Ireland 10 Scotland 32

Scotland upset the odds and realistically ended Ireland's hopes of landing the 2001 Lloyds TSB Six Nations Championship by running in four tries for a 32-10 win at Murrayfield.

Tipped as no-hopers by the bookies going into the game, Scotland punished a stagnant Ireland with tries from captain Budge Pountney, Tom Smith, John Leslie and replacement Andrew Henderson on his debut.

Had it not been for Ireland's only try of the day deep in injury-time from fullback Girvan Dempsey, the visitors would have suffered a record defeat against Scotland, with the 38-10 win back in 1997 still the most convincing by Ian McGeechan's side.

Delighted Lloyds TSB Man of the Match and Scotland captain Pountney said after the game:  "We owed that to ourselves.  We changed a few things, and well done to the coaching staff.  James McLaren was hard to stop in the centres, and we stepped up our defence a lot."

"We had a poor start but we had changed a few things in training and it paid off.  That was down to the coaches.

"I didn't think that they [the Irish] were particularly poor.  We stepped up in our defence and it worked.  It was difficult for them to recreate their momentum after the long break.  It was very difficult to come back and get things going again."

"Our defence was outstanding," added injured Scotland wing Kenny Logan following the game.  "It was disappointing to give that try away at the end but I think that the Man of the Match Budge Pountney did brilliantly.

"Both sides were very rusty at the start and found it hard to get into it.

"We've had lots of squad sessions before this game and Ian [coach McGeechan] will keep it going.  It was a great game and we played brilliantly."

England are now all but mathematical certainties to retain their Six Nations title, with Warren Gatland's dejected Ireland still facing trips to the Millennium Stadium to face Wales before what would have been a potential Grand Slam decider against England on October 20 in Dublin.

That game now looks to be a watered down version of what could have been a champagne occasion, as Ireland are left reflecting on a day which saw kicker Ronan O'Gara miss his first three penalty attempts in a staid and largely sideways performance.

The scoreline perhaps suggests a perfect afternoon's rugby for Scotland, but they too failed at times to keep ball in hand in what was not a classic display of rugby excellence, but nevertheless a fulfilling one for most of the full house at Murrayfield.

With regular goal-kicker Kenny Logan sidelined with injury, Scottish kicking duties fell to Gregor Townsend, who in the first minute of the game appeared to have slotted a drop-goal over as Scotland's momentum showed going forward.

English referee Chris White had already blown his whistle though -- in favour of Scotland -- but the straightforward penalty in front of the posts from the 22 saw Townsend's kicking frailties exposed as he struck wide to the audible displeasure of the 67,500 sellout crowd.

Irish kicker Ronan O'Gara was having an equally sparse time of it on the kicking front as he blazed wide early efforts, Scotland looking the more adventurous in a scrappy half.

Townsend again bludgeoned a penalty wide from distance, but it was Metcalfe who probed the Irish defence on more than one occasion during the opening half, combining with Jon Steel on one occasion for a 40 metre gain in to Ireland territory, but the recycled ball was knocked on by prop Mattie Stewart as a try beckoned.

That try finally came on 22 minutes to break the deadlock, and it was a good running score when it came, captain Budge Pountney eventually touching down a move which started 50 metres away from the line.

It owed much to the creativity of the Scottish backline, centre John Leslie putting Paterson way down the left flank, the Glasgow flyer eventually cutting inside on a speedy diagonal line, stepping inside twice before floating a pass to Pountney at pace for the run in.

Townsend converted, but finally succumbed to the kicking pressure, left wing Chris Paterson taking over kicking duties for the Scots as half-time approached.

With Ireland's defence showing holes in the open play, and after a Paterson penalty for Scotland, the home side powered further into the lead on 37 minutes after a punishing spell of pressure inside the Irish half.

The move was ignited by a testing run from hooker Gordon Bulloch near the 22, and with the ball being worked through the hands left to right, it eventually created a ruck right under the posts.

The ball came to Townsend who drew the Irish defence before spinning to prop Tom Smith, the Northampton man battering a hole between Brian O'Driscoll and Kieran Dawson for the score, Paterson adding the extras for a 17-0 half-time lead.

Ireland started the second half in the same manner which had dogged their first 40 minutes, with O'Gara again failing to hit the target when presented with a kickable penalty.

The out-of-sorts Munsterman finally registered Ireland's first penalty nine minutes into the half after some good interplay involving Brian O'Driscoll.

Warren Gatland's side were again pinned back though as the Scots punished their defensive holes, John Leslie touching down near the posts for the third try of the afternoon.

It was Townsend who broke the Irish line after a lineout near the 22, the fly-half bursting through for a two-on-one with fullback Girvan Dempsey.

Dempsey held Townsend in the tackle, but the Castres No.10 offloaded to Leslie from short range, who under the attention of Shane Horgan still managed to put the ball down for the five points, Paterson having no trouble adding the conversion.

Searching for some attacking edge, Ireland shipped off half-backs Guy Easterby and Ronan O'Gara for Peter Stringer and David Humphreys.  It didn't have the desired effect though as Paterson added a penalty to take Scotland further away at 27-3.

