Wales 54 Romania 8

Wales recorded their first Test win since last November when their second-string side put paid to a lacklustre Romania to the tune of 54-8 at the Racecourse Ground in Wrexham.

The victory ended a sorry run of defeats for the Welsh, although this match was a "Test" in name only in real terms, with head coach Steve Hansen handing the duties to his assistant Mike Ruddock after selecting an entire team of fringe players.

But despite the bit-part cast put out by the Welsh, there were actually some plus points amid a game where they dominated totally but failed to make the most of their possession, squandering overlap after overlap in a match punctuated by handling errors and penalties.

The international comeback of Neath-Swansea wing Shane Williams was marked with two tries in a skilful and explosive display, laying down a serious marker for a more regular inclusion after being out of the fold under coach Hansen.

Fullback Gavin Henson hit a perfect 10 from 10 with the boot in converting all six Welsh tries and adding four penalties, while blindside Jonathan Thomas was a tower in the line-out and a physical presence with ball in hand -- enough indeed to suggest that he should be in the senior ranks rather than this cast of extras.

The backs as a whole however -- the brilliant Williams excepted -- wasted numerous attempts to score with the plentiful ball at their disposal, with fly-half Nicky Robinson lacking the leadership to direct the game apart from a brilliantly-executed inside ball for debutant wing Nathan Brew's second-half try.

For the Oaks of Romania, the defeat was another apt demonstration of the decay afflicting the game there since the demise of the Communist regime which had built its rugby up.

Their ill-disciplined pack saw the sin-binnings of front rowers Petru Balan (use of the shoulder) and Marius Tincu (stamping) towards the start of the second half, and it should have been more after a lenient first half from South African referee Andy Turner, who could well have sent some more of the Oaks to the cooler after some cynical and dangerous offences from their forwards, including pulling down at the line-out and persistent killing of the ball.

Scrum-half Lucian Sirbu however looked an accomplished footballer capable of filling the considerable shoes of the absent veteran Pitre Mitu, and at least attempted to inject some thrust into their limp attack.

Wales were never in danger of losing this one though, and had the lead as early as the second minute when Shane Williams went over in the left corner after referee Turner played a good advantage from a Romanian knock on, after their scrum was shoved off its own feed.  The ball was spun quickly from right to left, with Williams the grateful recipient.

But Romania showed some battle themselves, in the early stages at least, and were rewarded for a string of rolling mauls when prop Balan was barged over the line, fullback Dan Dumbrava missing the conversion from the left touchline.

Had Romania persevered with this form of attack throughout, then against a Welsh front five badly lacking cohesion in the contact area, they would surely have profited more.

A Henson penalty kept Wales on the move, and then lively Llanelli scrum-half Mike Phillips gave them a boost with a try on an impressive debut, picking and going from short range after centre Andy Marinos had punched a hole in the defence and set up the ruck.

Dumbrava hit a penalty for Romania on the 15-minute mark, but it was to be their last points of the match as they then played the role of tacklers for 65 minutes, plus the remarkable 10 minutes of stoppage time at the end of the match played by referee Turner for some reason.

Wales then seemed to go into their shells, although the physical scrum-half Phillips got through some good work, but it was not until just before the break that they got their next try after a lean 20 minutes.

No.8 Alix Popham was the scorer after a very well structured rolling maul from all of 15 metres, with superb low body positions adopted by the Welsh forwards against a helpless and rapidly retreating Romanian defence -- Henson converting before adding a penalty to take the score to 30-8 at half-time.

The score really should have been at least doubled and probably nearer the 70-80 points mark in a second half which saw little headway gained by the visitors, but instead of sticking to the basics, Wales tried to complicate matters, to the frustration of the crowd.

Henson added another penalty, before Celtic Warriors wing Nathan Brew marked his debut with a try, coming off the right flank into midfield at pace on a straightening angle and being found well by fly-half Robinson, who flat-footed the defence with his change of direction with a pass from short range.

Andy Williams at scrum-half was among a plethora of substitutions, but on his debut he never exuded the same authority as the departed Phillips, and with the game just passing by, it was nearly 20 minutes before the next try.

When it came it was a beauty, energetic openside Gavin Thomas going over from close in after Shane Williams had come in from his wing perch to midfield and sniped from the fringes before releasing a superb flip pass from the tackle, again demonstrating the creativity with which he has been playing for some time.

Romania frustratingly kicked ball away and knocked on instead of sticking to their continuity game late on, and with the clock running down there was time for another Welsh try.

It was that man Williams who pounced, and with referee Turner playing an advantage for offside, he jinked past his man before reaching over the line for his second five-pointer, Henson rounding off a brilliant day with the boot by striking his sixth conversion, this time from all the way out on the left touchline.

This may have been a largely meaningless outing for the Welsh, but it has thrown up some selection posers for Hansen and his panel, with their senior team -- having been thrashed by a second-string England XV last weekend -- hosting Scotland in Cardiff on Saturday.

For Romania, expect their World Cup to be a torturous one if this performance is anything to go by.

Man of the match:  Why oh why have Wales overlooked Neath-Swansea wing Shane Williams for the last two years or so?  In his comeback Test he showed that he has the creative mind and attacking thrust to be a regular starter, even if he does have eyes on a move to scrum-half at club level.  Two tries in this game and a whole lot of endeavour show that he is as hungry as ever to make up for lost time in the international wilderness.  Blindside Jonathan Thomas and scrum-half Mike Phillips also shone for the hosts.

Moment of the match:  The second-half try of debutant right-wing Nathan Brew was simplicity exemplified, but a well-taken and imaginative score.  In on an angle from his wing, a deft switch pass from fly-half Nicky Robinson created the gap for Brew to power over -- even if the drift defence of the Romanians left somewhat to be desired.

Villain of the match:  The obvious candidates would be Romanian front rowers Petru Balan and Marius Tincu who were sin-binned in the second half, but for something which was not even penalised we are going to give debutant scrum-half Mike Phillips the dubious honour.  It stems from an incident in the first half where a Romanian player killed the ball at a ruck.  It was rightly penalised, but a frustrated Phillips gestured to the referee to yellow card the offending player, waving his hand in the air in a mock booking.  Such actions may have crept into soccer, but they have no place at all in the gentlemen's game of rugby.  Slapped wrists for Phillips, although it may have been due to over-eagerness on his debut rather than an unsavoury character trait.

The Teams:

Wales:  1 Paul James, 2 Mefin Davies (c), 3 Ben Evans, 4 Brent Cockbain, 5 Ian Gough, 6 Gavin Thomas, 7 Jonathan Thomas, 8 Alix Popham, 9 Mike Phillips, 10 Nicky Robinson, 11 Nathan Brew, 12 Matthew Watkins, 13 Andy Marinos, 14 Shane Williams, 15 Gavin Henson
Reserves:  James Bater, Jonathan Bryant, Deiniol Jones, Andy Williams, Chris Anthony, Gareth Wyatt, Paul Young

Romania:  1 Petru Balan, 2 Marius Tincu, 3 Marcel Socaciu, 4 Sorin Socol, 5 Cristian Petre, 6 George Chiriac, 7 Costica Mersoiu, 8 Ovidiu Tonita, 9 Lucian Sirbu, 10 Ionut Tofan, 11 Gabriel Brezoianu, 12 Romeo Gontineac (c), 13 Valentin Maftei, 14 Cristian Sauan, 15 Dan Dumbrava
Reserves:  Iulian Andrei, Augustin Petrechei, Cezar Popescu, Ioan Teodorescu, Petrisor Toderasc, Dan Tudosa, Marian Tudori

Referee:  Turner a.

Points Scorers:

Wales
Tries:  Brew N. 1, Williams S.M. 2, Phillips M. 1, Popham A.J. 1, Thomas G. 1
Conv:  Henson G.L. 6
Pen K.:  Henson G.L. 4

Romania
Tries:  Balan P.V. 1
Pen K.:  Dumbrava D. 1

Argentina 57 Uruguay 0

Argentina smashed Uruguay by 57-0 in their Pan-American Championship fixture in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, putting the Pumas in pole position to claim the 2003 title.

The Pumas, who recorded a massive 42-8 win over the USA at the weekend, scored nine tries without reply as Uruguay had no answer to the powerful Argentines, who held a 33-0 half-time lead.

Argentina captain and scrum-half Agustín Pichot, who is back from injury, ran in one of his team's tries, with lock Rimas Álvarez and exciting Stade Francais fullback Ignacio Corleto both weighing with doubles.

