United States 9 Uruguay 10

Uruguay defeated the USA 10-9 in Americas Zone qualifying action and in the process have put the American bid to qualify direct for Australia 2003 in jeopardy.

In a windswept match which saw the two forward packs battle to a standstill, Uruguay prevailed over Dave Hodges' XV by a converted penalty try and a penalty goal to three penalty goals.  Some 3,000 watched the River Plate Stadium contest.

Coupled with Canada's 29-11 victory over Chile in Santiago, the Teros victory means the winner of next Saturday's Uruguay-Chile match in Montevideo will claim second place in the Americas qualifying pool and a trip to the 2003 World Cup in Australia.  Barring a draw, the United States will finish third based on a tiebreak formula and go into a special "repechage" playoff series.

"The scoreline reflects how difficult it was for both teams to play rugby," USA coach Tom Billups said after the match.

"But I really want to hand it to our forwards.  We were dramatically better [than the Chile match], and went toe to toe with Uruguay on their home ground," Billups said.

Uruguay scored first, benefiting from a penalty try called by referee Peter Marshall.  Nineteen minutes into the game, at scrummage some eight meters away from the tryline, two set pieces collapsed.  When the third scrum went down, the Australian promptly awarded Uruguay five points, an unusual decision so far out.

The USA struck back with penalty goals from Mike Hercus, at 24 minutes and in first-half injury time.  But the Eagle flyhalf also missed three-point opportunities at 6 and 39 minutes.  On the first occasion the ball hit the upright and rebounded within reach of pursuing Philippe Farner, who had a clear run to the line, before bouncing crazily away.

The two sides traded penalty goals in the second half, one by Diego Aguirre at 67 minutes and one by Hercus at 70 minutes.  Again the Eagles narrowly missed a try, when halfback Kevin Dalzell went over the line but couldn't ground the ball.  Following America's five-meter scrum, Uruguay jumped offside, giving Hercus his chance.

"We held Uruguay to ten points, including a dubious penalty try, a week after Canada shipped 25 in losing here.  They got nothing out of their rolling maul, and we leave South America with our honor intact," Billups said.

"I told the boys that we were going to find a way to Australia, and it looks like we're going to get our chance," Billups said.

The Teams:

United States:  1 Dan Dorsey, 2 Kirk Khasigian, 3 Mike MacDonald, 4 Philippe Farner, 5 Alec Parker, 6 Dave Hodges (c), 7 Kort Schubert, 8 Dan Lyle, 9 Kevin Dalzell, 10 Mike Hercus, 11 David Fee, 12 Jason Keyter, 13 Juan Grobler, 14 Al Lakomskis, 15 Link Wilfley
Reserves:  Chris Miller, Shaun Paga
Unused:  Johnny Naqica, Conrad Hodgson, Kimball Kjar, John Tarpoff, Mose Timoteo

Referee:  Marshall p.

Points Scorers:

United States
Pen K.:  Hercus M. 3

Canada 29 Chile 11

Canada scored a deserved 29-11 win over Chile at the Prince of Wales Country Club in Santiago and in the process qualified in first place in the Americas Zone for the 2003 World Cup.

Canada played an unsteady first-half at the Prince of Wales Country Club in front of 4,000 as Chile caused it some early problems, but Canada stuck to its game plan of getting the ball wide.  In the second-half after an 8-5 half-time score, it put together some constructive phases of polished rugby scoring two tries by its wingers Calgary's Sean Fauth and Victoria's Fred Asselin.  In the first half Canada's No.8 Ryan Banks, who won "Man of the Match" honours, and a silver platter, scored a blustering try.

"We stuck to our plan," said Canada's coach David Clark.  "And we achieved our goal of winning the tournament and gaining first place.  The quality of refereeing was exemplary today and that allowed us to play the game the way we wanted to."

After a long feeling-out period that saw both teams squander scoring chances, Victoria's Bob Ross put Canada ahead with a penalty from 25-metres at 23 minutes:  3-0.  Canada went farther ahead two minutes later when Rod Snow, then Winston Stanley and finally Fred Asselin put together a fine phase of play down the left touch-line.  When Asselin was stopped in a tackle, No.8 Ryan Banks was there to take the ball in from the 22-metere line in a powerful run that saw him score in the corner carrying two tackler over with him.  No conversion:  8-0.

Chile worked its way to near Canada's line where it won a line-out at 35 minutes.  From the line-out it attacked in numbers employing South America's favourite weapon, the rolling maul.  When Canada stopped the maul No.8 Cristian Manzur broke around the side and scored.  Onetto missed the conversion.  8-5 and Ross missed a penalty at 38 minutes to end the half.

Canada looked far more focused and crisper as the second-half began as it put together some fine runs with Banks and scrum-half Ed Fairhurst to the fore.  Ross hit for a penalty at 43 minutes to put Canada ahead 11-5 before Fauth scored a wonderfully engineered try.

Canada won a line-out and with the backs on the attack, centre Nik Witkowski chip-kicked the loveliest of weighted kicks toward the Chilean corner-flag.  Sean Fauth passed his opposite number, leapt in the air, secured the ball and touched down for his fifth try in a Canadian jersey.  No coversion:  16-5.

At 53-minutes, referee Scott Young sent lock Jamie Cudmore, in his first start for Canada, to the sin-bin for using the elbow in a tackle.  After Edmundo Olfos was stretchered off Onetto made good on the penalty:  16-8.

Jared Barker, who replaced Ross at 53 minutes, kicked his first penalty at 59-minutes to widen the margin to 19-8 but Onetto hit one of his own at 66 minutes to make it 19-11.  A try by Fred Asselin, however broke Chilean resolve.  Ron Johnstone won a line-out, the ball went out to Barker who passed directly to Witkowski and this time the nifty play maker, tore though a gap and made ground.  He eventually passed to Asselin going at top speed to score under the posts.  Barker converted:  26-11.  Barker hit another penalty at 76 minutes as the clock wore down.  Final 29-11.

