Australia 17 England 20

England became the first northern hemisphere side to win the Rugby World Cup, a Jonny Wilkinson drop-goal in the last minute of extra-time handing them a 20-17 win over a game Wallaby side at the Telstra Stadium in Sydney.

The English deserved to raise the Webb Ellis Cup after 100 minutes of drama, excitement, tries (yes, tries!) and bravery, with skipper Martin Johnson quick to pay tribute to his players, the management and a horde of English fans who made the trip out to Australia.

It was a fairytale win for the English, but a win they had to fight for until the bitter end, despite enjoying a 14-5 half-time lead.

The Wallabies got off to an excellent start, but it was a stupid moment from England loosehead prop Trevor Woodman -- a swinging arm at a maul -- that made life a lot easier for them.

The home side kicked to touch from that penalty and won a free-kick.  They opted to scrum and instead of going wide, Stephen Larkham hoisted a pin-point bomb onto Jason Robinson, who was out-jumped by fellow Rugby League convert Lote Tuqiri.

Waratahs star Tuqiri got higher than his smaller opponent, ripped the ball out of the air and crashed over.  Elton Flatley missed the tricky conversion attempt, but it was advantage Australia.  Big time.

England, however, did not panic.

They simply put their heads down and got stuck in.  Even Woodman did, but not before trying a silly little inside pass, which went forward, and conceding another penalty -- this time at scrum time.  But it mattered little.

Australia were not able to punish those indiscretions and Wilkinson had, in the meantime, slotted two penalties.  The Wallaby effort, meanwhile, took a slight knock when their kingpin, Larkham, was forced into the blood bin after taking a Ben Cohen boot in his face -- when he was to blame for tackling England's monster winger without the ball.  That indiscretion gave Wilkinson his second shot at goal.

Matt Giteau was always destined to replace Larkham in the match, but he came on some time earlier than anticipated, his first few touches did not convince -- as Wilkinson slammed him into Stadium Australia's turf the first time he had a go at the defence himself.

Larkham did come back on, but he made another two trips to the blood bin and his return always saw the Wallabies' level of play reach new heights.  Giteau, to be fair, did not do badly, but Larkham was able to pick his runners out with some wonderful skip passes, and his tactical-kicking in the final few nervous moments of extra-time kept his side in with a chance.

While Giteau struggled to get into the game, team-mate Wendell Sailor was still waiting for his first touch and the first effect he had on proceedings saw Mike Tindall bowl him over on a fine run deep into Wallaby territory.  Tindall brushed him off with minimum fuss, but eventually two Wallabies took him into touch.

The Wallabies won their line-out ball easily enough, but erred soon afterwards when Mat Rogers missed touch.  Jason Robinson carried the ball back and set up a ruck on the left.  Suddenly Lawrence Dallaglio burst onto the ball at pace and broke through the defence, he tossed the ball to the right, to Wilkinson, who then spun it out left to Robinson, who went low and slid over in the defence.  Sailor was not there, which made things a bit easier, but even if he had been there it is doubtful that he would have stopped the little dynamo.

It was advantage England just minutes before half-time and they went into the break at 14-5 up -- and ominous sign if ever, as no side leading at half-time had ever lost a World Cup Final.

The second half seemed to lack the intensity of the first stanza, but England seemed to go to sleep, allowing the Wallabies back into the game, with Flatley chipping away at their lead with penalties in the 48th and 61st minutes -- leaving England ahead by just three points at 14-11.

England did not really have many chances in the second half to put points on the board.  Wilkinson did not have any shots goal, with Australia's discipline a key feature of the second half, while he also missed a drop-goal attempt.  But England did not step up the expected level when the match was there to be finished off.  Also, Wilkinson seemed to move away from first-receiver and he was not able to stamp his authority on the game at a crucial stage.

The Wallabies, however, deserve credit for hanging in there, eventually forcing a penalty in the England 22 when Trevor Woodman stood up in a scrum, giving Elton Flatley a tough angle at the posts.  But the Queensland fly-half, the Wallabies' vice-captain, did not disappoint and he stepped up and calmly put the kick over to tie the scores at 14-14.

The game then went into extra-time after a five-minute break.  The rules laid down 10 minutes either way, with a five-minute interval.  If the scores were still tied there would be another five-minute break and a further sudden-death 10-minute period of extra-time.

If no winner had been declared after the second bit of extra-time, a drop-goal competition would have been the next step.  Of course, meaningless and illogical.  Thankfully, it did not get to that -- a man only has so many nails to chew! -- but it would have been sad had this match been decided on a few drop-goals.

But wait ... The match was decided on a drop-goal.  But it was a drop-goal that was well-crafted, a drop-goal that required a huge build-up, and a drop-goal that came after Flatley had once again managed to equalise things shortly before the final whistle.

Wilkinson opened the scoring early in extra-time when Wallaby lock Justin Harrison conceded a silly penalty, and Flatley kicked his fourth penalty after some England hands in the ruck were spotted by South African referee André Watson, who must be commended for yet another fine refereeing display in his second successive World Cup Final.

With just three minutes remaining, the drop-goal was always going to be on.  It looked set to happen from way out, but Matt Dawson caught the tense Aussie defence napping to scoot through and set up a ruck in the Australian 22.  Neil Back flung the ball out to his skipper Martin Johnson who bashed it up one more time and then Dawson got back to his feet for one final pass, which saw one final swing of Wilkinson's right boot.

Wilkinson had done it.  England had done it.  Australia so very nearly managed to do it.  It was a terrific Final, a terrific World Cup as a result and a very nerve-wracking 100 minutes of Finals rugby.

Man of the match:  Where to start?  For England skipper Martin Johnson was once again a colossus -- tackling, running and jumping for 100 minutes.  Richard Hill, too, was excellent, and Matt Dawson and Will Greenwood showed cool heads, and Jason Robinson thrilled every time he touched the ball.  For the Wallabies, Bill Young and Justin Harrison grafted non-stop, while fly-half Stephen Larkham and centres Elton Flatley and Stirling Mortlock deserved better.  However, you just cannot ignore the claims of one man -- England's No.10 Jonny Wilkinson.  Say he's boring, say he's not quick enough.  But he certainly knows how to win a match and they do not come any bigger than this.  A class act on defence, with some thunderous hits in the midfield, and the sweetest boot in world rugby.

Moment of the match:  Just one moment -- Wilkinson's drop-goal that gave England the win just seconds before the final whistle in the second half of extra-time.  What a nail-biting finish to a memorable match! And, yes, what a player.

Villain of the match:  This game was an absolute stunner.  Forget trying to wind the English up with the "boring" or "one-man show" jibes.  This was an absorbing contest and about as exciting as any Final could be.  Our villain then?  Without doubt Trevor Woodman.  Not too many unsavoury incidents, but Woodman's very stupid swinging arm gave the Wallabies their momentum early on and very nearly allowed them to steal the Webb Ellis Cup from under England's noses.  Two crucial Ben Kay knock-ons in the closing stages of the game -- and his first-half howler when he knocked-on with an open tryline -- deserve a mention here, too!

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Tuqiri 1
Pens:  Flatley 4

For England:
Tries:  Robinson 1
Pens:  Wilkinson 4
Drop:  Wilkinson 1

The teams:

Australia:  15 Mat Rogers, 14 Lote Tuqiri, 13 Stirling Mortlock, 12 Elton Flatley, 11 Wendell Sailor, 10 Steve Larkham, 9 George Gregan (c), 8 David Lyons, 7 Phil Waugh, 6 George Smith, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Justin Harrison, 3 Bill Young, 2 Brendan Cannon, 1 Alastair Baxter
Reserves:  Matt Cockbain, Matt Giteau, Jeremy Paul, Joe Roff, Matt Dunning
Unused:  David Giffin, Chris Whitaker

England:  15 Josh Lewsey, 14 Ben Cohen, 13 Mike Tindall, 12 Will Greenwood, 11 Jason Robinson, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Matt Dawson, 8 Lawrence Dallaglio, 7 Richard Hill, 6 Neil Back, 5 Martin Johnson (c), 4 Ben Kay, 3 Trevor Woodman, 2 Steve Thompson, 1 Phil Vickery
Reserves:  Mike Catt, Jason Leonard, Iain Balshaw, Lewis Moody
Unused:  Kyran Bracken, Martin Corry, Dorian West

Attendance:  83000
Referee:  Watson a.

France 13 New Zealand 40

The All Blacks managed to salvage something from their disappointing 2003 Rugby World Cup campaign when they beat a sub-standard French team 40-13 at the Telstra Stadium in Sydney -- securing themselves third-place at the RWC.

It was the most-often repeated statement before the game and it proved true, this useless third/fourth-place play-off contest is a game nobody wants.  The French certainly looked disinterested, with the Kiwis' focus were more geared towards displaying their individual brilliance than their capabilities as a unit.

But to their credit, the All Blacks were the more willing team on the day and it showed on the scoreboard -- as they won by six tries to one.

All Black captain Reuben Thorne probably summed it up best afterwards when he said he was just happy that the guys managed to pick themselves up from the disappointment of having lost to Australia in the semi-final last week.

France's New Zealand-born centre Tony March also touched on the subject of how difficult it is for players to get motivated for this game, saying:  "We struggled to get going or get any continuity."

The lack of purpose in this French team showed in some of the match statistics.

The French missed 43 first-time tackles, which in itself ask some questions about the All Blacks' ability to finish opportunities they created.

And then there is the fact that the Kiwis had a major share of the possession, dominating the ruck-and-maul count by 93-53.

From the outset it was clear there would be less structure to this match than either of the semi-finals, with the Kiwis, in particular, keen on throwing the ball around.

With no pressure on either team, and the French looking rather lackadaisical at times, it allowed All Black first five-eighth Carlos Spencer all the time and space he would never enjoy in a game of any real meaning.

Ironically the French enjoyed the best of the early exchanges, but with no reward, as fly-half Gérald Merceron pushed a 10th minute penalty attempt wide.

Two minutes later All Black lock Chris Jack strolled over for the first try, following a brilliant counter from deep inside their own half when fullback Mils Muliaina launched the attack from a poor French kick.

The decisive break came when Spencer flicked a typical inside pass to winger Doug Howlett.  With the French scrambling back, the Kiwis set up quick ruck ball just outside the French 22 and then Jack found the gap.  Leon MacDonald added the conversion.

A minute later, French scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili, taking over the kicking from an out-of-sorts Merceron, kicked a penalty.

But the second Kiwi try was equally as impressive as the first, with Howlett slipping over in the 20th minute after a brilliant break from Muliaina -- following yet another aimless kick by France.  Young Daniel Carter, on for the injured McDonald, slotted the conversion.

Yachvili slotted a drop-goal in the 34th minute to complete the first-half scoring.

