Australia 31 France 25

An 18-point blitz midway through the second half -- including 10 points from Stirling Mortlock -- was just enough to hold off a determined late charge by France.  The Wallabies eventually managed to squeeze out a 31-25 win at Stadium Australia in Sydney.

The Wallabies out-scored the French by four tries to three and held a 13-8 advantage at the break.

In the end the home team needed a strong finish, and it was some resolute defensive in those frenetic final few minutes which held off a fast-charging French team.

It was a game of constant changes.

Australia first held sway, to lead 13-0, before the French came back late in the first half and eventually took the lead early in the second period.  Then the Wallabies again took the lead -- scoring 18 unanswered points -- before having to hold on desperately as the French launched a massive onslaught on their tryline.

As a build-up towards the Tri-Nations, the Wallabies could not have wished for a better game.  It was hard, fast and a good test of both their attacking and defensive abilities.

They passed the test, but just.

French lock Olivier Brouzet, in an interview after the match, gave the credit for the Wallaby win to their halfback combination -- scrumhalf and captain George Gregan, along with flyhalf Stephen Larkham.

But Gregan was the first to admit that a lot of work still lies ahead for his team ahead of the Tri-Nations.  "We slacked off just before half-time and again towards the end of the match and those are certainly areas of our game we have to work on," he said.

But he will certainly be pleased with the variation the Wallabies showed on attack and the manner in which they managed to keep the ball through numerous phases ... at times in the match.

But as Gregan rightfully pointed out, there were some very worrying lapses and the French managed to exploit those.

The visitors certainly looked dangerous with the ball in hand, but they also showed how vulnerable the Wallabies can be when the opposition counter quickly.

Defensively the Wallabies also left some gaping holes, especially on the wing of Wendell Sailor.  While he is an exciting player when running with the ball, Sailor's all-round game leaves a lot to be desired ... at least by Wallaby standards.

There were many other positives for the Wallabies to take from this game.  The other league convert, Mat Rogers, looked very dangerous during his stint on the field, and clearly has a very good conception of the angles he need to run.

Young South African-born lock Daniel Vickerman also made a satisfying Wallaby debut, adding more depth to an already impressive Australian team.

From a French point of view there are also more positives than negatives, but they will be concerned by the number of opportunities wasted -- especially the manner in which their hands let them down.

But they showed heart and to have come back twice in the game and come so close show just how dangerous this young French team is going to be at Rugby World Cup 2003.

Man of the match:  Daniel Herbert had a good game with some strong runs, and Wendell Sailor did impress on the attack.  But the standout player was undoubtedly Stirling Mortlock.  He a constant nuisance to the French defenders and he even helped his forwards out -- to great effect -- during kick-offs.  He was richly rewarded for his work with two great tries, while he also added a penalty and a conversion.

Villain of the match:  There was only one yellow card, which went to Wallaby flank Owen Finegan for an unnecessary dangerous shoulder charge on French flanker Serge Betsen.  The number of acts of thuggery that he has been involved in over the years must be cause for concern ... that is if his coaches care about stamping out such acts.

Moment of the match:  French winger Aurélien Rougerie's second try, four minutes from time, when the French started a late charge, was one of those moments that ensure this is a match that will be remembered for some time.  It started when Elton Flatley kicked downfield and Nicolas Brusque tidied up, before slipping a wonderful pass to Olivier Magne, who cut straight through Australia's defence.  Magne had no support and was stopped by Chris Latham, but suddenly the French arrived in numbers and they went to the right.  The Wallaby defence scrambled and the ball went loose, but Rougerie picked up the pass and with his strength went over for his second try of the night.  When Merceron kicked the conversion you suddenly sensed that France might win this one.

The teams:

Australia:  1 Patricio Noriega, 2 Brendan Cannon, 3 Bill Young, 4 Justin Harrison, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 6 Owen Finegan, 7 George Smith, 8 David Lyons, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Stirling Mortlock, 12 Matthew Burke, 13 Dan Herbert, 14 Wendell Sailor, 15 Chris Latham
Reserves:  Matt Cockbain, Elton Flatley, Rod Moore, Mat Rogers, Sean Hardman, Daniel Vickerman
Unused:  Chris Whitaker

France:  1 Jean-Jacques Crenca, 2 Raphael Ibanez (c), 3 Sylvain Marconnet, 4 Olivier Brouzet, 5 Fabien Pelous, 6 Serge Betsen Tchoua, 7 Sebastien Chabal, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 9 Frederic Michalak, 10 Gerald Merceron, 11 Aurelien Rougerie, 12 Tony Marsh, 13 Damien Traille, 14 Pepito Elhorga, 15 Nicolas Brusque
Reserves:  Cedric Heymans, Olivier Magne, Yannick Jauzion, Pierre Mignoni, Jean-Baptiste Poux, Christophe Porcu
Unused:  Olivier Azam

Attendance:  64703
Referee:  Honiss p.

Points Scorers

Australia
Tries:  Burke M.C. 1, Herbert D.J., Mortlock S.A. 2
Conv:  Mortlock S.A. 1
Pen K.:  Burke M.C. 1, Mortlock S.A. 1
Drop G.:  Gregan G.M. 1

France
Tries:  Rougerie A. 2, Marconnet S. 1
Conv:  Merceron G. 2
Pen K.:  Merceron G. 2

Samoa 31 Tonga 13

Manu Samoa beat the Ikale Tahi, the Tongan Fish Eagles, 31-13 at Apia Park to go to the top of the Tri-Nations competition consisting of Fiji, Manu Samoa and Tonga.

The Samoans led 13-6 at half-time, but clinched the victory only with a final surge.

In the end they triumphed by four tries to one.

It was a blue day as every Samoan had been encouraged to wear blue in support of their team in response to the request by Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi who is the prime minister of Samoa and also the Chairman of the Samoan Rugby Football Union.  The whole of the country's cabinet wore blue in support of the rugby team.

"The team needs as much support as they can and I encourage everyone to get behind the team," Tuilaepa said.

"Samoa's hopes and prayers will be with you," he told the team.

Surprisingly the Tongan captain, Inoke Afeaki, who has been suffering with an AC Joint injury, was cleared to play.  Not so Samoa's Brain Lima who was concussed playing his 50th Test for his country against the Ikale Tahi, in Nuku'alofa recently and has subsequently damaged ligaments.

The Teams:

Samoa:  1 Taufa'ao Filise, 2 Viliami Ma'asi, 3 John Pale, 4 Ben Hur Kivalu, 5 Nisifolo Naufahu, 6 'Inoke Afeaki (c), 7 Va'a Toloke, 8 Viliami Vaki, 9 Sililo Martens, 10 Pierre Hola, 11 Sione Fonua, 12 Andrew Mailei, 13 Fepiko Tatafu, 14 Sam Hala, 15 Gus Leger
Unused:  Vikilani Afeaki, Stanley Afeaki, Tony Alatini, Christopher Hala'ufi, Nick Hau, Latiume Maka, Ma'afu Pale

Referee:  O'brien p.

Points Scorers:

Samoa
Tries:  Seveali'i E. 1, So'oilao S. 2
Conv:  Va'a E.V. 2
Pen K.:  Va'a E.V. 4

Tonga
Tries:  Fonua S. 1
Conv:  Mailei A. 1
Pen K.:  Mailei A. 2

Fiji 12 Samoa 22

Defending champions Samoa surged to the top of the standings in the 2002 Pacific Rim Tri-Nations series, which doubles as Rugby World Cup qualifiers, after they comprehensively beat Fiji by 22-12 in Nadi.

The top two teams in the tournament, which also includes Tonga, will automatically qualify for the 2003 spectacle in Australia, while the third team can qualify though the repechage.  The the moment Samoa have eight points after three games, the Fijians are on six from three and Tonga have two from two.

The Samoans, who will depart for a tour to South Africa shortly, trailed by 3-5 at the break, but took the game by the scruff of its neck and scored three tries to one in the second-half.

Samoa avenged their 16-17 defeat to Fiji in Apia three weeks ago, and should return from their tour, which includes a Test against the Springboks in Pretoria, ready to clinch the tournament.

Fiji also has a tough task at hand, and next week play New Zealand in Wellington.

The home team took the lead in the 31st minute when their Sevens star Filimoni Delasau scored the first try of the game.

Earl Va'a, who earlier had put the visitors' first points on the board with a 40th minute penalty, scored shortly after the break to give his side the lead, which they relinquished two minutes later when Viliame Satala crossed for Fiji's second -- and last -- try.

The Samoans then took over and Hurricanes wing Lome Fa'atau scored with 15 minutes left on the clock.  Va'a's conversion made the score 15-12 to Samoa, setting up an exciting finale.

However, the visitors clinched the game two minutes from full-time when Opeta Palepoi scored a try that was converted by Va'a.

The Teams:

Fiji:  1 Paula Biu, 2 Greg Smith (c), 3 Richard Nyholt, 4 Simon Raiwalui, 5 Timoci Yacabula, 6 Alifereti Doviverata, 7 Alfi Mocelutu Vuivau, 8 Sisa Koyamaibole, 9 Jacob Rauluni, 10 Nicky Little, 11 Vilimoni Delasau, 12 Viliame Satala, 13 Alfred Uluinayau, 14 Isaac Mow, 15 Norman Ligairi
Reserves:  Joseph Narruhn, Seru Rabeni, Epeli Ratuniata, Ifereimi Rawaqa, Sami Rabaka Nasagavesi, Isaia Rasila, Koli Sewabu

Samoa:  1 Jeremy Tomuli, 2 Trevor Leota, 3 Tamato Leupolu, 4 Leo Lafaiali'i, 5 Potu Leavasa, 6 Patrick Segi, 7 Semo Sititi (c), 8 Henry Tuilagi, 9 Stephen So'oilao, 10 Earl Va'a, 11 Lome Fa'atau, 12 Terry Fanolua, 13 Fereti Tuilagi, 14 Alesana Tuilagi, 15 Silao Leaega
Reserves:  Kas Lealamanu'a, Jonathan Meredith, Opeta Palepoi, Siaosi Vaili
Unused:  Aleki Toleafoa, Carl Manu, Denning Tyrell

Attendance:  10000
Referee:  Erickson w.

Points Scorers:

Fiji
Tries:  Delasau V. 1, Narruhn J. 1
Conv:  Narruhn J. 1

Samoa
Tries:  Fa'atau L. 2, Leupolu T. 1
Conv:  Va'a E.V. 2
Pen K.:  Va'a E.V. 1

Scotland 65 United States 23

Despite having Nathan Hines sent-off just before half-time, Scotland rampaged to a 65-23 win over the USA, scoring ten tries to the Americans two, to wrap its six match North American tour with five wins and a single loss to Canada.

"I am delighted that we won with fourteen men," said McGeechan following the huge win.  "To play like that with fourteen men is a massive performance.  Everybody stepped up and they knew they were going to have to work harder for themselves and another fifteenth as well.

"What we said at half time is we wanted to step up our work rate rather than just go as we had been going.  We scored again after half time.  I think it was as much control and the head's up play is what was good.  It didn't look as though we had fourteen men I think -- which is good."

USA coach Tom Billups was a little shell shocked by the display -- but demurred in his praise of the tourists ability to recover from the loss to Canada last week.

"If you looked at the velocity and the desire shown to play rugby (by Scotland) -- there wasn't nearly as many dropped balls as last week in Vancouver.  And some of that was the lack of our physicality up front.  I think the Scotland team is classy, well coached -- and I think it proved out today," he said.

The US opened with great purpose,linking multiple phases of ball with few errors, and it was obvious a lot of good work had been put in by the Eagles during their week together as the game got underway in front of 2,400 fans at Balboa Park in San Francisco.