"They put a lot of store in their scrum and it fought manfully but in the end, when we got the ball wide, we scored two cracking tries," said Clark.

"We had to work hard for all our points today," said Canada's captain Al Charron.  "We put in a much better effort today than last week, and though we made mistakes our intensity and focus was there.  It is great to achieve our goal of first place."

"Its been long summer, but it has been fun," said vice-captain Winston Stanley.  "It was a close first-half, but we stuck to it and got the job done."

Whichever team wins next week, that team will win second-place and the loser and the USA will be tied on points and the winner will be determined by the margin ofpoints scored for and against in their respective matches.

"We must go to Uruguay and win next weekend," said a sad Alfonso Escobar the Chilean captain after the match.  "Canada played a very strong game today.  We made a lot of mistakes.  We were very nervous going into the game and we did poorly in the line-out.  We weren't focused enough and Canada took their opportunities well.  We will work hard this week and we'll strive for second-place in Montevideo."

The teams:

Canada:  1 Rod Snow, 2 Mark Lawson, 3 Kevin Wirachowski, 4 Jamie Cudmore, 5 Ron Johnstone, 6 Alan Charron (c), 7 Adam Van Staveren, 8 Ryan Banks, 9 Ed Fairhurst, 10 Bobby Ross, 11 Fred Asselin, 12 John Cannon, 13 Nik Witkowski, 14 Sean Fauth, 15 Winston Stanley
Reserves:  Jared Barker
Unused:  Leif Carlson, Marco Di Girolomo, Josh Jackson, Chad Plater, Kevin Tkachuk, Colin Yukes

Attendance:  4000
Referee:  Young s.

Points Scorers:

Canada
Tries:  Asselin F. 1, Fauth S. 1, Banks R. 1
Conv:  Barker J. 1
Pen K.:  Ross R.P. 2, Barker J. 2

Chile
Tries:  Cristian Manzur 1
Pen K.:  Cristian Onetto 2

Canada 23 Uruguay 25

Canada's five game winning streak came to an unexpected end as they crashed to a 23-25 defeat at the hands of Uruguay in Montevideo in a 2003 Rugby World Cup qualifying clash.

The loss in front of 3000 noisy fans at River Plate Stadium does not spell disaster for the Canadians as it already holds second-place, and has a berth in the 2003 World Cup secured.  It still must play Chile next weekend in Santiago in an attempt to gain the first -place finish it covets.

With few friends in the crowd, a very small and sandy pitch, Canada fought manfully.  But the loss of two men to the sin-bin which, when they were off, accounted for sixteen of Uruguay's points, and four vital missed kicks eventually told the story.

"Uruguay played a tight game with a stronger and more forceful pack than in Edmonton in the first game and were able to employ their rolling maul to effect," said Canada coach David Clark.  "We had the measure of them in the backs but we didn't put our sequences together often enough, and didn't get the ball wide as much as we would have liked."

Canada played into the wind for the opening half and with the game only a minute old Los Teros fullback Juan Menchaca hit for a 40-metre penalty to gain the lead.  Canada's Jared Barker followed at three-minutes with one of his own to tie the score at 3-3.

Uruguay captain Diego Aguirre hit for a second at 14-minutes after Menchaca had rattled one off the posts a few minutes earlier.  Uruguay 6-3.  At 18-minutes, Canada passed the ball wide left to wing Fred Asslein and the speedy winger went inside, then outside, then inside again to beat two men and beat all opponents as he touched down under the posts for a beautiful try.  Barker converted 10-6 and Canada looked in control at this stage in the game, winning Uruguayan line-outs with frequency and forcing the play.

At 31-minutes Barker struck again from 42-meters for his thirty-third (33rd) official kick in succession since last missing one against Scotland, and his 28th kick in succession in these World Cup Qualifiers.  It brought his kicking rate to 50 of 52 in his nine internationals.

Soon after Jon Theil went off with a knock and Kevin Tkachuck replaced him.  Rod Snow moved to tight-head.  Menchaca hit another penalty at 35-minutes for offside as Uruguay moved the score closer at 16-9.  Just on half-time Aguirre hit another as referee Pablo De Luca issued a yellow carded to Ed Fairhurst for what he decreed a stomp.  Very unlike Fairhurst if true.  Half time:  16-12.

Beginning the second-half with fourteen men Canada took an early penalty which Menchaca converted 16-15 and when Barker had the opportunity of edging Canada in front on a penalty at 43-minutes and with the crowd whistling like mad-men, he pushed the ball wide from 45-metres.

Canada found itself on the back foot and deep in its own end and when Uruguay won a line-out five-metres from Canada's line the home team launched its vaunted rolling maul.  Second-row Rodrigo Capo went over in the pile up and managed to touch down:16-20 Uruguay.

Barker had two more shots at goal which went wide before No.8 Ryan Banks, at 55-minutes, launched a strong attack straight up the middle of the pitch.  He linked with fullback Winston Stanley who zigged and zagged through tacklers until he handed to Fairhurst.  He had just returned to the field of play, and the young halback sprinted 22-metres and took two men over in the tackle to give Canada a 23-10 lead with Barker's conversion.

With frustration mounting Kevin Tkachuck received a yellow carded for bringing down a maul after a line-out.  Uruguay took the ball to Canada's line as Canada defended well on the first onslaught, but on the second attempt, at 72-minutes, Eduardo Berrutti rode the maul over the line to give Uruguay a 23-25 lead.  Later Bob Ross had a long range attempt at the posts, but amid the deafening roar of the crowd the ball sailed just wide.  25-23 final.

