Canada 27 NZ Maori 65

The New Zealand Maori began their three-match tour of Canada with a comprehensive 65-27 win over the Canadian national team in Calgary.

The home team began strongly, with centre Nik Witkowski scoring an early, which was converted by fly-half Bob Ross, before the tourists hit back with unconverted tries by forward Troy Flavell and back Rico Gear.

A penalty from Ross tied the scores at 10-all, but a double from Canterbury winger Joe Maddock and a try by Shayne Austin saw the NZ Maori run into a useful 31-15 half-time lead.

Hurricanes halfback Brendan Haami, who replaced Aucklander Dave Gibson after the break, ran in an early second-half try, but a try from Canadian loosehead prop Kevin Tkachuk cut the scoreline to 39-22 before the New Zealanders turned it on, scoring another four tries, with Canada replying with one from Ross.

Austin and Haami completed their doubles, with replacement first five-eighth Glen Jackson getting over for a try, along with former All Black No.8 Ron Cribb.

"We're rapt with that [the result]," NZ Maori coach Matt Te Pou told NZPA.

"We had a lot of young guys in the side and we all had to cope with the altitude; it's 3500 feet [above sea level] and the heat and humidity, so to finish so strongly was great."

The New Zealand Maori face a Canadian All Stars XV in Ottawa on Wednesday, with the second "Test" against Canada in Toronto on Saturday, August 2.

The teams:

Canada:  1 Garth Cooke, 2 Mark Lawson, 3 Kevin Tkachuk, 4 Mike James, 5 Colin Yukes, 6 Ryan Banks (c), 7 Adam Van Staveren, 8 Phil Murphy, 9 Morgan Williams, 10 Bobby Ross, 11 Sean Fauth, 12 John Cannon, 13 Nik Witkowski, 14 Winston Stanley, 15 James Pritchard
Reserves:  Marco Di Girolomo, Jim Douglas, Pat Dunkley, Ed Fairhurst, Jeff Reid, Ryan Smith
Unused:  Kevin Wirachowski

New Zealand Maori:  15 Christian Cullen, 14 Shayne Austin, 13 Rico Gear, 12 Norm Berryman, 11 Joe Maddock, 10 Willie Walker, 9 David Gibson, 8 Ron Cribb, 7 Germaine Anaha, 6 Troy Flavell, 5 Kristian Ormsby, 4 Paul Tito (captain), 3 Carl Hayman, 2 Slade McFarland, 1 Joe McDonnell.
Replacements:  16 Scott Linklater, 17 Deacon Manu, 18 Warren Smith, 19 Wayne McEntee, 20 Glen Jackson, 21 Brendan Haami, 22 Justin Wilson.

Attendance:  6500
Referee:  ?

Points Scorers:

Canada
Tries:  Witkowski N. 1, Stanley W.U. 1, Ross R.P. 1, Tkachuk K. 1
Conv:  Ross R.P. 2
Pen K.:  Ross R.P. 1

New Zealand Maori
Tries:  Flavell, Gear, Maddock 2, Austin 2, Haami 2, Jackson, Cribb
Cons:  Walker 4, Jackson 2
Pen:  Walker

Australia 21 New Zealand 50

New Zealand finally laid their recent Sydney bogey to rest with an emphatic 50-21 win over the world champion Wallabies at the Telstra Stadium, the Men in Black outscoring their hosts by seven tries to three in their Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup fixture.

The Kiwis were simply awesome as they blew the Wallabies away, much like last week against the Springboks, after recovering from a slow start, which saw the home side run into an early 5-0 lead.

Matthew Burke was the Wallaby try-scorer after a scorching break from outside centre Mat Rogers, who broke through a tackle from Justin Marshall before speeding down the touchline.  The support was there, with Wendell Sailor and Elton Flatley both handling the ball before Burke nipped through a gap from a well-timed Toutai Kefu pass.

Burke missed the conversion, allowing New Zealand to narrow the gap to just two points through a well-struck Carlos Spencer penalty just two minutes later.

