Australia 21 Wales 13

Seven penalties from fullback Matthew Burke secured a 21-13 win for Australia over Wales in Cardiff on Sunday, as the Wallabies finally registered their first win over Six Nations opposition on their disappointing European tour.

It was far from a vintage Wallaby performance after going into half-time at only 9-3 up, and even their total dominance in the forwards during the second half could not mask the fact that Wales got the only try of the day from this largely dire spectacle.

Both sides went into the game with a mood of pessimism surrounding their recent exploits, the Wallabies aiming to lay the ghosts to rest from defeats against France and England, and Wales yearning to defy the odds and give coach Graham Henry a break from the barrage of criticism directed at the Kiwi of late.

Both can partly rest assured that those goals were reached, but if the world champions are to mount a serious tilt at retaining their Tri-Nations title next year, then the identity crisis blighting their play during this game for early periods needs to be addressed hastily.

Matt Burke was the executioner for Eddie Jones' men, his seven penalties rewarding what was, in the main, a scrappy yet muscular display, against a Wales side which always looked to have a bullet in the barrel with Iestyn Harris, Kevin Morgan and a rejuvnated Gareth Thomas, but lacking the trigger finger to effect the killer blow at the vital moments.

Replacement flanker Gavin Thomas saved at least some face when he rumbled over in injury-time for the game's only try, after yet more quick thinking from Rob Howley, as he tapped and went from a short range penalty, before offloading to Bath youngster Thomas, spinning over the line and placing the ball down after brushing the post pads.

With much attention down Cardiff way again directed at Rugby League convert Iestyn Harris in the Welsh centres, the crowd were restricted to two penalties and an easy conversion as his space was cut down by Owen Finegan and Toutai Kefu in the loose, and by Elton Flatley and Graeme Bond from the set piece.

Physicality certainly wasn't lacking, with Wallaby lock David Giffin dispatched to the sin bin as early as seven minutes into the game after some over-zealous rucking.

Wales got their only lead of the game when Harris' eighth-minute penalty flew over, but three from Burke before the interval put paid to any immediate Welsh challenge.

Burke advanced his side further early in the second half with another after Lions hooker Robin McBryde's indiscretion in the ruck, the Llanelli man getting stuck into Wallaby captain George Gregan, who marshalled his pack in typically vocal and sniping style throughout, despite the attentions of Colin Charvis and Brett Sinkinson in open field.

One penalty apiece for Burke and Harris took the score to 15-6 with 20 minutes left, and Australia were harshly denied a try from Joe Roff after he intercepted a chip-and-chase by the recalled Wayne Proctor on the wing.

English referee Steve Lander brought play back for a previous Wallaby infringement as Roff jogged unopposed into the Welsh try area, but the length of advantage allowed by the official had some in the stadium scratching their heads as Wales were let off the hook.

Australia's vast territorial dominance in the second half made them the more likely to score a try, despite Wales stringing some impressive passing moves together, offloading well in the tackle at times, but trying too hard to force the crucial pass when perhaps a dose of composure may have been the better option.

Two more Burke penalties took the Australians into an unassailable lead, and despite Gavin Thomas barging over under the posts for a try with the last kick of the game, the result was never in too much doubt.

Plus points for both coaches then from this encounter.

Most importantly a return to winning ways for a clearly victory-thirsty Wallaby XV.  Also the sharpness of fit-again Ben Tune on the Wallaby wing bodes well, despite the Queenslander being starved of ball for much of the afternoon.

Owen Finegan and Toutai Kefu were typically big-hitting upfront, and although coach Jones has work to do, the foundations of his side showed they are prepared to grind out a result when called upon to do so.

Graham Henry's Wales saved face with their renewed desire, audibly appreciated by the majority of those in the stadium after recent embarassments.

Put into perspective, they never conceded a try against the supposed best team in the world, and had it not been for their numerous kickable penalties conceded, the scoreline could have been even more heartening.

Man of the match:  Owen Finegan.  A game with so much ball limited to the tight exchanges was always going to produce a man of the match from the forwards, and with the nature of the Wallaby pack's performance in the second half, it had to be an Australian.  Pretty much a toss-up between Toutai Kefu and Finegan, as both asserted their considerable physical attributes in a spoiling and yard-gaining capacity, but Finegan just shades it.

Moment of the match:  Burke's third penalty.  An endictment of the match is the fact that the most crucial moment was a kick, but had Matt Burke not nailed this first-half injury-time penalty, then his side would have only gone into the interval with a 6-3 lead.  He did though, and never looked back.

Villain of the match:  David Giffin.  The match had plenty of scuffles, but the only one showing comparative intent to damage was Giffin's stamping in the seventh minute, for which he was rightly sin-binned.  There were a few punches thrown in the open field, but mainly handbags at the breakdown.  Andy Moore was sin-binned for Wales near the end for getting carried away with the fisticuffs, but Giffin's offence was more premeditated.

Sin bin:  Giffin (Aus, 7 mins), Moore (Wal, 81 mins) Harrison (Aus, 81 mins)

The teams:

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

Wales:  1 Spencer John, 2 Robin McBryde, 3 Darren Morris, 4 Ian Gough, 5 Andrew Moore, 6 Colin Charvis, 7 Brett Sinkinson, 8 Scott Quinnell (c), 9 Rob Howley, 10 Stephen Jones, 11 Wayne Proctor, 12 Iestyn Harris, 13 Jamie Robinson, 14 Gareth Thomas, 15 Kevin Morgan
Reserves:  Duncan Jones, Gavin Thomas, Rhys Williams, Barry Williams, Chris Wyatt, Unused Dwayne Peel, Andy Marinos

Referee:  Lander s.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Pen K.:  Burke M.C. 7

Wales
Tries:  Thomas G. 1
Conv:  Harris I. 1
Pen K.:  Harris I. 2

France 77 Fiji 10

Eight second-half tries tries for France helped them annihilate a disorganised Fiji team 77-10 in Saint-Etienne on Saturday, having led 29-0 at the break.

By inflicting Fiji's worst ever Test defeat, France have made it three wins out of three games against southern hemisphere opposition in their 2001 end-of-year Tests, having beaten South Africa and Australia in previous weeks.

The French scored 12 tries in total, to the Fijians' one, with recalled winger Christophe Dominici, flank Serge Betsen and Aurelien Rougerie grabbing two each.

The one way traffic was temporarily interrupted in the sixth minute of the second half when stand-off Nicky Little slotted over a penalty to reduce the deficit to 41-3.

The French were scoring at will and with just 10 minutes gone in the second period Dominici ran in his second try after a flowing back move which Merceron converted.

Fiji finally broke the French defence when Fero Lasagavibau burst past Galthie's tackle and ran it in for a try which the sure boot of Little converted to make it 55-10.

But it took France all of 10 minutes to open the scoring when Betsen scored his first try after persistent pressure by the home team.

Although the Fijians put together some nice flowing moves, they were let down by poor handling once they got close to the French line.

The Teams:

France:  1 Jean-Jacques Crenca, 2 Raphael Ibanez, 3 Pieter De Villiers, 4 David Auradou, 5 Thibault Privat, 6 Serge Betsen Tchoua, 7 Olivier Magne, 8 Patrick Tabacco, 9 Fabien Galthie (c), 10 Gerald Merceron, 11 David Bory, 12 Tony Marsh, 13 Damien Traille, 14 Christophe Dominici, 15 Clement Poitreneaud
Reserves:  Yannick Bru, Aurelien Rougerie, Sebastien Chabal, Nicolas Jeanjean, Frederic Michalak, Lionel Nallet, Jean-Baptiste Poux

Fiji:  1 Billy Cavubati, 2 Paula Biu, 3 Henry Qiodravu, 4 XDO3, 5 Emori Katalau, 6 XDA4, 7 Alifereti Doviverata, 8 Jope Tuikabe, 9 Sami Rabaka Nasagavesi, 10 Nicky Little, 11 Vilimoni Delasau, 12 Ilai Derenalagi, 13 Viliame Satala, 14 Marika Vunibaka, 15 Waisale Serevi
Reserves:  XKO7, Fero Lasagavibau, XNA29, Ilaitia Tuisese, Jonetani Waqa

Attendance:  33390
Referee:  Lawrence m.

Points Scorers:

France
Tries:  Betsen Tchoua S. 2, Galthie F. 1, Magne O. 1, Rougerie A. 2, Bory D. 1, Dominici C. 2, Jeanjean N. 1, Poux J-B. 1, Poitreneaud C. 1
Conv:  Merceron G. 7
Pen K.:  Merceron G. 1

Fiji
Tries:  Lasagavibau F.T. 1
Conv:  Little N.T. 1
Pen K.:  Little N.T. 1

South Africa 9 England 29

A clinical display of counter-attacking rugby and solid defence saw England record their third consecutive victory over South Africa at Twickenham on Saturday, beating the Boks by a record margin of 29-9.

In doing so Clive Woodward's men became the first European nation to gain five successive Test victories over southern hemisphere opposition.

By the time Dan Luger scored an intercept try in the final minute, the writing was already on the wall for the Boks.  They were not up to standard, while England continued their surge up the ladder in world rugby.

The Springboks, now with their backs against the wall after their second Test defeat in three weeks, were guilty of knock-ons and giving away unnecessary penalties, like they did against France and Italy.  This time the Boks conceded 16 penalties to England's 10.

England, on the other hand, sat back and waited for the Boks to make mistakes before they pounced.  On a number of occasions the English won kickable penalties after the Boks were penalised for everything from hands in the ruck to offside at the line-out.

Jonny Wilkinson, probably the top flyhalf in the world today, kept the scoreboard ticking and he missed only two from nine attempts at goal.

The Boks did show a bit more urgency than against France and Italy, but coach Harry Viljoen needs to do some serious rethinking of where he's going with the 2003 World Cup in mind.

Woodward will be happy now that his side has beaten the Wallabies twice and the Boks three times in the last two years.  They must be one of the favourites going into 2003 and need only build on their current structure in the next 18 months.

With players like Wilkinson, Jason Robinson and Danny Grewcock England must be early favourites with the All Blacks at this stage.

