Australia 26 South Africa 6

So concerned was Wallaby coach Rod Macqueen about his side's goal-kicking that he seriously considered using lock and skipper John Eales in Saturday night's Tri-Nations clash against South Africa at Stadium Australia.  But his last-minute decision to persevere with ACT Brumbies ace Stirling Mortlock paid handsome dividends as the youngster landed six-from-six and a try for a personal tally of 21 points in Australia's grinding 26-6 victory.

The Springboks may have come out blazing, with a stray boot opening up Wallaby No.8 Jim Williams' head in the first minute, but it was the Australians who opened the scoring, when winger Mortlock landed a penalty after two minutes.

Williams recovered and three minutes later flyhalf Stephen Larkham split the Boks' defence in a movement that eventually saw the big Wallaby No.8 bundled into touch near the left-hand corner flag.

Larkham was at it again soon after when he sent the ball wide for Herbert, who placed a well-wighted kick into the South African 22.  New Bok fullback Thinus Delport collected the ball and his opposite Chris Latham at the same time and Latham managed to drive Delport backwards for a five metre scrum.

But for all their spirit and endeavour, the Wallabies couldn't capitalise and in the 10th minute Springbok flyhalf Braam van Straaten levelled the scores with a well-struck penalty goal.  Australia 3 South Africa 3.

Throughout the week the Australian and South African press corps repeatedly sang the praises of Larkham.  Even Bok coach Nick Mallett referred to Larkham as the main danger to his side's success, while van Straaten copped abuse for his performance against the All Blacks a week ago.  Van Straaten reacted by stating that he thought he played well at Christchurch, but when during an interview on Wednesday, Larkham's name popped up again, Van Straaten stormed off in frustration.

In the early stages at Stadium Australia Van Straaten played like a man possessed.  He took the ball to the line and his forwards were at his side; time and again pressing the Wallaby defence.

Cheeky halfback Werner Swanepoel joined in on the act and his sniping around the scrumbase and the rucks and mauls proved a menace to Australia.  But as in Christchurch last week, the Boks couldn't cross the line.

The Wallabies in the 12th minute showed their intricate handling skills when Larkham twice looped and handled in a movement that ended when Latham was tackled into touch.

Two minutes later rugged Bok flanker Andre Venter (playing his 50th Test) was unlucky to be penalised for a late charge on Larkham.  Mortlock goaled for a 6-3 lead.

At this stage, the game was all cut and thrust, with neither side giving any quarter, but it was fast becoming obvious that the Wallabies were gathering some momentum and the ascendancy.

Van Straaten landed a penalty for 6-all after referee Ed Morrison ruled against Wallaby centre Daniel Herbert for a high tackle on Delport.  On reflection, the call was a harsh one, but probably evened things up for Morrison's ruling against Venter for his alleged late charge on Larkham.

The Wallabies continued to attack and their confidence increased as the game wore on.  In the 23rd minute that man Williams again charged onto the ball, only to be held up over the line.  It seemed inevitable the Australians would eventually score.

And four minutes later, Mortlock, who had been the Aussies' go-go man, did the honours after some superb lead-up work by centre Daniel Herbert.  Herbert took a pass from Larkham on the angle, committing De Wet Barry to the tackle.  Larkham doubled round and kept the movement going with a slick pass to inside-centre Jason Little.

Little handed to winger Joe Roff who found Mortlock on his outside.  Herbert's ability to commit Barry created the overlap out wide and Mortlock crossed the tryline without a finger being laid on him.  He then converted for a handy 13-6 lead.

Two further penalty goals by Mortlock saw Australia lead 19-6 at halftime.

The second half began in almost the same fashion as the first, with the Boks creating opportunities but failing to finish.  But for the most part, the half belonged to Australia.

Toutai Kefu replaced Williams six minutes into the second half and if the Boks thought they would be given some respite, they were seriously mistaken as Kefu showed just why he is regarded in many circles for being the most explosive No.8 in the world.

Every time he touched the ball, Kefu proved a handful for the Boks.  Then in the 60th minute he busted through a couple of defenders and popped the ball up for Little, who zigged and zagged his way past Bok winger Pieter Rossouw, only to be stopped millimetres from the line.  But that didn't matter as replacement hooker Jeremy Paul was on hand to dot down for the conclusive try.  And with Mortlock's conversion, the Australians held a formidable 26-6 lead.

Try as they did, the Boks simply could not breach the Australian line for the remainder of the match.  Once again the Wallabies' defence held firm and once again, the Boks failed to score a try for their second successive outing.

After the game Wallaby coach Rod Macqueen said:  "We have a lot of pride in our defence.  We were disappointed with our defence in our earlier games and I would have liked to see us with more ball in tonight's second half."

The cauldron Bok coach Nick Mallett and his team will walk into when they arrive home on Tuesday is likely to be white-hot.  But as always, South Africa will be a formidable opponent on their own soil when they tackle the All Blacks in Johannesburg on August 19, and then the Wallabies in Durban a week later.

Mallett's comments during the week that he didn't have to win and that he didn't see this as a "must-win" Test for his team may come back to haunt him.  Further defeat this season could cost him his job.

Man of the match:  Who else but Stirling Mortlock, who scored 21 of his side's 26 points and landed an impressive tally of six place-kicks from as many attempts.  Once again he showed that he is a powerful runner and very hard to stop with the ball in hand.  Matt Burke may be on his way back to full fitness but Mortlock's display makes life difficult for the selectors when they are forced to make a choice.