At five minutes debutant Mike Hercus made a break for the US around mid-field -- and suddenly found open space with Phil Eloff and Jason Keyter in support.  Hercus off-loaded to Eloff as the Scottish defense came across -- and then Eloff returned the favour to Hercus.  The fly-half then spotted wing Mose Timoteo on the right-wing and flung a long but strong pass to put him away to the right of the posts.  Link Wilfley converted and the Eagles had the early 7-0 lead.

In the ninth minute the US had a chance to increase its lead -- but Wilfley missed a penalty from 40 metres.

In the tenth minute Scotland intercepted a US pass at the 22 metre line -- and eventually ground down to the home side's five metre line before the Eagle's reclaimed possession and cleared the pressure.  On the quick restart the Scots spread the ball wide -- with a two man overlap exposing Timoteo.  The young wing stuck to his assignment making a great open field tackle on Chris Paterson but a supporting Brendan Laney gathered the loose ball in -- touching down under the posts before also converting the score -- 7-7 after 12 minutes.

An off-side call by Pablo Deluca gave Scotland the opportunity to take the lead with Laney slotting it over from 25 metres to give the tourists a 10-7 lead after 17 minutes.

Scotland continued to make good in-roads but knock-ons and handling errors coupled with cover tackling by the US took a number of opportunities away.

After a quarter Laney made a break to the US 15 metre before Duncan Hodge gathered in a ball knocked on by a US hand.  Hodge found Rory Kerr on the wing -- who won a race to the corner for the unconverted try -- 15-7 Scotland.

A high tackle on Phil Eloff gave Wilfley his first chance at a penalty goal -- with the Rotherham player missing from 40 metres.

The US continued to attack well and an offside penalty against Scotland netted the Americans another shot at goal from 23 metres left -- the inside centre making amends for the earlier miss to cut the lead to 15-10 Scotland.

Second row Nathan Hines provided a nice bit of finishing with a try at 28 minutes.  Hooker Gordon Bulloch drove to the US five metre line before the Scots spun the ball right -- with prop Mattie Stewart taking the ball in close before passing to Hines for the score.  Laney converted to extend the Scottish lead to twelve 22-10.

US captain Dave Hodges came off with a blood injury at the half hour -- with Conrad Hodgson replacing the Llanelli back rower as his injury was assessed.

Andrew Henderson then came on for Glenn Metcalfe as the fullback pulled up with a muscle problem.

The US then gave away a penalty for killing the ball near its own goal line -- with Scotland opting for the five metre lineout.  Captain Stuart Grimes controlled the ball before Deluca provided the Americans relief with a penalty for the Scottish leaving their feet.

Scotland scored on forty minutes with scrum-half Mike Blair selling a dummy from ten metres before finding Duncan Hodge -- who touched down under the posts.  Laney added his conversion to make the score a comfortable 29-10 to Scotland.

The one bad news from the night for Scotland was the dismissal of try-scorer Hines just before half-time as he was given his marching orders for a a punch on Dan Henderson, Scotland's first ever send-off -- with Wilfley kicking a penalty from fifteen metres narrowing the Scottish lead to 29-13 as the half-time whistle blew.

Scotland opened the second half scoring just two minutes in with the US allowing an over lap on the left wing despite the man advantage.  Chris Paterson scampered in untouched for the unconverted try and it was 34-13 for Scotland after 42 minutes played.

The US lineout continued to work well, with good possession by Luke Gross and the resulting rolling mauls netting some good territory, but miscues in the US mid-field resulted in several knock-ons.  Jone Naqica appeared to be through for a try which Deluca then brought back for an obstruction call against the Scots.  The bewildering lack of advantage gave the Eagles three points -- but took away a possible converted try when it was crucially needed.

In the 54th minute Dan Dorsey came into a Scottish ruck from an offside position but Laney could not find the handle on the resulting 22 metre penalty kick -- and the score stayed at 34-16.  But on the restart Wilfley attemtped a small grubber for a drop-out -- but Andrew Henderson gathered it in -- going in untouched for the converted try.  41-16 Scotland.

Things went from bad to worse for the Americans when prop Dorsey got shown the yellow for punching and both teams were down to 14 men.

At the one hour mark Duncan Hodge jumped on a US miscue -- dribbling the ball some 25 metres before falling on it for the solo try -- Laney converting to extend the rout to 48-16.

Link Wilfley attempted a drop-goal in the 66th minute but the slightly delayed effort was charge down -- with Naqica and Timoteo cleaning it up -- before a clearance chip gave Blair the space he needed for a 25 metre break.  He passed to a trailing Grimes who then linked with centre Andy Craig for his first test try.  Laney missed the conversion -- 53-16.

A minute later Paterson scored another try -- the US defense in tatters -- and with the Laney conversion the Scots were pounding the nails home -- leading 60-16.

Flanker Jason White then found the try-line as the Scottish passed at will -- and the US could offer nothing but token resistance as the score climbed to 65-16.

The USA got a measure of respect back late -- breaking the Scottish defense with a try from Jason Keyter.  Hercus worked the ball from a ruck to free the inside centre for the try.  Wilfley converted to make the score 65-23 to Scotland.

Man of the Match:  Brendan Laney made amends for a shaky outing against Canada last week -- scoring 20 points on a try, six conversions and a penalty.  But more importantly were his probing runs up the middle that set up a number of Scottish scoring efforts.

Moment of the Match:  Chris Paterson scored two minutes into the second half -- despite the Americans having the man advantage because of the Nathan Hines send-off just prior to the interval.

Villain of the Match:  Nathan Hines -- with his record-setting first-ever send off in 130 years of Scottish rugby.  The red card offense -- the result of a punch on replacement American player Dan Anderson could net the New Zealand born second row further sanctions as match officials examine the video.

The Teams:

Scotland:  1 Allan Jacobsen, 2 Gordon Bulloch, 3 Mattie Stewart, 4 Nathan Hines, 5 Stuart Grimes (c), 6 Donnie McFadyen, 7 Jason White, 8 Simon Taylor, 9 Michael Blair, 10 Duncan Hodge, 11 Rory Kerr, 12 Brendan Laney, 13 Andrew Craig, 14 Chris Paterson, 15 Glenn Metcalfe
Reserves:  Marcus Di Rollo, Andrew Hall, Craig Smith, Graeme Burns, Andrew Henderson, Steve Scott
Unused:  Allister Hogg

United States:  1 Dan Dorsey, 2 Kirk Khasigian, 3 Mike MacDonald, 4 Luke Gross, 5 Eric Reed, 6 Aaron Satchwell, 7 Kort Schubert, 8 Dave Hodges (c), 9 Kevin Dalzell, 10 Mike Hercus, 11 Jason Keyter, 12 Phillip Eloff, 13 Link Wilfley, 14 Mose Timoteo, 15 John Buchholz
Reserves:  Johnny Naqica, Dan Anderson, Conrad Hodgson, Kimball Kjar, Andy McGarry, John Tarpoff
Unused:  Riaan Hamilton

Referee:  Deluca p.

Points Scorers:

Scotland
Tries:  Hines N.J. 1, Kerr R.C. 1, Laney B.J. 1, Craig A. 1, Henderson A.R. 1, Hodge D.W. 2, Paterson C.D. 2, White J.P.R. 1
Conv:  Laney B.J. 6
Pen K.:  Laney B.J. 1

United States
Tries:  Keyter J.C. 1, Timoteo M.A. 1
Conv:  Wilfley L.M. 2
Pen K.:  Wilfley L.M. 3

Ireland 8 New Zealand 40

New Zealand wrapped up a 2-0 Test series win as they recovered from a slow start to run in five tries, including a brace for Crusaders' fullback Leon MacDonald, to cruise to a 40-8 win over Ireland in the Second Test at Eden Park in Auckland.

The All Blacks won by a surprisingly large margin as their forwards took over in the second half.  They were getting the upper hand before replacement Irish flank Alan Quinlan was sent to the sin-bin.  After that it was the Black eight which ruled the game, despite bursts of Irish enthusiasm.

The first half ended with New Zealand ahead 13-3 -- surprisingly ahead in an unimpressive display in which they carried their woes from Carisbrook to Eden Park.  The home team kicked a lot, they had kicks charged down and they mishandled a lot.  The crowd were teetering on the brink of mocking laughter at one stage as their team fumbled and bumbled.

Ireland handled better and sought to keep the ball in hand more but their goal-kicking woes persisted.

In the first half, Ireland were penalised nine times, New Zealand three times.  Ronan O'Gara, the Irish flyhalf, had chances to goal all three of the penalties, none of them difficult.  He missed all three.

After Gary Longwell's second half try, the All Blacks led 21-8.  But O'Gara had then lost his side eleven points from missed kicks.  21-19 would have been a happier situation for the visitors, who were then well and truly shunted out of the game.

Ireland's three points in the half came from a dropped goal by Brian O'Driscoll after a sustained Irish Attack.  The attack came after a Leon MacDonald chip had been charged down.  Only smart covering by Andrew Mehrtens saved the All Black line as he slid out five metres from the corner flag.

In the first half Mehrtens had two penalty kicks at goal and goaled them both, as he did MacDonald's try, which came from a genius break by Aaron Mauger who sliced inside Brian O'Driscoll and past O'Gara to send the New Zealand fullback racing over not long before half-time.

It was the second break by the All Blacks.  The first had been by Mehrtens who fed Mark Robinson going right, but there was no right-wing.  The player playing on the right wing with No.11 on his back was Jonah Lomu, but he had been playing around with the forwards when Mehrtens broke.

Both New Zealand wings had handling problems, none more so than the error-ridden Caleb Ralph who knocked on, even when not under pressure, and again ran ahead of a passer.

Ralph had a better second half before being replaced by Doug Howlett.  He scored the All Blacks' second try

From a line-out Lomu came into the line in the centre, ran diagonally and passed to Leon MacDonald.  Macdonald straightened looked for an in-out and passed to Ralph who was over in the corner.  Mehrtens hit the upright with his conversion attempt in a moderate half's kicking by the All Black ace.  He even missed a simple conversion later, from just right of the uprights.

In the first half the All Blacks lost successive line-outs on their own ball.  In the second half Ireland did it three times in a row.

From one of them Mehrtens kicked downfield with Girvan Dempsey, not for the only time, well out of position and the Irish were forced to battle on defence at their right corner flag.  The conceded penalties and were forced to defend.  A penalty after a drive by Chris Jack took the score to 21-3 to New Zealand.

Then Ireland attacked.  Geordan Murphy on the right wing stood still, stepped inside Ralph and beat Richard McCaw.  O'Driscoll carried on with a dance and eventually Gary Longwell crashed over to narrow the score to 21-8.

The All Blacks made changes.  One had immediate effect.  Byron Kelleher came on for Justin Marshall.  From a scrum Greg Somerville drove at the line.  Kelleher picked up and powered over.  Mehrtens converted, it was 28-8.

New Zealand made other changes as Howlett, Daryl Gibson and Marty Holah came on.  David Humphreys replaced O'Gara but did not have a single kick at goal from then on.

Quinlan came on and soon departed, stung by a yellow card -- and it was all over for Ireland.

The All Blacks soon came close when Somerville was driven over, but the television match official, Greg Hinton of Australia, could see no grounding and a scrum ensued.

From the scrum the All Blacks wove promising patterns but it was the forwards who scored next when Holah broke from a maul with the simplest of runs to the posts -- the kick which Mehrtens missed.  Astonishing.  Still the All Blacks led 33-8.

The next try was a long-range affair as Howlett got away on the right-wing and fed MacDonald for the fullback to go galloping off into the distance for a try at the posts.