The other try-scorers were loosehead prop Mauricio Reggiardo, tighthead Martin Scelzo, left-wing José María Núñez Piossek and veteran hooker Federico Méndez.

The Pan-Am tournament ends on Saturday when Argentina, the likely winners, face Canada, while the USA face potential Wooden Spoonists Uruguay.

The Teams:

Argentina:  1 Mauricio Reggiardo, 2 Federico Mendez, 3 Martin Scelzo, 4 Patricio Albacete, 5 Rimas Alvarez Kairelis, 6 Martin Durand, 7 Rolando Martin, 8 Pablo Bouza, 9 Agustin Pichot (c), 10 Gonzalo Quesada, 11 Octavio Bartolucci, 12 Manuel Contepomi, 13 Jose Orengo, 14 Jose Nunez Piossek, 15 Ignacio Corleto
Reserves:  Nicolas Fernandez Miranda, Roberto Grau
Unused:  Diego Albanese, Felipe Contepomi, Mario Ledesma Arocena, Gonzalo Longo Elia, Santiago Phelan

Uruguay:  1 Eduardo Berruti, 2 Diego Lamelas, 3 Guillermo Storace, 4 Juan Alzueta, 5 Juan Alvarez, 6 Nicolas Grille, 7 Marcelo Gutierrez, 8 Rodrigo Capo Ortega, 9 Emiliano Caffera, 10 Sebastian Aguirre, 11 Carlos Baldassari, 12 Diego Aguirre (c), 13 Hilario Canessa, 14 Emiliano Ibarra, 15 Joaquin Pastore
Reserves:  Bernardo Amarillo, Nicolas Brignoni, Jose Viana, Juan Andres Perez, Hernan Ponte
Unused:  Juan Carlos Bado, Juan Machado

Attendance:  5000
Referee:  Klemp a.

Points Scorers:

Argentina
Tries:  Corleto I. 2, Nunez Piossek J.M. 1, Pichot A. 1, Reggiardo M.H. 1, Mendez F.E. 1, Scelzo M.A. 1, Alvarez Kairelis R.E. 2
Conv:  Quesada G. 6

Fiji 41 Chile 16

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Teams:

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

Attendance:  3600
Referee:  Slinger s.

Points Scorers:

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

Canada 21 Uruguay 11

Canada came away 21-11 winners over Uruguay in its first match at the 2003 Pan American Tournament at the Buenos Aires Rugby and Cricket club.  Canada held a 11-0 lead at half-time only to let the Teros back into the game in the first 15 minutes of the second half to level the scores at 11-all.

Canada then scored two tries in the last 12 minutes to seal their victory, their first win since beating Chile last August.  Since then the Canadians have lost six successive Tests.  Last August Uruguay beat them 25-23.

Canada's win says much for its commitment and determination in a feisty affair that saw a number of incidents that could have produced more yellow cards than the one handed Rod Snow by Argentina referee Santiago Borsani for a professional foul at 56 minutes.  Canada also lost its captain Ryan Banks at eight minutes when he strained his knee.  Mike James took over the captaincy.

"I would have preferred not to have had to assume the role as we could have used Ryan out there on the field today," James said after the game.

"There is a bit more responsibility being captain, and having to deal with the referee is a difficult task, especially in a game like this one.  Nevertheless, I'm delighted we finally got things together and secured a win."

Canada looked confident in the early going playing into the wind in 10 degree, cloudy weather.  Bob Ross controlled the game well, using the boot to secure position and putting the men from across the River Plate on the defensive.

He kicked a penalty at four minutes to give Canada an early lead.  Soon after Canada's backs brought Winston Stanley in from the left wing to break a tackle and romp into the corner from 50-metres for his 23rd try in a Canadian jersey.

At 19 minutes Bob Ross took his all time record points total for his country to 401 with a penalty from 40 metres as Canada fell off the pace for the latter part of the half allowing Uruguay four kickable penalties, all of which were missed.

Uruguay began the second stanza at a high rate of knots that garnered fullback Juan Menchaca a penalty at 45 minutes, and another at 56 minutes on Snow's dispatch to the sin bin -- 11-6.

Uruguay using the pick-and-drive to effect put Canada under pressure but the visitor's defence held solid.  Uruguay's try came on a strange play in the 64th minute when its outside half hoisted a ball into the air with his team inside Canada's 22-metre area, but unable to penetrate.  The kick looked more akin to something seen in the Fourth Division, but when Canada caught the ball in the centre, it lost the ball in contact allowing the Teros wing Alfonso Cardoso to pick up and sprint into the corner untouched.  A strange but effective play.  11-11.

Now Canada responded through Sean Fauth, who came on for Marco Di Girolamo, sending John Cannon from the wing to the centre.  Fauth hadn't been on the field more than a minute when the ball spun through the backs, Nik Witkowski took a tackle, and sent the ball to Fauth who found the corner to make it 16-11.

With the game nearly over Morgan Williams, who played an impish and quick-thinking game filled with quick taps and sniping runs, took a quick tap and fed his forwards near the line.  The forwards rallied round substitute prop Kevin Tkachuk and he scored -- 21-11.

"It was particularly nice to see us score our last try on a rolling maul, proving to the Uruguayans that we can be just as effective using that form of play as they are," said Canada coach David Clark after the game.

"A win is a win," he continued.  "We always looked like we were going to win the game, but we made too many errors and took too many penalties which allowed them to come into the game.  They were always dangerous with the rolling maul -- a boring way to play the game -- but we exploited them at outside centre and scored two good tries there.

"It wasn't a perfect game by any standard, but it is one that we can take hope from.  Next the United States, for which we will see some changes.  I thought Josh Jackson played well in his Test debut proving that we can take line-out ball against the opposition.  James led well and Bob Ross stood up to big men running at him all day and kicked with authority."

Canada plays the United States on Wednesday evening August 27 with its final game against the Argentina Pumas next Saturday, August 30.

The teams:

Canada:  1 Garth Cooke, 2 Pat Dunkley, 3 Rod Snow, 4 Mike James, 5 Ed Knaggs, 6 Ryan Banks (c), 7 Jim Douglas, 8 Josh Jackson, 9 Morgan Williams, 10 Bobby Ross, 11 John Cannon, 12 Marco Di Girolomo, 13 Nik Witkowski, 14 Winston Stanley, 15 James Pritchard
Reserves:  Sean Fauth, Mark Lawson, John Thiel, Kevin Tkachuk, Adam Van Staveren, Ryan Smith
Unused:  Ed Fairhurst

Uruguay:  1 Pablo Lemoine, 2 Juan Andres Perez, 3 Rodrigo Sanchez, 4 Juan Azuela, 5 Juan Carlos Bado, 6 Nicolas Brignoni, 7 Hernan Ponte, 8 Rodrigo Capo Ortega, 9 Juan Campomar, 10 Bernardo Amarillo, 11 Alfonso Cardoso, 12 Diego Aguirre (c), 13 Diego Reyes, 14 Joaquin Pastore, 15 Juan Menchaca
Reserves:  Sebastian Aguirre, Juan Alvarez, Nicolas Grille, Diego Lamelas, Marcelo Gutierrez, Emiliano Ibarra
Unused:  Guillermo Storace

Referee:  Borsani s.

Points Scorers:

Canada
Tries:  Stanley W.U. 1, Tkachuk K. 1, Fauth S. 1
Pen K.:  Ross R.P. 2

Uruguay
Tries:  Cardoso A. 1
Pen K.:  Menchaca J. 2

Scotland 47 Italy 15

Scotland recorded a useful 47-15 win over Italy in their pre-Rugby World Cup friendly at Murrayfield in Edinburgh, with the home side scoring six tries to two.

As they did on their June tour of South Africa, Scotland showed plenty of enterprise in this game, with halfbacks Mike Blair -- who was playing in place of regular skipper Bryan Redpath -- and Gordon Ross sending the ball down their backline as much as possible.

The Italians, however, defended strongly, with Scotland having to rely on the boot of Ross for their first few points, the Leeds Tykes No.10 slotting two penalties within the first quarter for a 6-3 lead, Italy's three points coming from the boot of their fly-half, Leicester's Ramiro Pez.

Scotland finally breached Italy's defence on the 20-minute mark when they sent the ball down their backline, with good work from wings Simon Danielli and Chris Paterson -- who replaced the injured Kenny Logan in the second minute of the game -- taking the ball down the right-hand touchline.

