New Zealand retain Bledisloe Cup

Narrow win in Brisbane seals trophy

New Zealand sealed the Bledisloe Cup and laid one hand on the 2006 Tri-Nations trophy with a narrow 13-9 win over Australia in Brisbane on Saturday.

Joe Rokocoko's try in the first half was the difference between the two teams, and although Australia had the better of the possession and territory they could not find the key to unlock some magnificent All Black defence.

The one-try thriller was a thoroughly absorbing contest between two skilled and determined sides.  In the end there was a try's worth of difference.  The hour and a half simply flew away.

New Zealand had much the better of the scrums, shoving ahead on their own ball and making a mess of a few Wallaby scrums.  The Wallabies had much the better of the line-outs, taking six throws off the All Blacks who also threw in skew once.  The line-outs were more important in terms of getting possession as there were 37 of them, but the damage to the scrums -- there were only 17 of them -- did more damage to morale.  The penalty count was 7-6 to Australia in the first half and 10-9 over all, but where the All Blacks probably profited most was at the vital post-tackle turn-overs.

There were differences in playing styles.  The Wallabies went on one-man charges and used the boot a lot while the All Blacks looked for chances to pass and run, even from within their own territory.

Both sides tackled with deadly efficiency and it was a late tackle which saved the game for the All Blacks.  Going right, Stirling Mortlock produced the most incisive break of the match.  Mark Gerrard was free on the outside and raced for the line.  He started to come back inside as Richie McCaw charged across in desperation.  It was similar to the earlier Rokocoko-on-Latham situation in Bledisloe one, but McCaw got his man and then he got to his feet and got the vital ball.  It was a moment of brilliance by one of the world's greatest forwards.

After all the polemic about the throat-cutting haka, the All Blacks did not do it.  They went back to a "Ka Mate" with grimaces.  Then came Waltzing Matilda during which the Wallabies did their own dance -- playing defence against tackle-shields while the All Blacks stood and watched in deflated amazement.  One-upmanship became two-upmanship!

The first half flew by.  The Wallabies had more possession and bashed and kicked but it was against an adamantine defence which allowed them not a chink of a gap.  The Wallabies did not look like scoring a try, not even when they marched a post-line-out maul some 18 metres to about five metres from the new Zealand line by which time George Smith, the ball-carrier, had got ahead and the All Blacks, with Chris Jack powerful, won a turn-over.

The All Blacks had two chances to score tries, and they took the first one brilliantly.

They were going left in close formation.  Right against the touch-line, Joe Rokocoko got a tiny pass from Jerry Collins which he had to pull back from behind and then he accelerated.  He went past Rocky Elsom on the outside, away from Matt Giteau and then inside Chris Latham for a magnificent try.

On the other occasion the All Blacks went left with lots of flicked passes -- Carter inside to Gear, Gear back to Carter, Carter to Mauger, Mauger inside to Kelleher, Kelleher to Mils Muliaina and suddenly the All Black had space but the intense Wallaby defence scampered across and put Leon MacDonald down.

The Wallabies started the scoring when Keven Mealamu suffered a dubious penalty for coming in the side of a maul when he gave every impression of coming in from behind.  Mortlock goaled that after 8 minutes.

Straightaway the All Blacks struck with Rokocoko's try which Carter, from the left corner on his left foot, bisected the uprights with the conversion.  That made it 7-3 after ten minutes.

When Latham kicked the ball out for a line-out five metres from the All Black line, McCaw jumped at number two and won the ball.  Kelleher cleared.

When MacDonald broke and set Carter running away from Mortlock from within the New Zealand 22 a try was possible.

When Rocky Elsom was penalised for illegally using his hands at a tackle, Carter made it 10-3.  This was followed by a period of frantic Wallaby attack.  There was no doubting their intent, but the attacking was one-at-a-time and the resilient All Blacks resisted.

Just before half-time Mealamu was penalised for diving in and Mortlock made the score at the break 10-6.

The New Zealanders stared the second half destroying two Wallaby scrums.  The Wallabies had the first real chance to score but McCaw thwarted that with that magical turnover.  Soon afterwards they had a second chance on the other wing when they countered and gave Lote Tuqiri a chance to run but this time it was Ali Williams who was there to tackle and win the vital turn-over.

The All Blacks had an attacking moment and a drop goal by Carter made it 13-6 to the All Blacks.

Soon afterwards Williams was penalised at a tackle/ruck and Mortlock made it 13-9.

That was the final score but it tells little of the massive, valiant efforts of both sides.

Just before the end the Wallabies won a rare turn-over at a tackle but Latham kicked it into the All Blacks' in-goal where Carter was on hand to ground the ball.

