Marconnet
Cons:  Michalak, Merceron
Pens:  Traille, Michalak
Drop:  Michalak

The teams:

New Zealand:  15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Tana Umaga, 12 Daniel Carter, 11 Doug Howlett, 10 Carlos Spencer, 9 Steve Devine, 8 Jerry Collins, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 6 Richie McCaw, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Chris Jack, 3 Greg Somerville, 2 Anton Oliver, 1 David Hewett
Reserves:  Keven Mealamu, Marty Holah, Brad Thorn, Byron Kelleher, Kees Meeuws
Unused:  Aaron Mauger, Caleb Ralph

France:  15 Clement Poitreneaud, 14 Aurelien Rougerie, 13 Damien Traille, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 11 Vincent Clerc, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Fabien Galthie (c), 8 Elvis Vermeulen, 7 Patrick Tabacco, 6 Imanol Harinordoquy, 5 Jerome Thion, 4 Lionel Nallet, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 Yannick Bru, 1 Sylvain Marconnet
Reserves:  David Auradou, Pieter De Villiers, Gerald Merceron, Sebastien Chabal, Christian Labit
Unused:  Jean-Baptiste Rue, Pepito Elhorga

Attendance:  36500
Referee:  Watson a.

New Zealand 55 Wales 3

New Zealand recorded their biggest-ever win over Wales in their one-off Test at the Waikato Stadium in Hamilton, with the All Blacks winning by 55-3.  The victory was every bit as compelling as the scoreline suggests, with the Kiwis outscoring the opposition by eight tries to none.

The previous biggest defeat suffered by Wales against the All Blacks was in Christchurch back in 1988, when they lost 52-3.  The 55 points scored by the All Blacks are also more than the 54 they conceded in their 54-9 defeat in Auckland two weeks after the 49-point hammering in Christchurch.

But back to the present and Hamilton on Saturday.

Statistics can sometimes be misleading, but this is one occasion where the match stats tell a story all of its own.  The All Blacks had 70 percent of the possession at the Waikato Stadium and enjoyed a territorial advantage of 76 percent.

Another interesting fact is that New Zealand have not conceded a try in 160 minutes of rugby ... or if you really want to be intricate you can say they have not conceded a try in any of their Test matches all year.

But what is more notable is the way in which the Kiwis overcame a slow start to shut the Welsh out altogether.

The early stages of the game certainly belonged to the Welsh, who managed to get some good possession and also launched a couple of brave counter attacks.

They were rewarded for their bravery and effort with a seventh-minute penalty, which fly-half Stephen Jones duly slotted to give them the lead.

They managed to hold onto that lead for another 13 minutes, despite the All Blacks slowly starting to take control.

By the 20th minute the All Blacks scored their first points, a Doug Howlett try, which saw them move into the lead -- a lead they never conceded.

It came from a scrum inside the Welsh 22-metre area, from where they set up a ruck and then took it wide where they had superior numbers.  Carter added the conversion for a 7-3 lead.

Carter landed a penalty seven minutes later to make it 10-3 as the Kiwis started taking total control of proceedings.

While the Welsh continued to put up brave resistance, with some stern defence, the overwhelming feeling was that the figurative dam wall was about to burst.

It did not happen in the first half, with the All Blacks adding just one more try before the break.  It came in the 33rd minute, when Carlos Spencer slipped over after a movement, which he himself started with a blinding midfield break.  The forwards came into play very quickly and with good quick ball Spencer was able to find a gap to squeeze through.

Carter added the conversion to make it 17-3, which was also the score at the break.

It took the All Blacks just five minutes after the break to start the flood of second-half tries, with Carter going over for his first Test try.  It came after a drive by the Kiwi forwards, some hard running by Tana Umaga to create the gap, a ruck and quick ball to the left where Carter scored after a great hand-off on Mark Taylor.

Carter added the conversion for a 24-3 lead and it was clear that Wales were now reduced to damage control.

The next 10 minutes belonged to the forwards, with prop Kees Meeuws and hooker Kevin Mealamu scoring tries.

