Australian understudies smash Fiji

The forthcoming Pacific Nations clash between Australia A and New Zealand Maori will be a virtual final with both sides heading into the final week undefeated after victories in the latest round of matches.

Australia A recorded an emphatic 50-13 win over Fiji in Brisbane on Sunday, while on Saturday the Maori overpowered Japan 65-22 in Napier and Samoa edged Tonga 20-15 in Nuku'alofa.

The winner-takes-all clash between the Australian understudies and the New Zealanders will take place on Sunday in Sydney.

In front of a crowd of over 4,500, and in beautiful conditions, Australia A got on the board as early as the third minute thanks to a try by Digby Ioane.

Further tries to Lachie Turner, scrum half Ben Lucas and Drew Mitchell, all converted by Daniel Halangahu, gave Australia A a healthy 31-3 half time lead.

Australia A started the second half as they finished the first with captain Morgan Turinui crossing for a try in the 45th minute, which was converted by Halangahu again to make it 38-3.

Fiji hit back through prop Graham Dews but a second unconverted try by Turner and a converted try by Stephen Hoiles brought up the half century for Australia A.  Fijian inside centre Kameli Ratuvou scored on the stroke of full time to make the final tally 50-13.

Queensland loose forward Hugh McMeniman was named Man of the Match and afterwards Australian coach Phil Mooney expressed his delight at another impressive outing by his young team.

"It was a good overall performance rather than outstanding individual efforts and to do that against a team I have a lot of respect for in Fiji makes it especially pleasing," Mooney said.

"Clearly starting as well as we did with Digby (Ioane) scoring in the first few minutes set them back and then we had a period of consolidation before putting on some more strong tries just before half time.

"The backs performed well but it was the forwards who laid the platform with a good solid performance from players like Guy Shepherdson, Sean Hardman and Hughie McMeniman."

The win now sets up a virtual Grand Final next Sunday at the Sydney Football Stadium when the undefeated Australia A face New Zealand Maori, who are also unbeaten.  The winner will be crowned champion of this year's IRB Pacific Nations Cup.

"In the back of our mind we always wanted to go into the last game against the Maori playing for the title and now that has arisen," said Mooney.

"But we've now got to take it just like any other game and prepare well this week."

With Wallabies stars Lote Tuqiri and Wycliff Palu suffering injuries in the Test against France in Sydney, Mooney was also aware he may lose some of his squad to the Wallabies.

"I'll talk to Robbie [Deans, Australia coach] and in the next 24 hours we'll get fair idea of who we'll have next week.

"But that's the purpose of our programme partly, to keep players in match condition in case they are called up to the Wallabies, so that was something we were always aware of."

The scorers:

For Australia A
Tries:  Turner 2, Ioane, Lucas, Mitchell, Turinui, Hoiles
Cons:  Halangahu 6
Pens:  Halangahu

For Fiji:
Tries:  Dews, Ratuvou
Cons:  Rawaqa

Australia A:  15 Drew Mitchell, 14 Lachlan Turner, 13 Morgan Turinui, 12 Timana Tahu, 11 Digby Ioane, 9 Daniel Halangahu, 9 Ben Lucas, 8 Stephen Hoiles, 7 Richard Brown, 6 Hugh McMeniman, 5 Peter Kimlin, 4 Mark Chisholm, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Sean Hardman, 1 Ben Alexander.
Replacements:  16 John Ulugia, 17 Guy Shepherdson, 18 Van Humphries, 19 Julian Salvi, 20 Brett Sheehan, 21 Sam Norton-Knight, 22 Mark Gerrard.

Fiji:  15 Taniela Rawaqa, 14 Timoci Nagusa, 13 Vereniki Goneva, 12 Marika Vakacegu, 11 Michael Tagicakibau, 10 Waisea Luveniyali, 9 Mosese Rauluni, 8 Netani Talei, 7 Sailosi Rabonaqica, 6 Semisi Naevo, 5 Kele Leawere, 4 Ifereimi Rawaqa, 3 Jone Railomo, 2 Sunia Koto, 1 Graham Dewes.
Replacements:  16 Vereniki Sauturaga, 17 Tiko Matawalu, 18 Wame Lewaravu, 19 Deryck Thomas, 20 Aporosa Vata, 21 Kameli Ratuvou, 22 Sireli Naqelevuki.

Referee:  Jonathan White (New Zealand)

NZ Maori turn on the style

New Zealand Maori swept Japan aside in Napier in the Pacific Nations Cup on Saturday, winning 65-22 courtesy of a second-half try shower that included a hat-trick from Hosea Gear.

The ever-improving Japanese actually led 22-17 at half-time of an enthralling match, but ran out of steam against the more powerful Maori in the second half.

The win now sets the Maori up -- Sunday's result permitting -- for a winner-takes-all showdown against Australia A next weekend.

The Maori ran in 10 tries in all.

Japan's James Arlidge got the scoreboard ticking over with an early penalty, but the Maoris struck twice within four minutes shortly after, with Zar Lawrence finishing off a break by Piri Weepu and Liam Messam stealing maul ball to set Callum Bruce away.

But the Japanese struck back, with another quick-fire brace of tries.  Full-back Bryce Robins finished off a move sparked by a half-break from Shaun Webb, and then wing Christain Loamanu found space out wide to score after the Japanese had stolen Maori line-out ball.

The Maori regained the lead once more when Messam drew the defence in the centres to create just enough space for inside centre Tamati Ellison to go over in the corner.

But Japan blindside flanker Luke Thompson crossed after Webb fielded a poor clearance kick, and fed Robins, who ran straight and hard up the middle before finding the supporting Thompson.  Arlidge's conversion gave Japan their 22-17 lead at the break.

Gear drove over for his first try after a concentrated forwards build-up, then moments later, after 55 minutes, he latched onto a good pass from prop Jacob Ellison after Webb lost the ball in the tackle.

Full-back Dwayne Sweeney then touched down, before Gear completed his hat-trick as Japan crumbled

Lawrence and Bruce both added their second tries as the Maori bench ran the Japanese ragged, and centre Jason Kawau finished off the romp in the final minute.

"We were disappointed and there were some harsh words said at half-time," Maori captain Tamati Ellison said.

"We were confident in our ability to open things but frustrated that we hadn't done so in the tournament so far.  We stuck with it and things eventually did open up for us."

Japan captain Tomokazu Soma regretted his team had not been able to sustain its first-half effort.

"We did our best in the first half," he said.

"I was really proud of our first half and proud of the game but we failed to maintain that so I am not satisfied.  We are very disappointed."

The scorers:

For NZ Maori:
Tries:  Lawrence 2, Bruce 2, Ellison, Gear 3, Sweeney, Kawau
Cons:  Bruce 6
Pen:  Bruce

For Japan:
Tries:  Robins, Loamanu, Thompson
Cons:  Arlidge 2
Pen:  Arlidge

New Zealand Maori:  15 Shannon Paku, 14 Glen Horton, 13 Jason Kawau, 12 Tamati Ellison (co-captain), 11 Zar Lawrence, 10 Callum Bruce, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Liam Messam (co-captain), 7 Tanerau Latimer, 6 Hoani MacDonald, 5 Jason Eaton / Isaac Ross, 4 Ross Filipo, 3 Bronson Murray, 2 Aled de Malmanche, 1 Jacob Ellison.
Replacements:  16 Hikawera Elliot, 17 Keith Cameron, 18 Thomas Waldrom, 19 Scott Waldrom, 20 Chris Smylie, 21 Dwayne Sweeney, 22 Hosea Gear.

Japan:  15 Bryce Robins, 14 Kosuke Endo, 13 Yuta Imamura, 12 Shotaro Onishi, 11 Christian Loamanu, 10 James Arlidge, 9 Tomoki Yoshida, 8 Ryu Koliniasi Holani, 7 Hare Makiri, 6 Luke Thompson, 5 Toshizumi Kitagawa, 4 Tomoaki Taniguchi, 3 Tomokazu Soma, 2 Taku Inokuchi, 1 Yuta Inose.
Replacements:  16 Naonori Mizuyama, 17 Yosuke Ikegaya, 18 Koji Shinozuka, 19 Yoshitaka Nakayama, 20 Fumiaki Tanaka, 21 Shaun Webb, 22 Hiroki Yoshida.

Referee:  Carlo Damasco (Italy)

Samoa win basement battle

Samoa made the most of their dearth of possession to beat Tonga 20-15 in the Pacific Nations Cup in Nuku'alofa on Saturday, almost certainly consigning the Tongans to the wooden spoon.

Tonga dominated for lnog periods, but could not find their way to the tryline.

Even so, they ought to have closed out a game they led 9-0 after half an hour, with the pressure on their opponents yielding three penalties for Pierre Hola.

Samoa struck back on the stroke of half-time, with Uale Mai finishing off a wide attacking move -- one feature of the game the Tongans did not seem able to master.  Gavin Williams made it 9-7 with the extras.

Vunga Lilo extended Tonga's lead to 12-7 with a fourth penalty, but Bath cente Eliota Spolu-Fuimaono shredde the Tonga defence with a burst and gave David Lemi Samoa's second try, which Williams converted to put the Samoans in the lead.

Lilo made it 15-14 with another penalty, but two late penalties from Williams -- one from the half-way line -- handed Samoa the win.  Tonga must beat Fiji next weekend to avoid a whitewash, while Samoa host Japan.

The scorers:

For Tonga:
Pens:  Hola 3, Lilo 2

For Samoa:
Tries:  Mai, Lemi
Cons:  Williams 2
Pens:  Williams 2

Tonga:  15 Seteleki Lu'au, 14 Samisoni Pone, 13 Sukanaivalu Hufanga, 12 Epeli Taione, 11 Mani Vakaloa, 10 Pierre Hola, 9 Soane Havea, 8 Samiu Vahafolau, 7 Nili Langilangi (C), 6 Hale T Tu'uhoko, 5 Paino Hehea, 4 Joshua Afu, 3 Tonga Lea'aetoa, 2 Ephraim Taukafa, 1 Semisi Telefoni.
Replacements:  16 Viliami Ma'asi, 17 Kisi Pulu, 18 Milton Ngauamo, 19 Enele Taufa, 20 Fangatapu 'Apikotoa, 21 Hudson Tonga'uiha, 22 Vungakoto Lilo.

Samoa:  15 Gavin Williams, 14 Esera Lauina, 13 Henry Faafili, 12 Anitele'a Tuilagi, 11 David Lemi, 10 Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu, 9 Uale Mai, 8 George Stowers, 7 Alafoti Faosilivia, 6 Semo Sititi, 5 Kane Thompson, 4 Filipo Levi (C), 3 Simon Lemalu, 2 Loleni Tafunai, 1 James Johnston.
Replacements:  16 Hiroshi Tea, 17 Ati Olive, 18 Daniel Leo, 19 Jonathan Faamatuainu, 20 Notise Tauafao, 21 Roger Warren, 22 Gasolo Salima.