When the siren went the Wallabies had the ball and they went through phase after phase, but slightly in their own half and without getting beyond the gain-line until the game died on an unplayable tackle.

Man of the Match:  There were lots of heroes out there, especially Stirling Mortlock and George Smith for Australia and our Man of the Match -- leader and saviour, Richie McCaw.

Moment of the Match:  It's a toss up between Joe Rokocoko's try and Richie McCaw's try-saving action.  Let's give it to the try.

Villain of the Match:  There were tiny emotional moments but Jerry Collins may well have attracted the citing commissioner's interest as he tugged, and kept tugging at, George Smith's long locks.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Pens:  Mortlock 3

For New Zealand:
Try:  Rokocoko
Con:  Carter
Pen:  Carter
Drop goal:  Carter

Australia:  15 Chris Latham, 14 Mark Gerrard, 13 Stirling Mortlock (vice-captain), 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Stephen Larkham, 9 George Gregan (captain), 8 Scott Fava, 7 George Smith, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Dan Vickerman (vice-captain), 4 Nathan Sharpe, 3 Rodney Blake, 2 Jeremy Paul, 1 Greg Holmes.
Replacements:  16 Tai McIsaac, 17 Guy Shepherdson, 18 Mark Chisholm, 19 Wycliff Palu, 20 Sam Cordingley, 21 Mat Rogers, 22 Clyde Rathbone.

New Zealand:  15 Leon MacDonald, 14 Rico Gear, 13 Mils Muliaina, 12 Aaron Mauger, 11 Joe Rokocoko, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Byron Kelleher, 8 Rodney So'oialo, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 Jerry Collins, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Chris Jack, 3 Carl Hayman, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Andrew Hore, 17 Greg Somerville, 18 Jason Eaton, 19 Chris Masoe, 20 Jimmy Cowan, 21 Luke McAlister, 22 Isaia Toeava.

Referee:  Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Touch judges:  Joël Jutge (France), Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Television match official:  Willie Roos (South Africa)
Assessor:  Dick Byres (Australia)

Uruguay in big win over Chile

RWC qualifier in Montevideo

In a Rugby World Cup qualifier Uruguay beat Chile 43-15 at Club Nacional in Montevideo on Saturday.

The victory sends Uruguay into répechage against a North American side, the loser of the match between Canda and the USA.

Both the teams had lost to the Pumas of Argentina who go directly to France in 2007.

Uruguay dominated the first half and led 25-3 at the break after two tries by Nicolás Grille and one each by Juan Pérez and Juan Miguel Álvarez.  Nicolás Grille scored his first try after 8 minutes and Uruguay, who were at the final World Cup tournaments in 1999 and 2003, were never behind on the scoreboard.

In the second half the brave Chileans fought back and got two tires, one by Rodrigo Coda, another by Sebastián Berti.  Coda was unfortunate not to be awarded another try after a great 80-metre run.

Scorers:

For Uruguay:
Tries:  Nicolás Grille, Juan Pérez, Juan Miguel Álvarez, Juan Menchaca, Ignacio Conti
Cons:  Juan Menchaca 3
Pens:  Juan Menchaca 4

For Chile:
Tries:  Rodrigo Coda, Sebastián Berti
Con:  Sebastián Berti
Pen:  Sebastián Berti

Teams:

Uruguay:  15 Juan Menchaca, 14 Francisco De Posadas, 13 Joaquín Pastore, 12 Diego Aguirre, 11 Juan Labat, 10 Matías Arocena, 9 Juan Campomar, 8 Rodrigo Capó (captain), 7 Nicolás Grille, 6 Hernán Ponte, 5 Juan Alzuet, 4 Juan Miguel Álvarez, 3 Guillermo Storace, 2 Juan Andrés Pérez, 1 Diego Lamelas
Replacements:  Rodrigo Sánchez, Nicolás Klappenbach, Mario Sagario, Ignacio Conti, Rafael Álvarez, Sebastián Aguirre, Gustavo Voituret
Coaches:  Nicolás Inciarte, Fernando Silva

Chile:  15 Francisco Cruz, 14 Cristóbal Berti, 13 Felipe Graell, 12 Cristián Onetto, 11 Rodrigo Coda, 10 Sebastián Berti, 9 Nicolás Arancibia, 8 Alejandro Tocigl, 7 Cristóbal Westenenk, 6 Edmundo Olfos, 5 Sebastián García (captain), 4 Patricio Desmond, 3 Sebastián Gajardo, 2 Jorge Pollack, 1 Nicolás Venegas
Replacements:  Sergio De La Fuente, Luis Pavez, Alejandro Moreno, Paul Marsalli, Lucas Seccattore, Tomás Olave, Cristián González
Coaches:  Jorge Navesi, Cristián Jory

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Touch judges:  Daniel Jabase, Federico Cuesta (both Argentina)
Assessor:  Carlos Molinari (Argentina)

Boks get the boot in Wellington

Carter sees off South Africa

New Zealand recorded a gritty 35-17 victory over South Africa at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Saturday -- but the all-conquering All Blacks struggled to rein in the sprightly visitors.