Moment of the match:  Mortlock's try in the first half showed how clinically brilliant this Wallaby backline can be.  The buildup was well-planned, Herbert took the ball on the angle, Larkham handled twice and a couple of passes later, Mortlock was in for the try.  A superbly executed try.

Villain of the match:  South Africa's inability to score tries in the big games is becoming a huge headache for coach Nick Mallett.  The Boks scored some wonderful tries against Australia in Melbourne when nothing was at stake.  But in their two Tri-Nations outings the Boks have been shown-up for their shortcomings in attack.  A big black mark that Mallett must rectify fast.

The teams:

Australia:  1 Richard Harry, 2 Michael Foley, 3 Fletcher Dyson, 4 John Eales (c), 5 David Giffin, 6 Mark Connors, 7 David Wilson, 8 Jim Williams, 9 George Gregan, 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Stirling Mortlock, 12 Dan Herbert, 13 Jason Little, 14 Joe Roff, 15 Chris Latham
Reserves:  Matt Cockbain, Rod Kafer, Toutai Kefu, Jeremy Paul, Glenn Panoho, Ben Tune
Unused:  Sam Cordingley

South Africa:  1 Robbie Kempson, 2 Charl Marais, 3 Cobus Visagie, 4 Mark Andrews, 5 Albert Van Den Bergh, 6 Corne Krige, 7 Andre Venter, 8 Andre Vos (c), 9 Werner Swanepoel, 10 Braam Van Straaten, 11 Breyton Paulse, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Robbie Fleck, 14 Pieter Rossouw, 15 Thinus Delport
Reserves:  John Smit, Warren Brosnihan, Ollie Le Roux, Percy Montgomery, Joost Van Der Westhuizen
Unused:  Jannes Labuschagne, Chester Williams

Attendance:  77048
Referee:  Morrison e.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Mortlock S.A. 1, Paul J.A. 1
Conv:  Mortlock S.A. 2
Pen K.:  Mortlock S.A. 4

South Africa
Pen K.:  Van Straaten A.J.J. 2

New Zealand 25 South Africa 12

Date:  22 Jul 2000
Venue:  Christchurch
Attendance:  38000
Referee:  White c.

Christian Cullen was the hero as the All Blacks ground out a 25-12 victory over the Springboks in a colourless Tri-nations encounter at Jade Stadium in Christchurch on Saturday afternoon.

The All Black fullback survived a fearsome collision with Corne Krige in the first minute to score two tries and use his blistering pace to deny Breyton Paulse a five-pointer at a critical stage of the second half.

Cullen's crisply-taken tries represented two of the few highlights in a game that was defence dominated, the balance of the points coming through penalty goals and dropped goals.

After the champagne rugby produced in Sydney the previous weekend, when 10 tries were registered as New Zealand defeated Australia 39-35, this was flat beer indeed, with the fans expressing disappointment as poured out of Jade Stadium.

But All Black coach Wayne Smith was smiling because his team has now won two out of two in the Tri-nations championship.

"Last week we won with exhilarating running rugby," said Smith, "and this week we proved we could grind out a victory.  It was an important result in the development of this team."

All Black skipper Todd Blackadder acknowledged that the game did not live up to the highs of last weekend:  "It was a great physical game and there were a lot more errors than against Australia.  But that is to do with pressure," he said.

Springbok captain Andre Vos said New Zealand deserved to win.

"Our handling let us down and we were turning the ball over.  The All Blacks defended outstandingly," he said.

The performances of the two fullbacks wielded a major influence on the outcome of this game.  If Cullen was man of the match, Percy Montgomery was undoubtedly bunny of the match, turning in a shocker in the No 15 jersey.

Cullen gave the All Blacks a winning break in the opening 15 minutes, but only after being knocked flat in a spectacular head-on collision with Krige, less than 60 seconds after kick-off.

Alarm spread through the All Black bench when it looked as though Cullen had been knocked unconscious.  But he was only dazed and after three minutes on the sideline returned to action.

Within a minute of his return he was running in his 36th test try for New Zealand, courtesy of a precision grubber kick by Andrew Mehrtens and a woeful attempted flykick by Montgomery.

Test try No 37 followed soon afterwards, this time thanks to a superb long pass from Mehrtens across the noses of Pita Alatini and Jonah Lomu.

That score -- which leaves Cullen only two short of Jeff Wilson's New Zealand Test record -- gave the All Blacks a 10-3 advantage and the crowd settled back to enjoy the tryfest.

They were to be hugely disappointed.  The remaining 66 minutes produced six penalty goals, two dropped goals and no further tries.

The Springboks had two golden scoring opportunities, one in the first minute when Justin Marshall stayed abreast of Werner Swanepoel in a desperate sprint to the goalline and managed to knock the ball away from the Springbok's grasp.

If that was an exciting race, the sprint between Cullen and Paulse (with the score at 22-12) was worthy of the Olympics.  The two fastest individuals in the game gave it everything over 40 metres with Cullen getting his nose in front, enough to nudge the ball safely over the deadball line.

Although the Springboks enjoyed an advantage in possession and territory, the All Blacks importantly secured four of the South African's lineout throws, a major achievement given their lineout woes in Sydney last weekend.

Norm Maxwell, who replaced Troy Flavell at halftime (after Flavell suffered a minor injury), was responsible for three of those steals.