"It is amazing to me that punching is given a warning and condoned down here, while the collapse of a maul by one tackler is admonished with a yellow card," said David Clark after the game.

"But, in spite of all that, we didn't play well.  Great goal kicking is a luxury that we have come to enjoy with Barker and Ross, and they can't be faulted for missing those long-range kicks today.  We'll just have to re-group for next week's game against Chile."

"We were able to use our maul to better effect today," said Uruguay coach Diego Ormaechea.  "We used the ball better than we did in our game in Edmonton.  Canada is big and strong, and every game for Uruguay is difficult.  This will give us a boost for when we meet the USA next weekend."

"A big disappointment," said Canada captain Al Charron.  "We came down here to win two games, but we didn't play well today.  It was a physical game on a narrow pitch and we didn't get things done properly."

Vancouver's Mark Lawson enjoyed a strong game in his first start for Canada and Ed Fairhurst also played with flair as he ran well from the base of the scrum keeping the Los Teros back-row honest.  Leif Carlson also had his first run in a red jersey as he came on for Adam van Staveren in the second-half.

The teams:

Canada:  1 Rod Snow, 2 Mark Lawson, 3 John Thiel, 4 Ron Johnstone, 5 Colin Yukes, 6 Alan Charron (c), 7 Adam Van Staveren, 8 Ryan Banks, 9 Ed Fairhurst, 10 Jared Barker, 11 Fred Asselin, 12 John Cannon, 13 Nik Witkowski, 14 Marco Di Girolomo, 15 Winston Stanley
Reserves:  Leif Carlson, Bobby Ross, Kevin Tkachuk
Unused:  Jamie Cudmore, Sean Fauth, Josh Jackson, Matt King

Attendance:  3000
Referee:  De luca p.

Points Scorers:

Canada
Tries:  Asselin F. 1, Fairhurst E. 1
Conv:  Barker J. 2
Pen K.:  Barker J. 3

Uruguay
Tries:  Capo Ortega R. 1, Berruti E. 1
Pen K.:  Menchaca J. 3, Aguirre D. 2

Australia 31 South Africa 33

The Springboks scored their first win of the 2002 Tri-Nations thanks to a try from Bok fullback Werner Greeff on the stroke of full-time.  South Africa led 14-9 at half-time and won 33-31 thanks to Greeff's conversion of his own score.

In the process, the Springboks wrested the Mandela Cup, which is played on a bi-annual basis, from the Wallabies, whilst the All Blacks were crowned as the Tri-Nations champions for the fourth time in their history.  The Wallabies were in search of their third Tri-Nations series in a row.

Greeff, who came flying in from fullback at the perfect angle, took a neat pass from replacement scrumhalf Johannes Conradie and broke through desperate tackles from Wallaby forwards Nathan Sharpe and Matt Cockbain before diving over next to the uprights.

With the scores tied at 31-all, the courageous Western Province fullback, who had a nightmare start in the goalkicking department, stepped up and calmly slotted the match-winning conversion under huge pressure from a horde of storming Wallabies.

Maybe a draw would have been a fair reflection of the match -- a ding-dong affair if ever -- but the joy on the Boks' faces was plain to see and it was a much-needed win that can only bode well for the future.

This is a good young team with a lot of promise, but after running into a 26-9 lead they very nearly gave the match away when the Wallabies stepped out of first gear and took the lead three minutes from full-time through a spectacular try from Brendan Cannon, which was set up by George Smith.

Smith burst away from a line-out thanks to a stray Ollie le Roux throw and beat attempted tackles from Jannes Labuschagne and Lawrence Sephaka, before setting off on a brilliant solo run into South Africa's 22.  There, he beat tackles from Conradie and Breyton Paulse, before passing to replacement hooker Brendan Cannon, who fell over for the try.

Matthew Burke missed the conversion, but at 31-26 it seemed all over for the brave Boks, who conceded tries to Mat Rogers and Toutai Kefu just before their classy midfielder Marius Joubert was shown a red card for a high tackle on Rogers.

Joubert's centre mate De Wet Barry had also spent some time in the sin bin for a punch on a Wallaby player, while, to make matters worse for them, their captain Corné Krige had left the fray in the 50th minute after taking another bang to his sternum.

But credit must go to stand-in skipper Bob Skinstad for rallying his troops one more time in the dying moments of the match after they won a scrum in Australia's 22 just before the final hooter.

Skinstad made the initial burst off the base of the scrum, Labuschagne carried further and when Greeff came screaming up to collect Conradie's pass, Ellis Park erupted.  It was comparable to scenes from the 1995 World Cup Final at the same venue.

There were similar scenes of joy for the Ellis Park contingent when the Boks eventually woke up close to half-time thanks to tries from their pocket-sized battle-ships Breyton Paulse and Brent Russell.

Paulse's try, his first at Test level since he scored a double against Italy on 30 June last year, was preceded by a neat dart from Marius Joubert, who managed to pass the ball off the ground to a rampaging Sephaka, who hit the Wallaby defence with vigour.

The ball was re-cycled one more time after some other Bok heavies did the hard work and Paulse danced straight between front rankers Jeremy Paul and Bill Young for the five-pointer.

Greeff kicked the conversion from right in front and the Boks were just two points down -- Burke kicked three penalties after some silly Bok errors within striking-distance -- close to the break.

A two-point deficit soon became a five-point lead when Russell, a late replacement for André Pretorius -- who went down with a knee injury at the captain's run on Friday -- spun out of tackles from Daniel Herbert and Stirling Mortlock before turning on his after-burners and leaving Chris Latham in his wake.