The Springboks exorcised some of the memories of last week's defeat in Australia with a commendable performance that shook the resolve of their hosts and denied the Tri-Nations leaders of an all-important bonus point.

South Africa opened the scoring with a try from Fourie du Preez in the first minute of play, but they were unable to capitalise on the early lead.

New Zealand rallied from the set-back and began to chip away at South Africa's lead with the dead eyes and steady nerve of Daniel Carter doing the damage.

But what a difference a week makes!  And what a difference a boot makes!

The Springboks were barely recognisable from the half-hearted team that was thrashed by the Wallabies, probably causing a national sigh of relief in South Africa, but still the scoreboard tells of a heavy defeat.  It was the boot that did it.  Not entirely, of course, but as a telling factor.

Carter kicked seven penalties out of seven.  Percy Montgomery missed his first three, all of them eminently kickable.  Two of those misses were in the first half at a time when they could have given the Springboks back the lead.

In addition, Leon MacDonald and Carter were better at kicking out of hand than Montgomery and Butch James.

The Springbok back-three also looked wobbly, and produced the bizarre moment of the match when the All Blacks kicked off and nearly scored as veteran Montgomery had a senior moment and Bryan Habana was casual, as he was throughout another poor performance from a player who was once the best one-man strike force in the rugby world.

The boot was the main protagonist of this tussle in Wellington -- two kicks, one late in each half, were turned into tries.  But the genius of Carter made a major contribution, as did Springbok sluggishness reminiscent of Brisbane last week.

Those were the obviously telling factors in a New Zealand win and a South African defeat.

South Africa were better at the line-outs, New Zealand at the scrums.  New Zealand got mauls going better but the Springboks had a great one which almost led to a try.

Both teams countered mauls from five metres from their line efficiently.  Both teams tackled in deadly fashion.  In post-tackle play the New Zealand tactic of getting close to but beyond the tackler kept the Springboks away from the tackle and rendered that area relatively uncompetitive.  It is a tactic of dubious legality.

The penalty count was high -- 15-11 against the Springboks but it was the first-half count that really sunk them -- 7-4 against, four of them goaled.

All of that said, it was a stern encounter, worthy of the great rugby history between the world's sternest rugby nations.

The Springboks were 80 minutes on the field against Australia and did not score a point.  They played for 17 seconds against New Zealand and scored seven points.  What a difference a week makes!

The Springboks kicked off deep.  They put immediate pressure on the All Blacks who got the ball back to Carter who had Du Preez and Matfield charging at him.  Du Preez charged down the kick.  It bounced high in in-goal where Du Preez waited for the ball to come down, caught it with a fumble and fell on it.  Montgomery converted.

There was a lot of kicking during the ensuing part of the game, the All Blacks banging it downfield, the Springboks banging it into touch.  The result was that the first scrum came after 14 minutes.  There were just six in the first half.  But by then the Carter litany was being chanted.

When Matfield went off-side, Carter made it 7-3.

When Du Preez handled the ball in a tackle/ruck, Carter made it 7-6.

When CJ van der Linde was penalised for unbinding at a Springbok scrum, as he had been against the Wallabies, Carter made it 9-7 to New Zealand after 24 minutes.

When Van der Linde was penalised for diving at a tackle/ruck Carter made it 12-7.

That seemed to be what the score at half-time would be.  But two important events were yet to unfold.

First the Springboks attacked and got the ball back from a tackle/ruck near New Zealand's posts but Habana, light, delicate wing, tried to bash past the New Zealand defenders when his backs were standing with width and longing.  Back the Springboks went to a penalty which they made into a five-metre line-out.  The All Blacks got stuck into their attempt at a maul and Chris Jack won a turn-over which enabled them to clear.

At the next line-out Matfield threw a horrible pass over the head of Wynand Olivier and suddenly the All Blacks were attacking.  Du Preez was back to gather a kick-ahead.  Kick it out and it was half-time.  Instead he kicked low and long to Carter -- a massive mistake.  Carter raced and stepped.  Mils Muliaina's raced and passed.  Things looked wobbly but Piri Weepu was on hand to snatch the ball up and force his way over.  Ineluctably Carter converted and the half-time sounded with the All Blacks winning 19-7.

Early in the second half John Smit was silly at a tackle and Carter made the score 22-7.

The All Blacks were close to scoring soon afterwards when they won a turn-over after a line-out and went speeding wide on the left, the try nullified by a forward pass.