Referee:  Ian Smith (Australia)

Italy snatch it with last-minute try

Italy snatched defeat from Argentina winning 13-12 in an unimaginative and dour game of rugby in Cordoba on Saturday -- a game dominated by referee Matt Goddard's whistle.

Goddard awarded 30 penalties in total -- 22 in the first half alone -- as well as twelve re-set scrums, all of which contributed towards a scrappy affair fought out almost exclusively in the forwards.  Neither side played as we know they can and consequently the game rapidly descended into a pointless slugfest.

Much rested on Juan Martín Hernández's shoulders for Argentina, so when he withdrew after twenty minutes with an injured wrist it put pay to any form of creativity from the home side.  Equally Italy had little to offer and were lucky to snatch a dramatic late victory thanks to Pablo Canavosio's try.

Neither side deserved to win this game and Argentina should have closed it out -- but ultimately the loss of Hernández cost them a recognised kicker and subsequently at least a further nine points.  Italy on the other hand opted to spurn four eminently kickable penalties in the opening twenty minutes, each resulting in a turnover from Argentina.

It came as a surprise then when after nearly forty minutes of fruitless endeavours Sergio Parisse asked Andrea Marcato to go for goal from all of forty metres.  Marcato justified the decision by slotting a sweet effort -- sadly for him it came after four successful Argentinean efforts, two each from Hernández and Marcelo Bosch.

Hernández kicked Argentina into a six point lead with as many minutes on the clock as Italy started in a lethargic manner.  Then came the first three of fourth wasted chances for Italy -- three blundered catch and drive efforts in the space of five minutes.  It was at this stage one began wandering what on earth Parisse was thinking, it is rather brave to take on the might of the Argentina pack without your first-choice eight.

With Hernández off injured Bosch assumed the kicking duties and duly slotted two more penalties.  Strangely enough it was Argentina who fell foul of Goddard more at the breakdown -- fifteen first half penalties to Italy's seven.

As the penalties began to come it was surely only a matter of time before Goddard sent at least one player to the sin-bin, after all all of the penalties had been for ruck infringements.  However it took a wild attempted punch from Juan Gómez to push Goddard over the edge, the big tighthead getting ten minutes to reflect on his boxing skills -- or lack thereof.

The second half continued in much the same manner, scrums every minute, needless penalties and plenty more forward-orientated exchanges.  Despite the mess Bosch tired his best to inject some life into the game, twice creating panic among the Italians as he sliced through poor tackling.  Unfortunately there was little in way of support from him and hardly surprisingly both breaks ended in penalties for holding on.

Marcato brought Italy within six points when he slotted his second effort at goal on the fifty minute mark.  Bosch had two chances to restore the nine point gap but on both occasions he failed to make a telling blow.  Suddenly Italy sensed an unlikely victory and launched one final raid on the Italian line.

In keeping with the nature of the game it started at a scrum and involved several close drives before the replacement Canavosio was driven over.  Marcato added the conversion under immense pressure and Goddard gave the final blast on his whistle to send Italy into raptures.

Neither side will take anything from this game and it is very much a case of the sooner forgotten the better.

Man of the Match:  Amongst all the ordinary there was one player who showed the only real signs of class -- Marcelo Bosch.  He backed up his brace of penalties with a fine running display, sadly he had no support and was always fighting a losing battle.

Moment of the Match:  When Marcelo Bosch missed a penalty attempt late on he gave Italy a glimmer of hope.  From there the Azzurri launched a last-ditch effort to win the game, which they did through the last minute try.

Villain of the Match:  Without a doubt this ugly gong goes to referee Matt Goddard who single handedly ruined this game with his obsession to the sound of his whistle.  Thirty-one penalties and nearly forty scrums ensured this game was nothing more than a forwards battle.

The Scorers:

For Argentina:
Pens: Hernández 2, Bosch 2

For Italy:
Try: Canavosio
Con: Marcato
Pens: Marcato 2

Yellow Card:  Gómez -- Argentina (39th minute -- punching)

The Teams:

Argentina:  15 Bernardo Stortoni, 14 Lucas Borges, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Miguel Avramovic, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Juan Martín Hernández, 9 Nicolás Vergallo, 8 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 7 Álvaro Galindo, 6 Martín Durand, 5 Esteban Lozada, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Juan Gómez, 2 Álvaro Tejeda, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements:  16 Pablo Gambarini, 17 Pedro Ledesma, 18 James Stuart, 19 Alejandro Campos, 20 Alfredo Lalanne, 21 Federico Martín Aramburu, 22 Hernán Senillosa.

Italy:  15 Andrea Marcato, 14 Kaine Robertson, 13 Mirco Bergamasco, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Matteo Pratichetti, 10 Luke McLean, 9 Simon Picone, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Josh Sole, 5 Carlo Antonio Del Fava, 4 Santiago Dellape, 3 Carlos Nieto, 2 Fabio Ongaro, 1 Ignacio Rouyet.
Replacements:  16 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 17 Alex Moreno, 18 Tommaso Reato, 19 Alessandro Zanni, 20 Pablo Canavosio, 21 Enrico Patrizio, 22 Riccardo Pavan/Jaco Erasmus.

Referee:  Matt Goddard (Australia)
Touch judges:  Craig Joubert (South Africa), Paul Marks (Australia)
Television match official:  George Ayoub (Australia)
Assessor:  Tappe Henning (IRB)

Australia not yet convincing

Australia helped themselves to a 34-13 win over France's second team in Sydney on Saturday, notching four tries in the process, but the Deans revolution to Australian rugby is far from complete.

Bar a ten-minute purple patch just after half-time in which the Wallabies racked up 17 unanswered points, the teams were pretty evenly-matched.  The French ought to have shaded the opening exchanges rather than just being level at 3-3 after half an hour.

Had they been possessed of a game-plan with which to attack the Wallabies, they would have been, but their superiority looked as though it surprised themselves more than anyone.

It was left to a moment of Matt Giteau genius to break the deadlock in the first half, and that ten minutes after half-time -- in which the French missed an astonishing 13 tackles -- sealed the win, but even thereafter the Wallabies made hard going of it.

The imprint of Robbie Deans on Australia is clear to see; in fact, the way in which the team went about -- or rather, tried to go about -- its business in the first 20 minutes meant the team could have been coached by very few others.

The emphasis was on quick ball at all costs, with frequent passes to exploit the width mixed with big, pacy, hitting runners up the 10-12 channel.  As few players as possible were committed to attacking rucks in order to ensure plentiful and immediate forward support at all breakdowns, as well as a lack of obstructive cluttered flesh for the half-back player.  The inside backs were encouraged to step inside and dummy and see if they couldn't make the defensive line crooked, and wingers encouraged to come off their wings to do the same.  Once that chink was created, then the ball could go wide most effectively to exploit the space.

It is remarkably difficult to stop when it's done right, but there are two key elements:  1) that all players numbered 4-12 are possessed of the necessary ball-skill to produce quick, clean, and accurate scrum-half service so as to keep the forward momentum going and ensure the defence cannot re-align, and 2) that the ruckers both stay on their feet and do not drive over too enthusiastically and leave the ball exposed.

It's here that Australia are falling down in the way that, say, the Crusaders used not to.  It is still probably a case of familiarity and match practice for most of the players, but the number of times the distribution from the back of a breakdown went awry -- not just from Luke Burgess by any stretch of the imagination -- in the first 20 minutes was alarming, as was the number of times the ball was exposed enough for the French to turn the ball over.  Four turnovers alone in the first ten minutes tells its own story, and there were a number of penalties conceded for going off the feet (both teams were guilty here).  The rucks did tighten up as a reaction, but the pace came off the Australian game as well.

Moreover, the set piece is not yet a finished article.  The front row was twice penalised for being over-enthusiastic in its engagement timing early on, a couple of other times the props' driving angles were hideously upward, and some early line-outs were stolen with disturbing ease.

Perhaps it's unfair to compare a team Deans has coached for two matches to a team he coached for seven years, particularly given the irritating oscillation between the sets of laws, but the Australian media is unlikely to be thinking in terms of such clemency if the Wallabies' game stutters like this in the Tri-Nations.  Deans has set his own bar at an extraordinary level, but the unforgiving urgency to deliver at national level is becoming more and more apparent to him.

France ought to have done more, plain and simple.  They were sluggish and devoid of confidence during the first 20 minutes in which they were gifted some gems of turnover possession which just weren't used.  Only after Dimitri Yachvili had levelled the scores at 3-3 did the spark come back into French play, in the form of an exhilarating series of offloads in tackles from the restart which could have yielded a try with better communication.  Their start to the second half was soporific, and it let the game get far too far away to bother trying to catch up.

Tactically there isn't too much to analyse -- the teams that contest the November internationals and next year's Six Nations will not feature many of these players -- but Alexis Palisson is one to watch for the future (not many people step Lote Tuqiri in their first ten minutes of international rugby), François Trinh-Duc is not a centre, Imanol Harinordoquy is still immensely frustrating, and Louis Picamoles is set for great things.  It also showed, as an aside, just how much needs to be invested at Biarritz to rejuvenate the club and players -- all of the Basques in the French team played with the weight of the world on their shoulders.

Giteau had missed a sitter from in front of the posts before he finally opened the scoring after 21 minutes when a French ball-carrier held on to the ball, but Yachvili equalised three minutes later when a Wallaby tackler refused to roll away.  That was the scoring for most of the first half, but Giteau's opportunist spot of Chabal opposite him and burst of pace outside the 'caveman' gave Australia the try their superior possession and territory had earned.

The French had begun to slip off tackles a couple of minutes prior to that as Australia's runners kept up their assault, and Berrick Barnes would have scored had he not lost his footing under pressure from ... erm ... well, just lost his footing.  Yachvili landed a penalty to make it 10-6 at the break.

Breaks by Burgess and Barnes, and then three well-controlled close-range rucks gave Nathan Sharpe a try jut after half-time, and French heads dropped.  Elsom burst through what was little more than a swat from Damien Traille for the third try, and Stirling Mortlock picked off a pass that was more 20-80 than 50-50 from Trinh-Duc for the fourth.

It was better rugby from Australia, but it was not as fast as they wanted, and as a result, the French were able to fight their way back in.  Palisson rounded off a superb debut with a try with fifteen minutes to go with Trinh-Duc converting, after which both teams seemed to think they had done their bit for the day.

Man of the match:  For France, Alexis Palisson, Sebastian Bruno, and Lionel Nallet all played fine matches.  In Australia's ranks, Peter Hynes, Cameron Shepherd, Rocky Elsom and George Smith all did well, but Berrick Barnes showed just how well he has converted from fly-half to centre by making several telling breaks and dummies and marking the novice François Trinh-Duc out of the game.

Moment of the match:  Damien Traille's flap at Rocky Elsom. A moment of utter despondency and surrender.