The French looked as if they would make a game of it at the start of the second half as they began playing with a bit more purpose.  In fact, winger Pepito Elhorga, one of their few outstanding players on the night, strolled over after some brilliant angled running.

The try came after the All Blacks, whose handling had not always been as secure as it should have been, turned over ball while trying to run out of their own 22.  Yachvili's conversion narrowed the gap to 14-13, but that was to be Les Blues' last score for the day.

And, in a 10-minute spell, starting in the 50th minute, the Kiwis scored three quick tries to kill off any French hopes.

Joe Rokocoko started the rout when he finished off a move started after yet another shocking Merceron kick and the Kiwis countered from deep inside their own territory.  The final sweeping move down the left included a typical off-the-cuff Spencer pass.

Next up was replacement lock Brad Thorn, after a quick line-out throw which didn't travel the required five metres -- but was not picked up by the match officials, who seemed to have fallen asleep along with the entire French team.

The third try in this blitzkrieg came when fullback Muliaina went over in the 57th minute and the French seemed to lose interest altogether.

The sixth try came in the 73rd minute only, with replacement flanker Marty Holah scoring after some good rucking and driving from the Kiwi forwards.

Man of the match: French winger Pepito Elhorga tried desperately and scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili also looked sharper than the rest of his team-mates.  For the Kiwis the back three of Mils Muliaina, Doug Howlett and Joe Rokocoko were always going to revel in a game like this, while fly-half Carlos Spencer was another who enjoyed the extra time and space.  But our vote goes to tireless openside flanker Richie McCaw, who again managed numerous turnovers, heaps of tackles and was almost everywhere on the day.  WORLD-CLASS is the best way to describe McCaw.

Moment of the match: Any one of the six All Black tries, as well as the sole French try could qualify.  But we are going for New Zealand's first try in the 12th minute, which set the tome for the day.  With French fly-half Gérald Merceron launching one of his numerous aimless kicks down field, the dangerous Kiwi backs launched a blistering counter-attack.  And it was a cheeky inside pass from Spencer to Howlett, which allowed the winger to cut through the scattered French defence -- before they set up the ruck from where Chris Jack scored.

Villain of the match: The French were never keen enough to even start a fight and the Kiwis also were more interested in flair than fists.  No villains.

The scorers:

For France:
Try: Elhorga
Con: Yachvili
Pen: Yachvili
Drop: Yachvili

For New Zealand:
Tries: Muliaina, Howlett, Rokocoko, Jack, Thorn, Holah
Cons: MacDonald, Carter 4

The teams:

France: 1 Sylvain Marconnet, 2 Yannick Bru (c), 3 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 4 David Auradou, 5 Thibault Privat, 6 Sebastien Chabal, 7 Patrick Tabacco, 8 Christian Labit, 9 Dimitri Yachvili, 10 Gerald Merceron, 11 David Bory, 12 Tony Marsh, 13 Damien Traille, 14 Pepito Elhorga, 15 Clement Poitreneaud
Reserves: Nicolas Brusque, Jean-Jacques Crenca, Raphael Ibanez, Olivier Magne, Fabien Pelous, Brian Liebenberg, Frederic Michalak

New Zealand: 1 David Hewett, 2 Keven Mealamu, 3 Greg Somerville, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Ali Williams, 6 Richie McCaw, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Jerry Collins, 9 Steve Devine, 10 Carlos Spencer, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Leon MacDonald, 13 Aaron Mauger, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 15 Mils Muliaina
Reserves: Daniel Carter, Marty Holah, Brad Thorn, Mark Hammett, Carl Hoeft, Caleb Ralph
Unused: Byron Kelleher

Attendance: 62712
Referee: White c.

England 24 France 7

Jonny Wilkinson booted England into the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final, the pivot kicking five penalties and three drop-goals, two of which were on his right foot, as his country earned a 24-7 win over a disappointing French side in Sydney.

The game will not win any beauty pageants, but England demonstrated the versatility that has put them at the top of the Zurich World Rankings by reacting to the adverse weather conditions to eke out a controlled 10-man victory.

Their style of play may not win them any admirers in the purist camp, but it was exactly what was needed in this game, and it was France's inability to adapt to the conditions that washed away their World Cup dreams.

With the greasy conditions putting pay to any free-flowing hopes, the contest was reduced to a head to head between the two kickers;  Wilkinson and Frédéric Michalak.  In the end it as the English "veteran" who saw off the French prodigy by kicking all 24 of his team's kicks, including three drop-goals.

Michalak, who came into the game with over 100 points in this tournament, was tipped by many to oust Wilkinson from his exalted plain -- but the Frenchman clearly missed the dry ball and could not tune in his weather satellite.  He was duly replaced with just under 20 minutes to go after adding only one score -- a conversion to flanker Serge Betsen's try.

Given the huge stakes of this game, both sides looking nervous in the opening exchanges.

France were clearly not enjoying the rain, and if it was England's plan to unsettle them in the tight it worked, and the early stages were peppered with some bad-tempered exchanges.

For all their inspirational back play it was France's scrum that destroyed Scotland and Ireland, but England were up to the challenge and had the upper-hand.  Their domination in the tight hurt France and had a knock-on effect through the spine of their team -- for once in this tournament they looked far from cool and collected.

As the English pressure grew, so did French mistakes, and a deep kick drew an awful knock-on from France wing Aurélien Rougerie.  The scrum put Wilkinson in a decent position for a drop-goal and England's fans erupted in joy as he opened the scoring with less 10 minutes played.

But France replied immediately after Betsen collected a loose ball from the back of a line-out and crashed over the England line.  A late dive by ever-present Richard Hill looked like it prevented the try but the video ref was of a different opinion and France had the lead.

Michalak stepped up and scored a wonderful conversion form the touch-line, but it was to be his first and last entry in the day's score book.

Betsen's try focused France and they looked sharp as their industrious back row hassled England's midfield out of space and time.

But England got off the hook as Michalak missed two penalty attempts, and the game descended into a slug-fest marooned between the two 10-metre lines as the sides tried to make sense of the conditions that were getting worse by the minute.

With the swirling winds and greasy ball reducing both team's line-out to a lottery, it was becoming clear this would be game that came down to kicks.

But even the surgical Wilkinson was having trouble with the conditions and he missed a penalty awarded to England after wing Christophe Dominici brought down Jason Robinson with a blatant trip.

The electric French wing could have made a difference to this game, but he was shown a yellow card for his efforts.  To make matters worse, he injured himself in the process of fouling Robinson and never returned to the game.

As the rain grew heavier England's control grew stronger, and soon the bullocking forwards had their fly-half in a position to kick an easy penalty which he soon followed up with another drop-goal to snatch back the lead.

England had found their water-wings, and Wilkinson put over another penalty from the limit of his range at the stroke of half-time to give England hope for the second half.

England began the second period in the same limited but hugely effective style -- but when a Wilkinson penalty was blown off course, France sensed it was time to get out of jail.

Les Bleus looked to inject a little free-running into the proceeding and were immediately awarded a penalty.  When Michalak misses again one could sense France didn't no where to turn and a series of uncharacteristic errors crept into their game -- including a poor knock-on from the normally unflappable Olivier Magne.

Magne's outstanding partner Betsen was soon shown a yellow card for a late tackle on Wilkinson, but the England fly-half responded to the heavy challenge by getting to his feet and slotting the penalty to put daylight between the sides.

Those three points hurt France, and England took full advantage of their overlap and went about crushing up through the fringes.

France defending stoutly and at no time did England look like finding a gap for the try, but with centimetres of space to work in Wilkinson coiled his boot around the ball from the back of a ruck to score his third drop-goal to put England even further ahead.

When Wilkinson slotted yet another penalty after Michalak's fifth attempt fell short, French coach Bernard Laporte pronounced the battle of the fly-halves officially dead by bringing on Gérald Merceron as the French fly-half's replacement.

Merceron had a brief to add some urgency to the French game and managed to get the gears going in the backs, but their intentions didn't suit the conditions and the game was up when Wilkinson stepped up to put away another penalty.

Les Bleus spent the last 15 minutes of the game pinned -- nailed, rather -- in their own 22 as England looked to score a try that would silence any residual doubters.

The try still hadn't come by the time referee Paddy O'Brien finally put France out of their misery by blowing for full-time, but England had shown what they are capable of -- even when reduced to scraps.

Man of the match:  Jonny Wilkinson had the boot, but it was the tireless work of his halfback partner Matt Dawson that kept England on the front foot with some fine sniping and good distribution.  The fact that Dawson had such a fine platform to work off had a lot to do with the return of Richard Hill, who added the invisible touches that England had so sorely missed.

Moment of the match:  He may have shuffled on for a minute early in the game as a blood replacement, but it was not until he came on for real in the 78th minute that Jason Leonard received the applause he deserved for becoming the most-capped rugby player ever -- 112 not out.  A fantastic achievement from a terrific competitor.

Villain of the match:  Betsen may have knocked off a few years from Clive Woodward's life after he took out Wilkinson with a late tackle, but it is Christophe Dominici who limps away with the award after his blatant trip on Jason Robinson.  The England wing had beaten the Frenchman on the inside and there was little he could do to save his pride save to stick out his leg.  Poor form!

The scorers:

For England:
Pens:  Wilkinson 5
Drops:  Wilkinson 3

For France:
Try:  Betsen Tchoua
Con:  Michalak

The teams:

England:  15 Josh Lewsey, 14 Ben Cohen, 13 Will Greenwood, 12 Mike Catt, 11 Jason Robinson, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Half Matt Dawson, 8 Lawrence Dallaglio, 7 Richard Hill, 6 Neil Back, 5 Martin Johnson (c), 4 Ben Kay, 3 Trevor Woodman, 2 Steve Thompson, 1 Phil Vickery
Reserves:  Kyran Bracken, Jason Leonard, Mike Tindall, Dorian West, Lewis Moody
Unused:  Martin Corry, Iain Balshaw

France:  15 Nicolas Brusque, 14 Christophe Dominici, 13 Tony Marsh, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 11 Aurelien Rougerie, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Fabien Galthie (c), 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Olivier Magne, 6 Serge Betsen Tchoua, 5 Jerome Thion, 4 Fabien Pelous, 3 Sylvain Marconnet, 2 Raphael Ibanez, 1 Jean-Jacques Crenca
Reserves:  Gerald Merceron, Christian Labit, Olivier Milloud, Clement Poitreneaud
Unused:  David Auradou, Yannick Bru, Damien Traille

Attendance:  82346
Referee:  O'brien p.

Australia 22 New Zealand 10

George Gregan's Wallabies promised the world that they had a few aces up their sleeve for the first of two 2003 Rugby World Cup semi-final.  And, they certainly showed at Sydney's Telstra Stadium that they are not just all talk -- stunning pre-tournament favourites, the All Blacks, 22-10 to advance to next week's RWC Final.

