France leave Welsh in a mess

The desired performance from Wales heading into the Rugby World Cup was not forthcoming at the Millennium Stadium on Sunday, with the Welsh going down 7-34 at home to France in their final warm-up match.

The French defence remained virtually unbreachable to the last, bar James Hook's solo effort, but it was rarely tested by a lacklustre Welsh effort.

Wales coach Gareth Jenkins will now head into the tournament with a multitude of questions still unanswered, while Bernard Laporte can relax in the knowledge that his team is taking shape nicely.

To add injury to insult, Wales captain Gareth Thomas was stretchered off near the end, and his participation in the World Cup is now in doubt.

France rolled out in their "change" strip of gleaming white (because, of course, red and blue are almost indistinguishable to the marketeers of modern rugby) and were almost bridal in their poise:  they looked pretty, did what was expected of them and hardly broke sweat.

Moreover, white suits France's new approach.  Gone is the attacking laissez-faire, that thirst for champagne rugby.  In its place is an obsession with clean sheets, a near-impregnable defence that makes the Maginot Line look like a swing door.  (Insert your own war-related joke here.)

Immensely unexciting though it is, France's new-found lust for defence bodes well for what lurks around the corner.  Adventure has never flourished at the Rugby World Cup, and it's a fair assumption that the spoils will go to the side that concedes the least tries rather than the one that scores the most.

But that's not to say that Les Bleus have forgotten the way to the tryline, far from it.  Four tries in Cardiff tells a tale in itself.

The French have spoken long and hard about the need to build confidence, and they made good on their bold intentions from the off.  Cédric Heymans, a success at fullback, choose to run the kick-off out of his 22, igniting a flowing move that finally died -- at the hands of a knock-on -- on the Welsh line.

The crowd grew quieter still as Wales proceeded to lose their first line-out, and fell stony silent as Martyn Williams coughed off up a penalty for pawing at the ball whilst on the deck.  Lionel Beauxis duly stepped up to open the scoring.

Wales bounced back well, stealing France's first line-out before mounting an energetic attack featuring some fine inter-passing between forwards and backs.

But France responded in kind -- and more fluently -- by returning a loose Welsh grubber at pace.  The raid was arrested a metre short of the line, but a delicious pop-pass from Pierre Mignoni found Jérôme Thion, and the big lock drove over in the corner for France's first try.  Beauxis converted and the visitors were in double figures with just 14 minutes played.

Wales continued to make life hard for themselves.  They sensed that they might have an advantage out wide, but getting the ball out to their wings proved problematic, and the requisite gaps simply failed to materialise.

The effervescent opening fell a little flat in the second quarter of the game as Wales made a conscious effort to control the game on their terms.

The decision to fall back on Hook's boot won the locals more turf but put immense pressure on their wonky array of set-piece options.

Still, Hook's ability to keep the ball in front of his forwards afforded the Welsh a toe-hold on proceedings, and raids around the fringes -- orchestrated and executed by the irrepressible Dwayne Peel -- gave France some food for thought.

France absorbed the pressure with aplomb, and their new brand of offensive defence soon had Welsh hearts in throats as Vincent Clerc almost dotted down a hacked-on turnover possession.

Graham Hughes, the video official, had scarcely turned to rewind his tapes before another call came through from referee Wayne Barnes.  Rémy Martin was seen burrowing under the last line of Welsh defence but "inconclusive" evidence as to whether he found the whitewash allowed Wales to breathe again -- but only for the duration of the resultant scrum.

Peels's box-kick from the base of the set-piece was charged down by Imañol Harinordoquy and France had their try, for the third time of asking, after Mignoni dotted down the loose ball.  Beauxis added the extras and the visitors had clear water with six minutes remaining until the break.

Wales continued to rack their brains for answers to France's watertight defence, running through the full gamut of attacking options.

It was a moment of inspiration from Martyn Williams that finally cracked the code, taking the ball in the outside centre position before straightening up and finding Hook looping around his back.  The young pivot still had plenty to do but backed his pace and managed to slither over the line for a try.

Hook converted his own score on the stroke of half-time, and Wales disappeared into the bowels of the stadium buoyed by the knowledge that they had already succeeded where England had failed over the course of two games:  they had scored against the French.

The visitors, clearly stung by that slight to their honour, tore into the second half with a vengeance.  Some fine defence from that man Martyn Williams and a couple of clumsy knock-ons kept the French honest, but Beauxis soon added three points to his side's tally after Wales infringed in defence.

A raft of replacements, on both sides, then knocked the structure out of the game.  Not that the locals were complaining, their skills are better suited to broken-field rugby and they were soon asking questions of the French.

But with Wales's focus fixed on attack, France were gifted the easiest of tries as Aurélien Rougerie collected an inside-ball and cantered through a gaping hole in the Welsh midfield to score under the sticks.  Beauxis converted and France had a 20-point lead.

Wales, to their credit, continued to huff and puff.  The gaps were beginning to appear in the French lines, but Wales's intense desire to score tries and answer their critics did them no favours:  move after move feel foul to rash decision-making and unforced errors.

With the result assured, the game petered out to a succession of injuries and more replacements.

Wales were now on their last legs but France didn't relent.  It was the fresh legs of Sébastien Bruno who finally put the hosts out of their misery by powering though some flimsy defence to score at the death.

Jean-Baptiste Elissalde added the conversion with the last kick of the game -- the cherry on the top of a comprehensive win.

And so ends the phoney war.  France head into the World Cup on the back of three solid wins -- they are real contenders.

Meanwhile, things look bleak for Wales.  There's still time for tinkering in the garage, but empirical evidence suggests that they will fall some distance short of that "minimum requirement of a semi-final spot".

Man of the match:  Cédric Heymans proved to be a revelation in the unfamiliar position of fullback, and the French back-row put in a titanic performance -- again.  Wales might have lost, but it wasn't for the lack of effort on the part of Alix Popham and, our man-of-the-match, Martyn Williams -- a colossus in attack and a rock in defence.  A couple more players of his calibre, and Wales would be serious contenders for the world crown.

Moment of the match:  In terms of crucial moments, it could be the injury sustained by Gareth Thomas.  For Wales to lose their captain -- and inspiration -- so close to showtime would be a calamity of the highest order.

Villian of the match:  No real contenders, but the Welsh management need a ticking off for taking their sweet time to respond to the urgent SOS issued by a stricken Kevin Morgan.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Try:  Hook
Con:  Hook

For France:
Tries:  Thion, Mignoni, Rougerie, Bruno
Cons:  Beauxis 4
Pens:  Beauxis 2

Wales:  15 Kevin Morgan, 14 Mark Jones, 13 Jamie Robinson, 12 Gareth Thomas (captain), 11 Shane Williams, 10 James Hook, 9 Dwayne Peel, 8 Alix Popham, 7 Martyn Williams, 6 Jonathan Thomas, 5 Alun-Wyn Jones, 4 Ian Gough, 3 Chris Horsman, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Duncan Jones.
Replacements:  16 T Rhys Thomas, 17 Gethin Jenkins, 18 Will James, 19 Colin Charvis, 20 Michael Phillips, 21 Ceri Sweeney, 22 Sonny Parker.

France:  15 Cédric Heymans, 14 Aurélien Rougerie, 13 Yannick Jauzion, 12 David Skrela, 11 Vincent Clerc, 10 Lionel Beauxis, 9 Pierre Mignoni, 8 Imañol Harinordoquy, 7 Rémy Martin, 6 Serge Betsen, 5 Jérôme Thion, 4 Sébastien Chabal, 3 Pieter De Villiers, 2 Dimitri Szarzewski, 1 Nicolas Mas.
Replacements:  16 Sébastien Bruno, 17 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 18 Fabien Pelous, 19 Thierry Dusautoir, 20 Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, 21 Damien Traille, 22 Christophe Dominici.

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Touch judges:  Alain Rolland (Ireland), Simon Mcdowell (Ireland)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

Boks blitz Scotland at Murrayfield

South Africa produced a 21-point, five-minute blitz to secure an easy 27-3 win over Scotland in their World Cup warm-up match at Murrayfield in Edinburgh on Saturday.

It was a case of back to reality for Scotland, following their recent win over an under-strength Irish side.