Villain of the match:  Nothing to report, despite some fun and frolics in the front row.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Giteau, Sharpe, Elsom, Mortlock
Cons:  Giteau 4
Pens:  Giteau 2

For France:
Try:  Palisson
Con:  Trinh-Duc
Pens:  Yachvili 2

Australia:  15 Cameron Shepherd, 14 Peter Hynes, 13 Stirling Mortlock (c), 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 George Smith, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 James Horwill, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 Adam Freier, 17 Ben Alexander, 18 Dean Mumm, 19 Phil Waugh, 20 Sam Cordingley, 21 Ryan Cross, 22 Adam Ashley-Cooper.

France:  15 Pepito Elhorga, 14 Alexis Palisson, 13 Damien Traille, 12 François Trinh-Duc, 11 Benjamin Thiéry, 10 Benjamin Boyet, 9 Dimitri Yachvili, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Louis Picamoles, 6 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 5 Sébastien Chabal, 4 Lionel Nallet (c), 3 Benoît Lecouls, 2 Sébastien Bruno, 1 Lionel Faure.
Replacements:  16 Benjamin Kayser, 17 Renaud Boyoud, 18 David Couzinet, 19 Mathieu Lièvremont, 20 Sébastien Tillous-Borde, 21 Thibault Lacroix, 22 David Janin.

Referee:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Touch judges:  Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa), Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
Television match official:  Johann Meuwesen (South Africa)
Assessor:  Wayne Erickson (Australia)

Tonga sent packing by Australia A

Australia A, reinforced by several first team squad players, gave Tonga a rugby lesson with a 90-7 win in Sydney in the Pacific Nations Cup on Sunday.

The Australians ran in 14 tries in all, with number eight Stephen Hoiles doting down for four and reserve back Drew Mitchell grabbing a late hat-trick on his return from injury.

Winger Digby Ioane and flyhalf Sam Norton-Knight each crossed twice, and former rugby league star Timana Tahu played a starring role at inside centre, scoring one try and setting up six more.

The scorers:

For Australia A:
Tries:  Hoiles 4, Ioane 2, Norton-Knight 2, Mitchell 2, Turinui, Tahu, Phibbs, Turner
Cons:  Carraro 4, Halangahu 3, Norton-Knight 2, Sheehan

For Tonga:
Try:  Maasi
Con:  Lilo

Australia A:  15 Lachlan Turner, 14 Matt Carraro, 13 Morgan Turinui, 12 Timana Tahu, 11 Digby Ioane, 10 Sam Norton-Knight, 9 Brett Sheehan, 8 Stephen Hoiles, 7 Richard Brown, 6 Hugh McMeniman, 5 Peter Kimlin, 4 Mark Chisholm, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Sean Hardman, 1 Ben Alexander.
Replacements:  16 John Ulugia, 17 Guy Shepherdson, 18 Al Campbell, 19 Julian Salvi, 20 Patrick Phibbs, 21 Daniel Halangahu, 22 Drew Mitchell.

Tonga:  15 Vunga Lilo, 14 Samisoni Pone, 13 Suka Hufanga, 12 Metui Maile, 11 Sione Piukala, 10 Fangatapu Apikotoa, 9 Soane Havea, 8 Lotu Filipine, 7 Nili Latu, 6 Joshua Afu, 5 Emosi Kauhenga, 4 Sione Timani, 3 Tonga Lea'aetoa, 2 Viliami Ma'asi, 1 Toma Toke.
Replacements:  16 Semisi Telefoni, 17 Sateki Mata'u, 18 Samiu Ika, 19 Tevita Fifita, 20 Enele Taufa, 21 Sione Mone Tu'ipulotu, 22 Tupou Palu.

Referee:  Paul Honiss (New Zealand)

Fiji halt Japanese surge

Fiji fought back from a 9-3 half time deficit to beat rapidly-improving Japan 24-12 in the Pacific Nations Cup in Tokyo on Sunday.

James Aldridge's three first half penalties sent the home side in with a six-point cushion, but the islanders hit back with three tries in the second half to silence the large home crowd.

Fiji next plays Australia A in Brisbane next week, while Japan travel abroad for the first time in the competition to face New Zealand Maori in Napier.

The scorers:

For Japan:
Pens:  Arlidge 4

For Fiji:
Tries:  Naqelevuki, Maravunwasawasa, Goneva
Cons:  Maravunwasawasa 3
Pens:  Maravunwasawasa

Japan:  15 Shaun Webb, 14 Kosuke Endo, 13 Koji Taira, 12 Ryan Nicholas, 11 Hirotoki Onozawa, 10 James Aldridge, 9 Fumiaki Tanaka, 8 Takuro Miuchi (capt), 7 Hare Makiri, 6 Takashi Kikutani, 5 Toshizhumi Kitagawa, 4 Hitoshi Ono, 3 Tomakazu Soma, 2 Yusuke Aoki, 1 tatsukichi Nishiura.
Replacements:  16 Naonori Mizuyama, 17 Yuta Inose, 18 Tomoaki Taniguchi, 19 Ryu Koliniasi Holani, 20 Tomoki Yoshida, 21 Bryce Robins, 22 Christian Loamanu.

Fiji:  15 Taniela Maravunwasawasa, 14 Timoci Nagusa, 13 Sireli Naqelevuki (v/capt), 12 Kameli Ratuvou, 11 Michael Tagicakibau, 10 Waisea Luveniyali, 9 Aporosa Vata, 8 Netani Talei, 7 Aca Gavidi, 6 Semisi Naevo, 5 Kele Leawere, 4 Ifereimi Rawaqa, 3 Jone Railomo, 2 Sunia Koto, 1 Alefoso Yalayalatabua.
Replacements:  16 Vereniki Sauturaga, 17 Viliame Seuseu, 18 Sailosi Rabonaqica, 19 Deryck Thomas, 20 Nemia Kenatale, 21 Vereniki Goneva, 22 Marika Vakacegu.

Referee:  Kelvin Deaker

Maori marching towards PNC title

New Zealand Maori have made it three out of three in the Pacific Nations Cup with a hard-fought 17-6 win over Samoa in Hamilton on Saturday.

Chiefs centre Callum Bruce opened the scoring after 12 minutes with a penalty when the Samoans were penalised for obstruction at a line-out.

A similar penalty offence -- this one actually awarded for coming in on the side -- a few minutes later saw Samoan lock Chad Slade sent to the bin for ten minutes.

The Samoans nearly made it through the ten minutes unscathed, but Bruce's grubber-kick through the defence and touchdown ensured the visitors paid the price for their indiscretions.

Piri Weepu landed the killer blow for the Maori just before half-time, capitalising on good work from Liam Messam and Thomas Waldrom to score his side's second.

Samoa regrouped and redoubled their efforts in the second half, and two penalties from full-back Gavin Williams made the score 14-6 by the hour, but there was no change to be found from the Maori defence.

The scorers:

For the NZ Maori:
Tries:  Bruce, Weepu
Cons:  Bruce 2
Pen:  Bruce

For Samoa:
Pens:  Williams 2

Yellow cards:  Slade (Samoa, 21), Tuilagi (Samoa, 75)

New Zealand Maori:  15 Dwayne Sweeney, 14 Shannon Paku, 13 Tim Bateman, 12 Tamati Ellison (co-captain), 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Callum Bruce, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Thomas Waldrom, 7 Tanerau Latimer, 6 Liam Messam (co-captain), 5 Jason Eaton, 4 Ross Filipo, 3 Bronson Murray, 2Hikawera Elliot, 1 Keith Cameron.
Replacements:  16 Aled de Malmanche, 17 Jacob Ellison, 18 Hoani MacDonald, 19 Scott Waldrom, 20 Chris Smylie, 21 Jason Kawau, 22 Zar Lawrence.

Samoa:  15 Gavin Williams, 14 Esera Lauina, 13 Henry Faafili, 12 Anitele'a Tuilagi, 11 David Lemi, 10 Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu, 9 Junior Poluleuligaga, 8 George Stowers, 7 Semo Sititi, 6 Daniel Leo, 5 Chad Slade, 4 Filipo Levi (C), 3 Census Johnston, 2 Loleni Tafunai, 1 James Johnston.
Replacements:  16 Simon Lemalu, 17 Jeremiah Fatialofa, 18 Kane Thompson, 19 Alafoti Faosilivia, 20 Uale Mai, 21 Roger Warren, 22 Gasolo Salima.

Referee:  Ian Smith (Australia).

Maori edge past Fiji

A late second-half try from former All Blacks lock Jason Eaton earned New Zealand Maori a crucial 11-7 victory over Fiji in the Pacific Nations Cup rugby competition in Lautoka, Fiji, on Saturday.

Trailing 3-7 at halftime following a converted try to Fiji's South African-based centre Sireli Naqelevuki, the Maori side came back to snatch a win on a water-logged Churchill Park.

The match was in danger of being called off after ankle-deep water covered the ground following a torrential downpour.

But ground officials assured the match officials that the water would drain off quickly, and it did soon after kickoff.

However, it made playing conditions difficult for two teams more accustomed to running rugby and it was evident from the stop-start affair that neither side had planned for a wet-weather game.

Although co-captain and second five-eighth Tamati Ellison gave New Zealand Maori the lead with a 12th-minute penalty goal, the Fijians adapted to the conditions quicker and dominated the first half.

Taniela Rawaqa missed two shots at goal from handy positions and two strong runs from Naqelevuki, who played for the Stormers in the Super 14, took the game close to the Maori side's line.

Naqelevuki then charged down Maori half-back Chris Smylie's clearing kick and pounced on the loose ball for the only first-half try.  Rawaqa converted and Fiji led 7-3 at halftime.

New Zealand Maori appeared to settle better when Eaton's Hurricanes teammate Piri Weepu took the field at halfback in the second half.

His options helped his team gain vital ground in the atrocious conditions.

New Zealand Maori edged in front when Eaton was driven over the tryline from a lineout close to the line.

That gave them an 8-7 lead, which replacement back Callum Bruce stretched with a penalty goal five minutes from full-time.

Both teams had come into the game with a win each, New Zealand beating over Tonga 20-9 and Fiji beating Samoa 34-17 in the first round last weekend.

The scorers:

For Fiji:
Try:  Naqelevuki
Con:  Rawaqa

For NZ Maori:
Try:  Eaton
Pens:  Ellison, Bruce

Boks win Newlands borefest

South Africa struggled to a 26-0 win over an under-strength Italy side at a soaking Newlands Stadium on Saturday.

Only in their first outing in 1995 did the Boks have a smaller winning margin (19) against Italy than in this Test.

The wet weather always threatened to starve the match of tries, but as an entertainment spectacle, this match -- like the Cape Town sunshine this week -- had very little to offer.

Spare a thought for the South African supporters who braved the downpour to see their World Champions in action, only to be left twiddling their thumbs dreaming of a warm shower after the match -- they deserved it, the Springboks did not.

Bok coach Peter de Villiers will be questioning his decision to field an experimental side just two weeks before a Test match against the All Blacks on New Zealand soil.  Based on this performance, the answer was there for all to see.

For a start, while Francois Steyn could well still be the future Bok fly-half in that he is still only 21 years of age and has time to learn, that future is definitely not any time soon.

