Scotland weather Chile physicality to claim eight-try victory in Santiago

Scotland picked up their third straight triumph on their Americas tour after they overcame a physical Chile side 52-11 in Santiago on Saturday.

Josh Bayliss, Kyle Rowe (2), Jamie Dobie (2), Matthew Currie, Dylan Richardson and Kyle Steyn all crossed the whitewash while Ben Healy and Adam Hastings added extras.

A combative Chile outfit managed to cross just once, through replacement Diego Escobar, but they defended superbly throughout, especially at the ruck to frustrate Scotland.

Forwards Ewan Johnson, Nathan McBeth and Will Hurd were all handed their first Scotland starts, while leadership trio Jamie Ritchie, Sione Tuipulotu and Steyn ― who shifted from his usual position on the wing to play at centre ― were the only players to start the game who had more than 10 caps to their name.

The tourists struggled in the early stages and were behind at the end of the first quarter after Santiago Videla’s penalty got the passionate Chileans up and running in the 11th minute.

Scotland gradually began to feel their way into the match, however, and they claimed the lead in the 22nd minute when back-rower Bayliss showed good feet to push his way over from close range, with Healy adding the extras.

The hosts reduced the deficit to one point shortly afterwards with a penalty from Tomas Salas but the Scots started to exert their authority in the closing stages of the half.

Just before the half-hour, Rowe waltzed in off the left to score his first Scotland try, but the visitors could consider themselves fortunate that the officials did not deem Tuipulotu’s pass in the build-up to have gone forward. Healy converted.

Dobie ― playing on the wing instead of his usual scrum-half berth ― then finished off the Scots’ third try of the evening in the 35th minute following an exquisite pass out to the right from Healy, who was on point once more from the tee.

Hooker Richardson almost added another in the 39th minute but was held up on the line.

Dobie enjoyed another easy finish five minutes after the break when, following a lineout on the left, the Scots worked the ball clinically through hands to the right, with Rowe laying it on a plate for his Glasgow colleague to bound over. Healy was off target with his conversion from wide on the right.

Chile got one back in the 50th minute when replacement hooker Escobar bulldozed his way through Gus Warr and Arron Reed off the back of a maul, although Salas’ conversion attempt drifted just wide.

Edinburgh back Currie raced away for his first Scotland try in the 58th minute, with fellow substitute Hastings converting.

Rowe then scurried over for his second of the evening in the 65th minute after another slick Scottish move from left to right while Escobar was in the sin-bin following some cynical play.

Richardson pushed over in the 73rd minute before Steyn darted clear to seal an ultimately comfortable eight-try victory in virtually the last action of the match.

The teams

Chile:  15 Diego Warnken, 14 Cristobal Game, 13 Domingo Saavedra, 12 Santiago Videla, 11 Matias Garafulic, 10 Tomas Salas, 9 Lucas Berti, 8 Alfonso Escobar Alvarez, 7 Raimundo Martinez, 6 Martin Sigren, 5 Javier Eissmann, 4 Clemente Saavedra, 3 Matias Dittus, 2 Augusto Bohme, 1 Javier Carrasco Albornoz
Replacements:  16 Diego Escobar, 17 Salvador Lues, 18 Inaki Gurruchaga, 19 Santiago Pedrero Poduje, 20 Joaquin Milesi, 21 Marcelo Torrealba, 22 Benjamin Videla, 23 José Larenas

Scotland:  15 Kyle Rowe, 14 Jamie Dobie, 13 Kyle Steyn, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Arron Reed, 10 Ben Healy, 9 Gus Warr, 8 Josh Bayliss, 7 James Ritchie, 6 Gregor Brown, 5 Ewan Johnson, 4 Alexander Craig, 3 Will Hurd, 2 Dylan Richardson, 1 Nathan McBeth
Replacements:  16 Patrick Harrison, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 Javan Sebastian, 19 Max Williamson, 20 Rory Darge, 21 Adam Hastings, 22 Stafford McDowall, 23 Matthew Currie

Referee:  Mathieu Raynal (FFR)
Assistant Referees:  Andrew Brace (IRFU), Gonzalo De Achaval (UAR)
TMO:  Marius van der Westhuizen (SARU)

Los Pumas power past neighbours Chile in all-South American Test

Argentina claimed an impressive 59-5 bonus-point win over Chile in the first-ever all-South American Test at a Rugby World Cup on Saturday.

