"New" Romanians smash Portugal

Romania took a brand new team to Portugal and beat the Lobos 23-5 in Lisbon in a European Nations Cup match on Saturday.  It is a promising result for the Oaks, a shattering one for the Lobos.

When the two teams met in the Rugby World Cup, the Oaks, with all their foreign players, eked out a 14-10 victory over Portugal.  Now, with a team almost entirely made up of home-based players and in Portugal, the Romanians have come up with this substantial victory.

At half-time Romania led 6-3.  Gonçalo Malheiro opened the scoring for Portugal with a penalty after two minutes but then Romania goaled two through flyhalf Dan Dumbrava, who was forced to leave the field injured just before half-time.

Early in the second half lock Valentin Popirlan scored a try.  Fullback Florin Vlaicu took over the kicking from Dumbrava and goaled the conversion and then a penalty.  Replacement wing Catalin Descalu scored the second try.

The Romanians were greatly pleased and encouraged by the victory.

Scorers

For Romania
Tries:  Popirlan, Dascalu
Cons:  Vlaicu 2
Pens:  Dumbrava 2, Vlaicu

For Portugal
Try:  Foro
Pen:  Malheiro

Teams

Portugal:  15 Pedro Leal, 14 António Aguilar, 13 Frederico Sousa, 12 Francisco Mira, 11 Gonçalo Foro, 10 Gonçalo Malheiro, 9 Luís Pissarra, 8 Tiago Girão, 7 Vasco Uva, 6 Diogo Coutinho, 5 Gonçalo Uva, 4 Eduardo Acosta, 3 Cristian Spachuk, 2 João Correia, 1 Juan Murré.
Replacements:  16 Rodrigo Aguiar, 17 Duarte Figueiredo, 18 Juan Severino, 19 António Sarmento, 20 José Pinto, 21 Pedro Cabral, 22 Diogo Gama

Romania:  15 Florin Vlaicu, 14 Gheorghita Bigiu, 13 Csaba Gal, 12 Vlad Dan, 11 Stefan Ciuntu, 10 Danut Dumbrava, 9 Iulian Andrei, 8 Costica Mersoiu (captain), 7 Mihai Macovei, 6 Stelian Burcea, 5 Valentin Popirlan, 4 Alin Marcel Coste, 3 Radu Basalau, 2 Marcel Mihalache, 1 Nicolae Nere
Replacements:  16 Flavius Dobre, 17 Bogdan Zebega, 18 Cosmin Ratiu, 19 Vasile Rus, 20 Ciprian Caplescu, 21 Ionut Dimofte, 22 Catalin Dascalu

Referee:  Tim Hayes (Wales)
Touch judges:  David Bodilly (Wales), Mike Bethell (Wales)
Match commissioner:  Yves Bressy (France)

Springboks rule the world!

South Africa have been crowned rugby world champions after they beat England 15-6 in a tense and attritional Final at Stade de France in Paris on Saturday.

There were no tries, but nobody had expected a try-fest.  The game went completely to the form books, with the two teams smashing into each other rather than cutting through.

It was so tense, so close.  There was a beauty in that tension as there was heroism in the intensity of two teams who played to become world champion with every fibre of their beings and with the complete focus of their minds and hearts.

Eventually, the final whistle gone, South Africa captain John Smit, smiling broadly but as composed as he always is, could say of the effort that had gone into the four years' preparation:  "It's been worth every second of it."

Jean-Pierre Rives, the Inspirational former captain of France, and his son eventually brought the World Cup to the podium.  Syd Millar, the chairman of the IRB, handed out the medals and then the players shook hands with dignitaries such as Bernard Lapasset, the president-elect of the IRB, Gordon Brown, the prime minister of Great Britian, Nicolas Sarkozy, the president of France, and Thabo Mbeki, the president of South Africa, who wore a Springbok tracksuit top.

Sarkozy was handed the little gold cup by Millar and presented it to John Smit who called President Mbeki over and together they fulfilled every South African's dream of lifting the World Cup in victory.

There were long banners in South Africa's colours and scintillating fireworks.  The Springboks lifted President Mbeki up onto their shoulders where he gleefully brandished the cup aloft.  And then they went skipping about Stade de France, showing off the Webb Ellis Cup while South Africans cheered in Paris and many other cities and dorps about the world.

Throughout the length and breadth of South Africa shouts resounded that were part joy and part relief because, heavens, it was close.  Car horns blared, toasts were drunk, cheering and laughter broke out, revelry was on the cards -- it was the biggest national party since 26 June 1995.

History did a bit of self-repetition.  No side that had lost in the pools, as England had, has won the World Cup.  No side has won the cup back-to-back as England could have done.  South Africa has now won two finals.  In neither did the Springboks or their opponents score a try.

South Africa won and paid tribute to England.  England lost and paid tribute to South Africa.  It was an honourable contest between two honourable teams.

Each side had one real chance to score a try and each side failed.  England came closer when Mathew Tait broke and Mark Cueto had a chance in the left corner, but as Danie Rossouw dived in desperation, the Englishman's left foot just clipped the touch-line.  England had to settle for a penalty goal instead.

That was in the second half, much the better half for England as South Africa rarely got out of their half, for England dominated possession and, as a result, territory.

The first half increasingly belonged to South Africa.  Just before half-time Francois Steyn burst ahead and they battered at the England line, Rossouw close off a five-metre scrum.  South Africa settled for a penalty goal instead.

England were unrecognisable from the mediocre team of 36 days before when they lost 36-0.  This time they gave as good as they got and were beaten but not vanquished -- not at all.

There were some surprising features in the game.  The England scrum was nothing like the dominant force it had been against Australia and in fact they lost a scrum to the wheel.

Their line-out was poor as they lost six throws to Victor Matfield and his fellow poachers.  That the Springboks did so well at the line-out made their persistent failure to kick the ball out all the more incomprehensible.

There were two dominant features in the match -- kicking high and bashing close.  Both sides kicked a lot, without producing tries.  Both sides bashed a lot without a great deal of gain.  In fact the best maul of the match came when England drove one up via their centres.

The two breaks that nearly brought tries both came in the centres, the first when Steyn broke through Mike Catt and the second when Tait broke through Steyn.

Considering the amount of slogging the two teams did at each other, manners were excellent and penalties few -- just 12 in the match, 7-5 to South Africa.

England did not have the lead at any time in the match.  The Springboks scored first when Tait's red boots slipped and he held on.  Percy Montgomery kicked the penalty that gave South Africa a 3-0 lead after six minutes.

South Africa were in trouble when Andy Gomarsall kicked and up-and-under and JP Pietersen dropped it.  Bryan Habana then brought off a brilliant, scything tackle on Paul Sackey but satisfied with that he stayed on top of the England wing and conceded a penalty.  Jonny Wilkinson goaled.  3-all.

Lewis Moody was penalised for a surreptitious trip and Montgomery made the score 6-3 after 15 minutes.

Soon afterwards their was a significant miss.  Wilkinson dropped for goal from a favourable position and missed.  Late in the second half he tried again, and missed.

They were both kicks one would have expected him to get.  They were the only two drops he tried though in the second half of the second half one could well have expected him to drop at goal as England had a plethora of possession without really making headway towards the goal-line.

After Steyn's break and South Africa's pressure on their line, Montgomery goaled a penalty and the Springboks went into the break leading 9-3.

England made a change for the second half with Matt Stevens taking over from Phil Vickery.  Eventually England would empty their bench where South Africa made only one real change -- Wikus van Heerden for Rossouw with just nine minutes to go.

Two minutes into the second half, off an awkwardly bouncing ball, Tait slipped Steyn and raced straight down the middle of the field, stopped only by a brilliant tackle by Matfield on the South African line.

In desperation, Schalk Burger was illegal, but the referee played advantage till Cueto tried to squeeze in at the corner, a decision referred to the television match official who took a long time before advising that Cueto's foot had been in touch before he grounded the ball, as was clearly the case.

The referee then went back to the penalty against Burger, and Wilkinson made the score 9-6.  In the next 38 minutes England did not score again.

Steyn again provided impetus as he thrust powerfully at the England midfield.  He was tackled but Martin Corry conceded a penalty at the tackle, presenting Montgomery with a straightforward kick at goal.  12-6 after 50 minutes.

There was a nasty moment when Toby Flood chased a bouncing ball into the Springbok in-goal and shoved Montgomery in the back, sending the fullback over the advertising boards and into a television camera.  Flood was apologetic but Montgomery was hurt.

Shortly afterwards, Ben Kay was penalised for obstruction and from just inside the England half young Steyn drove over a penalty goal of great length and accuracy.  He had missed with a long kick in the first half -- not by much -- but this one was perfectly on course.  That made the score 15-6 with 18 minutes to go, an important kick as it was forcing England to score twice to win.

England played most of the rugby at that time with South Africa using Montgomery, Steyn and Butch James to kick them back.

Then the time wore on and the Springboks mauled and bashed from a line-out and then, after Gomarsall had knocked on, they bashed from a scrum until the time dipped over 80 minutes and Fourie du Preez hoofed the ball into touch and started the winners' festivities.

Colin Mabey, an engraver, started working on the Webb Ellis Cup, digging South Africa's name into the gold of the base.

England formed a circle which Brian Ashton addressed with fervour.  South Africa formed a circle and prayed.

With fervour and prayer over, the prizegiving took place with fireworks and colour and banners and confetti.  What a moment, and what a fine end to a fine tournament.

Man of the Match:  Every player who went onto the field deserves praise, from huge, battering Andy Sheridan and little, nippy Andy Gomarsall of England, from delicate Percy Montgomery to robust Bakkies Botha of South Africa, but if we have to choose one it would be Victor Matfield of South Africa for making England's line-outs so haphazard, for the try-saving tackle on Mathew Tait and for the best diagonal kick of the match.  He is such a skilled giant.

Moment of the Match:  The telling moment was Danie Rossouw's desperate dive that did just enough to keep Mark Cueto from scoring a try which may well have won the World Cup.

Villain of the Match:  Nobody.  It was a match without malice.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Pens:  Montgomery 4, Steyn

For England:
Pen:  Wilkinson 2

South Africa:  15 Percy Montgomery, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 Francois Steyn, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Butch James, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Danie Rossouw, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Os du Randt.
Replacements:  16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Jannie du Plessis, 18 Johannes Muller, 19 Wikus van Heerden, 20 Ruan Pienaar, 21 André Pretorius, 22 Wynand Olivier.