The Irish, with O'Driscoll and Keith Wood in the van, attacked the All Black line and when the final whistle went Justin Bishop had lost the ball centimetres from the All Black line.

There were no boos at the final whistle this time, as there had been at Carisbrook -- thanks largely to the All Blacks forwards' efforts.

Man of the match:  It had to be a forward.  Chris Jack was certainly a candidate for his work in all things a lock should do, but the man who did it even better was Greg Somerville, scrumming, supporting and leading the charge.  Two drives led to tries -- by MacDonald in the first half and by Kelleher in the second.

Moment of the match:  No, not Mehrtens's left footed drop which was almost a perfect cross kick, and not the run that led to MacDonald's second try, but the scything break by Aaron Mauger that sent MacDonald over for his first.

Villain of the match:  There was much combative activity that was well within law.  The villain was the only recipient of a yellow card -- Alan Quinlan.  He came on as a replacement for Keith Gleeson.  The first time he saw action he was sent off, abandoning his struggling forward mates to an unequal battle against the strengthening All Blacks.  There was a ruck-thing.  Quinlan arrived went out of his way to stick the boot into the lower side of an All Black who was nowhere near the ball and so went to sit on the side till the last few minutes of the match.  During the ten minutes of his absence New Zealand scored 12 points.

The Teams:

Ireland:  1 John Hayes, 2 Keith Wood (c), 3 Reg Corrigan, 4 Gary Longwell, 5 Malcolm O'Kelly, 6 Simon Easterby, 7 Keith Gleeson, 8 Anthony Foley, 9 Peter Stringer, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 11 Justin Bishop, 12 Brian O'Driscoll, 13 John Kelly, 14 Geordan Murphy, 15 Girvan Dempsey
Reserves:  Shane Byrne, David Humphreys, Paul Wallace, Leo Cullen, Alan Quinlan
Unused:  Guy Easterby, Mel Deane

New Zealand:  1 David Hewett, 2 Mark Hammett, 3 Greg Somerville, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Norm Maxwell, 6 Richard McCaw, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Scott Robertson, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Andrew Mehrtens, 11 Jonah Lomu, 12 Aaron Mauger, 13 Mark Robinson, 14 Caleb Ralph, 15 Leon MacDonald
Reserves:  Doug Howlett, Marty Holah, Simon Maling, Joe McDonnell, Daryl Gibson, Byron Kelleher
Unused:  Tom Willis

Referee:  Henning t.

Points Scorers:

Ireland
Tries:  Longwell G.W. 1
Drop G.:  O'Driscoll B.G. 1

New Zealand
Tries:  Holah M.R. 1, MacDonald L.R. 2, Kelleher B.T. 1, Ralph C.S. 1
Conv:  Mehrtens A.P. 3
Pen K.:  Mehrtens A.P. 3

Argentina 18 England 26

An under-strength England side secured a sporting double over Argentina as the recovered from a 3-12 half-time deficit to record an impressive 26-18 win in Buenos Aires.

The win for Clive Woodward's team saw them emulate the recent feats of their footballing counterparts and given the fact the side showed five new caps it was an equally impressive result over a side that had only a week ago beaten Six Nations Champions France and one will leave many reconsidering the supposed lack of depth in the England set-up.

After the game a satisfied Woodward said:  "Every team has one eye on the World Cup next year, and to give yourself any chance at a World Cup, you have got to arrive with 30 outstanding players.

"A lot of the players have come through very strongly, which is good long-term," he added.

Sale fly-half Charlie Hodgson, traditional understudy to Jonny Wilkinson, settled English nerves with an early penalty but despite some early pressure it was Argentina who had the better of the first half as a penalty from Gonzalo Quesada, in the side at fly-half with the more free-flowing Felipe Contempomi filling in at centre, saw the Pumas level a quarter of an hour in.

Quesada added another four penalties before half-time, both sides struggling to keep hold of possession but England giving away too many penalties inside their own half which meant they found themselves 3-12 down at half-time.

However, after the break England, spear-headed by the likes of flanker Alex Sanderson, Lewis Moody, captain Phil Vickery and lock Ben Kay the visitors upped the tempo and kept hold of the ball better giving their backs more quality ball.

Four minutes into the half England got their reward as Kay plunged over for a score, finishing off good work from half-back Andy Gomarsall, and Hodgson held his nerve to convert as England cut the deficit to just two.

Although Quesada, metronomic as ever with the boot, added his fifth penalty soon after to lengthen the lead to five it was England who had the momentum and Hodgson added his second penalty a few minutes later to keep Argentina within touching distance.

England soon had a richly deserved second try as Bristol three-quarter Phil Christophers scorched through the Pumas defence to round the fullback and touch-down and with the extras from Hodgson, England now led 20-15.

Hodgson scored his third penalty on 66 minutes to mean that Argentina would have to score twice to win and although Quesada got his sixth penalty ten minutes from time, Leicester's Tim Stimpson sealed the game with a traditionally impressive long-distance penalty effort four minutes later.

The Teams:

Argentina:  1 Omar Hasan Jalil, 2 Federico Mendez, 3 Mauricio Reggiardo, 4 Rimas Alvarez Kairelis, 5 Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, 6 Rolando Martin, 7 Santiago Phelan, 8 Gonzalo Longo Elia, 9 Agustin Pichot (c), 10 Gonzalo Quesada, 11 Diego Albanese, 12 Felipe Contepomi, 13 Jose Orengo, 14 Gonzalo Camardon, 15 Ignacio Corletto
Reserves:  Diego Giannantonio, Roberto Grau, Mario Ledesma Arocena, Lucas Ostiglia
Unused:  Martin Durand, Nicolas Fernandez Miranda, Jose Nunez Piossek

England:  1 Phil Vickery (c), 2 Steve Thompson, 3 David Flatman, 4 Ben Kay, 5 Alex Codling, 6 Lewis Moody, 7 Alex Sanderson, 8 Joe Worsley, 9 Andy Gomarsall, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 11 Tim Stimpson, 12 Geoff Appleford, 13 Ben Johnston, 14 Phil Christophers, 15 Michael Horak
Unused:  Mark Regan, Nick Walshe, Trevor Woodman, Adam Balding, Kevin Sorrell, Hugh Vyvyan, Dave Walder

Referee:  Rolland a.

Points Scorers:

Argentina
Pen K.:  Quesada G. 6

England
Tries:  Kay B.J. 1, Christophers P.D. 1
Conv:  Hodgson C. 2
Pen K.:  Stimpson T.R.G. 1, Hodgson C. 3

Australia 29 France 17

The Wallabies won the first Test against France at Melbourne's Colonial Stadium by 29-17 after leading 23-9 at the break, with "new" Matt Burke contributing 19 points with his deadly right boot, slotting seven from seven attempts at goal.

The home team thoroughly deserved to win, and although the matched turned a bit dour after the break, their composure and poise will have coach Eddie Jones smiling with the 2002 Tri-Nations around the corner.

Les Bleus did have very little luck during the game, but it would have been foolish to think that they could beat the world champions without a solid foundation up front.

And that is where the visitors' woes started, with the Australians getting the upper hand in the loose, largely thanks to loose forwards Toutai Kefu and Owen Finegan, and when he came on later, David Lyons, who probed the French defence with bullocking runs as well as strong work on defence.

Tighthead prop Patricio Noriega, back in the Wallaby Gold for the first time since 1999, also had a good game for the home team.

As a result the visitors had difficulty gaining, and then controlling their possession, which made life easier for a Wallaby team showing signs of brilliance as well as stuttering at times.

At the back, George Gregan and Stephen Larkham -- who was very close to his brilliant best -- had good ball to feed Daniel Herbert and Matt Burke in the centres.

And with the two big midfielders also making life difficult for the French, outside backs Stirling Mortlock, who looked very dangerous at left-wing, and Chris Latham could attack with vigour.  Wendell Sailor, whose selection attracted criticism from former Wallaby great David Campese, had a quiet debut on the right-wing.

The Six Nations champions' loose forwards -- No.8 Imanol Harinordoquy and flanks Olivier Magne and Serge Betsen -- did what they could to stop the Wallabies' forward surge, while outside centre Tony Marsh and right-wing Aurélien Rougerie gave their all at the back.

With their pack going backwards, the French halfbacks struggled to get go-forward for their team against their more experienced counterparts, and a late flurry of points in the first-half set the Wallabies up for the second stanza with a comfortable 23-9 lead.

The home team scored two tries before the break, capitalising on their territorial and possessional advantage.

The first try -- by fullback Chris Latham -- came with the scores tied at 3-3 after Damien Traille and Burke traded early penalties.

The Australians were slowly gaining ascendancy in the loose, thanks to brilliant play by No.8 Kefu and blindsider Owen Finegan, when they got a good attacking line-out deep in French territory.

Scrumhalf and skipper George Gregan spun the ball wide and when Stirling Mortlock drew two defenders on him, his clever pass unleashed a storming Latham on the left.  The French cover defenders did get to the Wallaby fullback, but it was too late and the television match official decided that Latham had scored a fair try.

The conversion and a further penalty by Burke increased the home team's lead to 13-3, but France clawed their way back into the game via two penalties by flyhalf François Gelez.

Traille missed his second attempt from 50 metres out, and minutes later Australia hit back with their second try -- a superb solo-effort by flyhalf Stephen Larkham.

With dummy-runners going all over the show, Larkham slipped through attempted tackles from Gelez and Rougerie from a line-out to score the try, which Burke converted.

After the first-half produced 32 points, the 40 minutes after the break were much tighter, and saw just 14 points -- eight to France -- being scored.

The visitors also scored the only try of the second-half when replacement prop Jean-Baptiste Poux bulldozed his way over from a ruck close to the Wallabies' line.

But with 10 minutes left on the clock and the juice running low after a strenuous travel schedule, the French probably left their charge a little too late.

The Wallabies are now in the driving seat ahead of next weekend's second Test in Sydney, while for French coach Bernard Laporte it's back to the drawing board after two successive defeats for his Six Nations champions.

Man of the match:  Toutai Kefu and Stephen Larkham played superb rugby for the Wallabies, while Imanol Harinordoquy was a one-man show for France.  But with his personal points-haul of 19, Australian outside centre Matt Burke made sure the French never really came within striking distance of the home team.  We doff our caps to Burke for his 100 percent kicking record.

Moment of the match:  When Stephen Larkham burst through the strong French right-wing Aurélien Rougerie for his side's second try, the Wallabies advanced to a comfortable lead shortly before the break, which they held onto for the duration of the match.

Villain of the match:  There were a lot of scuffles, with Serge Betsen and Justin Harrison getting involved, as well as lots of penalties for stupid infringements like joining the ruck from the side or not releasing the ball on the ground, but nobody really deserved the title of villain of the match.

The teams:

Australia:  1 Patricio Noriega, 2 Jeremy Paul, 3 Bill Young, 4 Justin Harrison, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 6 Owen Finegan, 7 George Smith, 8 Toutai Kefu, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Stirling Mortlock, 12 Matthew Burke, 13 Dan Herbert, 14 Wendell Sailor, 15 Chris Latham
Reserves:  Brendan Cannon, Matt Cockbain, Elton Flatley, Rod Moore, Mat Rogers, David Lyons
Unused:  Chris Whitaker

France:  1 Sylvain Marconnet, 2 Olivier Azam, 3 Arnaud Martinez, 4 Fabien Pelous (c), 5 Christophe Porcu, 6 Serge Betsen Tchoua, 7 Olivier Magne, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 9 Frederic Michalak, 10 Francois Gelez, 11 Aurelien Rougerie, 12 Tony Marsh, 13 Damien Traille, 14 Nicolas Jeanjean, 15 Pepito Elhorga
Reserves:  Olivier Brouzet, Raphael Ibanez, Yannick Jauzion, Christian Labit, Jean-Baptiste Poux
Unused:  Gerald Merceron, Pierre Mignoni

Attendance:  37482
Referee:  White c.