The South Africans certainly put down their World Cup marker in the most emphatic fashion in a first-half performance that left the Scottish with more questions and no answers.

South Africa dominated the physical exchanges and showed their greater pace in that short period in the first half, when they turned a 3-all scoreline into a 24-3 lead and ended the game as a contest ... all in the space of just five minutes.

The real difference between the two sides was that South Africa did the basics just so much better and picked up the pace of the game when it was needed.

The fact that only three points were scored in the second half is an indication of how much in control the Boks were, rather than a suggestion that the Scots came back.  The Boks eased off the pedal and avoided injuries, while all their replacements also got a run.

It was a huge boost for the Boks ahead of the World Cup and they showed they can match anybody in the physical exchanges, while they have the skill and pace to live with the best.

The only real highlight for Scotland was their strong mauling.

After a nervous start, in which both teams made some silly errors, Scotland settled down the quickest.

They made most of the early play through a series of forward rushes and were soon rewarded with a penalty right in front of the posts.  Chris Paterson duly slotted the penalty for a 3-0 lead after 10 minutes of action.

However, the Springboks hit straight back and four minutes later they were on level terms when Percy Montgomery slotted a penalty -- after Scotland went offside at a ruck just outside their own 22.

It took the Boks another 10 minutes before they breached a very solid Scottish defence and it came from a very basic back row move off a scrum.  Danie Rossouw picked up off the back of a solid scrum and with Fourie du Preez drifting wide and dragging the defence with him, it opened a gap on the inside for Habana to come through.  The flying winger went over untouched.

Montgomery added the conversion and after 22 minutes the Boks were leading 10-3.

Centre Francois Steyn missed with a long-range penalty in the 25th minute, but moments later he made up for it when he sliced through the first line of defence -- coming from turnover ball -- and Steyn off-loaded in the tackle to Jaque Fourie for the Boks' second try.  Montgomery made it 17-3 with the conversion.

And barely a minute later it was try-time again as the South Africans picked up the pace with a series of powerful raids -- good phase-play, strong, fast runners and good cleaning out at the rucks.  Scrum-half Fourie du Preez scored try number three as the Boks' fast-paced game became too much for their hosts.  Montgomery added the conversion to make it 24-3 after 27 minutes.

The Boks eased off the pace a bit after that blitz and the Scottish team shored up its defensive efforts, which meant there were no further scoring in the first half.

Not that there weren't a few half-chances, but neither side managed to capitalise on anything they created.

After the break there was no let-up for the Scots, as the Boks continued to pile on the pressure.  There was some initial resistance, but in the 51st minute the home team were again penalised for an offence at the ruck and Montgomery slotted the penalty to make it 27-3 to the visitors.

Just on the 60-minute mark the Boks sent on a host of replacements -- with Bismarck du Plessis, BJ Botha, Albert van den Berg, Wikus van Heerden, Ruan Pienaar and André Pretorius all getting game time.

Replacements for the Scots included Fergus Thomson, Scott Murray, Dan Parks and Hugo Southwell.

The game now lost its structure and zest, with the Boks content to play out time -- knowing they had secured a comfortable win.

There was a late surge by the Boks, as they mauled and rucked their way to within metres of the Scottish tryline, but they wasted the opportunity when André Pretorius put through a grubber that none of his teammates could get to.

That left the Boks with a comfortable 27-3 win and a huge World Cup boost.

Man of the match:  For Scotland there were a few brave souls, with fullback Rory Lamont heading the list with some strong running and sound defence.  But with the manner in which the Boks dominated the physical exchanges it is obvious the key difference was in the pack.  Flanks Schalk Burger and Juan Smit were huge influences in the game, with Burger in particular his bustling, busy self.  But our award goes to number eight Danie Rossouw, who in his 60 minutes on the park was monumental on defence and always made ground when carrying the ball up.  This loose trio worked well in unison.

Moment of the match:  This one goes to Fourie du Preez's try in the 27th minute, which was a scored that showed the difference in class between the two sides -- as the Boks, greater pace and physicality, along with their slick handling, let the Scottish defence powerless to stop them.

Villain of the match:  There were some minor niggling, but nothing nasty.  This award goes to Springbok wing JP Pietersen for his lack of tactical appreciation, poor tackling and shocking hands.  For a paid professional, and an international at that, he simply knocks the ball on far too often.

The scorers:

For Scotland:
Pen:  Paterson

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

The teams:

Scotland:  15 Rory Lamont, 14 Nikki Walker, 13 Rob Dewey, 12 Andrew Henderson, 11 Simon Webster, 10 Chris Paterson, 9 Mike Blair, 8 David Callam, 7 Kelly Brown, 6 Jason White (captain), 5 James Hamilton, 4 Nathan Hines, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Gavin Kerr.
Replacements:  16 Fergus Thomson, 17 Allan Jacobsen, 18 Scott Murray, 19 Allister Hogg, 20 Rory Lawson, 21 Dan Parks, 22 Hugo Southwell.

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 (captain), 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 Gary Botha, 1 Os du Randt.
Replacements:  16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 BJ Botha, 18 Albert van den Berg, 19 Wikus van Heerden, 20 Ruan Pienaar, 21 André Pretorius, 22 Ashwin Willemse.

Referee:  Christophe Berdos (France)
Touch judges:  Rob Debney (England), Roy Maybank (England)
Television match official:  George Clancy (Ireland)

Ireland escape with empty victory

Ireland snatched an undeserved 23-20 victory over a courageous Italian side at Ravenhill on Friday, thanks mainly to a last-minute blunder from television match official Derek Bevan.

So much was expected from Ireland, and yet so little was forthcoming in a game they had no right to win.  That it took a very dubious television match official decision to win them the game was symptomatic of the way they played for the greater part of a strangely intriguing encounter.

The early signs were full of promise for Ireland, and yet the performance that was expected from them never materialised.  Where Eddie O'Sullivan goes from here is a question few will have the answer to.

It is too late to make sweeping changes, too late to change tactics and too early to bring back Brian O'Driscoll.  Thankful then will Ireland be that they open their campaign without him against Namibia, a game that given their lofty IRB ranking, they will expect to cruise.

The same can not be said of this encounter.  But for a fifth-minute Ronan O'Gara penalty, Ireland seemed positively lost for direction and structure in the opening quarter.  Opting to run the ball from anywhere and everywhere gave the feeling they thought this was Namibia already.  Not so, this was an Italian side full of endeavour and passion, an Italian side who exposed Ireland's soft underbelly.

Italy approached the game as Ireland knew they would, with a strong emphasis on their forward play and not too much creativity behind.  Despite this, Ireland still decided to go toe-to-toe with the Azzurri and came off a poor second best.

If there was disappointment with the Irish forwards in Scotland there will be a sense of disbelief after the opening half in Belfast.  The regularity with which Ireland lost the ball in contact, were too slow in support, or generally coughed up possession when under relatively light pressure will cause O'Sullivan to sound the alarm bells.

The opening Italian score came from an O'Gara mistake, the following two from their own indiscipline.  O'Gara went for distance with his clearance kick and only achieved in finding the impressive full back David Bortolussi.  The nonchalance with which he stroked over a 45m drop goal defied his relative inexperience at international level.

With the game seemingly drifting, Sergio Parisse gave it the spark it so desperately required, albeit in a less than orthodox manner.  A rabbit punch to Peter Stringer when the whistle had gone was uncalled for and sparked a scuffle in which Parisse continued his brutish behaviour with a flurry of poorly aimed punches.

The upshot to it all was an Irish penalty, a dressing down for several players and the introduction of an added edge to the game.  Ireland did their best to quell the Italian uprising and for a period it looked as if they had when Andrew Trimble crossed for a try on his home ground, which O'Gara created and converted.

It was his towering garryowen into the dying Belfast sun that caused Bortolussi all kinds of trouble and allowed Trimble time enough to pounce on the loose ball for only his seventh Test try.  It was also O'Gara's failure to roll away at the breakdown two minutes later that allowed Bortolussi the chance to close the gap, which he duly did.

Italy came again with time in the first half rapidly expiring and how they were rewarded for their adventure.  It was Alessandro Troncon who took the spoils as he wriggled his way over, yet the score was born from Italy's first meaningful back line attack.  It was Troncon's vision and guile that caught Ireland napping as he wriggled his way over for a crucial score.