England:  15 Jason Robinson, 14 Paul Sackey, 13 Mathew Tait, 12 Mike Catt, 11 Mark Cueto , 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Andy Gomarsall, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Lewis Moody, 6 Martin Corry, 5 Ben Kay, 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Phil Vickery (c), 2 Mark Regan, 1 Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements:  16 George Chuter, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Lawrence Dallaglio, 19 Joe Worsley, 20 Peter Richards, 21 Toby Flood, 22 Dan Hipkiss.

Referee:  Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Touch judges:  Joël Jutge (France), Paul Honiss (New Zealand)
Television match official:  Stuart Dickinson (Australia)
Assessor:  Michel Lamoulie (France)

Pumas pummel French again

Argentina confirmed their best ever performance at a World Cup when they recorded their second win over the French at the 2007 version of this global showpiece -- a 34-10 win at Parc des Princes, Paris, on Friday.

It also means Puma captain Agustín Pichot finished his career on a winning note and can now possibly slip into retirement content that under him the team scaled its greatest heights ever.

The same goes for coach Marcello Loffreda, who moves on to coach Leicester Tigers.

They played all right.  After their defeat in the semi-final Agustín Pichot declared the Pumas' World Cup was over.  It certainly was not over.  They came back at Parc des Princes to beat France as they have never beaten them before and scored five tries in the process.

The Pumas had 35 per cent of the ball and scored five tries to one.  That figure alone tells a story -- an indictment of France and praise for the resilience and concentration of the Pumas as they tackled again and again -- 113 times in the 80 minutes to France's 50 times.

If there was 50-50 ball, the Pumas won it, and they made France suffer.

The last time France played at Parc des Princes they suffered a record defeat at the hands of the Springboks.  Back to Parc des Princes, and they suffered another record defeat.  On both occasions their fans were vocally disgruntled.  France will not want to come back to Parc des Princes again.

France had chances galore, but, just as the All Blacks against them had got stuck in a pick-and-drive groove, so France tonight got stuck in a mauling groove.  The Pumas have no fear for teams who want to maul against them.  In the first half France had four five-metre line-outs from which they mauled -- in vain.  They had three tapped penalties from five metres out, from which they mauled -- in vain.

All they won in the match was the penalty count.  They conceded only five penalties, none in the second half, while the Pumas conceded 13 overall.

It was the most cantankerous match of the World Cup, and the silly emotion started in the first minute.  Just before half-time it got worse and the Puma lock Rimas Álvarez Kairelis and the French hooker Raphaël Ibañez were sent to the sin bin -- Alvarez for repeated infringement by his team, Ibañez for using his boot on Alvarez.  That ended Ibañez's match.  His last act on an international field of play may have been to fling his waterbottle petulantly in the direction of the touch judge who had reported him.  He was interviewed after the match and was not in generous mood either, warning the Pumas that the French would get them next time.

The blood between the two sides seemed bad, even after the final whistle when the Pumas were exuberant, the French sore.

Fortunately for the game, the second half was better mannered.

France started the match running the ball.  They looked for opportunities to counter-attack, mainly through the dashing play of Clément Poitrenaud who was the only French player to emerge with his reputation enhanced.

Three things happened in this time of French dominance.  First French handling was wobbly.  Second the Pumas tackled and contested the post-tackle.  It did not matter who had to tackle, he did it.  If prop Rodrigo Roncero had to tackle wing Aurélien Rougerie, he did so.  Third, the Pumas looked to run whenever possible even when well back in their own territory.

For all their territory and possession all France had to show for it in the whole of the first half was a penalty after 17 minutes which gave them a short-lived lead.  The penalty was for the second of four infringements by Patricio Albacete.  France's lead lasted three minutes.  The Pumas got into French territory and Jérôme Thion was the one with the guilty hands.  Felipe Contepomi kicked the goal.  3-all.

France came back.  Frédéric Michalak, who did not have much of a game, kicked a high up-and-under, which Ignacio Corleto fumbled but the Argentinians scrambled and cleared.  Twice France looked certain to score tries but twice they were pulled back for forward passes.  France had their three five-metre line-outs at this stage which produced mauls and heaps of players squirming on the ground like earthworms.  They broke with this for a high diagonal by Michalak for tall Aurélien Rougerie but the blond wing knocked on.

Instead the Pumas scored.  They broke out of the French stranglehold and went left, then right, then back left.  Hooker Alberto Vernet Basualdo charged ahead for the line.  He was tackled but the Pumas got the ball back and Pichot took a step to his left and then passed to Felipe Contepomi who burst between Yannick Nyanga and Imanol Harinordoquy for a try far out.  Felipe Contepomi converted.  10-3 to the Pumas after 28 minutes.

But somehow one expected the French machine to get more and more oiled and to start running in tries.  That certainly did not happen.

Juan Martín Hernández dropped at goal but the ball bounced back off the upright.  The Pumas got the ball off France when the French were careless at a tackle/ruck and Basualdo snapped up the ball and charged towards the French line.  There in that heap, veteran prop Omar Hasan got the ball down for a try which the TMO confirmed.  Felipe Contepomi converted.  17-3 after 31 minutes.

It was astounding.

The French mauled to the Argentinian line but were stopped and went wide left for Christophe Dominici, and they had their series of three tapped penalties in a period of bad temper.  But it all turned to dross for France as the Pumas tackled and tackled.

The French started the second half with another maul from a line-out as if this was going to be their salvation.  Instead, when Poitrenaud broke out of deep defence and raced down the field, one would have thought that this was really the way to go.  It was not the way they went.

Instead the Pumas scored the try of the match -- a great try.  The start was innocuous, it seemed.  Rougerie chipped and Felipe Contepomi knocked the ball back to Ignacio Corleto.  The burly full-back beat at least four Frenchmen and then passed inside to Manuel Contepomi who managed to control the high ball on the Puma left.  They went right.  Albacete had a hand in it and then Hernández threw the best pass of the 2007 Rugby World Cup -- a long one with the left hand and Federico Martin Aramburu stepped inside to score.  22-3 to Argentina after 53 minutes.

The Pumas lost Juan Manuel Leguizamón to the sin bin for a tackle that knocked Sébastien Chabal flat.  The tackle was judged to be high and with the shoulder.  Chabal stayed down,.  looking seriously wounded.  But as soon as Leguizamón was on his way to the sin bin the Caveman recovered rapidly and fully.

Now France were playing against 14, and the Pumas scored again!

France were attacking and Roncero won a turn-over.  The Pumas sent the ball wide to the left where Horacio Agulla got away from his man before giving to Corleto on the half-way line and the full-back raced down the field for a try in the corner.  27-3 with 15 minutes to play.

Soon after this Poitrenaud started the running, Harinordoquy had a strong run and Chabal a short charge before France went left and Poitrenaud cut through for a try which Lionel Beauxis converted.  27-10 with 12 minutes to play.

Rémy Martin spilt the ball far forward in a tackle near the half-way line.  Marcos Ayerza picked up and the Pumas set off again.  Felipe Contepomi broke and Leguizamón strode ahead.  He was tackled but the ball came back quickly to Hernández who surged through to the line.  Back the ball came and Felipe Contepomi plunged over for the try which he converted.

The Pumas were close to scoring yet again as Leguizamón strode down the field but that effort died on the touch-line.  They went even closer soon after that and were right on the French line.  They had a five-metre scrum but that broke apart and eventually the final whistle went.

And so the Pumas had the joy of collecting their bronze medals from Dr. Syd Millar, the chairman of the IRB.  They had been where no Argentinian team had been before and in the process proved that their 17-12 win at Stade de France six weeks ago was no fluke.  They have now won six of their last seven encounters with France, but none as convincingly as this one in the French capital.

Man of the Match: Clément Poitrenaud was France's only candidate but there were several Argentinian candidates -- Roncero Rodrigo, Gonzalo Longo, Ignacio Corleto, Agustín Pichot, Juan Martín Hernández amongst them -- which suggests that we are getting close to making the whole team the man of the match, which is not a bad call at all, but if we singled out just one it would be clever Felipe Contepomi.

Moment of the Match:  The pass from Hernández which ended in a try by Federico Martin Aramburu.

Villain of the Match:  There were three yellow cards, but it seems that perhaps, sentiment aside, the man who most deserved censure was Raphaël Ibañez.

The scorers:

For France:
Tries:  Poitrenaud
Cons:  Beauxis
Pens:  Elissalde

For Argentina:
Tries:  F Contepomi 2, Hasan Jalil, Aramburu, Corleto
Cons:  F Contepomi 3
Pens:  F Contepomi

Yellow cards:  Raphaël Ibañez (France, 40 -- foul play), Rimas Álvarez Kairelis (Argentina, 40 -- repeated offences), Juan Manuel Leguizamón (Argentina, 63 -- foul play)

France:  15 Clément Poitrenaud, 14 Aurélien Rougerie, 13 David Skrela, 12 David Marty, 11 Christophe Dominici, 10 Frédéric Michalak, 9 Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, 8 Imañol Harinordoquy, 7 Thierry Dusautoir, 6 Yannick Nyanga, 5 Jérôme Thion, 4 Lionel Nallet, 3 Pieter de Villiers, 2 Raphaël Ibañez (captain), 1 Jean-Baptiste Poux.
Replacements:  16 Sebastian Bruno, 17 Nicolas Mas, 18 Sébastien Chabal, 19 Rémy Martin, 20 Pierre Mignoni, 21 Lionel Beauxis, 22 Vincent Clerc.

Argentina:  15 Ignacio Corleto, 14 Federico Martin Aramburu, 13 Manuel Contepomi, 12 Felipe Contepomi, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Juan Martín Hernández, 9 Agustín Pichot (captain), 8 Gonzalo Longo Elía, 7 Juan Martín Fernandez Lobbe, 6 Martín Durand, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Rimas Álvarez Kairelis, 3 Omar Hasan Jalil, 2 Alberto Vernet Basualdo, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements:  16 Marcos Ayerza, 17 Eusebio Guiñazu, 18 Esteban Lozada, 19 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 20 Nicolás Fernandez Miranda, 21 Federico Todeschini, 22 Hernán Senillosa.