Their job, however, was not done, with the ball going left after some good work at the tackle and Sale flanker Jason White trotting over for the try, which Ross did not convert.

But Italy fought back soon after White's score, with a try from their No.7 Scott Palmer.  Captain and scrum-half Alessandro Troncon took a quick tap, when his side were on the attack in Scotland's 22, and Palmer powered over.  Pez missed the conversion, but Scotland were back in it at 11-8.

Italy's renewed hope was to be shortlived, however, when they had fullback Gert Peens yellow-carded by referee Donal Courtney for an infringement at the tackle, Ross rubbing salt into their wounds by slotting the subsequent penalty.

Scotland's 14-8 lead soon became 21-8 when White intercepted an intended long pass from Pez, with the hulking back rower racing away before being caught by Azzurri outside centre Andrea Masi.  But White had the presence of mind to get the ball away in the tackle, flinging a neat spin pass out, which bounced up and into the hands of Scotland's No.13, James McLaren.

At 21-8 Scotland finally had the breathing space they were looking for, and just before Peens came back onto the field -- after his 10-minute stint in the sin bin -- the home side got in for another score, this time little No.8 Mike Blair, who started the move with a cheeky tap penalty.

Blair darted ahead, passed to Paterson, who made good ground on the left-wing, before passing back inside to Blair, who was able to finish.  Ross converted and Scotland would have been elated with their 28-8 half-time lead.

Ross missed two penalty attempts early in the second half, which would certainly have put the Azzurri right out of contention, and the visitors made them pay just minutes later with a try by Nicola Mazzucato after a wonderful break from Pez.

Pez swerved, dummied and ran past would-be defenders before getting support from his centres Cristian Stoica and Andrea Masi, the latter throwing out a wildish pass to Mazzucato, who controlled the ball before speeding away to the tryline.

Pez's conversion took the score to 28-15, but any hopes of more Italian resistance were dashed in the 49th minute when Ross dived over for a try after good work from Danielli again.  Ross missed the conversion (he ended with five successful kicks from 10 attempts at goal) -- but 33-15 just seemed a bridge too far for the visitors.

Italy seemed to lose confidence after Ross's score, while Scotland added two more tries in the closing stages, one for debutant Danielli and one for replacement Brendan "Chainsaw" Laney, who is beginning to look more like a front rower than a back these days!

Man of the match:  Scotland back rower Jason White wins our vote for an all-action display on the side of the scrum.  He ran strongly, tackled well and was always up in support -- as he proved with his try.  Others to stand out were halfbacks Blair and Ross and wing Danielli, while fly-half Ramiro Pez and flanker Scott Palmer impressed for the Azzurri.

Moment of the match:  Simon Danielli's try was just reward for his excellent work-rate.  He showed enough in his first Test to suggest that he could be a force at Test level, while scoring a try would have made his debut that much sweeter.

Villain of the match:  Nobody or nothing.  We were treated to good clean rugby in Edinburgh!

Yellow card(s):  Gert Peens (Italy, 29)

The Teams:

Scotland:  1 Bruce Douglas, 2 Robbie Russell, 3 Tom Smith, 4 Nathan Hines, 5 Scott Murray (c), 6 Jon Petrie, 7 Jason White, 8 Simon Taylor, 9 Michael Blair, 10 Gordon Ross, 11 Kenny Logan, 12 Andrew Henderson, 13 James McLaren, 14 Simon Danielli, 15 Ben Hinshelwood
Reserves:  Iain Fullarton, Brendan Laney, Gordon McIlwham, Gordon Bulloch, Martin Leslie, Chris Paterson
Unused:  Graeme Beveridge

Italy:  1 Andrea Lo Cicero, 2 Carlo Festuccia, 3 Salvatore Perugini, 4 Marco Bortolami, 5 Santiago Dellape, 6 Scott Palmer, 7 Maurizio Zaffiri, 8 Matthew Phillips, 9 Alessandro Troncon (c), 10 Ramiro Pez, 11 Mirco Bergamasco, 12 Andrea Masi, 13 Cristian Stoica, 14 Nicola Mazzucato, 15 Gert Peens
Reserves:  Gonzalo Canale, Ramiro Martinez-Frugoni, Fabio Ongaro, Mauro Bergamasco, Francesco Mazzariol, Sergio Parisse
Unused:  Juan Manuel Queirolo

Attendance:  25304
Referee:  Courtney d.

Points Scorers:

Scotland
Tries:  Danielli S.C.J. 1, McLaren J.G. 1, Ross G. 1, Blair M.R.L. 1, White J.P.R. 1, Laney B.J. 1
Conv:  Ross G. 2, Paterson C.D. 2
Pen K.:  Ross G. 3

Italy
Tries:  Mazzucato N. 1, Palmer S. 1
Conv:  Pez R. 1
Pen K.:  Pez R. 1

Wales 9 England 43

England sent home a frightening message as to the vast depth in their ranks going into the World Cup, when what was effectively their second XV hammered Wales' strongest side to the tune of 43-9 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, scoring five tries in the process.

With virtually all of their front-line stars rested, England's back-up team wreaked havoc against a Welsh side in need of some serious soul searching after a desperate year which shows no sign of getting any better.

Three penalties from the boot of fly-half and captain Stephen Jones were all they had to show for their efforts, while a rampant England team flexed their forward muscle and piled on the points late on, having gone into the break at only 16-9 up.

And the scoreline could have been a lot bigger were it not for the wayward boot of England fly-half Alex King, with the London Wasps star firing five penalty attempts wide of the posts.

King did manage to strike three penalties, two conversions and a drop-goal through before being replaced by fellow World Cup aspirant Dave Walder, and by the time he left the field the result was beyond all doubt, as England coach Clive Woodward gave valuable match practice to his second-string players, many of whom had already featured in the gritty win over the New Zealand Maori back in June.

While second row Simon Shaw sent a World Cup marker home with a man-of-the-match performance, he did not make the scoresheet, although fellow forward Lewis Moody -- back after injury -- did just that to open the try-scoring when the Leicester flanker crossed the line on the 25-minute mark.

By that time King and Jones had struck two penalties each, but it was English pressure all the way -- wing Dan Luger nearly scoring in the corner, before King struck a drop-goal.

Jones hit his third penalty just before the break to send the Welsh in trailing by only seven points, but the men in white put their foot on the gas in the second half.

King had a torrid time of it with the boot as the half got under way, having his first pop at goal interrupted by a streaker before missing the target, then similarly failing to find the posts with his subsequent two -- something which may well increase the chances of Walder or Paul Grayson making the World Cup squad as back-up to starting fly-half Jonny Wilkinson.

Jones had a drop-goal charged down as Wales struggled for territory and possession, and when England took a quick tap penalty in Welsh territory after 53 minutes, the result was Luger crossing the line for the second try of the match after good work from the pack -- Danny Grewcock and Martin Corry both playing their part.

King converted, and then his Wasps club-mate Joe Worsley piled more misery on Wales when he picked up from the base of the scrum and went down the blindside to score only minutes later, King having added another penalty.

Moody nearly got his second after narrowly failing to reach the ball in time before it went dead behind the Welsh line -- going on to be replaced by Sale Shark Alex Sanderson after an enterprising comeback from injury.

England scrum-half and vice-captain Andy Gomarsall had a try chalked off for an accidental off-side, but with momentum firmly going the way of the visitors, it was only a matter of time before the Welsh defensive line was breached again.

And South African-born debutant Stuart Abbott was the man to do it, the Wasps centre finding a superb angle to hit the line at pace and go over after yet more powerful forward work including Grewcock -- back after the suspension which forced him to miss the Australasian tour.

Then just when the scoring looked complete, veteran Leicester hooker Dorian West rumbled over in injury time from a short-range line-out for the fifth try -- the match serving as an apt demonstration of the health of the English game and the depth to which coach Woodward can call upon as he prepares his World Cup challenge.

For Wales however, a stark reality check -- as if they needed one -- and another reminder that they will have to pull a very big rabbit out of a very small hat if they are going to cause a ripple in the World Cup waters in just over a month's time.