Paulse's second try, scored shortly after the break, put the Boks in control at 21-9, but some tigerish defence (on one occasion Joe van Niekerk and Dean Hall combined to deny Toutai Kefu a try in the corner after a brilliant burst from a scrum) and Van Niekerk's second try at Test level -- just before the final quarter -- seemed to be the final nail in Australia's Tri-Nations and Mandela Cup coffin.

Van Niekerk's try, courtesy of a clever pass from Bob Skinstad, was reminiscent of the latter's match-winning try against the Wallabies in the 1998 Tri-Nations, was probably the best of the day, until Smith nearly stole the thunder from the Boks with his 70-metre dash in the lead-up to Cannon's seemingly match-clinching try.

It would have been cruel for the Boks if they had been denied again, but this is Test (at its best we might add!) rugby and sometimes the harshest lessons are the best.  The Boks will feel it was a season of "what-if?" or "could have", but if they are honest with themselves, they contrived to throw away all of their previous matches.

At one stage it seemed as if this match was headed in the same direction.

Acting NZRFU CEO Steve Tew collected the Tri-Nations trophy on behalf of the All Blacks, South Africa's elated skipper Corné Krige collected the Mandela Shield from the former President's son.

It was hard to wipe the smile off Krige's face.  "This one is for you," he said to the Ellis Park faithful after collecting the shield.

Man of the match:  There are tons of contenders here.  For the Wallabies, Nathan Sharpe, George Smith and Toutai Kefu were exemplary, as were George Gregan, Stephen Larkham and Matthew Burke.  For the Boks, Lawrence Sephaka showed his worth and ability, locks Jannes Labuschagne and AJ Venter were hard and never took a backwards step, whilst Joe van Niekerk continues to play better each week, especially in tandem with Bob Skinstad.  Amongst the backs, Neil de Kock, Brent Russell, Breyton Paulse and Werner Greeff deserve praise, but in the end we have settled for a forward.  The lucky man?  Loosehead prop Lawrence Dumisani Sephaka, who at 23, played the match of his life.  He scrummed well, carried the ball strongly (He featured prominently in the build-up to both of Paulse's tries) and defended as if his life depended on it.  He just edges Van Niekerk to this award and wins one back for his fellow prop forwards, whose hard work often goes unnoticed!

Moment of the match:  Brent Russell's try was a wonderful moment as was Joe van Niekerk's burst down the touchline en route to his try, whilst George Smith's burst away from a stray Bok line-out throw, in the build-up to Cannon's try, was brilliant.  But in the end, one cannot ignore Greeff's sensational try.  He took the ball at pace and broke through the attempted tackles from Nathan Sharpe -- the Wallabies' best forward again -- and Matt Cockbain before coolly slotting the conversion (his fourth of the day).  This is a young Bok side with character and verve, and Greeff personified it with his heroics.  Who will forget stand-in skipper Bob Skinstad's celebrations?

Villain of the match:  In a match like this, choosing a villain is not the easiest exercise.  AJ Venter deserves a mention here when he rucked close to Owen Finegan's head, Nathan Sharpe punched a Springbok player and De Wet Barry was penalised for a nifty punch on a Wallaby.  The winner then?  Marius Joubert, who was shown a red card for a high tackle on Mat Rogers.  The Boks were guilty of three other high tackles on the day.

The teams:

Australia:  1 Ben Darwin, 2 Jeremy Paul, 3 Bill Young, 4 Justin Harrison, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 6 Owen Finegan, 7 George Smith, 8 Toutai Kefu, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Stirling Mortlock, 12 Matthew Burke, 13 Dan Herbert, 14 Ben Tune, 15 Chris Latham
Reserves:  Brendan Cannon, Matt Cockbain, Rod Moore, Mat Rogers, David Lyons
Unused:  Elton Flatley, Chris Whitaker

South Africa:  1 Willie Meyer, 2 James Dalton, 3 Lawrence Sephaka, 4 Jannes Labuschagne, 5 A.J. Venter, 6 Corne Krige (c), 7 Joe Van Niekerk, 8 Bobby Skinstad, 9 Neil De Kock, 10 Brent Russell, 11 Dean Hall, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Marius Joubert, 14 Breyton Paulse, 15 Werner Greeff
Reserves:  Faan Rautenbach, Hendro Scholtz, Bolla Conradie, Ollie Le Roux, Stefan Terblanche
Unused:  Adi Jacobs, Victor Matfield

Attendance:  63000
Referee:  O'brien p.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Cannon B.J. 1, Kefu R.S.T. 1, Rogers M. 1
Conv:  Burke M.C. 2
Pen K.:  Burke M.C. 3
Drop G.:  Gregan G.M. 1

South Africa
Tries:  Greeff W.W. 1, Paulse B.J. 2, Russell B. 1, Van Niekerk J.C. 1
Conv:  Greeff W.W. 4

United States 35 Chile 22

Two first-half tries from David Fee propelled the United States to a 35-22 win over Chile in a Rugby World Cup qualifying match.

In a hard-hitting contest, the USA jumped to a 25-3 halftime lead and were never in danger of losing the first-ever rugby international between the American hemisphere countries, played before 2,075 fans on a 75-degree summer afternoon.

Local star Kimball Kjar and Philip Eloff added tries for the USA, while flyhalf Mike Hercus added 15 points goalkicking,.  Nicolas Damm, Bernardo Garcia, and captain Alfonso Escobar scored the visitors' tries, the latter two in the game's dying stages.

With the win, the USA improved its World Cup qualifying tournament record to 1-2 while Chile fell to 1-1.  In other World Cup qualifying action today, Calgary downed Uruguay 51-16 in Edmonton to move its record to 3-0.  Uruguay dropped to 0-2.