Referee:  Paul Honiss (New Zealand)
Touch judges:  Stuart Dickinson (Australia), Nigel Owens (Wales)
Television match official:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Assessor:  Tappe Henning (South Africa)

Springboks to face England

South Africa will meet England in the 2007 Rugby World Cup final after a comfortable 37-13 win over Argentina in the second semi-final in Paris on Sunday.

The tension is over for a little while.  We have two finalists.  For the winning semi-finalists there is the serious preparation for the grand final on Saturday as Rugby World Cup 2007 reaches its climax.  For the losing semi-finalists there is the drudge of the third-place play-off.

Argentina captain Agustín Pichot said it afterwards:  "For us the World Cup is over."  Next Friday's match clearly means little to them after this defeat.  But heavens, they had made a fight if it, the Pumas' best-ever performance at the World Cup and after their early try in the second half it looked as if it could have been even better.

South Africa's victory in the semi-final was an odd one.  At the end you were left wondering what they had done to win the match.

The obvious answer is that they had taken their chances.  Four of those chances led to tries.  In fact there were even three more chances to score tries which were squandered.  For the rest they were not all that impressive.

The scrums were a disaster until Juan Martín Scelzo went off injured.  While he was there the Springbok front row simply could not handle the Pumas and Agustín Pichot used the advantage in the shove to give Danie Rossouw and Fourie du Preez a miserable time at the back of the dilapidated Springbok scrum.

The tackle area, too, was sloppy as indeed it had been against Fiji.  The support for the ball-carrier and the protection of the ball were poor, and the Pumas won many turnovers.

South Africa did not cope well with high kicks and until late in the second half were out-mauled by the Pumas.

Then, too, the Springboks who had generally been parsimonious in the matter of penalties during the World Cup suddenly gave away 14 (to 10) on the evening.

Oh, their line-outs were excellent.  The line-outs kept them in the game.  The Pumas won the first five line-outs without any competition from the Springboks while Victor Matfield, the wiliest line-out man in the world, sussed them out.  Then the Springboks got involved and the Pumas lost seven line-outs and threw one in skew.  The Springboks were so much better at the line-out that their reluctance to kick the ball out at times was surprising.

All of that said, the Pumas did not look like scoring a try apart from the one which they got, which John Smit afterwards attributed to a lack of concentralion on his side's part.

It was not as if the Springboks created much.  Bryan Habana's first try when Schalk Burger won a turn-over was created and they did well to capitalise on a gross knock-on by Juan Martín Hernández for Danie Rossouw's try.  On both these occasions skilful handling was the key.

Their best creation -- all their own work, did not result in a try when Frans Steyn pushed ahead going right and the Springboks came back left for Habana to go over in the corner but they were called back for a forward pass.

Two tries from intercepts!  They were neither of them hard luck but rather clever positioning.  After the match the Puma coach Marcelo Loffreda rued his side's errors.  "We made a lot of errors and paid a high price for them."

The Springboks must be the best poachers in the world.

The first try was an intercept.  The Pumas had started the game well and clever Felipe Contepomi threw a long pass to his left -- straight to Du Preez who raced down the field on a diagonal to his left to score a try which Montgomery converted.  7-0 after 7 minutes.  There was nothing flukey about the try.  Du Preez, a clever player, was in position waiting for the ball.

There was a lot of kicking early on, a lot of it inexplicably poor.  Hernández dropped at goal from in front.  It was a bad kick.  He, Montgomery and Du Preez -- all three excellent kickers -- had trouble kicking with the ball out of hand.  Was it that Stade de France was a bit slippery?  Was it the problem with the balls?

When John Smit was penalised for obstruction on Pichot, captain on captain, when the Springbok looked more sinned against than sinning, Felipe Contepomi kicked the penalty.  Later persuaded the referee to allow him a change of balls -- an odd situation at a top ground so late in the top rugby tournament of the world.  The referee allowed the change of balls and Contepomi missed the kick.

Almost immediately after this score, Manuel Contepomi was penalised at a tackle/ruck and Montgomery who had an immaculate evening of goalkicking, made the score 10-3.

When Steyn was penalised for holding on at a tackle, Felipe Contepomi made the score 10-6 after 29 minutes.

Then came Habana's first try, and it was thrilling.  On the Springbok right Schalk Burger won a clever turn-over and the Springboks got quick passes going to Habana inside the Springbok half.  He took off, lithe as a cheetah, chipped, gathered and raced over for a try that had taken him 55 metres to score in the blink of an electric eye.  Montgomery converted.

The Springboks had a chance when the Pumas were careless under a Montgomery up-and-under and JP Pietersen was off on the way to scoring but Rossouw was penalised for a needless shove in the back as the ball came down.

On the stroke of half time, not particularly under pressure, Hernández knocked on.  He knocked a long way on and Steyn gathered the ball.  Under pressure he got the ball away to Jaque Fourie, Burger gave a great pass to Rossouw and the big man thundered over.  Montgomery converted and the half-time whistle went with the Springboks leading 24-6, which seemed surprising as the Pumas had dominated territory and possession.

When James did not find touch from inside his in-goal early in the second half the Pumas countered and kicked the ball out not far from the Springbok line.  The South Africans easily won the line-out and then marched the ball up.  As happened with several of their mauls the Pumas managed to insinuate themselves into their ranks and won the ball.  Suddenly Mario Ledesma was bursting for the line.  Back the ball came and the Pumas went wide to the left.  Manuel Contepomi with a man outside of him, cut inside Pietersen who slipped and he dived over.  The TMO had a hard time before advising the referee that a try had been scored.  Felipe Contepomi converted.  24-13.

It looked promising for the Pumas but they were not destined to score again in the match.  They had a chance soon afterwards when the Springboks were off-side at a kick but Felipe Contepomi missed the shot at goal.

The Springboks had two chances after this.  First there was the forward pass to Habana and then Rossouw looked set to score but Habana was penalised for being a little way ahead of Fourie's kick.

When Pichot was offside at a scrum, Montgomery made it 27-13 and then when Juan Martín Fernandez Lobbe played Du Preez when he did not have the ball Montgomery made it 30-13.

The last try was again a bit of poaching.  The Pumas were attacking and going right.  Hernández threw a long pass but Habana snatched it out of the night air and, smiling with great contentment, raced over 70 metres down the field for a celebratory dive under the bar.  Montgomery converted.

There were a few minutes left.  Substitutes came pouring on, the game became a bit bad tempered and eventually the final whistle ended the affair.  In those fractious few minutes Juan Smith was sent to the sin bin for a high tackle on Hernández, to be followed by Felipe Contepomi for a back handed slap into Bismarck du Plessis's eye.

Man of the Match:  Agustín Pichot and Juan Martín Scelzo made life difficult for the Springboks.  Scelzo went off in the first half.  Had he stayed he would have been a really strong candidate as he gave his side their best chance of winning.  For the Springboks there were the flanks, Juan Smith and Schalk Burger -- smashing into the Pumas, looking to use whatever ball they could get their hands on.  But our man of the match was Bryan Habana for two excellent, long-range tries, adding glitter to the city of many glittering lights.

Moment of the Match:  Any of the four tries the Springboks scored but above all Bryan Habana's first try.  There was nothing lucky about the bounce of the ball.  It did not matter where it bounced.  Habana was simply going to score.

Villain of the Match:  There were two yellow cards for Juan Smith and Felipe Contepomi.  Felipe Contepomi probably deserved it more for he had just been spoken to for losing his head and then he, a surgeon, lost it even more with a bit of silly petulance.  There should also be a communal award for all those players who gave the referee advice.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Du Preez, Habana 2, Roussouw
Cons:  Montgomery 4
Pens:  Montgomery 3

For Argentina:
Try:  Manuel Contempomi
Con:  Felipe Contempomi
Pens:  Felipe Contempomi 2

Yellow cards:  Smith (South Africa, 78, high tackle), Felipe Contempomi (Argentina, 79, punching)

South Africa:  15 Percy Montgomery, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 François Steyn, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Butch James, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Danie Rossouw, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 John Smit (captain), 1 Os du Randt. 
Replacements:  16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Jannie du Plessis, 18 Johann Muller, 19 Bob Skinstad, 20 Ruan Pienaar, 21 André Pretorius, 22 Wynand Olivier.

Argentina:  15 Ignacio Corleto, 14 Lucas Borges, 13 Manuel Contepomi, 12 Felipe Contepomi, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Juan Martín Hernández, 9 Agustín Pichot (captain), 8 Gonzalo Longo, 7 Juan Martín Fernandez Lobbe, 6 Lucas Ostiglia, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Carlos Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, 3 Juan Martín Scelzo, 2 Mario Ledesma, 1 Rodrigo Roncero. 
Replacements:  16 Alberto Vernet Basualdo, 17 Omar Hasan, 18 Rimas Álvarez Kairelis, 19 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 20 Nicolás Fernandez Miranda, 21 Federico Todeschini, 22 Gonzalo Tiesi.

Referee:  Steve Walsh (New Zealand)
Touch judges:  Alain Lewis (Ireland), Chris White (England)
Television match official:  Tony Spreadbury (England)

England's dream lives on

England fly-half Jonny Wilkinson kicked a late penalty and drop-goal to put England through to the World Cup Final with a 14-9 victory over France in Paris on Saturday.

Much as France put paid to New Zealand a week ago, so England sucked in France's territorial and possessional superiority and kept within striking distance before capitalising on two late incidences of French indiscipline to sink the nails into the hosts' coffin at the Stade de France.

England scored a try through Josh Lewsey in the opening moments of the game, but from there on in it was a tense rearguard effort of note.

One good win can be written off as good fortune, but not two.  Make no mistake, England are now back.  They might not be playing the most beautiful rugby, and the errors are still there in abundance, but no other side in recent history has shown so much heart.

The ghost of Henry V always accompanies meetings between these two sides, but never has the tenuous link seemed as real as it did today.

Here were France's dashing musketeers being put to the sword by England's honest yeomen -- a band of brothers, with blood fet from fathers of war-proof, fighting against the odds.

France summoned up the spirit of 1999 last week by coming from behind to beat the All Blacks, tonight they starred in a repeat of that semi-final of 2003.  England contained French fire and punished them for each of their few indiscretions.  It was as simple as that.

England's starting line-up, for a change, was unchanged -- and what a change no changes can make!  They showed a level of cohesion not seen since their heroics in the last edition of this tournament, and with it came belief -- even at moments when France looked to be in complete control.

That collective will allowed them to keep the door to the Final open despite France's various attempts to bolt it closed.