The Boks, coming off losses to England and Australia, certainly had enough ball to win, recycling it well, but they were unable to break New Zealand's water-tight defence and often looking pedestrian along the backline.

The defence from both sets of loose forwards was outstanding, with Josh Kronfeld, Taine Randell, Rassie Erasmus and Krige achieving massive tackle counts.

Todd Blackadder, captaining the All Blacks in his home town for the first time, turned in a big game, as did Mehrtens.

Man of the match
Christian Cullen was the most commanding individual, by a wide margin.  Ran in the game's only two tries and denied the Springboks a five-pointer with a burst of speed worthy of the Olympic Games 100 metres final.

Villain of the match
Percy Montgomery has produced many outstanding performances for his country, but this would probably rank as his worst display.  Presented Cullen his first try with a flykick that missed and registered a fearful catalogue of blunders back at fullback.

Moment of match
The Olympic sprint between the game's speedsters, Cullen and Paulse, won by Cullen, to deny the South Africans the try they needed to get back into the game in the second half.

New Zealand 25 South Africa 12 Half-time 19-12

New Zealand:  Christian Cullen (Leon McDonald 1, Cullen 5);  Tana Umaga, Mark Robinson, Pita Alatini, Jonah Lomu;  Andrew Mehrtens (Tony Brown 67), Justin Marshall;  Ron Cribb, Josh Kronfeld (Scott Robertson 73), Taine Randell;  Todd Blackadder (capt.), Troy Flavell (Norm Maxwell 46);  Kees Meeuws, Anton Oliver (Mark Hammer 61), Carl Hoeft (Craig Dowd 48) Replacement not used:  Byron Kelleher

New Zealand:  Tries:  Christian Cullen (2);  Penalty goals:  Andrew Mehrtens (3), Tony Brown;  Drop goal:  Mehrtens

South Africa:  Percy Montgomery;  Tinus Delport, Robbie Fleck (Grant,Esterhuizen 74), De Wet Barry, Breyton Paulse;  Braam van Straaten, Werner Swanepoel (Joost van der Wethuizen 74);  Andre Vos (capt.), Johan Erasmus, Cornus Krige (Warren Brosnihan 1, Krige 6);  Andre Venter, Albert van den Berg (Jannes Labushchagne 70);  Cobus Visage (Willie Meyer 65), Charl Marais, Robbie Kempson (John Smit 34, 74) Replacement not used:  Chester Williams

South Africa:  Penalty goals:  Braam van Straaten (3);  Drop goal:  Percy Montgomery

Referee:  Chris White (Eng)

Australia 35 New Zealand 39

Date:  15 Jul 2000
Venue:  Sydney-Stadium Australia
Attendance:  109874
Referee:  Watson a.

Jonah Lomu scored a dramatic try three minutes into stoppage time to give New Zealand a heart-stopping 39-35 win over Australia in a glorious match that produced 10 tries and brought to an end the world champions' 10-match winning run.

Replacement hooker Jeremy Paul appeared to have won the match for Australia with a try with just two minutes of normal time remaining that put the Wallabies 35-34 ahead.

Then former captain Taine Randell flipped an overhead pass out to Lomu and there was no stopping him from close range to finish the highest scoring match ever between the two countries.

Australia had fought their way back off the canvas to hold New Zealand 24-24 in a sensational first-half in the opening match of the Tri-Nations rugby union series in front of a world record crowd of 109,874 at the Olympic Stadium.

Australia fought back from conceding 24 points in the first eight minutes to draw level after half an hour in a match that also counts for the Bledisloe Cup and which each team showed they were ready to die for.

New Zealand caught Australia cold with three tries from Tana Umaga, Pita Alatini and Christian Cullen -- all converted by Andrew Mehrtens -- in the first five incredible minutes.

A Mehrtens penalty made it 24-0.  Right wing Stirling Mortlock, twice, full-back Chris Latham and left wing Joe Roff hit back with tries for Australia, who drew level with Mortlock converting his two tries.  They lost a chance to go ahead when Mortlock asked John Eales to take the kick for Roff's try.  But the captain's kick drifted wide and a great first half finished all-square.  Mortlock put Australia ahead for the first time with a penalty after 58 minutes but New Zealand ran the ball at Australia from the re-start and Randell made the all-important break to give scrum-half Justin Marshall the hint of a chance.

He grabbed it with both hands and ran 30 metres for a try Mehrtens converted to put the All Blacks 29-27 in front.  Mehrtens kicked the conversion and then a penalty to make the score 34-27.

Mortlock kicked a penalty to pull the score back to 34-30 and Australia missed a chance to go ahead when Umaga caught Roff as the left wing tried to make the last 20 metres.

Then Paul crashed over after Gregan had again split the All Black defence to bring the crowd to its feet.  But they had not reckoned with Lomu and the world star made them pay the penalty with a last-gasp try in an amazing climax.

"We had a great start but they came back at us hard and we had to dig deep to find that winner after Paul scored," said man of the match Justin Marshall.

New Zealand coach Wayne Smith praised his team's resolve:  "It looked as if we had thrown it away after starting so well but we showed our determination and fought to the end," he said.

Australia coach Rod Macqueen said New Zealand had made the most of the bounce of the ball in the first five minutes to go 21 points clear.

"It was pleasing to see us work our way back into the game when we got some ball.  But in the end one or two missed tackles cost us dearly," he said.