The Teams:

Wales:  1 Gethin Jenkins, 2 Robin McBryde, 3 Iestyn Thomas, 4 Robert Sidoli, 5 Chris Wyatt, 6 Colin Charvis, 7 Martyn Williams, 8 Dafydd Jones, 9 Gareth Cooper, 10 Stephen Jones (c), 11 Mark Jones, 12 Sonny Parker, 13 Mark Taylor, 14 Gareth Thomas, 15 Rhys Williams
Reserves:  Adam Jones, Gavin Thomas, Gareth Williams, Jonathan Thomas
Unused:  Gavin Henson, Tom Shanklin, Mike Phillips

England:  1 Jason Leonard (c), 2 Mark Regan, 3 Julian White, 4 Danny Grewcock, 5 Simon Shaw, 6 Martin Corry, 7 Lewis Moody, 8 Joe Worsley, 9 Andy Gomarsall, 10 Alex King, 11 Dan Luger, 12 Stuart Abbott, 13 Jamie Noon, 14 James Simpson-Daniel, 15 Dan Scarbrough
Reserves:  Will Green, Dorian West, Steve Borthwick, Alex Sanderson, Ollie Smith, Dave Walder
Unused:  Austin Healey

Attendance:  47500
Referee:  Deluca p.

Points Scorers:

Wales
Pen K.:  Jones S.M. 3

England
Tries:  Abbott S.R. 1, Luger D.D. 1, Worsley J.P.R. 1, Moody L.W. 1, West D.E. 1
Conv:  King A.D. 2, Walder D.J.H. 1
Pen K.:  King A.D. 3
Drop G.:  King A.D. 1

Argentina 42 United States 8

Argentina beat the USA 42-8 at the Buenos Aires Cricket and Rugby Club in the opening match of the 2003 Pan-American Championship.  The Pumas scored six tries to the youthful Eagles' one.

The USA had four new caps in their side -- prop Richard Liddington, lock Gerhard Klerck, flank Todd Clever and hooker Matt Wyatt.

Liddington led the list of first-time cap winners, scoring the Eagles' sole try of the match.  Lock Klerck also made a solid start, while hooker Wyatt and flanker Clever came off the bench to good effect.  The young side showed great commitment, but were not up to the experience and skill of the Argentinians.

The Pumas led 18-3 at half-time, but Liddington ran some 30 metres and scored a try early in the second half to make it 18-8 and awaken a flicker of hope in the young hearts, but really they were not going to win.

Felipe Contepomi made it 21-8 and then the Argentinians received a penalty try at a collapsed scrum and then added another two to make the result a comfortable one.

The victory puts the Pumas in line for another championship title, especially after the Canadians' very ordinary display against the Teros of Uruguay.

This is the fifth Pan-American Tournament.  Argentina won the previous four without losing a match.  A repeat is likely this year.  The previous tournaments were in 1995, 1996, 1998 and 2001.

On Wednesday, the USA play Canada and Argentina play Uruguay.  Both matches are at the San Isidro Club.

The Teams:

Argentina:  1 Roberto Grau, 2 Mario Ledesma Arocena, 3 Omar Hasan Jalil, 4 Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, 5 Pedro Sporleder, 6 Pablo Bouza, 7 Martin Durand, 8 Santiago Sanz, 9 Nicolas Fernandez Miranda, 10 Felipe Contepomi, 11 Diego Albanese, 12 Lisandro Arbizu (c), 13 Martin Gaitan, 14 Hernan Senillosa, 15 Bernardo Stortoni
Reserves:  Ignacio Corleto, Juan Fernandez Miranda, Mauricio Reggiardo, Rodrigo Roncero
Unused:  Gonzalo Longo Elia, Rolando Martin, Agustin Pichot

United States:  1 Richard Liddington, 2 Kirk Khasigian, 3 Jacob Waasdorp, 4 Gerhard Klerck, 5 Luke Gross, 6 Jurie Gouws, 7 Kort Schubert (c), 8 Olo Fifita, 9 Kimball Kjar, 10 Matt Sherman, 11 Johnny Naqica, 12 Kain Cross, 13 Jason Keyter, 14 Mose Timoteo, 15 John Buchholz
Reserves:  Todd Clever, Dan Dorsey, Paul Emerick, Alec Parker, Matt Wyatt
Unused:  Phillip Eloff, Mike MacDonald

Attendance:  6000
Referee:  Kuklinski b.

Points Scorers:

Argentina
Tries:  Gaitan M. 1, Durand M. 1, Bouza P. 1, Reggiardo M.H. 1, Corleto I. 1, Penalty Try 1
Conv:  Contepomi F. 3
Pen K.:  Contepomi F. 2

United States
Tries:  Liddington R. 1
Pen K.:  Sherman M. 1

France 56 Romania 8

France started their World Cup preparations with an easy 56-8 win over Romania in their warm-up match at Stade Felix-Bollaert in Lens.  The French outscored the Romanians by eight tries to one, to illustrate their dominance in this game.

It was the best possible start for Les Bleus' World Cup preparations as they dominated all aspects of play.  They enjoyed a 35-5 lead (five tries to one) at half-time and scored another three tries without reply after the break.

The win, on a good pitch in great conditions, will also boost the French team's self-confidence ahead of their two warm-up games against the World Cup favourites and topped-ranked team on the Zurich World Rankings, England.

French coach Bernard Laporte was delighted with his team's performance.  "In this type of match, against a reputedly weaker adversary, the risk is not taking the match the right way," he told reporters.

"Here, the guys played seriously and with desire."

France took an early lead, with Damien Traille, Aurélien Rougerie and Imanol Harinordoquy collecting tries inside the first quarter as the weak Romanian defence struggled to control the French runners.  They continued to dominate proceedings for the remainder of the match.

Romania winger Gabriel Brezoianu helped the visitors save face with a try in the waning minutes of the first half.

South African-born centre Brian Liebenberg won his first cap for France, scoring a try in the process.

Yellow card(s):  Marius Tincu (Romania)

The Teams:

France:  1 Jean-Jacques Crenca, 2 Yannick Bru, 3 Sylvain Marconnet, 4 Fabien Pelous, 5 Jerome Thion, 6 Serge Betsen Tchoua, 7 Olivier Magne, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 9 Fabien Galthie (c), 10 Frederic Michalak, 11 Aurelien Rougerie, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 13 Damien Traille, 14 Christophe Dominici, 15 Pepito Elhorga
Reserves:  Olivier Brouzet, Raphael Ibanez, Gerald Merceron, Christian Labit, Brian Liebenberg, Olivier Milloud, Dimitri Yachvili

Romania:  1 Petru Balan, 2 Marius Tincu, 3 Marcel Socaciu, 4 Sorin Socol, 5 Cristian Petre, 6 George Chiriac, 7 Costica Mersoiu, 8 Ovidiu Tonita, 9 Lucian Sirbu, 10 Ionut Tofan, 11 Gabriel Brezoianu, 12 Romeo Gontineac (c), 13 Valentin Maftei, 14 Cristian Sauan, 15 Dan Dumbrava
Reserves:  Augustin Petrechei, Cristian Podea, Cezar Popescu, Petrisor Toderasc, Marian Tudori, Mihai Vioreanu
Unused:  Iulian Andrei

Attendance:  18005
Referee:  De santis g.

Points Scorers:

France
Tries:  Rougerie A. 1, Jauzion Y. 1, Traille D. 1, Crenca J-J. 1, Betsen Tchoua S. 1, Harinordoquy I. 1, Magne O. 1, Liebenberg B. 1
Conv:  Michalak F. 7, Merceron G. 1

Romania
Tries: 
Brezoianu G. 1
Pen K.:  Dumbrava D. 1

Wales 12 Ireland 35

Ireland beat Wales 35-12 at Lansdowne Road in Dublin in the first of their 2003 Rugby World Cup warm-up games, handing the struggling Wales team their ninth consecutive Test defeat.

Ireland never looked threatened by a young and largely untested Wales team, consisting of six new caps with coach Steve Hansen, in an effort to settle on his final 30-man squad for the World Cup, picking Wales Under-21 outside half Nicky Robinson to make his first full Test debut at fullback and Gwent Dragons back row forward Rhys Oakley on the flank, as well as another four former or current Under-21 players on the bench.

For Ireland, inspirational captain Keith Wood made his first appearance in over a year since being ruled out by a shoulder injury, while star centre Brian O'Driscoll, who hasn't seen any action since injuring a hamstring in the Heineken Cup semi-final against Perpignan in April, also made his return, impressing, as always, alongside his skipper.

It took only four minutes for the hosts to cross over for the first try of the game when lock forward Paul O'Connell touched down following a relentless Irish surge up the field, with fly-half David Humphreys stretched the lead to seven points with the conversion.