This result, apart from surprising virtually every rugby pundit across the globe, also produced a number of firsts, with the Wallabies becoming the first defending champions to advance past the semi-finals and also the first-ever team to play in three World Cup Finals.

For the All Blacks it was yet another RWC gone wrong, having won the inaugural tournament in 1987, they have now lost in the play-off stages in every tournament since -- the semi-finals in 1991, the Final in '95, the semis in '99 and the semis, again, in 2003.

But more importantly, the Wallabies turned all the pre-match predictions on their head in Sydney on Saturday with a world-class performance of structured attacking rugby and rock-solid defence.  They lifted the intensity of their game and limited their mistakes.

Where the Kiwis fumbled their way through 80 minutes, the Australians were focussed and lifted their game to a new high.  They appeared to be the hungrier team and never wavered, even when the Kiwis threatened to get back into the game.

From the opening minutes, Gregan's team took control of the ball and never gave the Kiwis a sniff of the possession.  In fact, it took the All Blacks a full five minutes before they touched the ball, other than to re-start play.

The Wallabies hit the rucks with ferocious vigour, ensuring a steady stream of quick ball going back to halfbacks Gregan and Stephen Larkham.  But they also kept the All Blacks under pressure in the set-pieces.

And with such quality possession it was easy for the Wallabies to stick to their gameplan.

Here Larkham played a pivotal role.  At the outset he often took the ball wide, and with the Wallabies quicker to the point of breakdown, the Kiwis were forced into a defensive role.

In the first five minutes, the Kiwis had to make 28 tackles.  While it did not show on the scoreboard immediately, it did have a major influence in the latter stages of the game ... with the Wallabies finishing the stronger of the two teams.

And as the game wore on, Larkham varied his play brilliantly and made "King" Carlos (Spencer) look more like a Joker than a King.  On several occasions he slipped past the inside in the No.10 channel, with Spencer nowhere to be found.  The Spencer magic that was so prevalent all year, was suddenly gone!

It would be easy to give all the plaudits to the outstanding Australian backs, but much of the credit must go to the Wallaby pack, who certainly outplayed their more-fancied Kiwi rivals on the day.  In the line-outs, Justin Harrison was a tower of strength, while Bill Young did a lot more than just scrum.

And without the ball, the Kiwis' dangerous runners were not a factor.  Not only did Spencer look lost for most of the game, but wings Doug Howlett and Joe Rokocoko also never saw enough of the ball to have made any inroads into any defensive lines.  Mils Muliaina tried bravely at fullback, but he, too, was never a factor.

And when the Kiwis eventually did get their hands on some ball, the Australians made sure that their defensive lines remained structured and solid.  In this department, flanker George Smith deserves credit for all the work he did in snuffing out any potentially dangerous moves.

Another standout aspect of this game was the way in which the Wallabies made the All Blacks pay for their mistakes.  Not only did they make the Kiwis' normally impressive defence look rather ordinary, but the pounced on every loose ball as if their very lives depended on it.

There will be some concern for Australia, with prop Ben Darwin having been stretchered off after a collapsed scrum in the 49th minute.  It is uncertain what the full extent of the injury is at this stage.

For now, however, they will enjoy the moment.  They are into a World Cup Final.

Their opponents will determined on Sunday, and they will then shift their focus to next week's game at this very same venue.

Man of the Match:  For New Zealand, openside flanker Richie McCaw fought a lone battle in the face of the ferocious Wallaby onslaught.  For Australia, there were many stars.  Stirling Mortlock was a star in the midfield, causing all sorts of problems for the defence, while forwards like George Smith and David Giffin also went that extra yard.  But, in the end, our vote goes to fly-half Stephen Larkham, who on the day made all the right calls and played the role that was expected of him.  He even managed to turn ball over at the breakdown.

Moment of the Match:  With two tries only, one would be tempted to go for a turnover or tackle somewhere, but the crucial play came in the ninth minute when Stirling Mortlock intercepted Carlos Spencer's floating pass and sprinted 90 metres to score.  From that moment on you knew the Kiwis would play catch-up rugby and they never quite managed to do so.

Villain of the Match:  Brilliant, clean, hard rugby.  No villains.

The Teams:

Australia:  1 Ben Darwin, 2 Brendan Cannon, 3 Bill Young, 4 Justin Harrison, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 6 George Smith, 7 Phil Waugh, 8 David Lyons, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Wendell Sailor, 12 Elton Flatley, 13 Stirling Mortlock, 14 Lote Tuqiri, 15 Mat Rogers
Reserves:  Matt Cockbain, David Giffin, Nathan Grey, Jeremy Paul, Joe Roff, Alastair Baxter
Unused:  Chris Whitaker

New Zealand:  1 David Hewett, 2 Keven Mealamu, 3 Greg Somerville, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Ali Williams, 6 Richie McCaw, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Jerry Collins, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Carlos Spencer, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Leon MacDonald, 13 Aaron Mauger, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 15 Mils Muliaina
Reserves:  Marty Holah, Brad Thorn, Byron Kelleher, Kees Meeuws
Unused:  Daniel Carter, Mark Hammett, Caleb Ralph

Attendance:  82444
Referee:  White c.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Mortlock S.A. 1
Conv:  Flatley E.J. 1
Pen K.:  Flatley E.J. 5

New Zealand
Tries:  Thorne R.D. 1
Conv:  MacDonald L.R. 1
Pen K.:  MacDonald L.R. 1

France 43 Ireland 21

France marched into the Rugby World Cup semi-finals with an emphatic 43-21 win over Six Nations rivals Ireland, Les Bleus dazzling the Telstra Dome crowd with four high-quality tries.

The French signalled their intentions from the very beginning as they sent the ball out wide from the word go and fly-half Frédéric Michalak was quite simply magnificent every time touched the ball.

The Toulouse No.10, who is quickly challenging England's Jonny Wilkinson as the best in the game, stamped his authority early in the game when he chipped the ball out to the right-wing for powerful No.8 Imanol Harinordoquy to gather, pop it off to centre Tony Marsh, who in turn passed on to flanker Olivier Magne to charge over for the first try.

The French made it all look so easy and it was a sure sign of things to come ...

France dominated all phases of the game and the loose trio of Magne, Serge Betsen and Harinordoquy were sublime as they marauded Ireland's ball like a pack of rabid dogs and provided their exciting backline with copious amounts of quality ball.

The angles of running employed by the French were a joy to watch as they glided through gaps at will, with some desperate defence by Ireland's inspirational skipper Keith Wood and some French errors, mainly down to over-eagerness, allowing the Irish to keep their opponents at bay.

Ireland matched the French side's silky running with pure grit and determination as they began to find their feet midway through the half and bashed away at the defence with strong runs through midfield, but France were just as awesome on defence as they were on attack as they swamped the Ireland players in a sea of blue -- with that man Betsen leading the way.

It took a chip over the defence by Irish star centre Brian O'Driscoll to beat the defence and Christophe Dominici was forced to hack the ball into touch, setting up Ireland with their first real opportunity of the game.

But the resulting move was broken down due to some phenomenal defence by France and when an Irish pass went awry, Les Bleus pounced.  Betsen was again involved as he linked up with Dominici, putting the little winger into space for the try.  Michalak continued to make it look all too easy as he slotted his second conversion -- keeping his 100 percent record intact.

France stretched the lead to 27-0 at the break after the loose trio again turned ball over close to the Irish line for Harinordoquy to dot down.

Ireland were immediately under pressure following the re-start as fly-half Ronan O'Gara knocked on to hand possession back to the French and after prop Reggie Corrigan gave away a penalty in the resulting scrum, Michalak kept his team rolling on with the penalty goal.

The 20-year-old fly-half continued to dictate proceedings as he danced through the defence not long afterwards to set up play five metres from the Irish tryline as hooker Raphael Ibañez bashed his way through.  Michalak was then on hand to send the ball out to Magne, who linked up with prop Jean-Jacques Crenca for a simple run-in.  That after Crenca had handled in the early stages of the move.

Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan then opted to replace O'Gara with veteran No.10 David Humphreys and the move proved to be the better option for the Irish as the French took their foot off the gas slightly, allowing Ireland back into the game and when centre Kevin Maggs blasted through the gap there was nobody at home to stop the try.

Humphreys made no mistake with the conversion.

The try sparked the Ireland side into action as they looked to close the gap, but the pressure proved too much as Humphreys knocked on when the line was in sight.  France then made sure the revival was short-lived as they again began to pile on the pressure.

Another Michalak penalty reasserted the French authority before the game began to break down.  Both teams began to send on the replacements and then Ibañez was sent to the sin bin as he continued to infringe at the breakdown -- something the entire French team was guilty of doing.

Ireland took advantage of the extra man and in the next movement Humphreys stabbed it through for O'Driscoll to chase over and score.

Humphreys converted and O'Driscoll picked up a second not long after, but it all came too late for Ireland with the French well in front and already on the way to the Telstra Stadium in Sydney for a semi-final clash against one of England or Wales.

Man of the match:  For Ireland, skipper Keith Wood can take a bow with another big game in front and around the park, while O'Driscoll did what he could with limited ball, but it was the French loose trio of Olivier Magne, Imanol Harinordoquy and Serge Betsen who ruled the day -- with Betsen just pipping his two partners for the award with a tireless display on attack and defence.

Moment of the match:  There were plenty of brilliant moments during the match, but it was Ireland captain Keith Wood's tearful post-match interview that highlighted the passion of the Irish, bringing an end to a remarkable World Cup career for Wood and presenting an example of true sportsmanship to many others who have little.

Villain of the match:  There was the occasional bit of niggle, but nothing serious, so French hooker Raphael Ibañez collects this award for his continuous negative play at the breakdown earning him 10 minutes in the sin bin.

The Teams:

France:  1 Jean-Jacques Crenca, 2 Raphael Ibanez, 3 Sylvain Marconnet, 4 Fabien Pelous, 5 Jerome Thion, 6 Serge Betsen Tchoua, 7 Olivier Magne, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 9 Fabien Galthie (c), 10 Frederic Michalak, 11 Aurelien Rougerie, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 13 Tony Marsh, 14 Christophe Dominici, 15 Nicolas Brusque
Reserves:  Yannick Bru, Olivier Brouzet, Pepito Elhorga, Brian Liebenberg, Olivier Milloud, Patrick Tabacco
Unused:  Gerald Merceron

Ireland:  1 John Hayes, 2 Keith Wood (c), 3 Reggie Corrigan, 4 Malcolm O'Kelly, 5 Paul O'Connell, 6 Simon Easterby, 7 Keith Gleeson, 8 Victor Costello, 9 Peter Stringer, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 11 Shane Horgan, 12 Brian O'Driscoll, 13 Kevin Maggs, 14 John Kelly, 15 Girvan Dempsey
Reserves:  Guy Easterby, David Humphreys, Eric Miller, Marcus Horan
Unused:  Shane Byrne, Anthony Horgan, Donncha O'Callaghan

Attendance:  33134
Referee:  Kaplan j.