"Lomu is one of the game's most difficult people to tackle.  We've got a very good defensive side but he showed tonight why he's such a great player," said Macqueen.

Australia captain John Eales said he had never played in such an extraordinary match.

"It had everything you would want from a match of rugby.  Unfortunately for Australia the final result just went against us, but it was still an extraordinary match for a world record crowd," he said.

New Zealand captain Todd Blackadder said:  "We had a dream start, couldn't have wished for a better start.  The boys were on fire out there.

"But Australia scored some amazing tries and the game was on a knife edge and could have gone either way."

New Zealand coach Wayne Smith said next week's match with South Africa would be another physical game.

"They will want to move it around a lot and there are certain areas of our game we will have to improve.  Tonight we were not as as accurate as we could have been.  We did not shut them down eough with our chasing tackles," he said.

Wallaby full-back Chris Latham was caught napping for the first two tries as he fisted a Mehrtens high ball into the clutch of Umaga and then failed to tackle Jonah Lomu as he stormed down his left wing.  Lomu offloaded inside to Alatini, who skipped away for the try, as Australian scrum-half George Gregan hung on grimly.

Then All Black centres Alama Ieremia and Alatini combined smartly to put Cullen through a gap for another try under the posts.

Australia snapped back with a try of their own made by a quick midfield break by fly-half Stephen Larkham who sent Stirling Mortlock clear on the right.  Mortlock then converted his own try.

Australia steadied and then scored a well-worked try when Mortlock came in like a train on a Gregan outside pass after No 8 Jim Williams had almost reached the try line with a terrific charge from a lineout won by Australia captain John Eales.

Australia were finding a rhythm of their own and made 60 metres after winning a New Zealand lineout before No 8 Ron Cribb stopped Wallaby flanker Mark Connors as the New Zealand defence started to stretch.

Australia got to within five points when Latham broke free of Kees Meuws' tackle to power over from close range after Larkham, Dan Herbert and Gregan had combined quickly to set up an opening.  Mortlock converted and the score was 19-24.

Then Roff squirmed his way through as Australia again combined well to pull the Wallabies level and briefly keep alive their hopes of winning a record 11th successive Test.

The second half could not match the fireworks of the first 40 minutes but the final score delivered a record Bledisloe Cup score -- the aggregate of 74 surpassing the 60 points scored in Dunedin three years ago.  The Bledisloe Cup will now be on the line, after being held by Australia for the past two years, when the teams meet in Wellington next month.

The win also gave New Zealand a flying start in the Tri Nations series, which they are trying to win for the fourth time in five years.

Australia 35 New Zealand 39 HT:  24-24

Australia:  Chris Latham;  Stirling Mortlock (Andrew Walker 76), Daniel Herbert (Little 70), Jason Little (Rod Kafer 53), Joe Roff;  Stephen Larkham, George Gregan;  Jim Williams (Troy Jaques), David Wilson (Toutai Kefu 45), Mark Connors, John Eales (capt), David Giffin, Fletcher Dyson, Michael Foley (Jeremy Paul 40), Richard Harry (Glenn Panoho 57)

Tries:  Stirling Mortlock (2), Chris Latham, Joe Roff, Jeremy Paul;  Conversions:  Mortlock (2);  Penalty goals:  Mortlock

New Zealand:  Christian Cullen;  Tana Umaga, Alama Ieremia, Pita Alatini, Jonah Lomu;  Andrew Mehrtens (Tony Brown 65), Justin Marshall;  Ron Cribb, Scott Robertson (Josh Kronfeld 43), Taine Randell, Norm Maxwell (Troy Flavell 50), Todd Blackadder (capt), Kees Meeuws, Anton Oliver (Mark Hammett 73), Carl Hoeft Replacements not used:  Leon MacDonald, Byron Kelleher, Craig Dowd

Tries:  Tana Umaga, Pita Alatini, Christian Cullen, Justin Marshall, Jonah Lomu;  Conversions:  Mehrtens (4);  Penalty goals:  Mehrtens 2

Referee: Andre Watson (Rsa)
Att:  109,874

Samoa 43 Italy 24

With a scoreline very similar to the Mandela Challenge clash, Samoa beat the touring Italy side 43-24 in Apia.

Running in five tries to three, Samoa's victory was spearheaded by excellent performances by fullback Toa Samania and veteran wing Brian Lima.

Italy started off slowly, and were no match for the pass from To'o Vaega that saw Samania cross the tryline in only the sixth minute.  In fact, the Italians failed to get on to the scoreboard until the 32nd minute, and by then, the Samoans had raced to 17 points.

Italy's first points came from a try under the posts to Carlo Cecchinato (lock).

Samoa were rampant in the frist 10 minutes of the second half, adding 11 points and forcing Italy to make some substitions.  The change of personnel helped and the Azzuri scored two tries in five minutes.

But by then it was too late.