Fee, in just his third match for the USA, opened the scoring at 15 minutes.  Hard running by forwards Dan Dorsey and Phillippe Farner set up the winger's first international try.  Hercus converted to give the hosts a 7-0 lead.

Following two penalty goals by Hercus and one from Chilean flyhalf Cristian Gonzalez, Fee's second try broke the match open at 36 minutes.  Mose Timoteo's strong counterattack run opened up the Chilean defense for Fee to scamper 40 yards down the right sideline.

One minute before halftime, Utah native Kjar darted from the base on a ruck to run 40 yards untouched.  Hercus' conversion made the count 25-3.

Chile's Damm scored a converted try 7 minutes after halftime to bring the visitors to within 15 points, but Hercus' third penalty goal and Eloff's converted try at 59 minutes put the game out of reach at 35-10.

With several American starters on the bench resting for Thursday's match with Uruguay in San Francisco, Chile's forward power came to fore in tries by Garcia and Escobar.

"Today was a good victory.  It's great to see young guys like Kimball [Kjar] and David Fee taking their chances and scoring tries.  But now we have to immediately focus on Uruguay," USA captain said after the match.

The Teams:

United States:  1 Dan Dorsey, 2 Kirk Khasigian, 3 Mike MacDonald, 4 Philippe Farner, 5 Alec Parker, 6 Conrad Hodgson, 7 Dave Hodges (c), 8 Kort Schubert, 9 Kimball Kjar, 10 Mike Hercus, 11 Johnny Naqica, 12 Jason Keyter, 13 Phillip Eloff, 14 David Fee, 15 Mose Timoteo
Reserves:  Chris Miller, Andy McGarry, Shaun Paga, John Tarpoff, Link Wilfley
Unused:  Kevin Dalzell, Isaac Mbereko

Attendance:  2075
Referee:  Cole a.

Points Scorers:

United States
Tries:  Fee D. 2, Eloff P. 1, Kjar K. 1
Conv:  Hercus M. 3
Pen K.:  Hercus M. 3

Canada 51 Uruguay 16

Canada defeated Uruguay 51-16 in Edmonton, Alberta to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the Americas Zone 2003 Rugby World Cup qualifiers.  The South Americans meanwhile now fall to last place behind Chile (3rd) and the United States who beat Los Condores in Salt Lake City.

Jared Barker continued his kicking dominance, putting across 19 points on the day from two conversions and five penalties -- and has not missed a kick at goal in the current test season.  Overall he is a staggering 41 of 43 and impressed the 3,000 strong crowd at Ellerslie Park

Canadian tries were scored by Winston Stanley, Marco DiGiroamo, Morgan Williams, and forwards Pat Dunkley and Jon Thiel.

Coach David Clark was a bit surprised by the approach the Uruguayans took -- opting to kick possession away rather than use the more familiar rolling maul that is a trademark of South American rugby.

"We didn't think they would do that -- though we saw them do it last week against Chile," offered Clark.  "They started the game by [kicking] all their possession away -- which is no way to play really.  They did surprise us because they didn't get into their rolling maul as much as I thought they would -- and we were ready for that."

Coach for Los Teros Diego Oramechea said they had planned to use that tactic in order to create rucking opportunities -- but Canada simply did too much when they got possession.

"We have our plan and we used the kick up to ruck over the ball.  But when Canada has the ball they are so effective.  I didn't think the final score reflected the effort we put across for three quarters of the game," he said.

Urugauay opened the scoring after playing some useful rugby in the Canadian end -- with inside centre Joaquin De Freitas slotting a penalty after Canada was penalized for an offside -- and then a further ten metres for not retreating quickly enough.

Barker began his perfect day with a kick in the 17th minute from 41 metres to tie the game at 3-3.

Two minutes later he punished an offside by the Teros -- putting the ball across from ten metres.  The Uruguayans continued to be heavily penalized by referee Steve Walsh -- as Barker kicked his third of the day to make the score 9-3 after twenty-five minutes.

Outside centre Nik Witksowski continues to shine this season since making the move from the wing -- and on this day initiated a run to the Teros thirty metre line before passing to Sean Fauth who then freed fullback Winston Stanley for a try under the posts.  Barker converted and then added a penalty at forty minutes to give Canada a 19-3 lead at the interval.

The Uruguayans played with some fire to start the second half -- and ground down to the Canadian ten metre line before No.8 Hernan Ponte broke free for a try just left of the posts.  De Freitas converted and it was 19-10 to the Canucks.

Clark brought standout utility back Marco DiGirolamo in for Sean Fauth to start the second half -- and the Toronto native who had scored two tries against the US did not disappoint -- taking a counter attack from thirty metres -- touching down for the converted try to give Canada a 26-10 lead after 55 minutes.

De Freitas then added his third penalty of the day to keep his side in the game.  Then -- as if the struggle against the larger Canadian forwards was not enough fly-half Sebastien Aguirre was sinbinned for putting his boots in a ruck -- putting the visitors down to 14 men.

Barker hit a 39 metre shot to keep his streak alive -- with Uruguay countering with a Juan Menchaca drop-goal two minutes later to make the score 29-16 after 60 minutes.

Bob Ross came on for Barker in the final fifteen minutes -- kicking a long penalty to increase the advantage to 31-16.

As the Uruguayan forwards began to tire -- as did the team doctor who was tending to many wounds -- the Canadian attack picked up a notch with Morgan Williams scoring a sparkling try off passes from Colin Yukes and Phil Murphy.  With the Ross conversion the Canadians were well in the lead 39-16.

DiGirolamo added to his impressive test season with a huge break that got him to within fifteen metres of the line before defensive cover pulled him down.  As he was about to hit the turf he threw a pass to trailing hooker Pat Dunkley who eagerly took the gift across for Canada's fourth try of the day -- which Ross converted to make the score 46-16.