Steyn battled with his decision-making, and while his prodigious field-kicking boot played a part in keeping the Italians pinned in the corners, he generally just makes too many mistakes when filling this critical position to inspire any confidence.

One thing that is becoming clearer with each passing week is that Luke Watson is definitely not the answer as a specialist openside flanker.

He does not hunt and scavenge for the ball like a number six should, and appears to have morphed into a linking and ball carrying loose forward, which is perhaps understandable if you consider where he plays for the Stormers.

De Villiers and his staff will be also be relatively worried about the Bok scrum which was fairly solid but didn't dominate, this against a side missing three of their top props.

Credit to the Italians, who against all odds, put in a brave performance that made the champions of the world look very ordinary indeed.  Hats off to coach Nick Mallett too, who can hold his head high in defeat against his former team that under his reign put 101-points past the Azzurri.

Italy may have been nilled once again, but can take heart from this match after giving it their all for the entire 80 minutes, a shame they couldn't have been rewarded with any points for their efforts.

But the Springboks will take this win -- their thirteenth on the trot -- and while this one-off Test won't be stored in any rugby fan's memory bank, at least now we look forward to the Tri-Nations ahead.

A rout appeared on the cards after tries from Steyn and Bismarck Du Plessis inside the opening 16 minutes but South Africa never looked comfortable in the inclement weather conditions, despite dominating territory and possession.

But what a start it was.

South Africa, in their first attacking move of the match thanks to a mesmerising run by Bryan Habana, were celebrating a try to Steyn in the sixth minute after the Bok pivot gathered his grubber kick ahead at full pace that ended off with a dive beside the posts.

The simple conversion followed suit and the home side were off to an early lead that was expected of them.

The Springboks were most impressive when their forwards drove with the ball and Du Plessis scored off such a move following a line-out and drive five metres from the Italy line.

Stand-in captain Victor Matfield, playing in his 70th Test for South Africa, did his business in the air before tapping down to Juan Smith -- who had a quiet match -- and the rumbling pack did the rest as Du Plessis powered over from close range.

Steyn had the umbrellas waving in delight with his touchline conversion that took the score to 14-0, but that's where it stayed for the remainder of the half.

Not even against fourteen men could South Africa capitalise to the max -- five points is all the hosts could conjure up thanks to another Du Plessis try after the break.

South African-born lock Carlo Antonio Del Fava was given his marching orders after a shoulder charge on Ryan Kankowski resulted in the Bok number eight leaving the field on a strecher.

The Sharks star has now been ruled out for the next two weeks with concussion.

But Kankowski's pain was Joe van Niekerk's gain as the South African loose forward made his return to international rugby after a four-year absence and didn't disappoint in his 44 minutes on the field.

The same couldn't be said of his old Bok team-mate Gcobani Bobo, who dropped the majority of the eleven handling errors racked up South Africa.

Winger Odwa Ndungane had an average game on debut in a match that wouldn't have sui-ted most wingers, but made a real blunder by taking a tap kick with his knee after calling a mark following a superb take off the high ball of soap.

But a telling burst from scrum-half Ricky Januarie -- who was at his sniping best -- got the crowd off their slippery seats, and ended with a first try to prop Tendai Mtawaria after taking an inside ball from Habana who did all the hard work along the touchline.

The 36,623-strong crowd would have been thrilled with the big man after urging him on with the calls of "Beeeeeeeeeeast" ringing throughout the stadium.

Steyn was succesful with the touchline conversion that took the score to 26-0 in the 55th minute and that, as they say, was that.

Even the Springbok cavalry failed to ignite the score with the likes of Schalk Burger unable to stamp his authority on the dour affair after six weeks nursing an injury on the sideline.  But that was to be expected after his long lay-off.

Fellow replacement Ruan Pienaar didn't help his cause for the number nine jersey either after dropping -- no, throwing -- away his grip on the ball after a promising counter-attack on the stroke of full-time.

The game ended with the pigskin a metre in front of him in a move that could have saved the Boks some face with a bigger score.

Pienaar's blunder summed up the match perfectly for the hosts in a disappointing match, littered with mistakes and poor options.

Man of the match:  For Italy, rookie fly-half Luke McLean passed his first taste of Test rugby with flying colours.  His kicks out of hand in the wet forced South Africa into making their own mistakes in their futile attempt to run it back.  Not too many candidates from the Bok camp though, as we've already discussed, but perhaps if anyone should take this accolade home it's Victor Matfield.  The skipper once again worked his line-out wonders with three steals and took two takes that led to a try on both occasions to his hooker Bismarck du Plessis.

Moment of the match:  The final whistle? Tempting, but we'll go for Steyn's opening try that gave the crowd what they came in their wellingtons to see.  After the final whistle, one senses they would have used the same footwear up their beloved team's backside if they had the chance.

Villain of the match:  Looking at the replays, it seemed harsh to get a sin-binning.  But Carlo Antonio Del Fava's hit on Ryan Kankowski took out the only South African loose forward that could have made a difference in this match.  Shame on you Del Fava.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Steyn, Du Plessis 2, Mtawaria
Cons:  Steyn 3

Yellow card:  Del Fava, dangerous tackle (Italy, 36 min)

South Africa:  15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 Odwa Ndungane, 13 Gcobani Bobo, 12 Jean De Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Francois Steyn, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Ryan Kankowski, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Luke Watson, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 CJ Van der Linde, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawaria.
Replacements:  16 Schalk Brits, 17 Brian Mujati, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Joe Van Niekerk, 20 Schalk Burger, 21 Peter Grant, 22 Ruan Pienaar.

Italy:  15 Andrea Marcato, 14 Kaine Robertson, 13 Andrea Masi, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Matteo Pratichetti, 10 Luke McLean, 9 Simon Picone, 8 Josh Sole, 7 Robert Barbieri, 6 Alessandro Zanni, 5 Carlo Antonio Del Fava, 4 Santiago Dellape, 3 Carlos Nieto, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Michele Rizzo.
Replacements:  16 Fabio Ongaro, 17 Ignacio Rouyet, 18 Jaco Erasmus, 19 Tommaso Reato, 20 Pablo Canavosio, 21 Enrico Patrizio, 22 Riccardo Pavan.

Referee:  George Clancy (Ireland)
Touch judges:  Lyndon Bray (New Zealand), David Changleng (Scotland)
Television match official:  Graham Hughes (England)

England sunk without trace

New Zealand duly put paid to England in the second Test in Christchurch on Saturday, racking up five tries and 44 points to England's 12, but incurring injuries to two key players in the process.

Ali Williams and Richie McCaw both hobbled out of the first half with ankle injuries, a huge worry to Graham Henry.  But the flip side was the excellence in debut of both Richard Kahui and Adam Thomson, and Anthony Boric's cover of Williams was perfectly adequate.

England played like a tired and distressed team.  They were rarely able to come out of their ten-man shell, and two glorious scoring chances were spurned in the first half.  Olly Barkley missed a kick in front of the posts early in the second, and James Haskell gave away three points by throwing the ball away at a penalty just after.

But we know about England.  This Test merely underlined the deficiencies and gameplay fatigue of the first.  The tactics were restrictive in the extreme -- Toby Flood pumped up four high balls in the first quarter of an hour alone - but on the rare occasions the ball went wide it was apparent why.  There was not one clean England back-line break.  Danny Care and James Haskell both made inroads, but there was none of the subtlety and sleight of hand that saw Ma'a Nonu go in for his try for example.

With the Tri-Nations coming up, we should now focus on New Zealand.  44-12 against England is a handy score, and there were lots of highs, but a few lows too.

The emergence of Thomson and Kahui means that two pieces of the new All Black jigsaw have been found and fit snugly in.  Indeed, Thomson's contribution was such that McCaw was hardly missed.  His positional work and reading of the game was superlative.  Anthony Boric is a little raw still, but if he can assimilate from the tutelage of Williams and Thorn, he will be a regular by 2011.

The All Black scrum lived up to its midweek promise and made mincemeat of the English offering.  The match in the loose was a little more even, with referee Jonathan Kaplan sparing no huff and puff from his whistle.  There were seven penalties in the first ten minutes alone, five for breakdown offences.  Neither team was prepared to dance to Kaplan's shrill tune entirely though, and the result was a whistle-punctuated game for long periods, and plenty of turnover ball for both sides.

Of the non-debutants in black shirts, Dan Carter once again directed with magnificence, Nonu ran hard and straight and intelligently, and Sitiveni Sivivatu worked hard to get himself some opportunities.  Brad Thorn and Rodney So'oialo - who assumed the captaincy with the exit of McCaw - were tireless.  The front row was merciless.

But it is not all gravy.  Andrew Ellis failed to build on last week's display, and there were a few too many careless passes from the base of the scrum.  There were also conspicuous lackadaisical moments under a couple of high balls and at a couple of restarts, lapses in concentration that may be fine against England, but will cost against South Africa and Australia.

In defence, in rare moments when England upped the tempo with tapped penalties or blind side snipes, the All Blacks struggled to cope with the pace of retreat.  Twice tries were yielded, and twice further penalties of 10 metres.  The defensive job was made easy by England's lack of any weapon more dangerous than the sledgehammer.

New Zealand took the lead in the first minute, kicking the ball off to the English, tackling the English, turning over the English ball, forcing an English infringement, and Carter kicking the ball through the English posts.

The first threatening move of the match came from the English as well, with James Haskell running to and down the short side to take a line-out tap-down.  He popped inside to Care, but the scrum-half betrayed his inexperience by opting to chip instead of duck and weave.

Otherwise, Flood kept pumping up-and-unders with marginal effect, and from the fourth, New Zealand scored.  Leon MacDonald countered down the left, there were two quick rucks, and then the ball went wide right to Carter, who broke the line and then switched deftly with Kahui, who powered home with unrestrained glee for his debut try.

Kahui went close to the corner again after 25 minutes after another counter attack, and Carter landed another penalty shortly after to make it 13-0.

Tom Varndell was tackled into touch by MacDonald in the corner after Carter had dithered under a high ball, but Carter made amends.  He was held up after regathering his own chip, and from the resultant 5m scrum he cut a delicious angle to go under the posts and make it 20-0.

Twice England ought to have scored before the break; once Sione Lauaki turned English ball over in a key position, and Mathew Tait was deprived of the luck of the bounce from a clever chip.  It remained 20-0 to half-time.

Little changed in the second half, bar the tackles becoming slightly looser.  Olly Barkley missed a sitter of a penalty in front of the posts, and Carter made it 23-0 when Haskell threw the ball away and was penalised a further ten yards.

Care finally got England on the scoresheet, tapping and going all the way from a scrum penalty, but as if to prove their control the All Blacks simply swept upfield and scored two minutes later.  Sivivatu took the ball off Ellis to make the incision, and the combination of the offload in the tackle and Nonu's running line was unstoppable.

Mike Tindall was sin-binned for a slowing-down of All Black ball straight out of the Dallaglio book of cynicism, and the All Blacks opted to scrum the penalty.  Lauaki picked up the ball at number eight and scored, Carter making it 37-7 with the extras.