Meeuws went over in the 50th minute after a scrum five metres out, with the forwards driving, driving and driving again till Meeuws flopped over.  Mealamu's try came from a line-out five metres out, when they also drove the Welsh defenders back over their own line.

The backs got back into the scoring fray in the 63rd minute, when Umaga went over after a scrum, from which Carter created the half-gap.  Carter converted two of these three tries as the score moved to 43-3.

The 50-points came up in the 67th minute, when Joe Rokocoko scored his first Test try, after a turnover and a counter-attack by the Kiwis.  Rokocoko scored New Zealand's eighth try in the 71st minute, when he charged down an attempted clearance and pounced on the ball.

Man of the match:  There are many candidates, with Kees Meeuws, Keven Mealamu, Jerry Collins, Marty Holah among the forwards all doing well.  Add to that the names of backs like debutant Daniel Carter and wing Joe Rokocoko.  But our vote goes to prop forward Kees Meeuws, who scored one try and came close to another couple.  But it was his overall work-rate which earned him this award.

Moment of the Match:  From an entertainment point of view it is not the best moment, but it was a defining moment when Wales No.8 Colin Charvis was stretchered off with concussion in the 23rd minute -- after a very heavy tackle by Jerry Collins.  It was as if the fight had been knocked out of the entire Welsh team.

Villain(s) of the match:  Our vote goes unanimously to the All Blacks' new tight-fitting jerseys, which just do not seem to be up to international standards.  In fact, it was so bad that at one stage Joe Rokocoko was playing with No.31 (a replacement jersey) and Daniel Carter with a No.26 jumper.  Later on Steve Devine was playing with No.24 as the jumpers kept being ripped apart.

The Teams:

New Zealand:  1 Carl Hoeft, 2 Keven Mealamu, 3 Kees Meeuws, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Ali Williams, 6 Marty Holah, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Jerry Collins, 9 Steve Devine, 10 Carlos Spencer, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Daniel Carter, 13 Tana Umaga, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 15 Mils Muliaina
Reserves:  Brad Thorn
Unused:  David Hewett, Aaron Mauger, Richie McCaw, Byron Kelleher, Anton Oliver, Caleb Ralph

Wales:  1 Gethin Jenkins, 2 Robin McBryde, 3 Iestyn Thomas, 4 Robert Sidoli, 5 Gareth Llewellyn, 6 Dafydd Jones, 7 Martyn Williams (c), 8 Colin Charvis, 9 Gareth Cooper, 10 Stephen Jones, 11 Mark Jones, 12 Jamie Robinson, 13 Mark Taylor, 14 Tom Shanklin, 15 Rhys Williams
Reserves:  Mefin Davies, Gavin Henson, Dwayne Peel, Ceri Sweeney, Jonathan Thomas, Chris Wyatt
Unused:  Ben Evans

Attendance:  25200
Referee:  Lewis a.

Points Scorers:

New Zealand
Tries:  Howlett D.C. 1, Umaga J.F. 1, Carter D.W. 1, Rokocoko J. 2, Spencer C.J. 1, Mealamu K.F. 1, Meeuws K.J. 1
Conv:  Carter D.W. 6
Pen K.:  Carter D.W. 1

Wales
Pen K.:  Jones S.M. 1

Australia 14 England 25

England threw down a World Cup gauntlet to the southern hemisphere superpowers as they claimed their first-ever victory on Australian soil, outscoring the Wallabies by three tries to one in a 25-14 win at Melbourne's Telstra Dome.

Having beaten the All Blacks only seven days earlier, coach Clive Woodward's men delivered a timely slap in the face to those who have accused them of "boring" rugby, with all of their tries coming from the backs against a resilient Wallaby side, who gave their all without a host of their recognised stars.

But it is the powerful display of this England team that is the story of world rugby at the moment, with their reputation further strengthened after a performance which saw tries for centres Will Greenwood and Mike Tindall, as well as a second-half effort from wing Ben Cohen.