Wales, however, answered back almost immediately after an Ireland handling error led to a turnover, with their young backline sweeping across the field, allowing veteran winger Gareth Thomas to touch down in the corner.

That, however, was to be the only joy for Wales in the first half.

What followed was wave upon wave of green jerseys as Ireland sent the ball wide at every opportunity and were it not for some poor handling and over-eagerness by Ireland, the scoreline could have looked entirely different.  As it turns out, the Irish managed to cross the tryline once only, going to the break at 14-5.

Ireland began the second half the same way they began the first, when replacement loose forward David Wallace crossed over in the first two minutes, Humphreys making no mistake with the conversion attempt.

Ireland again threatened to break loose, but a courageous Welsh defence limited the damage until lock Malcolm O'Kelly stormed down centre-field, cut inside young winger Garan Evans, and went down underneath posts to effectively finish off the game.

O'Connell was rewarded with a second try for his efforts on attack as well as defence, putting in some big tackles that left the Welsh reeling backwards in a display that may just leave more questions than answers, but the decision by Hansen to leave out all four of his "squad captains" -- Colin Charvis, Stephen Jones, Martyn Williams and Robin McBryde -- left the side with little in the leadership role.

Man of the match:  Wales showed plenty of courage on defence as well as on attack, but it was always going to be too much for such a young and inexperienced side to seriously threaten Ireland and while any number of the Irish could pick up the award, Paul O'Connell's work-rate was exceptional and his defence was at times simply devastating -- reason enough for the lock forward to be named as our Man of the match.

Moment of the match:  The massive lock Malcolm O'Kelly stepping inside Garan Evans to score underneath the posts for Ireland.  One up to the forwards!

Villian of the match:  Evans for letting O'Kelly step inside him to score underneath the posts.

The Teams:

Wales:  1 Duncan Jones, 2 Mefin Davies, 3 Ben Evans, 4 Michael Owen, 5 Gareth Llewellyn, 6 Richard Parks, 7 Rhys Oakley, 8 Alix Popham, 9 Dwayne Peel, 10 Ceri Sweeney, 11 Garan Evans, 12 Iestyn Harris, 13 Jamie Robinson, 14 Gareth Thomas (c), 15 Nicky Robinson
Reserves:  Huw Bennett, Gethin Jenkins, Vernon Cooper
Unused:  Nathan Brew, Andy Williams, Andy Marinos, Robin Sowden-Taylor

Ireland:  1 Simon Best, 2 Keith Wood (c), 3 Reggie Corrigan, 4 Malcolm O'Kelly, 5 Paul O'Connell, 6 Keith Gleeson, 7 Alan Quinlan, 8 Anthony Foley, 9 Peter Stringer, 10 David Humphreys, 11 Tyrone Howe, 12 Brian O'Driscoll, 13 Kevin Maggs, 14 Anthony Horgan, 15 Geordan Murphy
Reserves:  Shane Byrne, Gordon D'Arcy, Girvan Dempsey, Guy Easterby, David Wallace, Justin Fitzpatrick, Donncha O'Callaghan

Attendance:  20000
Referee:  Dume j.

Points Scorers:

Wales
Tries:  Evans G.R. 1, Thomas G. 1
Conv:  Harris I.R. 1

Ireland
Tries:  O'Kelly M.E. 1, O'Connell P.J. 2, Quinlan A. 1, Wallace D.P. 1
Conv:  Murphy G.E.A. 1, Humphreys D.G. 4

Australia 17 New Zealand 21

The All Blacks won back the Bledisloe Cup courtesy of a 21-17 win over the Wallabies in an enthralling Tri-Nations encounter -- the final one in the 2003 competition -- at Eden Park in Auckland.

This match had a bit of everything, with the New Zealanders once again impressing when they sent the ball wide, but when the weather conditions worsened, both sides kept it tight as they tried to outwit each other when handling became that much tougher.

The Kiwis were deserved winners, which gave them a Tri-Nations clean-sweep -- the fourth squad to achieve this, after New Zealand in 1996 and 1997 and South Africa in 1998, but the Wallabies certainly pushed them to the very end, with a well-taken try from George Smith just six minutes from full-time, no doubt raising the ABs' stress-levels.

Smith's touchdown, Australia's only try of the day, came after incessant Wallaby pressure in the All Black 22 had gone unrewarded.  Skipper George Gregan -- as he did in the Tri-Nations opener in Cape Town -- spurned kicking opportunities at goal, opting, instead, for tries.

The All Black defence, however, which leaked just six tries in four Tri-Nations fixtures, was once again up to it, with the Kiwis even launching a wonderful counter-attack from their own 22, threatening the Wallaby defence at that late stage.

But the Wallabies turned the ball over on the half-way line and when they sent the ball wide, with George Smith sending a neat pass out to Mat Rogers, the All Black defence became brittle, with a Gregan probe and pass freeing Smith on the left-wing for a try in the corner.

Inside centre Elton Flatley missed the near-touchline conversion, leaving the score at 21-17, but the New Zealanders held out and the final whistle was sounded as the self-same Flatley managed to break a tackle, only to see his wild pass not going to hand, signalling a scrum for the knock-on, which then became full-time.

The home side ran in two first-half tries, both from speedy right-wing Doug Howlett, with the Australians once again guilty -- as they were in Sydney -- of kicking the ball at the Kiwi back three and giving them enough time and space to run it back with interest.

Howlett's first try came directly from a stray Wallaby kick, as fullback Mils Muliaina ran the ball back, hooker Keven Mealamu ran into space perfectly and popped up a pass to Howlett, who glided over for yet another Test try.

Howlett then made history a few minutes later when he became the first All Black to score more than one try against the Wallabies at Eden Park when he chased a clever kick-ahead from Carlos Spencer after Jerry Collins had stolen the ball from an Australian ruck.

Spencer's chip, from the Wallaby 10-metre line, was well-weighted, giving Howlett enough time to hunt the ball down in the Australian deadball area, beating a helpless Elton Flatley to the ball in process.

Interestingly enough, that kick from Spencer was the 20th time New Zealand had put boot to ball.  It was, however, the first time that they managed to regain the ball -- and how it mattered.

Spencer's conversion attempt hit the uprights, but a penalty from the Blues and Auckland first five-eighth took his side into a 15-9 lead -- Australia's points having come from three Elton Flatley penalties.

Wallaby coach Eddie Jones made an interesting substitution shortly before half-time, bringing on debutant tighthead prop Al Baxter for Glenn Panoho, the latter seemed sluggish around the park, but it mattered little as New Zealand stepped up a gear shortly before the half-time whistle, with Chris Jack coming very close to getting over on the stroke of half-time.

South African referee Jonathan Kaplan, who was playing advantage for a Wallaby infringement, needed the Television Match Official's help, but the request was turned down and the visitors could breath a sigh of relief.

A converted try would have given New Zealand a 22-9 half-time lead, and as it turns out Spencer missed the subsequent penalty attempt, leaving the score at the break at 15-9.

Man of the Match:  Plenty of contenders here from both sides.  Let us start with New Zealand, where Keven Mealamu, Chris Jack, Richie McCaw, Tana Umaga and Doug Howlett impressed.  For Australia, David Giffin, Phil Waugh and George Smith all stood out.  Our winner, however, is a Kiwi, with all-action hooker Keven Mealamu impressing in most facets of play.  His line-out throwing was a bit off-colour at times, but his ball-carrying and support-play are a joy to witness.  At times he moves like a flank, but, then, with the simple drop of his head he can transform himself into a powerful front rower.

Moment of the Match:  The final whistle and New Zealand's celebrations.  Despite the fact that these teams play against each other so often, the All Blacks' delight was evident as they managed to win back the Bledisloe Cup for the first time since 1997.  It was a superb encounter, with plenty of power and skill on show, but the final whistle was a joy to behold.

Villain of the Match:  The rain!  It nearly spoilt this wonderful encounter ...