Mike James initiated the final try of the day -- as the impressive second row charged to the Uruguayan ten metre line before getting bundled into touch.  Before he went out he managed a sharp backhand pass to keep the ball alive with prop Jon Thiel charging over for the final score.

The Bridgend prop admitted the visiting forwards made the Canadian pack work hard for the victory.

"They were pretty big and they took it to us in the first little bit and then they got tired which helped us [open] the game up," said Thiel.

We didn't come out as well as we should have in the second half," noted Clark.  "We allowed them to score a try and we were under pressure.  We would have liked to come into the second half spark it up a bit and really rip into them -- and I think we need to look at that when we prepare for [Chile] next week."

Man of the Match:  Fly-half Jared Barker's flawless kicking kept the Canadians in this match in the early going when the offense sputtered at times.  Then with good distribution, pressure relieving kicks and thoughtful running he helped create a number of flowing moves.

Moment of the match:  The second half try by Marco DiGirolamo exposed the Uruguayan defence -- but also showcased his raw speed and nose for the line.  It was the try that really opened the match up for Canada.

Villain of the match:  Fly-half Sebastien Aguirre getting sinbinned really put his team behind when they were beginning to show some signs of purpose.

The teams:

Canada:  1 Rod Snow, 2 Pat Dunkley, 3 John Thiel, 4 Mike James, 5 Colin Yukes, 6 Dan Baugh, 7 Alan Charron (c), 8 Ryan Banks, 9 Morgan Williams, 10 Jared Barker, 11 Fred Asselin, 12 John Cannon, 13 Nik Witkowski, 14 Sean Fauth, 15 Winston Stanley
Reserves:  Marco Di Girolomo, Ed Fairhurst, Mark Lawson, Phil Murphy, Bobby Ross, Adam Van Staveren
Unused:  Kevin Tkachuk

Attendance:  3000
Referee:  Walsh s.r.

Points Scorers:

Canada
Tries:  Stanley W.U. 1, Williams M. 1, Dunkley P. 1, Thiel J. 1, Di Girolomo M. 1
Conv:  Barker J. 2, Ross R.P. 2
Pen K.:  Barker J. 5, Ross R.P. 1

Uruguay
Tries:  Ponte H. 1
Conv:  De Freitas J. 1
Pen K.:  De Freitas J. 2
Drop G.:  Menchaca J. 1

New Zealand 30 South Africa 23

A late try from centre Aaron Mauger gave New Zealand a hard-fought 30-23 win over South Africa in Durban and a crucial bonus point to put them in pole position for the 2002 Tri-Nations title, although the game will be remembered for all the wrong reasons after a fan raced on to the pitch and assaulted referee David McHugh midway through the game.

Mauger's late try in the second half secured the Kiwis' bonus point -- after they had scored three tries in the first half -- and put all the pressure on the Wallabies ahead of their meeting with the Springboks at Ellis Park in the final clash of the 2002 tournament.

While one has to feel sorry for the Boks, who had their chances in the second period, which they did not take, and some refereeing decisions going against them in the first half, the All Blacks held their nerve and finished the stronger of the two sides after a bizarre and embarrassing incident threatened to leave its mark on a match that proved to be very exciting at times.

The incident in the 43rd minute -- when a crazed fan ran onto the field and tackled Irish referee David McHugh as a scrum was about to form -- nearly soured the entire afternoon as play had to be held up for some time as McHugh was picked up from the ground and eventually replaced by England's Chris White, who, before then, was one of the touch judges.

Springbok skipper Corné Krige kept his troops in a huddle, trying to get them to put the incident of their minds, while All Black skipper Reuben Thorne and his team-mates tossed a ball about in the hope of staying focused on the match.

The scores were tied at 17-all when the oversized -- and clearly drunk -- fan managed to get onto the field of play, but the Boks seemed to be the stronger of the two sides after the hold-up.

A penalty from André Pretorius put the Boks ahead at 20-17 some 10 minutes after the hold-up, but an Andrew Mehrtens penalty, virtually from the re-start tied the scores at 20-all.

Springbok coach Rudolf Straeuli introduced Brent Russell and Johannes Conradie into the game -- shortly before the final quarter.  Russell came on at fullback -- with Werner Greeff moving to inside centre and De Wet Barry leaving the field -- while Conradie replaced his provincial colleague Neil de Kock at scrumhalf

A sweetly struck drop-goal from Pretorius put the Boks back in front by three points, but Russell's dynamic running from the back set his fellow backs on fire soon after his arrival, only for the Boks' poor finishing let them down at crucial moments.

One instance saw Joe van Niekerk outpace the Kiwis down the right-hand touchline, after a well-timed pass from Greeff, but a great tackle from a New Zealand defender saw the ball spill forward before he could find his support.

The Boks hit the Kiwis hard for the next 10 minutes with Russell, Breyton Paulse and Marius Joubert asking questions of the New Zealand defence in their own half.  But Reuben Thorne's men kept their heads before working their way back into enemy territory.

It did not take New Zealand long to force the equaliser (AJ Venter was the guilty man for pulling down a Kiwi line-out jumper), but the Kiwis managed to work their back into the Boks' territory very soon afterwards with a powerful run from tighthead prop Greg Somerville.

Andrew Mehrtens carried it further before opensider Richard McCaw was held up just before the Bok line.  The TMO ruled a five-metre scrum and after Tana Umaga battered the Bok defence from close-in, the Kiwis recycled the ball one more time and went right, where Mauger had enough space to throw a dummy a touch down underneath the uprights.

Mauger's try gave the Kiwis their bonus point after their try-scoring account was opened early in the first half after the visitors were rocked by an early try from the home.