Daniel Vickerman conceded a silly penalty soon after the re-start, for holding back an opponent at a line-out, which saw the Kiwis turn up the heat.  A stray line-out throw from the Wallabies saw the ball get out to new wing sensation Joe Rokocoko and he flew past his marker Wendell Sailor, who looked like his feet were stuck in a cement block.

Sailor was obviously keen to make amends for his defensive blunder soon afterwards, but his over-exuberance saw the complexion of the match change completely when he was yellow-carded for a dangerous tackle on All Black fullback Mils Muliaina.

The All Blacks were ahead by 8-5 when Sailor went into the bin and although the Wallabies made a good fist of things initially, with Burke slotting a penalty soon after Sailor's sin-binning, the Kiwis were patient as they slowly began gunning for the jugular.

With just minutes remaining in Sailor's spell off the field Aaron Mauger ripped the Wallaby defence apart when he spotted Pat Noriega in the backline before unloading to Doug Howlett to finish under the uprights.  Spencer converted for a 15-8 lead, but the Kiwis were not done yet as Rokocoko completed his brace, flying down the right-hand touchline with his marker warming up on the sidelines.

Spencer missed the conversion, but at 20-8 the Kiwis had knocked the stuffing out of the bewildered Australians, exactly as they had done to the Springboks last week.

Burke slotted his second penalty of the night to narrow the scoreline to 20-11, but Spencer cancelled that out with a long-range effort on the half-time hooter.  At 23-11 the Australians needed to come out firing after the break.

The start of the second half was muted in comparison with the end of the first period, but when the Kiwis had a chance to add to their scoreline they did, Spencer kicking another penalty to stretch his side's lead to 26-11.

More Kiwi pressure forced the Wallabies back into their 22-metre area, a wonderful kick-ahead from Chris Jack pinning them near their tryline before a failed touch-finder from Stephen Larkham found Rokocoko.  The Blues flyer flung the ball in-field and two long passes later it found Muliaina, who switched inside to Tana Umaga, the veteran Kiwi changing angle slightly and leaving George Smith clutching at thin air as he crashed over for try number four.

Spencer converted and at 33-11 it was game over for the home team, with All Black coach John Mitchell getting Spencer off the field soon afterwards -- a sure sign that it was mission accomplished for the "Men in Black".

Young Daniel Carter -- Spencer's replacement -- got in on the act soon after entering the fray, a show of the ball and a surprising turn of pace taking him to the goalline.  He missed the conversion of his own try, with the ball hitting the left-hand upright, but at 38-11 the Australians were facing a record loss.

Sailor, who missed Rokocoko twice on defence, got one back shortly before the start of the final quarter as he powered through the All Black defence from first receiver to add to his try against the Boks in Cape Town.

Rogers also got in on the act later on, with a superb long-range effort, but Rokocoko had already completed his hat-trick before then, while Mauger danced over from close-range on the final hooter to complete the humiliation.

This was not Australia's biggest-ever Test loss.  That record belongs to the class of '97, going down by 61-22 to the Springboks in Pretoria, while this was also not Australia's biggest-ever loss to New Zealand, with Sean Fitzpatrick's All Blacks handing the Wallabies a 43-6 thrashing in 1996.  It was, however, the biggest-ever score that they have conceded to New Zealand.

The All Blacks already have one hand on the Tri-Nations trophy with their second successive away win, while the Australians would need to play with some authority when they travel to Auckland in August for their return clash against the old enemy.

The Kiwis are a class above South Africa and Australia at present -- any bets for next week's clash in Brisbane? -- and the only team capable of stopping the rampant English side at the Rugby World Cup in Australia later this year.

Man of the Match:  It really is hard to single out one All Black player, with every single "Man in Black" impressing on the night.  For the Wallabies, hooker Brendan Cannon fought a lone battle, while the rest of his team-mates wilted under pressure.  Keven Mealamu and Chris Jack were the best Kiwi forwards and the entire New Zealand backline had the better of their opponents.  But one man in particular that was at the heart of the New Zealand's brilliant performance was second five-eighth Aaron Mauger, who was playing in only his second Test since last year's Tri-Nations series.  He combines so well with Spencer and takes the pressure off the classy Blues No.10 with his decision-making and power.