Once again some quick England tempo caught the All Blacks defence napping, and Varndell got his try, but New Zealand dominated thereafter.  Thomson was denied a debut try by a contentious TMO decision, but Jimmy Cowan got his first Test try in the final minute with a quick dart.

Man of the match:  James Haskell played well for England but let himself down with that moment of indiscipline, and Lee Mears was also strong.  For the All Blacks, the front row was in fearsome form, Carter was his usual excellent self, and Nonu and Kahui formed a fine partnership.  But with a performance of street wisdom far in excess of a meagre 80 minutes of experience, Adam Thomson's debut is marked with a MOTM accolade.

Moment of the match:  Danny Care gave England a brief flicker of hope with his try, the flicker promptly extinguished by the try from Nonu, which both killed the game off and was the pick of the bunch.

Villain of the match:  A collective award for all the players so intent on killing the ball at every breakdown.  It really ruined the flow of the game, and despite the best efforts of Jonathan Kaplan.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Kahui, Carter, Nonu, Lauaki, Cowan
Cons:  Carter 4, Donald
Pens:  Carter 3

For England:
Tries:  Care, Varndell
Con:  Barkley

Yellow card:  Tindall (England, 61, deliberate infringement)

New Zealand:  15 Leon MacDonald, 14 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 13 Richard Kahui, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Rudi Wulf, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Rodney So'oialo, 7 Richie McCaw, 6 Adam Thomson, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Greg Somerville, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Neemia Tialata.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Tony Woodcock, 18 Anthony Boric, 19 Sione Lauaki, 20 Jimmy Cowan, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Mils Muliaina.

England:  15 Mathew Tait, 14 Topsy Ojo, 13 Mike Tindall, 12 Jamie Noon, 11 Tom Varndell, 10 Toby Flood, 9 Danny Care, 8 Luke Narraway, 7 Tom Rees, 6 James Haskell, 5 Steve Borthwick (c), 4 Tom Palmer, 3 Matt Stevens, 2 Lee Mears, 1 Tim Payne.
Replacements:  16 David Paice, 17 Jason Hobson, 18 Ben Kay, 19 Joe Worsley, 20 Pete Richards, 21 Olly Barkley, 22 David Strettle.

Referee:  Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Touch judges:  Mark Lawrence (South Africa), Matt Goddard (Australia)
Television match official:  Johann Meuwesen (South Africa)
Assessor:  Stuart Beissel (New Zealand)

Australia A see off Samoa

Australia A maintained their winning start to the IRB Pacific Nations Cup, but only just as they overcame the conditions and a committed Samoa side 20-15 in front of a crowd of 15,500 in Apia on Saturday.

A strong second-string Australian side containing Rugby World Cup 2007 squad members Mark Gerrard and Morgan Turinui led 10-3 at the break and seemed to be in control of the match before Samoa came back in the second half to ensure a thrilling climax.

In wet and humid conditions in the Samoan capital, the Australians made light work of the opening exchanges with wing Timana Tahu crossing for the opening try of the match after 10 minutes, while Gerrard's conversion and two penalties to a Neli Sasulu three pointer left the visitors in complete control of the match.

However, the Samoans started the second half in determined fashion and started to stamp their mark on the match with characteristic hard running and strong forward play.

The pressure was enough to catch the Australians cold, and after just three minutes the home side hit back with a well-worked try through hooker Loleni Tafunai to close the gap to just two points.

The score remained in the balance until the 68th minute when Turinui cut through the Samoan defence to break the deadlock.  Replacement Matt Carraro's conversion eased the pressure on last year's runners-up as the score opened up a nine-point lead.

A Carraro penalty stretched Australia A's lead to 20-8, which is how the score remained until the final moments of a pulsating match.  Australia A appeared to have the game in the bag, but the Samoans were not finished and launched a series of attacks on the Australian line.

With the pressure mounting, the Samoans came close on several occasions before replacement hooker Muliufi Salanoa crashed over for a try.  Sevens star Uale Male added the conversion, much to the delight of the home support, to reduce the arrears to five to set up a tense climax.

With time up on the clock, Samoa chased the winning score, but the Australians held firm for the victory.

The scorers:

For Samoa:
Tries:  Salanoa, Tafunai
Cons:  Mai
Pens:  Sasulu
Drops:

For Australia A:
Tries:  Tahu, Turinui
Cons:  Gerrard, Carraro
Pens:  Gerrard, Carraro

Japan stun Tonga

Japan stunned Tonga in the IRB Pacific Nations Cup, beating the islanders 35-13 at Yurtec Stadium in Sendai for their first victory in the tournament.

John Kirwan's side enjoyed a strong warm-up to the event against the Classic All Blacks and impressed on the first match day against Australia A.

This victory, however, finally gives the former All Black tangible proof of the huge advances being made with the Cherry Blossoms since he took over.

The game went ahead as a mark of respect for the victims of a deadly earthquake that struck the area on Friday.

Japanese officials had considered calling off the match in Sendai after the powerful quake struck the northern prefectures of Miyagi and Iwate.

Nine people were killed and more than a dozen still missing after Saturday's earthquake.

But the game went ahead and Japan produced an impressive performance to secure a bonus-point win with tries from Takashi Kikutani, Hirotoki Onozawa, Shaun Webb and Bryce Robins.

The Japanese pack, impressive against Australia A a week ago, fronted up well to the muscular Tongans and showed sharp discipline and tactical nous early on to lay the foundations for what was to prove a comfortable victory.

Pierre Hola's penalties twice gave the Tongans an early lead but the Japanese hit back on each occasion through James Arlidge, who added two more late in the half for a 12-6 half time lead.

Arlidge punished some Tongan indiscipline at the start of the second half before the Japanese cut loose, flank Kikutani's try giving them a deserved 20-6 lead.

On 50 minutes Tonga hit back through their number eight Lotu Filipine and although Hola converted the try to narrow the score to 20-13 the Japanese again showed great enterprise, fitness and most of all attacking endeavour to extend their lead twice in four minutes through wing Onozawa and full-back Webb.

With the game won at 30-13, the Japanese added a fourth try in the dying minutes through Robins to make the final score 35-13.

The Cherry Blossoms next face Fiji in Tokyo on 22 June.

In the weekend's other IRB Pacific Nations Cup matches Australia A and New Zealand Maori were both made to work hard for their second wins.  The second-string Wallabies beat Samoa 20-15 in Apia, while the Maori needed a try in the last minute by lock Jason Eaton to beat Fiji 11-7 in Lautoka.

Maori edge past Fiji

A late second-half try from former All Blacks lock Jason Eaton earned New Zealand Maori a crucial 11-7 victory over Fiji in the Pacific Nations Cup rugby competition in Lautoka, Fiji, on Saturday.

Trailing 3-7 at halftime following a converted try to Fiji's South African-based centre Sireli Naqelevuki, the Maori side came back to snatch a win on a water-logged Churchill Park.

The match was in danger of being called off after ankle-deep water covered the ground following a torrential downpour.

But ground officials assured the match officials that the water would drain off quickly, and it did soon after kickoff.

However, it made playing conditions difficult for two teams more accustomed to running rugby and it was evident from the stop-start affair that neither side had planned for a wet-weather game.

Although co-captain and second five-eighth Tamati Ellison gave New Zealand Maori the lead with a 12th-minute penalty goal, the Fijians adapted to the conditions quicker and dominated the first half.

Taniela Rawaqa missed two shots at goal from handy positions and two strong runs from Naqelevuki, who played for the Stormers in the Super 14, took the game close to the Maori side's line.

Naqelevuki then charged down Maori half-back Chris Smylie's clearing kick and pounced on the loose ball for the only first-half try.  Rawaqa converted and Fiji led 7-3 at halftime.

New Zealand Maori appeared to settle better when Eaton's Hurricanes teammate Piri Weepu took the field at halfback in the second half.

His options helped his team gain vital ground in the atrocious conditions.

New Zealand Maori edged in front when Eaton was driven over the tryline from a lineout close to the line.

That gave them an 8-7 lead, which replacement back Callum Bruce stretched with a penalty goal five minutes from full-time.

Both teams had come into the game with a win each, New Zealand beating over Tonga 20-9 and Fiji beating Samoa 34-17 in the first round last weekend.

The scorers:

For Fiji:
Try:  Naqelevuki
Con:  Rawaqa

For NZ Maori:
Try:  Eaton
Pens:  Ellison, Bruce

Scots level Test series

Scotland beat Argentina 24-16 in Buenos Aires in a surprise win on Saturday to not only level the two-Test series, but overcome a 18-year losing drought against the Pumas.

The Scots salvaged some pride and ending their season on a high note after going down 15-21 in a heart-breaking defeat the week before in Rosario.

It seems Scotland coach Frank Hadden's six changes following last week's loss made the world of difference as the 2007 World Cup quarter-finalists out-muscled their way to a memorable victory in front of a packed crowd at Velez Sarsfield Stadium.

The Scots perhaps also threw Hadden a much-needed lifeline with his coaching future currently hanging by a thread after a forgetable Six Nations and the team's inability to cross the whitewash.

Two tries were scored against the Pumas thanks to hooker Ross Ford and centre Graeme Morrison in the first and second halves respectively -- Morrison's try sealing the deal for the visitors after the hosts threatened a comeback.

Off the pitch, Scotland assistant coach Andy Robinson's attention to detail and tactical expertise clearly also helped Scotland achieve a dream result against the side ranked third in the world.

The Pumas were far from their best, but they were subdued crucially in the first half by a Scottish display that had all that was lacking from the first Test -- the aggression, speed, ambition, skill and, significantly, more forceful refereeing of the breakdown area by Alan Rolland.

It was a disappointing end for long-serving lock Ignacio Fernandez.  The 33-year-old was playing in his last match before retirement from international rugby.

Record breaking full-back Chris Paterson, who became his country's most capped player by making his 88th appearance in the match, contributed 13 points to make it a particularly sweet occasion for him as he overtook Scott Murray's cap tally.

Scotland started strongly and carved out a penalty opportunity for Paterson after only six minutes.

He duly slotted the points but the hosts could have drawn level when Federico Todeschini pushed his attempt wide.

Scott MacLeod, soaring in the line-out, set up a another fierce drive by the Scottish pack, which was rewarded with a penalty when Pumas hooker Alvaro Tejeda pulled down the maul.

That mistake gave Paterson the chance to make it 6-0 as he converted from the left and after 23 minutes the Scots had a try to Ford after the hooker crashed over following superb interplay between Iain Morrison and Mike Blair.

The metronomic Paterson added the extras to make it 13-0 to the Scots.

The Pumas were looking nervy in possession and were clearly lacking the experience of some missing stars.

Scotland, on the other hand, were playing with confidence and Paterson added a further penalty to make it 16-0 at the interval.

The second half started in much the same fashion as the Paterson continued his fine form in front of the posts to add another three points after 52 minutes.

Nine minutes later Argentina were finally on the scoreboard as Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe finished a fine counter-attacking move.