Carter then made it 25-7 from a tackle/ruck penalty, but with 18 minutes to go the Springboks got their second try.

Doug Howlett, under no pressure, knocked on near his 22.  The All Blacks put huge pressure on the Springbok scrum but Jacques Cronjé got the pass to Du Preez in the fly-half birth.  He kicked a long diagonal towards the right wing -- a perfect kick.  Breyton Paulse, playing his 60th Test, caught the ball, scooted past MacDonald and scored.  Montgomery converted.

Montgomery missed his third penalty but when Carl Hayman was penalised at a much-collapsed scrum, Montgomery made it 25-17.  It was still a contest with nine minutes to play.

It was from that moment that Montgomery and Habana combined to give the All Blacks a chance at a try.  The matter was referred to the television match official who detected a tiny knock-on off Ali Williams's wrist which resulted in a scrum to South Africa.

New Zealand tried a cross kick for big Scott Hamilton but Montgomery and Paulse combined to avert the danger.  But when Montgomery was penalised for throwing the ball away after being forced into touch, Carter made it 28-17 with seven minutes left.

Then James returned a long, probing kick via the boot, and the ball found Carter on the touch-line.  The maestro ran, chipped, gathered and gave to McCaw who scored.  That sounds so easy -- and it was, even though it took over 50 metres to do it.  Game, set and match.

The Springboks have reasons to be cheerful, they were better but still not good enough.  The first edition of the extended Tri-Nations is not yet into its adolescence and its already beginning to look like a two-horse race.

Man of the match:  No question -- Daniel Carter.  Forget all others and forget his initial error, he was the major difference.  He kicked 25 points and made the other ten for New Zealand.  He tackled, kicked out of hand judiciously and was his side's general.

Moment of the Match:  There was Daniel Carter's chip that led to Richie McCaw's try, there was Percy Montgomery's senior moment and there was Du Preez's hold-your-breath kick that produced Breyton Paulse's try, but the moment of the match was really that charge-down and try by Fourie du Preez that announced to the world that this was going to be a Test match.

Villain of the Match:  There were moments of mild emotion but nothing that was obvious villainy.

The scorers:
For New Zealand:
Tries:  Weepu, McCaw
Con:  Carter 2
Pens:  Carter 7

For South Africa:
Tries:  Du Preez, Paulse
Cons:  Montgomery 2
Pen:  Montgomery

The teams:
New Zealand:  15 Leon MacDonald, 14 Doug Howlett, 13 Mils Muliaina, 12 Sam Tuitupou, 11 Scott Hamilton, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Rodney So'oialo, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 Reuben Thorne, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Chris Jack, 3 Carl Hayman, 2 Anton Oliver, 1 Neemia Tialata.
Replacements:  16 Andrew Hore, 17 Greg Somerville, 18 Greg Rawlinson, 19 Chris Masoe, 20 Jimmy Cowan, 21 Luke McAlister, 22 Isaia Toeava.

South Africa:  15 Percy Montgomery, 14 Breyton Paulse, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Butch James, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Jacques Cronjé, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Solly Tyibilika, 4 Victor Matfield, 4 Albert van den Bergh, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 John Smit (captain), 1 Os du Randt.
Replacements:  16 Danie Coetzee, 17 Eddie Andrews, 18 Johann Muller, 19 Joe van Niekerk, 20 Enrico Januarie, 21 Meyer Bosman, 22 JP Pietersen.

Referee:  Joël Jutge (France)
Touch judges:  Alain Rolland (Ireland), Stuart Dickinson (Australia)
Television match official:  George Ayoub (Australia)
Assessor:  Steve Hilditch (Ireland)

Wallabies smash Boks with record score

South Africa's second biggest lost ever

Australia recorded the biggest ever win over South Africa at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday, notching up an emphatic 49-0 victory over the thoroughly outclassed visitors.  The result also saw the Wallabies overtake the Springboks in third place on the IRB World Rankings.

Even worse, the six tries to nil hammering is the largest defeat by any team in more than 10 years of Tri-Nations history.

And it is second biggest defeat ever suffered by the Boks in more than 100 years of rugby -- only one point less than the 50-point (53-3) hammering they suffered against England at Twickenham in 2002.

This game was billed as bulk versus beauty, South Africa's piano-shifters versus Australia's piano-players.  It wasn't quite like that.  The Wallabies not only tinkled the ivories, they looked capable of ripping the raw material right off an elephant's face.

The local forwards, clearly stung by the negative press that followed last week's loss in New Zealand, chose to attack the green pack from the off.

The tactic visibly unsettled the Boks who were unable to get a foothold on the damp Suncorp Stadium turf -- conditions that all but the Wallaby forwards believed would favour the big men from South Africa.