O'Driscoll had the chance to register the first Ireland try of the afternoon after a skilled chip-and-chase outside the Scottish 22, but the awkward bounce eluded the Lions star as he knocked agonisingly on.

Scotland got their fourth try when replacement centre Andrew Henderson grabbed a debut try only minutes after coming on for John Leslie.

A Townsend kick ahead saw Metcalfe hack the ball on from the right wing, the bounce seeing Henderson pick up for a simple five metre run in past O'Driscoll, Paterson's conversion attempt being charged down as Murrayfield roared with sound.

A record defeat was narrowly avoided when Ireland fullback Girvan Dempsey got their only try of the day deep into injury-time, the only bright spot on a thoroughly devastating afternoon for his side's Six Nations hopes, but one Scotland will relish as they got their derailed train back on the tracks.

Man of the match:  Chris Paterson.  Shifted to the wing to accommodate Glenn Metcalfe at fullback, the running Edinburgh star tested the Irish defence, and played a crucial part in the first try after a typically fleeting run.  With Gregor Townsend struggling as goal-kicker, Peterson was game enough to stand up and steady the ship.

Moment of the match:  Tom Smith's try.  Not the most spectacular of the four Scottish tries, but one which owed everything to superb interplay throughout the team.  Gordon Bulloch was instrumental early on from hooker before the three-quarters and the back-row stretched the Irish rearguard, before fly-half Townsend made the gap for prop Smith to dive through.

Villain of the match:  Ronnie Browne.  Who's Ronnie Browne? you might be asking, but he is the bow-tied Kenny Rogers lookalike who sang the Scottish national anthem "Flower of Scotland" before kick-off.  As a consequence, the traditionally rousing rugby anthem that usually raises the hairs on the back of the neck was reduced it to a virtual slow march, and a thoroughly uninspiring spectacle.

The Teams:

Ireland:  1 Peter Clohessy, 2 Keith Wood (c), 3 John Hayes, 4 Jeremy Davidson, 5 Malcolm O'Kelly, 6 Kieron Dawson, 7 Simon Easterby, 8 Anthony Foley, 9 Guy Easterby, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 11 Denis Hickie, 12 Shane Horgan, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 14 Geordan Murphy, 15 Girvan Dempsey
Reserves:  David Humphreys, Gary Longwell, David Wallace, Emmet Byrne, Kevin Maggs, Peter Stringer
Unused:  Frankie Sheahan

Scotland:  1 Tom Smith, 2 Gordon Bulloch, 3 Mattie Stewart, 4 Scott Murray, 5 Jason White, 6 Budge Pountney (c), 7 Gordon Simpson, 8 Simon Taylor, 9 Bryan Redpath, 10 Gregor Townsend, 11 Jon Steel, 12 John Leslie, 13 James McLaren, 14 Chris Paterson, 15 Glenn Metcalfe
Reserves:  Jon Petrie, George Graham, Stuart Grimes, Andrew Henderson, Duncan Hodge, Andy Nicol, Steve Scott

Referee:  White c.

Points Scorers:

Ireland
Tries:  Dempsey G.T. 1
Conv:  Humphreys D.G. 1
Pen K.:  O'Gara R.J.R. 1

Scotland
Tries:  Pountney A.C. 1, Henderson A. 1, Leslie J.A. 1, Smith T.J. 1
Conv:  Paterson C.D. 2, Townsend G.P.J. 1
Pen K.:  Paterson C.D. 2

Australia 29 New Zealand 26

Never say die was the Wallabies' attitude in the 2001 Tri-Nations decider at Stadium Australia in Sydney as a last-gasp try from Toutai Kefu gave them a 29-26 win over New Zealand and retained the trophy they won in 2000.

As was the case last year, the Tri-Nations title was again sealed in the final moments.  In 2000 the Wallabies snuck home in Durban with a Stirling Mortlock penalty goal.  This time it was Kefu barrelling through to touch down under the posts.

But it was not easy for John Eales and his Wallaby troops who had to withstand an early second half blitzkrieg from New Zealand.

After leading 19-6 at the break the Wallabies must have though they were cruising to victory.  They were more clinical than the All Blacks and kept the visitors at bay with solid, but patient defence.

On the other hand, the Kiwis made too many errors, conceding penalties, which Matt Burke slotted with ease.  And while Burke did not miss once before the break, All Blacks' goal-kicker Andrew Mehrtens missed two attempts at goal.

But the defining moment of the first half came after 17 minutes, with the Wallabies attacking relentlessly.  Burke and Mehrtens had each slotted two penalty goals at that stage.

Wing Chris Latham made good ground and the Wallabies got a good drive going.  Then the always-alert Stephen Larkham spotted a weak link in the All Blacks' defensive line and chipped behind Jonah Lomu.

Lomu failed to gather and winger Chris Latham leaped high, shrugged off the desperate defence and ploughed over for the first try of the match.

