Italy 25 Romania 17

Italy booked their place at Rugby World Cup 2003 after battling to a 25-17 win over Romania in Parma, the Azzurri now pooled with New Zealand, Wales, Canada and a repechage qualifier in Group D next year.

The match at the Stadio Lanfrachi stadium in the northern city of Parma ensured that Romania's hopes of a place in the World Cup finals now rest on a winner-takes-all clash against Spain in the Romanian city of Iasi in two weeks.

The match was tense and close, spoilt by bad handling, in which the losers scored two tries to the victors' one.

It was the fifth Test Italy had played in Parma, and the fourth time it has won there.  In 1948 Italy beat Czechoslovakia 17-0;  in 1964 France won 12-3.  Italy beat Romania 13-12 in 1976 and Spain 62-15 in 1994.

Parma may be the gastronomic capital of Italy, if not Europe as far as the Parmigiani are concerned, famous for cheese and ham, a university city of grand buildings and many bicycles, a famous baptistry and Giuseppe Verdi, but, despite its two Super 10 clubs, rugby does not have a great following there, not as great as in Treviso, and the crowd was pretty threadbare for this important World Cup Qualifier.

Before the match John Kirwan called on the people to sing the national anthem, Inno de Mameli, with the team, but there were not enough to raise the roof of the Parma Opera House, not nearly.

Victory has ensured that Italy will end top of its group with victories over both Spain and Romania.  That means that Romania and Spain will have to fight it out for second place in the group, and a direct passage to Australia.

In this match Italy played in white with black shorts.  Romania, unchacteristically played in jerseys that were mainly black with gold flashes and slashes.

On the evidence of this match, one would expect Romania to win well in Iasi as they did better against Italy in Parma than Spain had done in Valladolid when they lost 50-3 to Italy.

There was a time in the first half when Italy looked on the way to building a healthy score.  Andrea Lo Cicero, the bulky prop who is supposed to be playing for Toulouse, scored when the forwards rumbled.  Lo Cicero was brought down but raised the ball and place it for the try.  The Romanians had their doubts about the try.

Gert Peens the Italian fullback, converted the try and added two penalty goals to give Italy a 13-0 lead.

But the Romanians had got their mauling going and their tall, athletic captain, Alin Petrache, who plays for Racing in France, was over for the try.  Flyhalf Ionut Tofanu, also of Racing, converted -- 13-7.

Peens kicked his third penalty goal to make it 16-7.

Then from close quarters sturdy scrumhalf Lucian Sirbu, also of Racing, who was in for injured Petre Mitu, stepped inside two defenders top score.  Tofanu converted -- 16-14.

That was the score at half-time.

The second half started with Romania in charge of possession and showing all the attacking ideas as they tried to run with their backs and rumble with their forwards, but their hands let them down.

When the Italian were penalised for holding on, Tofanu put his side in the lead for the first time at 17-16.

Kirwan then sent in the old brigade.  In came Mauro Bergamasco and Carlo Checchinato for Andrea De Rossi and Marco Bertolami.

From then on Checchinato ruled the line-outs and Bergamasco played like a man possessed, defending with ruthless exuberance.

A late tackle penalty gave Peens the chance to get the lead back for Italy who seemed to lift their game from then on as Alessandro Troncon kept them going forward.

Two more penalties for off-side brought the score to 25-17, where it ended.  This was not without some hectic Romanian attack which broke on great Italian defence in which Bergamasco was the most prominent.

The best of the Italian backs was big, fast, strong, young Nicola Mazzucato.  The best of the forwards, throughout, was No.8 Sergio Parisse, also a young player.

Italy:  1 Leandro Castrogiovanni, 2 Andrea Moretti, 3 Andrea Lo Cicero, 4 Enrico Pavanello, 5 Marco Bortolami, 6 Andrea De Rossi, 7 Aaron Persico, 8 Sergio Parisse, 9 Alessandro Troncon (c), 10 Andrea Scanavacca, 11 Denis Dallan, 12 Cristian Zanoletti, 13 Cristian Stoica, 14 Nicola Mazzucato, 15 Gert Peens
Reserves:  Ramiro Martinez-Frugoni, Mauro Bergamasco, Carlo Checchinato
Unused:  Mirco Bergamasco, Francesco Mazzariol, Juan Manuel Queirolo, Stefano Saviozzi