Points Scorers

Australia
Tries:  Latham C.E. 1, Larkham S.J. 1
Conv:  Burke M.C. 2
Pen K.:  Burke M.C. 5

France
Tries:  Poux J-B. 1
Pen K.:  Traille D. 1, Gelez F. 3

Scotland 23 Canada 26

Fly-half Jared Barker kicked a penalty in the 76th minute to give Canada its first ever test victory over Scotland, winning 26-23 in front of a crowd of 5,274 at Vancouver's Thunderbird Stadium.

The victory is a huge boost for the national team program, which had undergone a number of off-field problems that culminated in the firing last summer of David Clark, a subsequent player's strike that scuttled three fall tests -- and a string of losses including a 102-8 embarrassment at the hands of Australia A two weeks ago.

The Canadians fought back from a seven point second half deficit to pip the Scots, who were ranked seventh in the Zurich World rankings.

Down 23-16 Canadian prop Jon Thiel scored a try under the posts in the 67th minute -- and with the Barker conversion the teams were tied at 23-23.

The 13th ranked Canadians had lost to Scotland in an unofficial test last weekend in Markham, Ontario -- by a score of 33-8 -- but played a full 80 minute game against the 7th ranked Scots -- giving Canadian rugby a huge boost after a troubled year and a half off the field.

Canada opened the scoring in the third minute when referee David McHugh called Scotland for collapsing the scrum at centre.  Jared Barker calmly stroked the ball from fifty metres to give his side the early edge.

In the 11th minute fullback Winston Stanley did a quick throw-in at the Canadian 22 to wing Fred Asselin -- but the Scottish cover was up quickly -- causing a poor pass to Stanley which went to the deck.  Scottish wing Chris Patterson hacked it on -- eventually chasing it down for the try in the left corner.  Laney converted and the visitors were ahead 7-3.

Barker missed his second attempt of the day -- going just to the right from 35 metres.

Laney had a penalty chance just miss from 49 metres following a Canadian offside -- keeping the score at 7-3 Scotland.

An indirect penalty to Canada from a scrum gave Morgan Williams a quick tap penalty that had him down to the Scottish three metre line.  A chip was gathered in by fullback Glenn Metcalfe -- and Scotland was charged with killing the ball.  Canada ran the ball eventually moving it right where Rod Snow took the ball into contact with the chalk of the tryline.  The ball came back and a pop pass from Williams to a charging Phil Murphy was enough to get the Perpignan No.8 across.  Barker hit the easy conversion and Canada was once again in the lead 10-7.

Scotland were again called for pulling the scrum down in the 27th minute providing Barker with another shot at goal which he put through from 41 metres to give Canada a 13-7 lead.

Laney cut the Canadian lead to three with a ten metre penalty effort at 33 minutes -- 13-10 Canada.

Canadian indiscipline in a ruck resulted in Laney getting another shot at goal from 45 metres but he scuffed it badly with Canada mounting a counter attack.  A turnover gave Scotland the ball with Duncan Hodge driving close to the line.  Al Charron was then called for a professional foul -- killing the ball -- and was shown the yellow card by McHugh.

Scotland took the lineout option -- with the resulting maul freeing up scrum-half debutant Mike Blair for his first test try.  Laney missed the conversion to end the half with the visitors in the lead 15-13.

Scotland continued to take advantage of the Canadian shortage with Simon Taylor scoring an unconverted try just five minutes after the restart.  Laney added a penalty a few minutes later to give Scotland a 23-13 lead.

With Charron back on the pitch the Canadian pressure resumed with the red shirts driving to the Scottish five metre line.  Barker lined up for the drop-goal -- but was wide from ten metres -- though a penalty a moment later allowed him to make amends -- reducing the Scottish lead to seven 23-16 after 57 minutes.

The Canadians began to grow confident with Sean Fauth, John Cannon and Nik Witkowski all making valuable ground through the Scottish backline.

In the 63 rd minute Jared Barker exposed a Scottish gap following a John Cannon break -- with the fly-half going to ground at the three metre line.  The ball came back to Bridgend prop Jon Thiel who scrabbled across from three metres -- touching down under the posts.  Barker converted and the teams were square 23-23.

Both sides began to play with renewed zeal despite the 25 degree heat -- with a win a reasonable prospect on both sides of the ball.

Canada scuttled promising opportunities with dropped balls -- in one instance John Cannon getting outside before he tried to dish to a supporting Sean Fauth -- who just missed reigning it in -- the crowd groaning at the miscue.

Scottish prop Craig Smith then got called for pulling down Morgan Williams' jersey after he had delivered the ball -- with Barker hitting the resulting penalty -- giving Canada a narrow 26-23 lead with just four minutes left on the clock.

Scotland countered a Winston Stanley kick to the Canadian 22 metre line -- but Canada recovered the ball with Stanley providing a long touch kick with the clock moving into injury time.

The Scottish mounted a late attack but the Canadian defense held -- a Canadian kick into touch ending the match -- and giving the North Americans their first ever test victory over Scotland -- the crowd erupting into a rousing rendition of the Maple Leaf forever.

Man of the Match:  Jared Barker, in only his fourth test, and coming back from a debilitating knee injury, showed veteran poise in kicking four penalties and two conversions -- but more importantly in distributing the ball to his centre pair -- John Cannon and Nik Witkowski.

Moment of the Match:  Canadian wing Sean Fauth foiled a Scottish attack at the Canadian five metre line by securing the ball from Chris Paterson after he went to ground -- and then took off on a fifty-five metre run -- thwarting a potential Scottish scoring opportunity with ten minutes left in the first half.  The quick thinking wing stopped what could have been an establishing score with the score 13-7 at the time to Canada.

Villian of the Match:  Scotland prop Craig Smith for pulling down on scrum-half Morgan Williams' jersey after he had passed the ball -- taking a senseless penalty that gave Canada the victory.

The Teams:

Scotland:  1 Craig Smith, 2 Gordon Bulloch, 3 Mattie Stewart, 4 Nathan Hines, 5 Stuart Grimes (c), 6 Simon Taylor, 7 Jason White, 8 Jon Petrie, 9 Michael Blair, 10 Duncan Hodge, 11 Rory Kerr, 12 Brendan Laney, 13 Andrew Craig, 14 Chris Paterson, 15 Glenn Metcalfe
Reserves:  Allan Jacobsen, Donnie McFadyen, Steve Brotherstone, Ben Hinshelwood
Unused:  Marcus Di Rollo, Andrew Hall, Graeme Burns

Canada:  1 Rod Snow, 2 Pat Dunkley, 3 John Thiel, 4 Alan Charron (c), 5 Mike James, 6 Dan Baugh, 7 Ryan Banks, 8 Phil Murphy, 9 Morgan Williams, 10 Jared Barker, 11 Fred Asselin, 12 John Cannon, 13 Nik Witkowski, 14 Sean Fauth, 15 Winston Stanley
Reserves:  Ed Knaggs, Kyle Nichols, Kevin Wirachowski, Colin Yukes
Unused:  Ed Fairhurst, Bobby Ross, Harry Toews

Referee:  Mchugh d.

Points Scorers:

Scotland
Tries:  Blair M.R.L. 1, Taylor S.M. 1, Paterson C.D. 1
Conv:  Laney B.J. 1
Pen K.:  Laney B.J. 2

Canada
Tries:  Murphy P. 1, Thiel J. 1
Conv:  Barker J. 2
Pen K.:  Barker J. 4

Argentina 28 France 27

Argentina held on for a 28-27 victory over Six Nations champions France in a stunning match in Buenos Aires, French fly-half Gerald Merceron missing an injury-time penalty to give the Pumas their first win over Les Bleus in ten years.

It was a game of huge passion, with no quarter given or asked by the players on either side and finished in nailbiting fashion with France mounting a late comeback.

Indeed, so close was the contest that France almost snatched a victory when they were awarded a penalty kick two minutes into injury time.

Unbelievably, given that Merceron had been successful with all five of his previous kicks at goal, the fly-half could not find his range with the kick, enabling the Pumas to enjoy their moment of glory at Velez Sarsfield stadium.

In any event, such an outcome would have been a cruel blow for an Argentina side who had dominated the game in all departments throughout the match, giving the tourists a torrid time throughout the absorbing spectacle that will go some way to making up for home nation's recent sporting woes in the FIFA World Cup, which saw the soccer team failing to reach the knock-out stages.

While the scores were level at 6-all at half-time, Felipe Contepomi and Merceron both kicking two penalties apiece in a first 40 typified by blockbusting defence and wholehearted commitment, Argentina suddenly snapped into gear in the second half to shock the French.

Applying the pressure in both set-piece and loose play – Pumas No.7 Rolando Martin having a mighty match in this latter area – Argentina racked up 19 unanswered to go from 13-9 down to 28-13 lead.

It was hooker Federico Mendez, wing Diego Albanese and Felipe Contepomi who did the damage, crossing a French defensive line that had been nigh-on impregnable for much of the recent Six Nations.

With French looking down and out, Les Bleus launched a remarkable last-quarter fightback that saw them come close to snatching victory.

First, a turnover in the Pumas' half saw Nicolas Brusque crashing over for a try in the left hand corner after some fine work from centre Tony Marsh.

Marsh was once again in the thick of battle just a few minutes later, running a perfect support angle to cross over for a try of his own.

With Merceron converting both tries, France were just one point away from their hosts but Merceron's last-ditch miss was to cost them the game.

France must pick themselves up from this shattering defeat and prepare themselves for next week's Test against Australia, while the Pumas will be aiming to add another high-profile scalp to their list of conquests when they face England next Saturday.

The Teams:

Argentina:  1 Omar Hasan Jalil, 2 Federico Mendez, 3 Mauricio Reggiardo, 4 Rimas Alvarez Kairelis, 5 Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, 6 Rolando Martin, 7 Santiago Phelan, 8 Gonzalo Longo Elia, 9 Agustin Pichot, 10 Felipe Contepomi, 11 Diego Albanese, 12 Lisandro Arbizu (c), 13 Jose Orengo, 14 Gonzalo Camardon, 15 Ignacio Corletto
Reserves:  Martin Durand, Roberto Grau, Mario Ledesma Arocena, Gonzalo Quesada
Unused:  Nicolas Fernandez Miranda, Lucas Ostiglia, Jose Nunez Piossek

France:  1 Jean-Jacques Crenca, 2 Raphael Ibanez (c), 3 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 4 Olivier Brouzet, 5 Fabien Pelous, 6 Serge Betsen Tchoua, 7 Olivier Magne, 8 Christian Labit, 9 Pierre Mignoni, 10 Gerald Merceron, 11 Aurelien Rougerie, 12 Tony Marsh, 13 Damien Traille, 14 Nicolas Jeanjean, 15 Nicolas Brusque
Reserves:  Olivier Azam, Sebastien Chabal, Sylvain Marconnet, Christophe Porcu
Unused:  Francois Gelez, Yannick Jauzion, Frederic Michalak

Attendance:  35000
Referee:  Marshall p.

Points Scorers:

Argentina
Tries:  Albanese D.L. 1, Contepomi F. 1, Mendez F.E. 1
Conv:  Contepomi F. 2
Pen K.:  Contepomi F. 2
Drop G.:  Quesada G. 1

France
Tries:  Brusque N. 1, Jeanjean N. 1, Marsh T. 1
Conv:  Merceron G. 3
Pen K.:  Merceron G. 2

South Africa 19 Wales 8

The Springboks totally overpowered their Welsh counterparts in the final 15 minutes of the second Test at a wet Newlands, in Cape Town, to seal the series with a hard-fought 19-8 victory.