Half-time and Italy were ahead by three, not as the Irish scripts would have had it, but Italy were playing to their own lines, which on the basis of the opening salvo were pretty accurate.  The same could not be said for Ireland who were confused as to which half of the pitch to kick the ball in and which half to keep it in hand.

The Ravenhill faithful could wile away the break safe in the knowledge that Ireland could only get better, and the subsequent extent of their improvement was hardly meteoric but it did cause Italy a few problems.

The kicking game became prominent as O'Gara and co.  looked to establish field position from which to attack.  Attack they did and defend did the Italians, and with some ferocity to boot.  All Ireland had to show from a slightly improved twenty minute spell was a second O'Gara penalty.  Italy had bags of confidence from their resolute defence and it was poised for a dramatic finish.

Drama indeed in the dying stages.  At first Italy seemed to have won it, against all the odds, when Matteo Pratichetti scored a breakaway try.  The score was a result of the latest Irish error, a knock-on by Trimble when Ireland were flooding forward.  Two hacks of the ball later, and a suspect shoulder charge on Geordan Murphy, saw Pratichetti crossing for a converted try.

As if that was not enough, the best, if you are Irish that is, was yet to come.  How television match official Derek Bevan could award a try on the evidence presented to him will remain a mystery.  A ball that is dropped before the try line but lands over the try line has gone forward:  fact.  The fact O'Gara then grounded it is irrelevant.

As it was Bevan adjudged O'Gara scored and as the Irish fly-half calmly slotted the extras Nigel Owens put the salt in Italy's wounds by calling a close to proceedings rather earlier than he had done the first half, much to the relief of Irish fans the world over.

The records will show an Irish victory but the facts will show it to be hollow in every aspect.  Again they were out-muscled at the breakdown and lacked the ability to create clear cut scoring chances.  On the one occasion they did in the first half Denis Hickie not so much butchered as obliterated a scoring chance with one defender between himself, Geordan Murphy and the try line.

Despite being on the wrong end of the score this result will give Italy the confidence, if they were ever lacking it, that they have the ability to make the quarter finals of the World Cup for the first time in their history.

Dependant on the results in France there is the chance these two sides could meet in the quarter finals.  You would not bet against Italy being there, but there are serious doubts now over Ireland's ability to join them.

Man of the Match:  Few Irishmen held up their hands here.  Donncha O'Callaghan was impressive in short stints, as too was Simon Easterby.  However it was the Italians who stood taller on the night and this award justifiable goes to the hard working Robert Barbieri.  Accompanied by his back row colleagues Barbieri turned in a huge defensive effort, never tiring in his tasks.  On top of that he was prominent in attack and followed the ball with an undying hunger.

Moment of the Match:  No doubt about it, this award goes to the TMO decision that won Irealnd the game.  They were beaten in every aspect of the game, yet they were saved the ignominy of defeat by Derek Bevan's generous ruling.

Villain of the Match:  This has to go to Sergio Parisse for his needless rabbit punch on the unsuspecting Peter Stringer.  He is a better player than this act suggests and will do well to learn from this incident.

The Scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  Trimble, O'Gara
Cons:  O'Gara 2
Pens:  O'Gara 2
Drop Goal:  O'Gara

For Italy:
Tries:  Troncon, Pratichetti
Cons:  Bortolussi, De Marigny
Pen:  Bortolussi
Drop Goal:  Bortolussi

The teams:

Ireland:  15 Girvan Dempsey, 14 Geordan Murphy, 13 Andrew Trimble, 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Denis Hickie, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Peter Stringer, 8 Denis Leamy, 7 Neil Best, 6 Simon Easterby, 5 Paul O'Connell (c), 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Rory Best, 1 Marcus Horan.
Replacements:  16 Jerry Flannery, 17 Simon Best, 18 Malcolm O'Kelly, 19 Alan Quinlan, 20 Isaac Boss, 21 Paddy Wallace, 22 Brian Carney.

Italy:  15 David Bortolussi, 14 Kaine Robertson, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Mirco Bergamasco, 11 Matteo Pratichetti, 10 Roland De Marigny, 9 Alessandro Troncon, 8 Sergio Parisse, 7 Robert Barbieri, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Marco Bortolami (c), 4 Valerio Bernabo, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Fabio Ongaro, 1 Salvatore Perugini.
Replacements:  16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 Matias Aguero, 18 Josh Sole, 19 Manoa Vosawai, 20 Paul Griffen, 21 Pablo Canavosio, 22 Ezio Galon.

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Touch judges:  Dave Pearson (England), Tim Hayes (Wales)
Television match official:  Derek Bevan (Wales)

Spain beat Uruguay in Montevideo

Spain won the second match of their South American tour in Montevideo on Saturday when they beat a young Uruguay side 18-10.  This comes after their victory over Chile earlier in the week.

The tour is a part of Spain's determination to maintain its place in Division 1 of the European Nations Cup.  After this they play in amateur tournament in France against England Counties and Belgium.  Then in November they face the Czech Republic in the second round of the two-year competition.

The Lions' victory was based on its defence against the higher-ranked -- by two places -- Teros.

Spain scored first when wing Juan Cano went over for a try.  Uruguay levelled the scores with a try by Juan Labat, Mahieu Gratton kicked a penalty goal and then the Labat got a second try for the Teros to lead 10-8 at the break.

The Teros were attacking for a long time in the second half when suddenly David Mota intercepted and ran some 80 metres to score under the posts.  Gratton converted and then kicked a penalty goal, which made the score 18-10 with 18 minutes to go.

In this time the Teros' experienced prop Pablo Lemoine, who plays for Montauban in France, and Spanish hooker José Maria Bohorquez were sent to the sin bin.

Scorers:

For Spain:
Tries:  Cano, Mota
Con:  Gratton
Pen:  Gratton

For Uruguay:
Tries:  Labat 2

Teams

Uruguay:  Santiago Carracedo, Manuel Martinez, Guzman Barreiro, Juan M Llovet, Matias Arocena, Andres Vazquez, Martin Espiga, Nicolas Klappembach, Gonzalo Peyrou, Pablo Bueno, Juan Alzueta, Francisco Bulanti, Nicolas Morales, Nicolas Grille, Juan Campomar, Joaquin Pastore, Martin Crosa, Ignacio Crosa, Agustin Perez Del Castillo, Rodrigo Sanchez, Federico Capo, Mario Sagario, Juan M Alvarez, Carlos Protasi, Ignacio Conti (captain), Juan Labat, Horacio Rivera, Pablo Lemoine
Coaches:  Passadore Alberico, Berrutti Francisco

Spain:  15 César Sempere, 14 Juan Cano, 13 Raúl Turrion, 12 Javier Canosa, 11 Rafael Álvarez, 10 Mathieu Gratton, 9 Mathieu López, 8 Iván Criado, 7 Martín Ignacio Aceña, 6 Rafael Camacho, 5 César Bernasconi, 4 Guillermo Barcena, 3 Igor Alberro, 2 José Maria Bohorquez, 1 Oscar Ferreras.
Replacements (from):  Manuel Mazo, César Caballero, Jon Insausti, Manuel Serrano, Sergio Souto, Manuel Olivares, Juan González, David Mota, Pablo Feijoo, Julien Tortoulou, Cyril Hijar, Juan

Referee:  Pablo Deluca (Argentina)

Canada win in Ottawa

Canada beat Portugal 42-12 at Twin Elm Park in Nepean on Saturday.  It was a first Test between the two countries.

It was Portugal's second defeat of their tour after losing to a Canada Select 24-18 last Saturday.  Their next warm-up match is against Japan in Lisbon.  For the Portuguese this is all an exciting process, regardless of results.  After all they are preparing for their first World Cup ever.

DHT van der Merwe, the promising young wing, scored a hat-trick of tries for Canada Select against Portugal and another two for Canada.  Canada scored six tries to two.

But Portugal were willing and determined and scored early on through an intercept but the Canadians were too strong for the visitors, who were be the World Cup's most amateur team, in the second half.

Canada attacked from the start and from a set scrum the ball went wide to fullback Mike Pyke who scored.  5-0 after four minutes.

Then the Lobs shocked the home side when centre Diogo Mateus intercepted a pass from Canada's flyhalf Ryan Smith and ran some 60 metres to score a try which Pedro Cabral converted and Portugal led 7-5.