Romania:  1 Silviu Florea, 2 Marius Tincu, 3 Petrisor Toderasc, 4 Cristian Petre, 5 Ovidiu Tonita, 6 Florin Corodeanu, 7 Alexandru Manta, 8 Alin Petrache (c), 9 Lucian Sirbu, 10 Ionut Tofan, 11 Cristian Sauan, 12 Romeo Gontineac, 13 Valentin Maftei, 14 Mihai Vioreanu, 15 Gabriel Brezoianu
Reserves:  Sorin Socol, Remus Lungu, Razvan Mavrodin, Marius Picoiu, Cristian Podea, Marcel Socaciu, Dan Tudosa

Attendance:  2000
Referee:  Courtney d.

Points Scorers:

Italy
Tries:  Lo Cicero A. 1
Conv:  Peens G. 1
Pen K.:  Peens G. 6

Romania
Tries:  Sirbu L.M. 1, Corodeanu F. 1
Conv:  Tofan I.R. 2
Pen K.:  Tofan I.R. 1

Ireland 63 Georgia 14

Ireland cemented their place in the Rugby World Cup 2003 in Australia with a convincing 63-14 thumping of Georgia at Lansdowne Road, scoring eight tries in a Dublin procession which leaves the losers waiting on their own qualification chances.

Ireland's win means they assume a position in Pool A in the 2003 World Cup, the group which also sees Australia, Argentina and one further qualifier.

The Georgian Lelos however must bank on beating Russia in Tbilisi in two weeks' time if they are to land the remaining automatic World Cup berth from the European section, defeat in that game meaning they have to negotiate the tricky repechage system.

They were never really in contention in this game however, Leinster centre Brian O'Driscoll once again proving his undoubted class with a pair of tries in the first half for coach Eddie O'Sullivan's side, only seven days after their energy-sapping win in Siberia against Russia.

O'Driscoll's Leinster team-mate Denis Hickie got the Irish off to a flyer with an early try, converted by Munster fly-half Ronan O'Gara, who claimed a personal haul of 19 points with the boot before being replaced by Ulster's David Humphreys.

Bath centre Kevin Maggs showed his true barnstorming qualities with a typically robust score to follow two O'Gara penalties, O'Driscoll bagging the first of his brace with a chargedown after some lacklustre Georgian defending.

O'Driscoll claimed his second before fellow Leinsterman Girvan Dempsey crashed over before the break, seeing the Irish through the 40-point barrier after a first half blitz.

The second half early on did not see the pressure relent, the green wave up front allowing Llanelli's Simon Easterby to be the next try-scorer, although replacement centre Vassil Katsadze shocked the crowd by going past O'Gara for the Lelos' first try of the day.

Bessik Khamashuridze restored at least some pride to the visitors when he went over from fullback for their second

With Humphreys on at fly-half, Ireland did however resume normal service towards the end, with back-row Alan Quinlan and replacement scrum-half Guy Easterby both crossing the line to cap off a businesslike performance -- one which was never really in doubt, but one which could have well been more difficult than it transpired to be.

The Georgians could be forgiven for having one eye on their next match against bitter rivals Russia in Tbilisi, which promises to be a truly explosive occasion.

The Teams:

Ireland:  1 John Hayes, 2 Shane Byrne, 3 Reg Corrigan, 4 Gary Longwell, 5 Malcolm O'Kelly, 6 Simon Easterby, 7 Keith Gleeson, 8 Anthony Foley (c), 9 Peter Stringer, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 11 Denis Hickie, 12 Brian O'Driscoll, 13 Kevin Maggs, 14 John Kelly, 15 Girvan Dempsey
Reserves:  Guy Easterby, Rob Henderson, David Humphreys, Paul Wallace, Leo Cullen, Alan Quinlan, Frankie Sheahan

Georgia:  1 Goderdzi Shvelidze, 2 Akvsenti Guiorgadze, 3 Levan Tsabadze, 4 Vano Nadiradze, 5 Victor Didebulidze (captain), 6 David Bolghashvili, 7 George Chkhaidze, 8 Ilia Zedguinidze, 9 Irakli Abusseridze, 10 Paul Jimsheladze, 11 Badri Khekhelashvili, 12 Kakha Alania, 13 Tedo Zibzibadze, 14 Malkhaz Urjukashvili, 15 Bessik Khamashuridze.
Replacements:  16 Mevlud Mtiulishvili, 17 Tariel Ratianidze, 18 Zurab Mtchedlishvili, 19 Irakli Gundishvili, 22 Otar Barkalaia, 21 Vassil Katsadze, 20 Elguja Iovadze.