It was a day to remember for fly-half Nicolas Sanchez who became the second centurion for Argentina, following in the footsteps of Agustin Creevy.  Fittingly it was the veteran playmaker who opened the scoring with a ninth-minute try.

Los Pumas looked to compound the scoreboard through a 12th-minute penalty before the floodgates opened with Juan Martin Gonzalez crossing after a quarter of an hour with Sanchez making no mistake from the tee.  The pivot would be accurate again when converting a Creevy try scored seven minutes later.

Chile did their best to come back into the game but trailed 24-0 at half-time in this one.  Their fortunes remained the same when Martin Bogado scored for Argentina five minutes into the second period with the extras added.

The Chileans thought they had scored against their neighbours minutes later but it was ruled out for a forward pass.  Still, the side pushed for a try but their hopes were dashed when Rodrigo Isgro crossed for a converted try in the 64th minute.

Gonzalez was at the double minutes late with yet another try as Sanchez became the country's all-time leading Rugby World Cup points-scorer with another conversion.

Chile's try would finally come after the backline players joined a maul to eventually rumble over for a five-pointer through Tomas Dussaillant which went unconverted.  That would not be the final say as Argentine star Ignacio Ruiz scored a late try with Santiago Carreras kicking the conversion.

Carreras was involved again only minutes later as he scored right at the death.  The fly-half then stood up to nail the conversion from the touchline to cap off a historic match.

The teams

Argentina:  15 Martín Bogado, 14 Rodrigo Isgro, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Jeronimo de la Fuente (c), 11 Juan Imhoff, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Tomas Cubelli, 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Eduardo Bello, 2 Agustín Creevy, 1 Joel Sclavi
Replacements:  16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Francisco Gómez Kodela, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Joaquín Oviedo, 21 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22 Santiago Carreras, 23 Juan Cruz Mallia

Chile:  15 Inaki Ayarza, 14 Santiago Videla, 13 Domingo Saavedra, 12 Matias Garafulic, 11 José Ignacio Larenas, 10 Rodrigo Fernandez, 9 Marcelo Torrealba, 8 Raimundo Martínez, 7 Clemente Saavedra, 6 Martín Sigren (c), 5 Javier Eissmann, 4 Santiago Pedrero, 3 Matias Dittus, 2 Augusto Bohme, 1 Javier Carrasco
Replacements:  16 Tomas Dussaillant, 17 Salvador Lues, 18 Esteban Inostroza, 19 Augusto Sarmiento, 20 Alfonso Escobar, 21 Ignacio Silva, 22 Nicolas Herreros, 23 Francisco Urroz

Referee:  Paul Williams (NZR)
Assistant Referees:  Angus Gardner (RA), James Doleman (NZR)
TMO:  Ben Whitehouse (WRU)

Five-try Henry Arundell fires England to handsome victory over Chile

England made it three wins out of three at the Rugby World Cup as five tries from Henry Arundell helped them to a 71-0 victory at Stade Pierre-Mauroy.

The success leaves Steve Borthwick's outfit on 14 points in Pool D, with one game remaining against Samoa on October 7 as they look to wrap up top spot.

After a scoreless first 20 minutes, the Red Rose clicked into gear with five tries chalked up before the interval and six scores following in the second period.

The procession ended with Arundell grabbing five scores while Theo Dan (2), Bevan Rodd, Marcus Smith (2) and Jack Willis also crossed the whitewash.

It was also a welcome return to Test rugby for captain Owen Farrell following his suspension as he enjoyed good minutes at fly-half and later inside centre.

England had kicked more than other team across the opening two rounds of the tournament but their intent to run against the group's weakest opponents was evident from the start.

Smith settled quickly through some early touches but his play lacked accuracy and once the initial assault subsided, Chile showed their flair for counter attack that on one occasion swept them into the 22.

Max Malins' high error count was proving costly but England built pressure once more and in the 21st minute they were over when Farrell's long pass gave Arundell an easy run in.