Canada got the lead back when James Pritchard goaled a penalty.  8-5 after 14 minutes.

Veteran prop Jon Thiel stretched and scored next when Canada mauled a post-penalty line-out.  Pritchard converted.  15-7 after 17 minutes.

On half-time Canada attacked and spun the ball wide to Van der Merwe who raced over in the corner.  20-7.

Early in the second half Pritchard goaled a second penalty, David Spicer scored a try and Van der Merwe scored his second try.  Then Ryan Smith broke well to send centre Craig Cupan speeding downfield before off-loading to replacement Justin Mensah-Coker who scored with his first touch of the ball.  It was a splendid long-range try.  42-7.

Portugal had the last word when they went slowly up the field and sent José Pinto over in the corner for the last try of the match.

Scorers:

For Canada:
Tries:  Pyke, Thiel, Van der Merwe 2, Mensah-Coker, Spicer
Cons:  Pritchard 3
Pens:  Pritchard 2

For Portugal
Tries:  Mateus, José Pinto
Con:  Pedro Leal

Teams

Canada:  15 Mike Pyke, 14 DTH van der Merwe, 13 Craig Culpan, 12 David Spicer, 11 James Pritchard, 10 Ryan Smith, 9 Ed Fairhurst, 8 Sean-Michael Stephen, 7 Adam Kleeberger, 6 Jamie Cudmore, 5 Mike James (captain), 4 Luke Tait, 3 Jon Thiel, 2 Pat Riordan, 1 Rod Snow
Replacements:  16 Aaron Carpenter, 17 Dan Pletch, 18 Mike Pletch, 19 Mike Burak, 20 Colin Yukes, 21 Matt Weingart, 22 Justin Mensah-Coker
Coach:  Ric Suggitt, John Tait, Glen Ella, Kevin Wirachowski

Portugal:  15 Pedro Leal, 14 Antonio Aguilar, 13 Frederico Sousa, 12 Diogo Mateus, 11 Pedro Carvalho, 10 Pedro Cabral, 9 Luis Pissarra, 8 Vasco Uva, 7 João Uva, 6 Diogo Coutinho, 5 Juan Severino, 4 Goncalo Uva (captain), 3 Cristian Spacuhk, 2 Joaquain Ferreira, 1 Juan Murre
Replacements:  16.  Andre Silva, 17.  Joao Correia, 18.  David Penalva, 19.  Pedro Murinello, 20.  José Pinto, 21.  Duarte Pinto, 22.  Miguel Portela.
Coaches:  Tomas Morais

Referee:  Christophe Berdos (France)

Wales catch Argentina cold

Wales silenced their doubters with a highly absorbing 27-20 victory over Argentina at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday, thereby exorcised the ghosts of that record defeat at Twickenham.

The Pumas managed to steady themselves after a woeful start and almost snatched a share of the spoils when Martín Durand piled over the line at the death, but a timely intervention by Duncan Jones saved the day for Wales.

Admittedly, and as Gareth Jenkins's band of detractors will duly point out, the Pumas looked decidedly off-colour for much of the match.

This was not the side ranked fifth in the world -- the outfit seen by many as the dark horse of the forthcoming World Cup.  The side that turned up in Cardiff resembled the Pumas of old:  hesitant, disjointed, a touch naïve and in awe of their hosts and the surroundings.

Things did improve for the visitors in the second half as the rust began to flake away, but the mental damage had already been done.

And with no major engagements before hostilities begin for real, one can't help think that the South Americans might be in danger of being undercooked for that crucial opening fixture against France in Paris.

Yet credit must go to Wales for shaking that dire performance against England out of their systems with a display of confidence and cunning.

The line-out is still a huge concern, but the red forwards somehow managed to bully the bullies of world rugby.

James Hook and Gareth Thomas added wit and zip to the backline, and the whole ensemble was held together by the peerless Martyn Williams.

But Wales, desperate to conjure up something special, made the worst possible start as Thomas's pass to Tom Shanklin was plucked out of the air by Ignacio Corleto.

Hook gave valiant chase but the Stade Français wing sprinted 60 metres to score unopposed in the left corner.

The paltry crowd slumped further in their seats when Hook's first shot at goal crashed back off the left-hand post -- but the brilliant fly-half soon had them dancing in the aisles.

Hook sold a perfect dummy, sliced through the Argentina midfield and then presented his captain with the chance to make swift amends.  Thomas scored gratefully under the posts and Hook's conversion drew Wales level.

It was a positive response from Wales, who continued to be haunted by troubles in the line-out but were strong in defence and succeeded in forcing Argentina into mistakes.

With the Pumas on the back foot, Wales began to play at the high pace at which they are most comfortable and most dangerous.

They attacked quickly from turnover ball on halfway, Dwayne Peel anxious to take quick tap penalties as Argentina tried desperately to slow the ball down.

Thomas's jinking run cut deep into Argentina's 22.  Wales earned a penalty right in front of the posts -- a guaranteed three points -- but the Pumas were in disarray.

Peel wasted no time and sent Alun-Wyn Jones powering over for his maiden Test try.  Hook converted and the crowd began to stir.

Within minutes they were on their feet again as Wales scored their second try in the space of three minutes.

Argentina's fullback Federico Serra slipped as he took a pass on half-way and Hook hacked the loose ball forward to turn Argentina on their heels.

Tom Shanklin took up the chase, twice got his boot to ball and, despite Corleto's best efforts, Mark Jones was on hand to touch down for a try confirmed by video official Romaine Poite.

Argentina wing Lucas Borges was then sent to the sin-bin after a dangerous tackle on Wales fullback Kevin Morgan, who was taken out in mid-air.

Hook slotted a simple penalty to extend Wales's advantage as Argentina struggled to recover from the hammer blow.

Martyn Williams opened the second half by putting Pichot under huge pressure and stripped the ball from the Argentina scrum-half.  Shanklin spotted a gap, attacked around the fringes and broke into clear ground only to be called back for obstruction.

Todeschini slotted a second penalty to bring Argentina within a converted try and the visitors began to believe.

They took the game to the locals and managed to wrestle back the lion's share of territory and possession.

With less than three minutes remaining the Pumas forced Wales back onto their own line as Todeschini fired a brilliant penalty into touch just five metres out.

Wales hooker Matthew Rees was sin-binned for deliberate off-side as Wales threw bodies in the way in a desperate attempt to keep Argentina out.

At the third time of asking, Durand was driven over the line but Duncan Jones caused him to spill the ball, and Wales let out a collective sigh of relief as referee Chris White called for no-time.

So, in the context of the Rugby World Cup, what should we make of this strange game played under a closed roof to empty stands?

The bizarre backdrop brought to mind one of those cavernous hangars mortgaged out by the likes of Ernst Stavro Blofeld.  Yet on today's evidence, James Bond can stand down:  neither of these two works-in-progress looks capable of holding the world to ransom.

Man of the match:  All the usual suspects shone for Argentina during that second-half resurgence, with the energetic Mario Ledesma to the fore.  Wales's backline looked more assured under the twin leadership of James Hook and Gareth Thomas, and there were handy contributions from Tom Shanklin.  Ian Gough, Alix Popham and Alun-Wyn Jones took the game to Argentina's pack to devastating effect, but our man-of-the-match is the evergreen Martyn Williams.  So intelligent, so industrious, so strong -- so unsung!

Moment of the match:  James Hook's break that led to Gareth Thomas's try was a moment of pure class, but it was upstaged by the break made by Lucas Borges that handed Ignacio Corleto his second try.  It reminded the watching the world that the Argentinians can served up more than just beef.