Both teams were still in with a chance after an hour of hard rugby, but two penalties by flyhalf André Pretorius and a charge down try by replacement scrumhalf Craig Davidson was enough to send the Springbok supporters amongst the big crowd of 40,547 into cries of ecstasy.

The Springboks took an 8-3 lead at the break after nippy fullback Brent Russell, in only his second game for the Springboks, sliced open the Welsh defence inside their 22 for his first Test try while Davidson's late five-pointer -- awarded after consultation with the TMO -- was the final nail in the coffin of a tough Welsh side.

Russell's try came after the Boks somehow managed to win back a line-out, AJ Venter carried the ball up the middle and the ball quickly went through the hands of Breyton Paulse and Marius Joubert before flyhalf André Pretorius put the nuggety fullback away.

Davidson got his five-pointer after a rare mistake by Welsh skipper Colin Charvis, whose kick inside his in-goal area, was charged down by the replacement No.9.

The first half was a very tight affair, and as a result a few scuffles broke out between the green and red jerseys.

At the first scrum the two hookers -- South Africa's James Dalton and his Welsh counterpart Robin McBryde -- were at each other's throats, a little later Bok tighthead Willie Meyer was sin-binned for kicking McBryde and even right-wing Stefan Terblanché and Andy Marinos -- the former Western Province centre who led his team onto the pitch -- greeted one another shortly before the break.

The second half started quietly for the home team as the Welsh hit back five minutes after the re-start when Charvis scored a good forwards try.

The visitors won a line-out close to the Bok try-line following a good run by right-wing Rhys Williams.  His namesake Steve Williams won the line-out, the forwards put in a good shove and from the re-cycled possession Charvis bulldozed his way through Johannes Conradie's attempted tackle to level the scores.

The two packs were very evenly-matched, with the visitors probably having a slight ascendancy in the scrums, while the line-outs were 50/50.

Both Gareth Llewellyn and Steve Williams did good work, but the young Michael Owen was superb, both at taking his own ball and contesting the Boks's.  Add to that Charvis playing a real captain's innings, and the Welsh pack can be satisfied with their performance at a cold and wet Newlands.

Behind the pack Dwayne Peel and his replacement Ryan Powell played well, providing flyhalf Stephen Jones -- who got the scoreboard ticking in the 20th minute with a penalty -- with enough good ball which he could either belt downfield or hoist into the air.

The visitors showed their intentions to test the inexperienced Russell at fullback, but the blond speedster came away with his reputation in tact.

While the 22-year-old Russell launched a few good touchfinders, his midfield of De Wet Barry and Marius Joubert flew into the Welsh backline, making a few big hits early on.

Amongst the home team's forwards, Dalton and lock Jannes Labuschagne did awesome work in the loose as well as on defence, while the Lions lock was solid in the line-outs too.

Corné Krige and AJ Venter did the hard work, but unfortunately Bob Skinstad struggled to get his flair going in a tight game.  He did have a solid game, though.

Joubert had another excellent game in the Green and Gold, breaking the Welsh defence on a number of occasions as well as tackling without fear.

The Boks got their first points in the 25th minute when Pretorius slotted a penalty after flank Martyn Williams dived onto Skinstad on the ground.

Russell's and Charvis' tries set up a thrilling second-half, in which no team gave an inch.

But that changed towards the end, and Pretorius put the Boks in the lead with 14 minutes left on the clock when Owen played the ball from an offside position after Rhys Williams knocked on with Joubert storming after his own chip-kick.

Four minutes later Pretorius increased their lead with another penalty, which meant Wales had to score a converted try in the last nine minutes of the game.

But the Boks scored the try -- through Davidson -- to put the result, and the series, in their favour.

Man of the match:  If things go according to plan for the young Brent Russell, he has every chance to become a Springbok great.  Playing in his first big game at fullback, the diminutive Russell didn't put a foot wrong, and he constantly kept the Welsh guessing with probing counter-attacks and long-range touchfinders.

Moment of the match:  After the hooter had gone to signal the end of the first-half, the Springbok backs showed excellent handling skills to put Russell over for a superb try.  Davidson's try, in his first Test appearance for South Africa, was also special.

Villain of the match:  Although there were quite a few scuffles during the match, Willie Meyer's unnecessary use of the boot -- which earned him a yellow card -- was totally uncalled for.

The Teams:

South Africa:  1 Daan Human, 2 James Dalton, 3 Willie Meyer, 4 Jannes Labuschagne, 5 Quinton Davids, 6 A.J. Venter, 7 Corne Krige, 8 Bobby Skinstad (c), 9 Bolla Conradie, 10 Andre Pretorius, 11 Breyton Paulse, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Marius Joubert, 14 Stefan Terblanche, 15 Brent Russell
Reserves:  Craig Davidson, Faan Rautenbach, Ollie Le Roux, Hottie Louw, Joe Van Niekerk
Unused:  Werner Greeff, Adi Jacobs

Wales:  1 Iestyn Thomas, 2 Robin McBryde, 3 Ben Evans, 4 Gareth Llewellyn, 5 Steve Williams, 6 Michael Owen, 7 Martyn Williams, 8 Colin Charvis (c), 9 Dwayne Peel, 10 Stephen Jones, 11 Craig Morgan, 12 Andy Marinos, 13 Mark Taylor, 14 Rhys Williams, 15 Kevin Morgan
Reserves:  Mefin Davies, Ryan Powell, Tom Shanklin, Robert Sidoli, Gavin Thomas, Neil Jenkins
Unused:  Martyn Madden

Attendance:  40547
Referee:  Spreadbury t.

Points Scorers:

South Africa
Tries:  Davidson C.D. 1, Russell B. 1
Pen K.:  Pretorius A.S. 3

Wales
Tries:  Charvis C.L. 1
Pen K.:  Jones S.M. 1

New Zealand 15 Ireland 6

A spirited Irish team gave an inept New Zealand side a huge scare before going down 15-6 in the first of two Tests between the two countries at Carisbrook in Dunedin.

In the build-up to this Test the talk was that Ireland would be competitive in the first half with the All Blacks, fresh from a 64-10 win over Italy last week, coming into their own in the second stanza.

Well, the first half went according to plan -- with New Zealand leading 10-3 at the break -- but it was all Ireland in the second period, as the Men in (light) Green made the Men in Black fight until the bitter end for their 15th Test win over Ireland in 16 meetings.

Ireland, whose second-half performance was highlighted by aggressive defence, also showed a lot of courage on attack, but they were unable to breach the All Blacks' water-tight defence on a night that did not exactly produce a mistake-free game of rugby.  In fact, the statistics after the match signalled over 20 knock-ons and over 40 turnovers.

Brian O'Driscoll tried every means possible -- using his pace, shimmies and boot -- but he never seemed to have enough support with the half-gap in sight.

Early in the first half O'Driscoll had one good chance when he got through a half-gap, which had been left open by his opposite number Tana Umaga, but the dreadlocked midfielder managed to turn around and catch his opponent before any damage was caused.

At that stage the score was 3-all, with flyhalf Andrew Mehrtens kicking a penalty and O'Driscoll adding a well-taken drop-goal in the first five minutes of the match, but it was New Zealand who scored the first try of the night.

The Irish scrum had pressurised the Kiwis all night, but when they got their first decent shove (in their own half) of the night, No.8 Scott Robertson peeled off the base of the scrum, fed Mehrtens, who hit a gap, before unleashing the speedy Doug Howlett for a fairly simple run-in to the tryline.

Mehrtens added the two points to Howlett's 11th Test try, and, at 10-3 after 35 minutes of play, the AB's had their tails up.  Little did they know that it would be their final points in the game until the 77th minute, as O'Gara's first botched penalty attempt of the night signalled half-time.

The second half got off to a good start for the All Blacks with Chris Jack taking a superb catch from the kick-off, but it was the Irish who nearly scored the second try of the night when O'Driscoll chipped a ball to the right-hand corner only for Geordan Murphy to dot the ball down inches into touch.

The Kiwis attacked the Irish line soon afterwards, but they were thwarted by an intercept from Ireland blindsider Keith Gleeson after an audacious Aaron Mauger pass with numbers to burn on the outside.

Gleeson managed to find his support, which allowed Ireland to drive up-field and they were soon rewarded with a very kickable penalty, which O'Gara made no mistake with as he recorded his 200th Test point.

But O'Gara, who missed a shot at goal shortly after half-time, missed another penalty attempt in the 67th minute, which kept New Zealand four points ahead, before a late try gave them enough breathing space.

Jonah Lomu, who came on with 10 minutes remaining on the clock, was the star in the lead-up to that try after he chased a loose Irish pass in their 10-metre area, before picking it up and swatting some would-be defenders away.

Lomu charged ahead before finally being put to ground by Peter Stringer, but he was not held in the tackle and after jumping back to his feet he played the ball again, which gave Mauger enough time to chip the ball ahead to the Irish goalline where Leon MacDonald won the race for his third, and without a doubt the most important, Test try.

Mehrtens missed the conversion, but at 15-6, Ireland had to score more than once, something which they had been unable to do all night long.

In fairness, the All Blacks probably deserve a pat on their backs for keeping the Irish at bay and for using both their try-scoring opportunities, but key players like Chris Jack, Norm Maxwell, Reuben Thorne, Mehrtens, Aaron Mauger and Tana Umaga were not firing on all cylinders, suggesting, perhaps, that a long Super 12 season is finally beginning to take its toll.

For All Black coach John Mitchell a lot of hard work lies ahead, especially with a hungry Irish team waiting at Auckland's Eden Park next week.

Man of the match:  In a forgettable evening for the All Blacks, very few of their players stood out.  Young opensider Richard McCaw kept on trying and fullback Leon MacDonald did some good things on defence.  For Ireland, two men stood out head-and-shoulders above the rest -- hooker Keith Wood and outside centre Brian O'Driscoll.  Wood, for his massive work-rate, and O'Driscoll for his classy performance on attack and defence.  In the end, our vote goes to O'Driscoll, who, besides making ground with every touch of the ball, also showed some amazing touches with his boot.

Moment of the Match:  In the build-up to MacDonald's match-clinching try, Ireland scrumhalf Peter Stringer, the smallest man on the field at just under 70 kilograms, put in a brilliant front-on tackle on Jonah Lomu, who tips the scales at 112 kilograms.  Yes, Lomu and his team-mates did recycle the ball and MacDonald went on to score a try, but Stringer's gutsy tackle -- a David v Goliath confrontation -- epitomised Ireland's never-say-die attitude.  Stringer's act just beats Wood's touch-finder from first-phase ball earlier on in the match.  Wood got the ball inside his own 10-metre area, took aim and landed it in New Zealand's 22 before it rolled into touch.

Villain of the Match:  Perhaps it is a bit harsh, but our award goes to Ireland's flyhalf Ronan O'Gara for his poor goalkicking display.  O'Gara's performance in open play was very encouraging, but he missed three fairly easy penalty kicks at goal.  Those nine points could have made a huge difference in the end.  O'Gara just beats his opposite number Andrew Mehrtens to this award.  Mehrtens threw wild passes and took poor options, which, luckily for him, did not cost his side in the end.