Todeschini was on target with the conversion as the score moved to 19-7.

That re-awakened the fans and the team responded, Lucas Borges going over before seeing his effort ruled out after referral to the TMO.

Five minutes later, Scotland were back in the driving seat as Dan Parks made a great interception in his own half and ran 40 metres before running out of steam.

But he had the presence of mind to offload to Morrison who rushed through between the posts.

Man-of-the-match Paterson converted and gave the Scottish tourists a 24-7 lead.

Pumas winger Horacio Agulla touched down in the last minute for a consolation try and Todeschini hit the extras but it was all a little too late at that stage.

That score, however, prevented Scotland reaching the 15-point margin they needed to get an improved IRB ranking.

Man of the match:  Scotland were led superbly by scrum-half Mike Blair, while full-back Hugo Southwell's kicking from hand was impeccable.  The centre pair of Graeme Morrison and Ben Cairns, who in his second ever appearance at Test level looked assured, kept the opposition guessing.  Phil Godman's passing brought a new dimension to the Scotland back-line and really stood out in the number ten jersey before being replaced by Dan Parks.  Up front, Allan Jacobsen served up another display containing his trademark dogged determination while Matt Mustchin's know-how and ability to keep the ball alive helped Scotland move forward.  But it was Chris Paterson, selected to play on the wing this time out, who produced another flawless goal-kicking performance that ultimately proved the difference between the two sides and that gave Scotland their first win against Argentina since November 1990.

Moment of the match:  While it's fair to say that Graeme Morrison's swan dive under the posts sealed the deal for the Scots, there was a moment before kick-off that showed more passion and emotion than any try celebrated by either team.  The Fernandez Lobbe brothers were extremely emotional before kick-off, with Juan -- playing for the last time with his brother Ignacio -- crying for more than a minute after the anthems as he hugged his elder brother while the rest of his team lined up for the kick-off.  Who said big boys don't cry?

Villain of the match:  Two guilty parties on this occasion.  Argentinian captain Felipe Contepomi and Scotland prop Euan Murray.  Contepomi lost the plot as he fought with Scotland's tighthead yards from play.  The prop emerged from the scuffle with a badly bruised cheek and, after one exchange too many between the pair, the ref showed both the yellow card.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Tries:  I Fernandez Lobbe, Agulla
Cons:  Todeschin 2

For Scotland:
Tries:  Ford, Morrison

Cons:  Paterson 2
Pens:  Paterson 4

Yellow cards:  Contepomi, punching (Argentina, 54 min);  Murray, punching (Scotland, 54 min).

The teams:

Argentina:  15 Bernardo Stortoni, 14 Lucas Borges, 13 Gonzalo Tiesi, 12 Felipe Contepomi (c), 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Federico Todeschini, 9 Nicolas Vergallo, 8 Manuel Leguizamon, 7 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, 6 Martin Durand, 5 Esteban Lozada, 4 Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, 3 Santiago Gonzalez Bonorino, 2 Alvaro Tejeda, 1 Marcos Ayerza,
Replacements:  16 Pablo Gambarini, 17 Juan Gomez, 18 James Stuart, 19 Alvaro Galindo, 20 Alfredo Lalanne, 21 Federico Aramburu, 22 Federico Serra.

Scotland:  15 Hugo Southwell, 14 Chris Paterson, 13 Ben Cairns, 12 Graeme Morrison, 11 Simon Webster, 10 Phil Godman, 9 Mike Blair (c), 8 Allister Hogg, 7 John Barclay, 6 Alasdair Strokosch, 5 Scott MacLeod, 4 Matt Mustchin, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements:  16 Dougie Hall, 17 Alasdair Dickinson, 18 Alastair Kellock, 19 Kelly Brown, 20 Rory Lawson, 21 Dan Parks, 22 Nick De Luca.

Referee:  Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Touch judges:  Alan Lewis (Ireland), Cobus Wessels (South Africa)
Television match official:  Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
Assessor:  Dennis Immelman (South Africa)

Wales fall short in Pretoria

South Africa secured a two-nil series victory over a spirited Wales thanks to a 37-21 victory in Pretoria on Saturday.

A vastly improved Wales side twice led but were unable to capitalise on either position and ultimately paid the price for their lack of composure.

They will however take great heart from their performance but will be left to rue a slow opening quarter, after which they found themselves trailing 14-3.

The alarm bells would have been ringing when South Africa crossed for their second try in the opening twenty minutes.

At that stage images of cricket scores began to flash through the mind, but it was not to be.  Wales snapped out of their lull and took the game to their hosts, and to some effect too.

Having been bullied at the breakdown in the first Test, Wales had a point to prove, and they did just that by taking the game to their hosts in a controlled and physical manner.

The breakdown, South Africa's by right last week, was evenly contested, and Jonathan Thomas had a sterling game at openside flanker, allowing his team cleaner ball to attack with.

But for an early penalty from Stephen Jones, Wales struggled to contain their hosts in the opening twenty minutes, seemingly just hanging on.

It didn't take the Springboks long to cross for their first try, a five-metre driving maul was grinding to a halt inches short of the line when Jean de Villiers pounced to set South Africa on their way.

A second try after just 18 minutes, scored by Ricky Januarie but created by Victor Matfield's deft handling, and Wales were looking tired and facing the prospect of another hammering, yet they managed to muster a rousing effort to haul themselves back into the game.

They hit back almost immediately, a clever line-out move freeing Gareth Cooper down the flank, who stepped inside a despairing Tonderai Chavanga to restore Welsh belief.

With Jones adding the extras Wales were back in the game, and what's more they took the lead after half an hour, thanks to Shane Williams's stunning solo-try.

A loose ball was gathered on the half way line before Williams skipped past John Smit and set off for the line.  With space running out and four defenders covering, the game seemed up.

That was before some scintillating footwork turned the defenders inside-out and afforded Williams the half of yard of space he needed to waltz over in the corner.

Sadly for Wales they were unable to build on their lead, and a late Butch James penalty ensured South Africa went into the break with their noses in front.

The break did Wales the world of good, as they came out with an intensity not seen thus far on their tour and again they managed to take the lead.

Two penalties from Jones trumping James's single effort at goal.  A one-point lead and Wales were twenty minutes from creating history.

That was until their poor discipline cost them dear, James kicking his side back into the lead before a series of quick tap penalties lead to De Villiers' second try, and at that stage Wales were high and dry.  They did have a chance to narrow the gap but Jones pushed his effort wide, and with that Wales knew the game was up.

To make matters worse Bismarck du Plessis crossed for a try as the hooter sounded, adding salt to the Welsh wounds and giving the final score a slightly skew look.

That said, one thing is for certain, their performance here will have defiantly earned them the respect they came here hunting.

They were much improved from the first Test and proved that they can compete with the world's best.  It leaves one thinking how different it will be in November when Wales have a full squad and home advantage.

But, again, Peter de Villiers's side showed their class and clear potential to develop into one of the great Springbok teams.

Whilst Wales leave without a win on tour they do so safe in the knowledge that, in at least one of the Tests, they gave the Springboks a good run for their money.

No games won but plenty of respect earned for the manner in which they rose to the challenge here in Pretoria.

Man of the Match:  Hats off to Wales for bouncing back in fine fashion.  Jamie Roberts was solid at inside centre, Gareth Cooper had a much better game at nine and the pack competed in every facet of the game.  For South Africa, Victor Matfield was hugely impressive, as was Juan Smith.  But we are going with Jean de Villiers, not just for his two scores but for an outstanding display of rugby both in attack and defence.  Always looking to create something, he was a constant thorn in the Welsh side.

Moment of the Match:  Call us old romantics but it has to be Shane Williams's try.  The Boks were reminded of his danger last week when he raced over, and again he produced a stunning solo effort.  Gathering the ball on half way he skipped past the despairing clutches of John Smit before turning four defenders inside-out to race over in the corner.  A magical score.

Villain of the Match:  Whilst it was physical, both teams were focused on playing rugby, and a fine job they did too.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  De Villiers 2, Januarie, Du Plessis
Cons:  James 4
Pens:  James 3

For Wales:

Tries:  Cooper, S.Williams
Con:  S.Jones
Pens:  S.Jones 3

The teams:

South Africa:  15 Conrad Jantjes, 14 Tonderai Chavanga, 13 Adrian Jacobs, 12 Jean de Villiers, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Butch James, 9 Ricky Januarie, 8 Pierre Spies, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Luke Watson, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 BJ Botha, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Gurthrö Steenkamp, 18 Andries Bekker, 19 Ryan Kankowski, 20 Bolla Conradie, 21 Francois Steyn, 22 Percy Montgomery.

Wales:  15 James Hook, 14 Mark Jones, 13 Tom Shanklin, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Shane Williams, 10 Stephen Jones, 9 Gareth Cooper, 8 Gareth Delve, 7 Jonathan Thomas, 6 Ryan Jones (c), 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Ian Gough, 3 Rhys Thomas, 2 Richard Hibbard, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 T Rhys Thomas, 17 Duncan Jones, 18 Ian Evans, 19 Dafydd Jones, 20 Warren Fury, 21 Andrew Bishop, 22 Tom James.

Referee:  Lyndon Bray (New Zealand)
Touch judges:  Dave Pearson (England), Stuart Terheege (England)
Television match official:  Geoff Warren (England)
Assessor:  Patrick Robin (France)

Wallabies hold out brave Irish

Robbie Deans got his tenure as Australia coach off to a winning start with a hard-fought 18-12 win over a determined Ireland outfit in Melbourne on Saturday.

But the Kiwi import would have had mixed feelings about his adopted team's performance.

The Wallabies kept mistakes to a minimum but understandably looked rusty in their first Test of the 2008 season which, judging by this performance, looks generally promising.

Deans will have noted areas for improvement, but Australia fans can be satisfied with a complete team performance that saw crisp passing, attacking flair and solid defence that kept the Irish playing catch-up for most of the match.

Even though the visitors boasted the majority of possession, it was the hosts that did more with ball in hand and made the most of their opportunities -- especially in the first half with two well-taken tries taking the score to 15-7 at half-time.

Ireland, on the end of a very long campaign, showed their commitment but struggled to penetrate their attacking prowess into points and at times were left wanting in defence at crucial tackle points -- particularly out wide.

The communication factor in the first half was also missing in the Irish backs leading to unnecessary pressure from the Wallabies who pounced on every error made.

Misguided passes also didn't help matters with skipper Brian O'Driscoll the main culprit when he uncharacteristically made a hash of two try-scoring opportunities in both halves.

However, it was in the second half that things certainly started to turn around for Ireland when veteran half-back Peter Stringer was replaced by Eoin Reddan who immediately injected more rhythm and structure into the visitors play.

A superb try by O'Driscoll in the 63rd minute against the run of play gave Ireland a shot at winning their first Test on Australia soil since 1979, but the luck of the Irish went the Wallabies' way, and -- not for the first time -- the men from the Emerald Isle will be left pondering what could have been.