Villain of the match:  Quite a bit of niggle for a so-called "friendly".  Lucas Borges's dangerous challenge on Kevin Morgan was ugly but perhaps not as bad as it looked -- his remorse was evident for all to see.  We'll hand this hideous gong to the WRU for the shambolic ticketing policy that left the bottom tier of the Millennium Stadium devoid of fans.  If Brains Bitter, the team's sponsor, ever decided to host a post-match bash at their HQ, they'd be advised to exclude the WRU from the organising committee.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Tries:  Thomas, A-W Jones, M Jones
Cons:  Hook 3
Pen:  Hook 2

For Argentina:
Tries:  Corleto 2
Cons:  Todeschini 2
Pens:  Todeschini 2

Yellow card(s):  Borges (Argentina) -- dangerous challenge, 28;  Rees (Wales) -- killing the ball, 79

The teams:

Wales:  15 Kevin Morgan, 14 Dafydd James, 13 Tom Shanklin, 12 Gareth Thomas (captain), 11 Mark Jones, 10 James Hook, 9 Dwayne Peel, 8 Alix Popham, 7 Martyn Williams, 6 Jonathan Thomas, 5 Alun-Wyn Jones, 4 Ian Gough, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Matthew Rees, 1 Duncan Jones.
Replacements:  16 T Rhys Thomas, 17 Gethin Jenkins, 18 Will James, 19 Colin Charvis, 20 Mike Phillips, 21 Ceri Sweeney, 22 Jamie Robinson.

Argentina:  15 Federico Serra, 14 Lucas Borges, 13 Martín Gaitán, 12 Felipe Contepomi, 11 Ignacio Corleto, 10 Federico Todeschini, 9 Agustín Pichot (captain), 8 Gonzalo Longo, 7 Juan Fernández Lobbe, 6 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Ignacio Fernández Lobbe, 3 Martín Scelzo, 2 Mario Ledesma, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements:  16 Alberto Vernet Basualdo, 17 Santiago González Bonorino, 18 Rimas Álvarez Kairelis, 19 Martín Durand, 20 Nicolás Vergallo, 21 Manuel Contepomi, 22 Horacio Agulla

Referee:  Chris White (England)
Touch judges:  Tony Spreadbury (England), George Clancy (Ireland)
TMO:  Romaine Poite (France)

Ferocious France defend fortress Marseille

Let the games commence!  France, hosts of the forthcoming Rugby World Cup, laid down an outsized marker in the shape of a well-executed 22-9 victory over England at Stade Velodrome in Marseille on Saturday.

England ventured to Marseille with the objective of boosting their fragile confidence.  They will leave battered, bruised and no better off in terms of self-belief, for while their defence was stout and manful, their attack was bordering on non-existent.

In a game full of passion it was little surprise to see emotions simmering and then boiling over with a regularity that demonstrated the importance of this game to both sides.

England, however, would have been better advised to channel their energy into conjuring a cutting edge in their back line play.

The lack of tries, and for that matter the lack of try-scoring opportunities, will be a major concern for Brian Ashton, especially given that their next game is indeed the first of their title defence.  While Andy Farrell was a rock in defence you sense that he is not the answer at inside centre on attack.

The French pack took to the field with last week's harsh criticisms ringing in their ears, and it was evident in the manner with which the tore into England from the off.

England's hideous red shirts may have been the rag to the bull that tipped the French into such a frenzied state.

Credit to England, then, for standing toe-to-toe with their counterparts, but ultimately they could not match them for the duration.

It was the first-half battering that allowed the space to open up after the break.  That France failed to win by a more substantial margin is a result of their own mistakes, the most glaring of these from Imañol Harinordoquy which cost his side a clear seven points.

Simon Shaw was a beacon in the England pack, leading the rebuke time and again.  But a yellow card for a dangerous tackle on Damien Traille on the stoke of half-time seemed to take the sting out of his game -- it was during that period where France effectively killed the game off, but it was the foundations laid in the opening stanza that paved the way.

After a ferocious opening fifteen minutes Jonny Wilkinson nudged England into a three-point lead with a straight forward penalty, only to see his effort cancelled out two minutes later by a Jean-Baptiste Elissalde effort.

As was often the case, it was England's lack of discipline at critical moments that cost them so dear.  Shaun Perry's pointless tackle on Harinordoquy when the ball was clearly still in the scrum was the first of these frustrating moments of madness.  Yet another worry for Ashton who was looking for a more mature display from his charges.

There was simply no controlling the macho battle at times, with Martin Corry and Fabien Pelous coming to blows on more than one occasion.

One got the impression that the respective forward packs were intent on seeing who could flex their muscle the most.  That these showdowns often descended into heated discussions added to the already intense atmosphere at Stade Velodrome.

With the scores tied at a measly three apiece, the remainder of the first half was dominated by the boot of Elissalde who added three more penalties before the break.  The last a result of Shaw's careless swinging arm in a tackle.  It was this same incident that led to England skipper Phil Vickery being stretchered from the field.

Luckily for England, Vickery, having been knocked out, was seen sitting up and talking to medical staff during the interval.  They will need his teak-tough frame to be in the best possible fettle as they now embark on their defence of the Webb Ellis trophy.

The needless England infringements continued after the break, and as referee Alain Rolland said to Matt Stevens after he entered a ruck from the side, most of the infringements were "stupid and pointless".  Not so for France as they served up further chances for points, that Elissalde missed the resultant shot at goal was a small reprieve for Stevens.

In fact it was Wilkinson who booted the next three points to trim the margin to just six points, but with Shaw still cooling his heels it was France who added fuel to the already roaring fire and stepped up their game.

Firstly the energetic Yannick Nyanga rampaged towards the line only to drop the ball in the act of grounding.  And then Yannick Jauzion struck the telling blow.  From Nyanga's knock-on the England scrum was destroyed earning France the put in.

A telling drive towards the line from Harinordoquy was followed by the simplest of finishes.  Frédéric Michalak drew the defence onto himself with a clever line of running before slipping the ball on the inside to Jauzion.  Such was the centre's angle that Farrell was unable to stop him and all of a sudden England were starring down the barrel.

Following the latest bout of fighting, again involving Corry, Wilkinson chipped over his third penalty attempt.  Yet as hard as they tried to create something other than kicking opportunities, France were full of answers in defence and effectively blunted England's less than razor-sharp attack.

Having said that, Harinordoquy was hardly sharpening knives with his butchering of a guaranteed try.  With Clément Poitrenaud wide open five metres from the line, the Biarritz number eight opted for the Chabal approach and clattered into Mark Cueto.  Unfortunately for Harinordoquy he does not have the same impact as Chabal, and Cueto was equal to the tackle and with that went France's last try-scoring opportunity.

Michalak did add a further three points to condemn the English misery before the game died away in the closing stages.

England need to find a try-scoring source and quickly.  They may have put nine on Wales's fringe team but all but one of those came through the forwards with a combined yardage of about ten metres.  The simple truth is they won't be able to bully the likes of South Africa in the forward exchanges.

France, well they were typically French.  For long periods they were happy to match England and batter their way around the pitch.  But unlike England, when the cracks appeared they utilised their options and developed nicely as the game went on.  So much so that in the second half England were totally outplayed.

So Brian Ashton has three weeks and only training to rectify England's shortcomings.  The alternative is an early flight home in September.

Man of the Match:  For England Andy Farrell was a tower of strength in defence and this was without doubt his best game in an England shirt to date.  Tom Rees was lively but faded in the second half.  Then there was Simon Shaw, who, a yellow card aside, was England's best player.  Yet this award must go to a Frenchman.  Cédric Heymans was exciting with ball in hand, and Yannick Jauzion showed glimpses of his devastating form.  But we have gone for the industrious Yannick Nyanga.  His endless running with ball in hand and tireless work in defence allowed those around him extra time and space.  A class performance worthy of the award.

Moment of the Match:  It has to be Simon Shaw's yellow card.  With the match hanging in the balance and going towards the break, it was Shaw's high shot and departure to the sin-bin that allowed France to press on and seal the game.

Villain of the Match:  The tempers may have boiled over on a regular basis but none of it was too malicious.  Simon Shaw's high tackle was deserving of a yellow card but not this award.  We instead give it to the designer of England's kit.  Their "home" kit is not exactly fetching but this little number was horrendous and hardly befitting of our glorious game.

The scorers:

For France:
Tries:  Jauzion
Cons:  Elissalde
Pen:  Elissalde 4, Michalak

For England:
Pens:  Wilkinson 3

Yellow card(s):  Shaw (England) -- high tackle, 40

The teams:

France:  15 Clément Poitrenaud, 14 Cédric Heymans 13 Damien Traille, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 11 Christophe Dominici, 10 Frédéric Michalak, 9 Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, 8 Imañol Harinordoquy, 7 Thierry Dusautoir, 6 Yannick Nyanga, 5 Jérôme Thion, 4 Fabien Pelous, 3 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 2 Raphaël Ibañez (captain), 1 Olivier Milloud.
Replacements:  16 Sébastian Bruno, 17 Nicolas Mas, 18 Lionel Nallet, 19 Julien Bonnaire, 20 Pierre Mignoni, 21 David Skréla, 22 Aurélien Rougerie.