The Teams:

Australia:  1 Glenn Panoho, 2 Brendan Cannon, 3 Bill Young, 4 David Giffin, 5 Daniel Vickerman, 6 George Smith, 7 Phil Waugh, 8 Toutai Kefu, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Wendell Sailor, 12 Elton Flatley, 13 Mat Rogers, 14 Lote Tuqiri, 15 Chris Latham
Reserves:  Matthew Burke, Owen Finegan, Matt Giteau, Jeremy Paul, Alastair Baxter, Nathan Sharpe
Unused:  Chris Whitaker

New Zealand:  1 David Hewett, 2 Keven Mealamu, 3 Greg Somerville, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Ali Williams, 6 Richie McCaw, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Jerry Collins, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Carlos Spencer, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Aaron Mauger, 13 Tana Umaga, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 15 Mils Muliaina
Reserves:  Leon MacDonald
Unused:  Daniel Carter, Steve Devine, Marty Holah, Brad Thorn, Mark Hammett, Kees Meeuws

Attendance:  45000
Referee:  Kaplan j.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Smith G.B. 1
Pen K.:  Flatley E.J. 4

New Zealand
Tries:  Howlett D.C. 2
Conv:  Spencer C.J. 1
Pen K.:  Spencer C.J. 3

New Zealand 19 South Africa 11

The boot of first five-eighth Carlos Spencer proved to be the difference as New Zealand clinched the 2003 Tri-Nations title with a 19-11 win over the Springboks at Carisbrook in Dunedin.  The teams ended the game with one try each.

In the end it was a conversion and four penalties by Spencer, who produced a 100 percent kicking record, which beat an erratic Louis Koen's two penalties.

For a change there were far more positives coming out of a game involving South Africa than the negatives.  It was a traditional hard scrap between New Zealand and South Africa, with the Springboks showing that pride and passion which have been so inconspicuous in other matches this year as they managed to keep the Kiwis in check with some solid defending, another aspect which was badly lacking in most of their games this year.

The one question which has to be asked, and deserves an honest non-sugar coated answer, is why do the Springboks only play like this when they are under pressure after weeks of shocking execution?

This is a game that will certainly provide some answers to the Boks, even though a couple of key questions remain.  It is also a result which will ensure that they keep their feet firmly on he ground.

As for the Kiwis, they showed that their game is better suited to the dry grounds of South Africa, as opposed to a night game in the cool and windy evening air of Dunedin, where the night-time dew affects the handling.

The Springboks also put the Kiwis under pressure, from the outset, and contested every facet with the ferocity one would expect from the men in Green and Gold.

In fact, from the moment Bok prop Lawrence Sephaka and his All Black counterpart Kees Meeuws came into contact during the Haka, it was clear this was a game in which the Boks would not back off.

And by half-time, with the score at 13-11, in favour of the Kiwis, the Springboks had enjoyed a significant advantage in both territory and possession.  They held the ball for 57 percent of the time and took it through 51 phases (rucks and mauls).

At that stage the All Blacks managed just 26 rucks and mauls, as they attempted to spread it wide and stretch the big Bok pack.

But after the break the Kiwis picked up the pace and when the final whistle went they had secured a massive advantage in both territory and possession, with the visitors reduced mainly to a defensive role.

The All Blacks had enjoyed an overall advantage in the possession stakes of 54 percent, having taken the ball through 68 phases after the break, which saw them spend most of the second half in the Boks' territory.  In return, the Boks managed to take the ball through 45 phases only.

The Boks used their big forwards to take the ball up the middle and close to the rucks, where the All Blacks traditionally have fewer defenders.  This worked for most part, but South Africa's finishing let them down.

The All Blacks, with Spencer in control as usual, varied their options better, but found the Boks' defence much harder to break down this time.  As a result, they were forced into kicking more often than they normally would have.

The big difference is that their kicking was far more purposeful, effective and not as erratic as some of the South African punts were.

For the All Blacks the big question is still how they will react when their forwards are really under pressure.  At times, with the Bok pack in full cry, they did look vulnerable.  An England pack at their best could make life very unpleasant for this All Black team.

The Springboks will be concerned about their scrumming, with the All Blacks again putting them under pressure and even managing to hook once against the head.

Then there is their decision-making at scrum-half and fly-half, which certainly contributed to some of their problems on Saturday.

Man of the match:  When games get this close the difference is usually one moment of brilliance from one player.  All Black first five-eighth Carlos Spencer is not known for his kicking, but on the day he produced a 100 percent goal-kicking performance -- the difference on the board in the end -- and his overall kicking out of hand was also far more effective.

Moment of the Match:  It is a simple choice -- Richard Bands' try in the 16th minute.  There was a ruck just inside the All Blacks' half and the burly tighthead prop came charging up.  Scrum-half Joost van der Westhuizen popped the ball to him as he charged into a gap.  30 metres downfield Carlos Spencer made a brave attempt to stop the rampaging Bok, but was brushed aside and Bands dropped over for his first Test try and one of the best forward tries you will ever see.

Villain of the Match:  Springbok fly-half Louis Koen and scrum-half Joost van der Westhuizen both qualify for this award.  Van der Westhuizen for some of the shocking passes he flung in the general direction of his backline and Koen for trying to kick three drop-goals, with good quality ball, and all three were shockers.  He kicked far too many up and unders -- which may have been under instruction -- but his execution left a lot to be desired.  And his goal-kicking, the real reason why he is in the side, also left a lot to be desired.

The Teams:

New Zealand:  1 David Hewett, 2 Mark Hammett, 3 Kees Meeuws, 4 Brad Thorn, 5 Ali Williams, 6 Marty Holah, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Jerry Collins, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Carlos Spencer, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Aaron Mauger, 13 Tana Umaga, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 15 Mils Muliaina
Reserves:  Keven Mealamu, Chris Jack, Greg Somerville
Unused:  Daniel Carter, Leon MacDonald, Rodney So'oialo, Byron Kelleher

South Africa:  1 Richard Bands, 2 Danie Coetzee, 3 Lawrence Sephaka, 4 Geo Cronje, 5 Victor Matfield, 6 Corne Krige (c), 7 Joe Van Niekerk, 8 Juan Smith, 9 Joost Van Der Westhuizen, 10 Louis Koen, 11 Ashwin Willemse, 12 Gcobani Bobo, 13 Jorrie Muller, 14 Stefan Terblanche, 15 Thinus Delport
Reserves:  Lukas Van Biljon, Christo Bezuidenhout, Selborne Boome
Unused:  De Wet Barry, Neil De Kock, Andre Pretorius, Pedrie Wannenburg

Attendance:  30200
Referee:  Marshall p.

Points Scorers:

New Zealand
Tries:  Rokocoko J. 1
Conv:  Spencer C.J. 1
Pen K.:  Spencer C.J. 4

South Africa
Tries:  Bands R.E. 1
Pen K.:  Koen L.J. 2

Canada 9 NZ Maori 30

The New Zealand Maori wrapped up their three-match tour of Canada with a 30-9 win over the Canucks in the second "Test" at York University in Toronto.

The visitors outscored their hosts by five tries to nil, but Maori first five-eighth Willie Walker forgot his kicking boots at home, missing all but one of his team's conversions and adding just one penalty.

All Black back five forward Troy Flavell scored a brace of tries, Crusaders and Canterbury wing Joe Maddock scored a try -- to go with his two last week -- All Black discard Christian Cullen got on the scoresheet and hooker Slade McFarland, a replacement for Corey Flynn in the Maori touring party, scored the fifth and final try.

Canadian fullback Jamie Pritchard, who was born in Australia, slotted three penalties for his side, but the home side were unable to breach the rock-solid Kiwi defence.

The NZ Maori won last week's "international" against Canada in Calgary by 65-27, while the New Zealanders also won their midweek encounter, against the Rugby Canada All Stars in Ottawa, by 52-11.

The teams:

Canada:  1 Garth Cooke, 2 Pat Dunkley, 3 Kevin Tkachuk, 4 Mike James, 5 Colin Yukes, 6 Jim Douglas, 7 Adam Van Staveren, 8 Ryan Banks (c), 9 Morgan Williams, 10 Ryan Smith, 11 John Cannon, 12 Marco Di Girolomo, 13 Matt King, 14 Winston Stanley, 15 James Pritchard
Reserves:  Ed Fairhurst, Mark Lawson, Phil Murphy, Nik Witkowski, Kevin Wirachowski
Unused:  Sean Fauth, Bobby Ross

New Zealand Maori:  15 Christian Cullen, 14 Shayne Austin, 13 Rico Gear, 12 Joe Maddock, 11 Norm Berryman, 10 Willie Walker, 9 Brendan Haami, 8 Ron Cribb, 7 Wayne McEntee, 6 Troy Flavell, 5 Paul Tito (captain), 4 Kristian Ormsby, 3 Carl Hayman, 2 Slade McFarland, 1 Joe McDonnell.
Replacements:  16 Scott Linklater, 17 Deacon Manu, 18 Warren Smith, 19 Germaine Anaha, 20 Glen Jackson, 21 David Gibson, 22 Bryce Robins.