Points Scorers

France
Tries:  Dominici C. 1, Crenca J-J. 1, Harinordoquy I. 1, Magne O. 1
Conv:  Michalak F. 4
Pen K.:  Michalak F. 5

Ireland
Tries:  O'Driscoll B.G. 2, Maggs K.M. 1
Conv:  Humphreys D.G. 3

Wales 17 England 28

England were made to work all the way for their 28-17 quarter-final win over Wales, their opponents outscoring them by three tries to one, but a 23-point haul from golden-boy Jonny Wilkinson setting up a semi-final meeting with France.

The English were left needing a second-half flash of pure inspiration from fullback Jason Robinson to finally subdue a fantastic Welsh challenge that left England looking distinctly ordinary for much of the match.

Wales dominated every facet of play during the first half, and went into the break with a 10-3 lead.  England -- who started the game as Rugby World Cup favourites -- only managed to climb above the inspired Welsh in the second half.

A magical dash by Robinson led to a Will Greenwood try before fly-half Wilkinson recovered his composure to add five second-half penalties and a late drop-goal.

Fly-half Stephen Jones and flankers Colin Charvis and Martyn Williams managed to cross the line for Wales, and they outscored England by three tries to one.  The difference between the teams -- as so often is the case for England -- was Wilkinson's points-haul.

Indeed, if comparisons are needed -- it was Wales who were the more dangerous outfit on display, they put on a display of running rugby that many detractors believed to be beyond their capability.

Even through England had the lions' share of possession, Wales ability to counter-attack at pace made a re-enactment of Wales defeat of England in the quarter-final of RWC '87 a distinct possibility.

England -- like New Zealand before them -- had few answers to the kind of fluidity that Wales applied to their attack;  a fluidity that appears to have sprung from nowhere.

The side that took to the field for England had 704 caps between them -- never before had such an experienced side ever trotted on to a rugby pitch.  But Wales exploded into the game and made them look like amateurs.

Clive Woodward's side has six "captains" within it -- one for each particular area of play -- but the team looked utterly leaderless as wrong decision followed wrong decision.

Indeed, it was only the introduction of the wise head of veteran Mike Catt at half-time that reversed the result in England's favour.

Wilkinson, winning his 50th cap today, looked positively green in the opening exchanges.  With Wales breathing down his neck he made a series for poor choices.

Not that it was entirely his fault -- with England's backs looking shapeless he was forced to find other avenues of attack, and his tactical kicking from hand let him down badly.

England must have bunked off their video session this week because they looked shocked when Wales started picking at them with the same intensity as they showed against the All Blacks last week.

The English defence was left perplexed as an early Welsh raid saw Robert Sidoli surge over the England line, but the big lock lost control of the ball as he stretched for the touch-down.

England tried all they could to find first gear in the first half -- with Jason Robinson putting in the dance moves in an attempt to rouse his team-mates -- but it was to no avail.

Wilkinson hit the post with a relatively easy penalty and missed a drop-kick in the opening quarter.  His forwards lost two line-out balls, and gave away a rash of penalties in the same period.

The England fly-half opened the scoring with a penalty kick that wobbled through the upright, and England began to feel their way back into the game by putting together some decent phases.

But Wales were as resolute in defence as they were in attack, and a huge hit by centre Mark Taylor on Will Greenwood put pay to any English hopes of a try and buoyed the Welsh fans.

As the strains of "Bread of Heaven" echoed around Suncorp Stadium, the outstanding Shane Williams picked up a poor cross-field kick meant for an incongruous Ben Kay, and the Welsh backs sliced through England allowing fly-half Stephen Jones to finish off the lightening counter-attack by scoring.

England soon conceded a kickable penalty and Welsh skipper Colin Charvis had the sheer audacity to go for the line-out.  From the maul, Wales bludgeoning their way through the much-vaunted England forwards and Charvis was on the end to flop over the line for the try.

It was a carbon-copy of the skipper's try against the All Blacks -- down to Charvis' little buff of his own bouffant -- and showed just the extent of Wales' newly-found confidence.  Where they found it, however, remains an absolutely mystery.

Jones missed again with the conversion -- a crucial miss.  Wales let 10 points go begging during the match;  England only three.

With England distinctly rattled, Wales attempted to press home their advantage with some scintillating breaks.  England's panic was exemplified by out of sorts wing Dan Luger who sliced a rushed clearance kick 10 yards backwards -- if it had been a tee-shot, he might have holed the green he had just walked away from.

Luger mouthed a curse, England heads hung low, and Woodard looked furious.  Meanwhile, Wales' confidence grew and they took to the break seven points clear.

Desperate times call for desperate measures -- and Woodward called off Luger, switched Mike Tindall to the wing and brought veteran back Mike Catt into the centre to add a little solidity to the midfield.  It proved to be a masterstroke.

With Catt taking charge of midfield distribution and tactical kicking, Wilkinson was free to focus on his own game rather the team's.

England had finally found their shape and -- as if to celebrate the fact -- Jason Robinson unleashed a moment of pure inspiration.

Having received a quick throw-in on the edge of his own 22, the fullback looked bereft of options.  Suddenly he eyed a gap in the Wales midfield, pinned his ears back, and disappeared down the middle.  His acute change of pace left the Welsh floundering and Robinson completed his 60-yard sprint by unloading to centre Will Greenwood who went over in the corner for the score.

The try lifted English chins and Wilkinson slotted the tricky conversion and a penalty to recapture the lead.

It was obvious Woodward had knocked some sense into his players during the break, and they began to play some wise percentage rugby that put Wilkinson in a good position to kick another easy penalty.

But Wales hadn't finished -- they continued to run at England with some lurid running rugby, but a few wrong decisions far out -- and a tighter looking English defensive line -- meant that all their hard work came to nought.

Wilkinson looked content to leave Catt in charge of leading the attack and began to focus on his place kicking -- and duly added two more penalties from difficult angles with traditional nonchalance.

Catt added an extra dimension to the English attack and his runners began to find holes, Wales were forced to concede another penalty as they back-pedalled and were punished with yet another Wilkinson score.

But while England dug in behind that famous left boot, Wales still had gas to burn, and they continued to put on a terrific handling performance.

After beating the English back, Iestyn Harris put in a cross-field kick and flanker Lawrence Dallaglio -- under pressure -- could only knock it back and watch as replacement flanker Martyn Williams scampered over to touch down.  Iestyn Harris -- taking over the kicking duties from the misfiring Jones -- stepped up to narrow the gap to eight points.

England composure started to sag again, and some pointless back-chat directed at referee Alain Rolland after a penalty decision moved Harris 10 metres up the field and within kicking range.  Woodward was visible annoyed at his players lack of discipline, but his team were let off the hook as Harris' attempt sailed well wide.

It was Wilkinson, naturally, who had the last word by slotting a drop-goal with the last kick of the game.

So, a huge Welsh effort, but a win for England.

The England players trudged off the field forlornly -- they are no longer favourites for the Cup, and one can't help to thing how much lower they'll feel once they have taken in France's game against Ireland.

Man of the match:  For all England's experience, it was left to replacement Mike Catt to put some brain behind English brawn.  The Bath man -- who two months ago feared his international career was over -- turned the game around by relieved the pressure on Wilkinson, and sparked a few unsettling runs of his own.  Expect the number on his back to be in the teens next time you see him.

Moment of the match:  Wales played like men possessed and showed some fine passages of play, but it was Jason Robinson's flash of sheer inspiration that caught the eye.  The fullback made a try out of absolutely nothing, his sheer accelerations was a joy to behold and punctured the Welsh balloon that looked as if it was about to carry them through to the semi-finals.

Villain of the match:  I'm not going to tarnish such a classy performance with nit-picking -- yes, Brent Cockbain swung his handbag early on, but there was no harm done.  So, no award this time -- too many heroes everywhere!

The Teams:

Wales:  1 Adam Jones, 2 Robin McBryde, 3 Iestyn Thomas, 4 Brent Cockbain, 5 Robert Sidoli, 6 Dafydd Jones, 7 Colin Charvis (c), 8 Jonathan Thomas, 9 Gareth Cooper, 10 Stephen Jones, 11 Mark Jones, 12 Iestyn Harris, 13 Mark Taylor, 14 Shane Williams, 15 Gareth Thomas
Reserves:  Mefin Davies, Gethin Jenkins, Dwayne Peel, Ceri Sweeney, Gareth Llewellyn, Martyn Williams
Unused:  Kevin Morgan

England:  1 Jason Leonard, 2 Steve Thompson, 3 Phil Vickery, 4 Ben Kay, 5 Martin Johnson (c), 6 Neil Back, 7 Lewis Moody, 8 Lawrence Dallaglio, 9 Matt Dawson, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 11 Dan Luger, 12 Will Greenwood, 13 Mike Tindall, 14 Ben Cohen, 15 Jason Robinson
Reserves:  Kyran Bracken, Mike Catt, Trevor Woodman, Stuart Abbott
Unused:  Simon Shaw, Dorian West, Joe Worsley

Attendance:  45252
Referee:  Rolland a.

Points Scorers:

Wales
Tries:  Jones S. 1, Charvis C.L. 1, Williams M.E. 1
Conv:  Harris I.R. 1

England
Tries:  Greenwood W.J.H. 1
Conv:  Wilkinson J.P. 1
Pen K.:  Wilkinson J.P. 6
Drop G.:  Wilkinson J.P. 1

New Zealand 29 South Africa 9

The All Blacks toyed with and embarrassed the Springboks in their Rugby World Cup quarter-final fixture at Melbourne's Telstra Dome, as the advanced to the semi-finals in Sydney on the back of a convincing 29-9 win.

Seldom have two teams produced more contrasting displays at this level of the game.  Everything the All Blacks were, the Springboks were not -- determined, focussed and hungry.

And when the experts look at this match in days to come, and analyse every minute in the most absolute manner, they will realise that the All Blacks could so easily have beaten this bunch of pitiful Springboks by 50 points again ... as they did a couple of months ago in Pretoria.

Yes, it is true.  This All Black team, as easy as they made this victory look, played well below the standards we have come to expect from them.

But on the day they did more than enough to beat a team that will come under a huge amount of criticism back home for their lack of passion, their sub-standard skills on attack and their disorganised defensive showing.

Even more concerning for South Africans would be that this is the first time they have not advanced to the semi-finals of the RWC and it is also the first time they have lost at the RWC against the All Blacks -- to go with the many other "records" they have set under the tutelage of Rudolf Straeuli.