England:  15 Mark Cueto, 14 Josh Lewsey, 13 Dan Hipkiss, 12 Andy Farrell, 11 Jason Robinson, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Shaun Perry, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Tom Rees, 6 Martin Corry, 5 Steve Borthwick, 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Phil Vickery (c), 2 George Chuter, 1 Perry Freshwater.
Replacements:  16 Lee Mears, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Joe Worsley, 19 Lawrence Dallaglio, 20 Andy Gomarsall, 21 Olly Barkley, 22 Paul Sackey.

Referee:  Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Touch judges:  Alan Lewis (Ireland), Nigel Owens (Wales)

Italy given tough work-out by Japan

Italy had to work hard to beat a disciplined Japan team 36-12 in a World Cup warm-up on Saturday.

Italy made a good start and soon roared into a 22-0 lead with a David Bortolussi penalty and three tries, two from Marko Stanojevic and one from Kaine Robertson.

But Japan, coached by former Italy boss John Kirwan, began to find their feet in a match played in the Alpine town of St Vincent.

Tatsukichi Nishiura touched down for a try that was converted by Kosuko Endo and then flanker Hare Makiri also scored a try which brought the score back to 22-12.

The visitors could not make further in-roads against an Italy team that struggled for much of the second half.

However, the hosts did put some distance between them and their visitors with two late tries.

Andrea Lo Cicero and Mauro Bergamasco were the scorers with Bortolussi slotting both conversions to give coach Pierre Berbizier a comfortable victory margin.

The scorers:

For Italy:

Tries:  Stanojevic 2, Robertson, Lo Cicero, Mauro Bergamasco
Cons:  Bortolussi 4
Pen:  Bortolussi

For Japan:

Tries:  Nishiura, Makiri
Cons:  Endo

The teams:

Italy:  15 David Bortolussi, 14 Kaine Robertson, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Mirco Bergamasco, 11 Marko Stanojevic, 10 Ramiro Pez, 9 Alessandro Troncon, 8 Sergio Parisse, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Josh Sole, 5 Marco Bortolami (captain), 4 Santiago Dellapè, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Carlo Festuccia, 1 Andrea Lo Cicero.
Replacements:  16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 Salvatore Perugini, 18 Valerio Bernabò, 19 Manoa Vosawai, 20 Pablo Canavosio, 21 Andrea Masi, 22 Roland De Marigny.

Japan:  15 Bryce Robins, 14 Kosuke Endo, 13 Yuta Imamura, 12 Shotaro Onishi, 11 Christian Loamanu, 10 Eiji Ando, 9 Tomoki Yoshida, 8 Takuro Miuchi (captain), 7 Philip O'Reilly, 6 Hare Makiri, 5 Luke Thompson, 4 Hitoshi Ono, 3 Tomokazu Soma, 2 Yuji Matsubara, 1 Tatsukichi Nishiura.
Replacements:  16 Taku Inokuchi, 17 Ryo Yamamura, 18 Samurai Vatuvei, 19 Ryota Asano, 20 Kim Chul-Won, 21 Kousei Ono, 22 Go Aruga

Referee:  Dave Pearson (England)

Scotland tie up Ireland`s second string

Scotland, inspired by hat-trick man Andy Henderson, beat Ireland's World Cup hopefuls 31-21 in their World Cup warm-up at Murrayfield on Saturday.

World Cup warm-up games are a tricky proposition.  You either use them to give your full strength side valuable game time, or on the other hand you can utilise them as a means of firming up your final squad.  Either way there are risks, the choice is down to the coach as to how much he gambles.

The usually shrewd Eddie O'Sullivan went the route of giving fringe players a run out in an attempt to gain peace of mind that his squad has the necessary depth to compete at the World Cup.  It failed, and what's more it failed so miserably that Ireland, dark horses for the World Cup, will leave Edinburgh having gained nothing of note from the game.

Frank Hadden, on the other hand, saw his gamble pay off handsomely.  Opting to run his senior troops out and ensure they rid themselves of any rust that had built up since their last outing, a deflating defeat to France, he couldn't have dreamed of a better result.

The timely return of Jason White in the back row gave the Scottish a visible lift.  So too did the inclusion of Chris Paterson at fly-half, a masterstroke from Hadden that could well have come in the nick of time for a side who showed more class and diversity in one game here than they did in the entire Six Nations.

There was the worrying matter of a mini Irish revival, which brought them within three points of Scotland midway through the second half, but ultimately it petered out with the flurry of substitutions that threatened to ruin the game altogether.

Such was the manner that Scotland went about their business that Ireland could just not resist the dark blue waves of attack that swept over them time and again.  The calming influence of Jason White was seen from the off, his first touch, a line-out take deep in the Irish half led to fellow flank Ally Hogg dotting down for a simple try to which Paterson added the extras in just the third minute.

White's game subsequently developed as he played his way back into rugby after an enforced six month break due to injury.  His next telling contribution was a thunderous tackle to force a mistake from Paddy Wallace at a time when Ireland seemed to be gaining a sense of ascendancy over Scotland.  The tackle not only jolted the Irish but spurred Scotland on further.

Aside from a Paddy Wallace penalty in the ninth minute it was Scotland, directed by Mike Blair and Paterson at half-back, who took complete control of the encounter on a wet afternoon.  White was ably assisted by his forward pack as Scotland broke first tackles with regular ease and caused Ireland countless problems at the set piece.

Ireland were not without their moments of magic or class.  The sight of Geordan Murphy flying through the air to claim a telling cross-field kick from Chris Paterson was a sign of his stability at full-back and a show of his commitment to the cause.

Likewise Paul O'Connell was a telling presence in the loose.  However the fact he, a second row, outplayed Stephen Ferris and Jamie Heaslip, the supposedly dynamic back row duo, in that aspect of the game will be a concern to O'Sullivan.  Factors such as that will do little to ease the glaring concern to emerge from this game -- Ireland lack world class depth in their squad.

In contrast Scotland, while not perfect, displayed a marked improvement on their Six Nations form and will head forward from here with the positives they would have looked for.  The build up play to their second try was nothing short of sensational as they went through seven phases and used forwards and backs to create space for Paterson who was hauled down short.

Nevertheless Scotland struck from the scrum, a cheeky delayed pass from Blair to the hard running Andy Henderson confused the Irish defence substantially enough for the centre to crash his way over.  Paterson again added the extras and Scotland were in the ascendancy.

They were momentarily pinned back by a Geordan Murphy penalty but as the half eked away and Jason White continued demonstrating why he has been so sorely missed they crossed for a third and telling try.  Paterson, a livewire at ten, released first Rory and then Sean Lamont before his forwards burrowed Euan Murray over for an unconverted score.

A second half in which Ireland had plenty to do started in the same vein as the first, with Scotland flexing their muscle and Ireland providing few answers to the physical test being laid down to them.  The result was a second try for Henderson as Tommy Bowe sold himself on an intercept, missed and stood watching as Henderson flopped over the line for a score that seemed to settle the game.

Then came the worrying spell, the spell that will leave Frank Hadden with more than a few points to muse over.  The most notable of these will be how his side fell asleep and allowed Ireland to score fifteen unanswered points in as many minutes.  The fact Jason White had left the field for ten of those minutes may have been a contributing factor.  The captain was taken off, a wise move seeing as Scotland may have lost Chris Cusiter to a late injury.

The impressive Isaac Boss got the ball rolling for Ireland when he brushed off a weak tackle from Sean Lamont around the fringe of a ruck to force his way over from close range.  Paddy Wallace duly added the extras and the Irish found some renewed hope and with it a sense of structure to their otherwise messy game.

As Ireland found momentary shape to their game Scotland lost all of theirs amid a flurry of changes.  It was one of Ireland's changes who scored the try to cause Scotland most concern.  A loose line out throw, one of only two from Scotland, allowed Ferris and Heaslip to combine close to the line before Boss spun it wide.  Quick hands found Murphy, who rode a high shot from Rory Lamont before offloading to Andrew Trimble who slid over.