Dan finished a line-out drive and then supplied Arundell with the easiest of tries after Danny Care's quickly taken free-kick caught Chile unaware.

After the over-exuberance displayed in the opening quarter, England were showing greater accuracy as the ball was swept left to right, aided by quick ruck speed and a desire to make things happen.

Smith launched an attack that ended in a try for Rodd and then the Harlequins fly-half claimed a solo touchdown by collecting his own grubber and outrunning Chile's defence.

Chile were unable to secure any kind of foothold in the game with their scrum especially vulnerable and early in the second half they leaked a second line-out maul try, with Dan touching down.

Arundell completed his hat-trick after Elliot Daly's smart kick bounced kindly for him and Smith's comfort at full-back was clear when he caught a tricky kick with aplomb.

A Rugby World Cup debut to remember 😍

Congratulations to @EnglandRugby's Henry Arundell on being the @Mastercard #POTM 👏#RWC2023 | #ENGvCHI | #Priceless pic.twitter.com/YYNRllF4US

― Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) September 23, 2023

Having claimed three easy finishes, Arundell showed his class for his fourth which he engineered with a run down the right touchline and chip ahead.

A moment of magic from Smith teed up the Racing 92 wing's fifth and when Smith broke from deep from inside his own half Chile must have been sick of the sight of him.

The move ended with Smith crossing and England touched down for the final time through Willis.

The teams

England:  15 Marcus Smith, 14 Henry Arundell, 13 Elliot Daly, 12 Ollie Lawrence, 11 Max Malins, 10 Owen Farrell (c), 9 Danny Care, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Jack Willis, 6 Lewis Ludlam, 5 George Martin, 4 David Ribbans, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Theo Dan, 1 Bevan Rodd
Replacements:  16 Jack Walker, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Will Stuart, 19 Ollie Chessum, 20 Ben Earl, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 George Ford, 23 Joe Marchant

Chile:  15 Francisco Urroz, 14 Cristobal Game, 13 Domingo Saavedra, 12 Matias Garafulic, 11 Franco Velarde, 10 Rodrigo Fernandez, 9 Benjamin Videla, 8 Alfonso Escobar, 7 Ignacio Silva, 6 Martín Sigren (c), 5 Javier Eissmann, 4 Clemente Saavedra, 3 Matias Dittus, 2 Augusto Bohme, 1 Salvador Lues
Replacements:  16 Tomas Dussaillant, 17 Vittorio Lastra, 18 Inaki Gurruchaga, 19 Pablo Huete, 20 Thomas Orchard, 21 Raimundo Martínez, 22 Lukas Carvallo, 23 Inaki Ayarza

Referee:  Jaco Peyper (SARU)
Assistant Referees:  Pierre Brousset (FFR), Andrea Piardi (FIR)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (SARU)

Strong second half hands Samoa a bonus point win over Chile

Samoa flexed their muscles in the second half to power to a 43-10 win over Chile in their Rugby World Cup clash in Bordeaux on Saturday.

Tries late in the first half and several in the second were enough to keep a brave Chile side at bay despite their best efforts.

Samoan fly-half Christian Leali'ifano opened the scoring with a penalty in the third minute before Chile responded with the first try of the game as the robust Matias Dittus crashed over in the fifth minute, with Santiago Videla kicking the conversion.

Leali'ifano would add two further penalties in the ninth and 14th minute before a lengthy lull in the scoring as both sides jostled for position, with Chile pushing hard to get back on the scoreboard whilst Ulupano Seuteni was in the sin bin for a dangerous tackle.  They managed a penalty through Matias Garafulic in the 29th minute, but this was cancelled out by the Samoan pivot, who kicked a penalty of his own in the 36th minute.

Samoa finally crossed the whitewash for the first time on the stroke of halftime through a well-worked Duncan Paia'aua converted try to take the lead into the break.

🇼🇸🇨🇱 A late surge sees Samoa take the lead into the break. #RWC2023 #SAMvCHI pic.twitter.com/q51SK3VZ0A

― Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) September 16, 2023

Everything began to go the way of the Pacific side, who flew out of the blocks with a brilliant try from Jonathan Taumateine only two minutes after halftime.  This time, the conversion was missed.