Neil de Kock, who was preferred to Johannes Conradie at No.9, got the Boks' try after James Dalton had created a turnover for South Africa in their own half.  Barry carried the ball on, hit a half-gap before releasing Dean Hall, who handed off Reuben Thorne before racing down the left-hand touchline.

Hall eventually passed inside to Greeff, who linked up with De Kock, and Pretorius's conversion made it 7-0 before New Zealand fullback Leon MacDonald replied with his first Tri-Nations try.

MacDonald's try was as a result of some poor first-time tackling in the Boks' midfield, while further poor defence saw referee McHugh award a controversial penalty try to New Zealand just before the end of the first quarter.

New Zealand tore the Bok defence apart again, but a high-tackle from Barry and Joubert on their own tryline was ruled to have cost the Kiwis a try, hence the penalty try, which Mehrtens soon turned into a goal.

At 12-7 down the Boks chipped away at New Zealand's score -- firstly via a Pretorius penalty and then courtesy of a wonderful try from the latter after some good hands and vision from Joe van Niekerk.

The Boks had an earlier Breyton Paulse try disallowed -- after referee McHugh ruled that James Dalton had obstructed the All Black defenders, when he clearly had not -- and they fully deserved their try, only to lose composure one more time before half-time when a basketball-style pass from Tana Umaga put Doug Howlett away for another try just before the break.

Mehrtens missed the conversion, but both teams would have been satisfied with the 17-17 scoreline at the break.  Little did they know, however, how the second half would begin ...

Man of the match:  For the Boks, flanker Joe van Niekerk was superb, lock Jannes Labuschagne was his usual consistent self and winger Dean Hall was courageous.  For the All Blacks, tighthead prop Greg Somerville, lock Chris Jack, flanker Richard McCaw, second five-eighth Aaron Mauger, and right-wing Doug Howlett were excellent.  In the end though -- and for the second time in as many weeks -- our vote goes with the No.7 flanker from the losing side.  Last week it was Richard McCaw, but this week South Africa's Johann van Niekerk wins the man of the match award.  A wonderful attacking force for the Boks -- with his powerful running and clever off-loads -- and a more-than-capable defender, Van Niekerk's mature approach is another impressive part of his make-up.  The man, known to us all as Joe, has come of age.

Moment of the Match:  The Boks' start to the game was superb.  Hall made a smashing run down the left-hand touchline and Greeff and De Kock did well to follow-up.  However, the moment of the match belongs to Kiwi second five-eighth Aaron Mauger for his late try, which was eventually the difference between the two teams.  Mauger troubled the Bok defence all day long with his probing kicks and varied play.

Villain of the Match:  There is no doubt here.  The fan who attacked Irish referee David McHugh was an absolute disgrace to South African rugby and rugby around the world.  He did not belong on the field in the first place and while we may not have agreed with all of McHugh's decisions, an act like that was just unacceptable and it does not belong in this wonderful sport.  Hopefully McHugh did not pick up a serious injury, while we can only hope that the man involved in the incident will be severely punished.

The Teams:

New Zealand:  1 David Hewett, 2 Tom Willis, 3 Greg Somerville, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Simon Maling, 6 Richie McCaw, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Scott Robertson, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Andrew Mehrtens, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Aaron Mauger, 13 Tana Umaga, 14 Caleb Ralph, 15 Leon MacDonald
Reserves:  Sam Broomhall, Daryl Gibson, Mark Hammett, Byron Kelleher
Unused:  Marty Holah, Joe McDonnell, Jonah Lomu

South Africa:  1 Willie Meyer, 2 James Dalton, 3 Lawrence Sephaka, 4 Jannes Labuschagne, 5 A.J. Venter, 6 Corne Krige (c), 7 Joe Van Niekerk, 8 Bobby Skinstad, 9 Neil De Kock, 10 Andre Pretorius, 11 Dean Hall, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Marius Joubert, 14 Breyton Paulse, 15 Werner Greeff
Reserves:  Victor Matfield, Faan Rautenbach, Hendro Scholtz, Bolla Conradie, Ollie Le Roux, Brent Russell
Unused:  Adi Jacobs

Attendance:  52500
Referee:  Mchugh/white c.(43)

Points Scorers:

New Zealand
Tries:  MacDonald L.R. 1, Howlett D.C. 1, Umaga J.F. 1, Mauger A.J.D. 1
Conv:  Mehrtens A.P. 2
Pen K.:  Mehrtens A.P. 2

South Africa
Tries:  Pretorius A.S. 1, De Kock N.A. 1
Conv:  Pretorius A.S. 2
Pen K.:  Pretorius A.S. 2
Drop G.:  Pretorius A.S. 1

Australia 16 New Zealand 14

A penalty from Wallaby centre Matthew Burke on the stroke of full-time gave his side a come-from-behind 16-13 Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup win over the All Blacks at a blustery Telstra Stadium in Sydney.

It was almost a carbon-copy of the 2001 fixture in Sydney, which Australia won 29-26 courtesy of a late Toutai Kefu try, as the Wallabies ran into an early lead before the All Blacks launched a spirited fightback, only to watch the world champions steal it at the end.

The Wallabies' win, sealed in dramatic fashion by Burke, who up till then had kicked just one from four attempts at goal, sees them retain the Bledisloe Cup for the fifth time in succession and, most importantly, it also keeps the 2002 Tri-Nations series alive with two big games coming up over the next two weeks in South Africa.

The All Blacks, who had the consolation of a bonus point, despite losing their first game in 10 starts under John Mitchell, meet the Springboks in Durban next week, while the Wallabies will know exactly what they have to do against the Springboks in Johannesburg -- the following week -- to determine the outcome of the Tri-Nations, which can still be won by either of the three teams involved.