How wrong we were!

The Wallabies -- all 15 of them -- came out of the traps more in the manner of Tigger than Roo, bouncing around the pitch with gusto, determined not to allow the rain to ruin their parade.

The visitors, meanwhile, stayed true to their sobriquet, stalking the grass with unease as if acutely aware that any one of their number was just moments away from being chewed up and spat out.

They weren't far wrong.  The Wallabies showed all the instincts of the big cats of the highveld and feasted on poor South African kicking, weak defence, naive debutants and shoddy tactics.

They also showed a particular appetite for the lumpy texture of South Africa fly-half Jaco van der Westhuyzen who would have perhaps preferred to spend the day in the depths of the Kruger National Park, tethered to a tree by a strings of sausages.

Australia's final try-tally tells the tale of tape -- three tries to the pack, three to the forward -- total rugby at it's best.

But the floodgates were kicked open by Stephen Larkham who landed a soaring drop-goal from about 30 yards out, taking advantage of the flat-footed Bok backline who were ready to defend against the various running moves that they had read about in the papers.

South Africans were wholly unable to play their rehearsed percentage/territory game as attempted touch-finder after attempted touch-finder failed to cross the line, allowing the Australia's audacious backline plenty of ammunition.

With the soggy conditions drowning a number of early attacks, the Wallabies chose to look to touch themselves and a beautifully worked rolling-maul off a line-out in the corner saw Jeremy Paul flop over the line for the first.  Mortlock added the extras.

It was a poignant moment for Australian rugby -- Paul's score not only allowed the gold pack to being to believe in themselves but paid handsome tribute to the memory of another illustrious Wallaby hooker, Paul Mooney, who passed away last month.  A minute's silence had marked the death of the doyen of Queensland rugby just prior to kick-off.

The Wallabies' opening try deflated the Boks.  Van der Westhuyzen fluffed a clearance before Percy Montgomery spilt an easy "mark", and Mortlock was soon lining up the sticks, slotting a penalty-kick to open up a 13-0 lead after just 20 minutes.

Then came the moment of the game, and perhaps sport's earliest coup de grâce.

A well-taken gold line-out on the gold 10-metre line looked pretty innocuous, but a short pass from George Gregan to Larkham screamed "open sesame" and the green jerseys parted like the Red Sea.

Larkham was off, cutting a line to the corner before turning the back-pedalling Bryan Habana inside out.  Gregan was on hand to take the pass and feed Greg Holmes who proved that his recent try against Ireland was no fluke by taking the ball over the whitewash.  Mortlock converted as the Boks attempted to understand what was transpiring.

The Wallabies had now warmed to the task and made the most of another spilt ball from Van der Westhuyzen, hacking it on into space.

South Africa debutant Akona Ndungane -- out of his depth opposite Lote Tuqiri -- got back well and gathered the loose ball, but George Smith was on hand to pick the debutant's pocket.  Gregan spread possession wide but Bok lock Victor Matfield killed the potential try by swatted the ball away.

Mortlock added three points to his side's tally as Matfield made his way to the sin-bin.

The Australians were clearly enjoying the outing by this stage and the source of their fun was Van der Westhuyzen's channel that lacked the meaty back-up of the injured Schalk Burger.

Another short pass -- this time from Gerrard -- allowed the outstanding Matt Giteau to step past the stricken fly-half and he was under the posts before the Boks could blink.  Mortlock added the conversion to leave the Boks 30-0 adrift at the break.

The third quarter of the game saw a slender improvement from the visitors -- they began to concentrated on their strengths and strung together a number of meaningful attacks on the end of a series of meaty mauls.

They also started to catapult their big forwards at the fringes with reasonable effect.

Even their appalling defence began to show some signs of spine, with replacement scrum-half Fourie du Preez managing to hold up replacement scrum-half Sam Cordingley over the line.

But, inevitably, it was the Wallabies who got the next score -- a sublime crossfield kick from Giteau found Tuqiri who popped the ball inside to Latham who in turn sauntered over the line.  Mortlock added the extras once again.

Latham then almost followed up his try by creating one, but he fumbled the ball whilst under no pressure whatsoever, and it was a measure of Australia's complete dominance that the unforced error was greeted with laughter by Latham and his mates.

Du Preez then pulled off another try-saving tackle on Nathan Sharpe, but he was soon standing under his posts once again.

Giteau pirouetted out of a tackle before hitting replacement wing Clyde Rathbone with a pass.  The SA-born flyer grubbered back inside to the creator of the move who slide over for his second try of the night.

Mortlock, for once, was unable to find the sticks with his conversion attempt -- but he was soon lining up another after Mark Chisholm punctuated another nice Rathbone raid by touching down.