Robinson, shaken by an early illegal tackle by Bok skipper Bob Skinstad, regained his composure and ran pinball in the second half.  He bounced the one Bok defender off after the other, setting up great attacking opportunities for the home team.

Skinstad's woes started in the first minute and ended in the final minute, when Dan Luger intercepted a wayward pass on the England try-line.  The flyer raced away for his 17th Test try for the men in white.

The Bok skipper had one of his worst games in a green jersey, losing the ball on numerous occasions with 50/50 passes, also knocking on a few times.

The home team did well to stay focused throughout the game and they deserved victory after leading 9-6 at the break.  Wilkinson (three) and Van Straaten (two) landed five penalty goals between the two of them.

The home team also attacked more than the visitors, but Louis Koen did exceptionally well to keep the English pinned back in their own half with pin-point tactical kicking.  Why he ceased to do that in the second half is a mystery.

Koen also tested Robinson from the start of the game, and Skinstad took the nuggety fullback's feet from under him with his first touch.

Stupid transgressions like that, coupled with unnecessary handling errors, crept back into the Springboks' game, and they lost valuable ball in great attacking situations.

Van Straaten missed two attempts at goal, both 55-metre efforts that had the distance, but not direction.

In the end South Africa could not sustain their pressure while the English increased the pressure after the break, forcing mistakes by the Boks and happily converting it into three-pointers.

Man of the match:  Well, if England did not have Jonny Wilkinson, the result may have been different.  This 22-year-old has cemented himself as the top pivot in the world, and after Saturday, the Springboks will know why!

Moment of the match:  In the 58th minute, Mike Catt slotted a drop goal that effectively put an end to the Boks' charge, as the visitors fell behind by 12 points at that stage.

Villain of the match:  Bok skipper Bob Skinstad had a terrible game in the green and gold, losing lots of quality ball in attacking positions with bad passing.

The Teams:

South Africa:  1 Ollie Le Roux, 2 John Smit, 3 Willie Meyer, 4 Victor Matfield, 5 Mark Andrews, 6 A.J. Venter, 7 Andre Vos, 8 Bobby Skinstad (c), 9 Joost Van Der Westhuizen, 10 Louis Koen, 11 Dean Hall, 12 Trevor Halstead, 13 Braam Van Straaten, 14 Breyton Paulse, 15 Conrad Jantjes
Reserves:  Lukas Van Biljon, Corne Krige, Andre Venter, Cobus Visagie
Unused:  Deon De Kock, Percy Montgomery, Andre Snyman

England:  1 Graham Rowntree, 2 Dorian West, 3 Phil Vickery, 4 Danny Grewcock, 5 Martin Johnson (c), 6 Neil Back, 7 Richard Hill, 8 Joe Worsley, 9 Kyran Bracken, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 11 Austin Healey, 12 Mike Catt, 13 Will Greenwood, 14 Dan Luger, 15 Jason Robinson
Reserves:  Ben Kay, Mike Tindall, Lewis Moody
Unused:  Jason Leonard, Mark Regan, Ben Cohen, Charlie Hodgson

Attendance:  75000
Referee:  Dickinson/mchugh

Points Scorers:

South Africa
Pen K.:  Van Straaten A.J.J. 3

England
Tries:  Luger D.D. 1
Pen K.:  Wilkinson J.P. 7
Drop G.:  Catt M.J. 1

Argentina 25 Scotland 16

In difficult conditions, Argentina powered their way to their third successive victory over northern hemisphere opposition, Felipe Contepomi kicking 20 points to help his side defeat Scotland by 25-16 at Murrayfield.

Following on from their all-round excellence in the 31-16 victory over Wales last week, the Argentina pack performed heroics against their Scottish counterparts, their cohesion and upper body strength apparent both in the tight and loose exchanges of the match.

Each time the Scots threatened to take the initiative in this match – mainly through the paced and invention of Gregor Townsend at fly-half – the Puma forwards came to the rescue, slowing Scottish ball at the breakdown, effecting turnovers in midfield or simply rocking the home team back with some mighty forward drives.

Perhaps surprisingly, given the way they had dominated the Welsh eight last week, the Pumas actually looked second best to their opponents in the scrummage and it was this aspect of their play that was very nearly their undoing, the decisive moment in the first half coming at a defensive scrum just five yards out from the Pumas' tryline.

With the score poised at 3-all after 25 minutes, Gregor Townsend and Felipe Contepomi having exchanged a penalty apiece, a nightmare moment for Argentina enabled Scotland to take the lead.

After seemingly squandering a scoring opportunity by throwing crooked into an attacking lineout, some good work from the Scotttish forwards in the ensuing scrum allowed their scrum-half Andy Nicol to pressurized Pichot at the base, causing a clearance kick by the No.9 to skew straight into the arms of Townsend who managed to contain his surprise at the early Christmas gift and stroll over for the try.  He could not convert his own try but that made it 8-3 to Scotland.

Contepomi slotted another penalty before half-time and then after the break, Argentina took the lead with another penalty.

The lead was shortlived though with Townsend scoring a long range penalty to make it 11-9 but then a moment of individual magic from Ignacio Corleto lifted the Pumas.  The fullback took advantage of some sloppy Scottish defence to dance down the right-hand touchline, handing off John Leslie for the touchdown.Contepomi was on hand with the conversion, but even at 16-11 down the home side refused to capitulate and hit back with a well-worked try through Derrick Lee.

Making amends for his slipshod defence at the other end, Leslie took the ball at pace into the heart of the Pumas' defence, sucking in a number of defenders before releasing lightning quick ball.  The ball was moved left, with Cameron Murray off-loading from the tackle into the outstretched arms of Lee coming into the line at pace.

With Townsend not forthcoming with the conversion, the score was level at 16-all, but now Argentina upped the pace of their game as they sensed themselves within sight of another famous victory.

Argentina again took the lead as the match reached the final quarter, Contepomi kicking his fourth penalty after Scotland offended at a breakdown.

Despite some last gasp attacking efforts from the Scots, it was Argentina who fittingly had the last word, with Contepomi landing his fifth penalty to seal it for his side.

Moment of the match:  Ignacio Corleto lit up a dismal Edinburgh afternoon, the fullback showing tremendous pace and rugby skill to round three defenders for Argentina's only try.

Man of the match:  Despite a shaky start to proceedings as he took some time to accustom himself to some poor conditions, Felipe Contepomi quickly regained his composure to eclipse his opposite number Gregor Townsend and help the Pumas record their fourth victory over Scotland.

Villain of the match:  If the match failed to come to life for vast stretches, much of the blame must be attributed to the Scottish weather with driving rain making it very difficult for either side to play a slick, fast-paced game.

The Teams:

Argentina:  1 Omar Hasan Jalil, 2 Federico Mendez, 3 Mauricio Reggiardo, 4 Rimas Alvarez Kairelis, 5 Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, 6 Rolando Martin, 7 Santiago Phelan, 8 Gonzalo Longo Elia, 9 Agustin Pichot, 10 Felipe Contepomi, 11 Diego Albanese, 12 Lisandro Arbizu (c), 13 Jose Orengo, 14 Gonzalo Camardon, 15 Ignacio Corletto
Reserves:  Roberto Grau, Lucas Ostiglia
Unused:  Martin Durand, Nicolas Fernandez Miranda, Mario Ledesma Arocena, Gonzalo Quesada, Bernardo Stortoni

Scotland:  1 Tom Smith (c), 2 Gordon Bulloch, 3 Mattie Stewart, 4 Stuart Grimes, 5 Scott Murray, 6 Andrew Mower, 7 Jason White, 8 Jon Petrie, 9 Andy Nicol, 10 Gregor Townsend, 11 Roland Reid, 12 John Leslie, 13 James McLaren, 14 Cammie Murray, 15 Derrick Lee
Reserves:  George Graham, Gordon Simpson
Unused:  Iain Fullarton, Gordon Ross, Graeme Burns, Andrew Henderson, Steve Scott

Attendance:  45113
Referee:  Jutge j.

Points Scorers:

Argentina
Tries:  Corletto I. 1
Conv:  Contepomi F. 1
Pen K.:  Contepomi F. 6

Scotland
Tries:  Lee D.J. 1, Townsend G.P.J. 1
Pen K.:  Townsend G.P.J. 2

England 134 Romania 0

A ruthless England romped to the biggest Test victory in history, as they hammered hapless Romania 134-0 at Twickenham, with only the width of the goalpost preventing debutant Charlie Hodgson from an individual world record points haul.

England's 20-try humiliation of an outclassed Romanian side eclipses the 145-17 demolition by New Zealand of Japan in the 1995 Rugby World Cup, a game which also produced Simon Culhane's world-record 45-point individual tally.

Sale Sharks' exhuberant fly-half Charlie Hodgson had to be content with a mere 44-point total, watching on in agony as his last-minute touchline conversion attempt rebounded of the left hand upright.

Hodgson's 44 points came courtesy of two first-half tries, 14 conversions and two penalties, but a missed conversion attempt right in front of the posts earlier on will surely come back to haunt him as he looks back on his chance of a world record on an otherwise dream debut.

His Sale clubmate Jason Robinson helped himself to four tries, with hat-tricks for Ben Cohen and Dan Luger, braces for Hodgson, Lewis Moody and Mike Tindall, and one each for Austin Healey, Alex Sanderson, Mark Regan and Joe Worsley.

Equally impressive for England was their clean sheet in defence, but with the game petering out into an embarassing one-sided spectacle, what have the English really learnt from an 80-minutes which was no more competitive than Lennox Lewis relentessly pounding a defenceless punchbag?

They never went more than six minutes without scoring, and were 72-0 up by the break, the Romanians' sole contribution to proceedings being their one attack under the England posts early into the match.

The plus points for England were the distribution and thought of Hodgson at No.10, who linked well with the pack, and had the composure and knowhow to sniff out the numerous gaps in the visitors' defence.

The lightning way with which Jason Robinson converted his chances into tries bodes well for the visit of South Africa next Saturday, with Robinson's second score seeing a weaving 70-metre run ending in lightning fashion under the posts after a passage of play more reminiscent of a punt return in American football than a rugby move.