But all credit must go to the Kiwis for doing what they needed to do, without really exerting themselves at the Telstra Dome.

They easily accounted for the Springboks' much-vaunted tight five, which never looked like dominating anything other than the mistakes column.  The Kiwis dominated the possession stakes from the opening stages and for long periods the Boks never saw anything of the ball.

In fact, in the first 15 minutes the Kiwis had more than 80 percent of the ball and enjoyed well over 70 percent in territorial advantage.  That stat seldom dipped below 70 percent in the first half.

While the Boks saw a bit more of the ball in the second period, with the possession stakes ending at about 62-38 in favour of the Kiwis, the South Africans could not use any of the opportunities presented to them.

The All Blacks, however, showed how badly they wanted to win this game, showing greater determination in the set-pieces and at the breakdowns, turning ball over at regular intervals.

While the Kiwi forwards hunted as a unit, arriving at the breakdowns in far greater numbers, the Bok forwards seemed more eager to hang out wide and let the backs do their jobs.

Then there were the scrums where the Kiwis also embarrassed their opponents at times, and on at least one occasion turning over ball and scoring from it by shoving the South Africans off their own put-in.

Behind this dominant pack the New Zealand backline was brilliantly marshaled by their halfbacks, Justin Marshall and Carlos Spencer.

And the backs enjoyed the space and time afforded to them, often breaching the Boks' shockingly disorganised defensive lines -- especially their first-time tackles.  The irony of it all was that while the Boks were so focussed on shutting down the All Blacks' dangerous runners out wide, they simply forgot to tackle around the fringes and in the midfield.

In the 10, 12, 13 channel the Boks slipped more first-time tackles on Saturday than some international teams do in an entire season.

And while we can go on at length about the lack of ball the Boks had, the few times when they did get the ball in hand their option-taking was either very ordinary or they simply could not control the possession, simply handing the ball back to the Kiwis on a platter.

And against a team of New Zealand's calibre, even when they are not firing on all cylinders, they will make you pay -- as indeed they did with the Springboks.

At the end of the game the Kiwis showed an almost disdainful contempt for the Boks, as they threw the ball around and ran the Boks ragged.  And it was only some desperate one-off tackles by a couple of Springboks that prevented the Kiwis from scoring more tries.

Few players in the South African side will be able to walk away from this mess with their heads held high, but among them will be youngsters like Schalk Burger, a second-half replacement, winger Ashwin Willemse and lock Bakkies Botha.

For the Kiwis it was a game on which they can reflect how much they can still improve, having walked away with an easy win against one of their traditional rivals.

Man of the match:  Many of the All Blacks put their hands up, with flanker Richard McCaw, first five-eighth Carlos Spencer, centre Leon MacDonald and captain Reuben Thorne all doing their bit.  But our vote goes to the Kiwis' outstanding hooker Keven Mealamu, who time and again showed up the Boks' close-in tackling and was eventually rewarded for his high work-rate with one of his team's three tries.

Moment of the Match:  This one goes to the 72nd-minute try scored by winger Joe Rokocoko, which epitomised the entire game.  From a scrum deep inside the Boks' 22, with the South Africans putting the ball in, the Kiwis simply shoved them off the ball, turned it over and then it was quickly passed to Carlos Spencer.  He, in turn, flicked it back brilliantly through his legs, to Rokocoko, who went over in the corner for the try.

Villain of the Match:  We are tempted to nominate most of the Springboks for their lack of passion, but the vote goes to Springbok captain Corné Krige, who early in the match showed exactly the lack of discipline the Boks have been criticised for in the past year or two.  At a ruck, and after having already been awarded a penalty within striking distance, Krige attempted to stand on an opponent's leg when the ball was nowhere near.  The result was that the penalty was turned over and the Boks lost an opportunity to put a much-needed score on the board.  This moment almost epitomised the Boks mind set throughout the game ... a beaten and frustrated side.

The Teams:

New Zealand:  1 David Hewett, 2 Keven Mealamu, 3 Greg Somerville, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Ali Williams, 6 Richie McCaw, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Jerry Collins, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Carlos Spencer, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Leon MacDonald, 13 Aaron Mauger, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 15 Mils Muliaina
Reserves:  Daniel Carter, Steve Devine, Marty Holah, Brad Thorn, Mark Hammett, Kees Meeuws, Caleb Ralph

South Africa:  1 Faan Rautenbach, 2 John Smit, 3 Christo Bezuidenhout, 4 Victor Matfield, 5 Bakkies Botha, 6 Corne Krige (c), 7 Danie Rossouw, 8 Juan Smith, 9 Joost Van Der Westhuizen, 10 Derick Hougaard, 11 Ashwin Willemse, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Jorrie Muller, 14 Thinus Delport, 15 Jaco Van Der Westhuyzen
Reserves:  Jaque Fourie, Neil De Kock, Richard Bands, Selborne Boome, Schalk Burger Jr., Danie Coetzee, Louis Koen

Attendance:  40734
Referee:  Spreadbury t.

Points Scorers:

New Zealand
Tries:  MacDonald L.R. 1, Rokocoko J. 1, Mealamu K.F. 1
Conv:  MacDonald L.R. 1
Pen K.:  MacDonald L.R. 3
Drop G.:  Mauger A.J.D. 1

South Africa
Pen K.:  Hougaard D.J. 3

Australia 33 Scotland 16

Australia marched on to the Rugby World Cup semi-finals with a 33-16 victory over a brave Scottish team at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.  After a quiet first half, the Wallabies stretched their legs into a comfortable lead, but the Scots got the last try at the death, a fitting reward for lots of serious effort.

Chris Paterson the Scottish fly-half, nearly did not play.  In a kick about before the match he was struck on the head by a flying ball and felled.  He was helped off the field looking groggy, but was there to start the match and score 11 points for his side.

The first half was level, partly because the Scots did well on Australia's line-outs, partly because the Wallabies squandered possession.  But the Scots were resolute and creative and actually enjoyed territorial superiority in the half.

The first half was an all-kick affair as far as the scoring went, but it was not a stodgy affair as the Wallabies sought to run free and the resolute Scots not only stood firm but did some raiding into Wallaby territory of their own.

The Wallabies started playing to the wings.  The Scots started getting in behind the tackle and making the best of scraps.  Their best took Kenny Logan close on the left-wing but his chip dribbled into in-goal where Wendell Sailor killed it.

The handling by both sides was mostly excellent, then crucially poor.  Lote Tuqiri came off his left-wing to cut through, only for Mat Rogers to knock on the easiest of passes.

Rogers later cut through brilliantly but the Wallabies were brought back for obstruction by Bill Young who conceded three penalties in the half.

The Wallabies used a penalty to force a five-metre line-out but again the Scots stood firm till they conceded a penalty.

Off-side gave the Wallabies a four-minute lead, but Chris Paterson levelled the score when Stephen Larkham was penalised at a tackle.  When Glenn Metcalfe went off-side in front of his posts the Wallabies took the three points -- 6-3 after 22 minutes.

Paterson punished Young's obstruction to make it 6-all after 33 minutes.  The Wallabies ran, Andrew Henderson tackled Stirling Mortlock early and Flatley made it 9-6 after 36 minutes.

Then came the moment of the half when Paterson dropped a goal from slap in front, but 49 metres out.  The ball sailed high and drew and crossed the crossbar with good room to spare.

The Wallabies made a significant change at half-time.  Off went George Smith and on came lanky Matt Cockbain, giving them a third line-out option.  The change worked as after this the Scots suffered more in the line-outs than the Wallabies did.

The Australians scored early in the second half.  Gregor Townsend broke sharply for Scotland but Phil Waugh won a turnover, gave to Flatley, who gave to Harrison who passed high to his left.  Stirling Mortlock tipped the ball, caught it and raced 60 metres to score under the posts with an extravagant dive.  That made it 16-9 after 45 minutes.

Larkham had a wobbly drop at goal which hit the crossbar and then Nathan Sharpe cracked through a gap and gave to Flatley who was hauled down from behind.  A penalty made it 19-9.

Waugh, who had set up the first try, set up the second.  He latched onto a Scottish slap-back at the line-out and raced downfield on the Australian right.  The ball sped to Tuqiri on the left-wing.  He crabbed half the width of the field.  The Wallabies were close and won the ball.  George Gregan side-footed a dab of a kick over the line and dived on it to score.  The semi-final berth was assured at 26-9 with 22 minutes left.

The Wallabies used a penalty to make a five-metre line-out.  This became a five-metre scrum to the left of the posts as they looked at them.  From the scrum David Lyons, who had a strong-driving match throughout, picked up and drove at the line for a try with three Scots hanging on him -- 33-9 after 64 minutes.

This became the season for substitutions and the game was played out with the best efforts coming from the Scots.

The Wallabies conceded three penalties within five metres from their goal line.  The third became a line-out which splintered and Rob Russell, the replacement hooker, drove swiftly over with Cameron Mather in behind him.  Paterson converted and the match ended.

Man of the Match:  For Scotland, Nathan Hines was strong and Cameron Mather lively, and then there was noble Simon Taylor, one of the most skilled and most effective No.8s at the Rugby World Cup.  For Australia, David Lyons did many battering things into the Scottish ranks, George Gregan ran the show, Matt Cockbain made a big difference and Brendan Cannon did all hooking things well and found time to be a startling loose forward.  But our Man of the match is Phil Waugh whose alert, turnover efforts made two tries.

Moment of the Match:  The sweetness of Chris Paterson's soaring drop, a magic moment.

Villain of the Match:  None whatsoever.  Wendell Sailor's petulant slap was too feeble to count.

The Teams:

Australia:  1 Ben Darwin, 2 Brendan Cannon, 3 Bill Young, 4 Justin Harrison, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 6 George Smith, 7 Phil Waugh, 8 David Lyons, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Wendell Sailor, 12 Elton Flatley, 13 Stirling Mortlock, 14 Lote Tuqiri, 15 Mat Rogers
Reserves:  Matt Cockbain, Matt Giteau, Jeremy Paul, Joe Roff, Chris Whitaker, Alastair Baxter, Daniel Vickerman

Scotland:  1 Bruce Douglas, 2 Gordon Bulloch, 3 Tom Smith, 4 Nathan Hines, 5 Stuart Grimes, 6 Cameron Mather, 7 Jason White, 8 Simon Taylor, 9 Bryan Redpath (c), 10 Chris Paterson, 11 Kenny Logan, 12 Andrew Henderson, 13 Gregor Townsend, 14 Simon Danielli, 15 Glenn Metcalfe
Reserves:  Gordon McIlwham, Jon Petrie, Ben Hinshelwood, James McLaren, Scott Murray, Robbie Russell
Unused:  Michael Blair

Attendance:  45412
Referee:  Walsh s.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Mortlock S.A. 1, Gregan G.M. 1, Lyons D. 1
Conv:  Flatley E.J. 3
Pen K.:  Flatley E.J. 4

Scotland
Tries:  Russell R.R. 1
Conv:  Paterson C.D. 1
Pen K.:  Paterson C.D. 2
Drop G.:  Paterson C.D. 1

England 111 Uruguay 13

A ruthless England side hammered Uruguay 111-13 at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane to finish top of Pool C in the Rugby World Cup, with fullback Josh Lewsey becoming the first English player to score five tries in a RWC fixture.