Moment of the Match:  Every single New Zealand try deserves a mention here, while the two Australian tries were not half-bad either.  But our Moment of the match came from a delightful bit of work from All Black second rower Chris Jack -- a deft kick-ahead off his left boot rolling into touch just metres from the Wallaby goalline in the build-up to Tana Umaga's try.  That kick would have pleased most fly-halves.

Villain of the Match:  Quite an easy one here -- Wallaby wing Wendell Sailor.  The "Big Del" was shown a yellow card for a silly tackle on Mils Muliaina as the All Black fullback was in the air fielding a high kick.  Sailor was guilty of ball-watching and it cost his team dearly.  He was carded in the 24th minute, with the score at 8-8.  When he returned to the field of play New Zealand were leading by 20-8.  Interestingly, Sailor's team-mate, hooker Brendan Cannon, was lucky to escape censure just a few minutes later for exactly the same offence on Muliaina.

Yellow card(s):  Wendell Sailor (Australia, 24)

The Teams:

Australia:  1 Patricio Noriega, 2 Brendan Cannon, 3 Bill Young, 4 David Giffin, 5 Daniel Vickerman, 6 George Smith, 7 Phil Waugh, 8 Toutai Kefu, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Wendell Sailor, 12 Elton Flatley, 13 Mat Rogers, 14 Lote Tuqiri, 15 Matthew Burke
Reserves:  Owen Finegan, Chris Latham, Ben Darwin, Adam Freier, Nathan Sharpe, Steve Kefu
Unused:  Chris Whitaker

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

Attendance:  82096
Referee:  Spreadbury t.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Burke M.C. 1, Rogers M.S. 1, Sailor W.J. 1
Pen K.:  Burke M.C. 2

New Zealand
Tries:  Carter D.W. 1, Howlett D.C. 1, Mauger A.J.D. 1, Umaga J.F. 1, Rokocoko J. 3
Conv:  Carter D.W. 1, Spencer C.J. 2
Pen K.:  Spencer C.J. 3

New Zealand 52 South Africa 16

Reuben Thorne's All Blacks, who have been under pressure in New Zealand of late for some poor performances, got their 2003 Tri-Nations campaign off to the best possible start with a record 52-16 win over the Springboks at Securicor Loftus.

All Black coach John Mitchell has received a hammering in New Zealand of late for dropping Anton Oliver and not selecting Taine Randell and Christian Cullen, but this victory would have bought the Kiwi mentor some time as the "Men in Black" plan their assault on the William Webb Ellis trophy later in the year.

In the process the All Blacks also re-wrote a host of records for Test matches against the Springboks, but for Rudolf Straeuli it was the second time in five Test matches that his side has conceded 50 points or more, with England being the most recent nation to do so (at Twickenham last year).

Not only was this New Zealand's biggest-ever win over the Springboks -- both home and away -- surpassing the 28-nil scoreline in Dunedin in 1999, but it was also South Africa's biggest-ever loss in the Tri-Nations, while New Zealand's record of seven tries on the day equalled their previous record of tries against the Boks in a single game.

Both wingers Joe Rokocoko -- on his Tri-Nations debut -- and Doug Howlett scored two tries, joining Christian Cullen, Jeff Wilson, Frank Bunce, Ben Tune, Joe Roff and Chris Latham as players to have done so in Tri-Nations Tests against South Africa.

The Springboks began the game like the proverbial house on fire, but a 15-minute try-scoring blitz from the New Zealanders shortly after the 10-minute mark shut the Boks out, with the "Men in Black" weighing in with tries from Carlos Spencer, Howlett and Rokocoko, with the visitors' superior skill proving too much for the home team.