All Black replacement Leon MacDonald was the man that conceded the penalty on the stroke of full-time -- for putting his hands in a ruck in his own 22 -- but the match was turned on its head a few minutes earlier after a sensational try from Wallaby replacement back Mat Rogers.

Rogers had replaced Chris Latham in the 60th minute, but he made his presence felt with under 10 minutes to play when he slipped through a tiny gap in the All Black defence to put his team back into the game.

The build-up to Rogers's try was wonderful as the Wallabies combined power and skill to work their way into enemy territory.  Hooker Jeremy Paul was a central figure as the Australians hit the ball up and some clever stepping from Stephen Larkham saw the Wallabies take the ball up to the All Black tryline.

Gregan fired the ball out to his backs, they sent it out to Rogers and the try was scored! But, with the Wallabies one point down (at 14-13), Burke's conversion hit the uprights and kept New Zealand in the lead.

The Wallabies fought their way back into the Kiwi 22, only for Chris Jack to turn Paul over and win a penalty, but George Gregan and his team-mates kept their cool, kept the ball in hand and forced the penalty after MacDonald's indiscretion.

The All Blacks were leading 13-8 before Rogers's try, his first at Test level, after a second-half score from Richard McCaw and Andrew Mehrtens's second penalty goal of the night.

McCaw's try came as a result of a sloppy line-out throw from Jeremy Paul on his own goalline and it put the "Men in Black" in the lead for the first time at 11-8.

Paul missed his target -- Justin Harrison -- with a wobbly throw and McCaw plucked the ball from the air and dived over without any pressure from the Wallabies.  Mehrtens missed the conversion -- he kicked only three from seven attempts at goal -- but he struck his third penalty in the 63rd minute to put some daylight between the sides at 14-8.

The first half was all Australia as the home team began the match with a furious onslaught on the Kiwis.  Burke and Mehrtens missed four kicks at goal between then in the first 40 minutes, but the difference between the two teams at half-time was Wallaby lock Nathan Sharpe's try in the 16th minute.

Stirling Mortlock and Toutai Kefu did the hard-yards for the Wallabies up the right-hand touchline, but play broke down after some poor option-taking from Jeremy Paul on the left.

The ball went loose, but Ben Tune was on hand to run it up -- and over the advantage line through some hesitant New Zealand defence -- and when Stephen Larkham turned the ball inside, Queensland lock Nathan Sharpe hit the Kiwi defence at an awkward angle to crash over for the try.

Burke missed the conversion, with the wind playing tricks with the kickers, but the Wallaby centre, who had the final say in the match with his boot, and Mehrtens, traded penalties shortly before half-time to see the Wallabies hold a slender 8-3 lead after dominating much of the first stanza of play.

Man of the match:  In the first half two men -- locks Nathan Sharpe and Chris Jack -- stood head-and-shoulders above anybody else, but the second 40 minutes belonged entirely to the dynamic All Black opensider Richard McCaw.  He followed the ball around like a trusty hound, turning it over on the ground or carrying it off the shoulders of his team-mates.  It would be rough on George Smith to say that McCaw totally out-played him, but he certainly won the one-on-one battle between two of the premier No.7s in world rugby.  Other players that caught the eye at times were "Bernie" Larkham and Tom Willis.

Moment of the match:  Mat Rogers's try in the 71st minute was a beauty, after a superb build-up, but the moment that sealed the match was Burke's penalty after the hooter had sounded.  Burke had missed a conversion kick from exactly the same spot just a few minutes earlier, but this time he held his nerve and calmly slotted the match-winning kick that has turned the 2002 Tri-Nations on its head.

Villain of the match:  Compared to last week's match this game was squeaky clean.  Wallaby tighthead Pat Noriega seemed intent on getting his revenge on the All Blacks after the Bledisloe Cup opener in Christchurch, but all he managed to do was cost his team a crucial try in the first half.  Our villain then?  Kiwi replacement Leon MacDonald, who conceded that final penalty for putting his hands in the ruck ... Yes, it is rough on the Crusaders back, who had not even been on the field for very long, but it cost his team the match, the Bledisloe Cup and the Tri-Nations.  Then, to add insult to injury, MacDonald then tried to trip Wallaby No.8 Toutai Kefu when the Wallabies finally got the ball back and after referee André Watson had called out "advantage" to Australia.  A close second?  The two streakers who held up play in the 60th minute as Andrew Mehrtens was about to have a kick at goal.

The teams:

Australia:  1 Patricio Noriega, 2 Jeremy Paul, 3 Bill Young, 4 Justin Harrison, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 6 Owen Finegan, 7 George Smith, 8 Toutai Kefu, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Stirling Mortlock, 12 Matthew Burke, 13 Dan Herbert, 14 Ben Tune, 15 Chris Latham
Reserves:  Matt Cockbain, Elton Flatley, Mat Rogers, Ben Darwin, David Lyons
Unused:  Brendan Cannon, Chris Whitaker

New Zealand:  1 David Hewett, 2 Tom Willis, 3 Greg Somerville, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Simon Maling, 6 Richard McCaw, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Scott Robertson, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Andrew Mehrtens, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Aaron Mauger, 13 Tana Umaga, 14 Caleb Ralph, 15 Christian Cullen
Reserves:  Marty Holah, Leon MacDonald, Joe McDonnell, Daryl Gibson
Unused:  Sam Broomhall, Andrew Hore, Byron Kelleher

Referee:  Watson a.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Rogers M. 1, Sharpe N.C. 1
Pen K.:  Burke M.C. 2

New Zealand
Tries:  McCaw R.H. 1
Pen K.:  Mehrtens A.P. 3