Referee:  Maybank r.

Points Scorers:

Canada
Pen K.:  Pritchard J. 3

New Zealand Maori
Tries:  Flavell 2, Maddock, Cullen, McFarland
Con:  Walker
Pen:  Walker

Australia 29 South Africa 9

The world champion Wallabies bounced back from their big loss to the All Blacks last week, recording a 29-9 win over the Springboks at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, relegating the South Africans to third-place on the Tri-Nations standings.

While the obvious headlines of "Wallabies bounce back" and "Still the world champions" would be expected, truth be told, the Australians still face some hard work ahead, but, at least they came away from this match with a win, which is more than the South Africans can say.

The home side scored two second-half tries, which ultimately proved to be the major difference on the scoreboard, but the kicking boot of Elton Flatley -- he kicked seven from seven -- and the ill-discipline of the visitors also played into the Wallabies' hands.

Flatley kicked two conversions and five penalties, with Springbok fly-half Louis Koen managing just three penalties from five attempts, as the Boks attempted to play a low-risk game, trying to remain in Wallaby territory and hoping to force the penalties.

But the South Africans would have surprised even themselves as they managed to hold the ball for long periods of play, forcing the Australians into making some tackles, but when it came to the moment critique, the visitors were just not up to it, with Koen just not the man to take the game by the scruff of its neck and call the shots.

Wallaby No.10 Stephen Larkham was not his usual dominant self either -- his kicking out of hand is still not where it should be -- but he did force a few clever passes in the second stanza, especially to powerhouse wing Wendell Sailor when the Bok pack began to tire, stretching the South African defence to its limit.

Just two tries were scored in the match, both by the Wallabies, with centre Mat Rogers snapping up a stray long pass from Louis Koen early in the second half, when the scores were still tied at the half-time score of 6-6, before racing away from debutant Jorrie Muller for the try.

Flatley's conversion took the score to 13-6, and although Koen replied soon afterwards with his third penalty, Flatley managed to keep his team ahead with two more penalties, before Koen missed his second attempt just after the advent of the final quarter to leave the score at 19-9.

Cynical play from Robbie Kempson just a few minutes later saw the Boks forced to play with one man down again -- hooker Danie Coetzee had spent 10 minutes in the sin bin between minutes 38 and 48 for foul at the tackle -- but Flatley's subsequent penalty, in the 67th minute, took his team out to 22-9, with time quickly running out.

The introduction of Brent Russell -- on the right-wing for Stefan Terblanché -- soon afterwards signalled the intention of the Boks at that stage, but the solid Australian defence, which did not seem threatened for much of the game, held out once again before one final strike to put daylight between the two sides.

The Wallabies worked the ball wide to left-wing Lote Tuqiri, who did not see too much off the ball, and he held off Russell for long enough before being hauled down.  The ball went to the right where Toutai Kefu drew in the final defence out wide before Phil Waugh dotted down in the corner despite a brave tackle from Bok No.8 Juan Smith.

For his efforts, Kefu was stretchered off the field after taking a late and high hit from Kempson, but the Wallaby elation proved just how much this win meant to them, having, before this match, lost three games on the trot, to England, South Africa and New Zealand, conceding 50 points in the latter fixture.

The South Africans certainly deserve some praise for their brave showing, but if they are to have any say at the World Cup later this year -- or in Dunedin next week -- they need to get more flair and authority into their game and have a good, hard look at their ill-discipline.

Man of the Match:  Two Waratahs men stood out for the Wallabies, hooker Brendan Cannon, who was excellent against the All Blacks last week, and one of the two Wallaby opensides, Phil Waugh.  For the Boks, Selborne Boome began well, while the rest of his tight five was not far behind, while Joe van Niekerk hardly looked rusty.  In the end, however, our obvious choice was Waugh, who was everywhere on attack, supporting the ball-carrier at every opportunity, defending strongly and competing well at the breakdown, along with George Smith.

Moment of the Match:  We have two moments, and both occurred within six minutes of each other.  First Wallaby No.12 Elton Flatley struck a tough penalty in the 57th minute, which bounced off the uprights to put his side ahead by 19-9, just past that crucial seven-point barrier.  Then, in the 63rd minute, South African kicking ace Louis Koen missed a relatively easy shot at goal, leaving the scoreline at 19-9.  If Flatley had missed and Koen been successful, the score would have been 16-12 in the home team's favour.  It still would have been game on ...

Villain of the Match:  Danie Coetzee was pencilled in early on for his silly misdemeanour, which earned him a yellow card in the 38th minute.  But our vote, here, goes to fellow Bok front rower, Robbie Kempson, firstly for a yellow card for tripping George Gregan in the 67th minute, and then for his high tackle on Wallaby No.8 Toutai Kefu, which knocked the Australian vice-captain out and saw him stretchered from the field.

Yellow card(s):  Danie Coetzee (South Africa, 38), Robbie Kempson (South Africa, 67)

The Teams:

Australia:  1 Patricio Noriega, 2 Brendan Cannon, 3 Bill Young, 4 David Giffin, 5 Daniel Vickerman, 6 George Smith, 7 Phil Waugh, 8 Toutai Kefu, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Wendell Sailor, 12 Elton Flatley, 13 Mat Rogers, 14 Lote Tuqiri, 15 Chris Latham
Reserves:  Matthew Burke, Owen Finegan, Matt Giteau, Jeremy Paul, Glenn Panoho, Chris Whitaker, Nathan Sharpe

South Africa:  1 Richard Bands, 2 Danie Coetzee, 3 Robbie Kempson, 4 Victor Matfield, 5 Selborne Boome, 6 Corne Krige (c), 7 Joe Van Niekerk, 8 Juan Smith, 9 Craig Davidson, 10 Louis Koen, 11 Ashwin Willemse, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Jorrie Muller, 14 Stefan Terblanche, 15 Andre Pretorius
Reserves:  Wikus Van Heerden, Bakkies Botha, Brent Russell, Dale Santon, Lawrence Sephaka, Joost Van Der Westhuizen
Unused:  Gcobani Bobo

Attendance:  51188
Referee:  O'brien p.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Rogers M.S. 1, Waugh P.R. 1
Conv:  Flatley E.J. 2
Pen K.:  Flatley E.J. 5

South Africa
Pen K.:  Koen L.J. 3

Canada 27 NZ Maori 65

The New Zealand Maori began their three-match tour of Canada with a comprehensive 65-27 win over the Canadian national team in Calgary.

The home team began strongly, with centre Nik Witkowski scoring an early, which was converted by fly-half Bob Ross, before the tourists hit back with unconverted tries by forward Troy Flavell and back Rico Gear.

A penalty from Ross tied the scores at 10-all, but a double from Canterbury winger Joe Maddock and a try by Shayne Austin saw the NZ Maori run into a useful 31-15 half-time lead.

Hurricanes halfback Brendan Haami, who replaced Aucklander Dave Gibson after the break, ran in an early second-half try, but a try from Canadian loosehead prop Kevin Tkachuk cut the scoreline to 39-22 before the New Zealanders turned it on, scoring another four tries, with Canada replying with one from Ross.

Austin and Haami completed their doubles, with replacement first five-eighth Glen Jackson getting over for a try, along with former All Black No.8 Ron Cribb.

"We're rapt with that [the result]," NZ Maori coach Matt Te Pou told NZPA.

"We had a lot of young guys in the side and we all had to cope with the altitude; it's 3500 feet [above sea level] and the heat and humidity, so to finish so strongly was great."

The New Zealand Maori face a Canadian All Stars XV in Ottawa on Wednesday, with the second "Test" against Canada in Toronto on Saturday, August 2.

The teams:

Canada:  1 Garth Cooke, 2 Mark Lawson, 3 Kevin Tkachuk, 4 Mike James, 5 Colin Yukes, 6 Ryan Banks (c), 7 Adam Van Staveren, 8 Phil Murphy, 9 Morgan Williams, 10 Bobby Ross, 11 Sean Fauth, 12 John Cannon, 13 Nik Witkowski, 14 Winston Stanley, 15 James Pritchard
Reserves:  Marco Di Girolomo, Jim Douglas, Pat Dunkley, Ed Fairhurst, Jeff Reid, Ryan Smith
Unused:  Kevin Wirachowski

New Zealand Maori:  15 Christian Cullen, 14 Shayne Austin, 13 Rico Gear, 12 Norm Berryman, 11 Joe Maddock, 10 Willie Walker, 9 David Gibson, 8 Ron Cribb, 7 Germaine Anaha, 6 Troy Flavell, 5 Kristian Ormsby, 4 Paul Tito (captain), 3 Carl Hayman, 2 Slade McFarland, 1 Joe McDonnell.
Replacements:  16 Scott Linklater, 17 Deacon Manu, 18 Warren Smith, 19 Wayne McEntee, 20 Glen Jackson, 21 Brendan Haami, 22 Justin Wilson.