In effect, Uruguay won their World Cup on Tuesday when they beat fellow Pool C minnows Georgia 24-12 to avoid the Pool Wooden Spoon.  Nobody expected the South Americans to challenge the might of England and it didn't take long for the tournament favourites to cross the Uruguayan tryline.

England immediately put the South Americans under pressure at the kick-off as they turned possession over and stretched the defence out wide.  "Los Teros" had no way of keeping tabs on the English runners and when flanker Lewis Moody eventually crossed for the try, he still had three runners outside of him.  Veteran fly-half Paul Grayson stretched the lead with the conversion.

Uruguay, although outclassed, refused to give in and took the game to their opponents and were rewarded with a penalty a minute later.  Fullback Juan Menchaca slotted the kick through the posts to close the gap to four points.

England then began to rush their play and the errors began to mount up -- the ball was knocked forward frequently and their passes began to find nothing but air, but perhaps most disturbing for coach Clive Woodward, was the number of turnover ball the highly-rated English forwards conceded.  Despite that poor period of play, however, Lewsey soon picked up his first try of the night when he joined the backline out wide and charged over the goalline.

After the re-start, England were awarded a scrum on the half-way line and the ball was swung wide to winger Iain Balshaw, who beat the defence for pace to pick up his first of two tries on the night.

Balshaw was back in the action 60 seconds later when he danced his way through a ragged "Los Teros" defence and steamed over for a second as the floodgates threatened to open up.

Uruguay refused to stand back, however, and they provided the crowd with something to cheer about when they opted to kick for touch deep inside the English 22 after being awarded a penalty.  The South Americans then spent the next 10 minutes camped on the England line as they bashed away desperately at a defence that refused to open up.

England absorbed the pressure and repelled the Uruguayan charge and then had the game wrapped up before the break after Mike Catt went over following a quick throw at the line-out, which put Balshaw into space and gave the winger plenty of time to link up with Catt for the final pass.

Another try to scrum-half Andy Gomarsall meant England went into the break at 42-6 up.

The second half, while all England, provided the highlight of the night for Uruguay when big tighthead prop Pablo Lemoine crashed over for their only try.  Uruguay, to the delight of all watching, chipped the ball into touch after claiming a penalty and drove the England pack toward their line.  Lemoine then charged at the English defenders like a raging bull and steamed right through Danny Grewcock and then over an unlucky Joe Worsley to dot down.

It would be the last time the South Americans had a sniff of the tryline, however, as the England team took control.  What followed was an ominous sign for all tournament contenders as the English ran riot over a tiring Uruguayan outfit.

Starting with a great solo effort in midfield by South African-born centre Stuart Abbott, the England backline reduced the opposition defence to tatters as they ran in a total of nine tries in the last 30 minutes to seal their spot at the top of Pool C and a quarter-final clash against the Pool D runner-ups.

While the result was never in doubt, England signalled their intent and despite a couple of disciplinary lapses and a display of petulance by Worsley when he was sent from the field for a high tackle, they achieved the win in an admirable fashion and would have put the entire 16-man fiasco, which overshadowed their RWC campaign during the past week, firmly behind them.

Although Worsley -- who had a go at the crowd when he was sin-binned -- would not have helped their standings in the popularity stakes.

Man of the match:  Iain Balshaw was a definite contender with his two tries, as was Mike Catt, who made a welcome return to Test rugby with a brace, but in the end Josh Lewsey at fullback was simply superb.  His reading of the game was exemplarily and his angles of running were superb and with five tries, he could not be passed over.

Moment of the match:  England ran in some superb tries, but we all knew they had this game wrapped up before the teams even lined up for the anthems.  Pablo Lemoine's bullocking charge on the line was superb and the way he shrugged off the tackles of Danny Grewcock and Joe Worsley are likely to go down in Uruguayan legend.

Villain of the match:  Joe Worsley's high tackle two minutes from time was completely unnecessary and his petulance as he marched off the field, sarcastically cheering the crowd on, reflected badly on the entire English team and highlighted, for many, exactly why the Six Nations champions are so unpopular at the tournament.

The Teams:

England:  1 Jason Leonard, 2 Dorian West, 3 Phil Vickery (c), 4 Martin Corry, 5 Danny Grewcock, 6 Joe Worsley, 7 Lewis Moody, 8 Lawrence Dallaglio, 9 Andy Gomarsall, 10 Paul Grayson, 11 Dan Luger, 12 Mike Catt, 13 Stuart Abbott, 14 Iain Balshaw, 15 Josh Lewsey
Reserves:  Kyran Bracken, Will Greenwood, Martin Johnson, Jason Robinson, Julian White
Unused:  Ben Kay, Steve Thompson

Uruguay:  1 Eduardo Berruti, 2 Diego Lamelas, 3 Pablo Lemoine, 4 Juan Alvarez, 5 Juan Carlos Bado, 6 Nicolas Brignoni, 7 Nicolas Grille, 8 Rodrigo Capo Ortega, 9 Juan Campomar, 10 Sebastian Aguirre, 11 Joaquin Pastore, 12 Diego Aguirre (c), 13 Joaquin De Freitas, 14 Jose Viana, 15 Juan Menchaca
Reserves:  Juan Alzueta, Rodrigo Sanchez, Guillermo Storace, Emiliano Caffera, Marcelo Gutierrez, Juan Andres Perez, Diego Reyes

Attendance:  46233
Referee:  Williams n.

Points Scorers:

England
Tries:  Lewsey O.J. 5, Balshaw I.R. 2, Abbott S.R. 1, Catt M.J. 2, Luger D.D. 1, Gomarsall A.C.T. 2, Moody L.W. 1, Greenwood W.J.H. 1, Robinson J.T. 2
Conv:  Catt M.J. 2, Grayson P.J. 11

Uruguay
Tries:  Lemoine P.A. 1
Conv:  Menchaca J.R. 1
Pen K.:  Menchaca J.R. 2

New Zealand 53 Wales 37

The All Blacks confirmed first position in Pool D of the 2003 Rugby World Cup, but Wales made them work all the way for their 53-37 win at the Telstra Stadium in Sydney.

In a World Cup already peppered with some fine encounters, it was feared that the final pool game of the tournament, between favourites New Zealand and the erratic Welsh, would fail to provide a decent climax.

But if this was meant to be walkover, no one told the Welsh players -- and they put in a performance that will lift the spirits of their nation.

Indeed, if ever there was a game to re-establish a team's credentials this was it -- in a mere 80 minutes Wales, written off by many as also-rans -- propelled themselves back into rugby's Major League.

Wales will now meet England in a quarter-final encounter in Brisbane, and could upset the sweet-looking chariot should they be able to maintain the kind of intensity and passion that they displayed against the All Blacks in Sydney.

New Zealand -- who now meet South Africa -- signalled their intentions directly from the kick-off with an explosive onslaught that left the Welsh defence clutching at thin air.

It was obvious that after three relatively easy games, New Zealand's runners were straining at the bit, and they quickly reduced Wales to bystanders as they began stringing together the phases.

Soon enough, after a series of flowing moves, winger Joe Rokocoko announced his return from injury with a try in the corner.

Wales looked in trouble, and things took a turn for the worst when fullback Garan Evans was stretchered off after colliding with his captain Colin Charvis in a tackle.

But the injury break gave the Welsh a chance to take stock of what needed to be done and they immediately went about attempting to wrestle the game from New Zealand's grip.

Suddenly, the All Blacks were on the back foot and Wales showed polished ball-retention skills, and some fine hands.

Wales found themselves playing the All Blacks at their own game, running with ball in hand and counter-attacking fluently.

The Wales backs were playing the kind of instinctive rugby that was long the hallmark of their forebears, and a chip and chase from fly-half Stephen Jones soon lead to Mark Taylor try.

Rokocoko replied immediately with a second try before Leon MacDonald profited from a quick penalty by Justin Marshall to squeeze in at the corner.

Lock Ali Williams was next on the scoresheet after he collected a cross-field kick from Carlos Spencer, and -- with the bonus point secured after only 20 minutes -- one could have forgiven the Welsh had they laid down to accept their fate.

But some determined Welsh running seemed to faze the New Zealanders and Wales start to sense that their defence was not as water-tight as they suspected.

A great break from wing Shane Williams split the All Blacks in two, and centre Sonny Parker slid into the corner for a try against the country of his birth.

Jones had added two penalty goals to the scoreboard, and -- when Wales were awarded a penalty within range of the posts at the stroke of half time -- all eyes went to the sticks.

But Charvis opted to kick for the corner and was rewarded for his bravery when he scored a try from the line-out.

Wales came into the second half overflowing with confidence and a Jones penalty kick soon gave them the lead.

Williams -- a constant source of inspiration for Wales -- soon added to New Zealand's woes by scoring in the corner, and Wales were suddenly heading to an unexpected victory.

The All Blacks knew they were in trouble and decided to pack away the dance shoes and pulled on the walking boots.

Slowly, but surely, the New Zealand pack bullied Wales back to their line and launched a series of short-distance raids.

Doug Howlett crossed the line with a diagonal dart to reduce the deficit to a point, before Spencer added another in similar fashion.

New Zealand were in the lead now and smothered the life out of the Welsh attack by keeping the ball tight and only rationing it out to when they were certain of control.

Howlett added another try to leave Wales seriously behind, and when Aaron Mauger added his side's eight try, it was all over for the brave Men in Red.

Man of the match:  With the game free-flowing out of New Zealand's hands, veteran All Black scrum-half Justin Marshall gathered in the reins and forced his forwards to buckle down to the basics.  His shrewd distribution and tactical awareness put his team back into the driving seat.

Moment of the Match:  We are absolutely spoilt for choice in this department!  There were plenty of dazzling individual moments, but if there was one thing that stood out it was Wales' indomitable spirit.  Nothing exemplified that more than the moment before half-time when they were awarded a kickable penalty, but opted to kick for the corner.  Welsh people worldwide must have winced at the decision, but skipper Colin Charvis had faith in his forwards and he dived over a pile of bodies for the try.

Villain of the Match:  It would be foolish to besmirch Wales' performance, but one can't help but think of what might have happened had Wales coach Steve Hansen selected his strongest starting line-up.  You win the award then, Mr Hansen, for not demonstrating the kind of belief that your players held today.