Despite the years of dross and the enduring deficiencies behind the scrum, England are nothing if not experienced.  They know what it takes at this level, and the unwarranted composure they showed whilst chasing the game seemed to unnerve the French in the last quarter.

England were full of surprises from the start.  A beautiful box-kick from Andy Gomarsall in the second play of the game sat up in the corner and France's makeshift full-back Damien Traille hesitated, slipped, then looked on in horror as Lewsey plucked the ball from the air before barging over him to score.

Wilkinson failed to add the extras, but all eyes were on France coach Bernard Laporte up in the stands -- was this Crazy Bernie's fault?  Was it wise to pick a centre as the last line of defence?  The inquest starts here.

Strangely, England didn't choose to add extra pressure on Traille in the wake of his mistake, and France showed good composure by hitting back with a penalty to Lionel Beauxis (England over the top), and they followed that up by stealing England's first line-out.

But a charge-down from Mark Regan -- of all people -- then led to a white scrum on the blue line and England reasserted their set-piece dominance with a huge shove.  The strength of the thing actually worked against the visitors, with the raid dying as the ball squirted out untidily.

Again, France put the setback to one side and struck back with ball in hand, with their dynamic flanks to the fore in attack.

The sustained period of pressure, albeit devoid of structure, gave England pause for thought and the errors began to creep into their game.

A collapsed scrum was blamed on Andrew Sheridan and Beauxis stepped up to claim the lead with his second successful kick at goal.

But Les Bleus were then forced to make an unscheduled change as Fabien Pelous limped from the field.  Sébastien Chabal is no mean replacement, but the early loss of Pelous's calming influence was to have a large bearing on proceedings.

France duly coughed up a penalty as Serge Betsen entered the ruck from the side, and Wilkinson chanced his luck from a full sixty yards out.  The shot at goal was wide and the dead-eyed marksman -- having also missed with an ambitious drop-goal -- had his third miss of the game.  It did not look like it would be his day.

France continued to push, but with both sets of half-backs failing to impose order, the game was defying either side's claims of ownership.  Half-time arrived with the game poised at 6-5 and fans of every hue did not know whether to sulk or sing.  All that money for all those tickets, but no one could bear to look.

England made an incisive start to the second half, but Dan Hipkiss -- on for the injured Lewsey -- soon knew he was in the game when he was forced to dash back to field a hacked-on ball in his own 22.

With a dangerous moment nipped in the bud, England conspired to gift the French another three points by coming in at the side, and Beauxis gladly accepted the offer.

Hipkiss was soon in on the action once again as his trademark step-and-go spilt the French defence after Lewis Moody charged down an overly elaborate chip from Yannick Jauzion.  France clearly didn't expect such panache from the white backline and duly conceded a penalty as they scrambled back.

Wilkinson laid his tee in the turf before questioning the ball handed to him by the ballboy.  The insinuation was that the tendered projectile was not a matchball.  Another was proffered and the England fly-half dispatched it over the crossbar.  Whether it was down to the pressure inside the ball or in Wilkinson's head is a moot point, what mattered was that the men in white were again just one point behind the hosts.

Laporte than played his joker by sending Frédéric Michalak into action, and the mercurial Frenchman soon put the wind up the English by pulling the trigger on a drop goal, but his effort stumbled drunkenly to the left and England breathed again.

England then also looked to their bench, bringing on Matt Stevens and Joe Worsley for Phil Vickery and Moody.  The message was clear:  it was time to stamp out French fire with fresh rosbif.

French territory began to turn white and Wilkinson was soon in a position to drop a goal, but it came off the upright.

Robinson then changed the point of attack by cutting a sublime angle up the middle, but tenacious French defence thwarted the advance.

The pendulum then swung yet again, and France gave England a dose of their own medicine by rolling an immaculate maul into the visitors' half.  Now it was England's turn to defend, and they did just so with gusto.

With the white wall refusing to yield, Michalak began sending nine-iron shots over the obstacle, attempting to chip away at England's confidence.

Traille than joined in, sending a crossfield kick across to the left.  Julien Bonnaire was there and tapped back expertly to Vincent Clerc in space.  A desperate tap-tackle from Worsley brought the wing down.  Chabal took the ball on, but the big man was swallowed by a white wave just short of the line.

Both sides were now battered and battling to keep their lungs in, but France were looking a little less uncomfortable.  With ten minutes to play, they had the lead, the momentum and the territory.

But England just would not take the hint.  With the game ebbing away from them, Robinson, with fifty caps to his name, knew what was needed.  He hit the line at speed, wriggling with all his might, winning the all-important inches before France coughed up a penalty in panic as Dimitri Szarzewski brought him down with a high tackle.

Wilkinson stepped up as French heads went down.  It was a sitter and he made no mistake.

With six minutes to play and now two points behind, France needed composure but the pressure got to Jean-Baptiste Elissalde and touch-judge Marius Jonker spotted unbecoming use of an elbow at a ruck.

The ensuing penalty was dispatched to touch and the maul was duly formed.  England's gnarled pack would have stayed glued together for a year, but Gomarsall begged the big men to hand over the ball after he spotted Wilkinson dropping into the pocket.  The offer was just too good to pass up.  The ball was served up on a plate and England had their five-point lead.

France threw everything at the final two minutes of the game, attacking all points of the white lines, but to no avail:  England stood firm.

England will now have to wait until Sunday to hear whether they will meet South Africa or Argentina in next week's Final.

But that wait won't be too uncomfortable.  In the words of Kenny Rogers, their new cheerleader, this might yet be the year of the real thing.  Remarkable.

Man of the match:  France's loose forwards did their best under trying circumstances, but the hosts were simply smothered out of the game by England's frenzied in-your-face approach.  It's hard to pick out individuals from an England side that showed such collective will.  Jason Robinson and Andy Gomarsall were outstanding and Jonny Wilkinson recovered from a slightly dicey start to secure the win.  But we'll hand a group gong to England's pack for their ferocity, hunger and pride.  Lads of life, imps of fame -- a bunch of lovely bullies!

Moment of the match:  Josh Lewsey's try will live long in the memory, but the turning point was surely Joe Worsley's tap-tackle on Vincent Clerc.  Things might have turned out very differently had he not made contact.

Villain of the match:  Bernard Laporte will undoubtedly feel the heat for some of his selections, and Jean-Baptiste Elissalde deserves a reprimand for his indiscretion late in the game, but both men have got enough misery on their plates at the moment.  We'll resist the urge -- no award.

The scorers:

For France:
Pens:  Beauxis 3

For England:
Try:  Lewsey
Pens:  Wilkinson 2
Drop goal:  Wilkinson

The teams:

France:  15 Damien Traille, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 David Marty, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 11 Cédric Heymans, 10 Lionel Beauxis, 9 Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, 8 Julien Bonnaire, 7 Thierry Dusautoir, 6 Serge Betsen, 5 Jérôme Thion, 4 Fabien Pelous, 3 Pieter de Villiers, 2 Raphaël Ibañez (captain), 1 Olivier Milloud.
Replacements:  16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 18 Sébastien Chabal, 19 Imanol Harinordoquy, 20 Frédéric Michalak, 21 Christophe Dominici, 22 Clément Poitrenaud.

England:  15 Jason Robinson, 14 Paul Sackey, 13 Mathew Tait, 12 Mike Catt, 11 Josh Lewsey, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Andy Gomarsall, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Lewis Moody, 6 Martin Corry, 5 Ben Kay, 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Phil Vickery (captain), 2 Mark Regan, 1 Andrew Sheridan. 
Replacements:  16 George Chuter, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Lawrence Dallaglio, 19 Joe Worsley, 20 Peter Richards, 21 Toby Flood, 22 Dan Hipkiss.

Referee:  Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Touch judges:  Paul Honiss (New Zealand), Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Television match official:  Stuart Dickinson (Australia)
Touch judges:  Nigel Owens (Wales), Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Assessor:  Bob Francis (New Zealand)

SA stumble past Fiji

South Africa became the first team into next Sunday's second semi-final after a remarkable 37-20 win over Fiji in Marseille on Sunday.

Fiji showed flashes of the form which put paid to Wales early on, but rarely looked like being able to overwhelm the South Africans in the same physical manner, and the Springboks waited with discipline and patience for their opportunities, which they then took ruthlessly.

Ho, ho, ho.  It was nearly early Christmas in Fiji as even the coconuts must have been dancing on the palms when big Ifereimi Rawaqa burst for the South African corner with the score 23-20 to the Springboks and it seemed that the weekend of upsets would throw up the grandfather of all upsets.

Instead there was slight, young JP Pietersen falling back, making a tackle, turning the big man over and into touch-in-goal as Bakkies Botha dived in to help.

That was the seminal moment in the South African World Cup.  It set South Africa on the way to life in the semi-finals of the World Cup and ended Fiji's thrilling challenge.  After that the shambling Springboks pulled themselves together and played as they probably should have played from the start, putting muscular pressure on the Fijians down near their own line.

As New Zealand had been duped into playing the way they should not have played against France the day before, so South Africa played most of the match the way they should not have against Fiji, creating a looseness which the Fijians turned to profit.

Fiji did lots of things cleverly and well.  Their scrums were quick and efficient, until the last few of the match.  They were considerably better at kick-offs, showed greater respect for the ball at the tackle/ruck and they handled far, far better.  Uncharacteristically, the Springboks' tackling was feeble, they were shaky under kick-offs, their handling was erratic and they were careless at the tackle/ruck if the ball did not come away immediately, reducing star scrum-half Fourie du Preez to rattled mediocrity.

It was their third match against Islanders at this World Cup and one would have thought that the Springboks would have learnt.  Experience, it seems, is not always a good teacher.

After the Fijians had done their war dance and the trumpet-and-cheer had sounded, James kicked off and in a matter of minutes four significant things had happened which would be repeated in the match -- the Springboks had mauled well and Fijians collapsed it, there was a gross, unpenalised high tackle and Percy Montgomery missed a kick at goal.

The Springboks had intended using the maul.  Given a fair chance it stood them in good stead and produced three tries.  The first high tackle was a neck-clamp by Semisi Naevo on Bryan Habana.  There were several more from the Fijians in the match.  Juan Smith of South Africa was the one penalised and after Pietersen had scored a try on advantage Seru Rabeni was sent to the bin for one whose ingredients were lateness, armlessness and height, on Butch James.  Apart from the penalty attempt, Montgomery missed two first-half conversions, the second an atempt that went swinging off far from the uprights.  Montgomery was following on other great goal-kickers.  On Saturday Stirling Mortlock, Jonny Wilkinson and the French each missed two penalty kicks at goal and Luke McAlister missed a conversion which one would have expected him to goal.