The Teams:

New Zealand:  1 David Hewett, 2 Mark Hammett, 3 Greg Somerville, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Norm Maxwell, 6 Richard McCaw, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Scott Robertson, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Andrew Mehrtens, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Aaron Mauger, 13 Tana Umaga, 14 Caleb Ralph, 15 Leon MacDonald
Reserves:  Joe McDonnell, Daryl Gibson, Jonah Lomu
Unused:  Marty Holah, Tom Willis, Byron Kelleher, Taine Randell

Ireland:  1 John Hayes, 2 Keith Wood (c), 3 Reg Corrigan, 4 Gary Longwell, 5 Paul O'Connell, 6 Simon Easterby, 7 Keith Gleeson, 8 Anthony Foley, 9 Peter Stringer, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 11 Justin Bishop, 12 Brian O'Driscoll, 13 John Kelly, 14 Geordan Murphy, 15 Girvan Dempsey
Reserves:  David Humphreys, Malcolm O'Kelly
Unused:  Shane Byrne, Guy Easterby, Paul Wallace, Mel Deane, Alan Quinlan

Attendance:  30200
Referee:  Jutge j.

Points Scorers:

New Zealand
Tries:  Howlett D.C. 1, MacDonald L.R. 1
Conv:  Mehrtens A.P. 1, Umaga J.F. 1
Pen K.:  Mehrtens A.P. 1

Ireland
Pen K.:  O'Gara R.J.R. 1
Drop G.:  O'Driscoll B.G. 1

South Africa 34 Wales 19

Rudolf Straeuli earned his first win as Springbok coach with a hard-fought 34-19 win over a tenacious Wales team at Vodacom Park in Bloemfontein on a sunny, but windy, afternoon.

The South Africans, with nine new caps in their match-day 22, led 15-11 at half-time, after finding themselves 11-3 down at one stage.

The Boks were expected to win this match against an under-strength Welsh team, but the first quarter of the game was much of the same of the class of 2001 as passes went astray, line-out's amiss and the kicking out-of-hand was wayward.

Wales punished the Boks for their mistakes, with left-wing Craig Morgan getting through some hesitant Bok defence in the seventh minute after coming onto the right-wing from a scrum in South Africa's 22.

Morgan's try came as a result of extended pressure from the Welsh after South African-born inside centre Andy Marinos powered his way into the Springbok 22, after his captain and No.8 Colin Charvis had done the initial damage with a bruising run.

Flyhalf Stephen Jones, who was a star for Llanelli in the 2001/02 Heineken Cup, missed the ensuing conversion, but he was on target soon afterwards when South Africa had a penalty reversed on their goalline when lock Victor Matfield got stuck into Wales's hooker Robin McBryde.

At 8-0 down the Boks would have been a wee-bit concerned, especially with the visitors' loose forwards beating the home team to the point of the breakdown with minimal fuss.  The Welsh had scant respect for South Africa's big men up front with greenhorn blindsider Michael Owen, No.7 Martyn Williams and Charvis keeping their side moving forward.

The Springboks eventually managed to work their way into enemy territory and debutante flyhalf André Pretorius opened his Test tally with a wobbly penalty from just under 30 metres out.

But Jones had other ideas and the Red Dragons' stand-off cancelled Pretorius's penalty less than two minutes later with a well-taken drop-goal.  Jones tried another drop-goal less than five minutes later, but a key moment emerged in the match from the 22 drop-out.

Pretorius's drop-out was sweetly-struck giving his captain Bob Skinstad enough time to hit Jones in the tackle -- after he had taken the re-start -- and create the turnover for South Africa.  Johannes Conradie fired a pass out to André Snyman and Snyman fed Marius Joubert, who scythed through a gap before kicking into fullback Kevin Morgan.

Morgan knocked the ball on in the process, but with a scrum to the Boks on Wales's 22 there was a chance for the home team.  The Boks went left and won the penalty.  Conradie arrived at the scene, took the quick-tap and hit a gap before passing to Joubert who trotted over for the try.

The Boks were back, especially after Pretorius's conversion made it 11-10 to Wales.

Conradie was on hand again in South Africa's next forage into the Welsh 22 when a winding run of his freed Breyton Paulse, who got a very simple pass out to Bob Skinstad on the right-wing for a try.  Pretorius missed the conversion, but the try had done enough.  South Africa were in the lead for the first time as the half-time hooter sounded.  It was a lead they would not relinquish.

Jones drew first blood for Wales in the second half with an early penalty, but the introduction of Pumas flyhalf Brent Russell -- fullback Ricardo Loubscher left the field with André Pretorius moving to the last line of defence -- gave the Boks an extra attacking option from first-phase.

Pretorius seemed to revel in the open space that fullback gave him and his smart run, chip and chase -- when he collected a kick just inside his own half -- gave South Africa an attacking line-out on the Welsh goalline.

James Dalton found his man, the Bok pack rumbled up and lock Victor Matfield bent down and planted the ball for the five points.  Pretorius missed the conversion, but the Boks' lead started getting bigger ...

Their lead got even bigger as the last quarter approached when Paulse was held back when he chased a kick ahead from Conradie, who again caught the Welsh napping with a quick-tap, and referee Kelvin Deaker awarded a penalty try, which Pretorius duly converted.

To their credit, the Welsh did not give, despite being more than one score behind, and right-wing Rhys Williams joined his wing partner on the scoresheet after his forward managed to recycle the ball after finding some holes in South Africa's defence.

But the Boks had the last laugh on the day when Faan Rautenbach, who had a busy 20 minutes when he replaced veteran Willie Meyer, drove over for his team's last try of the day.

The crowd enjoyed it, as did Rautenbach's team-mates, who must surely realise that a lot of hard work remains for them ahead of next week's return Test in Cape Town.

Man of the match:  Wales captain Colin Charvis had a big match at No.8 -- keeping his side moving forward and cutting the South Africans down with some strong defence, while halfbacks Dwayne Peel and Stephen Jones had steady games.  For South Africa, Russell, Conradie, Pretorius and Joubert provided the fireworks, but the hard man of the loose trio, AJ Venter, did a lot of the donkey-work with some powerful runs and big hits.

Moment of the match:  Skinstad's tackle on Jones spurred his side on and it just shades Faan Rautenbach's try.  Rautenbach, who nearly gave up rugby because of a knee injury, hails from the Northern Free State and the locals enjoyed his first try in the Green and Gold of South Africa.

Villain of the match:  There was a lot of pushing and shoving, but nothing serious enough to warrant this award.

The Teams:

South Africa:  1 Daan Human, 2 James Dalton, 3 Willie Meyer, 4 Jannes Labuschagne, 5 Victor Matfield, 6 Warren Britz, 7 A.J. Venter, 8 Bobby Skinstad (c), 9 Bolla Conradie, 10 Andre Pretorius, 11 Breyton Paulse, 12 Marius Joubert, 13 Andre Snyman, 14 Stefan Terblanche, 15 Ricardo Loubscher
Reserves:  Adi Jacobs, Faan Rautenbach, Ollie Le Roux, Brent Russell, Joe Van Niekerk
Unused:  ZDA48, Quinton Davids

Wales:  1 Iestyn Thomas, 2 Robin McBryde, 3 Ben Evans, 4 Gareth Llewellyn, 5 Steve Williams, 6 Michael Owen, 7 Martyn Williams, 8 Colin Charvis (c), 9 Dwayne Peel, 10 Stephen Jones, 11 Craig Morgan, 12 Andy Marinos, 13 Mark Taylor, 14 Rhys Williams, 15 Kevin Morgan
Reserves:  Mefin Davies, Martyn Madden, Richard Parks, Ryan Powell, Tom Shanklin, Robert Sidoli, Neil Jenkins

Attendance:  34000
Referee:  Deaker k.

Points Scorers:

South Africa
Tries:  Matfield V. 1, Rautenbach S.J. 1, Penalty Try 1, Joubert M.C. 1, Skinstad R.B. 1
Conv:  Pretorius A.S. 3
Pen K.:  Pretorius A.S. 1

Wales
Tries:  Morgan C.S. 1, Williams G.R. 1
Pen K.:  Jones S.M. 2
Drop G.:  Jones S.M. 1

New Zealand 64 Italy 10

The record will always show that New Zealand recorded another massive victory over Italy when they beat them by 64-10 -- with left-wing Caleb Ralph scoring three tries -- at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton on Saturday.  What the score doesn't tell you is that the All Blacks struggled against a valiant Azzurri side.

In fact, if it weren't for three late tries, the score would have looked decidedly different and would probably have been a better reflection of a rather scrappy game.

The All Blacks scored nine tries, of which six came after the break and three in the final eight minutes or so.

After a brilliant start by the All Blacks, Ralph combined well with Christian Cullen, who looks to be regaining his confidence after a shoddy Super 12, for the first try of the game.

Cullen looked dangerous when he got the ball in broken play or joined the line-out, and the All Blacks would have led by more than 24-3 at the break had all their passes to support players stuck.

The All Blacks looked solid at the line-outs, and after Italian skipper Marco Bortolami stole an early ball from the home team, the home team made sure that this set phase was by far their most productive.

The Azzurri scrummed well, and although they tired towards the end, the provided the All Blacks with enough problems in this department.

But the big difference between the two teams was at the back, where the Italians had to do most of the defending on a rainy night in Hamilton.  When the visitors did get the ball in the attack, they looked dangerous, but that happened too seldom to really trouble the New Zealand defence.

On the other hand, Andrew Mehrtens, Daryl Gibson and Mark Robinson provided Ralph -- who over-ran a number of passes and knocked on a few times -- and Cullen with more than enough good attacking opportunity.  It is therefor no surprise that the All Blacks' back three -- Jonah Lomu replaced Doug Howlett after the break -- scored more than half the home team's tries.

Mehrtens set a new world-record for conversions in Tests when he slotted his 141st two-pointer -- passing Australian flyhalf Michael Lynagh's 140 -- after the All Blacks' third try.

"Far from perfect," was how All Black skipper Reuben Thorne described his team's efforts, but he added that, although the error-rate was sky-high, New Zealand now had something on which they could build for the Tests against Ireland and the Tri-Nations.

Ralph almost followed his third minute try up with another one -- after a good solo-run -- a couple of minutes later, but the Italian cross-defence held him up as he crossed the line.

For the next 20-odd minutes New Zealand struggled to get their momentum going, and when they got within striking distance of the Azzurri line, handling errors and other mistakes crept in, sparing the visitors from a number of tries.

Débutante loosehead Joe McDonnell finally ended the All Blacks' try-scoring drought when he crashed over from a five-metre line-out.  Mehrtens' conversion stretched the home team's lead to 14-0.

Five minutes later Kees Meeuws got his first Test try when he emulated his front-row partner by burrowing over from close-range.  Again Mehrtens made no mistake with the conversion, and it looked as if the All Blacks were starting to pull away from their opponents.

However, the Italians did not lie down and continued to plague New Zealand with their strong pack and gallant defence.

Right at the end of the first-half Mehrtens and Italy's Gert Peens traded penalties to see the teams change sides with the home team leading by 24-3.

The New Zealanders came out storming in the second-half, and Ralph soon scored his second (41st minute) and third (44th minute) tries.

That effectively broke the Italians' backs, but they still didn't give up and continued to tackle the All Blacks as if their lives depended on it.

Kelleher scored -- like McDonnell and Meeuws -- by barging over from close to the try-line, and then Italian skipper Marco Bortolami got his team's only five-pointer when he intercepted an inside pass from Gibson to score next to the posts.

Lomu, Cullen and replacement prop Dave Hewitt scored the last three tries for the home team, and the game ended with the Azzurri over-powered, but not shamed.

Man of the match:  It's difficult to give it to one player, but Christian Cullen signalled his return to the All Blacks -- after making just one appearance last season -- with a good all round performance.  His linking-play was superb, every time he joined the backline the All Blacks looked dangerous and he proved he still had some pace left when he outsprinted the Italians for his late try.  Lock Norm Maxwell and flank Marty Holah were solid up front.