It was not long until the next try for Samoa which came in the 47th minute through Fritz Lee, before Sama Malolo scored one of his own in the 52nd.  Leali'ifano missed the first of the two conversions.

The sides traded yellow cards with replacements Ereatara Enari (Samoa) and Alfonso Alvarez (Chile), which slowed down the scoring as fatigue set in.  Chile would have another player sin-binned for repeated infringements as Esteban Inostroza spent the final 10 minutes on the sideline.

It was a brave effort from Chile, but ultimately, the quality of Samoa shone through in their victory as Malolo crossed over for a try in the final minute, which Lima Sopoaga converted.

Teams

Samoa:  15 Duncan Paia'aua, 14 Danny Toala, 13 Ulupano Seuteni, 12 Tumua Manu, 11 Nigel Ah-Wong, 10 Christian Leali'ifano, 9 Jonathan Taumateine, 8 Steven Luatua, 7 Fritz Lee, 6 Taleni Seu, 5 Theo McFarland, 4 Chris Vui, 3 Michael Alaalatoa (c), 2 Seilala Lam, 1 James Lay
Replacements:  16 Sama Malolo, 17 Jordan Lay, 18 Paul Alo-Emile, 19 Sam Slade, 20 Sa Jordan Taufua, 21 Ereatara Enari, 22 Lima Sopoaga, 23 Ed Fidow

Chile:  15 Inaki Ayarza, 14 Santiago Videla, 13 Domingo Saavedra, 12 Matias Garafulic, 11 José Ignacio Larenas, 10 Rodrigo Fernandez, 9 Marcelo Torrealba, 8 Raimundo Martínez, 7 Clemente Saavedra, 6 Martín Sigren (c), 5 Santiago Pedrero, 4 Pablo Huete, 3 Matias Dittus, 2 Tomas Dussaillant, 1 Javier Carrasco
Replacements:  16 Diego Escobar, 17 Salvador Lues, 18 Esteban Inostroza, 19 Javier Eissmann, 20 Alfonso Escobar, 21 Ignacio Silva, 22 Benjamin Videla, 23 Pablo Casas

Venue:  Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux

Referee:  Paul Williams (NZR)
Assistant Referees:  Angus Gardner, James Doleman (NZR)
TMO:  Brett Cronan (RA)

Bonus-point Japan down historic Chile in exciting Rugby World Cup clash

Japan powered to a 42-12 win over Chile in an electric Rugby World Cup Pool D clash in Toulouse on Sunday.

The game was filled with running from start to finish with the sharp-shooting boot of fly-half Rikiya Matsuda and six tries enough to secure the Brave Blossoms their first victory of this year’s tournament.

It was a dream start for Chile in their first World Cup game as Rodrigo Fernandez crossed early on for their maiden try which Santiago Videla converted.

🇨🇱 CHILE SCORE THEIR FIRST #RWC2023 TRY!! #JPNvCHI pic.twitter.com/sRAXn1TcJO

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) September 10, 2023

Japan did not sit around as they responded in the eighth minute through Amato Fakatava, who crashed over for a converted try.

A back-and-forth period loaded with running and a yellow card for Chilean prop Matias Dittus did not see any change in the scoreline until Jone Naikabula crossed for a try on the half-hour mark that Matsuda had no problems converting.

Japan had the final say of the first half to widen the deficit as Fakatava powered over to complete his brace which was converted from the touchline.

The second period began in the same fashion as the first with an early Chile try as Alfonso Escobar scored in the 48th minute with the conversion missed.  Typical of the clash, Japan responded quickly through veteran Michael Leitch who scored under the posts on 53 minutes.  Matsuda made no mistake from the tee again.

The scoreline held for a decent period as Chile worked hard to try to get within striking distance but it was not to be as Ryoto Nakamura crossed for a converted try in the 71st minute which effectively secured the result.

Japan had the final say of the game as Nakamura secured his brace right at the end of play with Matsuda making no mistake from the tee.