Burke's conversion, and another penalty later in the half, saw the home-side take a commanding 19-6 lead at the break.

The All Black line-outs were terrible and New Zealand skipper Anton Oliver was struggling to find his jumpers.  Added to that lock Norm Maxwell was sent to the sinbin by South African referee Tappe Henning for retaliation after he was punched by Michael Foley, the Wallaby hooker.

Australia remained calm throughout the first 40 minutes.  They tried to keep the All Blacks pinned in their half and scored points when the Kiwis made crucial mistakes.  Although it was no spectacle, the Wallabies' tactics worked and they looked set to complete the win without any hitches.

Then the second half started.

Three minutes into the second stanza All Black inside centre Pita Alatini, who had a solid first half, sniped through the Wallaby defence on the half-way line.  He made 30 metres before offloading to Doug Howlett on his left shoulder.

The Blues' wing, who was a late replacement before the start for the injured Jeff Wilson, sped away for a great try.  Mehrtens converted and suddenly New Zealand were just six points behind.

Moments later Aussie prop Rod Moore was penalised for "loitering" and Mehrtens closed the gap to three points.

Moore was in trouble again when he took the law into his own hands and was yellow carded.  Off he went, and Alatini stepped into the spotlight again.

The All Black centre received the ball on the blindside, and with the Wallaby defence in disarray, he passed to Lomu, who drew a number of Aussie defenders before releasing a perfectly timed inside pass back to Alatini, who jogged over for his side's second try.

Mehrtens's conversion was good and suddenly, after scoring 17 points in a mere 11 minutes, the All Blacks took the lead 23-19.

Mehrtens, whose tactical kicking was brilliant, added three more and Andrew Walker, replacement wing for Burke, did the same.  With ten minutes left on the clock the Wallabies were trailing 22-26.

The Wallabies got three penalty goals inside the All Black 22 in that time, and every time Eales indicated to Walker to enforce the line-out.

The All Blacks fended off the first two charges, but it was third time lucky for Australia and Stephen Larkham's inside pass to a barrelling Kefu saw the big No.8 barge over for the series-clinching try.

The conversion was good and when Mehrtens' restart failed to go the 10 metres, the hooter went, Henning awarded the scrum, Latham found touch and it was all over.

Byron Kelleher, the All Black No.9, again upstaged his more illustrious opponent and George Gregan could not stamp his usual authority on the game.  That almost cost the Wallabies the game as New Zealand's continuing pressure, with Kelleher leading the charge, saw their defensive pattern shredded in the second half.

For the Wallabies the driving play of Owen Finegan, Nathan Grey and Kefu were worth gold.  They made a lot of ground and took two or more Kiwi defenders out of the game every time they put their heads down.

In the end the Wallabies are deserved winners and we'll have to wait until next year to see if the All Blacks or Springboks could upstage the world champions.

Man of the match:  This is a difficult decision.  On the Wallaby side John Eales, Michael Foley and Toutai Kefu all had good games.  The All Blacks' best were Troy Flavell, Chris Jack, Byron Kelleher and Andrew Mehrtens.  But Pita Alatini wins it for his second half brilliance, which led to two tries and almost won the game for New Zealand.

Moment of the match:  The last-mintue try by Toutai Kefu, without a doubt.  The whole Wallaby squad exploded with joy and swamped their No.8 and outgoing captain John Eales, whose Wallaby career ended, as it started, with a win.

Villain of the match:  The two "yellows" win this one today -- Norm Maxwell for retaliation, and Rod Moore for the same offence.

The teams:

Australia:  1 Rod Moore, 2 Michael Foley, 3 Nic Stiles, 4 John Eales (c), 5 David Giffin, 6 Owen Finegan, 7 George Smith, 8 Toutai Kefu, 9 George Gregan, 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Chris Latham, 12 Nathan Grey, 13 Dan Herbert, 14 Joe Roff, 15 Matthew Burke
Reserves:  Matt Cockbain, Elton Flatley, Ben Darwin, Andrew Walker, Phil Waugh
Unused:  Brendan Cannon, Chris Whitaker

New Zealand:  1 Greg Somerville, 2 Anton Oliver (c), 3 Carl Hoeft, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Norm Maxwell, 6 Troy Flavell, 7 Taine Randell, 8 Ron Cribb, 9 Byron Kelleher, 10 Andrew Mehrtens, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Pita Alatini, 13 Tana Umaga, 14 Jonah Lomu, 15 Leon MacDonald
Reserves:  Carl Hayman, Marty Holah, Christian Cullen, Justin Marshall
Unused:  Tony Brown, Mark Cooksley, Mark Hammett

Attendance:  90978
Referee:  Henning t.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Kefu R.S.T. 1, Latham C.E. 1
Conv:  Burke M.C. 1, Flatley E.J. 1
Pen K.:  Burke M.C. 4, Walker A.M. 1

New Zealand
Tries:  Howlett D.C. 1, Alatini P.F. 1
Conv:  Mehrtens A.P. 2
Pen K.:  Mehrtens A.P. 4