Fly-half Jonny Wilkinson dictated play with his usual authorativeness, adding two penalties as well as converting all but one of the tries -- only the width of an upright preventing him from a perfect day with the boot as his touchline effort rattled the left post following Tindall's try.

Despite the obvious plus points for the visitors, the match was not a totally wasted exercise for the Wallabies, with wing Wendell Sailor continuing his ascent in standards with a spectacular late consolation try, while makeshift fly-half Nathan Grey gave a gritty demonstration of his skills, playing within his obvious limitations but never being the point of weakness that had been suggested by some pre-match pundits.

Joe Roff kicked three penalties, while openside Phil Waugh was again outstanding for the hosts, but their opponents will go away the happier, having firmly stamped their authority as the team to beat.

The "Red Rose" brigade had heroes all over the park, hooker Steve Thompson being everywhere, captain Martin Johnson again being a huge physical presence, while Jason Robinson, Ben Cohen and Josh Lewsey in the backs never relinquished their duties.

If any criticism is to come following this historic match, then discipline may well be the area, with Irish referee David McHugh letting a host of offences go unpunished, as well as blowing the English continually for off-side and infringements in contact.

Also, the dominance of tigerish Wallaby Waugh at the breakdown showed just how much the English are missing the injured Lewis Moody -- his Leicester team-mate Neil Back having many plus points in his general game, but lacking the extra yard to beat the energetic Waugh to the breakdown.

Right from the off, both teams directly attacked at each other, with tactical subtleties on the backburner as Sailor found himself on the end of a Gregan up-and-under in the corner, being bundled into touch by Cohen.

Dallaglio stole an early Wallaby line-out, and while some of the capacity crowd were still getting to their seats, the visitors scored their first try -- phase after phase of English pressure finally grinding down the home resistance.

It was Greenwood who was the man to touch the ball down, but this try was created by a relentless recycling of the ball at pace, sucking the defenders in before it was finally flung wide -- Greenwood bursting through the tackle of centre Steve Kefu before planting the ball down near the posts for Wilkinson to convert.

England were on the front foot, but suffered a bout of over-confidence when trying to run the ball out of their own 22, the Wallabies forcing a penalty after the attempted move went wrong.

Roff had no trouble from right in front of the posts, bringing the deficit down to four points, but with scrum-half Kyran Bracken and hooker Thompson snapping at the heels of the Wallabies, they were being denied clean ball in open play.

Waugh dominated the English singe-handedly at the breakdown, and with the Wallabies restricted to counter-attacks, a break from Roff down the left-wing nearly saw their first try -- the Brumbies star's pass going to ground as a three-on-two beckoned.

England, for all their pressure, were getting impatient, and Wilkinson kicked the ball away in attack when perhaps more phases in the hands were required, but after a few sloppy handling errors, they were finally rewarded for their persistence.

Centre Tindall was the beneficiary, but the try was created in the 22 after some quick hands from Wilkinson, Thompson and Greenwood, who all released the ball before being tackled to make the space for Tindall's burst for the left corner flag.

Wilkinson hit the post with the conversion, with further breaks from Robinson and Lewsey testing the home defence to the full -- some sound tackling from that man Waugh again saving the day.

Some fairly cynical play from Cohen in defence after a kick and chase nearly saw the Wallabies rein in the visitors after a fleeting run down the left -- Cohen hanging on in the ruck and being penalised while the Australians had a considerable numerical advantage.  But Roff missed the resulting penalty from left of the posts, and his side went into the interval at 12-3 down.

The second half was an altogether messier affair, with off-sides by the England defence earning the wrath of referee McHugh, while some slap-dash handling by the Wallabies when the tryline beckoned showed their lack of composure.

A penalty from Roff just after the interval from near the posts got the Australians to within six points, and when the visitors were yet again whistled for offside in midfield, Roff narrowed the deficit to three.

But with Jeremy Paul caught on the wrong side of a ruck, Wilkinson nudged England ahead again with a penalty, as the superb continuity of the first half was not matched, understandable with so many exhausted bodies on the field after a frantic opening.