Referee:  Williams n.

Points Scorers

Ireland
Tries:  Dempsey G.T. 1, Easterby S.H. 1, Easterby G. 1, Hickie D.A. 1, O'Driscoll B.G. 2, Maggs K.M. 1, Quinlan A. 1
Conv:  Humphreys D.G. 2, O'Gara R.J.R. 5
Pen K.:  O'Gara R.J.R. 3

Georgia
Tries:  Vassil Katsadze 1, Bessik Khamashuridze 1
Conv:  Malkhaz Urjukashvili 2

Ireland 35 Russia 3

Ireland survived a potentially tricky Rugby World Cup 2003 qualifier against Russia in Krasnoyarsk, scoring two tries either side of the break for an unspectacular 35-3 win.

Leinster fullback Girvan Dempsey set the early pace with two tries in the first half to send the Irish one step closer to Australia 2003, the boot of Ronan O'Gara supplying 15 points to make the scoreline look marginally more convincing in the end.

Despite some periods of domination for the Russian pack, Ireland never looked like losing this one, and tries from skipper Keith Wood and second-row Malcolm O'Kelly stamped their authority on the match as the second half wore on.

Early on, any hopes that the Russians had of containing the free-running Irish were dashed in the opening minutes when a neat grubber from O'Gara saw fullback Dempsey touch down in the corner.

Russia fly-half Konstantin Rachkov took on much of the attacking burden for the under-pressure home side, whose big forward pack gave the Irish a torrid time in the lineouts, especially early on.

Ireland's defence held firm though in the first quarter, and with the Russians gradually struggling to contain their more illustrious opponents, two O'Gara penalties took the lead to 11-0.

With the Irish enjoying more posession and territory, it was once again Dempsey who found himself on the end of a well-worked passage of play, touching down his second try after O'Driscoll had started the move further down the pitch.

O'Gara converted, and despite yet more Irish pressure near the Russian line, 18-0 to Ireland was the half-time scoreline.

It was 13 minutes into the second half before Ireland extended their lead further, captain Wood rumbling over from hooker after a Kevin Maggs pass, O'Gara making no mistake with the extras.

With the Irish pack finally asserting some ascendancy, second-row Malcolm O'Kelly went over for a businesslike try from a lineout, O'Gara's conversion taking the lead to 32-0.

Despite the late sin-binning of Leinster prop Reg Corrigan, O'Gara another penalty for Ireland towards the end, Russia's Werner Pieterse registering the home side's only points with a penalty of his own before the whistle.

While Ireland may look upon this game as being mission accomplished, their lack of assertiveness in some quiet passages will give coach O'Sullivan food for thought going into their November Test programme, and also their home qualifying date with Georgia in Dublin.

For the defeated Russians, next Sunday's clash with bitter rivals Georgia in Tbilisi in front of a huge local crowd will be weighing heavily on their minds, and they will have gleaned much from this promising performance.

The Teams:

Ireland:  1 John Hayes, 2 Keith Wood (c), 3 Reg Corrigan, 4 Gary Longwell, 5 Malcolm O'Kelly, 6 Simon Easterby, 7 Keith Gleeson, 8 Anthony Foley, 9 Peter Stringer, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 11 Denis Hickie, 12 Brian O'Driscoll, 13 Kevin Maggs, 14 John Kelly, 15 Girvan Dempsey
Reserves:  Shane Byrne, Guy Easterby, Rob Henderson, David Humphreys, Paul Wallace, Leo Cullen, Alan Quinlan

Russia:  15 Alexander Zakarlyuk, 14 Andreï Kuzin, 13 Igor Dymchenko, 12 Alexeï Korobeinikov (W Pieterse 68), 11 Alexeï Sergeev; 10 Konstantin Rachkov, 9 Viktor Motorin, 8 Viacheslav Zykov, 7 Renier Volschenk (A Khrokin 62), 6 Viacheslav Grachev, 5 Sergei Sergeev, 4 Valereï Phedchenko, 3 Johan Hendriks (I Nikolaichuk 62), 2 Roman Romak, 1 Oleg Shukailov (M Uambaev 73)

Referee:  Jutge j.