Spencer's try came after a wonderful burst from lock Chris Jack, who spotted the smallest of gaps around a ruck in the Bok half.  He simply leant down, picked the ball up and ran ahead before powering through a tackle from Brent Russell.

The ball was re-cycled and Spencer went left, showed the ball to Stefan Terblanché and then coasted in.  Spencer missed the conversion -- after missing an earlier penalty attempt -- but the Kiwis were in the lead at 5-3 after 11 minutes.

But New Zealand's lead was to be short-lived, with Koen succeeding with a well-struck drop-goal from the All Blacks' 10-metre line, after the home side had come close to scoring their first try of the day -- only for Brent Russell, the hero from last week, to knock-on with an open tryline after the initial break from Koen and a superb assist from skipper Corné Krige.

Then the All Blacks stepped into over-drive, with their highly-skilled backs either punching holes or creating holes in SA's brittle defence through their superior power and pace.

New Zealand's second try came off a simple backline move, with Spencer passing to Aaron Mauger, who had drifted down the backline past his marker André Snyman, before unloading to a flying Howlett, who sped over.  Spencer finally converted and the visitors led by 15-6.

The Kiwis then began attacking from their own territory, with fullback Mils Muliaina exploiting some space down the blindside before Rokocoko got in on the act.

Russell managed to half-stop the powerful Kiwi wing and the ball eventually went loose when Richie McCaw could not control it, but a wild inside pass from Russell found the All Black No.11 again, instead of Krige, Russell's intended target, and Rokocoko ran over unopposed.

Spencer converted and suddenly the Boks were staring down the barrel at 22-6, which soon became 22-9 after Koen's second successful penalty attempt.

Any hopes of a Springbok comeback were dashed early in the second stanza when Spencer slotted a penalty soon after the break, while, crucially, just minutes later Stefan Terblanché somehow contrived to lose the ball as he dived for the corner with Thorne in close attendance.

The build-up to Terblanché's try -- courtesy of a strong run from De Wet Barry -- suggested that the Boks had some fight left, but his silly error, and the Kiwi's subsequent scrambling on defence, took them back into enemy territory where Spencer's boot earned them another three points.

A flood of replacements from both sides saw the game lose a bit of shape and structure, but when it returned some delightful handling from Spencer, Jerry Collins and Tana Umaga led to Rokocoko's second try -- which, it must be said, was not as easy as his first five-pointer.  Although his first score was like taking candy from a baby ...

Three more All Black tries -- and two Spencer conversions -- took their score past the 50-point mark, while South Africa's best back on the day, greenhorn left-wing Ashwin Willemse, scrambled over for his team's only try of the day.  Not that it mattered for much.

Amazingly, Willemse's try -- in the 72nd minute -- signalled South Africa's first points since a Koen penalty in the 33rd minute.

The Kiwis, who still need to brush up their forward play, can take a lot of confidence from this win -- their sixth out of a possible eight on South African soil in the Tri-Nations -- while South Africa must be wishing that these 80 minutes were nothing but a dream.

The truth is, the Boks can pinch themselves well into the night, but the sooner they realise their shortcomings the better, with some individuals -- Joost van der Westhuizen, André Snyman and Stefan Terblanché in particular -- just not up to the required standard of Test rugby, especially when compared to their awesome All Black opponents on the day.

Man of the match:  Just about all 15 of the New Zealanders deserve a look-in here, while for the home team, only Juan Smith and Ashwin Willemse can look back at this game with any pride at all.  The three key men in the All Black machine were back rowers Richie McCaw and Jerry Collins and first five-eighth Carlos Spencer, who recovered from a nervy start to control the game superbly from the No.10 position.  But, in the end we opted for Collins for his powerful defence and strong ball-carrying on attack, with the Hurricanes No.8 slowly, but surely, making a name for himself at the back of the All Black scrum.

Moment of the Match:  Joe Rokocoko's second try was a prime example of wonderful handling from the New Zealanders and the patience required to putting points on the board at the highest level.  Spencer timed his pass well, past two Bok defenders, Collins flung the "hot potato" out to Tana Umaga, who went inside, before flicking the ball out to the newest All Black wing sensation, who simply dived over for the try.