Berrick Barnes got the ball rolling for Australia with barely six minutes up on the stadium clock after showing excellent support play following a Jonah Lomu-like run from winger Lote Tuqiri who tore down the right-hand touchline.

Tuqiri took a delayed pass from George Smith, beat one defender with pace, then used Irish full-back Robert Kearney as a speed bump before offloading to Barnes a metre out when he was finally brought to the ground.

Matt Giteau's conversion attempt shaved the post, but the Wallabies were nevertheless up and running with an early 5-0 lead.

It was the start of a rousing first half from Tuqiri in both attack and defence, yet it was Ireland who scored next through flanker Denis Leamy in the 15th minute following a line-out win and drive just five metres out from the Wallabies tryline.

Ronan O'Gara's successful conversion nudged Ireland ahead 7-5, but the Wallabies were quick to restore their lead following some fancy Lord of the Dance footwork from Giteau that would have left Michael Flatley proud.

The stepping Wallaby fly-half fooled two defenders before finding big lock James Horwill, who crashed over from close range for his first Test try.

Giteau slotted the simple conversion to leave the Wallabies up 12-7 after 21 minutes and then nailed a 40-metre penalty goal five minutes later to leave the home side comfortably placed at the interval.

Another Giteau penalty four minutes into the second half extended Australia's lead to 11 points, but it would be the last time Australia would come close to scoring.

O'Driscoll made up for a botched pass -- that would have put Kearney over untouched following a tremendous cross-kick intercept from the Irish centre -- with a try 15 minutes from full-time.

Winger Tommy Bowe counter-attacked a move sparked by Denis Leamy down the touchline following some deft skill from that man Kearney who was by far the pick of the Irish backs.

Bowe didn't have enough gas in his tank, however, but did well to find his skipper on his inside who stretched over to set up a tense final quarter of an hour.

O'Gara couldn't land the conversion, leaving the visitors trailing by six.

But the Wallabies hung on after being forced to tackle for more than a dozen phases to deny Ireland at the death.

Man of the match:  Rookie scrum-half Luke Burgess was sound if unspectacular in his eagerly awaited first Test, while debutant winger Peter Hynes looked genuinely dangerous whenever he had room to showcase his blistering pace.  Matt Giteau was his usual classy and livewire self -- as well as reliable as Australia's new first-choice goal-kicker -- even if his combinations with Burgess inside and Berrick Barnes outside him are still works in progress.  And Lote Tuqiri played with energy and confidence, particularly in the first half, while the Wallabies pack did the job in nullifying their physical Irish counterparts.  However it's not often that we give the nod to a player on the losing team, but Robert Kearney played his green heart out with an inspirational performance that was missing in the Ireland's World Cup campaign last year.  Kearney made absolute carnage of the Wallaby backs every time he got the ball and was once again safe under the high ball and on defence.

Moment of the match:  The Wallabies' two tries in the first half proved to be the clincher for the hosts.  But the man they call BOD turned the game on its head with his second half try that gave Ireland and all their supporters a glimmer of hope in causing an upset.

Villain of the match:  This is a hooligan's game played by gentlemen is it not?

The scorers:

For Australia:

Tries:  Barnes, Horwill
Cons:  Giteau
Pens:  Giteau 3

For Ireland:
Tries:  Leamy, O'Driscoll
Con:  O'Gara

Australia:  15 Cameron Shepherd, 14 Peter Hynes, 13 Stirling Mortlock (c), 12 Berrick Barnes, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Matt Giteau, 9 Luke Burgess, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 George Smith, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 James Horwill, 3 Matt Dunning, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Benn Robinson.
Replacements:  16 Adam Freier, 17 Al Baxter, 18 Dean Mumm, 19 Phil Waugh, 20 Sam Cordingley, 21 Ryan Cross, 22 Adam Ashley-Cooper.

Ireland:  15 Robert Kearney, 14 Shane Horgan, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (c), 12 Paddy Wallace, 11 Tommy Bowe, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Peter Stringer, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Shane Jennings, 6 Denis Leamy, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Rory Best, 1 Marcus Horan.
Replacements:  16 Jerry Flannery, 17 Tony Buckley, 18 Mick O'Driscoll, 19 Stephen Ferris, 20 Eoin Reddan, 21 Geordan Murphy, 22 Girvan Dempsey.

Referee:  Christophe Berdos (France)

Touch judges:  Chris White (England), Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
Television match official:  Johann Meuwesen (South Africa)
Assessor:  Andrew Cole (Australia)

All Blacks eclipse England

New Zealand disarmed their critics by stifling a bright start by England to record a controlled 37-20 victory at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday, running four tries past the disjointed tourists.

Knifes were sharpened across New Zealand following last week's lacklustre win over Ireland, but Graham Henry's troops managed to shake off the World Cup albatross with a display of unified mettle against the outclassed English.

But that's not to say the All Blacks are back to their best.

England, virtual orphans following the cruel dismissal of Brian Ashton, asked all the right questions in the opening exchanges, and two opportunist tries from debutant wing Topsy Ojo at the end of each half gave the final score a measure of respectability.

But belief fled from English hearts as soon as Conrad Smith crossed for the opening try of the game, and New Zealand wasted no time in applying the killer blows.

England now face an uncomfortable week ahead of the second Test, and questions of their temperament and leadership will abound.  So let's kick off proceedings right here.

What sense is there of sending a team to New Zealand under the tutelage of a part-time coach?

Why pull Charlie Hodgson off the field for one missed tackle?  Is he not a performer who feeds of the sort of confidence that only coaches can instil?

Why replace James Haskell just at the moment when he is finding his feet?

Why leave Mathew Tait on the bench when the game has broken up and the field is firm and dry?

Admittedly, Hodgson had a game to forget -- the Test-phobic fly-half was targeted by New Zealand and fell like a sack of spuds -- but it was obvious he had been sent in to the fray, not for the first time, without a coherent gameplan.

But none of this should distract from a fine -- albeit bitty -- response from the All Blacks following months of internal strife.

Their forwards -- line-out apart -- stood up to the stiff challenge England offered, and their backline simply ran rings around the opposition.

Mils Muliaina and Sitiveni Sivivatu followed Smith over for tries, and Dan Carter -- the chief architect of England's destruction -- added a fourth to finish with a personal haul of 22 points.

But England started with mean determination, chasing the kick-off hard and stripping the ball from All Blacks lock Ali Williams before launching a powerful drive for the line.

Richie McCaw came flying in from the side to concede the penalty but Olly Barkley, handed the kicking duties ahead of Hodgson, pushed his effort wide.

The All Blacks were targeting England's lightweight back three, with Mike Brown and David Strettle both taken out by big hits in the opening minutes.

But England were not rattled.  Hodgson and then Barkley pushed New Zealand back into their own half with astute clearances and when Greg Somerville was penalised for not rolling away Barkley slotted the kick to put England ahead.

England's forwards were enjoying great success in the loose, with Haskell and Luck Narraway combining to win another turnover.

Richie McCaw pounced to tie up Haskell at the back of a scrum and Carter tied the scores with his first penalty shot.

But England were forcing mistakes from the All Blacks.

Hooker Andrew Hore fumbled inside his own 22 and New Zealand needed some desperate last-ditch defence from Jerome Kaino to halt Strettle dart for the corner.

McCaw was stripped of possession in the tackle and then received a warning from referee Nigel Owens after New Zealand were penalised again for not rolling away.

Barkley was gifted another simple shot at goal to push England ahead -- but again it last only minutes.

Tom Palmer and Lee Mears failed to gather the restart cleanly and the All Blacks pounced, with Carter dabbing a neat grubber kick which Smith collected to score his seventh Test try.

Almost immediately, the swagger returned to New Zealand's game and England's hopes of matching the heroics of 1973 and 2002 suffered a hammer blow.

New Zealand scored 20 points in the space of 11 minutes to charge into a commanding lead just past the half hour.

The All Blacks signalled their intentions with razor-sharp attacks from Mils Muliaina and Smith before Carter converted a long-range penalty.

Sivivatu then shredded England's defence and supplied the offload for Carter to score next to the posts.

And to make matters worse, England then had Andy Sheridan sin-binned.  The prop was then sent to cool off for 10 minutes after referee Owens lost patience with England at the breakdown and Carter landed the penalty to open a 23-6 lead.

Barkley then saw a long-range effort of his own drop below the crossbar and England were on the back foot again as Carter looked to prise open their defence again.

But this time Ojo, who had endured a forgettable debut, intercepted the offload and sprinted 80 metres to score in the corner.

Barkley slotted the conversion to drag England back within 10 points at the interval but they still had a mountain to climb.

Within seven minutes of the restart New Zealand were out of sight.  First Ma'a Nonu, the explosive inside centre, swatted away Hodgson's weak tackle to send Muliaina over for the All Blacks' third try.

New Zealand were swarming onto any mistake and when Narraway failed to hold onto possession, they pounced with characteristic ruthlessness.

Carter and Nonu combined to feed Sivivatu who skipped past a stranded Strettle to score the fourth try as England began to lose shape and composure.

Hodgson was replaced after just 50 minutes with Jamie Noon introduced to try to steel up the midfield and Barkley switched to fly-half.

Barkley had his first kick charged down but received a let-off when replacement hooker Keven Mealamu knocked the ball on as he tried to scoop it up.

With half an hour remaining, Harlequins scrum-half Danny Care replaced Wigglesworth to make his Test debut and Joe Worsley took over from Haskell in the back row.

Carter thought he had broken clear for a fifth try but referee Nigel Owens called play back for a knock-on.

But England managed to keep New Zealand honest for the final quarter of the game and even finished with a flourish.  Care injected some spark into their attacking play and, despite having three kicks blocked, Barkley was adventurous with the ball in hand.

Tindall escaped onto a loose ball and sprinted clear but he too was called back when the touch-judge ruled the ball had brushed the line before it was scooped back into play.

The Gloucester centre was then sent to the sin-bin after he killed a dangerous move down the right, leaving England to finish the game with just 14 men.

But it was the visitors through Ojo, a frustrated passenger for most of the game, who struck the next blow.  He collecting a clever chip from Care to sprinted past Sione Lauaki and Sivivatu to score in the corner.

But it was too little too late, and New Zealand remain unbeaten at home since 2003.

Man of the match:  Topsy Ojo had a dream debut, Luke Narraway laid down a marker, and Tom Rees was almost a match for the peerless Richie McCaw.  For New Zealand, Conrad Smith and Ma'a Nonu formed a fine midfield partnership of brains and power.  Elsewhere, Jerome Kaino finally made good on his massive Test promise, Brad Thorn impressed in the tight, and Sitiveni Sivivatu came looking for work all over the park.  But the show was stolen by a near faultless display by Dan Carter -- 'tis no wonder AB bosses have gone to such lengths to accommodate their golden child's every whim.

Moment of the match:  Four well-worked tries from the All Blacks, but we'll opt for their response from the restart after England took a 6-3 lead.  It was a game-breaking siege founded on sheer unity of purpose.