Moment of the Match:  Seeing that the All Blacks made so many mistakes, Marco Bortolami's intercept try was a beauty in an otherwise dullish game.  The young skipper took Gibson's pass in his own half and galloped more than 50 metres, outsprinting all the New Zealand cover-defence, for his side's only try next to the sticks.

Villain of the Match:  The game was very clean, except for one incident, when Italian flyhalf Francesco Mazzariol kicked Daryl Gibson in the face.  Yes, it wasn't hard, but things like that don't belong on a rugby field.

The Teams:

New Zealand:  1 Joe McDonnell, 2 Tom Willis, 3 Kees Meeuws, 4 Simon Maling, 5 Norm Maxwell, 6 Marty Holah, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Taine Randell, 9 Byron Kelleher, 10 Andrew Mehrtens, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Daryl Gibson, 13 Mark Robinson, 14 Caleb Ralph, 15 Christian Cullen
Reserves:  David Hewett, Aaron Mauger, Mark Hammett, Jonah Lomu
Unused:  Chris Jack, Richard McCaw, Justin Marshall

Italy:  1 Gianluca Faliva, 2 Andrea Moretti, 3 Ramiro Martinez-Frugoni, 4 Marco Bortolami (c), 5 Mark Giacheri, 6 Andrea De Rossi, 7 Aaron Persico, 8 Sergio Parisse, 9 Matteo Mazzantini, 10 Francesco Mazzariol, 11 Denis Dallan, 12 Cristian Zanoletti, 13 Giovanni Raineri, 14 Nicola Mazzucato, 15 Gert Peens
Reserves:  Martin Castrogiovanni, Walter Pozzebon, Matteo Barbini, Mauro Bergamasco, Santiago Dellape, Juan Manuel Queirolo, Stefano Saviozzi

Attendance:  26000
Referee:  Williams n.

Points Scorers:

New Zealand
Tries:  Hewett D.N. 1, McDonnell J.M. 1, Cullen C.M. 1, Kelleher B.T. 1, Lomu J.T. 1, Meeuws K.J. 1, Ralph C.S. 3
Conv:  Mehrtens A.P. 8
Pen K.:  Mehrtens A.P. 1

Italy
Tries:  Bortolami M. 1
Conv:  Peens G. 1
Pen K.:  Peens G. 1

Italy 9 England 45

England enjoyed an ultimately fruitful but unsatisfying day in the Roman sun to bring the 2002 Lloyds TSB Six Nations Championship to an end, scoring six tries in a 45-9 win over Italy at the Stadio Flaminio.

Harlequins centre Will Greenwood scored one in each half for England, with Ben Cohen, Jason Robinson, Austin Healey and Lawrence Dallaglio also touching down on an afternoon which produced a muted sense of occasion, with Championship ambitions already destroyed by France in Paris 24 hours earlier.

England stuttered as they aimed to find their step, an early surge petering out early in the second half, as they let a largely one-dimensional and indisciplined Italian side back into the game.

Solace can be taken from the fact that the English only allowed the Azzurri to score two penalties during a match which saw the unfamiliar sight of regular captain Martin Johnson on the bench.

What England will have learned from the game could likely be written on the back of a postage stamp, their power and organisation too much for an Italian team devoid of imagination and execution, although the try-scoring return of Lawrence Dallaglio from the bench served as a long-awaited tonic for a match which had an air of inevitability around it before a ball had even been kicked.

The first half got under way with Jonny Wilkinson and Diego Dominguez exchanging penalty kicks, but with England seemingly intent on using their undoubted firepower in the backs, it was only eight minutes in before the first try was scored.

It came from some appalling Italian defensive play, Will Greenwood running through the huge gap created by Denis Dallan's poor positional judgement after good work from Mike Tindall, Wilkinson converting from under the posts after Greenwood's saunter to the line.  Lewis Moody then went close from an Italian lineout in the corner, just knocking on as he dived for the whitewash from the back of the lineout.

A large cheer from the hordes of England fans came on 19 minutes when a nasal injury to Danny Grewcock meant a three-minute bloodbin cameo for Martin Johnson, the captain who had been left out of the starting XV going into the game.

Johnson's initial contribution consisted of giving away a penalty immediately for going through the middle of a ruck and a free-kick for infringing at the lineout, but normality was soon restored on 24 minutes when Ben Cohen scored England's second try.  The Northampton wing went over after Neil Back drove down the middle of the field, the ball then worked right for Cohen to break the tackles of Dallan and Dominguez on his way to the line for a powerful run-in.  Wilkinson converted that score, and as England continued to dominate a game dogged by penalties and free-kicks, it was fullback Jason Robinson who racked up the final try of the half, after an accomplished performance which saw him frequently at acting scrum-half, as well as slotting the odd tactical kick into the corners.

His try was a typically individual finish, coming from a five-metre scrum under the posts, scrum-half Kyran Bracken working the ball right to Robinson on a diagonal at first receiver, the Sale Sharks speedster bursting through the tackle of Giovanni Raineri, Wilkinson again adding the extras from right of the posts for a 24-3 half-time advantage.  Italy finally showed some willingness to run with the ball out wide as the second half got underway, Dallan and Mazzucato combining down the right to burst holes in an English defence which was forced to concede a penalty on their own 22, Dominguez slotting the easy penalty to get the Roman crowd vocal again.

Another Italian penalty for Dominguez followed as Alessandro Troncon marshalled the forward pack in the England 22, steering them on short bursts at the England fringes, and forcing England to again give away penalties.

England summoned on 252 caps worth of talent from the bench with 24 minutes left on the clock, Lawrence Dallaglio, Martin Johnson, Matt Dawson and Jason Leonard entering the fray to massive applause from the Stadio Flaminio terraces.

Three of those former captains had an instant impact on the game, a break from Johnson down the centre freeing Wilkinson from the 22, the ensuing ruck seeing Dawson spin the ball left to Dallaglio, the returning Wasps No.8 having a completely unopposed run-in to the line from five metres, a deserved grin on his face as he touched the ball down after an injury-blighted last year.

With Wilkinson taking a knock in the tackle Dawson added the conversion from just left of the posts, the Northampton scrum-half also instrumental in the next try nine minutes later.  From a penalty ten metres away from the Italian line, he tapped, paused for a second and then hit a deft lob over the flat Italian backline, Greenwood racing onto the ball at pace for a marvellous rehearsed set-piece score, converted by Wilkinson.

With the clock running down, there was still time for one more England try, replacement Austin Healey scampering over in the right corner in his silver boots after Greenwood drew replacement fullback Ramiro Pez and committed him before passing, Wilkinson converting for a 13-point personal haul.

The final whistle went immediately after, bringing down the curtain on another disappointing Six Nations season for the English, one which promised so much, but failed to deliver after their miserable afternoon in Paris five weeks ago.

For Italy, credibility in part from their second half showing, but with coach Brad Johnstone widely expected to be relieved of his duties, and assistant John Kirwan set to take over, plenty of thinking to do for the Azzurri ahead of next season.

Man of the match:  Jason Robinson
Not too many stand-out candidates from a team performance which at times lacked the killer instinct, but Robinson's solid base at the back and outstanding support play in attack added considerable edge to what could have been a flat tempo.  Jonny Wilkinson controlled the backline well, and both Lewis Moody and Will Greenwood fared well in the loose.  Not too many candidates for the Italians, whose only real spearhead came from Mazzucato's occasional breaks down the wing.

Moment of the match:  England quadruple substitution
16 minutes into the second half, you're 24-9 up in a meaningless game, what do you do?  Bring on 252 caps worth of experience of course.  The fact that England can boast replacements of the calibre of Martin Johnson, Lawrence Dallaglio, Matt Dawson and Jason Leonard, shows how far they have came recently.  The sight of all four running onto the field in clean shirts must have had the Italian pack cursing the rugby Gods.

Villain of the match:  Denis Dallan
No real villains in a relatively well-played-out game, the odd spat marring play, but no cards shown by referee Mark Lawrence.  Italian left wing Dallan gets our vote for some early poor defending, although some of his backline teammates also contributed to the defensive holes which England ran through on occasion.

(Half-time:  Italy 3 England 24)

Sin-bin:  None
Referee:  Mark Lawrence (South Africa)
Touch judges:  Joel Dumé (France) and David McHugh (Ireland)

The teams:

Italy:  1 Giampiero De Carli, 2 Alessandro Moscardi (c), 3 Federico Pucciariello, 4 Marco Bortolami, 5 Mark Giacheri, 6 Mauro Bergamasco, 7 Aaron Persico, 8 Matthew Phillips, 9 Alessandro Troncon, 10 Diego Dominguez, 11 Denis Dallan, 12 Giovanni Raineri, 13 Cristian Stoica, 14 Nicola Mazzucato, 15 Gert Peens
Reserves:  Matteo Mazzantini, Andrea Moretti, Cristian Zanoletti, Andrea De Rossi, Santiago Dellape, Carlos Nieto, Ramiro Pez

England:  1 Graham Rowntree, 2 Steve Thompson, 3 Julian White, 4 Ben Kay, 5 Danny Grewcock, 6 Neil Back (c), 7 Lewis Moody, 8 Richard Hill, 9 Kyran Bracken, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 11 Dan Luger, 12 Will Greenwood, 13 Mike Tindall, 14 Ben Cohen, 15 Jason Robinson
Reserves:  Lawrence Dallaglio, Matt Dawson, Austin Healey, Martin Johnson, Jason Leonard, Dorian West, Charlie Hodgson

Referee:  Lawrence m.

Points Scorers

Italy
Pen K.:  Dominguez D. 3

England
Tries:  Dallaglio L.B.N. 1, Greenwood W.J.H. 2, Healey A.S. 1, Robinson J.T. 1, Cohen B.C. 1
Conv:  Dawson M.J.S. 1, Wilkinson J.P. 5
Pen K.:  Wilkinson J.P. 1

Wales 22 Scotland 27

Two injury-time penalties, one from Scotland fullback Brendan Laney and the other from Duncan Hodge, saw Scotland win the battle of the 2002 Home Unions basement as they sent Wales crashing to a 27-22 defeat.

It was a heartbreaking end to the Six Nations for a Welsh side who have endured more than their fair share of woes this season – both on and off the field – and leaves coach Steve Hansen in no doubt about the challenge facing him in his newly-appointed role as permanent Wales coach until the end of the 2003/2004 season.

Top of his priorities will doubtlessly be addressing the woeful performance of his front five in the set-piece.  Wales stuttered badly throughout the match, starved of possession for long periods by a misfiring lineout and the lack of a solid platform in the scrummage.

Strangely, there was no inkling of these major flaws in the Welsh game in the opening minutes of the match, the Welsh forwards doing a fair imitation of Hansen's beloved Canterbury outfit, superb continuity play nearly resulting in an early try for Rob Howley, the scrum-half seemingly hell-bent on finishing off his international career with a bang.

But after a lightning break that left the Scots trailing in his after-burners, the No.9 opted to off-load to second row Andy Moore, the lock without the pace to turn Howley's opportunism into an early score, giving away a penalty in the process.

Minutes later, a typical storming close-quarter drive from Colin Charvis – revelling in his new role as national captain – resulted in a penalty for the Welsh.  Stephen Jones duly stepped up and, showing no signs of the back spasm which had put his participation in this encounter in doubt, slotted the three points to settle Welsh nerves in the eighth minute.

Two minutes later, the Howley-Charvis axis was again apparent, creating space on the outside for wing Craig Morgan who set up the ruck.  Spotting a hole in the Scottish back three, Welsh flanker Martin Williams chipped ahead after spotting fullback Brendan Laney out of position but the Welsh could not convert pressure into a try-scoring chance.