Apart from a Wallace penalty to cut the deficit to just three points Ireland were done for the afternoon, and as soon as Scotland found some of their shape again, Ireland could not prevent Henderson from completing his hat-trick with another powerful run from close range.  Dan Parks took on the disinterested Ronan O'Gara, who at least made half an attempt to stop him, before slipping a clever pass to Henderson who went in under the posts.  Parks added the extra two and Scotland sealed an impressive win.

The fact it was an Ireland second choice side will be of little significance to the Scots who will head away with far more value than Ireland.  The re-emergence of their pack as a formidable force will be a major plus.  But more than that they looked like a side who had a game plan and the players to execute it.

Chris Paterson was a revelation at fly-half and Hadden will do well to utilise him there during the World Cup.  The loss of Cusiter late on to a knee injury will be a dampener on the day but it will not detract to Scotland's impressive display.

Ireland failed to show anything that we didn't already know.  O'Connell was the standout forward, closely followed by the industrious Neil Best.  The rest of the pack failed to impress, which will be of concern to O'Sullivan at this stage.  Their back line looked average, Boss and O'Driscoll the stars with Trimble coming on to support them.

There is much to be done from both sides before they depart for France but on this display Ireland are not so much dark horses as wild horses, whilst the brave hearts of Scotland grew in stature ready for the daunting task of stopping the All Blacks.

Man of the Match:  With the Irish reclining from holding their hands up for this award we naturally opted for a Scot.  Chris Paterson was a revelation at fly-half and Andy Henderson was superb at centre but it was their captain, sentimental I know, who was the catalyst for a new Scotland.  Jason White's telling contributions came at critical moments and despite leaving the field after fifty five minutes he did enough to show why Scotland need him so much.

Moment of the Match:  The first line out of the game went to Scotland and as they took the ball down they destroyed the Irish pack with a fierce drive and that set the tone for the remainder of the game.  It was not a total domination of the Irish pack but for the most Scotland were in control.

Villain of the Match:  Not a sniff of trouble.

The scorers:

For Scotland:
Tries:  Hogg, Henderson 3, Murray
Cons:  Paterson 2, Parks

For Ireland:
Try:  Boss, Trimble
Con:  Wallace
Pens:  Wallace 2, Murphy

The teams:

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

Ireland:  15 Geordan Murphy, 14 Brian Carney, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (c), 12 Gavin Duffy, 11 Tommy Bowe, 10 Paddy Wallace, 9 Isaac Boss, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Stephen Ferris, 6 Neil Best, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Malcolm O'Kelly, 3 Simon Best, 2 Jerry Flannery, 1 Bryan Young.
Replacements:  16 Rory Best, 17 John Hayes, 18 Alan Quinlan, 19 Keith Gleeson, 20 Eoin Reddan, 21 Ronan O'Gara, 22 Shane Horgan.

Referee:  Tony Spreadbury (England)
Touch-judges:  Wayne Barnes (England) and Carlo Damasco (Italy)
Television match official:  Rob Debney (England)

Chabal cameo tears England apart

A rampaging last twenty minutes by France star Sébastien Chabal, including a late try, helped France to a 21-15 win over England at Twickenham on Saturday.

England gave their beleaguered fans reason for hope by demolishing Wales last weekend.

But those English hopes, as so often before, turned out to be tomorrow's veneer on yesterday's disappointments.  France scratched the surface and found more MDF than oak.

Perhaps that's harsh.  England are still experimenting with combinations and are just emerging from a long period in the Test wilderness.

Should we not still consider a tight game against a decent French side as a mock-triumph?

For long periods of this game the men in white had the better of their guests and showed the moments of skill, fluidity and adventure that were lacking against the Welsh.

Indeed, a fifth successive home win under Brian Ashton looked on the cards after Olly Barkley booted four penalties and Andy Gomarsall dropped a goal.

But Chabal struck nine minutes from time, powering through weak English defence for the decisive score of a gripping game.

If only that was the difference.  Unfortunately, England's problems run deeper than a rampaging caveman.

Despite the bulldog, the technical nous and the muscle, England lack the instincts of the French -- the ability to read situations and adapt play accordingly.

What will depress the hoards drinking away their sorrows in the shadow of the West Stand is that such skills aren't coached, they are dished out at birth.

England's main difficulty was converting hard pressure into inventive points.  Having made the hard yards, their backs failed to find the line.

In contrast, France fly-half David Skrela and his replacement Frédéric Michalak had the time and inclination to use the whole width of the pitch.  How England's behemoth forwards failed to get up their noses will be a question Brian Ashton must answer by next weekend.

As for England's brigade of "maybes", Ben Kay, Jamie Noon and Josh Lewsey held their hands up high;  Nick Abendanon and Paul Sackey had some good moments.  Olly Barkley and James Haskell might be wishing they could have auditioned in their preferred positions.

It was Barkley, playing fly-half, who punctuated a nervy opening spell by bagging a penalty after France were found guilty of holding on in the tackle in the ninth minute of the game.

France hit straight back, catapulting Aurelien Rougerie at England's midfield.  The ball was recycled and a floated pass from the nerveless Skrela found Fabien Pelous lurking in the tramlines, and the big lock duly celebrated his return to the Test stage by beating Josh Lewsey's despairing tackle to score an unconverted try in the corner.

England's errors then began to mount and the visitors soon had a shot at goal for an English infringement at the breakdown.  Skrela pocketed the points and the writing appeared to be on the wall for England.

But the locals responded well and some slick inter-passing between their forwards indicated that they were warming to the task.

The endeavour was rewarded as David Marty's lazy running handed Barkley a long-distance shot at goal, and the Bath star made no mistake.

Unwilling to be outshone, once again, by their big-boned mates, England's backline began exchanging passes and a superb break by Mike Catt gave France some food for thought.

Rougerie was then pinged for obstruction and Barkley stepped up to give England the lead with another fine shot at goal.  Against the odds, England were ahead with seven minutes until the break.

France immediately tacked out of the doldrums as Damien Traille cut the white line in two.  The speed of the move left big Andrew Sheridan marooned in an off-side position, and Skrela took the points on offer to steal back the lead.

Shaun Perry sparked the next England attack, shepherding his big forwards into gaps as the French beat an enforced retreat.

The back-pedalling blues were eventually forced to snuff out the move illegally, and Barkley duly snatched back the lead to leave the half-time scored poised at 12-11 in favour of the locals.

France's cool was shaken in the early stages of the second half as Skrela missed a kick at goal and Noon killed a raid with a fabulous tackle/turnover in midfield.

England's defence grew more confident as France channelled their attacks, somewhat naively, at England's well-manned fringes.

And like old Chief Bromden in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", the English suddenly seemed to become aware of their own muscularity and began to assert their authority on the visitors.

France were soon pinned to their line, but England's backs failed to take advantage of what was on offer.  It was Gomarsall, on for Perry, who finally took the initiative by slotting a drop-goal.

France responded to England's growing confidence by unleashing the odd couple of Frédéric Michalak and Sébastien Chabal, thereby adding a little beauty -- and a sizeable slab of beast -- to proceedings.

The gamble soon paid off as Chabal forced England to cough up a penalty in defence, and Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, on for Pierre Mignoni, brought France within one point.

England then pulled a France on France, running back a failed touch-finder at pace, with Abendanon to the fore.  But Les Bleus stood firm and repelled the attack with some terrific defence, Dimitri Szarzewski's tackle on the glory-bound Phil Vickery being the hit of the day.

France were now visibly pumped, and it was time for their double substitution to make its mark.

The dancing feet of Michalak momentarily mesmerised England's defence, and it was then on to Chabal who bulldozed over both Abendanon and Lewsey to score in the corner.

Skrela converted and the tables were well and truly turned.

England had seven minutes to save the day and took the game to the visitors.

Ashton's final throw of the dice saw Jonny Wilkinson replace Catt with two minutes left, and a turn-over on the French line had the Twickenham faithful on their feet.

But a lack of precision at the critical moment -- a recurring theme in England's game -- allowed France off the hook.