As New Zealand had done on Saturday, South Africa led 13-3 at the break, after scoring two tries.

Their first score was a 50-metre penalty by Frans Steyn.  He was straight in front and he kicked the ball straight over.  3-0 after 9 minutes.

Soon afterwards Montgomery came into the line as the Springboks went left and they were battering at the line with Smith close.  They got quick ball at the tackle and Du Preez fed Jaque Fourie who scored easily in the left corner.  8-0 after 13 minutes

Smith had a great break but the Fijians were the ones to score next when Bakkies Botha was penalised for an air tackle in a line-out.  Seremaia Bai, an economical goal-kicker in the Montgomery mould but even more relaxed, goaled.  8-3 after 24 minutes.

For some reason the Springboks seemed to have great faith in a grubber.  Danie Rossouw, Du Preez and Steyn did it to poor effect.

South Africa seemed certain to score when they went wide to the left but Vilimoni Delasau and Akapusi Qera combined to stop Burger close to the line -- Delasau with his arm around Burger's neck.

The Springboks mauled for the line but Ifereimi Rawaqa and hooker Sunia Koto hauled the maul down.  The Springboks kicked the penalty out and from the line-out mauled again and this time they drove John Smit over for a try.  13-3 after 35 minutes.

The Fijians started the second half running and put lots of pressure on the careless South Africans.  When Habana held on in a tackle, Bai had an easy kick at goal to make the score 13-6 after 43 minutes.

The Springboks had a good passing movement going right and running straight until Victor Matfield handed the ball infield to JP Pietersen who scored.  This time Montgomery converted.  20-6 after 51 minutes and Rabeni was in the sin-bin for his indiscretion.

Down to 14 men, the Fijians proceeded to score 14 points while the orchestra in the ground played the haunting African tune, Wimowey.  It was not just the lion that was sleeping.  The Springbok went on the doze as well.

The Fijians went this way and that through phases that seemed to make no advance until the ball went left to Delasau near the half-way line and just in from touch.  The big wing galloped, chipped over Montgomery's head into the in-goal.  He left Fourie for dead as he raced after the ball and scored far out.  Bai stroked the conversion over and the score was 20-13 after 56 minutes.

From the kick-off the Fijians attacked again.  Full-back Norman Ligairi broke out.  From the tackle lively Mosese Rauluni burst ahead past Schalk Burger.  The Fijian captain gave to burly wing Sireli Bobo who powered over in Du Preez's tackle.  Bai converted.  20-20 after 58 minutes.

The Springboks were rattled.  They were even more rattled when Fiji attacked again after Rawaqa was penalised at a maul and Monty had made it 23-20 with 18 minutes to play.  Back came the Fijians going right and a grubber forced the Springboks to concede a five-metre scrum.  Rabeni, back on the field, knocked on at the line and the Springboks survived but when Bai missed a drop from in front he ignored a huge overlap to his right which must surely have produced a try.

It was after this that they attacked left and Pietersen's tackle saved his side from an early flight home.  That was with 14 minutes to go.  In four minutes Fiji had had three chances to score.

Then the Springboks started playing the Fijians into their own territory down on their right and putting pressure on line-out, scrum and tackle.  With Burger at number eight, they mauled from a scrum and Smith burst over far out.  Montgomery converted.

Fourie had a great run down the middle of the field and then James failed with a drop but in his failing the ball was touched by a Fijian and this produced a five-metre scrum and lots of pressure.  In the pressure there were also some silly moments of emotional upset.

From the first scrum the Springboks shoved at the line but Burger lost the ball in picking up as Wame Lewaravu dived into him.  They then destroyed the Fijian scrum but Du Preez nudged the ball forward in trying to score.  Again they destroyed the Fijian scrum, and when the Islanders were penalised the Springboks scrummed again.  Time was ebbing away and eventually the Springboks went left where James forced his way over for a try which Montgomery converted.

The final whistle went and the beaten Fijians formed a tight-knit prayer circle.  They had certainly played as a tight-knit team.  Captain Rauluni said afterwards:  "I'm proud of my boys.  I asked them to give their all and they gave it for their country, their family and their friends."

He had reason to be proud.

The Springboks had their semi-final berth but could not have found the exercise satisfying.  Have they been away from home for too long? Is the long World Cup a chance for the Northern sides to improve while the Southern sides start fraying at the edges?

Man of the Match:  The Fijian captain Mosese Rauluni was wonderful, energetic, decisive and skilful, a scrum-half with sound judgement.  Vilimoni Delasau was always a handful and big Sisa Koyamaibole played with commitment.  One player stood out amongst the bumbling Springboks -- the main man in the line-out, the best of the tacklers, a great runner with the ball, the player who made the biggest contribution to victory, Springbok flank Juan Smith, our Man of the Match.

Moment of the Match:  We have a choice between the aesthetically pleasing and the functional -- Sireli Bobo's try and JP Pietersen's tackle and our Moment of the Match, because it mattered so much, was JP Pietersen's tackle.

Villain of the Match:  Seru Rabeni, though his absence seemed to galvanise his team-mates.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Fourie, Smit, Pietersen, Smith, James
Cons:  Montgomery 3
Pens:  Steyn, Montgomery

For Fiji:
Tries:  Delasau, Bobo
Cons:  Bai 2
Pens:  Bai 2

Yellow card:  Rabeni (50, Fiji, late tackle)

South Africa:  15 Percy Montgomery, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 François Steyn, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Butch James, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Danie Rossouw, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 John Smit (captain), 1 Os du Randt.
Replacements:  16 Gary Botha, 17 Gürthro Steenkamp, 18 Jannie du Plessis, 19 Johann Muller, 20 Wikus van Heerden, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Wynand Olivier/André Pretorius.

Fiji:  15 Norman Ligairi, 14 Vilimoni Delasau, 13 Kameli Ratuvou, 12 Seru Rabeni, 11 Sireli Bobo, 10 Seremaia Bai, 9 Mosese Rauluni (captain), 8 Sisa Koyamaibole, 7 Akapusi Qera, 6 Semisi Naevo, 5 Ifereimi Rawaqa, 4 Kele Leawere, 3 Henry Qiodravu, 2 Sunia Koto, 1 Graham Dewes.
Replacements:  16 Bill Gadolo, 17 Jone Railomo, 18 Aca Ratuva, 19 Wame Lewaravu, 20 Jone Daunivucu, 21 Waisea Luveniyali, 22 Gabiriele Lovobalavu.

Referee:  Alan Lewis (Ireland)
Touch judges:  Steve Walsh (New Zealand), Paul Honiss (New Zealand)
Television match official:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assessor:  Michel Lamoulie (France)

Pumas make history

As if beating the hosts in their own back yard and topping the Pool of death wasn't enough, Argentina booked their place in the World Cup semi-finals for the first time on Sunday, with a clinical 19-13 win over Scotland.

Argentina's forward presence was too much for the Scots, and the steady stream of penalties eked out by the Pumas was enough for Felipe Contepomi to give his team a commanding lead, which they never once looked like relinquishing, even when Scotland rallied late on.

Yet despite that fleeting spectre of another upset, the reality was that after three courses of gourmet nosh this weekend, we were served up suet pud in Paris.

Argentina have spoken at length about their role as leaders of rugby's "non-aligned movement", but at Stade de France they were the exact mirror image of haughty new tournament favourites, South Africa.

Like the Boks earlier in the day, the Pumas seemed to take the challenge of their unfancied opponents rather lightly.  The energy they heaped all over France and Ireland was replaced by lethargy.  Felipe Contepomi and Juan Martín Hernández, great players though they are, acted a wee bit too cool at times.  They allowed a very average performance from Scotland to rattle them, and they failed to bolt the door they had closed as early as half-time.  Has the hype gone to their heads?

Indeed, had it not been from a snail-like start from Scotland, coupled with their litany of unforced errors, the Pumas might have gone the way of Australia and New Zealand.  Fiji would have made the Pumas pay for such nonchalance.

But a win is a win -- and at this stage of proceedings it is all that is needed.  Next up is the Boks, and one would wager that both sides will now pull up their socks and pay the opposition the proper heed.

Yet it could have been so different.  It seemed that the Pumas would bare their claws at every opportunity after Hernández pulled the trigger on a drop-goal as early as the tenth second of the game.

But the game soon meandered into a wilderness of ponderous Argentine bombs and poor Scottish handling.

The Scots actually drew first blood after Mike Blair was taken out in the air whilst fielding one of Hernández's many garryowens.  Dan Parks -- Scotland's long-range marksman -- stepped up to slot the penalty.

Felipe Contepomi then brought his side level after a rare run from Hernández ended with a high tackle from big Nathan Hines.

Rory Lamont then got in a muddle whilst fielding yet another long ball.  He made no attempt to escape the onrushing Pumas and it could well be that his call for "mark" was not heard by referee Joël Jutge, who ruled that Scotland had infringed at the ensuing breakdown.  Contepomi stepped up to add injury to insult.

So, with the game approaching middle age and the crowd growing nostalgic for "Super Saturday", the Pumas had finally secured the lead.  A slender one, yes, but it was soon too grow fat.

This time the Scottish blunder came from Parks who dithered as he shaped to clear his lines.  The little pivot was soon eclipsed by the giant frame of Gonzalo Longo who not only charged down the kick but beat Sean Lamont to touch down for Argentina's only try of the game.  Contepomi added the extras and the South Americans were suddenly sitting on a 13-3 lead.

Scotland's travelling contingent of fans desperately needed a lift, and it duly appeared in the shape of Chris Paterson placing his trusty tee in the grass.  The sinister salute with the left arm, the languid sweep of the right leg, and Scotland had narrowed the gap.

With the Bank of Paterson now open for business, Scotland looked a little more confident and punctuated the first half by bullying the Argentinians off a scrum.  It's an event normally only illuminated by the light of a blue moon, and it gave a hint of what was to come later in the game.

Scotland made a change at the break by introducing Andrew Henderson, but the old errors continued and Contepomi soon added another three points to his account after the Scottish forwards conceded a penalty in the shadow of their own posts.