Sailor began to play an increasing role with some powerful runs out of defence, but just when it looked that a period of dominance in possession terms might give the Wallabies ammunition to challenge the lead, England wing Cohen stormed through the three-quarter line at break-neck speed for the third try of the game.

The Northampton powerhouse hit the line on a straightening angle, Greenwood's decoy run having taken Turinui out of his immediate running line, and then the small matter of turning on the turbo and stepping his way past last man Latham before going for the line from all of 30 metres-plus not proving to big an obstacle.

Wilkinson converted, and the 13-point lead never looked like being caught.  Late impetus however came with the arrival of Mat Rogers and Lote Tuqiri on to the field, Rogers probing the midfield at fly-half while Tuqiri and Sailor provided ample problems for the England defence.

Rogers nearly scored after a marvellous diagonal break for the left corner -- Robinson tackling his former League opponent just short of the line.

With the clock running down and victory almost guaranteed for England, the last few moments were made all the more anxious when Sailor -- who had threatened to do so all game -- cut through the defence like the proverbial hot knife through butter, turning Matt Dawson inside out before powering past Cohen down the right-wing to slam the ball down.

Roff's conversion could have brought them to within a converted try, but he erred from out wide, and a Wilkinson penalty right on the final hooter brought the game to a close, capping a historic tour for England, while the Wallabies themselves can have gleaned at least some hope from the gutsy spirit of their depleted side.

So, what are the implications for the World Cup?  Who knows?  But one thing is for sure, the odds will have shortened on an England win, while those who have dared to question the adventure of the men in white were well and truly shot down.

Man of the Match:  The influence of England fly-half Jonny Wilkinson was -- as ever -- immense on this game, but for a physically dominant showing we can look no further then England hooker Steve Thompson.  He likes the rough stuff, but can handle a ball, and played a key role in Mike Tindall's try.  For the Wallabies, openside Phil Waugh was the obvious standout, while stand-in fly-half Nathan Grey tested his game to its full limits.  Wing Wendell Sailor drifted in and out of play, but when he's good, boy is he good!

Moment of the Match:  Wendell Sailor's late try runs this mightily close, but for both its importance and its clinical execution, our award goes to England wing Ben Cohen's try.  At six points up in a key stage of the game, Jonny Wilkinson gave a show of the ball to the Wallaby defence, sucked in Morgan Turinui and then unleashed a short pop to Cohen, who straightened his running line magnificently before outgunning fullback Chris Latham with a side-step and a fiercely accelerating run.

Villain of the Match:  In a bits-and-pieces match with a fair bit of niggle, there was never any real villainy of the dastardly sort.  Mat Rogers landed a punch on Josh Lewsey, but the holding antics of Lewsey cancelled out that, before Lewsey wreaked revenge with a bone-crunching but perfectly legitimate tackle.  Persistent off-sides blighted the flow of the second half, but to single out one sole culprit would not be telling the full story of a game generally played in good spirit.

The Teams:

Australia:  1 Patricio Noriega, 2 Jeremy Paul, 3 Bill Young, 4 David Giffin, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 6 David Lyons, 7 Phil Waugh, 8 Toutai Kefu, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Nathan Grey, 11 Joe Roff, 12 Steve Kefu, 13 Morgan Turinui, 14 Wendell Sailor, 15 Chris Latham
Reserves:  Brendan Cannon, Mat Rogers, Ben Darwin, Daniel Vickerman, Lote Tuqiri
Unused:  Daniel Heenan, Chris Whitaker

England:  1 Phil Vickery, 2 Steve Thompson, 3 Trevor Woodman, 4 Ben Kay, 5 Martin Johnson (c), 6 Neil Back, 7 Richard Hill, 8 Lawrence Dallaglio, 9 Kyran Bracken, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 11 Jason Robinson, 12 Will Greenwood, 13 Mike Tindall, 14 Ben Cohen, 15 Josh Lewsey
Reserves:  Matt Dawson, Joe Worsley, Steve Borthwick
Unused:  Alex King, Jason Leonard, Dan Luger, Mark Regan

Attendance:  54868
Referee:  Mchugh d.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Sailor W.J. 1
Pen K.:  Roff J.W.C. 3

England
Tries:  Greenwood W.J.H. 1, Tindall M.J. 1, Cohen B.C. 1
Conv:  Wilkinson J.P. 2
Pen K.:  Wilkinson J.P. 2

Samoa 14 Ireland 40

Ireland ended their 2003 tour of Australia and the Pacific with a 40-12 win over Manu Samoa at Apia Park, Munster fly-half Ronan O'Gara starring with an impressive 32-point haul.

