Māori All Blacks' first half blitz clinches victory over Ireland

The Māori All Blacks proved too strong for Ireland as they clinched a 32-17 victory in an entertaining international in Hamilton on Wednesday.

The home side were full value for their win as they made an excellent start to the match and raced into a 32-10 lead at half-time.

Ireland came back strongly after the interval but, although they scored the only points in the second half, the damage was done during the opening period and the Māori All Blacks did enough to clinch their victory.

In the end, they outscored Andy Farrell’s men by four tries to two with Zarn Sullivan, Shaun Stevenson, Brad Weber and Cullen Grace crossing the whitewash, while Josh Ioane finished with a 12-point haul courtesy of three conversions and two penalties.

For Ireland, Bundee Aki and Gavin Coombes scored tries while Ciaran Frawley succeeded with two conversions and a penalty.

The opening exchanges were cagey, with Frawley and Ioane trading penalties which meant the sides were deadlocked at 3-3 after eight minutes.  Ten minutes later, the home side were rewarded with the opening try ― Sullivan rounding off after Ioane and Billy Harmon laid the groundwork with strong carries in the build-up.

It did not take long for the visitors to respond and they did it in style in the 20th minute when Coombes gathered the ball from Nick Timoney off the back of a maul just outside the Māori All Blacks’ 22 and set off towards the try-line.  He did well to draw in a couple of defenders before offloading to Aki, who burst through a gap in the home side’s defence before crossing under the posts.

Frawley added the extras but that was as good as it got for Ireland in the opening period as the rest of the half was dominated by the home side.  Ioane added a penalty in the 27th minute before he turned provider by launching a stunning attack from inside his own half before offloading to Stevenson, who outsprinted the cover defence on his way over the try-line.

That score seemed to boost the Māori’s confidence as they continued to attack at every opportunity.  In the 35th minute, they found themselves on the attack deep inside Ireland’s half with Rameka Poihipi stopped just short of the try-line after a strong carry.  From the ensuing ruck, Weber gathered before diving over for a deserved try.

And just before the interval, the hosts launched a counter attack from inside their 22 with Stevenson prominent.  He set off on a mazy run before throwing a poor pass to Harmon, who booted the ball ahead deep inside Ireland’s half before regathering.  The flanker then got a pass out to Grace, who crashed over the whitewash which meant the Māori had their tails up with a comfortable lead at the break.

Ireland were more competitive in the second half and in the 48th minute they thought they had narrowed the gap when Timoney crossed the Māori All Blacks’ try-line but television replays revealed that Isaia Walker-Leawere did well to hold him up and the score was ruled out.

Improvement from Ireland in second half

Despite that setback, the visitors continued to attack but they were kept at bay by a solid defensive effort from the home side, who also had some good moments with ball in hand but poor finishing meant they could not add to their points tally.

Ireland were finally rewarded in the 67th minute when, after an extensive period camped inside the Māori’s 22, they took a tap penalty with Niall Scannell leading the way before Coombes crashed over from close quarters.

The rest of the match was an even affair as both sides looked to finish the match on a high but it wasn’t to be as neither would score further points.

Gregor Townsend happy with ‘A’ team victory over Chile

Gregor Townsend was pleased with Scotland A’s dominant 45-5 victory over Chile in Santiago, claiming “a lot of positives” were taken from the game.

After a strong first half which saw Townsend’s men lead by 28-0, the Chileans showed more fight to score a try of their own.

“Positives”

Townsend commended Chile for their efforts whilst saying he was happy overall with what came of the fairly unique clash.

“We got a really tough workout,” said the head coach.  “We had to fight in that second half to keep Chile out and they did eventually score a try.

“We’ve got some areas of our game we know we’ll have to work on more next week but there were a lot of positives.  The way we played in the first half, the way some young players integrated into the team, and the way we took our opportunities was great to see.  Our strong finish was also pleasing.

“Chile are a very good rugby team.  They are physical and committed with some very good rugby players.  They grew as the game went on so that’s a sign of a team that’s improving and learning what is working from them on the field.”

Wing Damien Hoyland, who returned to the squad for the first time in several years, showed his worth by scoring a hat-trick on the day.

“I thought he played really well,” Townsend said of the hat-trick hero.  “He worked hard.  He got on the ball a few times and he finished really well.  It was a great finish to reach out and score his third try.”

Scotland turns their attention to their three-match Test Series against Argentina starting on July 2.

“It’s very important that we’ve had a game and a few training sessions since we arrived here and now we’ve got a week’s build-up to play our first Test against Argentina,” said Townsend.

“Not everyone who played today will play against Argentina but I’m so pleased for our young players to get that opportunity to come on a Scotland tour and train and play for their country and go back next season with their clubs with things they want to build on or improve on.”

Barbarians: 14-man invitational side demolish disappointing England

The Barbarians picked up an impressive 52-21 victory over England in their clash at Twickenham, despite having 14 men for a large chunk of the game after Will Skelton was red carded.

A penalty try was followed up by crossings from Charles Ollivon, Damian Penaud (2), Baptiste Couilloud, Louis Carbonel, Max Spring and Antoine Hastoy, while Hastoy added two conversions and former England second-row George Kruis knocked over three.

For England this loss will hurt as many players involved did little to improve their chances of making it into Eddie Jones’ squad for the tour to Australia.

The hosts’ only tries came from Joe Cokanasiga, Jonny May and Marcus Smith, with Smith having an off-day from the tee as he landed just two penalties.

Jones had picked the usual mix of youth and experience for the annual uncapped international, but even allowing for the experimental line-up it was a disappointing outing ahead of next month’s three-Test series against Australia.

As a mark of respect for former Wales international Phil Bennett, who died last Sunday, the Barbarians players formed the number 10 before a minute’s applause was heard for a player who represented the invitational club 20 times.

England wings Cokanasiga and May were looking to make big impressions to secure their places to Australia following injury-enforced absences and they experienced mixed fortunes.

Cokanasiga was prominent amid a promising start by the hosts and he brought Twickenham to its feet with a jet-fuelled break out of the 22 only for the defensive cover to collar the supporting Harry Randall.

Smith drew first blood with a penalty but the Barbarians surged ahead through an 18th-minute penalty try awarded against May for a deliberate knock-on as they sought to exploit an overlap on the right.

England, wearing their red kit, launched a purposeful attack but a loose pass by Randall was picked off by Ollivon who was able to complete the foot race to the whitewash.

At 14-3 down inside the first half-hour, it was looking bleak for Jones’ men with a missed penalty by Smith failing to lift spirits and soon after tighthead prop Will Collier was brought off as a tactical replacement.

The game appeared to turn on its head during a three-minute spell during which Skelton was sent off, Smith kicked a penalty and Cokanasiga scored a try created by Smith and Tommy Freeman, but another twist quickly followed.

Looking to break out of the 22, Mark Atkinson’s pass intended for Cokanasiga instead fell to Penaud and the French wing cantered in for a simple finish.

The Barbarians continued to shrug off the absence of Skelton when a defensive lapse allowed Yoan Tanga to surge through the middle and Couilloud arrived to complete the move.

England sprung into life, with Danny Care’s arrival making a difference as Smith began to weave his magic to create a try scored by May, but Penaud added a second with an acrobatic finish that was examined in great detail by the TMO.

Big carries by Tom Curry and May created the space for Smith to dart over but despite showing encouraging flashes in attack, England just could not pull clear.

Nolann Le Garrec chipped over the defence for Carbonel to touch down but there was better to come from the Barbarians as Spring touched down after a sweeping move before Hastoy completed the rout.