Ben Kay in the second-row threw a marker down for Martin Johnson's No.4 shirt with another immense display, and Lewis Moody was efficiency personified in open play, barging over two tries in the first half before leaving the field.

Romania twice had the chance to register on the Twickenham scoreboard -- which could not cope with the three-figure England tally -- but they gamely turned down easy shots at goal from the penalty, going instead for ultimately fruitless lineouts, as the England pack policed the gain line with composure and ease.

Dan Luger on the left wing had to wait until the very last minute for his hat-trick try, with Hodgson's cut-out pass flat-footing the Romanians, as the Harlequins flyer raced into the left corner.

The 10 tries in the first half ensured that the game as a spectacle was over within the opening minutes, and the fixture schedulers need to take a long hard look at themselves and the current state of Romanian rugby, in deciding whether or not this televised humiliation is the best way to advance the game in the nation.

But what will next week's opposition South Africa garner from this virtual unopposed training session ahead of their trip to Twickenham?

For one, England showed their utter ruthlessness in turning nearly every single half break into some sort of score, and also demonstrated that the absence of some of their frontline players will not send tremors through a squad whose strength in depth is an apt measure of the current healthy state of the English domestic game.

The ghosts of their Six Nations nightmare in Dublin have been exorcised.  Roll on the Springboks.

Man of the match:  Charlie Hodgson.  Maybe a cop-out to automatically choose the major points-scorer, but debuts don't come much better than this.  Not only was his goal-kicking mainly impressive, but his passing off either hand showed his rugby brain in full flight.  Managing the backline with consumate ease, his armchair ride against a comparatively feeble Romania pack demonstrated he has the bottle to handle the England shirt, although tougher outings in future may be the true test of his composure.  Jason Robinson should think himself unlucky to miss the award after a magnificent finishing display, and Ben Kay and Lewis Moody to name only a few, were simply immense in the pack

Moment of the match:  Robinson's second try.  Picking the ball up in his own half, the Sale fullback scuttled toward the left wing at pace, flat-footing the retreating Romanian defence before cutting back inside in the opposition half, dropping two superb Phil Bennett Barbarian-esque sidesteps on his course to the line, accelerating under the posts for one of the most spectacular tries recently seen at Twickenham.

Villain of the match:  The fixture schedulers.  This humiliating spectacle should never have happened.  The RFU heirarchy have expressed their willingness to forward the development of Romanian rugby, and cannot be blamed in the least for this horrendous mis-match, but surely there must be a better way for their currently deteriorating national team to further their standards.  Perhaps they should be fielded in the Parker Pen Shield, similarly to the way in which Holland and Ireland are featured in English cricket's cup competition, although the implications for Romanian players contracted to other European teams may make this unworkable.  Answers need to be found though, as more embarassments like this are undoubtedly futile exercises, and a backward step.

Referee:  Pablo Deluca (Argentina)
Touch judges:  Paddy O’Brien (NZ), David McHugh (Ire)

England:  1 Jason Leonard, 2 Mark Regan, 3 Graham Rowntree, 4 Lock Ben Kay, 5 Steve Borthwick, 6 Neil Back (c), 7 Lewis Moody, 8 Joe Worsley, 9 Austin Healey, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 11 Dan Luger, 12 Will Greenwood, 13 Mike Tindall, 14 Ben Cohen, 15 Jason Robinson
Reserves:  Kyran Bracken, Mike Catt, Danny Grewcock, Alex Sanderson, Julian White
Unused:  Dorian West, Jonny Wilkinson

Romania:  1 Nicolae Dragos Dima, 2 Petre Balan, 3 Marcel Socaciu, 4 Vasile Nedelcu, 5 RPE5, 6 Florin Corodeanu, 7 Valentin Samuil, 8 Alin Petrache, 9 Lucian Sirbu, 10 Ionut Tofan, 11 Vasile Ghoic, 12 Flaviu Dobre, 13 Nicolae Oprea, 14 Ion Teodorescu, 15 Gabriel Brezoianu
Reserves:  Mihai Ciolacu, Marius Dragomir, Silviu Florea, George Pasache, Marius Codea, Petrisor Toderasc
Unused:  Bogdan Munteanu

Attendance:  61000
Referee:  Deluca p.

Points Scorers:

England
Tries:  Healey A.S. 1, Luger D.D. 3, Regan M.P. 1, Robinson J.T. 4, Tindall M.J. 2, Worsley J.P.R. 1, Cohen B.C. 3, Hodgson C. 2, Moody L.W. 2, Sanderson A. 1
Conv:  Hodgson C. 14
Pen K.:  Hodgson C. 2

South Africa 54 Italy 26

The Springboks had to withstand a strong first-half onslaught by Italy, coupled with a whole host of unforced errors by the visitors from South Africa, to win their one-off Test at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris in Genoa by 54-26.

The Boks scored eight tries, the Azzurri two, but one can't help feel that there were still too many mistakes by the visitors.

Despite the win, Bok coach Harry Viljoen will not be sleeping well, with England looming at Twickenham next weekend.  His biggest concern will be the penalty count, one area where the visitors ran away with the game, giving away 18 penalties to Italy's six.

The Boks made most of their penalisable errors on the ground, going off their feet at the ruck, using hands on the ground and not releasing in the tackle.  Against Jonny Wilkinson these mistakes are equal to suicide, as the English flyhalf will surely punish the Boks for every indiscretion they commit.

A positive for the Springboks were the way in which they ran straight at their opponents, and after last weekend's drifting by the backs, this was good to see.

Luckily for the Boks the Azzurri were not very effective in turning tap penalties into points close to the visitors' try-line, or the score-line would have been much closer.

On three occasions the Italians only had to spin the ball wide for a try from a tap penalty, but the Springboks' resilient defence held out and the home team were stopped in their tracks.

Probably the best try of the game came from one such move, where the Italians lost the ball five metres from the Bok try-line.

Debutant Joe van Niekerk snapped up the ball and passed it to Conrad Jantjes, who had a forgettable first half.  The flying fullback sped away before passing the ball to skipper Bob Skinstad, who flipped it to Trevor Halstead, who passed back inside to Van Niekerk and eventually the best Bok on the day, Victor Matfield, got the ball, racing away from 25 metres out for the try under the uprights.

That try, 15 minutes into the second half, put the Boks ahead by 35-12 after they lead 21-12 at the break.

But it was Italy who smelt first blood after just five minutes when the trusty boot of Diego Dominguez slotted his first penalty goal of the day.  Twelve minutes and two more penalties (by Dominguez) later Italy were leading 9-0, as the Boks were made pay for their ill discipline on the ground.

They hardly got into the Italian half during this period, and Dominguez, with pinpoint tactical kicking, made sure the Springboks were on the defence in the opening 20 minutes even though he was playing against the strong wind in the first half.

A heap of handling errors, more mistakes on the ground and general poor execution on the attack cost the visitors dearly.  If it was not for three tries in the second quarter of the game, Italy may well have been leading at the break.

But hats off to the Boks, who, despite the shaky start, took their chances when they got them.

First Joost van der Westhuizen got over for his 35th Test try when he made a marvellous break from the base of a ruck and side-stepped past Luca Martin for the five-pointer.  Braam van Straaten duly converted.

Ten minutes later big Dean Hall, who put in a number of strong runs during the game, crashed over for his first try in the green and gold after the visitors managed to pile on the phases.

Then, on the stroke of half-time, Halstead got his first of two tries on the day, dotting down after John Smit brilliantly ran into space.  Van Straaten's third conversion, and a 34th minute drop-goal by Dominguez, meant the teams changed sides with the visitors leading by 21-12.

The Boks started strongly in the second half and dominated the game after the break.  John Smit extended their lead in the 47th minute when he crashed over for the visitors' fourth try from close-in.

Matfield's brilliant try came next, but still the Boks made mistakes, passes not going to hand and even more knock-ons stopping potential scoring opportunities.

Another moment of Matfield magic saw Willie Meyer also getting a try.  The big lock drove up the side of the field and threw a clever inside pass, behind his back, to Meyer, who burst over for the Boks' sixth try.

Dominguez, who already placed and dropped points for Italy, then broke the Bok line for a brilliant solo try, and by converting his own try, he scored in every possible way on the day.

Skinstad also scored a late try and Marco Bortolami got a consolation try for the home team, but by that time it was already game, set and match to the visitors.

Italy's best players were Alessandro Troncon, Dominguez, Mauro Bergamasco and Carlo Checchinato, who never gave up trying for the Azzurri.

Matfield was the Boks' best player on the day, providing good, clean ball from the line-outs, defending like a brick wall, providing the spark in many good forward drives and once even snatching the ball from the air from an attempted penalty goal by Dominguez.  He was well supported by Willie Meyer, AJ Venter, Louis Koen, who fared well in the No.10 jersey, and Hall.

If they can stop giving away penalties and knocking on good attacking ball, the Boks may just be in with a slight chance against England next weekend.

It's back to the drawing board for Brad Johnstone and his Italian team, and although they were not humiliated, they still lack that big match temperament when playing against the top teams in the world.

Man of the match:  Although Victor Matfield played a massive game for the Boks, Italy's little general Diego Dominguez, whose third penalty goal saw hime become only the second man in history to pass 900 Test points, wins the award for his brilliant try, good goal-kicking (which included a conversion, three penalty goals and a drop-goal) and solid all-round play for the Azzurri.

Moment of the match:  Victor Matfield's try in the second half.  The Boks turned over possession on their own try-line and through good support and handling Matfield scored under the uprights.

Villain of the match:  Only because he got the only yellow-card of the game, for a shoulder charge, Braam van Straaten "wins" this award.  But the game was generally clean and without niggles.