Villain of the Match:  The bumbling Boks were all headed for this award, but All Black replacement prop Kees Meeuws wins this award for his silly elbow in the face of Springbok front rower Robbie Kempson.  Meeuws had just scored a try, Kempson's hand fell on his face and Meeuws responded with a swift elbow into Kempson's nose.  Why do that when your team is winning?

Yellow card(s):  Kees Meeuws (New Zealand, 66)

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 Steve Devine, 10 Carlos Spencer, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Aaron Mauger, 13 Tana Umaga, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 15 Mils Muliaina
Reserves:  Rodney So'oialo, Brad Thorn, Mark Hammett, Justin Marshall, Kees Meeuws
Unused:  Daniel Carter, Caleb Ralph

South Africa:  1 Richard Bands, 2 Danie Coetzee, 3 Lawrence Sephaka, 4 Victor Matfield, 5 Bakkies Botha, 6 Wikus Van Heerden, 7 Corne Krige (c), 8 Juan Smith, 9 Joost Van Der Westhuizen, 10 Louis Koen, 11 Ashwin Willemse, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Andre Snyman, 14 Stefan Terblanche, 15 Brent Russell
Reserves:  Craig Davidson, Selborne Boome, Robbie Kempson, Andre Pretorius, Dale Santon, Pedrie Wannenburg
Unused:  Gcobani Bobo

Attendance:  50000
Referee:  Rolland a.

Points Scorers:

New Zealand
Tries:  Howlett D.C. 2, Mauger A.J.D. 1, Rokocoko J. 2, Spencer C.J. 1, Meeuws K.J. 1
Conv:  Spencer C.J. 4
Pen K.:  Spencer C.J. 3

South Africa
Tries:  Willemse A.K. 1
Conv:  Koen L.J. 1
Pen K.:  Koen L.J. 2
Drop G.:  Koen L.J. 1

Australia 22 South Africa 26

The Springboks were always going to need something special to pull off a win in their Tri-Nations opener against the Wallabies.  Brent Russell provided that bit of magic as South Africa maintained their good record at home against Australia, with a 26-22 win over the world champions.

Russell, an early replacement for injured fullback Jaco van der Westhuyzen, helped himself to a try, while he also set up SA's second five-pointer, a crucial score in the final analysis.

The match started off well enough for the Springboks when Van der Westhuyzen fielded a high ball from the Wallabies, but that simple act could have destroyed his World Cup dream, with the Bok No.15 limping off immediately afterwards.

It was confirmed at half-time that Van der Westhuyzen tore the ligaments in his left knee, ruling him out of action for at least three months.

But Van der Westhuyzen's departure did not have an affect on the home side, with the energetic Russell breathing life into the Bok side just minutes after his arrival.

He ran with purpose and verve, teasing the Wallaby defence with every step he took, and with his forwards controlling the ball well through a series of phases, he was on hand just two minutes after he replaced Van der Westhuyzen, to round off the first try-scoring movement of the day.

Fly-half Louis Koen added the conversion and the Boks held a handy 7-3 lead – after an early Matthew Burke drop-goal.

The home side continued to pressurise the Wallabies, who were battling in the line-outs, with three throws going astray, but when former Cape Town boy Daniel Vickerman claimed some clean line-out ball the Wallabies put Wendell Sailor over for a try off a clever inside ball from his fellow Rugby League convert Mat Rogers.

Burke added the extras to put his side ahead by 10-7, but Koen equalised soon afterwards with his first penalty attempt in the 28th minute.

Another Koen penalty saw the Boks creep ahead at 13-10 before another moment of Russell brilliance led to their second try of the afternoon.

Sailor had made some ground down the right-hand touchline and after getting past Thinus Delport he chipped the ball in-field to his team-mates.  While it seemed like a clever enough move at the time, Sailor managed only to kick the ball straight to Russell on his own 22-metre line.