Villian of the match:  Two yellow cards for England, but nothing too untoward from either side.  If anyone deserves this hideous gong it is the suits at the RFU for allowing England to travel to the world's toughest testing ground with no coach.  Confidence -- perhaps the one major element that England currently lack -- is not born from such slapdash decision-making.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Smith, Carter, Muliaina, Sivivatu
Cons:  Carter 4

Pens:  Carter 3

For England:
Tries:  Ojo 2
Cons:  Barkley 2
Pens:  Barkley 2

Yellow cards:  Sheridan (England) -- not rolling away, 32;  Tindall (England) -- killing the ball, 76.

The teams:

New Zealand:  15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Anthony Tuitavake, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Jerome Kaino, 7 Richie McCaw, 6 Rodney So'oialo, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Greg Somerville, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Neemia Tialata.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17, John Schwalger, 18 Anthony Boric, 19 Sione Lauaki, 20 Jimmy Cowan, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Leon MacDonald.

England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Topsy Ojo, 13 Mike Tindall, 12 Olly Barkley, 11 David Strettle, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Luke Narraway, 7 Tom Rees, 6 James Haskell, 5 Steve Borthwick (c), 4 Tom Palmer, 3 Matt Stevens, 2 Lee Mears, 1 Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements:  16 David Paice, 17 Tim Payne, 18 Ben Kay, 19 Joe Worsley, 20 Danny Care, 21 Jamie Noon, 22 Mathew Tait.

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Touch judges:  Stuart Dickinson (Australia), Paul Marks (Australia)
Television match official:  George Ayoub (Australia)
Assessor:  Stuart Beissel (New Zealand)

Australia A savage Japan

Australia A recorded an emphatic 42-21 win over Japan in Fukuoka on Sunday to join New Zealand Maori and Fiji as winners in the opening round of this year's IRB Pacific Nations Cup.

The Australians ran in six tries, including a brace to Brumbies lock Peter Kimlin, to overwhelm a gallant Japanese outfit and claim a bonus point in front of 7,493 fans.

Japan found themselves 25-3 down at the break, despite taking the lead courtesy of a drop goal by James Arlidge in the sixth minute.

Tries from captain Morgan Turinui, Mark Gerrard, Peter Kimlin and Van Humphries, all converted by Gerrard, gave the visitors a commanding lead at the break.

The second half began in the same fashion as the first, with Arlidge kicking a penalty for Japan before Australia A extended their lead through Sam Norton-Knight's try.

After Arlidge had added another penalty, Australia then lost two players to the sin bin -- Guy Shepherdson and Julian Salvi -- and Japan made the most of their extra numbers.

Tomoaki Taniguchi made full use of his 125kg to power over for two tries, the second coming following a great offload from Hare Makiri.

But any hopes Japan had of pulling off a remarkable victory were dashed when Kimlin crossed for his second try in the 70th minute.

"In one-on-one situations, we let the opposition come through our defence," said Japan captain Takuro Miuchi.

"We need to rectify our set plays and give more ball to our backs."

The scorers:

For Japan:
Tries:  Taniguchi 2
Cons:  Arlidge
Pens:  Arlidge 3

For Australia A:
Tries:  Kimlin 2, Humphries, Turinui, Gerrard, Norton-Knight
Cons:  Gerrard 6

The teams:

Japan:  15 Shaun Webb, 14 Kosuke Endo, 13 Yuta Imarua, 12 Ryan Nicholas, 11 Hirotoki Onozawa, 10 James Arlidge, 9 Fumiaki Tanaka, 8 Takuro Miuchi, 7 Hare Makiri, 6 Ryu Koliniaisi Holani, 5 Toshizuma Kitagawa, 4 Hitoshi Ono, 3 Tomokazu Soma, 2 Yusuke Aoki, 1 Tatsukichi Nishiura.
Replacements:  16 Taku Inokuchi, 17 Yuta Inose, 18 Tomoaki Taniguchi, 19 Takashi Kikutani, 20 Tomoki Yoshida, 21 Bryce Robins, 22 Christian Loamanu

Australia A:  15 Mark Gerrard, 14 Matt Carraro, 13 Morgan Turinui (c), 12 Timana Tahu, 11 Francis Fainifo, 10 Ben Lucas, 9 Josh Holmes, 8 Julian Salvi, 7 Matt Hodgson, 6 Mitch Chapman, 5 Peter Kimlin, 4 Van Humphries, 3 Guy Shepherdson, 2 Sean Hardman, 1 Pek Cowan.
Replacements:  16 Tai McIsaac, 17 Salesi Ma'afu, 18 Al Campbell, 19 Poutasi Luafutu, 20 Patrick Phibbs, 21 Tyrone Smith, 22 Sam Norton-Knight.

Referee:  Willie Roos (South Africa)

New Zealand Maori out-slug Tonga

New Zealand Maori got their Pacific Nations Cup campaign off to a winning start with a 20-9 win over Tonga at Albany Stadium on Saturday.

In a game characterised by heavy tackles and penalty kicks the New Zealanders managed to get the better of their visitors as both teams threw all the weight they possessed at each other.

Fly-half Callum Bruce missed two easy penalty kicks in the first 15 minutes, keeping the Tongans in the game.  Bruce did however open the scores after 25 minutes.

The lead wasn't to last however, as Togan first fly-half Fangatapu Apikotoa drew the scores level with a penalty of his own.

The bash and crash play continued until half-time when the teams headed for the changing rooms all square.

It took all of ten minutes of the second half for the Maori to score the first try of their campaign when inside centre Tamati Ellison dotted down with Bruce adding the extra two.

Tongan full-back Sione Mone Tu'ipolotu was yellow-cared in the process of the try for some blatant illegal play right under the referee's nose.

Apikotoa was quick to reply though on the other side of the field, steering another penalty through the uprights to make the score 10-6.

Bruce then took the opportunity to again stretch the lead after he kicked another three-pointer in the 54th minute.

Some ridiculous illegal play in a ruck right inside the Maori 22 then allowed Apikotoa to add another three valuable points through a penalty and take the score to 13-9.

Another yellow card was handed to Tongan centre Epi Taione after he was caught tackling Thomas Waldrom around the head -- an act for which he was subsequently cited.

The try of the match was then scored in the 72nd minute by halfback Piri Weepu after he received an offload from wing Hosea Gear who had busted tackles all the way down the touchline.

Bruce added the two extra points to shut the game down and hand the locals a 20-9 win.

The Scorers:

For NZ Maori:
Tries:  Ellison, Weepu
Cons:  Bruce 2
Pens:  Bruce 2

For Tonga:
Pens:  Apikotoa 3

Fijians off to a flyer

Fiji beat Samoa 34-17 in the opening match of the Pacific Nations Cup in Lautoka on Saturday, with debutant wing Timoci Nagusa scoring two tries.

Fiji ran in five tries in all, with the others going to veteran scrum-half Mosese Rauluni and to two cousins, full-back Taniela Rawaqa and lock Ifereimi Rawaqa.  Taniela Rawaqa added a penalty and three conversions.

Fiji led 12-0 at half-time, but Samoa rallied in the second half with tries for Henry Fa'afili, David Lemi and Semo Sititi keeping them in the game until late on.

The scorers:

For Fiji:
Tries:  Nagusa 2, Taniela Rawaqa, Irefreimi Rawaqa, Rauluni
Cons:  Taniela Rawaqa 3
Pen:  Taniela Rawaqa

For Samoa:
Tries:  Fa'afili, Lemi, Sititi
Con:  Warren

Fiji:  15 Taniela Rawaqa, 14 Timoci Nagusa, 13 Sireli Naqelevuki, 12 Kameli Ratuvou, 11 Vilimoni Delasau, 10 Waisea Luveniyali, 9 Mosese Rauluni, 8 Netani Talei, 7 Aca Ratuva, 6 Semisi Naevo, 5 Kele Leawere, 4 Ifereimi Rawaqa, 3 Jone Railomo, 2 Sunia Koto, 1 Graham Dewes.
Replacements:  16 Vereniki Sauturaga, 17 Viliame Seuseu, 18 Wame Lewaravu, 19 Akapusi Qera, 20 Aporosa Vata, 21 Jonetani Ralulu, 22 Marika Vakacegu.

Samoa:  15 Esera Lauina, 14 David Lemi, 13 Paletuatoa Toelupe, 12 Samasoni Moala, 11 Henry Faafili, 10 Roger Warren, 9 Notise Tauafao, 8 George Stowers, 7 Bell Sasulu, 6 Raymond Stowers, 5 Chad Slade, 4 Filipo Levi, 3 Census Johnston, 2 Mahonri Schwalger, 1 Evile Telea.
Replacements:  16 Mullufi Salanoa, 17 Heroshi Tea, 18 Semo Sititi, 19 Jonathan Faamatuainu, 20 Eliota Fuimaono Sapolu, 21 Gasolo Salima, 22 Neli Sasulu.

Referee:  Keith Brown (NZRU)

Pumas squeeze past Scotland

Argentina kept their lengthy unbeaten run against Scotland intact with a 21-15 win in Rosario on Saturday.

Fly-half Federico Todeschini kicked the winning points with a penalty five minutes from the end in a typically robust and tight encounter in Argentina's north, and Gonzalo Tiesi's late try made the game safe for the hosts.

Chris Paterson, starting at full-back, scored all Scotland's points at the Gigante de Arroyito stadium in Rosario to go four clear of Gavin Hastings as his country's all-time record holder.

By playing, he also equalled Scott Murray's record of 87 caps -- but his efforts were not enough to subdue a Pumas side playing their first international since finishing third at the World Cup.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Tries:  Tejada, Tiesi
Con:  Todeschini
Pens:  Todeschini 3

For Scotland:
Pens:  Paterson 5

Argentina:  15 Bernardo Stortoni, 14 José María Núñez Piossek, 13 Gonzalo Tiesi, 12 Felipe Contepomi (c), 11 Tomás De Vedia, 10 Federico Todeschini, 9 Nicolás Vergallo, 8 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 7 Juan Fernández Lobbe, 6 Martín Durand, 5 Esteban Lozada, 4 Ignacio Fernández Lobbe, 3 Santiago González Bonorino, 2 Álvaro Tejeda, 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements:  16 Pablo Gambarini, 17 Juan Gómez, 18 James Stuart, 19 Alejandro Campos, 20 Alfredo Lalanne, 21 Santiago Fernández, 22 Hernán Senillosa.

Scotland:  15 Chris Paterson, 14 Simon Danielli, 13 Ben Cairns, 12 Graeme Morrison, 11 Thom Evans, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Mike Blair (c),

8 Allister Hogg, 7 Johnnie Beattie, 6 Alasdair Strokosch, 5 Scott MacLeod, 4 Matt Mustchin, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements:  16 Dougie Hall, 17 Allister Dickinson, 18 Alastair Kellock, 19 Kelly Brown, 20 Rory Lawson, 21 Phil Godman, 22 Simon Webster.

Referee:  Alan Lewis (Ireland)
Touch judges:  Alain Rolland (Ireland), Cobus Wessels (South Africa)
TMO:  Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)