The Teams:

South Africa:  1 Ollie Le Roux, 2 John Smit, 3 Willie Meyer, 4 Victor Matfield, 5 A.J. Venter, 6 Joe Van Niekerk, 7 Andre Vos, 8 Bobby Skinstad (c), 9 Joost Van Der Westhuizen, 10 Louis Koen, 11 Dean Hall, 12 Trevor Halstead, 13 Braam Van Straaten, 14 Breyton Paulse, 15 Conrad Jantjes
Reserves:  Deon De Kock, Adi Jacobs, Lukas Van Biljon, Corne Krige, Percy Montgomery, Andre Venter, Cobus Visagie

Italy:  1 Andrea Lo Cicero, 2 Alessandro Moscardi (c), 3 Andrea Muraro, 4 Wim Visser, 5 Mark Giacheri, 6 Mauro Bergamasco, 7 Aaron Persico, 8 Carlo Checchinato, 9 Alessandro Troncon, 10 Diego Dominguez, 11 Denis Dallan, 12 Walter Pozzebon, 13 Cristian Stoica, 14 Massimiliano Perziano, 15 Luca Martin
Reserves:  Andrea Benatti, Samuele Pace, Marco Bortolami, Giampiero De Carli, Francesco Mazzariol, Tino Paoletti
Unused:  Juan Manuel Queirolo

Referee:  Erickson w.

Points Scorers:

South Africa
Tries:  Halstead T.M. 2, Hall D. 1, Matfield V. 1, Smit W.J. 1, Meyer W. 1, Skinstad R.B. 1, Van Der Westhuizen J. 1
Conv:  Koen L.J. 2, Van Straaten A.J.J. 5

Italy
Tries:  Benatti A. 1, Dominguez D. 1
Conv:  Dominguez D. 1, Mazzariol F. 1
Pen K.:  Dominguez D. 3
Drop G.:  Dominguez D. 1

New Zealand 40 Ireland 29

Another fine display from Ireland was not enough to give them their first ever win over New Zealand and, after a 20 minute second half blitz of four tries, the home side were undone 40-29 at Lansdowne Road in Dublin.

Chris Jack, in the first-half, Reuben Thorne, Doug Howlett, Aaron Mauger, Jonah Lomu and Dave Hewett were the All Black try scoring heroes while five point replies from Kevin Maggs, Denis Hickie and the excellent Eric Miller were not enough for a historic win.

Warren Gatland can be proud of his troops, who just one minute into the second-half led the game 21-7 but his ex-Waikato colleague and new New Zealand coach John Mitchell can take a lot of satisfaction from his first game and first win in charge.

The All Blacks forward, once they had shaken off their early lethargy were simply irresitable and apart from 60 seconds after half-time anything but a win for the tourists, their 14th over Ireland, would have been a travesty.

The Irish began the game well and Humphreys confidently knocked over his first penalty from fully 43 metres after only three minutes.

New Zealand, looking a little rusty after two and a half months of inactivity, looked dangerous in the early stages especially Byron Kelleher, who was putting a lot of pressure on Humphreys in the pocket.

However the home side deservedly took the lead after 13 minutes.

Inevitably it was the genius of O'Driscoll, who cut open the All Blacks defence around half-way.  The ball was recycled out by Stringer to Humphreys.  The Ulster outside-half scythed through some non-existent All Black defence before spotting Maggs on his shoulder.

The powerful Bath centre evaded a last-gasp Umaga tackle to go under the post and Humphreys easily tapped over the conversion.

Five minutes later a wonderful Humphreys drop goal 10 metres outside the 22 put 13 points between the sides and John Mitchell's All Blacks were well and truly rattled.

Midway through the opening period, Ireland should have gone further ahead.

A somewhat cumbersome looking Jonah Lomu was well tackled within his own 22.  Ireland won the ball and a fine Shane Horgan break drew in the defence for David Wallace.

The Irish Lion went for glory with at least four attackers in support, and his over delayed attempted pass was accidentally knocked on by Norm Maxwell and with it a gilt edged opportunity was lost.

The Irish were left to rue that missed opportunity, when after a period of concerted All Black pressure the All Blacks' big 6ft 7in Canterbury lock Jack went over the whitewash for his second try for his country.

Five minutes before half-time, the New Zealand forwards set up a series of phases of rucks.  The Irish defence stood firm but it was left to the giant Jack to pick up the ball and stretch over Peter Stringer to touch down for the All Blacks first try of the game.

Then, another monster Humphreys penalty just before half-time put two scores between the two teams and a 16-7 lead at the break.

Whatever Irish coach Gatland said to his team had the interval worked immediately, when the Irish came out fired up and with all their guns blazing.

Two New Zealand players were penalised for crossing just outside their own 22 and from the resulting scrum O'Driscoll got on the ball once more.

The Dubliner tried to go for the line himself but was fortunate to have Hickie in support.  The Leinster wing bounced All Blacks full-back Leon MacDonald backwards and went down in the corner for Ireland's second try.  Humphreys missed a difficult conversion from the near touchline to leave the score 21-7 in the home side's favour.

The All Blacks hit back instantly after MacDonald, slotting in well in the absence of Chris Cullen's, was half stopped inside the Ireland 22.  He was able to get the ball out to his No.8 Scott Robertson and the Canterbury back row held off another couple of defenders before right wing Howlett crashed over under Hickie's last ditch challenge.  Mehrtens missed conversion meant Ireland were still two points to the good with half hour still to play.

Moments later Humphreys extended the Irish lead for the final time following a perfect drop goal from 34 metres, 24-19.

However by this time the All Blacks were looking likely to break through every time and seemed certain to open the floodgates.

After 56 minutes Lomu, who worringly for the Irish was getting more and more into the game as an injured Horgan ceased up, gathered possession and passed to Canterbury captain Mauger.  The 20-year-old had to work hard to break three tackles and touch down.  Mehrtens this time made no mistake from the conversion.

Six minutes later, after a line-out was won deep inside the Irish 22, it was no surprise when Lomu went under the Irish posts unopposed for his third try against the men in green.

The ball was span cross from Kelleher and Mauger fed Lomu.  The Wellington wing was coming in at a great angle and steamed in easily.

The big man after scoring New Zealand's fourth try of the game was involved again for the fifth just after the hour mark.

He crashed through a couple of tackles but was held up inches short of the try line.  From the ruck a clever Kelleher pass inside put the replacement Dave Hewett, on for Greg Feek, in for another debut try to seal the game with the All Blacks 40-24 ahead.

A last minute try from the unsung Leinster blindside Miller, crashing down after a line-out and rolling maul were won, was mere consolation for another brave but ultimately unsuccessful Irish display.

Man of the match:  Richard McCaw.  Phew!  What a debut from the 20-year-old Canterbury openside flanker.  McCaw was everywhere through much of the 80 minutes belying his lack of experience at international level.  He gave David Wallace a torrid time throughout and his strong running and ball winning skills gave confidence for a fightback when New Zealand were stuttering in the first half.

Moment of the Match:  David Wallace glorious try scoring opportunity midway through the opening period with Ireland 13-0 ahead and the All Blacks rocking.  A Lomu mistake was picked up and opposite number Horgan drove at the New Zealand defence.  He passed to the Irish Lion who went for glory.  Four Irishmen were inside of the Munster openside but he elected to hold on.  He over delayed a pass which was accidentally knocked on and with a chance lost to put at least 20 points between the two teams.

Villain of the Match:  It would be harsh to pinpoint anyone as a villain at the end of a thrilling Test match.  We all understood why Wallace tried to score himself with support in abundance in the first half but after the break the tourists were simply irresistible and fully deserved the plaudits at the end of the near perfect advertisement for the breathtaking excitement of glorious international rugby.

The Teams:

New Zealand:  1 Greg Somerville, 2 Anton Oliver (c), 3 Greg Feek, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Norm Maxwell, 6 Richard McCaw, 7 Reuben Thorne, 8 Scott Robertson, 9 Byron Kelleher, 10 Andrew Mehrtens, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Aaron Mauger, 13 Tana Umaga, 14 Jonah Lomu, 15 Leon MacDonald
Reserves:  David Hewett
Unused:  Ben Blair, Marty Holah, Dion Waller, Tom Willis, Caleb Ralph, Mark Robinson

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

Attendance:  49000
Referee:  Watson a.

Points Scorers:

New Zealand
Tries:  Hewett D.N. 1, Howlett D.C. 1, Jack C.R. 1, Mauger A.J.D. 1, Lomu J.T. 1, Thorne R.D. 1
Conv:  Mehrtens A.P. 5

Ireland
Tries:  Hickie D.A. 1, Miller E.R.P. 1, Maggs K.M. 1
Conv:  Humphreys D.G. 1
Pen K.:  Humphreys D.G. 2
Drop G.:  Humphreys D.G. 2

Australia 13 France 14

Marseilles proved a happy hunting ground for France yet again.  At the same venue where they beat the All Blacks in 2000, Fabien Galthié's blue-clad warriors beat the world champions, Australia, by 14-13.

Passion probably won the game for Les Bleus, and with stern defence and determined attacking play France managed to beat the Wallabies for the first time since 1993.

On the night, the Wallabies just did not look like the team that won the Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup earlier in the season.

The visitors looked tired and planless, while the French, fresh from their 20-10 drubbing of the Springboks last weekend, played their hearts out, knocking the wind out of the Aussies with crunching tackles.

The home team dominated territory for 60 minutes, and leading 14-6 with 10 minutes on the clock and the Wallabies looking to click into gear, the French had to defend like animals.  But they did, and the Aussies will depart Europe after next weekend's match against the Barbarians with just one win from three Tests, against lowly Spain.

French coach Bernard Laporte stuck with most of the young team that beat the Boks in Paris last Saturday, except at flyhalf, where he brought in the 19-year-old Frédérick Michalak.

The young pivot settled his debut Test nerves quickly with a successful third minute penalty goal.  Although he missed his next three attempts at goal, Michalak played exceptionally well for the home side, showing a lot of promise.

He attacked the line with fervour and got his outside backs away with skilled passes.  Michalak also turned the Wallabies around -- like Jonny Wilkinson did for England last week -- with pinpoint tactical kicking.

Coach Eddie Jones may rue dropping openside flank George Smith for a long time, as Phil Waugh is clearly not in the dreadlocked loose forward's class.

Smith made a huge difference to the Australian cause when the took to the field after half-time, and his ball-poaching skills on the ground saw the visitors win lots of quality ball from rucks in the second half.