The little Sharks utility set off immediately, leaving a trail of Wallabies on the ground, before finding support from De Wet Barry.  The Bok No.12 found Russell in support again, who in turn found Stefan Terblanché, before the final pass going to lock Victor Matfield, who was up in support.

Koen, predictably, added the two points, but he missed a penalty on the stroke of half-time to leave his side ahead by 20-10.

The Wallabies got into their stride in the second half, outscoring the Boks by 12-6, but the home team managed to hold on after their rousing first-half display.

Interestingly, as with the start of the match, the Boks once again lost a player to injury, with centre Marius Joubert not returning after the first half.  He was replaced by Gcobani Bobo, with the Lions man having a solid half alongside the big hitting De Wet Barry.

Barry, recalled to the side after an absence of nearly one year, rattled the Wallabies' cages with some ferocious hits in the crucial inside centre position, and that helped unsettle his opposite number, rookie Steve Kefu.  Barry did, however, blot his copy-book when he was yellow-carded early in the second period for a foul at the tackle.

The Wallabies ran in two second-half tries, through Phil Waugh -- in Barry's absence -- and Joe Roff, but Koen's boot kept his team ahead at crucial moments, with the visitors continually having to chase a try in the latter stages of the match, instead of just a penalty, many of which were in kicking distance.

As it turns out, Matthew Burke did not have one penalty attempt at goal, with the much-talked about Bok discipline holding out at key moments -- except for Barry's 10 minutes in the sin bin, despite some huge pressure from the Wallabies.

For Wallaby coach Eddie Jones his team's line-out and ball control will be of major concern, while Bok coach Rudolf Straeuli and his charges will be full of confidence after this win, with the All Blacks in wait in Pretoria next week.

The Boks, however, have not beaten the Kiwis since 2000 -- something they will be keen to rectify next week, with this win coming at just the right time after uninspiring victories over Scotland (twice) and Argentina in June.

Man of the Match:  A host of contenders here, with the passionate Springboks providing most of them.  There was Lawrence Sephaka's work-rate, Victor Matfield's line-out prowess, Corné Krige's defence, Louis Koen's boot, De Wet Barry's punishing defence and Russell's running from the back.  For the Wallabies, hard-working flank Phil Waugh stood out, powerhouse No.8 Toutai Kefu and the clever Mat Rogers.  But our final vote goes to Brent Russell for his match-winning effort on attack and defence.  Yes, the little man can tackle, with a try-saving tackle on Toutai Kefu in the 22nd minute.

Moment of the Match:  Sailor's try was impressive, so, too, Russell's, but our moment was Victor Matfield's try, started, of course, by the Bok pocket-rocket from the edge of his 22.  The Boks showed good skill and composure when the move could so easily have broken down, but it was down to Russell, who did the initial running.

Villain of the Match:  Wallaby replacement Lote Tuqiri gets our vote here for his "little" flurry of kicks and/or punches on Springbok hard man Rob Kempson.  Sure, Kempson is no angel, but Tuqiri was lucky to escape any censure.

The Teams:

Australia:  1 Patricio Noriega, 2 Brendan Cannon, 3 Bill Young, 4 David Giffin, 5 Daniel Vickerman, 6 David Lyons, 7 Phil Waugh, 8 Toutai Kefu, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Elton Flatley, 11 Joe Roff, 12 Mat Rogers, 13 Steve Kefu, 14 Wendell Sailor, 15 Matthew Burke
Reserves:  Owen Finegan, Steve Larkham, Ben Darwin, Adam Freier, Nathan Sharpe, Lote Tuqiri
Unused:  Chris Whitaker

South Africa:  1 Richard Bands, 2 Danie Coetzee, 3 Lawrence Sephaka, 4 Victor Matfield, 5 Bakkies Botha, 6 Wikus Van Heerden, 7 Corne Krige (c), 8 Juan Smith, 9 Joost Van Der Westhuizen, 10 Louis Koen, 11 Thinus Delport, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Marius Joubert, 14 Stefan Terblanche, 15 Jaco Van Der Westhuyzen
Reserves:  Gcobani Bobo, Selborne Boome, Robbie Kempson, Brent Russell, Dale Santon, Pedrie Wannenburg
Unused:  Craig Davidson