With the game ebbing from their grip, Scotland changed tack.  They were now pushing their big forwards at Argentina's half-backs and soon began to winkle out penalties and scrums from the increasingly scrappy South Americans.

Scotland's big backs had also recovered from a listless first-half and began to make inroads with some boisterous running.

But Hernández was also growing in stature and he kept the Scots honest by pinning them back at every opportunity, following up on one such territorial snatch by slotting a drop-goal.

The repetitive sucker-punches were taking a toll on the Scots and the dark blue bench was duly emptied onto the field in an attempt to revive fortunes.

And what an impact the cavalry made!

Suddenly Scotland were alive.  A fantastic break down the middle of the pitch by Craig Smith put the Pumas in reverse.  The support arrived and the same men who seemed unable to catch a cold in the preceding hour put together a string of dare-devil passes.  Big Kelly Brown got on to the end of one and tip-toed down the left touchline before finding Chris Cusiter on his inside, and the scrum-half was over for the try.

Paterson stepped up to slot his 17th consecutive shot at goal -- he hasn't missed in this tournament -- and out of nowhere we were heading to heart-attack territory for the fourth time in two days.

Argentina looked to up their game but they were shaken -- Contepomi and Hernández both now looked capable of dross.

Scotland sensed the swing of the pendulum and grabbed on with both hands.  France hasn't witnessed such blatant disregard for the good and the great since the storming of the Bastille, and it looked like more rugby royalty would soon be swinging from the scaffold.

But the Scots could not rid themselves of their unforced errors, and the opportunity to sneak into the last four went up in smoke with a lost line-out on Argentina's line.

Man of the match:  Mike Blair, Andrew Henderson and Chris Cusiter all added impetus to Scotland's quest, but all trailed in the wake carved by Craig Smith.  Juan Martín Hernández had another fine game, but blew hot and cold.  Gonzalo Longo impressed once again (there's surely now no way back for Juan Manuel Leguizamón) but our man of the match is the evergreen Mario Ledesma -- a cross between an energetic puppy and an old carthorse.

Moment of the match:  Very few moments stand out, but we'll go for Scotland's try -- out of nowhere it delivered the prospect of an upset.

Villain of the match:  Some niggle here and there but nothing too nasty.  No award.

The scorers:

For Scotland:
Try:  Cusiter
Con:  Paterson
Pen:  Parks, Paterson

For Argentina:
Try:  Longo
Con:  Contempomi
Pens:  Contempomi 3
Drop goal:  Hernandez

Scotland:  15 Rory Lamont, 14 Sean Lamont, 13 Simon Webster, 12 Rob Dewey, 11 Chris Paterson, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Mike Blair, 8 Simon Taylor, 7 Allister Hogg, 6 Jason White, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Nathan Hines, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Gavin Kerr.
Replacements:  16 Scott Lawson, 17 Craig Smith, 18 Scott MacLeod, 19 Kelly Brown, 20 Chris Cusiter, 21 Andrew Henderson, 22 Hugo Southwell.

Argentina:  15 Ignacio Corleto, 14 Lucas Borges, 13 Manuel Contepomi, 12 Felipe Contepomi, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Juan Martín Hernández, 9 Agustín Pichot (c), 8 Gonzalo Longo, 7 Juan Martín Fernandez Lobbe, 6 Lucas Ostiglia, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Carlos Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, 3 Juan Martín Scelzo, 2 Mario Ledesma, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements:  16 Alberto Vernet Basualdo, 17 Omar Hasan, 18 Rimas Álvarez Kairelis, 19 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 20 Nicolás Fernandez Miranda, 21 Federico Todeschini, 22 Hernán Senillosa.

Referee:  Joël Jutge (France)
Touch judges:  Chris White (England), Stuart Dickinson (Australia)
Television match official:  Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Assessor:  Bob Francis (New Zealand)

France send ABs packing

France will play England in an all-northern semi-final in Paris next Saturday, after dumping the favourites New Zealand out of the tournament 20-18 in Cardiff on Saturday.

Fantastic!  Sheer fantasy!  Amazing Saturday went spirally upwards into fantasy!  There has never been a day like it in World Cup rugby.

Whether France deserved to win or not, doesn't matter one iota.  The fact is that they did win.  If the brave deserve the fair, they deserved this victory.  The French made 178 tackles to New Zealand's 36.  That was bravery as they stood shoulder to shoulder and repelled the Pacific wave that threatened to overwhelm them.  They kept a tsunami at bay.

They tackled and tackled and then New Zealand lost the ball, and Elissalde went scampering off like a little boy who has pinched one of his mother's cookies and then kicked the cookie into the crowd for an outburst of ecstasy.

It was, as Dickens once wrote, the best of times and it was the worst of times.  It was a time of ecstasy for France.  It was a time of utter, shuddering despair for New Zealand.

History had repeated itself.  The favourites were not going to make the final.  New Zealand who seemed to be winning well at half-time were beaten 17-5 in the dramatic second half as if 1999 had returned to life.

Fantastic Saturday will go down in rugby history.

It is tough for New Zealand.  For France it is a wonderful boost and reward for a country which has done so much to make this World Cup a joyous success.

The match had started with a dramatic haka, with France on the half-way line and the All Blacks doing their "ka mate" haka within touching distance, which produced a cheeky grin and wink from David Marty to Keith Robinson and dismissive amusement on the face of Sébastien Chabal, the icon of the World Cup with posters of him all over France.

Lionel Beauxis kicked off and he did a lot of kicking after that, but so did Damien Traille and Jean-Batiste Elissalde.  There was no secret that this was going to be French tactics.  Their selection broadcast this to the world.  It was not great kicking -- just long kicking, not kicking with great chase or and attempt to win back the ball.

It seemed that France's tactic of kicking long over and over had backfired in the first half.  But then, just before half-time, they threw a switch and changed lines.  They started running.  But their initial tactic and their changed of tactic both seemed to suck the All Blacks into an unusual and, for them, unsuitable game.  Gone were the smooth runners, the clever interpassing, the switches and changes of angles that split defences apart with effortless ease and created chances for great wings.  Instead they also kicked in the first half, so much so that France had 19 line-outs in the match to New Zealand's five.  Then when France started running the All Blacks went on a pick-'n-drive splurge which produced just one try in many goes.  True, that try with 18 minutes to go gave them a lead which could have been a winning one.  But it wasn't.  Stuck in a pick-'drive rut, which was largely sterile, the All Blacks it seems could not get out of it and nobody could help them out of it -- not their experienced captain and not the trio of grim visages behind the technology in the stands.  They abandoned their playing principles and paid the price.

The New Zealand pack was better at scrumming and, surprisingly, in the line-out.  At line-out time the French were surprisingly naive.  They had four line-out jumpers -- five when Imañol Harinordoquy replaced Serge Betsen -- but they seemed determined to throw to where New Zealand's lone jumper was, and Ali Williams won four of their line-outs.  The first one came within a boot's edge of scoring the first try of the match.

The loss of Betsen after four minutes was a blow to France.  He tackled Joe Rokocoko and was trying to get up when a French knee struck his head and down he went.  The match stopped for some time while he was attended to, eventually leaving the field on wobbly legs.  His direct hardness was a great loss to France.

Half way through the second half the All Blacks lost Daniel Carter who limped off but after a match in which he had been far less dominant than usual.  Byron Kelleher went with him and their replacements, Nick Evans and Brendon Leonard, brought sharpness to the New Zealand attack -- until Evans also left, apparently, with a hamstring problem.

France had a chance to score early on but Traille missed a drop attempt from in front.

When Fabien Pelous tackled Rokocoko and stayed lying on him, he was penalised and Carter opened the scoring with a straightforward penalty.  3-0 after 13 minutes.

Then came the first Williams steal at a line-out when he beat Harinordoquy in the air and suddenly Luke McAlister, who was hero and villain in this match, burst through Beauxis on a long run.  The ball went left to Williams who was over in the corner but his right boot had touched the touch-line in the tackle by Vincent Clerc.  France survived, but not for long.

The All Blacks took a quick throw-in from touch and again McAlister broke powerfully.  He fed Jerry Collins and stayed with the rugged flank to take a pass and score in Traille's tackle.  Carter converted.  10-0 after 18 minutes.

Thierry Dusautoir, bravest of the brave, went offside -- a short offside when a tackle was judged to have become a ruck -- and Carter made it 13-0 after 30 minutes.

The All Blacks were cruising into the semis, or so it seemed.  It was an illusion for they did not score again for another 32 minutes -- just as in 1999.

Then France threw the switch.  They stopped their unchallenging kicking and started running.  Suddenly they were challenging the All Blacks, shaking their composure and on the stroke of half-time, when Williams was penalised at a maul, Beauxis made it 13-3 with France's third penalty kick at goal.  Earlier Beauxis and Elissalde had missed one each.

After a great break by Kelleher early in the second half, France had a golden chance to score when Cédric Heymans fly-kicked a loose ball downfield but was slowed in the gathering.  France went right and had an overlap but a poor pass by Traille spoilt the chance of a score.  Then France had a great maul on and took it to within six metres of the New Zealand line where the All Blacks collapsed the maul.  On advantage France went left and Beauxis chipped.  McAlister went out of his way to block Jauzion's path.  This led to a penalty to France and a yellow card for McAlister.  That incident may well have sown the seeds of an All Black defeat;.

Beauxis kicked the penalty and it may have seemed that the All Blacks had got off lightly as twice in that move there was the strong possibility of a French try.

Stung, the All Blacks flung themselves into the attack, no longer with the fluent phases of the first half but with staccato pick-'n-drive.  They were at the line but So'oialo knocked on a wild pass and France survived.

Suddenly France broke out and seemed about to score as Harinordoquy had an big overlap on the right, but his speed and nerve let him down and he was felled five metres from the New Zealand line.  France went left and then right again and Dusautoir burst through Leon MacDonald's tackle to score.  Beauxis' conversion went in off the upright and the score was 13-13.

At this stage McAlister returned from his purgatory.  Carter limped off and other changes were made.

New Zealand went into their pick-'n-drive routine until Chabal, brave and strong, wrenched the ball free.  Then Williams won another line-out and France were subjected to more pick-'n-drive pummeling until eventually So'oialo just managed to squeeze over with the ball under a tattooed arm.  The conversion was not all that difficult but McAlister missed it.