The Teams:

Samoa:  1 Polo Asi, 2 Tani Fuga, 3 Kas Lealamanu'a, 4 Tom Curtis, 5 Lama Tone, 6 Tim Cowley, 7 Craig Glendinning, 8 Isaac Fea'unati, 9 Joe Filemu, 10 Tanner Vili, 11 Brian Lima, 12 Terry Fanolua, 13 To'o Vaega (c), 14 Afato So'oalo, 15 Toa Samania
Reserves:  Iva Motusagu

Italy:  1 Andrea Lo Cicero, 2 Alessandro Moscardi, 3 Tino Paoletti, 4 Carlo Checchinato, 5 Andrea Gritti, 6 Andrea De Rossi, 7 Aaron Persico, 8 Carlo Caione, 9 Juan Manuel Queirolo, 10 Ramiro Pez, 11 Luca Martin, 12 Manuel Dallan, 13 Cristian Stoica (c), 14 Nicola Mazzucato, 15 Corrado Pilat
Reserves:  David Dal Maso, Luca Mastrodomenico, Giampiero De Carli, Juan Francescio, Giacomo Preo, Lisandro Villagra

Attendance:  7500
Referee:  Henning t.

Points Scorers:

Samoa
Tries:  Lima B.P. 1, Samania T. 1, So'oalo A. 1, Vaega T.M. 1, Vili T.A. 1
Conv:  Samania T. 3
Pen K.:  Samania T. 4

Italy
Tries:  Checchinato C. 1, Gritti A. 1, Stoica A.C. 1
Conv:  Pez R. 3
Drop G.:  Pez R. 1

Australia 44 South Africa 23

Date:  08 Jul 2000
Venue:
Attendance:  34042
Referee:  O'brien p.

World Champions Australia fought back from a 23-17 half-time deficit to beat South Africa 44-23 in the inaugural playing of the Mandela Challenge at the indoor Colonial Stadium in Melbourne, inspired by two tries and five penalties from wing Stirling Mortlock.

South African coach Nick Mallett declared before Saturday night's Mandela Challenge match against Australia in Melbourne that he wanted his side to throw caution to the wind.

Mallett called for enterprising, attacking rugby.  Rugby that to many diehards, was the antithesis of Springbok tradition.  Play they did and entertain they did.  But unfortunately, it wasn't enough as the Australians proved too classy to record their 10th successive win in a compelling 44-23 victory.

The Boks outplayed the world champions in the first 30 minutes.  Not only did they show they were eager, they also showed they were keen to impress Mallett in the leadup to the first Tri-Nations encounter against the All Blacks at Christchurch on 22 July.

The Wallabies pushed too many passes and they dropped too much ball, so it didn't surprise when the new-look Boks scored the first try of the match after just 13 minutes.

Halfback Werner Swanepoel, a surprise replacement for the mercurial former captain Joost van der Westhuizen, strolled across after a clever passing interchange with flanker Rassie Erasmus for an 8-3 Springbok lead.

Stirling Mortlock landed his second penalty to bridge the gap to two points, but six minutes later the Wallabies' impatience cost them dearly.  Inside centre Rod Kafer threw a gift intercept to Bok winger Breyton Paulse near the South African quarter.  The speed machine bolted like a startled rabbit untouched to the other end of the field.

South Africa 15 Australia 6.

The Boks at this stage looked well in command.  Cool, calm and collected.  But Mortlock's accurate boot kept the world champions in the game and by the half hour mark, the ACT Brumbies' sharpshooter landed his fourth kick for 12-15.

But three minutes later, Paulse struck again.  Springbok flyhalf Louis Koen chipped ahead and Mortlock received the ball and lock Albert van den Berg at the same time.  Mortlock lost control and the ball spilled backwards for Paulse to collect and scamper across for the simplest of tries and a handy 20-12 advantage.

Australia finally showed they could play when Larkham made a scything break through the Bok defence.  Gregan retrieved the ball, sent it wide to Kafer, who flicked it on to Latham.  The Queensland fullback flung it wide to Mortlock, who touched down in the corner to bridge the gap to 17-20.  Koen landed a penalty in the shadow of half-time for a 23-17 South African lead at the break.

South African rugby history has been one dominated by huge forwards and goal-kicking flyhalves -- a combination that has created a Test record second-to-none.  But Springbok coach Nick Mallett wants to change the way rugby is played in the republic and he wants to alter the way South African fans think.  He wants to convert them to the virtues of playing an enterprising, vibrant style, one he believes is the way of the future.

Mallett is not aiming at dispensing with a powerful forward pack, only to make sure the backs are involved in the game, as well.  But to play such an expansive game, aerobic fitness levels must be first class and unfortunately for the Boks, their lack of oxygen cost them dearly in the second half.

Australia showed just why they're the reigning world champions.  And they showed why this could well be the year they finally break through for their first Tri-Nations championship.

They played with composure, patience and ruthless efficiency as the tiring Boks faded into oblivion.

Five minutes into the half, Joe Roff launched an audacious breakout from his own 22 and with Larkham, Daniel Herbert and Mortlock handling, the ball reached replacement Jason Little, who lost forward with the tryline in his sights.

Australia continued to attack, but the Boks' defence held true and the score remained 23-17 until Mortlock goaled in the 69th minute to bridge the gap to just three points.

The inevitable finally happened when in the 70th minute Larkham spotted a gap in the Bok defensive line between forwards Ollie le Roux and Andre Venter to streak through for a fine individual try.  Further tries to Toutai Kefu, who showed he was serious about winning his No.8 spot back from Jim Williams when he took the field midway through the second half;  Jason Little and Mortlock sealed a clinical victory.

The indoor clash at Melbourne's brand new Colonial Stadium was the first meeting between the two sides since their epic World Cup semifinal at Twickenham last year.

And while the Wallaby gold once again prevailed, the Boks showed tremendous courage and skill to begin a bright new era of attacking rugby.  May it continue.