Man of the match:  There were soon decent performances from the English, and important ones from Ben Kay, Josh Lewsey and Jamie Noon.  Lee Mears showed some class from the bench, and Lawrence Dallaglio is not so much on the train to France as pulling it through the chunnel -- he was at the eye of every English storm.  Now the English must play as a team.  Meanwhile, there were fine performances across the French side, particularly in the backline, where Aurelien Rougerie and David Skrela shone.  But how can we ignore the contribution of Sébastien Chabal?  Try and cameo billing aside, he was pivotal to the late effort that got France across the line.  He broke Ali Williams's jaw on his last outing, today he broke England's resolve.

Moment of the match:  Surely Sébastien Chabal's try -- with power like that, who needs backs?

Villain of the match:  Mark Regan enjoyed getting into French faces, but he can't help getting old and crotchety!  All good clean fun -- no award.

The scorers:

For England:
Pens:  Barkley 4
Drop goal:  Gomarsall

For France:
Tries:  Pelous, Chabal
Con:  Elissalde
Pens:  Skrela 2, Elissalde

England:  15 Nick Abendanon, 14 Paul Sackey, 13 Jamie Noon, 12 Mike Catt (captain), 11 Josh Lewsey, 10 Olly Barkley, 9 Shaun Perry, 8 Lawrence Dallaglio, 7 Lewis Moody, 6 James Haskell, 5 Ben Kay, 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Matt Stevens, 2 Mark Regan, 1 Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements:  16 Lee Mears, 17 Phil Vickery, 18 Martin Corry, 19 Joe Worsley, 20 Andy Gomarsall, 21 Jonny Wilkinson, 22 Danny Cipriani.

France:  15 Clément Poitrenaud, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 David Marty, 12 Damien Traille, Aurelien Rougerie, Pierre Mignoni and Julien Bonnaire, 6 Serge Betsen, 5 Jérôme Thion, 4 Fabien Pelous, 3 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 2 Raphaël Ibañez (captain), 1 Olivier Milloud.
Replacements:  16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Nicolas Mas, 18 Sébastien Chabal, 19 Yannick Nyanga, 20 Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, 21 Frédéric Michalak, 22 Cédric Heymans.

Referee:  Alan Lewis (Ireland)
Touch judges:  Nigel Owens (Wales), Simon McDowell (Ireland)
Television match official:  Tim Hayes (Wales)

England reborn as Easter rocks Wales

England gave their Rugby World Cup credentials a timely boost by putting Wales to the sword at sunny Twickenham on Saturday.  Nick Easter contributed four of England's nine tries as the visitors slumped to a painful 62-5 defeat.

Shaun Perry, Lawrence Dallaglio, Steve Borthwick, Jason Robinson and Mathew Tait also touched down, while Jonny Wilkinson's seven conversions and a penalty saw him pass 900 Test points.

The win surpassed England's previous best of 50-10 against Wales during the 2002 Six Nations tournament.

Dallaglio, one of England's 2003 World Cup heroes, appeared for the final 20 minutes and scored a try, yet unsung Easter had already produced a headline-grabbing performance.

England head coach Brian Ashton will announce his 30-man World Cup squad in 10 days' time, and Easter apart, there were also significant contributions from centres Dan Hipkiss and Andy Farrell, together with Perry and lock Simon Shaw.

England could meet Wales in the World Cup quarter-finals on the opening weekend of October.  If today's evidence proves an accurate gauge, it will be a no-contest.

England eclipsed their 43-9 World Cup warm-up victory over Wales in Cardiff four years ago.

On that occasion, they effectively sent a third team to the Millennium Stadium.  Wales repaid the "compliment" but it backfired miserably and England must expect a far sterner test against Twickenham visitors France next Saturday.

Glorious sunshine and a 66,000 crowd greeted England for the opening Test of their warm-up programme, but there was an inauspicious start when full-back Mark Cueto suffered an injury warming up.

England had already replaced back strain victim Peter Richards on the bench with Harlequins scrum-half Andy Gomarsall, when Cueto withdrew due to a pulled groin muscle.

Tait took over the number 15 shirt for his first England start in that position, but the injury seemingly came too late for the world champions to name an additional replacement, so they went into action with just six substitutes.

England still sent out a powerful line-up -- their match-day 22 included five Test skippers, plus ex-Great Britain league leader Farrell -- while Wales were nowhere near full strength.

Only a third of their starting XV could be considered World Cup certainties, and they arrived in south-west London without a win at Twickenham since their 1988 Five Nations Triple Crown season.

Cueto's injury though seemed to set a tone as Farrell went off for treatment to a head wound inside four minutes and Toby Flood took over.

Wales set the early pace and England struggled to settle, with Wilkinson rifling an opening 45-metre penalty chance wide of the target.

But any nerves were calmed on 14 minutes when Perry's sniping break reaped its reward after a posse of England forwards backed him up and Easter touched down.

Wilkinson botched the conversion attempt, but England's heavyweight pack had already started starving Wales of possession before Farrell -- his head bandaged -- returned after a 20-minute absence.

Wales struggled to cope with England's increasing physical intensity, and a second touchdown arrived on 20 minutes when the forwards drove possession from a lineout, enabling Easter to double his try tally.

Wilkinson arrowed a difficult conversion between the posts, and England could reflect on a 12-0 lead with an hour of the match remaining.

Wales, despite Ospreys flanker Alun-Wyn Jones's heroic defensive efforts, remained pinned on the back foot, unable to handle England's greater speed and cohesion around the critical breakdown area.

Gaps began to appear in midfield, and after Hipkiss exploded through one inviting opening, he was grounded by a dangerous Aled Brew tackle that resulted in the Wales wing being yellow-carded by French referee Joel Jutge.

Wilkinson's straightforward penalty hoisted England 22-0 ahead, but sanctuary finally arrived for Wales in the form of Jutge's half-time whistle, even though they faced an alarming damage-limitation exercise.

With the honourable exception of Jones and his fellow flanker Colin Charvis, Wales had been horribly outmuscled up front.

England skipper Phil Vickery, who went down nursing an injury to his left ankle just before the break, was replaced by Bath's Matt Stevens, with flanker Martin Corry taking over as captain.

But it was soon business as usual for England, taking barely five minutes of the second period to blow Wales apart once more as Easter claimed the first hat-trick by an England forward since Neil Back in a World Cup qualifier against Holland nine years ago.

Wales were all over the place, and Wilkinson's conversion of a 50th-minute Perry try made it 36-0 before Dafydd James at least provided the visitors with a well-worked consolation try.

Dallaglio quickly resumed normal service though and England could reflect on a job well done.

Man of the match:  Hands went up across the England team, giving Brian Ashton a happy headache as he prepares to make the final cull.  Nick Easter, Joe Worsley, Dan Hipkiss and Jason Robinson played out of their skins, but our award goes to the man who made it all happen -- Shaun Perry.  Suddenly the sad loss of Harry Ellis doesn't seem too critical.

Moment of the match:  A bunch of moments, perhaps.  England's resolve to play a wide game, and the many fine moments that sprang from that plan.

Villian of the match:  A few high tackles and two yellow cards, but nothing too criminal.  No award.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Robinson, Dallaglio, Tait, Borthwick, Perry, Easter 4
Cons:  Wilkinson 7
Pen:  Wilkinson

For Wales:
Try:  D James

Yellow card(s):  Brew (Wales) -- dangerous tackle, 35;  Jones (Wales) -- killing the ball, 75.

The teams:

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

Wales:  15 Lee Byrne, 14 Aled Brew, 13 Tom Shanklin, 12 Gareth Thomas (c), 11 Dafydd James, 10 Ceri Sweeney, 9 Gareth Cooper, 8 Michael Owen, 7 Colin Charvis, 6 Alun-Wyn Jones, 5 Rob Sidoli, 4 Will James, 3 Chris Horsman, 2 Huw Bennett, 1 Iestyn Thomas.
Replacements:  16 Gethin Jenkins, 17 Rhys Thomas, 18 Thomas Rhys Thomas, 19 Alix Popham, 20 Mike Phillips, 21 James Hook, 22 Tom James.

Conditions:  Bright and sunny with highs of 28°C and clear skies
Referee:  Joël Jutge (France)
Touch judges:  Alain Rolland (Ireland), Romain Poite (France)
Television match official:  Christophe Berdos (France)