Soon afterwards Evans had a sharp break but Elissalde managed to stop him with fingernails clinging to a jersey and then France made a telling change.  Heavy Beauxis went off and on came Frédéric Michalak.  He had an immediate effect.

Traille burst beyond McAlister and gave to Michalak who went racing down the left.  When it seemed that he was being hemmed in he stopped, turned his back on the approaching goal-line and picked out Yannick Jauzion for a pass and the big centre strode over for a try.  Elissalde made no mistake with the conversion and France led 20-18 with 11 minutes to play -- 11 minutes of high tension as New Zealand attacked again and again, flinging themselves with increasing desperation at the determined French.

At one stage Michalak seemed to have blown it.  France won a turn-over in the midst of all this battering and from deep inside his in-goal Michalak kicked across the field to his left to Chris Jack but the big lock was unable to get quick control and make the opportunity count.

McAlister tried a long drop but was short and wide, and there were just 15 seconds left when Michalak dropped out.  France survived and ecstacy broke out in Cardiff.

Man of the Match:  There were certainly candidates in such a brave match, such as Leon MacDonald and Ali Williams of New Zealand.  For France there were candidates, too, especially Jean-Baptiste Elissalde and all those men who made so many tackles.  We are going to choose the tackler-in-chief Thierry Dusautoir as our Man of the Match.

Moment of the Match:  The sight of Jean-Baptiste Elissalde scurrying across the field with the ball in wild elation, knowing that France had won.

Villain of the Match:  There were two candidates -- Luke McAlister and the interviewer who, moments after the final whistle, thrust a mike at Richie McCaw and asked him his reaction and how big a blow the defeat was for New Zealand rugby, insensitive to the great player's suffering.

The scorers:

For France:
Tries:  Dusautoir, Jauzion
Cons:  Beauxis, Elissalde
Pens:  Beauxis 2

For New Zealand:
Tries:  McAlister, So'oialo
Con:  Carter
Pens:  Carter 2

Yellow card:  McAlister (45, New Zealand, off-the-ball tackle)

France:  15 Damien Traille, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 David Marty, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 11 Cédric Heymans, 10 Lionel Beauxis, 9 Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, 8 Julien Bonnaire, 7 Thierry Dusautoir, 6 Serge Betsen, 5 Jérôme Thion, 4 Fabien Pelous, 3 Pieter de Villiers, 2 Raphaël Ibañez (captain), 1 Olivier Milloud.
Replacements:  16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 18 Sébastien Chabal, 19 Imañol Harinordoquy, 20 Frédéric Michalak, 21 Christophe Dominici, 22 Clément Poitrenaud.

New Zealand:  15 Leon MacDonald, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Mils Muliaina, 12 Luke McAlister, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Byron Kelleher, 8 Rodney So'oialo, 7 Richie McCaw (captain), 6 Jerry Collins, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Keith Robinson, 3 Carl Hayman, 2 Anton Oliver, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Neemia Tialata, 18 Chris Jack, 19 Chris Masoe, 20 Brendon Leonard, 21 Nick Evans, 22 Isaia Toeava.

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Touch judges:  Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa), Tony Spreadbury (England)
Television match official:  Chris White (England)
Assessor:  Steve Hilditch (Ireland)

England forge ahead

England have become the first of the four World Cup semi-finalists after beating Australia 12-10 in Marseille on Saturday with a barnstorming forward performance.

Australia scored the only try of the game on a rare visit to England's 22 in the first half, but over the eighty minutes the England forward eight simply shoved, pushed and heaved their opponents out of the game.

Jonny Wilkinson once again was the deepest thorn in Australia's side, notching four penalties as a result of the pressure the English pack exerted, and England may reflect in the aftermath that the win ought to have been more convincing had the backs been even vaguely disposed to try a few offloads.

Australia star Chris Latham was in tears after the game, and one might surmise that he was simply longing for England's pack.  Just imagine what Australia's gifted backline could do with the likes of Simon Shaw and Andrew Sheridan, and what England could do with the likes of Latham and Stirling Mortlock.  In the spirit of ABAB (anyone but the All Blacks), can't we allow England and Australia to now join forces?

Admittedly, this game will not win any beauty contests.  But beauty is most definitely in the eye of the beholder, and this dog of a game will go down in English history as a prize-winning pooch -- a thoroughbred bulldog.

What character!  What resolve!  What an upset!  England's players had insisted that there was a good performance in them, but who really believed it?

Yet they delivered -- and what a delivery it was.  This was unquestionably England's best performance since that day way back when, and it is no exaggeration to say that this famous victory exorcises some of the more painful memories of the past four years.

As for the Wallabies -- well, what happened? That famous Australian grit, that mental strength that has served them so well so often, was simply absent from proceedings.

They were shocked into submission by England's physicality in contact and their limpet-like defence.  They seemed as confused by England's confidence and ability as most of the watching world.  Who would have guess that the English had a rabid rabbit stashed under their hat?  Have they been having us all on?

How Australia missed the calming influence of Steven Larkham.  The fly-half's young replacement, Berrick Barnes, endured a nasty and prolonged attack of stage fright, but who can blame him? His forwards failed to offer him even the vaguest semblance of a stage on which to perform.

England set out their stall from the off, firing their big men at the fringes to good effect.

The decent start emboldened the English and they soon felt confident enough to try to run out a drop-out.  Needless to say, it backfired and they duly coughed up a penalty.

Mortlock missed the chance to open the scoring as his kick at the sticks drifted wide in the swirling breeze, but he made amends moments later as England were found fingering the ball at a bottom of a ruck.

The English won possession from the ensuing re-start but conceded another penalty as Paul Sackey held on in isolation -- a recurring theme for England, brought on, in part, by their penchant for picking size over snipe in the back row.

Australia won another penalty at the first scrum of the game, and what a massive fillip to the gold pack it was.  England were adjudged to have gone to ground, but the men in white clearly felt that their opponents had simply released their own handbrake.  Mortlock failed to add injury to insult by, again, missing the sticks.

Jason Robinson then punctuated the penalty-fest by cutting a fine angle off Shaw's deft inside-past and England were finally in the gold 22, but the raid died as Mike Catt allowed the ball to dribble into Australian hands.

England's error-strewn opening gave no hint of what was to come, and England captain Phil Vickery deserves praise for gathering his side together to demand calm and precision -- "keep it simple, stupid" was surely the call, and it proved to be the kiss of death.

So England went back on the attack, surprising the Wallabies with their will to spread the ball wide.  Stephen Moore got himself into a hopeless muddle as he attempted to clear a grubber and England had their first penalty of the game.  Wilkinson stepped up and opened his account.

He was soon lining up another kick at goal as the Wallaby scrum collapsed under immense pressure from the giants in white, and he duly claimed the lead for his side, ousting Gavin Hastings from the top of the all-time World Cup points-scoring table in the process.

The World Cup holders, finally playing like World Cup holders, now sensed that the game was there for the taking and began to crash into breakdowns with muscular conviction.  Meanwhile, Barnes's nerves were continuing to get the better of him and his fowards found themselves backing towards the ropes.

But Wilkinson missed his third attempt at goal and Australia suddenly realised that they could not survive on the odd let-off.

As so often before, it was the majestic Latham who shook his companions from their slumber by cutting a savage angle through the white midfield.  With England in reverse, the Wallabies moved the ball wide to their left.  A divine show-and-go from Barnes then opened a gap and Lote Tuqiri was across in the corner for his first and final try of the tournament.  Mortlock slotted the conversion and Australia had won back the lead against the run of play.

Wilkinson soon had a chance to narrow the gap after Australia conceded a penalty in defence, but the breeze took his kick off target and the Wallabies took a largely undeserved 10-6 lead into the break.

England began the concluding stanza of Australia's World Cup campaign as they had the one before it, asserting forward dominance all over the pitch.

A massive scrum on the Australian line gave Wycliff Palu all sorts of problems, and but for a knock-on from Mike Catt, England would have had a converted try.

But the English plugged on, knowing that something would have to give.  In the end they had to settle for three points after Australia killed the raid illegally.

Now the pressure even began to tell on Latham who forwent an acre of space for a long-range drop at goal -- it missed.

The Wallabies then grew wobblier still by conceding another scrum on their line.  What looked like the genesis of a push-over try was, again, somewhat cynically annulled by George Smith and Wilkinson stepped up to steal back the lead.

Daniel Vickerman then took his frustrations out on Andy Gomarsall and England took the opportunity to hammer their tent pegs into the gold half -- and there they remained.

Wilkinson then summoned up the ghosts by dropping at goal.  His attempt sailed wide but its significance would have registered in Australian minds.

Yet far from being spooked, the Wallabies seem to draw strength from the moment.

Danger was ever present behind the creaking gold scrum, and some poor English kicking late in the game threatened to undo so much good work.

But George Gregan, not normally a flapper, was the next to buckle under England's relentless defensive onslaught, getting himself into a tizzy after being harassed off the ball at the breakdown.  His insolence allowed Wilkinson a chance to make the game safe, but he missed the posts and Australia were still alive.

With just moments to go, England fans shielded their eyes as Mortlock lined up a kick of his own after Joe Worsley was pinged for hands in the ruck.

This was surely destiny -- another example of Australia's mastery of mind over matter would surely follow.  But today the boot was on the other foot, and the ball veered just wide.

All England had to do was secure the drop-out and clear they lines, and with "Swing Low" finally drowning out chants of "Allez les Jaunes!" from the "neutrals", they did just that.  England are off to Paris, the Wallabies are on their way home.

Australian Rugby Union chief John O'Neill must really hate the English now!

Man of the match:  Wallaby wing Lote Tuqiri had remarked that England had only one world-class player.  That man, Jason Robinson, did have a fine game, but he was thoroughly outshone by his forwards.  Egged on by a commanding performance form Andy Gomarsall, heroes to a man they were.  Andy Sheridan, Nick Easter and Lewis Moody deserve special mention, but our man of the match is the omnipresent colossus that is Simon Shaw -- built like a grand piano and gifted with the hands to play one.

Moment of the match:  Surely the final whistle, it has been four years since we've seen such a happy group of Englishmen.