The Teams:

New Zealand:  1 David Hewett, 2 Keven Mealamu, 3 Greg Somerville, 4 Brad Thorn, 5 Ali Williams, 6 Richie McCaw, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Jerry Collins, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Carlos Spencer, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Leon MacDonald, 13 Aaron Mauger, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 15 Mils Muliaina
Reserves:  Marty Holah, Rodney So'oialo, Mark Hammett, Kees Meeuws
Unused:  Daniel Carter, Byron Kelleher, Ma'a Nonu

Wales:  1 Adam Jones, 2 Robin McBryde, 3 Iestyn Thomas, 4 Brent Cockbain, 5 Robert Sidoli, 6 Jonathan Thomas, 7 Colin Charvis (c), 8 Alix Popham, 9 Gareth Cooper, 10 Stephen Jones, 11 Tom Shanklin, 12 Sonny Parker, 13 Mark Taylor, 14 Shane Williams, 15 Garan Evans
Reserves:  Mefin Davies, Gethin Jenkins, Dafydd Jones, Dwayne Peel, Ceri Sweeney, Gareth Thomas, Chris Wyatt

Attendance:  80112
Referee:  Watson a.

Points Scorers:

New Zealand
Tries:  Howlett D.C. 2, MacDonald L.R. 1, Mauger A.J.D. 1, Rokocoko J. 2, Spencer C.J. 1, Williams A.J. 1
Conv:  MacDonald L.R. 5
Pen K.:  MacDonald L.R. 1

Wales
Tries:  Williams S.M. 1, Taylor M. 1, Parker S. 1, Charvis C.L. 1
Conv:  Jones S. 4
Pen K.:  Jones S. 3

Fiji 20 Scotland 22

A try by Tom Smith two minutes from full-time gave resilient Scotland a 22-20 victory over gallant Fiji at Aussie Stadium in Sydney.  Victory was enough to send Scotland through to the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.  Fiji, sadly, went home after a great campaign.

It was a match which Fiji could have sewn up in the first half when they had plenty of possession and great chances to score, but much of their effort waned with the departure of their sturdy hooker Greg Smith after 31 minutes.  No Smith, no ball, no quarter-final.

With Smith gone, the Fijians lost four line-outs and had two of their next four scrums wheeled.

Scotland were trailing by five points with two minutes to go when disaster struck Fiji.  First Api Naevo was sin-binned at a tackle.  From the penalty Scotland kicked out.  From the five-metre scrum they bashed and bashed as the Fijians repelled and repelled until Tom Smith, in his 50th Test match for his country, plunged over to level the scores.  Again Chris Paterson bisected the posts.

Behind for most of the time Scotland won.  The first part of the first half had suggested that they were in for a hiding.

After Paterson and Nicky Little had both missed penalty kicks at goal, Fiji took the lead in the simplest possible way -- by passing the ball to Rupeni Caucaunibuca.  He got the ball from a looping pass some 25 metres out with centimetres from the left touchline.  He ran down that touchline, beating three defenders to score in a Kenny Logan tackle at the corner.

Donal Courtney, the Television Match Official, confirmed the try.

At this stage the vital match belonged to Fiji.  They had another four gilt-edged chances to score tries.  First Aisea Tuilevu picked up a dropped ball on the half-way line and only a Glenn Metcalfe tackle and a TMO decision denied the Fijians a second try.

A cruel bounce denied Caucaunibuca a second try after Seru Rabeni had missed a drop at goal.  Then a forward pass seven metres from the line called them back from a fourth opportunity.

Whether their finger-nail defence gave the Scots heart or the disappointment sapped the Fijians, the Scots then had a good period.  In the space of two minutes Chris Paterson, their best player, the only one with an air of confidence, kicked two penalties and then cracked through a gap in a move, which ended when Andrew Henderson lost the ball at the line.

Enough Scotland.  The Fijians then did the sensible thing and gave the ball to Caucaunibuca.  The move started going right in their own 22.  Then it went left and on the 22 the pass went to Caucau, who strove, with the tranquil consciousness of effortless superiority, down the touchline deviating slightly to go inside one and then outside another before scoring near the posts to make the score 14-6 at half-time.

Scotland dominated most of the second half and three Paterson penalties gave them the lead with 19 minutes left, but Little brought his side back to the lead at 17-15 after Cameron Mather was penalised for being off-side.  Shortly afterwards big lock Ifereimi Rawaqa burst for the line.  Scottish attention was on Caucaunibuca on Rawaqa's left, but brave Glenn Metcalfe saved the day for Scotland.

One of Fiji's best weapons in the match was the high kick.  As the strong-shouldered Fijians came homing in, the Scots fumbled again and again.  As hirsute replacement Kitione Salawa approached, Kenny Logan knocked on some seven metres.  Off-side Bruce Douglas picked up and Little put his side 20-15 ahead with only six minutes left.

Those six minutes belonged to Scotland and were the vital six minutes of the thrilling match.

Man of the match:  The temptation is to give it to battered and bruised Glenn Metcalfe, whom the Fijians enjoyed hammering but the blind fullback kept coming back.  If he had been an American soldier he would have had purple hearts and all sorts of other awards.  Chris Paterson and Bryan Redpath were telling at fullback and Simon Taylor noble at No.8 though the best Scottish effort probably came from hooker Gordon Bulloch.  Moses Rauluni had a great game at scrum-half, till replaced by his brother Jacob, but the Man of the match was undoubtedly Rupeni Caucaunibuca.  He did not act often, but his little was greater than all others' performances -- just in a class of his own.

Moment of the match:  As Caucaunibuca came back with grinning casualness after his second try, lock Api Naevo knelt before him and took Caucaunibuca's boot on his knee and cleaned it.  It was a great moment, after a great try!

Villain of the match:  It must, sadly, go to Api Naevo for his untimely yellow card.

Yellow card(s):  Api Naevo (Fiji)

The Teams:

Fiji:  1 Isaia Rasila, 2 Greg Smith, 3 Joeli Veitayaki, 4 Apenisa Naevo, 5 Ifereimi Rawaqa, 6 Vula Maimuri, 7 Koli Sewabu, 8 Alifereti Doviverata (c), 9 Mosese Rauluni, 10 Nicky Little, 11 Rupeni Caucaunibuca, 12 Seru Rabeni, 13 Epeli Ruivadra, 14 Aisea Tuilevu, 15 Norman Ligairi
Reserves:  Vilimoni Delasau, Sisa Koyamaibole, Isikeli Nacewa, Jacob Rauluni, Kitione Salawa, Naka Seru
Unused:  Seta Tawake Naivaluwaqa

Scotland:  1 Bruce Douglas, 2 Gordon Bulloch, 3 Tom Smith, 4 Nathan Hines, 5 Stuart Grimes, 6 Ross Beattie, 7 Cameron Mather, 8 Simon Taylor, 9 Bryan Redpath (c), 10 Chris Paterson, 11 Kenny Logan, 12 Andrew Henderson, 13 Gregor Townsend, 14 Simon Danielli, 15 Glenn Metcalfe
Reserves:  Ben Hinshelwood, James McLaren, Robbie Russell, Jason White
Unused:  Michael Blair, Gordon McIlwham, Jon Petrie

Attendance:  37137
Referee:  Spreadbury t.

Points Scorers:

Fiji
Tries:  Caucaunibuca R. 2
Conv:  Little N.T. 2
Pen K.:  Little N.T. 2

Scotland
Tries:  Smith T.J. 1
Conv:  Paterson C.D. 1
Pen K.:  Paterson C.D. 5

South Africa 60 Samoa 10

The Springboks delivered a powerful message to the rest of the teams at the 2003 Rugby World Cup when they smashed Samoa by 60-10 at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium.  They outscored the Samoans by eight tries to one in an emphatic show of force.

South Africa now head to Melbourne, where they will most likely face the All Blacks at the Telstra Dome in the quarter-final next Saturday, November 8.

But the message delivered by the team of Corné Krige in a powerful first-half performance was that there is plenty of fight left in a Bok side that has limped from game to game all season.  It was, without doubt, the best -- and most clinical South African performance of this year.

For once this victory was not based on defence, but on a gargantuan set of forwards that set the platform and some impressive running from a backline that revelled in all the space and ball they received on the front foot.

It was all South Africa from the opening minutes and they completely crushed the Samoan spirit when the impressive Bok pack mauled the ball up field and kept control of possession.  In fact, in the first five minutes the Boks had more than 80 percent of the possession.

That eventually settled down to just under 70 percent at half-time, but the Samoans were forced to live of mere morsels in that first half.

Behind this pack 20-year-old fly-half Derick Hougaard shone in his first real Test and even though he is still rough around the edges, he showed that he has arrived on the scene.  His kicking out of hand and at goal was as impressive as ever and, most importantly, his option-taking superb.

The only real let-down is his near obsession with drop-goals and his sometimes crab-like running across the field when passing to hi as outside backs.  But overall, he gets a pass mark, no more, a near distinction.

If the Boks were to be criticised, and this is something coach Rudolf Straeuli will have to address as a matter of urgency, it is that they still have tendency to go to sleep early in the second half.  This allowed the Samoans a period of dominance in the third quarter and it very nearly gave them a sniff.

But once the Boks returned to their structured game of the forwards setting it up through mauling and phase-play, the Samoans were lost in the woods.  In fact, in the final 15 minutes the South Africans scored four tries to shut the Samoans out completely.

The Boks will also be concerned about the injury of ace flanker Joe van Niekerk, who was replaced at half-time after limping through play in the late stages of the first half.

But back to that first half, when the Boks showed what they really are capable off.

In the scrums the Samoans were constantly under pressure and on the back foot, while the Boks also stole several balls from the Pacific Islanders' line-outs.

Having received so little of the ball and then still receiving it on the back foot, the Samoan runners were very tentative.  Add to this some very solid hits from the Bok defenders and it was not surprising that the South Africans held a comfortable 31-3 lead at the break.

The first of the tries were scored when the Boks mauled up field and captain Corné Krige sprinted down the right-hand touchline and then, after play broke down, scrum-half Joost van der Westhuizen went on the blindside and off-loaded to Van Niekerk to score.

The second try came from a fine break by No.8 Juan Smith and a number of rucks, which produced quick ball.  When the space opened wide, the ball was spread to Jorrie Muller, who summed up the situation before darting over.

Hougaard also got it on the act when he pounced on a loose ball, after the Samoans were put under pressure.  The fly-half kicked the ball through and followed up to score.

And Smith completed the first-half scoring when hooker John Smit sold a huge dummy and handed the ball to the young No.8.

All the Boks' second-half tries came from broken-play, when the Samoans started to tire and could no longer close all the gaps.  But it showed that the Boks do have the ability to put a team away at the death.