But Smith's contribution was not enough and he had to watch helplessly as his teammates threw away good attacking ball with careless handling and unnecessary knock-ons.

Before Smith was there though, the Wallabies had very little ball to play with and when they got going in the opening 40 minutes, they lacked the playmaking skills that has made them the top team in the world for two years now.

In fact, the Wallabies were lucky to be trailing by only 3-11 at the break after the French piled on the pressure before half time.

Were it not for three missed attempts at goal by Frédérick Michalak and one by Damien Traille the Wallabies might even have been further behind at the start of the second half.

The home team also scored the only try of the first half when their New Zealand-born centre Tony Marsh crashed over in the 27th minute after Les Bleus managed to keep the ball moving after a number of phases.

The Australian forwards struggled to stamp their authority on the game in this period, and as a result the French backs ran rampant almost every time they got good attacking ball.

The Wallabies' line-outs were terrible at times and Michael Foley missed his jumpers on more than one occasion.

That caused them to be on the backfoot for most of the game, and coupled with the brilliant play by the French front row, the Wallaby forwards never really got their claws into the game.

Tighthead Pieter de Villiers and hooker Raphaël Ibañez played their hearts out for France.  They were brilliant in the loose, and the main reason the Wallaby forwards were under so much pressure in the game.

They were well supported by Serge Betsen (flank) and Patric Tabacco (No.8) up front, while Galthié, Michalak, Traille and left-wing David Bory plagued the Wallaby backline with brilliant play.

Smith was the best Wallaby on the night, and Stephen Larkham and Chris Latham never gave up at the back.

Ben Tune, who came onto the field for his first Test appearance of the year, scored a last minute try for the visitors, and he also looked hungry for rugby.

Man of the match:  For the youngest player on the field Frédérick Michalak did exceptionally well in his debut Test for the French.  Although he missed a couple of kicks at goal, his general flyhalf play was superb and he over-shadowed his direct opponent Stephen Larkham.  Pieter de Villiers and Raphaël Ibañez also played great rugby for the home team, while George Smith was the Wallabies' best player on the night.

Moment of the match:  After Ben Tune's try, when referee Colin Hawke blew the final whistle, the French team, now with two wins over two top teams in two successive weeks, exploded with joy.  They had won, and can now look forward to the 2002 Six Nations.

Villain of the match:  No-one.  Not even Justin Harrison, who got a bit carried away when the French poached one of his line-out balls in the first-half.

The teams:

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

France:  1 Jean-Jacques Crenca, 2 Raphael Ibanez, 3 Pieter De Villiers, 4 David Auradou, 5 Thibault Privat, 6 Serge Betsen Tchoua, 7 Olivier Magne, 8 Patrick Tabacco, 9 Fabien Galthie (c), 10 Frederic Michalak, 11 Aurelien Rougerie, 12 Tony Marsh, 13 Damien Traille, 14 David Bory, 15 Clement Poitreneaud
Reserves:  Yannick Bru, Nicolas Jeanjean, Lionel Nallet

Referee:  Hawke c.j.

Points Scorers

Australia
Tries:  Tune B.N. 1
Conv:  Flatley E.J. 1
Pen K.:  Burke M.C. 2

France
Tries:  Marsh T. 1
Pen K.:  Michalak F. 1, Traille D. 2

Samoa 17 Italy 9

The touring team of Samoa recorded their third consecutive win over Italy on Saturday by beating the home team 17-9 at the Fattori Stadium in Alghero.

The Azzurri, coming from a 66-10 crushing of Fiji and a 54-26 loss against South Africa, were outplayed by the visiting team, which fielded several young and inexperienced players.

Lome Fa'atau scored Samoa's first and only try after just four minutes, while Italy got its only points from the boot of flyhalf Diego Dominguez, who improved his total number of Test points to 949.

Thanks to Dominguez's boot Italy were ahead 9-8 shortly before the break, but a penalty goal by Tanner Vili gave Samoa an 11-9 first-half edge.

The margin of victory for Samoa could have been bigger had their kickers not missed nine out of 13 kicks at goal.  Vili missed a conversion and four penalties while Leaega also missed four three-pointers.

It was a very physical encounter with Samoan centre Fara'aoni Lalomilo getting red carded for a dangerous high tackle on Samuele Pace in the 35th minute.

The Teams:

Samoa:  1 Jeremy Tomuli, 2 Jonathan Meredith, 3 Tamato Leupolu, 4 Opeta Palepoi, 5 Kitiona Viliamu, 6 Patrick Segi, 7 Siaosi Vaili, 8 Semo Sititi, 9 Denning Tyrell, 10 Tanner Vili, 11 Lome Fa'atau, 12 Elvis Seveali'i, 13 Inga Tuigamala, 14 Brian Lima, 15 Silao Leaega

Italy:  1 Andrea Muraro, 2 Alessandro Moscardi, 3 Giampiero De Carli, 4 Wim Visser, 5 Marco Bortolami, 6 Andrea Benatti, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 8 Carlo Checchinato, 9 Alessandro Troncon, 10 Diego Dominguez, 11 Denis Dallan, 12 Walter Pozzebon, 13 Cristian Stoica, 14 Samuele Pace, 15 Luca Martin

Points Scorers:

Samoa
Tries:  Faatau L. 1
Pen K.:  Leaega S. 2, Vili T.A. 2

Italy
Pen K.:  Dominguez D. 3

Ireland 35 Samoa 8

A well-crafted, workmanlike 35-8 victory over a strong Samoa side was just reward for an efficient if unspectacular Ireland Test performance at Lansdowne Road in Dublin.

Tries from Irish hooker Frankie Sheahan, Munster colleague Jeremy Staunton, Geordan Murphy and a late Tyrone Howe effort did the ultimate damage while Wellington's Steven So'oialo replied for Samoa.

Following the game Leinster and Lions centre Brian O'Driscoll said:  "The game was not surprisingly very physical.  I'm glad we got through it unscathed.  Samoa really put it up to us and we struggled with our game plan a bit especially in the first half."

Three O'Gara first half penalties and a try by Munster No.2 Sheahan, his first in his five appearances for Ireland, also converted by provincial colleague O'Gara, was enough to give the home side a comfortable if slightly flattering 16-3 half-time lead.

Worcester stand-off Earl Va'a had sent an equalising penalty after eight minutes which was the nearest a Samoa XV, including eight new caps, got to Ireland throughout though they did threaten the try line on a number of occasions.

Sheahan's try was not particular beautiful but it was efficient as Ulster's Gary Longwell gathered a line-out five metres from the whitewash and a fine maul was finished off by a diving Sheahan.

Swansea back Brian Lima nearly scored a terrific breakaway try with the last move of an uninspiring first 40, but was brought down by Irish debutant Staunton yards from the line.

Following a conservative opening half, Ireland changed their game plan after the interval and it paid dividends almost immediately with Staunton capping his debut with a fine well-worked try.

Leicester's Murphy gathered another poor Va'a kick and set a sweeping team move in motion.  Following good work from elder statesman Mick Galwey the ball was fed out to the backs and Bath's Kevin Maggs.  Maggs passed to Stauton, coming at an angle, to touch down.

The try of the match though was Samoa's.  Their captain Semo Sititi broke free of powder puff Irish rearguard after another penalty and passed to Lome Faatau.  Faatau made some extra yards but seemed to take an age before offloading to So'oialo and the Wellington wing dashed over in the left corner.  Unfortunately Va'a's replacement, Silao Leaega, could fare little better with the boot and missed the conversion attempt.

This seemed to spur Ireland into life and two tries in the last quarter put a better gloss on a mediocre team performance.  Again another sweeping move right across the back line involving Munster half-backs, Stringer and O'Gara, ended when a delightful O'Driscoll chip bounced perfectly for Murphy who exerted downward pressure on the ball ahead of the massive Va'aiga Tuigamala.

Ireland's fourth try was a real beauty.  The Irish back line moved the ball right across from right to left.  O'Gara span the ball to Murphy who immediately fed Staunton.  The 21-year-old saw Howe unmarked on the left flank, and the Ulster No.11 flew airborne over the white wash.  An excellent O'Gara conversion from the sideline sealed Ireland's third successive Test win.

Man of the match:  Difficult to highlight one player who stood out for either side.  Samoa skipper Sititi was always at the forefront of most of the Samoan best moves.  However Brian O'Driscoll showed after the break why he is one of the most exciting players about at the moment particularly with his sublime chip for Murphy's try.

Moment of the match:  The Samoa try ran the whole length of the Lansdowne Road turf from their own 22.  Sititi, Faatau and try scorer So'oala combined beautifully to put the tourists back into the game until Murphy's try but the game beyond their reach.

Villain of the match:  Referee Iain Ramage.  He wanted to take centre stage in Dublin.  The Scot's fondness of the whistle put paid to this contest as a spectacle for the fans.  One interruption with O'Gara about to dash over the whitewash was simply incomprehensible.

Sin-bin:  Tomato Leupolu 1 min

The Teams:

Ireland:  1 John Hayes, 2 Frankie Sheahan, 3 Emmet Byrne, 4 Mick Galwey, 5 Gary Longwell, 6 Kieron Dawson, 7 Eric Miller, 8 Anthony Foley (c), 9 Peter Stringer, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 11 Tyrone Howe, 12 Brian O'Driscoll, 13 Kevin Maggs, 14 Geordan Murphy, 15 Jeremy Staunton
Reserves:  Peter Clohessy, Simon Easterby, Guy Easterby, Mike Mullins, Trevor Brennan
Unused:  Barry Everitt, Keith Wood

Samoa:  1 Jeremy Tomuli, 2 Jonathan Meredith, 3 Tamato Leupolu, 4 Opeta Palepoi, 5 Kitiona Viliamu, 6 Semo Sititi (c), 7 Siaosi Vaili, 8 George Stowers, 9 Stephen So'oilao, 10 Earl Va'a, 11 Lome Fa'atau, 12 Brian Lima, 13 Inga Tuigamala, 14 Afato So'oalo, 15 Tanner Vili
Reserves:  Fa'amaoni Lalomilo, Silao Leaega, Patrick Segi, Filipo Toala, To'o Vaega

Referee:  Iain Ramage (Scotland)
Touch-judges:  Robert Davies (Wales) & Chris White (England)

Points Scorers:

Ireland
Tries:  Howe T.G. 1, Staunton J. 1, Murphy G.E.A. 1, Sheahan F.J. 1
Conv:  O'Gara R.J.R. 3
Pen K.:  O'Gara R.J.R. 3

Samoa
Tries:  So'oalo A. 1
Pen K.:  Va'a E.V. 1

Fiji 10 Italy 66

In a one-off international in Treviso, Italy ran in seven tries and Diego Dominguez scored 31 points as the home side crushed Fiji 66-10.