Man of the match
Much has been made of Stephen Larkham's remarkable match-winning dropped goal in last year's World Cup semi at Twickenham, but he showed his full range of skills in the inaugural Mandela Trophy clash.  He ran, he passed, he set up his outsides and he varied his play.  He even kicked on occasion and surprise, surprise, attempted a droppy, which careered to the left of the uprights.  His try had the mark of genius on it, and his ability to break the line almost at will showed that he is going to be a key man in Australia's Tri-Nations campaign.

Moment of the match
There were plenty of worthwhile moments in a match that many deemed would be a fizzer because it was seen as nothing more than a cash-cow.  But the players threw caution to the wind and provided one of the best matches in recent memory.  Some of the tries were spectacular and it was so good to see the Boks doing their best to emerge from the shadows of their usual dour, one-dimensional style of rugby.  May it continue.

Villain of the match
The ARU for expecting people in a non-rugby city to pay up to $130 for a ticket to what was essentially a 'friendly' international.  Little wonder there were so many empty seats in a stadium that holds a little over 50 000 fans.  Imagine if they had of taged it at the 95 000-capacity MCG?

The scorers

For Australia
Five penalties, two conversions to Stirling Mortlock.  Tries to Stirling Mortlock (2), Stephen Larkham, Toutai Kefu, Jason Little.

For South Africa
Tries to Werner Swanepoel, Breyton Paulse (2).  Conversion, two penalties to Louis Koen.

Tonga 29 United States 6

Date:  07 Jul 2000
Venue:  Nuku A'lofa
Attendance:  Not Recorded
Referee:  Hyde-lay i.

Home team Tonga took charge of their Epson Cup clash with the United States with a first minute try and never let their grip slip -- eventually beating the North Americans 29-6 on Friday.

The islanders' fullback Siua Taumalolo crossed for a try from the kick-off and scored another five-pointer later in the first half.  However, he failed to convert his own tries in the heavy conditions brought on by tropical downpours both before and during the game.

Tonga led 10-3 at half-time after the Eagles' flyhalf Grant Wells scored the first of his two penalties.

The home side kept up the pressure in the second stanza, scoring a further three tries -- by prop Ngalu Ta'u, winger Tevita Tiueti and flyhalf Elisi Vunipola.  Taumalolo converted two of these.

USA head coach Duncan Hall expressed disappointment with his team's performance along with disbelief at the extremity of the conditions.  "The weather was unbelievably atrocious.  We really struggled to hold on to the ball.  We did have opportunities, but they played better wet weather football."

The Tongan halfbacks wisely relied on a kick-ahead game, one of the few tactics available given the conditions.  "It was very difficult for the backs to operate with any semblance of order," noted Hall whose hopes for a contest of skills were washed away.

Fiji 42 Canada 11

Date:  07 Jul 2000
Venue:  Apia
Attendance:  Not Recorded
Referee:  Hamala t.

With only one win in four attempts Canada have shown little positive growth over last year's 0-5 Epson Cup performance, adding a 42-11 loss to Fiji at Apia, Samoa.  They must now do a post mortem and make some changes for their remaining match against Japan next week in Toronto.

Sounding like a parent having to answer yet another complaint about a troublesome child Canadian coach David Clark was crestfallen following his team's second defeat in six days, losing to Fiji 42-11.

Sticking to his blunt style Clark did not hide behind excuses, choosing instead to identify where the team weaknesses were in this their third straight Epson Cup loss since their opening victory over Tonga in May.

"Again we were incompetent in our individual skills, knocking balls on, not catching the high ball, missing tackles," said Clark from Apia, Samoa early Saturday morning (Friday evening Samoa time) as he dropped a laundry list of problems displayed by the young team.  "The forwards toiled manfully and did a hell of a lot of work and the backs let us down.

"We didn't kick the ball judiciously, it went off the side of our boot we took wrong options.  We paid the penalty," concluded Clark, who has a 1-3-1 record since becoming coach of Canada in February.

Back from club commitments in France, centre Vili Satala, had Canada stretched with his assertive running that set up Marika Vunibaka for a try and gained one for himself as well.

Clark admits some frustration is setting in not only for him-self, but some players on others, threatening to divide the camp.

"Some players are frustrated with other players, and they shouldn't be," Clark said firmly.  "Because everybody was at blame.  After last week (a 41-22 loss to Samoa) there was nobody who escaped criticism and today there were probably only a couple of players who enhanced their reputation.  The rest of them were still tentative, they have an in-ability to threaten defense, particularly in our back-line."

With one match remaining in the 2000 Epson Cup Pacific Rim tournament against Japan in Toronto, Clark has a scant three days to right a listing ship as the team only reassembles on Wednesday following their nearly 35 hour flight home.

The former Queensland coach admits the task will be hard one, and there will be some tough questions of certain players before selections are made against the last place Cherry Blossoms.

"We've got to get some people in and talk to them one on one and find out exactly how they are contributing to this team," said Clark pointedly.  "What they think they are doing and what they are not doing.  And then there will be some changes."

Clark also believes that the 27-27 draw against Ireland June 17th may have given some players a false sense of achievement, something he was worried about, and even mentioned to the board of directors the following day.  The wake up call has been the 83 points scored on them in the past two games while only generating 33.