Man of the match:  Some of the veterans in the team, including captain Corné Krige and scrum-half Joost van der Westhuizen, stood up and showed their true class.  In fact, this was probably the best performance of the year from these two.  Then there was fly-half Derick Hougaard's outstanding performance.  But our vote goes to the entire tight five for that awesome performance in the first half, when they absolutely destroyed the Samoans.

Moment of the match:  This one goes to an incident midway through the second half, when Samoan centre Brian Lima almost cut Bok fly-half Derick Hougaard in half with a tackle, following a real hospital pass from Van der Westhuizen.  The young Bok No.10 was pole-axed and was down for quite a while, but after a few agonising minutes he got to his feet and took up his position at fly-half again, as if nothing had happened.  That was when he signalled his arrival as a class act on the international scene.

Villain of the match:  This one goes to the Australian thug that ran onto the field near the end of the match and attempted to tackle replacement fly-half Louis Koen as he aimed a conversion at the posts.  Following the outcry against Piet van Zyl's actions in Durban last year, this idiot should be locked up and the key thrown away.

The Teams:

South Africa:  1 Faan Rautenbach, 2 John Smit, 3 Christo Bezuidenhout, 4 Victor Matfield, 5 Bakkies Botha, 6 Corne Krige (c), 7 Joe Van Niekerk, 8 Juan Smith, 9 Joost Van Der Westhuizen, 10 Derick Hougaard, 11 Ashwin Willemse, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Jorrie Muller, 14 Thinus Delport, 15 Jaco Van Der Westhuyzen
Reserves:  Jaque Fourie, Neil De Kock, Richard Bands, Schalk Burger Jr., Danie Coetzee, Louis Koen, Danie Rossouw

Samoa:  1 Jeremy Tomuli, 2 Jonathan Meredith, 3 Kas Lealamanu'a, 4 Leo Lafaiali'i, 5 Opeta Palepoi, 6 Maurie Fa'asavalu, 7 Peter Poulos, 8 Semo Sititi (c), 9 Steven So'oialo, 10 Earl Va'a, 11 Lome Fa'atau, 12 Romi Ropati, 13 Brian Lima, 14 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 15 Tanner Vili
Reserves:  Dominic Feaunati, Des Tuiali'i, Tamato Leupolu, Denning Tyrell, Kitiona Viliamu, Dale Rasmussen
Unused:  Mahonri Schwalger

Attendance:  48496
Referee:  White c.

Points Scorers:

South Africa
Tries:  Van Der Westhuyzen J 1, Willemse A.K. 1, Muller G.P. 1, Hougaard D.J. 1, Smith J.H. 1, Van Niekerk J.C. 1, De Kock N.A. 1, Fourie J. 1
Conv:  Hougaard D.J. 5, Koen L.J. 2
Pen K.:  Hougaard D.J. 1
Drop G.:  Hougaard D.J. 1

Samoa
Tries:  Palepoi O. 1
Conv:  Va'a E.V. 1
Pen K.:  Va'a E.V. 1

Australia 17 Ireland 16

Australia managed to hold on in the face of a fierce Irish onslaught to sneak a 17-16 victory in their final 2003 Rugby World Cup Pool A match in Melbourne.  The victory sees the Wallabies top the pool and it sets up a quarter-final match against Scotland next week, while second-placed Ireland will have to face France.

This was a superb match that could have gone either way, both teams showing a real willingness to play positive attacking rugby and contribute to this fine advertisement for indoor rugby.

More like a knockout game than a mere pool tie, this game had everything that the aficonado could desire -- two well-matched packs knocking lumps out of each other;  dazzling strike-runners out wide;  and the requisite big hits in midfield.

With very little difference between the two teams in terms of pace, power and intensity, the result came down to the finest of margins, with the wayward goal-kicking of Ireland fly-half Ronan O'Gara in the first half having major repercussions.

Ireland may also regret their decision to spurn a kickable penalty in the final quarter of the match and are unlikely to make the same mistake again during the rest of the tournament.

But in the final analysis, Australia deserved to shade this contest, their uncanny ability to raise the tempo of the game at just the right moments giving them the victorious edge.

But, of course, they did not have it all their own way and from the start, as the strains of "Fields of Athrenry" echoed off the roof of the Telstra Dome from the many thousands of green-clad fans around the stadium, it was apparent that Ireland would take strength from their huge travelling support.

Ireland got off to a rousing start, their forwards making an immediate incursion into their opponents' territory to give O'Gara his first chance at goal.

But he was not able to find his range in this early attempt and a few minute later it was Ireland who were feeling the pressure, some slick handling and excellent continuity taking play right down into the Irish 22.

With the referee's arm already out for the penalty for an Irish off-side, Wallaby skipper George Gregan took the ball in midfield and slotted a very neat drop-goal to open the scoring and settle some early nerves.

Just two minutes later, after more excellent work from the Wallabies in the midfield, Ireland were pinned back into their own territory again.

As the ball zipped back from a midfield ruck at double-quick pace, a superb long pass from Elton Flatley made room for George Smith to gallop in untouched in the left-hand corner.

That made it 8-0 -- Flatley missing the conversion -- and there were ominous signs for Ireland that they were going to struggle to deal with Australia's wide game, although Ireland were able to claw back three points some moments later when O'Gara was successful with his second penalty attempt.

That was quickly negated by the boot of Flatley, the centre slotting a penalty in the 17th minute to make it 11-3.

O'Gara missed with his third penalty attempt in the 22nd minute after Australia collapsed a maul way out left following a promising Irish attack, but it appeared that the Wallabies were dealing easily with whatever Keith Wood and co. could throw at them.

Ireland's best attack of the half came some 10 minutes later -- the Men in Green matching the slick handling of their opponents to punch some holes in midfield.  As a ruck was set up in the Australia 22, Flatley got his body on the wrong side to give the penalty away and O'Gara kicked his the points to keep Ireland in touch.

Then, as the half ran down, there was controversy after a ruck degenerated into a free-for-all on the ground following Shane Horgan's rough footwork on Mat Rogers who appeared to be handling the ball in an illegal position.

With several players from both sides drawn into the conflict, New Zealand referee Paddy O'Brien calmed things down, showing both Horgan and Rogers the yellow card.

Save for one length-of-the-field Australian move which was stopped by a brilliant cover tackle from Peter Stringer, that was the last act of the half, intimating that the final result was no foregone conclusion.

The second half started at high pace, the Wallabies noticeably upping the tempo of their play to stretch the Irish defence from the outset.

Australia had their first chance of points just a minute after the break, when O'Driscoll attempted to bring down George Smith by the non-IRB approved "dreadlock tackle" method, but Flatley was just short with the penalty kick.

He made amends some minutes later, kicking a penalty following an off-side decision against Ireland prop John Hayes.

But Ireland stormed right back into the match some minutes later, taking advantage of a moment of madness from the normally cucumber-cool Wallaby No.10 Stephen Larkham.

Larkham opted for a quick throw-in just five metres from his own tryline, nearly gifting Ireland a soft try as Wood and Stringer hared up in pursuit of the ball.

While Australia survived that close shave, it gave a precious attacking platform for Ireland and, showing great ball retention, the Irish battered the Wallabies' defensive line before the ball was shifted wide to O'Driscoll.

As two defenders closed in on him, O'Driscoll showed perfect finishing ability to dive in at the corner -- the video ref rubber-stamping the try a few seconds later.

Unbelievably given his problems throughout the match, O'Gara slotted the conversion from wide out, to put Ireland within a point of their hosts.

Flatley, however, restored the four-point lead with another penalty some moments later, but there was plenty more drama to come.

As the match reached the final quarter, Ireland fought to save the match, a huge up-and-under raining down on the Australia tryline with Horgan in hot pursuit.

The big winger got hands to the ball but just could not keep hold of it, knocking on in the in-goal area to allow Australia supporters to sigh a huge breath of relief.

But the tension was heightened in the 68th minute -- O'Driscoll kicking a drop-goal to bring his team within a point of the world champions.

Both sides stuck to the task as the clock ran down and with less than five minutes of the match left, replacement David Humphreys let fly with another drop-goal attempt.

The ball went wide -- and with it went Ireland's chance of topping Pool A as the Wallabies held their nerve for the frantic last few moments.

While there could only be one winner, both sides will go into the last eight full of confidence that they have the all-round game to launch an assault on rugby's ultimate prize.

Man of the Match:  A number of top performances on both sides, not least Ireland skipper Keith Wood who was an irresistible force in the loose, with Peter Stringer and Paul O'Connell not far behind him in the honour roster.  But we'll go for Wallaby back rower George Smith, who was "Mr Perpetual Motion' throughout proceedings.

Moment of the Match:  Some excellent moments in this encounter -- not least Brian O'Driscoll's thumping tackle on Joe Roff, which rocked the Wallaby wing to his bootstraps.  Then there was O'Driscoll's brilliant dive into the corner for a try at the beginning of the second half.  But we'll go for George Smith's try, demonstrating, as it did, a perfect combination of power, pace and guile from the Wallabies.

Villain of the Match:  Aficionados of the "biff" would not have been disappointed by the flashpoint in the dying moments of the first half when several Australian players took exception to the harsh rucking of Shane Horgan on Wallaby fullback Mat Rogers -- on the wrong side -- and retaliated.  No major damage done, but yellow cards for Horgan and Rogers, earning them this accolade.  A dishonourable mention goes to Irish centre Brian O'Driscoll for his hair-pulling antics on George Smith at the start of the second half.

Yellow card(s):  Mat Rogers (Australia), Shane Horgan (Ireland)

The Teams:

Australia:  1 Ben Darwin, 2 Brendan Cannon, 3 Bill Young, 4 David Giffin, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 6 George Smith, 7 Phil Waugh, 8 David Lyons, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Joe Roff, 12 Matthew Burke, 13 Elton Flatley, 14 Wendell Sailor, 15 Mat Rogers
Reserves:  Matt Cockbain, Matt Giteau, Jeremy Paul, Alastair Baxter, Daniel Vickerman, Lote Tuqiri
Unused:  Chris Whitaker

Ireland:  1 John Hayes, 2 Keith Wood (c), 3 Reggie Corrigan, 4 Malcolm O'Kelly, 5 Paul O'Connell, 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 Shane Horgan, 15 Girvan Dempsey
Reserves:  David Humphreys, Eric Miller, Marcus Horan, John Kelly, Donncha O'Callaghan
Unused:  Shane Byrne, Guy Easterby

Attendance:  54760
Referee:  O'brien p.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Smith G.B. 1
Pen K.:  Flatley E.J. 3
Drop G.:  Gregan G.M. 1

Ireland
Tries:  O'Driscoll B.G. 1
Conv:  O'Gara R.J.R. 1
Pen K.:  O'Gara R.J.R. 2
Drop G.:  O'Driscoll B.G. 1