Italy, who opened the scoring with a Diego Dominguez penalty in the first minute, eventually led 31-10 at half-time, but they had found themselves 10-3 down after the first four minutes of play after Sevens master Waisale Serevi had scored a 65-metre break-away try, the conversion and one penalty goal.

But Italy stormed back and managed to keep the physical Fijians, who had one player red-carded and two yellow-carded, scoreless, for the rest of the game.

Skipper Alifereti Doviverata was red-carded in the 52nd minute for levelling Italian fullback Paolo Vaccari with a flying forearm, while Serevi and Sisa Koyamaibole were the yellow-card recipients.

Diego Dominguez's boot was a major factor in Italy's win, and coach Brad Johnstone, who coached Fiji at the 1999 World Cup, would have been satisfied with his side's performance after their poor showings in the Six Nations.

The win, Italy's second in six matches against Fiji, also avenged Italy's 45-9 loss to Fiji last year.

The Teams:

Fiji:  1 Billy Cavubati, 2 Isaia Rasila, 3 Apisai Nagi, 4 Isoa Domolailai, 5 Emori Katalau, 6 Alifereti Doviverata (c), 7 Jope Tuikabe, 8 Mesake Davu, 9 Sami Rabaka Nasagavesi, 10 Waisale Serevi, 11 Vilimoni Delasau, 12 Saimoni Rokini, 13 Viliame Satala, 14 Marika Vunibaka, 15 Jonetani Waqa
Reserves:  Paula Biu, Sisa Koyamaibole, Fero Lasagavibau, Nicky Little, Henry Qiodravu

Italy:  1 Andrea Lo Cicero, 2 Alessandro Moscardi (c), 3 Andrea Muraro, 4 Marco Bortolami, 5 Carlo Checchinato, 6 Mauro Bergamasco, 7 Aaron Persico, 8 Carlo Caione, 9 Alessandro Troncon, 10 Diego Dominguez, 11 Denis Dallan, 12 Walter Pozzebon, 13 Cristian Stoica, 14 Massimiliano Perziano, 15 Paolo Vaccari
Reserves:  Andrea Benatti, Luca Martin, Wim Visser, Giampiero De Carli, Francesco Mazzariol, Tino Paoletti, Juan Manuel Queirolo

Attendance:  7000
Referee:  Turner a.

Points Scorers:

Fiji
Tries:  Serevi W.T. 1
Conv:  Serevi W.T. 1
Pen K.:  Serevi W.T. 1

Italy
Tries:  Dallan D. 1, Martin L. 1, Checchinato C. 1, Moscardi A. 1, Persico A.R. 1, Stoica A.C. 1, Vaccari P. 1
Conv:  Dominguez D. 4, Mazzariol F. 1
Pen K.:  Dominguez D. 7

Scotland 43 Tonga 20

Scotland scored three second half tries to claim a hard-fought 43-20 win over Tonga at Murrayfield on Saturday, despite going into half time at only 11 points up.

Tries by James McLaren, Glenn Metcalfe, Roland Reid and Gordon Simpson did the damage for the Scots, after Tonga downed the first five-pointer of the afternoon through second-row Viliami Vaki.

Scotland got out of the blocks quickly, with fly-half Gordon Ross showing great composure in his first cap, nailing two early penalties to put the hot favourites into an early lead.

Tonga never looked completely outclassed as some of the pre-match hype may have suggested, and they touched down the first try of the game when lock Vaki breached the Scottish defence and raced over for the score from 30m out.

The failed conversion attempt kept Scotland still one point in front, one which was to grow bigger as the half went on, Ross' third penalty putting Ian McGeechan's side four points to the good.

Barnstorming centre James McLaren extended that further with a try 23 minutes into the game, as he crashed over in the left corner after three or four phases of good retention.

Ross converted the try, and two more penalties from him before the break ensured that Scotland went into the interval with a 22-11 lead, as Tongan fullback Sateki Tuipulotu struck two penalties to add to Vaki's try.

Two more penalties from Tuipulotu got Tonga back to 22-17, but Scotland finally found a bit of cohesion, when fullback Glenn Metcalfe went over for a well-worked try in open play.

It stemmed from good play by scrum-half Andy Nicol, who offloaded to Scott Murray at pace, with the Saracens lock finding John leslie in the centres down the left flank.  Leslie drew the last man, and gave Metcalfe a relatively easy run in from ten metres out for the score, as Ross converted well from out wide on the left.

The Scots finally got in gear in thelast quarter, with Rolan Reid grabbing the third try of the day in the left corner on 68 minutes, followed by Gordon Simpson who picked up and drove over from short range for the fourth score of the afternoon.

The crowd had to wait for the video referee to award the try though, before the obligatory strains of the Proclaimers on the stadium tannoy rang out again, Gordon Ross striking a fine conversion for a 43-17 advantage.

Siua Taumalolo struck a late penalty for the Tongans, who far from disgraced themselves against the 1999 Five Nations champions, Scotland not showing the Murrayfield crowd that they will have enough in store to give New Zealand too much trouble when they visit in the coming weeks.

Man of the match:  John Leslie.  The Northampton centre was instrumental in most of Scotland's good work in open play, and made the opening for Glenn Metcalfe's try.

Moment of the match:  Glenn Metcalfe's try.  A superb handling move in open play involving John Leslie, Scott Murray, and started by scrum-half Andy Nicol, Metcalfe went in at the left corner in the second half for a well-worked, and fully deserved score.

Villain of the match:  The Proclaimers.  I'm a big fan of the bespectacled Scottish duo, but whether their pop anthem was totally appropriate over the tannoy after every moment of excitement at an atmospherically lacking Murrayfield remains to be seen.  The fact that the "villain of the match" award has to be filled with such futile observations shows the professional and even-tempered spirit the game was played in, with pre-match talk of the Tongans' overly-aggressive tackling proving irrelevant as they competed in their usual tough but fair manner.

The Teams:

Scotland:  1 Tom Smith (c), 2 Gordon Bulloch, 3 Mattie Stewart, 4 Stuart Grimes, 5 Scott Murray, 6 Andrew Mower, 7 Jason White, 8 Jon Petrie, 9 Andy Nicol, 10 Gordon Ross, 11 Jon Steel, 12 John Leslie, 13 James McLaren, 14 Cammie Murray, 15 Glenn Metcalfe
Reserves:  Roland Reid, Graeme Burns, George Graham, Andrew Henderson, Steve Scott, Gordon Simpson
Unused:  Duncan Hodge

Tonga:  1 TPA2, 2 Aleki Lutui, 3 Tevita Taumoepeau, 4 Feleti Fakaongo, 5 TVA7, 6 Maama Molitika, 7 Matt Te Pou, 8 'Inoke Afeaki, 9 Sililo Martens, 10 'Elisi Vunipola, 11 David Tiueti, 12 Siua Taumalolo, 13 TLE2, 14 'Epeli Taione, 15 Sateki Tuipulotu
Reserves:  TAL2, Salesi Finau, TFI9, Fakataha Molitika, Tauna'holo Taufahema

Attendance:  44649

Referee:    Whitehouse n.
Touch judges:  Steve Lander (England) & Alain Rolland (Ireland).

Points Scorers:

Scotland
Tries:  Metcalfe G.H. 1, Reid R.E. 1, McLaren J.G. 1, Simpson G.L. 1
Conv:  Ross G. 4
Pen K.:  Ross G. 5

Tonga
Tries:  Vaki V. 1
Pen K.:  Taumalolo S. 1, Tuipulotu S. 4

Argentina 30 Wales 16

A 25 point haul from Felipe Contepomi paved the way for Argentina to post a 30-16 win over Wales at the Millennium Stadium, as the pressure increased on Welsh coach Graham Henry.

Following the win, Contepomi said:  "I think we needed that.  In the last four years we have come here three times and I think the third time is the one that you win.  To beat Wales here is something marvellous.  Argentina rugby was waiting for this.  Twenty-five years ago we lost in the last seconds but today we did it and played well."

He was quick to pay tribute to all those unsong Pumas heroes in the Argentina pack.

Contepomi added:  "The battle always starts in the forwards but it is our strength.  We would like to play more in the backs but we know our weaknesses and we know our strengths.  Our gameplan is to play for field position and then make it hard for teams up front."

Wales lacked ideas and discipline as they had done in the Six Nations defeat to Ireland last month, and the future of Welsh rugby and coach Graham Henry looks bleak especially when the world champions, Australia arrive in the capital in a fortnight's time.

Argentina had lost the five previous full internationals between the two nations even though they had beaten a John Dawes led Welsh XV back in 1968.

Tenth placed Zurich World Ranking side Argentina were always on top of Wales, ranked three places above them, and from the kick-off there was really only one side with the desire to win this Test.

In beating Wales by 14 points the Pumas finally completed a series of wins over the whole of the Six Nations countries, that game 33 years ago was not recognised as a full Test match.

It was another woeful Wales performance throughout the whole of a terribly uninspiring first 40 minutes.  Iestyn Harris' Test debut did not go to as scripted and two major errors from the 1995 Rugby League Player of the Year were punished by the Pumas with two tries.

Harris had his forwards to thank early as 13 minutes for saving five points after his kick was charged down.

Argentina were much sharper, particularly at the breakdown, and were not flattered after thet went into the break 16-7 ahead thanks to three penalties and a converted try from Contepomi.