Attendance:  48678
Referee:  Walsh s.r.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Sailor W.J. 1, Roff J.W.C. 1, Waugh P.R. 1
Conv:  Burke M.C. 2
Drop G.:  Burke M.C. 1

South Africa
Tries:  Matfield V. 1, Russell R.B. 1
Conv:  Koen L.J. 2
Pen K.:  Koen L.J. 4

England A 55 Japan 20

The England XV completed their tour of the Far East with a convincing 55-20 victory over Japan at Tokyo's National Stadium, with Bath fullback Iain Balshaw sending a timely reminder to England senior coach Clive Woodward with a pair of tries.

New Harlequins prop Mike Worsley scored the tourists' first try of the day early on when he crossed the line from short range, ensuring that England were never behind their hosts on the scoreboard, leading 24-10 at the interval.

A try from Namba for the Japanese after some good forward work in the tight kept the game open as a contest, but the intervention of Balshaw from fullback saw the visitors accelerate away.

He intercepted and ran nearly the whole length of the pitch for one of his scores, as well as setting up a try for prop Will Green with a well-judged kick.

England ran in nine tries in total as their strength told late on, with three of them coming from props -- Neal Hatley adding to Green and Worsley's tries.

New Bath scrum-half Martyn Wood helped himself to a pair of tries as the field opened up in hot and humid conditions.

Gloucester wing James Simpson-Daniel and Saracens centre Ben Johnston were the other try-scorers in a game which showed the growing strength in the English game.

The England side was based on the same second-string outfit which claimed the Churchill Cup title in Canada last month, as well as getting the better of a Japan Select XV on Thursday.

But Japan dug in and never gave up, their effort being rewarded right at the end when replacement Takashi Yoshida crossed the line -- Hirose converting for the second time after previously strikng two penalties.

The Teams:

Japan:  T Kurihara (Suntory), D Ohata (Montferrand), H Namba (Toyota Motor), Y Motoki (Kobe Steel), H Onozawa (Suntory), K Hirose (Toyota Motor), Y Sonoda (Kobe Steel), S Hasegawa (Suntory), M Amino (NEC), M Toyoyama (Toyota Motor), H Kiso (Yamaha Motor), A Parker (Toshiba Fuchu), T Ito (Kobe Steel), T Miuchi (capt, NEC), Y Saito (Colomiers).
Reps:  M Yamamoto (Toyota Motor), H Matsuo (Toshiba Fuchu), K Kubo (Yamaha Motor), Y Watanabe (Toshiba Fuchu), W Murata (Yamaha Motor), R Parkinson (Sanix), T Yoshida (Suntory).

England:  I Balshaw (Bath), M Cueto (Sale Sharks, D Scarbrough Leeds Tykes 67), B Johnston (Saracens), H Paul (Gloucester), J Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester), D Walder (Newcastle Falcons, O Barkley Bath 73), M Wood (Bath), M Worsley (NEC Harlequins, N Hatley London Irish 58), P Greening (London Wasps, A Titterrell Sale Sharks 65), W Green (London Wasps), A Codling (Saracens, P Volley London Wasps 27), C Jones (A Sheridan 58 both Sale Sharks), P Anglesea (Sale Sharks), A Hazell (Gloucester, D Hyde Leeds Tykes 60), H Vyvyan (capt, Newcastle Falcons).

Points Scorers:

For Japan:
Tries:  Yoshida, Namba
Cons:  Hirose 2
Pens:  Hirose 2

For England:
Tries:  Balshaw 2, Wood 2, Simpson-Daniel, Johnston, Worsley, Green, Hatley
Cons:  Walder 5

Attendance:  20000
Referee:  Deaker k.