Mortlock bagged the extras, and South Africa's nightmare was complete.

The sound of the All Blacks licking their lips across the "ditch" was almost audible as Paul Honiss called this remarkable game to an end -- South Africa have a date with the New Zealand in Wellington on Saturday.  May the heavens have mercy on them.

Man of the match:  Plenty of fine performances within the Wallaby rank, with the tenacity of their forwards raising a few eyebrows, and Rocky Elsom proving once again that he is a big-name in the making.  And gold medals to each member of the gold backline, with a special mention to Matt Giteau who produced a masterclass on his return from a long lay-off.  Perhaps the new Western Force signing is worth all that money ...

Moment of the match:  That try from Greg Holmes encapsulated all that was good about this Wallaby performance -- a tidy set-piece followed by cunning then magic then power.

Villain of the match:  A few hangbags were swung, but nothing too violent.  Enrico Januarie was the worst offender, his claw to Stirling Mortlock's face was unnecessary and underhand.  For a comedy moment, we'll opt for Jaco van der Westhuyzen's protestations that a fumbled attempt at a catch was actually an attempted drop-kick; he was about 10 metres outside his own 22 at the time.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Paul, Holmes, Giteau, Latham, Giteau, Chisholm
Cons:  Mortlock 5
Pens:  Mortlock 2
DG:  Larkham

For South Africa:
None

Yellow card:  Victor Matfield (South Africa, 31)

The teams:

Australia:  15 Chris Latham, 14 Mark Gerrard, 13 Stirling Mortlock (vice-captain), 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Stephen Larkham, 9 George Gregan (captain), 8 Scott Fava, 7 George Smith, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Dan Vickerman (vice-captain), 4 Nathan Sharpe, 3 Guy Shepherdson, 2 Jeremy Paul, 1 Greg Holmes.
Replacements:  16 Sean Hardman, 17 Al Baxter, 18 Mark Chisholm, 19 Phil Waugh, 20 Sam Cordingley, 21 Mat Rogers, 22 Clyde Rathbone.

South Africa:  15 Percy Montgomery, 14 Akona Ndungane, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Wynand Olivier, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Jaco van der Westhuyzen, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Joe van Niekerk, 5 Danie Rossouw, 4 Victor Matfield, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 John Smit (captain), 1 Os du Randt.
Replacements:  16 Danie Coetzee, 17 Eddie Andrews, 18 Albert van der Berg, 19 Jacques Cronjé, 20 Fourie du Preez, 21 Meyer Bosman, 22 Breyton Paulse.

Referee:  Paul Honiss (New Zealand)
Touch judges:  Steve Walsh, Lyndon Bray (both New Zealand)
Television match official:  Gary Wise (New Zealand)
Assessor:  Steve Hilditch (Ireland)

Pumas qualify to take on the world

Victory in Buenos Aires takes books Argentina's spot in France

Argentina have qualified for the World Cup in France next year after beating Uruguay 26-0 in Buenos Aires.

Worcester Warriors new signing Miguel Avramovic scored the two tries while man-of-the-match Federico Todeschini, who has just joined Top 14 team Montpellier, converted both and added four penalties.

Argentina will now play in a tough-looking World Cup Pool D against France, Ireland, a third European team and the top African qualifier.

Uruguay meanwhile now face Chile on July 22 with the winner advancing to a play-off against either Canada or the United States.

The opening exchanges of the match were scrappy as both sides struggled in the slippery conditions that came as a result of a heavy thunder storm an hour before kick-off.

The rain kept cohesive attacking rugby to a minimum, and although Argentina did try to stretch a brave Uruguay side, it was down to the Pumas forwards to lay the foundations for victory.

While virtually all the first half play was contested inside Uruguay’s half, the visitors proved with some ferocious tackling that they would not be bowled over.

Martin Schusterman was held up over the line in the 31st minute by a magnificent forward effort, and it was left to Todeschini, who was impeccable with the boot in conditions that were not suited to place kicking, to steer Argentina into the lead, kicking three first half penalties to leave the home side with a 9-0 advantage at the interval.

The rain abated in the second half, but the wind in the San Isidro Stadium picked up, adding a new problem to what was already proving a difficult match – a lack of consistent kicking.

The Pumas resorted to endless forward drives, the brave Uruguayans began to tire and Argentina took a vice-like grip on the match when Uruguay captain Rodrigo Capo was sin-binned.