Points Scorers:

Ireland
Tries:  Dempsey G.T. 2, O'Kelly M.E. 1, Wood K.G.M. 1
Conv:  O'Gara R.J.R. 3
Pen K.:  O'Gara R.J.R. 3

Russia
Pen K.:  Pieterse

Ireland 39 Romania 8

A rusty looking Ireland side did enough in an efficient first-half performance to help them to a 39-8 win over Romania in an international friendly in Limerick, a useful work-out ahead of their RWC 2003 qualifier against Russia in Siberia.

However, Eddie O'Sullivan's side hardly impressed in the second-half and what was looking out to be a impressive tally against the plucky east European minnows became little more than ordinary.

Munster prop John Hayes crashed over for his first Test try after just five minutes on his home ground and although his provincial teamate Ronan O'Gara missed the conversion the stand-off did not waste a penalty opportunity that followed eight minutes later as Ireland moved out to a 8-0 lead.

The home side extended their lead just a minute later, Bath centre Kevin Maggs broke the fragile Romanian defence to set-up a try for flanker Keith Gleeson.

At 15-0 up, Ireland were already in cruise control before O'Gara added his second penalty and desperate Romanian defence saw Italian referee Giulio de Santis award a penalty try after a dangerous tackle on fullback Girvan Dempsey and he closed in on the line.

Romanian got some points on the scoreboard, fly-half Ionut Tofan knocking over a penalty but the respite was short-lived as the workhorse Maggs set up his midfield partner Brian O'Driscoll for his 14th try in 28 appearances.

However, that was virtually the last contribution from the Leinster star as he was replaced by Rob Henderson just before half-time with a slight knock with Ireland going in 32-3 up at the interval.

Romania showed that they would not go down without a fight, flanker Alexandru Manta going close before centre Valentin Maftei ran in for their first try, however, normal service was resumed as Rob Henderson grabbed his first try of the year as he pounced on a kick ahead by O'Gara who later added the conversion.

Despite that fifth try from the Irish, Romania battled away, causing Ireland a number of problems as the men in green never got back into their stride with the rest of the game remaining scoreless.

Ireland now embark on a marathon journey into the depths of Russia for their game in Krasnoyarsk on September 21 time whilst Romania prepare for their first RWC qualifier against Italy on September 21.

The Teams:

Ireland:  1 John Hayes, 2 Shane Byrne, 3 Reg Corrigan, 4 Gary Longwell, 5 Malcolm O'Kelly, 6 Simon Easterby, 7 Keith Gleeson, 8 Anthony Foley (c), 9 Peter Stringer, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 11 Denis Hickie, 12 Brian O'Driscoll, 13 Kevin Maggs, 14 John Kelly, 15 Girvan Dempsey
Reserves:  Victor Costello, Guy Easterby, Rob Henderson, David Humphreys, Leo Cullen
Unused:  Paul Wallace, Paul Shields

Romania:  1 Marian Dumitru, 2 Razvan Mavrodin, 3 Marius Tincu, 4 Marius Dragomir, 5 Cristian Petre, 6 George Chiriac, 7 Alexandru Manta, 8 Alin Petrache, 9 Lucian Sirbu, 10 Ionut Tofan, 11 Cristian Sauan, 12 Romeo Gontineac (c), 13 Valentin Maftei, 14 Mihai Vioreanu, 15 Gabriel Brezoianu
Reserves:  Augustin Petrechei, Marius Picoiu, Cristian Podea, Petrisor Toderasc, Dan Tudosa, Roland Vusec

Referee:  De santis g.

Points Scorers:

Ireland
Tries:  Hayes J.J. 1, Henderson R.A.J. 1, O'Driscoll B.G. 1, Gleeson K.D. 1, Penalty Try 1
Conv:  Humphreys D.G. 1, O'Gara R.J.R. 3
Pen K.:  O'Gara R.J.R. 2

Romania
Tries:  Maftei V.D. 1
Pen K.:  Tofan I.R. 1