Stephen Jones kicked his second penalty in the 15th minute, before Wales made another dangerous incursion into Scottish territory, Mark Taylor 40 metres down the left after opposite number Townsend had knocked on.  Taylor kept the ball alive, despite being tackled, and the desperate Scottish defence chose to kill the ball at the ensuing ruck, Jones adding another three points to the Welsh tally.

It seemed that the home side were on their way to victory, but then Scotland began to take a greater hand in proceedings.  The visitors stormed into the Welsh 22 before launching a forward drive towards the Welsh tryline.  With referee Joel Jutge unable to work out what had happened in the pile-up over the line in the left-hand corner, the video ref was consulted and duly awarded a try to Gordon Bulloch.

Laney was unable to slot the difficult touchline conversion, but the score gave the visitors a renewed sense of purpose and minutes later, in a carbon copy of the first try, Bulloch scored again, burrowing over after a textbook forward drive from the Scottish front five.

This time Laney was on target with the conversion to make it 12-9 to Scotland.  Having missed an ambitious penalty goal from the halfway, Laney slotted another three points on the stroke of half-time following some superb continuity play from his team.

It was the front five who Scotland had to thank for their slender half-time lead, particularly second row Scott Murray who had been a constant thorn in the side of the Welsh lineout which stuttered badly throughout.

As they had done in the first half, Wales again started well, the introduction of Iestyn Harris to the midfield having an immediate impact.  The former Wales Rugby League captain has not had an easy ride during his debut season in the Welsh jersey, but his class was apparent early in the second half when he created a try for Rhys Williams, using his pace to ghost through the tackle of John Leslie before off-loading to his grateful team-mate to touch down under the posts.

Jones was not on target with the conversion to make it 16-15 and from here on in the lead was to change hands several times.

Laney kicked a penalty to put the Scots back in front but Jones' penalty edged Wales ahead 19-18 with 17 minutes to go.  The lead changed again six minutes from the end when Laney kicked between the posts from 35 meters and Scotland led 21-19.

But the Welsh struck back with two minutes left on the clock -- Scotland prop Tom Smith penalised for handling in ruck to enable Jones to kick his fifth penalty.

The game was in injury time when a Welshman was adjudged to have handled in a ruck and Laney kicked his fourth penalty.  The fullback was to play no further part in proceedings after leaving the field with a knee injury, but his replacement, Duncan Hodge, kicked another penalty for the last score of the game to secure a Scottish victory.

Man of the match:  Scott Murray
Scotland hooker Gordon Bulloch showed great determination to score both of his side's tries, but it was Scott Murray who had the most influence on proceedings.  The second row's lineout performance was absolutely outstanding throughout, securing plentiful possession for his own side and making life thoroughly miserable for the opposition on their own throw.

Moment of the match:  Rhys Williams' try
Iestyn Harris has had his critics since his switch from Rugby League to the more claustrophobic world of Union, but the Cardiff pivot had an almost immediate impact on proceedings following his half-time introduction, showing his devastating one-on-one rugby skill to shrug off a tackle from John Leslie before supplying a deft, pinpoint pass to a grateful Williams who streaked in under the posts for the touchdown.

Villain of the match: 
There may be little room for sentiment in the professional game, but surely Wales coach Steve Hansen could have allowed Rob Howley to go the distance in his last outing in the Welsh jersey.  Instead, the scrum-half faced an ignominious exit in the 66th minute when the game was still hanging in the balance and his vast experience could have helped the Welsh cause.

Referee:  Joel Jutge (France)
Touch judges:  Alan Lewis (Ireland) and Alain Rolland (Ireland)

Wales:  1 Iestyn Thomas, 2 Barry Williams, 3 Chris Anthony, 4 Ian Gough, 5 Andrew Moore, 6 Nathan Budgett, 7 Martyn Williams, 8 Colin Charvis (c), 9 Rob Howley, 10 Stephen Jones, 11 Craig Morgan, 12 Andy Marinos, 13 Mark Taylor, 14 Rhys Williams, 15 Kevin Morgan
Reserves:  Iestyn Harris, Dwayne Peel, Gavin Thomas, Dafydd James, Spencer John, Robin McBryde, Chris Wyatt

Scotland:  1 Tom Smith, 2 Gordon Bulloch, 3 Mattie Stewart, 4 Scott Murray, 5 Jason White, 6 Budge Pountney, 7 Martin Leslie, 8 Simon Taylor, 9 Bryan Redpath (c), 10 Gregor Townsend, 11 Kenny Logan, 12 John Leslie, 13 James McLaren, 14 Chris Paterson, 15 Brendan Laney
Reserves:  Richard Metcalfe, Jon Petrie, George Graham, Stuart Grimes, Duncan Hodge, Robbie Russell
Unused:  Graeme Beveridge

Referee:  Jutge j.

Points Scorers

Wales
Tries:  Williams G.R. 1
Conv:  Jones S.M. 1
Pen K.:  Jones S.M. 5

Scotland
Tries:  Bulloch G.C. 2
Conv:  Laney B.J. 1
Pen K.:  Laney B.J. 4, Hodge D.W. 1

France 44 Ireland 5

Two tries each from Biarritz pair Serge Betsen and Nicolas Brusque helped a powerful and prolific French side romp to the Grand Slam and Lloyds TSB Six Nations Championship title with a record 44-5 demolition of Ireland at the Stade de France.

Bernard Laporte's men claimed their third Grand Slam in six seasons, their mixture of fluent handling and energy-sapping support play starving a lacklustre Irish side of possession and territory.

They scored five tries in total, Aurelien Rougerie adding to Betsen and Brusque's pair on a day where they topped their previous record score against the Irish – a 45-10 win in Paris back in 1996.

In truth, Ireland were never at the races on a sunny afternoon which was always more about the home side than them, hooker Keith Wood registering their only points with a first half try as they lost yards and ground to the convincing and energetic French pack.

The blue ribbons may as well have been wrapped around the trophy as early as two minutes into a half which saw Ireland dragged from pillar to post by a rampant and purposeful French eight, blindside Serge Betsen cantering through on the overlap for the opening try as the stragglers were still finding their seat numbers.

It came from a big rolling maul from the French front eight, Merceron breaking before the French backs took the Irish defence first right, then crucially left, long passes opening the gap for Betsen in the left corner, Merceron converting from out wide.

It was all France, but the Irish managed to get within a sniff of parity – on the scoreboard at least – with an 11th minute try from hooker Keith Wood.

It stemmed from one of the only pieces of first half imagination from the men in green, Munster centre Rob Henderson breaking with the uneffective lateral pattern to dink a deft grubber past the flat French backline on the 22, the ensuing defensive panic leading to a five-metre scrum.

From that central scrumdown, the Irish pack bashed the first phase down the right, Wood coming at pace from the resulting ruck to dive through the tackles of Merceron and Magne for the try, David Humphreys missing the tricky conversion.

Two penalties from Merceron extended the French lead, and on 26 minutes les Bleus got just reward for their enterprise and ambition, Biarritz fullback Nicolas Brusque slicing a hole in the retreating Irish rearguard.

A lineout on halfway for the French saw Tony Marsh pierce the Irish three-quarter line, hooker Raphael Ibanez instrumental in a quick spread from right to left through the hands to put Brusque in between the tackles of Brian O'Driscoll and Shane Horgan, Merceron narrowly missing the conversion from out wide on the left.

It was only four minutes later before the next running try, Montferrand flyer Aurelien Rougerie streaking away down the right wing from halfway after a typically sniping blindside half-break from scrum-half Fabien Galthie, Merceron converting before adding a penalty for a 28-5 half-time lead.

France continued their assault on the Irish line as the second half got underway, both Betsen and Magne going close before Merceron conservatively kicked a penalty from under the posts when a running option could have killed the game off as a contest, the fly-half opting for the same option again only minutes later to a slow hand clap, bludgeoning the kick wide of the posts.

The French crowd got the fourth try they wanted soon after when Betsen rumbled over in the left corner for his second try, les Bleus gaining huge momentum from a 20-metre rolling maul before Galthie spun the ball down the blindside for Betsen, Merceron failing to add the conversion from out wide.

Denis Hickie went close for Ireland after chasing a massive Ronan O'Gara punt, the bounce of the hacked-on ball working against the Leinster wing on a rare foray into French territory.

Damien Traille went close for the French in the final ten minutes of a half which did not have the same ruthlessness of the first stanza, sloppy handling dogging both sides in crucial areas, and Ireland failing to pressure a French side with victory already in the bag.

There was however time for one more moment of magic for the home fans when replacement back-row Remy Martin set off down the middle from the 22, the ball spun left through the quick hands of Traille and Marsh, who put in Brusque on the overlap for an easy run-in, replacement fly-half Francois Gelez striking the post with the conversion after hitting a penalty minutes earlier.

Referee Paddy O'Brien finally blew the whistle on what will go down as one of the great days in French rugby, as they cemented their place as the Six Nations' premier team, prising the Championship trophy away from the clutches of England, and claiming the feat which has eluded the English for so long, the Grand Slam.

Man of the match:  Serge Betsen
Even his camouflage headguard could not hide the huge contribution of the Biarritz blindside, a personification of the renewed French cohesion and dynamism throughout the Championship.  The usual suspects, Galthie and Magne get notable mentions, not forgetting immense No.8 Imanaol Harinordoquy.  Candidates for Ireland few and far between, although Keith Wood and Denis Hickie never threw in the towel.

Moment of the match:  Nicolas Brusque's first try
A cutting and speedy run from the Biarritz fullback showed excellent support play.  A lineout on halfway and a break from Tony Marsh drew the Irish defence, and some quickly-worked ball from right to left caught the defence on the back foot, Brusque darting through two defenders for a memorable first half score.

Villain of the match:  None
A good-tempered match saw little controversy and a fine general spirit.  The French crowd did themselves no favours with some slow hand clapping and Mexican waves during play, but it would be harsh to label them party-poopers after their exuberant post-match celebrations.

(Half-time:  France 28 Ireland 5)

Sin-bin:  None

The teams:

France:  1 Jean-Jacques Crenca, 2 Raphael Ibanez, 3 Pieter De Villiers, 4 Olivier Brouzet, 5 Fabien Pelous, 6 Serge Betsen Tchoua, 7 Olivier Magne, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 9 Fabien Galthie (c), 10 Gerald Merceron, 11 Aurelien Rougerie, 12 Tony Marsh, 13 Damien Traillem, 14 David Bory, 15 Nicolas Brusque
Reserves:  David Auradou, Olivier Azam, Francois Gelez, Jimmy Marlu, Pierre Mignoni, Remy Martin, Jean-Baptiste Poux

Ireland:  1 Peter Clohessy, 2 Keith Wood (c), 3 John Hayes, 4 Gary Longwell, 5 Malcolm O'Kelly, 6 Simon Easterby, 7 David Wallace, 8 Anthony Foley, 9 Peter Stringer, 10 David Humphreys, 11 Denis Hickie, 12 Rob Henderson, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, 14 Shane Horgan, 15 Girvan Dempsey
Reserves:  Paul Wallace, Keith Gleeson, Paul O'Connell, Ronan O'Gara
Unused:  Shane Byrne, Simon Easterby, John Kelly

Attendance:  79978

Referee:  O'brien p.

Points Scorers

France
Tries:  Betsen Tchoua S. 2, Brusque N. 2, Rougerie A. 1
Conv:  Merceron G. 2
Pen K.:  Merceron G. 4, Gelez F. 1

Ireland
Tries:  Wood K.G.M. 1