🇯🇵🇨🇱 Japan comes out on top in an all-action clash against a brave Chile side. #JPNvCHI #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/JdWuVTcS42

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) September 10, 2023

The teams

Japan:  15 Semisi Masirewa, 14 Kotaro Matsushima, 13 Dylan Riley, 12 Ryoto Nakamura, 11 Jone Naikabula, 10 Rikiya Matsuda, 9 Yutaka Nagare, 8 Kazuki Himeno (c), 7 Kanji Shimokawa, 6 Michael Leitch, 5 Amato Fakatava, 4 Jack Cornelsen, 3 Jiwon Gu, 2 Atsushi Sakate, 1 Keita Inagaki
Replacements:  16 Shota Horie, 17 Craig Millar, 18 Asaeli Ai Valu, 19 Warner Dearns, 20 Shota Fukui, 21 Naoto Saito, 22 Tomoki Osada, 23 Lomano Lemeki

Chile:  15 Inaki Ayarza, 14 Santiago Videla, 13 Domingo Saavedra, 12 Matias Garafulic, 11 Franco Velarde, 10 Rodrigo Fernandez, 9 Marcelo Torrealba, 8 Alfonso Escobar, 7 Raimundo Martínez, 6 Martín Sigren (c), 5 Javier Eissmann, 4 Clemente Saavedra, 3 Matias Dittus, 2 Diego Escobar, 1 Javier Carrasco
Replacements:  16 Augusto Bohme, 17 Salvador Lues, 18 Inaki Gurruchaga, 19 Pablo Huete, 20 Santiago Pedrero, 21 Ignacio Silva, 22 Lukas Carvallo, 23 José Ignacio Larenas

Referee:  Nic Berry (RA)
Assistant Referees:  Karl Dickson (RFU), Andrea Piardi (FIR)
TMO:  Tom Foley (RFU)

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.”

Uruguay in big win over Chile

RWC qualifier in Montevideo

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

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

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

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

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

Scorers:

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

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

Teams:

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

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

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

Fiji 41 Chile 16

Fiji completed their four-match tour of South America, which forms part of the pre-World Cup preparations, with a comfortable 41-16 win at the Prince of Wales Country Club in Santiago.

The most pleasing aspect of the Fijian performance against Chile was not the win, but the four brilliant tries scored by their flying winger Rupeni Caucaunibuca, who used his blistering pace to leave the flat-footed Chilean defenders stranded.

Caucaunibuca has now scored nine tries in three matches since recovering from an injury that has plagued him since the Super 12.  But four of those tries, against Salta, will not count as official first-class tries, with both sides using more that the stipulated seven replacements and the game thus cannot be counted as a first-class fixture.

However, Caucaunibuca still has an impressive record, with five tries in his two official Tests for Fiji -- having also scored against the Pumas.  He has also become the first Fijian to score four tries in a Test since Niumaia Korovata achieved that feat in 1990.

The four tries Caucaunibuca scored certainly went a long way towards killing off the resistance of Chile.

The speedy Caucau opened his try-scoring account in the second minute, but Chile bounced back with a penalty from Cristián González six minutes later.  The score stayed at 5-3 for 10 minutes, before a penalty try and two quick tries by Caucaunibuca, combined with a conversion from fly-half Nicky Little, made it 22-3.

González kicked one more penalty before the break to make it 22-6.

After the break the Fijians broke further clear with tries by Caucaunibuca (his fourth), Ratu Rabeivi and Sekowe Leawere.  Veteran Sevens wizard Waisale Serevi, who came on as replacement, converted two of the tries.

But Chile got some consolation with a late try from centre Sebastian Pizarro.  González added the conversion and a penalty for some respectability to their score.

The Teams:

Fiji:  1 Richard Nyholt, 2 Bill Gadolo, 3 Joeli Veitayaki, 4 Kele Leawere, 5 Ifereimi Rawaqa, 6 Sisa Koyamaibole, 7 Kitione Salawa, 8 Alfi Mocelutu Vuivau, 9 Mosese Rauluni, 10 Nicky Little, 11 Rupeni Caucaunibuca, 12 Seru Rabeni, 13 Saimoni Rokini, 14 Sekove Leawere, 15 Norman Ligairi
Reserves:  Waisale Serevi, Paula Biutanaseva, Isaia Rasila, Naka Seru, Seta Tawake Naivaluwaqa

Attendance:  3600
Referee:  Slinger s.