Contepomi put the away side ahead with his first penalty after 25 minutes before he charged down another attempted Harris kick just outside the Welsh 22.  The 24-year-old showed some super soccer skills to tap the ball over the whitewash and hold off Lions back row Colin Charvis in a race to touch the ball down.

Contempomi added the conversion and then another penalty to put his side 13-0 in front but a terrific Welsh move just before half-time brought Henry's side back into contention.

Scott Quinnell, overtaking the legendary Mervyn Davies as Wales' most capped No.8, was heavily involved as well as Harris.  The Welsh half-back pairing moved the ball right across to the right flank and Darren Morris was one of three on the overlap and easily touched down for his first Test try to put Wales right back into the game.

Harris easily slotted the conversion for his first union Test points to make the score 13-7.

However, more home side indiscipline gifted Contepomi another penalty and the last kick of the half left nine points between the teams at the interval.

Contepomi missed a chance to extend Argentina's lead again straight after the restart with his second wayward penalty but Welsh counterpart made no mistake three minutes later to pull the score back to 16-10.

Argentina's second try 10 minutes into the half put two scores between the sides once more and wrested the game out of Wales' reach.

Another poor Harris kick collected by Contepomi gave the initiative to the Pumas deep inside the Wales half.  Gloucester's Diego Albanese showed great awareness to send the ball out to Roma's Gonzalo Camardon, who out-muscled Rhys Williams on the Welsh right wing to go over in the corner.

Contepomi missed the conversion and when another Harris penalty dissected the uprights just after the hour a Welsh escape seemed a remote possibility.

The two opposing No.10 swapped further penalties before a simple Contepomi drop goal put the Pumas 11 points ahead once more.

Contepomi's fifth penalty five minutes before the end put plenty of daylight between the two teams and sealed a magnificent first victory for the Argentina Test team in Cardiff over Wales.

Man of the match:  Bristol's Felipe Contepomi did everything asked of him without doing anything spectacular or out of the ordinary.  We thought that this game would be all about his opposite number Harris but the 24-year-old Argentinean stamped himself on the game from the off.  Capitalised on the inexperienced Harris' horrendous mistake to take the game by the scruff of the neck and from there never looked back.

Moment of the match:  Wales never recovered from Argentina's second try which again arose from a Harris kicking error.  Contepomi started the move and fed another Premiership Puma in Gloucester's Diego Albanese, who showed great composure to feed Camardon and the Roma wing completed the formality.

Villain of the match:  It would be harsh to pick out Harris but his error strewn performance probably owed more to his inexperience in the two complete union games he has participated in.  Wales coach Henry probably needs to give Harris more time to adapt to his new code especially after never playing the 15-man game before his arrival at the Arms Park.

Sin-bin:  Ostiglia 80 mins

The Teams:

Argentina:  1 Omar Hasan Jalil, 2 Federico Mendez, 3 Mauricio Reggiardo, 4 Rimas Alvarez Kairelis, 5 Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, 6 Rolando Martin, 7 Santiago Phelan, 8 Gonzalo Longo Elia, 9 Agustin Pichot, 10 Felipe Contepomi, 11 Diego Albanese, 12 Lisandro Arbizu (c), 13 Jose Orengo, 14 Gonzalo Camardon, 15 Ignacio Corleto
Reserves:  Roberto Grau, Mario Ledesma Arocena, Lucas Ostiglia
Unused:  Martin Durand, Nicolas Fernandez Miranda, Gonzalo Quesada, Bernardo Stortoni

Wales:  1 Darren Morris, 2 Robin McBryde, 3 Dai Young (c), 4 Andrew Moore, 5 Craig Quinnell, 6 Gavin Thomas, 7 Colin Charvis, 8 Scott Quinnell, 9 Rob Howley, 10 Iestyn Harris, 11 Rhys Williams, 12 Stephen Jones, 13 Gareth Thomas, 14 Anthony Sullivan, 15 Kevin Morgan
Reserves:  Jamie Robinson, Iestyn Thomas, Allan Bateman, Brett Sinkinson, Chris Wyatt
Unused:  Dwayne Peel, Barry Williams

Referee:  Dume j.

Points Scorers:

Argentina
Tries:  Camardon G.F. 1, Contepomi F. 1
Conv:  Contepomi F. 1
Pen K.:  Contepomi F. 5
Drop G.:  Contepomi F. 1

Wales
Tries:  Morris D.R. 1
Conv:  Harris I. 1
Pen K.:  Harris I. 3

South Africa 10 France 20

The Springboks of South Africa lost 20-10 to France in an error-ridden Test at the Stade de France in Paris.

France led 9-3 at half-time, but former French captain Raphaël Ibañez scored a crucial try in the 75th minute that gave France a 10-point lead with just five minutes remaining in the game.

Les Blues scored just one try in the game, but they relied on the boot of debutant flyhalf François Gelez, who was promoted to the starting fifteen on Friday when Montferrand's Gérald Merceron pulled out of the Test with a hamstring injury.

Gelez kicked four penalties, and Pau centre Damien Traille also came to the party when he kicked a monster 50-metre penalty in the 60th minute of the match to put France back in the lead after South Africa had snuck into the lead after the break with a try from veteran left-wing Pieter Rossouw.

Centres Trevor Halstead and André Snyman did some good work in the build-up to Rossouw's try, which came in the 48th minute, but France weathered the storm before launching their comeback in the final quarter of the match.

It was Rossouw's 20th Test try -- his sixth against France and first since the 1999 World Cup quarter-final against England -- and it gave the Boks some hope after their shocking first-half performance.

The Boks were lucky to be just six points down at the break after committing a series of knock-ons, conceding numerous penalties at scrum-time and over-complication in the backline.  While both teams were guilty of kicking good ball away in the first half, South Africa's woes were compounded with some sloppy handling in crucial situations.

On one occasion in the first half, Western Province winger Breyton Paulse merely had to dot down the ball after a (rare) clever Joost van der Westhuizen grubber turned the French defence behind their own goalline.  Paulse was under pressure from the French defenders, but his pace had taken him past the would-be defenders, only for his hands to let him down.

The Springbok line-out was the only positive feature of the Boks' performance, but that also went awry when John Smit replaced Lukas van Biljon in the last quarter of the game.

Substitutions are normally made to inject fresh legs and an extra dimension to a game, but hooker is such a crucial position that sometimes a substitution does not always have to be made.

Springbok coach Harry Viljoen replaced his entire front row during the match, but it would have made more sense to introduce the talents of loose forward Joe van Niekerk, who could have given the Boks more attacking options when they needed it, a bit earlier.

As it turns out Van Niekerk finally got on to the field with five minutes remaining, but Ibañez had already scored his try by then and it was basically game, set and match.

This win was France's first over the Boks in France since 1992 when France won 29-16 in Paris over Naas Botha's raw and inexperienced side, who were on their first tour since re-joining the international rugby fraternity in August of 1992.

Interestingly, seven players in the French starting fifteen were making their debuts, but one would not have thought so as Gelez, Traille, fullback Clement Poitrenaud, wing Aurélien Rougerie, centre Tony Marsh, No.8 Francis Ntamack, brother of wing-cum-centre Emile, and lock Thibault Privat all put in assured performances on debut.

Man of the match:  Greenhorn French flyhalf François Gelez enjoyed a magnificent debut in the blue French jersey.  His place-kicking was superb (he missed just two shots at goal), but his kicking out of hand and passing game were superb too.  The French front row of Pieter de Villiers, Raphaël Ibañez and Jean-Jacques Crenca were also brilliant and if Harry Viljoen wants to see players getting "go-forward", he can watch the video of the French front-rankers from this Test.

Villain of the match:  The Springboks' performance in the first half.  Whilst their performance in the entire 80 minutes left much to be desired, their showing in the opening stanza was the worst of the day.

Moment of the match:  Ibañez's try in the 75th minute.  Not only was it France's only try of the night, but it stretched their five-point lead to 10 at a time when the Boks could just not afford it.

The Teams:

South Africa:  1 Ollie Le Roux, 2 Lukas Van Biljon, 3 Cobus Visagie, 4 Victor Matfield, 5 Mark Andrews, 6 A.J. Venter, 7 Andre Vos, 8 Bobby Skinstad (c), 9 Joost Van Der Westhuizen, 10 Braam Van Straaten, 11 Breyton Paulse, 12 Trevor Halstead, 13 Andre Snyman, 14 Pieter Rossouw, 15 Conrad Jantjes
Reserves:  John Smit, Willie Meyer, Percy Montgomery, Toks Van Der Linde, Joe Van Niekerk, Andre Venter
Unused:  Neil De Kock

France:  1 Jean-Jacques Crenca, 2 Raphael Ibanez, 3 Pieter De Villiers, 4 David Auradou, 5 Thibault Privat, 6 Olivier Magne, 7 Patrick Tabacco, 8 Francis Ntamack, 9 Fabien Galthie (c), 10 Francois Gelez, 11 Aurelien Rougerie, 12 Tony Marsh, 13 Damien Traille, 14 David Bory, 15 Clement Poitreneaud
Reserves:  Serge Betsen Tchoua, Nicolas Jeanjean, Frederic Michalak, Lionel Nallet
Unused:  Yannick Bru, Christophe Dominici, Jean-Baptiste Poux

Attendance:  80000
Referee:  Lewis a.

Points Scorers:

South Africa
Tries:  Rossouw P.W.G. 1
Conv:  Van Straaten A.J.J. 1
Pen K.:  Van Straaten A.J.J. 1

France
Tries:  Ibanez R. 1
Pen K.:  Gelez F. 4, Traille D. 1

Australia 15 England 21

A rugged England side shook off the disappointment of their Dublin nightmare by claiming the scalp of World and Tri-Nations champions Australia with a gutsy 21-15 triumph at Twickenham on Saturday, despite being outscored two tries to nil by the Wallabies.

Retaining the Cook Cup they won last year, England's hero was Jonny Wilkinson, as his five penalties and two drop-goals saw them triumphant in a game where their superb 15-0 first half performance was blighted by a jittery second period as a "Jekyll and Hyde" Australia were denied by some stern defence, and superb goal-kicking.