Villain of the match:  A little niggle in the front row, but nothing too untowards.  We'll slip this hideous gong under the door of Daniel Vickerman.  He let the pressure get to him, and his judo move on Andy Gomarsall exemplified Australia's lost plot.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Try:  Tuqiri
Con:  Mortlock
Pen:  Mortlock

For England:
Pens:  Wilkinson 4

Australia:  15 Chris Latham, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Stirling Mortlock (c), 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Berrick Barnes, 9 George Gregan, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 George Smith, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Daniel Vickerman, 4 Nathan Sharpe, 3 Guy Shepherdson, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Matt Dunning.
Replacements:  16 Adam Freier, 17 Al Baxter, 18 Hugh McMeniman, 19 Stephen Hoiles, 20 Phil Waugh, 21 Julian Huxley, 22 Drew Mitchell.

England:  15 Jason Robinson, 14 Paul Sackey, 13 Mathew Tait, 12 Mike Catt, 11 Josh Lewsey, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Andy Gomarsall, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Lewis Moody, 6 Martin Corry, 5 Ben Kay, 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Phil Vickery (c), 2 Mark Regan, 1 Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements:  16 George Chuter, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Lawrence Dallaglio, 19 Joe Worsley, 20 Peter Richards, 21 Toby Flood, 22 Dan Hipkiss.

Referee:  Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Touch judges:  Paul Honiss (New Zealand), Nigel Owens (Wales)
Television match official:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Assessor:  Tappe Henning (South Africa)

Pumas conquer Ireland

Argentina have made it through to the quarter-finals of the World Cup as the top finishers in Pool D after recording a clinical 30-15 victory over Ireland in Paris on Sunday.

The result at Parc des Princes sends Ireland crashing out of the tournament and consigns hosts France to a quarter-final on foreign soil in Cardiff against New Zealand next weekend.

Argentina face Scotland in the Stade de France next Sunday, and must surely now be favourites to take a semi-final spot, most likely against South Africa.

Ireland fought gamely but Argentina's aggressive defence proved too much for the stuttering green attack.

The Pumas also managed two fine first-half tries, one from each wing, as the team proved its competence in all areas of the pitch.

Ireland went into the group eliminator needing a bonus-point victory, but only managed two tries through Brian O'Driscoll and Geordan Murphy.

Unbeaten Argentina never looked like losing, with wings Lucas Borges and Horacio Agulla claiming touchdowns, while masterly fly-half Juan Martín Hernández dropped three goals and cucumber-like centre Felipe Contepomi kicked 11 points.

And so Ireland follow Wales home, but not exactly following in red footsteps.  The Welsh were equal to Fiji in all areas of play;  Ireland came off a distinct second in all facets of play.

"It's hard to play against a side that refuses to play in their own half," lamented O'Driscoll in the wake of battle, and it's hard to argue with the man.

Argentina forced Ireland to build from deep, but never allowed them time to play the ball, let alone time to think about what to do with the thing.

The Pumas' ravenous defence gobbled up just about everything Ireland had to offer -- it would take the local gendarmerie a week just to log the number of stolen green balls.

But the remarkable truth is that Ireland didn't play that badly.  They showed good composure in the early stages of the game and glimpses of brilliance in first-phase play.

With Argentina looking slightly nervous from the off, Ireland set out their stall by sending their first penalty -- from a highly kickable spot -- into the corner.

It was a move intended to shake the hitherto unshakable Latinos.  It backfired.  Argentina managed to steal the line-out ball and clear their lines.  And with that, Ireland's main weapon was spiked.

Buoyed by their defensive efforts, the Pumas strode into Irish territory -- and there they remained for much of the match.

It was Argentina who had the first shot at goal as a moment of mindless Irish hot-potato combined with ruthless Argentine tackling to cough up an opportunity for Contepomi, but his kick at the sticks sailed wide.

The Leinster star then almost made amends by scoring after hacking on a loose ball, but his old friend Denis Hickie showed great pace to beat him to the touch-down.

Suddenly the tables had turned and the Pumas were in complete control.

Argentina plugged on, sparking up a rolling maul that almost had them over the whitewash.

That attack earned them a five-metre scrum from which Agustín Pichot picked up and went blind.  He dragged in three would-be tacklers before feeding wing Lucas Borges who scooted over to score.

Contepomi missed the conversion, but first blood had been drawn -- and Ireland's confident start added extra weight to the try.

The Irish managed to put the score to one side and responded well, with Brian O'Driscoll showing a trademark flash of brilliance that has been in short supply in France.  His raid won a penalty which O'Gara duly converted into three points, and Ireland's crusade was up and running.

But the Argentinians were in no mood to allow Irish dreams to take root.  Hernández stamped out the green seed of hope by dropping a goal in the very next phase of play.

And from there they pushed and they pushed, keeping O'Gara teetering on his dead-ball line.  Only heroic defence kept Ireland honest, but heroic defence was not on at the top of Ireland's agenda:  they still needed four tries and, with 30 minutes played, there was neither hide nor hair of a single one.

Every vague Irish skirmish across the half-way line was repelled by the ferocious Pumas, with Eoin Reddan having particular trouble with the offensive defence of the South Americans.

With patient phase-play patently not paying dividends for the Irish, it was time to turn to magic, and O'Driscoll took a peek up his sleeve.

O'Gara sent out a flat miss-pass from the back of an innocuous line-out outside Argentina's 22 and the Ireland captain meet the ball at full speed.  Argentina's flat-footed defence could not stop the runaway centre and Ireland had their first try.

"It has started!" O'Driscoll informed the Pumas as they assembled under the sticks for O'Gara's successful conversion, but the Argentinians begged to differ.

Hernández, surely an Inuit in a previous life, dropped a nonchalant long-range goal before setting up his side's second try.

After collecting his own bomb he set the Pumas loose with a wonderful backhand flip that left the Irish clawing at air.  The move was punctuated by Horacio Agulla in the right-hand corner, but not before the ball had passed through at least a dozen pairs of Argentine hands, with the impressive Gonzalo Longo delivering the final pass.

And so, at the break, Ireland were just a quarter of the way to only partial safety.  Argentina, meanwhile, were coasting to the summit of the World Cup's toughest pool.  Just two more tries would put the Irish out of their misery instantly -- perhaps it would have been a better way to go.

Ireland needed early points in the second half -- instead they coughed up a penalty that Contepomi converted into three more coffin nails.

A good-looking Irish attack had the crowd's green contingent on their feet and Murphy soon had them dancing as he slid over the whitewash for Ireland's second.

Again, it was a deft miss-pass from O'Gara to O'Driscoll that did the damage.  The Irish skipper then found David Wallace on his shoulder and the flank supplied the final pass.

O'Gara missed the conversion, but Ireland's dream began to flicker once again.  They had kippered the Pumas with two first-phase tries that came straight off the blackboard.  Could they learn from this?  Could they build on this?

Straws loom like logs to drowning men, and O'Driscoll was soon thrashing around like he was on his last lungful.  His troops duly followed suit and Argentina began to look fallible.

But only for a moment.  A long punt downfield from Hernández was met by more Argentinians than Irish, and Contepomi soon had another kick at goal which he duly dispatched.

More Argentine pressure spawned another penalty opportunity for Contepomi which he cashed in as Eddie O'Sullivan played his last card by emptying his bench onto the pitch.

When up 27-15 and with 15 minutes to play, most sides would err on the side of caution.  Not Argentina.  They fought on as if they were chasing the game, hounding the Irish off the ball at every junction.

Their lust for contact finally rubbed off on the Irish and, with ten minutes to go, they began to look menacing at the breakdown.

A green penalty was soon dispatched into the corner but Argentina's impeccable defence nipped the raid in the bud.  The Irish faithful at Parc des Princes began to murmur a mournful rendition of the Fields of Athenry.

Ireland's fans knew the game was up, but no one had bothered to inform the Pumas.  They continued to boss and bully and cajole before Hernández delivered the coup de grace in the shape of his third drop-goal.

The message couldn't have cleared.  Coming out of the 'pool of death' without a scratch was no less than the mighty Argentinians had expected -- they are after world domination.  With Scotland up next, who would bet against them going all the way?

Man of the match:  Brian O'Driscoll finally showed his class and his absence from the play-offs is blow for rugby-lovers the world over.  Paul O'Connell also finally proved his worth, and Ronan O'Gara punctuated a difficult campaign with some merit.  Meanwhile, the Argentinians were heroes to a man.  Their great strength is their collective will, but -- as always -- a few individuals stood out.  Gonzalo Longo and Rodrigo Roncero got through a heap of work, whilst Felipe Contepomi added structure and the points.  Meanwhile, Agustín Pichot, once again, proved himself to be a leader of rare ability.  But our award goes to the ice-cool Juan Martín Hernández.  The Scots will need to pin some great jailable crime on the immaculate pivot if they wish to return to Paris for a semi-final.

Moment of the match:  Ireland's two tries were beautifully executed, but we'll opt for the build-up to Horacio Agulla's try.  It was 'total rugby' at it's very best.

Villain of the match:  Perhaps a little too much shirt-pulling from the Argentinians, but we'll reserve judgement until we've studied the videos.  No award.  Yet.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Tries:  Borges, Agulla
Con:  Contempomi
Pens:  Contempomi 3
Drop goals:  Hernandez 3

For Ireland:
Tries:  O'Driscoll, Murphy
Con:  O'Gara
Pen:  O'Gara

Argentina:  15 Ignacio Corleto, 14 Lucas Borges, 13 Manuel Contepomi, 12 Felipe Contepomi, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Juan Martín Hernández, 9 Agustín Pichot (c), 8 Gonzalo Longo, 7 Juan Martín Fernandez Lobbe, 6 Lucas Ostiglia, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Carlos Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, 3 Juan Martín Scelzo, 2 Mario Ledesma, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements:  16 Alberto Vernet Basualdo, 17 Omar Hasan, 18 Rimas Álvarez Kairelis, 19 Martín Durand, 20 Nicolás Fernandez Miranda, 21 Federico Todeschini, 22 Hernán Senillosa.

Ireland:  15 Geordan Murphy, 14 Shane Horgan, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (c), 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Denis Hickie, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Denis Leamy, 7 David Wallace, 6 Simon Easterby, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Donnacha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Jerry Flannery, 1 Marcus Horan,
Replacement:  16 Rory Best, 17 Bryan Young, 18 Malcolm O'Kelly, 19 Neil Best, 20 Isaac Boss, 21 Paddy Wallace, 22 Gavin Duffy.

Referee:  Paul Honiss (New Zealand)
Touch judges:  Mark Lawrence (South Africa), Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Television match official:  Christophe Berdos (France)
Assessor:  Steve Hilditch