Points Scorers:

Fiji
Tries:  Leawere S. 1, Rabeni S. 1, Caucaunibuca R. 4, Penalty Try 1
Conv:  Little N.T. 1, Serevi W.T. 2

Canada 29 Chile 11

Canada scored a deserved 29-11 win over Chile at the Prince of Wales Country Club in Santiago and in the process qualified in first place in the Americas Zone for the 2003 World Cup.

Canada played an unsteady first-half at the Prince of Wales Country Club in front of 4,000 as Chile caused it some early problems, but Canada stuck to its game plan of getting the ball wide.  In the second-half after an 8-5 half-time score, it put together some constructive phases of polished rugby scoring two tries by its wingers Calgary's Sean Fauth and Victoria's Fred Asselin.  In the first half Canada's No.8 Ryan Banks, who won "Man of the Match" honours, and a silver platter, scored a blustering try.

"We stuck to our plan," said Canada's coach David Clark.  "And we achieved our goal of winning the tournament and gaining first place.  The quality of refereeing was exemplary today and that allowed us to play the game the way we wanted to."

After a long feeling-out period that saw both teams squander scoring chances, Victoria's Bob Ross put Canada ahead with a penalty from 25-metres at 23 minutes:  3-0.  Canada went farther ahead two minutes later when Rod Snow, then Winston Stanley and finally Fred Asselin put together a fine phase of play down the left touch-line.  When Asselin was stopped in a tackle, No.8 Ryan Banks was there to take the ball in from the 22-metere line in a powerful run that saw him score in the corner carrying two tackler over with him.  No conversion:  8-0.

Chile worked its way to near Canada's line where it won a line-out at 35 minutes.  From the line-out it attacked in numbers employing South America's favourite weapon, the rolling maul.  When Canada stopped the maul No.8 Cristian Manzur broke around the side and scored.  Onetto missed the conversion.  8-5 and Ross missed a penalty at 38 minutes to end the half.

Canada looked far more focused and crisper as the second-half began as it put together some fine runs with Banks and scrum-half Ed Fairhurst to the fore.  Ross hit for a penalty at 43 minutes to put Canada ahead 11-5 before Fauth scored a wonderfully engineered try.

Canada won a line-out and with the backs on the attack, centre Nik Witkowski chip-kicked the loveliest of weighted kicks toward the Chilean corner-flag.  Sean Fauth passed his opposite number, leapt in the air, secured the ball and touched down for his fifth try in a Canadian jersey.  No coversion:  16-5.

At 53-minutes, referee Scott Young sent lock Jamie Cudmore, in his first start for Canada, to the sin-bin for using the elbow in a tackle.  After Edmundo Olfos was stretchered off Onetto made good on the penalty:  16-8.

Jared Barker, who replaced Ross at 53 minutes, kicked his first penalty at 59-minutes to widen the margin to 19-8 but Onetto hit one of his own at 66 minutes to make it 19-11.  A try by Fred Asselin, however broke Chilean resolve.  Ron Johnstone won a line-out, the ball went out to Barker who passed directly to Witkowski and this time the nifty play maker, tore though a gap and made ground.  He eventually passed to Asselin going at top speed to score under the posts.  Barker converted:  26-11.  Barker hit another penalty at 76 minutes as the clock wore down.  Final 29-11.

"They put a lot of store in their scrum and it fought manfully but in the end, when we got the ball wide, we scored two cracking tries," said Clark.

"We had to work hard for all our points today," said Canada's captain Al Charron.  "We put in a much better effort today than last week, and though we made mistakes our intensity and focus was there.  It is great to achieve our goal of first place."

"Its been long summer, but it has been fun," said vice-captain Winston Stanley.  "It was a close first-half, but we stuck to it and got the job done."

Whichever team wins next week, that team will win second-place and the loser and the USA will be tied on points and the winner will be determined by the margin ofpoints scored for and against in their respective matches.