Avramovic scored twice in rapid succession while Todeschini kept the scoreboard ticking over with both conversions and a fourth penalty to seal what was in the end a comfortable victory.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Tries:  Avramovic 2
Cons:  Todeschini 2
Pens:  Todeschini 4

Yellow cards:  Capo (Uruguay, 56, killing the ball)

Argentina:  15 Federico Serra, 14 Rafael Carballo, 13 Gonzalo Tiesi, 12 Miguel Avramovic, 11 Lucas Borges, 10 Federico Todeschini, 9 Agustín Pichot (captain), 8 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 7 Martín Schusterman, 6 Martín Durand, 5 Rimas Álvarez, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Martín Scelzo, 2 Mario Ledesma, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements:  16 Pablo Gambarini, 17 Gastón De Robertis, 18 Pablo Bouza, 19 Agustín Creevy, 20 Nicolás Vergallo, 21 Juan de la Cruz Fernández Miranda, 22 Horacio Agulla.

Uruguay:  15 Juan Menchaca, 14 Francisco Bulanti, 13 Juan Manuel Llovet, 12 Diego Aguirre, 11 Juan Labat, 10 Matías Arocena, 9 Juan Campomar, 8 Rodrigo Capo (capitán), 7 Alfredo Giuria, 6 Rafael Álvarez, 5 Juan Miguel Álvarez, 4 Juan Alzueta, 3 Guillermo Storace, 2 Juan Andrés Pérez, 1 Diego Lamelas.
Replacements:  16 Federico Capo, 17 Nicolás Klappembach, 18 Rodrigo Sánchez, 19 Ignacio Conti, 20 Nicolás Grille, 21 Sebastián Aguirre, 22 y Gustavo Voituret

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)

First blood to the All Blacks at Jade

New Zealand take full points in Tri-Nations opener

It was first blood to New Zealand in the expanded Tri-Nations tournament.  The All Blacks recorded a convincing 32-12 win over Australia in the opening match at Jade Stadium in Christchurch on Saturday, gaining an all-important bonus point by outscoring the visitors by four tries to two.

For the first half hour, all the pre-tournament moans and rumbles about New Zealand peaking to early and not being settled looked like being proved right.  The All Black backs stood too flat, the forwards left each other isolated, and the hands spilled ball as though it were made of vaseline.

Australia's defenders stood in a line, tackled with solidity, and bided their time in patience, breaking out once after a quarter of an hour to score a scintillating try.  It had an aura of inevitability about it too, and a source of New Zealand riposte was not easy to locate.

Then Rocky Elsom was sin-binned, and it all changed.  Wallaby tacklers fell off their prey.  Line-outs became a lottery.  The scrum -- which had in fairness been buckling already as Carl Hayman welcomed Greg Holmes to the big time -- crumpled out of all existence under the weight of the extra man.  Keven Mealamu picked off a stray line-out to level the scores, and then dived over a maul to hand the home team the lead.

New Zealand were seven points behind when Elsom left, by the time he returned, New Zealand were seven ahead at 14-7, and as the players left the pitch, the air of a let-off trailed behind them in the light Canterbury mist.  The Wallabies were not so lucky in the second half.

The stupidity and effect of the sin-binning should not be under-estimated.  Elsom had been warned by referee Jonathan Kaplan -- who handled affairs with his usual detached authority -- just two minutes before for killing the ball.

At the very next ruck, Elsom simply collapsed on top of the ball-carrier in an untidy heap, even wriggling briefly so as to make sure the ball was not even able to peep out around the corners of his impressive frame.

Kaplan had little choice but to dish out a yellow card, and suddenly Australia had one choice less at the line-outs too.  Two minutes later, Tai McIsaac's throw evaded Dan Vickerman's clutches, and Mealamu seized the bouncing ball to score, right through the hole which Elsom had hitherto been filling more than adequately.

For the next ten minutes, New Zealand found that particular Elsom-shaped hole all over the pitch and in all phases of play, as their game finally came together.  Five minutes after the first, Mealamu popped up again, this time capitalising on a magician's sleight of hand from McCaw which took out three defenders.  All Mealamu had to do was fall over.

Mealamu's first try cancelled out the opener by Lote Tuqiri, which was the highlight of the opening half-hour.  Chris Latham took one of a few nondescript kicks from Aaron Mauger, and ran it back, chipping and regathering spectacularly as he burst through a couple of tackles like a Hollywood cop charging through a villain's front door.

Latham's timed pass took Leon MacDonald out of the game, and although Mat Rogers could not find the extra yard to get past Dan Carter, Lote Tuqiri popped up on that familiar inside shoulder angle and cantered the final five yards to the line.

The tackle stats gave a measure of how much the game turned on that Elsom sin-binning.  Shortly before it, the missed tackle stats stood at 3-3.  By half-time, Australia had missed six more as they struggled to cope with the extra man.  Later in the second half, the same stat yielded a count of 3-17.  Once Australia had been knocked by those two sucker-punches, they never recovered.