Said Clark of the waning Canadian reputation of always providing a tough defensive stand against opponents, "We're losing the Canadian treasure, which has been our toughness and commitment, and it's fast becoming a myth."

"I'm absolutely distressed at the lack of shoulder tackling in our backs and I am at a loss to work out why," admitted the subdued Australian.

Team captain Al Charron, playing in his 58th international for Canada was very downbeat following the match, and had little to offer as to why the team has struggled in recent times.

"I'm very disappointed.  We still can't do the fundamentals that you need to win a game," said the 33 year old Ottawa native.  "We can make all the excuses in the world, but we are just not good enough at fundamentals, and that's disappointing."

Not wanting to make excuses for the relatively young sides lack of performance, Charron does feel it is necessary to point out that Canada does not have it's best players available, and until that changes he fears there will be little improvement.

"We don't have our best players here.  We're not playing from a position of strength," he said, adding "I wish we could have won these games so we could come back to the Canadian board to ask them to correct things."

Charron is referring to the player's growing discontentment at the travel arrangements made for their unusually long itinerary in the last 7 weeks.  But the veteran also knows that making too much of the myriad of connections and multi-hour layovers will sound like sour grapes from the under achieving side.

"Unfortunately because we lost it only sounds like whining and looking for excuses.  It's just disappointing the way that we're treated and expected to do things.  And there is no support from the board as far as getting things done properly," concluded the veteran of three World Cups.

For Fiji, they have played their final match of the Epson Cup and can now only find a satellite dish and watch next Saturday's match between Samoa and the USA to see who will win the championship.  If the Eagles can manage a win, then Fiji will capture the title, an achievement all the more incredible since they have not had one home game in the series because of the ongoing political crisis in Suva.

The Fijians did not waste time celebrating their win as they had to get changed and race for an 8:00 p.m. (local time flight) following the conclusion of the match at 5:45 p.m.  A quick field side tray of sandwiches and exchange of ties and the Islanders were off to reunite with family for the first time in almost two months.

Fiji
Tries:  Vili Satala, Marika Vunibaka (2), Alifereti Doviverata, Seremaia Bai, Kameli Natoba.
Conversions:  Nicky Little (6).

Canada
Try:  Phil Murphy.
Penalty:  Scott Stewart.  Drop goal:  Winston Stanley.

Samoa 41 Canada 22

Manu Samoa beat Canada 41-22 in the Epson Cup Pacific Rim tournament as the Pacific Islanders ran in four tries to Canada's one.

Samoa looked in real trouble early on as Canada executed rucks and mauls with composure and commitment, finally freeing Sean Fauth on the wing to score wide, followed by a good conversion from Scott Stewart.  Good support featured in Canada's play with strong hits from the Samoans shrugged off.

Samoa, however, found Canada vulnerable to the kick and chase.

Their first try was founded on fullback Winston Stanley running a high ball and when swamped Samoa got a penalty.  Captain Semo Sititi scored from mauling the resulting lineout.

Three minutes later Canada tried to run another high ball, and as his teammates were sucked into a ruck, Brian Lima ran in from the wing for a pass, straightened and went over.

Canada ran another high ball, then a kick under pressure found Sititi instead of touch, and support from Toa Samania and Lima on the inside put Craig Glendinning clear for a try.

Samoa displayed, mainly through halfback Joe Filemu, the intelligent kicking John Boe had been looking for since taking over as Samoa coach this year.

"And that to me was the best part of the whole game because we now have another weapon on attack," Boe said.

"I mean we scored some good tries, but at the end of the day it was the kick and chase in the first half that set up the victory," he said.

"The forwards didn't get back but neither did the backs," said Canada's captain, Al Charron.  "Or if we did have the backs back, the guy who had the ball didn't recognise the (right) option -- he tried to jink too much.

"And that was what we were doing and that was putting us in a lot of trouble," said Charron.  The second half was stop-start as lost possession and injuries took over.

Bright moments came from Fanolua cutting through to score after a tight-head and an Opeta Palepoi mid-field bust that Saveaalii finished off under the posts.  Canada also scored from botch-ups by Samoa at lineouts as concentration faded late in the game.

The Teams:

Samoa:  1 Polo Asi, 2 Tani Fuga, 3 Kas Lealamanu'a, 4 Tom Curtis, 5 Opeta Palepoi, 6 Craig Glendinning, 7 Semo Sititi (c), 8 Isaac Fea'unati, 9 Joe Filemu, 10 Tanner Vili, 11 Brian Lima, 12 Terry Fanolua, 13 To'o Vaega, 14 Elvis Seveali'i, 15 Toa Samania
Reserves:  Tim Cowley, Lome Faatau, Malaga Leota, Onehunga Matauiau Esau, Ngapaku Ngapaku, Lama Tone, Denning Tyrell

Canada:  1 John Thiel, 2 Pat Dunkley, 3 Kevin Tkachuk, 4 Alan Charron (c), 5 John Tait, 6 Gregor Dixon, 7 John Hutchinson, 8 Phil Murphy, 9 Morgan Williams, 10 Scott Stewart, 11 Sean Fauth, 12 Kyle Nichols, 13 Nik Witkowski, 14 Mark Irvine, 15 Winston Stanley
Reserves:  Ed Knaggs, Harry Toews, Adam Van Staveren

Referee:  Tagivetaua s.