"We must go to Uruguay and win next weekend," said a sad Alfonso Escobar the Chilean captain after the match.  "Canada played a very strong game today.  We made a lot of mistakes.  We were very nervous going into the game and we did poorly in the line-out.  We weren't focused enough and Canada took their opportunities well.  We will work hard this week and we'll strive for second-place in Montevideo."

The teams:

Canada:  1 Rod Snow, 2 Mark Lawson, 3 Kevin Wirachowski, 4 Jamie Cudmore, 5 Ron Johnstone, 6 Alan Charron (c), 7 Adam Van Staveren, 8 Ryan Banks, 9 Ed Fairhurst, 10 Bobby Ross, 11 Fred Asselin, 12 John Cannon, 13 Nik Witkowski, 14 Sean Fauth, 15 Winston Stanley
Reserves:  Jared Barker
Unused:  Leif Carlson, Marco Di Girolomo, Josh Jackson, Chad Plater, Kevin Tkachuk, Colin Yukes

Attendance:  4000
Referee:  Young s.

Points Scorers:

Canada
Tries:  Asselin F. 1, Fauth S. 1, Banks R. 1
Conv:  Barker J. 1
Pen K.:  Ross R.P. 2, Barker J. 2

Chile
Tries:  Cristian Manzur 1
Pen K.:  Cristian Onetto 2

United States 35 Chile 22

Two first-half tries from David Fee propelled the United States to a 35-22 win over Chile in a Rugby World Cup qualifying match.

In a hard-hitting contest, the USA jumped to a 25-3 halftime lead and were never in danger of losing the first-ever rugby international between the American hemisphere countries, played before 2,075 fans on a 75-degree summer afternoon.

Local star Kimball Kjar and Philip Eloff added tries for the USA, while flyhalf Mike Hercus added 15 points goalkicking,.  Nicolas Damm, Bernardo Garcia, and captain Alfonso Escobar scored the visitors' tries, the latter two in the game's dying stages.

With the win, the USA improved its World Cup qualifying tournament record to 1-2 while Chile fell to 1-1.  In other World Cup qualifying action today, Calgary downed Uruguay 51-16 in Edmonton to move its record to 3-0.  Uruguay dropped to 0-2.

Fee, in just his third match for the USA, opened the scoring at 15 minutes.  Hard running by forwards Dan Dorsey and Phillippe Farner set up the winger's first international try.  Hercus converted to give the hosts a 7-0 lead.

Following two penalty goals by Hercus and one from Chilean flyhalf Cristian Gonzalez, Fee's second try broke the match open at 36 minutes.  Mose Timoteo's strong counterattack run opened up the Chilean defense for Fee to scamper 40 yards down the right sideline.

One minute before halftime, Utah native Kjar darted from the base on a ruck to run 40 yards untouched.  Hercus' conversion made the count 25-3.

Chile's Damm scored a converted try 7 minutes after halftime to bring the visitors to within 15 points, but Hercus' third penalty goal and Eloff's converted try at 59 minutes put the game out of reach at 35-10.

With several American starters on the bench resting for Thursday's match with Uruguay in San Francisco, Chile's forward power came to fore in tries by Garcia and Escobar.

"Today was a good victory.  It's great to see young guys like Kimball [Kjar] and David Fee taking their chances and scoring tries.  But now we have to immediately focus on Uruguay," USA captain said after the match.

The Teams:

United States:  1 Dan Dorsey, 2 Kirk Khasigian, 3 Mike MacDonald, 4 Philippe Farner, 5 Alec Parker, 6 Conrad Hodgson, 7 Dave Hodges (c), 8 Kort Schubert, 9 Kimball Kjar, 10 Mike Hercus, 11 Johnny Naqica, 12 Jason Keyter, 13 Phillip Eloff, 14 David Fee, 15 Mose Timoteo
Reserves:  Chris Miller, Andy McGarry, Shaun Paga, John Tarpoff, Link Wilfley
Unused:  Kevin Dalzell, Isaac Mbereko

Attendance:  2075
Referee:  Cole a.

Points Scorers:

United States
Tries:  Fee D. 2, Eloff P. 1, Kjar K. 1
Conv:  Hercus M. 3
Pen K.:  Hercus M. 3