The win brought down the curtain on their tour and indeed their current season, with a trip that included a 45-16 defeat at the hands of Australia and a 40-19 victory over Tonga.

On Friday, despite being at the end of a long international season, the players managed to keep their minds very sharply focused against Samoa in this their only home game before the World Cup.

Ireland had got off to a slow start, and despite a trio of early O'Gara penalties, it was Samoa wing Ron Fanuatanu who touched down the game's first try, restricting Ireland's half-time lead to 9-7.

Fly-half Earl Va'a converted, but it was to be Irish dominance all the way from there, as captain Reggie Corrigan's men wrapped the game up, thanks in no small part to O'Gara, who was in for Ulster's David Humphreys at fly-half, and gave coach Eddie O'Sullivan a real selection headache ahead of the World Cup.

O'Gara nailed his fourth penalty after the break, before dazzling the crowd with a well-taken dummy to go under the posts for the tourists' opening try.

After another penalty from the Munsterman, back rower Eric Miller charged down a kick and scored their second try, before O'Gara showed great support from a Gordon D'Arcy run to pop up for his own second try of the match.

There was just time for a spectacular drop-goal before the fly-half was replaced by Harlequins' Paul Burke, who kicked a penalty to wrap up the Irish scoring.

Samoa fly-half Va'a grabbed a late consolation try for his side, but the home side had been completely outplayed by the Irish, especially in the latter stages.

Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan told Britain's Press Association after the match:  "For me we've had some very good performances this year, but this was right up there with the very good ones, Murrayfield and Australia in Dublin.

"Conditions were appalling, we had two players with heat stroke and to win that game showed tremendous character.

"The defence again was excellent, the first try they got was the first mistake we made in the match, a loose kick over the top and they're the best in the world at that."

The Teams:

Samoa:  1 Jeremy Tomuli, 2 Trevor Leota, 3 Kas Lealamanu'a, 4 Leo Lafaiali'i, 5 Opeta Palepoi, 6 Maurie Fa'asavalu, 7 Kitiona Viliamu, 8 Semo Sititi (c), 9 Denning Tyrell, 10 Earl Va'a, 11 Lome Fa'atau, 12 Brian Lima, 13 Dale Rasmussen, 14 Ron Fanuatanu, 15 Fa'atonu Fili
Reserves:  Des Tuiali'i, Gaolo Elisara, Tamato Leupolu, Jonathan Meredith, Steven So'oialo
Unused:  Dominic Feaunati, Ponali Tapelu

Ireland:  1 Reggie Corrigan (c), 2 Shane Byrne, 3 Marcus Horan, 4 Leo Cullen, 5 Paul O'Connell, 6 Simon Easterby, 7 Aidan McCullen, 8 Eric Miller, 9 Guy Easterby, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 11 Anthony Horgan, 12 Jonathan Bell, 13 Mike Mullins, 14 John Kelly, 15 Girvan Dempsey
Reserves:  Paul Burke, Gordon D'Arcy, Brian O'Meara, David Wallace, Donncha O'Callaghan, Paul Shields
Unused:  Emmet Byrne

Referee:  Honiss p.

Points Scorers:

Samoa
Tries:  Fanuatanu R.  1, Va'a E.V. 1
Conv:  Va'a E.V. 1

Ireland
Tries:  O'Gara R.J.R. 2, Miller E.R.P. 1
Conv:  O'Gara R.J.R. 2
Pen K.:  O'Gara R.J.R. 5, Burke P.A. 1
Drop G.:  O'Gara R.J.R. 1