Points Scorers:

Samoa
Tries:  Fanolua T.L. 2, Glendinning C.R. 1, Lima B.P. 1, Seveali'i E. 1, Sititi S. 2
Conv:  Ngapaku N. 1, Vili T.A. 2

Canada
Tries:  Fauth S. 1, Hutchinson J.R. 1, Tait J.N. 1
Conv:  Stewart D.S. 2
Pen K.:  Stewart D.S. 1

New Zealand 48 Scotland 14

Date:  01 Jul 2000
Venue:  Auckland-Eden Pk
Attendance:  Not Recorded
Referee:  Erickson w.

Josh Kronfeld celebrated his 50th Test in style, scoring the opening try, as New Zealand wrapped up the series against Scotland, winning 48-14 on rain-drenched Eden Park.

His team wanted to party and played high-risk rugby, which often came unstuck because of the slippery ball.  But they still scored eight tries, giving them 19 for the series, and gave a further demonstration of the exhilarating rugby they are prepared to play under Wayne Smith and Tony Gilbert.

The match was in many respects a carbon copy of the first Test in Carisbrook with Scotland enjoying a huge advantage in possession again, but lacking the players of the skill of Tana Umaga, Andrew Mehrtens, Christian Cullen and Ron Cribb who proved again tries can be scored from anywhere on the park.

How do you relate a half-time score of 24-nil to the fact Scotland had enjoyed 70 percent of the possession?  Seventy percent, a staggering statistic.

Yet as at Carisbrook, the All Blacks scored a series of long-range tries, with Mehrtens always looking to set his dangerous outside backs alight.

While there was disappointment that more cohesion was not possible from the All Blacks, skipper Todd Blackadder said that was a by-product of still trying to play in attacking style in the wet conditions.

"Scotland was more committed than last week.  We had trouble getting our hands on the ball at times.  Their ball retention tonight was outstanding," he said.

"We probably tried too much at times.  We were trying things but they didn't come off.  We were disappointed with that, it was a tough night."

All Black coach Wayne Smith said the Scots deserved a lot of plaudits.  "They fronted physically, and we were too positive for our own good in the conditions.  Their defence was a lot better tonight, they were a lot sterner," he said.

"We wanted competition for places and the guys who have had their first tests have obviously fronted.  Some have put their hands up higher and we have to assess that now," Smith said.

One try they didn't score would have been the most incredible of all, after the backs flicked the ball along behind their own posts to centre Mark Robinson who broke loose and took play to halfway before a handling mistake snuffed out this daring counter-attack just as the fans were rising to their feet.

The All Blacks have obviously adopted the Crusaders mentality, that it doesn't matter how little ball you have as long as you attack wholeheartedly with what you do have.

Umaga was again a revelation and it must have been a huge relief to the Scots when Smith subbed him with 15 minutes to play.

He scored two tries, created a couple more, missed two others through a forward pass and an offside and was dynamite every time he handled the ball.

Jonah Lomu also had his moments, setting up a try for Ron Cribb as only Jonah could as he ran outside his marker Cameron Murray and held him at bay till Cribb arrived.

Newcomer Mark Robinson grew in confidence as the game developed and made some electrifying breaks in the second half, to give the selectors plenty to think about as they prepare for the Tri-Nations opener in Sydney.

If Kronfeld was the star of the New Zealand forward effort, there were also mighty contributions from Norm Maxwell, till he retired after a heavy collision, the multi-talented Cribb and front rowers Carl Hoeft and Kees Meeuws.

With all the possession they enjoyed, the Scots should have scored more than two tries, those two coming from All Black errors in midfield.

Andrew Mehrtens conceded the first when what was meant to be a deft chip kick lodged in the hands of fullback Chris Paterson who had an unobstructed 50-metre sprint to the tryline.

The second came when Gregor Townsend intercepted a hasty Umaga pass on the halfway line and cleverly punted downfield, winger Murray having the toe (just as well) to get to the ball ahead of Anton Oliver.

The Scots competed doggedly up front, as they always do, with major input from front rowers Tom Smith and Gordon Bulloch, lock Ian Fullarton and flankers Martin Leslie and Jason White.

Scotland captain and halfback Andy Nicol was delighted his players had produced the effort the Scottish jersey deserved.

"I'm proud of that effort.  For a large part of the game we matched an All Black team that is very good.  Our new caps have come through the tour well," he said.

Scottish coach Ian McGeechan said he was a little disappointed with the final result in the match.  "There was a lot of good rugby from us in the game.  In rugby terms we were a lot closer," he said.

Man of the match
Although Tana Umaga was again a human dynamo in midfield, sentimentality insists that the award go to Josh Kronfeld who scored a try and gave a command performance as an openside flanker.

Villain of the match
Hughie, he who is responsible for the weather over Auckland.  He has to be a Scot with a complex because every time Scotland come to town, it rains.  A shame because it took some of the gloss off what could have been a truly spectacular contest.

Moment of the match
Even though it fizzled out on halfway, it had to be the All Blacks' audaciousness to launch a counter-attack by spinning the ball behind their own goalposts.  With an attitude like that' anything's possible in the internationals ahead.

The Scorers

For New Zealand:  Tries by Tana Umaga (2), Josh Kronfeld, Ron Cribb, Alama Ieremia, Mark Robinson, Justin Marshall and Christian Cullen.  Andrew Mehrtens kicked three conversions and Tony Brown kicked one.

For Scotland:  Tries by Chris Paterson and Cameron Murray.  Duncan Hodge kicked two conversions.