The New Zealanders took to the pitch in full flight in the second half.  Everywhere the ball went, it was followed by a hyena-like pack of black shirts, a scavenging bunch that tore the entrails out of every stray Wallaby move gone to ground.  Australia, in particular George Smith and Dan Vickerman, fought gamely, but were always a step behind in the loose.

The All Black tactic of the midfield inside pop-pass, which had floundered on the flat-standing backs in the first half, now yielded several clean breaks as the supporting runners measured their distances and angles more accurately.

From one such, Mauger tore through, past and round three defenders, and then weighted a kick towards Australia's line for Joe Rokocoko to chase.  Larkham got to the ball first, but fumbled it on the ground and ended up carrying the ball over the line between his legs.  There the ball stayed, on the goal-line and trapped under the maul.  McCaw, ever ready to do something special for his team, had the presence of mind to reach between Larkham's legs and grab the ball, and Kaplan consulted his TMO before awarding the try.

Carter's conversion made the score 24-7 -- he had converted both first-half tries and landed a penalty two minutes before this one -- and it was a killer blow.  All that remained was to wait and see if New Zealand could get their bonus point to finish the job.

They seemed oddly reluctant to do so.  Australia managed a swift reply, a brief burst of cohesion and power which got Scott Fava to the line under a pile of bodies, but Mortlock missed the conversion and Carter landed another penalty, taking the all Blacks three scores ahead at 27-12.

Yet four minutes later and with the clock ticking a little louder, McCaw told Carter to go for posts again from a penalty, and the New Zealanders looked to have eased off the gas, content to simply soak up the Australian running and wait for the chance to break.

Once, the forwards did so, with handling that belied the clumsiness most forwards show when in full flight.  In a bizarre role reversal, Mealamu, Jack and McCaw strung together passes that took them forty yards downfield, and Ali Williams tapped down Carter's crossfield kick with the deftest of touches.  Rico Gear only had to catch it to score, but dropped the sitter like it was a steaming hot pie.

Finally, the All Blacks did get their bonus point.  Carter -- who eclipsed Larkham all night and whose defence work was integral to the team performance -- charged down one of the Australian's trademark chips and then picked up the loose ball, before feeding young Isaia Toeava who would never be caught from 70m.

Carter's conversion hit the post -- he will not be too happy with his conversion tally of five from nine -- but the final scoreline of 32-12 sends its own message.  Peak too early?  They may have only just begun ...

Man of the match:  For Australia, Georges Smith and Gregan both stood out for work-rate, as did Dan Vickerman.  Chris Latham was the pick of their backs.  But the award should go to a black-shirted recipient.  Carl Hayman's performance at prop was towering, and Jason Eaton proved how much of an asset his athleticism is.  Dan Carter's tackle count was magnificent for a fly-half, but for ceaseless tackling, running, ball-carrying and leadership, Richie McCaw was the one who went the most extra yards.

Villain of the match:  In a clean game, the only moment of real villainy -- especially for Australian fans -- was Rocky Elsom's idiotic yellow card which cost his team its momentum.

Moment of the match:  Already described above in its glory, Chris Latham's first-half chip and regather in the lead-up to the opening try was the individual piece of skill that lingered longest in the mind.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Mealamu 2, McCaw, Toeava
Cons:  Carter 3
Pens:  Carter 2

For Australia:
Tries:  Tuqiri, Fava
Con:  Mortlock

Yellow card:  Rocky Elsom (Australia) -- killing the ball, 27

The teams:

New Zealand:  15 Leon MacDonald, 14 Rico Gear, 13 Malili Muliaina, 12 Aaron Mauger, 11 Joe Rokocoko, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Byron Kelleher, 8 Rodney So'oialo, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 Jerry Collins, 5 Jason Eaton, 4 Chris Jack, 3 Carl Hayman, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Andrew Hore, 17 Greg Somerville, 18 Ali Williams, 19 Chris Masoe, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Luke McAlister, 22 Isaia Toeava.

Australia:  15 Chris Latham, 14 Mark Gerrard, 13 Stirling Mortlock, 12 Mat Rogers, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Stephen Larkham, 9 George Gregan (captain), 8 Rocky Elsom, 7 George Smith, 6 Mark Chisholm, 5 Dan Vickerman (vice-captain), 4 Nathan Sharpe, 3 Guy Shepherdson, 2 Tai McIsaac, 1 Greg Holmes.
Replacements:  16 Jeremy Paul, 17 Al Baxter, 18 Scott Fava, 19 Phil Waugh, 20 Sam Cordingley, 21 Matt Giteau, 22 Ben Tune.

Referee:  Jonathan Kaplan (SA)
Touch judges:  Craig Joubert, Marius Jonker (both South Africa)
Television match official:  Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
Assessor:  Steve Hilditch (Ireland)