Even second-half tries from Matt Burke and replacement flanker Phil Waugh weren't enough to obliterate the first half lead racked up by a superb England, helped largely by Kyran Bracken's recall at scrum-half, and an added thrust from a dynamic pack including Leicester prop Graham Rowntree and clubmate Ben Kay in the second-row.

Last year's argument that England beat a below-strength Wallaby team can well and truly be thrown out of the window after this latest win, as both Gregan and Larkham took the field, but both failed to light the fuse for most of the game, as their stale midfield produced lateral running patterns and frequent breaches of the rules at the breakdown.

Credit to their defence, which kept out an occasionally dynamic, but sometimes headstrong England attack, with Luger, Robinson and Greenwood all breaking their line on more than one occasion, but being foiled by the numbers of cover tacklers near the Wallaby line.

Much pre-match attention in the Wallaby camp had been focused on the comparative inadequacies of Jason Robinson in the England No.15 shirt, but the Sale Sharks Rugby League convert silenced the doubters in the very first minute with a plunging take to claim his first up-and-under.

From then on, the first-half was dominated in total by the English, whose bullying and possession control in the pack kept the Wallabies constantly on the back foot.

It was only three minutes into the game when that physical upper hand manifested itself on the scoreboard, a 50 metre penalty from Jonny Wilkinson injecting adrenalin into the full Twickenham stadium, on what was a surprisingly mild day given the recent cold snap in the English capital.

Two quickfire drop-goals from Wilkinson put England even further ahead, and what was even more surprising than the total supremacy of the England tight five, was the total and utter capitulation early on of the Australian's cohesion, so apparent in their Lions' series win.

Owen Finegan's dismissal into the sin-bin on 13 minutes for bringing down Danny Grewcock in the lineout did not help matters, but with their constant indiscretions in the tight, referee Paddy O'Brien was spot on in his penalising of the back-row, who spent large portions of the game on the wrong side of the ruck.

The England pressure during that first 40 was immense, helped in large parts by the energetic of play of Kyran Bracken, who was constantly at the breakdown, and showed a neat range in short breaks as his passing gave Jonny Wilkinson that extra yard of thinking time which had been so lacking in Dublin only three weeks earlier.

A missed Matt Burke penalty from the left touchline was the only Australian moment of note from a first half which saw them go in 15-0 down, limited to thumping clearing punts from Latham and Burke, with new captain George Gregan left marshalling a pack which always seemed to be second in terms of dynamism, thrust, and crucially discipline.

It was a different looking Australia which came out for the second half, not in personnel, but in demeanour.  Their heads were up, and the world champions went about redressing the imbalance in the scoreline when Matt Burke turned down an easy shot at goal -- after missing one just before.

Instead he went for the touchline, and from the lineout the damage was done as they cut into England's lead.  The ball was transferred through the hands via Gregan and Nathan Grey, and with Roff cutting into the line, it found its way to Burke out wide, the fullback evading the tackle of Jason Robinson to touch down in the right corner for a fluid score, Burke himself converting from the touchline for a 15-7 scoreline.

England's passing dropped a notch, and the certainty with which they went about their business in the first half was diluted as Burke nailed a penalty to further rein them in, with George Gregan becoming his snappy self around the fringes of the ruck.

This England team are a stern breed though, and their resilience came to the fore with two more penalties from Wilkinson to pin the Wallabies back to an 11 point deficit, as the comparatively quiet Toutai Kefu showed some of his undoubted mettle.

It was to get worse for England, who like Australia in the first half were reduced to punting from within their 22, and it was one of those desperate clearance kicks from the subdued Austin Healey in his own dead ball area which started the move from which the Wallabies got their second try.

The ensuing move saw England concede a penalty five metres fro their own line as the Wallabies pressed, and with captain Gregan going for touch, the lineout which followed set up a move from under the posts, as Gregan passed right, the ball eventually going to prop Nic Stiles, who put in replacement openside Phil Waugh to the right corner for the diving try.

Burke missed the conversion from way out wide though, leaving England hanging onto their 21-15 lead, and setting up a nervy finish.

Hold out they did though, and despite not managing to breach the Wallaby tryline, the English kept their proud recent record going against Australia, who now head to France as they aim to get back on winning ways after the retirement of John Eales.

Man of the match:  Kyran Bracken.  Cast into the apparent international wilderness after the previous form of Matt Dawson, and some bad injuries which kept him away from the immediate fray of the national team, Bracken marshalled the forwards and gave valuable ball to the backs with necessary confidence and authority.  His strong running around the fringes was a constant thorn in Wallaby sides, and Matt Dawson will have to go some way to displace Bracken from the England team in future years if the Saracen continues in this vein.  Other contenders for man of the match include Graham Rowntree, the returning Leicester prop who added vital thrust from loosehead, both in the set piece and in the loose.  Jason Robinson hardly put a foot wrong at fullback, and candidates from the Wallaby team could arguably include Chris Latham, whose defensive punting showed real skill, despite their attacking options being limited to their two tries in the second half.

Moment of the match:  Matt Burke's try.  Coming in the 49th minute at 15-0 down, Australia could have gone for the easy three points from a penalty, but taking the game by the scruff of the neck, their decision to go for the lineout deserves praise.  That faith in attack was justified, as from the lineout the ball went through the hands to put Burke in at the right corner, the NSW Waratah nailing the conversion from the touchline as their gameplan finally got off the ground.  This one passage of play turned the balance of the match, and could well have seen the Wallabies to victory.

Villain of the match:  Owen Finegan.  The Brumbies' blindside cynically brought down Danny Grewcock in a 13th minute lineout, an unnecessary indiscretion at a time when England were just getting going.  Finegan was rightly sin-binned for his dangerous play as Grewcock crashed to the floor from a great height, and could have even seen red in the second half if referee Paddy O'Brien -- who had an excellent match -- had deemed fit to give him a second yellow for repeating the offence.

Sin-bin:  Finegan (Aus, 13-23 mins)

The teams:

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

England:  1 Graham Rowntree, 2 Dorian West, 3 Phil Vickery, 4 Ben Kay, 5 Danny Grewcock, 6 Neil Back (c), 7 Richard Hill, 8 Joe Worsley, 9 Half Kyran Bracken, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 11 Austin Healey, 12 Mike Catt, 13 Will Greenwood, 14 Dan Luger, 15 Jason Robinson
Unused:  Jason Leonard, Matt Perry, Mark Regan, Steve Borthwick, Ben Cohen, Charlie Hodgson,, Lewis Moody

Referee:  Paddy O'Brien (NZ)
Touchjudges:  André Watson (SA), Didier Méné (France)

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Burke M.C. 1, Waugh P.R. 1
Conv:  Burke M.C. 1
Pen K.:  Burke M.C. 1

England
Pen K.:  Wilkinson J.P. 5
Drop G.:  Wilkinson J.P. 2

Australia 92 Spain 10

World champions Australia crushed Spain by a record score of 92-10 at Ciudad Universitaria in Madrid, comprehensively winning their 400th Test and the first against the Spaniards.

A total of 8,000 people turned up to see the world, Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup champions, and they were not disappointed.  The Wallabies scored 13 tries and conceded just one, late in the match.

The visitors led 57-3 at the break.

The result surpasses Australia's previous biggest Test win, 76-0 over England in 1998, and equals the record of 13 tries in a game against Korea in 1987.

Australia scored the first points of the game after just three minutes when fullback Matthew Burke slotted a penalty goal.  Ten conversions later he ended on 23 points.

Spain, who are fourth in the Six Nations B Championship, kept in touch when they levelled five minutes later through a penalty by scrumhalf Jaime Alonso.

But Joe Roff scored the first of the Wallabies' 13 tries soon after.  The Wallaby forwards drove their Spanish counterparts up the park before the experienced left wing crossed for the try.

Chris Latham, playing on the right wing, added the second try in the 17th minute as the side captained by George Gregan began to tighten its grip on the game.

Inside centre Nathan Grey, hooker Michael Foley, flank George Smith, and No.8 Toutai Kefu all touched down before the break.

Prop Nick Stiles and centre Daniel Herbert added their names to the scoresheet soon after the restart, and Burke took Australia past 76 points in the 53rd minute with his tenth conversion after Roff had scored the Wallabies' 11th try.

The Wallabies took their foot off the gas after that, and after 10 minutes of sustained pressure by the home side, lock Jose Miguel Villau scored Spain's only try in the 66th minute.

Replacements Graeme Bond and Matt Cockbain notched the Wallabies' final tries of the game in the closing minutes with Elton Flatley converting both kicks.

Australia's next game is against Oxford University on 4 November and their second Test, against England, follows six days later on 10 November.

The teams:

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

Spain:  1 Javier Salazar Lizarraga, 2 Roger Ripol, 3 Jose Ignacio Zapatero Ferreras, 4 Sergio Souto Vidal, 5 Jose Miguel Villau Cabeza, 6 Alfonso Mata Suarez, 7 Carlos Souto Vidal, 8 Antonio Leon Justel (c), 9 Jaime Alonso Lasheras, 10 Marc Ventura Miranda, 11 Miguel Angel Frechilla Manrique, 12 Fernando Diez Molina, 13 Alberto Socias Olmos, 14 Noe Macias Gimeno, 15 Ferran Velazco Querol
Reserves:  Fernando De La Calle Pozo, Jorge De Urquiza, 3FO1, Marco Garcia Kristenson, Alfonso Martinez, Antonio Socias Olmos, Steve Tuineau Iloa

Attendance:  8000
Referee:  Jutge j.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Cockbain M.J. 1, Foley M.A. 1, Grey N.P. 1, Herbert D.J. 1, Kefu R.S.T. 1, Latham C.E. 3, Roff J.W.C. 2, Bond G.S.C. 1, Smith G.B. 1, Stiles N.B. 1
Conv:  Burke M.C. 10, Flatley E.J. 2
Pen K.:  Burke M.C. 1

Spain
Tries:  Villau Cabeza J.M. 1
Conv:  Martinez A. 1
Pen K.:  Alonso Lasheras J. 1