Attendance:  6500
Referee:  ?

Points Scorers:

Canada
Tries:  Witkowski N. 1, Stanley W.U. 1, Ross R.P. 1, Tkachuk K. 1
Conv:  Ross R.P. 2
Pen K.:  Ross R.P. 1

New Zealand Maori
Tries:  Flavell, Gear, Maddock 2, Austin 2, Haami 2, Jackson, Cribb
Cons:  Walker 4, Jackson 2
Pen:  Walker

Australia 21 New Zealand 50

New Zealand finally laid their recent Sydney bogey to rest with an emphatic 50-21 win over the world champion Wallabies at the Telstra Stadium, the Men in Black outscoring their hosts by seven tries to three in their Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup fixture.

The Kiwis were simply awesome as they blew the Wallabies away, much like last week against the Springboks, after recovering from a slow start, which saw the home side run into an early 5-0 lead.

Matthew Burke was the Wallaby try-scorer after a scorching break from outside centre Mat Rogers, who broke through a tackle from Justin Marshall before speeding down the touchline.  The support was there, with Wendell Sailor and Elton Flatley both handling the ball before Burke nipped through a gap from a well-timed Toutai Kefu pass.

Burke missed the conversion, allowing New Zealand to narrow the gap to just two points through a well-struck Carlos Spencer penalty just two minutes later.

Daniel Vickerman conceded a silly penalty soon after the re-start, for holding back an opponent at a line-out, which saw the Kiwis turn up the heat.  A stray line-out throw from the Wallabies saw the ball get out to new wing sensation Joe Rokocoko and he flew past his marker Wendell Sailor, who looked like his feet were stuck in a cement block.

Sailor was obviously keen to make amends for his defensive blunder soon afterwards, but his over-exuberance saw the complexion of the match change completely when he was yellow-carded for a dangerous tackle on All Black fullback Mils Muliaina.

The All Blacks were ahead by 8-5 when Sailor went into the bin and although the Wallabies made a good fist of things initially, with Burke slotting a penalty soon after Sailor's sin-binning, the Kiwis were patient as they slowly began gunning for the jugular.

With just minutes remaining in Sailor's spell off the field Aaron Mauger ripped the Wallaby defence apart when he spotted Pat Noriega in the backline before unloading to Doug Howlett to finish under the uprights.  Spencer converted for a 15-8 lead, but the Kiwis were not done yet as Rokocoko completed his brace, flying down the right-hand touchline with his marker warming up on the sidelines.

Spencer missed the conversion, but at 20-8 the Kiwis had knocked the stuffing out of the bewildered Australians, exactly as they had done to the Springboks last week.

Burke slotted his second penalty of the night to narrow the scoreline to 20-11, but Spencer cancelled that out with a long-range effort on the half-time hooter.  At 23-11 the Australians needed to come out firing after the break.

The start of the second half was muted in comparison with the end of the first period, but when the Kiwis had a chance to add to their scoreline they did, Spencer kicking another penalty to stretch his side's lead to 26-11.

More Kiwi pressure forced the Wallabies back into their 22-metre area, a wonderful kick-ahead from Chris Jack pinning them near their tryline before a failed touch-finder from Stephen Larkham found Rokocoko.  The Blues flyer flung the ball in-field and two long passes later it found Muliaina, who switched inside to Tana Umaga, the veteran Kiwi changing angle slightly and leaving George Smith clutching at thin air as he crashed over for try number four.

Spencer converted and at 33-11 it was game over for the home team, with All Black coach John Mitchell getting Spencer off the field soon afterwards -- a sure sign that it was mission accomplished for the "Men in Black".

Young Daniel Carter -- Spencer's replacement -- got in on the act soon after entering the fray, a show of the ball and a surprising turn of pace taking him to the goalline.  He missed the conversion of his own try, with the ball hitting the left-hand upright, but at 38-11 the Australians were facing a record loss.

Sailor, who missed Rokocoko twice on defence, got one back shortly before the start of the final quarter as he powered through the All Black defence from first receiver to add to his try against the Boks in Cape Town.

Rogers also got in on the act later on, with a superb long-range effort, but Rokocoko had already completed his hat-trick before then, while Mauger danced over from close-range on the final hooter to complete the humiliation.

This was not Australia's biggest-ever Test loss.  That record belongs to the class of '97, going down by 61-22 to the Springboks in Pretoria, while this was also not Australia's biggest-ever loss to New Zealand, with Sean Fitzpatrick's All Blacks handing the Wallabies a 43-6 thrashing in 1996.  It was, however, the biggest-ever score that they have conceded to New Zealand.

The All Blacks already have one hand on the Tri-Nations trophy with their second successive away win, while the Australians would need to play with some authority when they travel to Auckland in August for their return clash against the old enemy.

The Kiwis are a class above South Africa and Australia at present -- any bets for next week's clash in Brisbane? -- and the only team capable of stopping the rampant English side at the Rugby World Cup in Australia later this year.

Man of the Match:  It really is hard to single out one All Black player, with every single "Man in Black" impressing on the night.  For the Wallabies, hooker Brendan Cannon fought a lone battle, while the rest of his team-mates wilted under pressure.  Keven Mealamu and Chris Jack were the best Kiwi forwards and the entire New Zealand backline had the better of their opponents.  But one man in particular that was at the heart of the New Zealand's brilliant performance was second five-eighth Aaron Mauger, who was playing in only his second Test since last year's Tri-Nations series.  He combines so well with Spencer and takes the pressure off the classy Blues No.10 with his decision-making and power.

Moment of the Match:  Every single New Zealand try deserves a mention here, while the two Australian tries were not half-bad either.  But our Moment of the match came from a delightful bit of work from All Black second rower Chris Jack -- a deft kick-ahead off his left boot rolling into touch just metres from the Wallaby goalline in the build-up to Tana Umaga's try.  That kick would have pleased most fly-halves.

Villain of the Match:  Quite an easy one here -- Wallaby wing Wendell Sailor.  The "Big Del" was shown a yellow card for a silly tackle on Mils Muliaina as the All Black fullback was in the air fielding a high kick.  Sailor was guilty of ball-watching and it cost his team dearly.  He was carded in the 24th minute, with the score at 8-8.  When he returned to the field of play New Zealand were leading by 20-8.  Interestingly, Sailor's team-mate, hooker Brendan Cannon, was lucky to escape censure just a few minutes later for exactly the same offence on Muliaina.

Yellow card(s):  Wendell Sailor (Australia, 24)

The Teams:

Australia:  1 Patricio Noriega, 2 Brendan Cannon, 3 Bill Young, 4 David Giffin, 5 Daniel Vickerman, 6 George Smith, 7 Phil Waugh, 8 Toutai Kefu, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Wendell Sailor, 12 Elton Flatley, 13 Mat Rogers, 14 Lote Tuqiri, 15 Matthew Burke
Reserves:  Owen Finegan, Chris Latham, Ben Darwin, Adam Freier, Nathan Sharpe, Steve Kefu
Unused:  Chris Whitaker

New Zealand:  1 David Hewett, 2 Keven Mealamu, 3 Greg Somerville, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Ali Williams, 6 Richard McCaw, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Jerry Collins, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Carlos Spencer, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Aaron Mauger, 13 Tana Umaga, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 15 Mils Muliaina
Reserves:  Daniel Carter, Steve Devine, Marty Holah, Brad Thorn, Mark Hammett, Kees Meeuws, Caleb Ralph

Attendance:  82096
Referee:  Spreadbury t.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Burke M.C. 1, Rogers M.S. 1, Sailor W.J. 1
Pen K.:  Burke M.C. 2

New Zealand
Tries:  Carter D.W. 1, Howlett D.C. 1, Mauger A.J.D. 1, Umaga J.F. 1, Rokocoko J. 3
Conv:  Carter D.W. 1, Spencer C.J. 2
Pen K.:  Spencer C.J. 3

New Zealand 52 South Africa 16

Reuben Thorne's All Blacks, who have been under pressure in New Zealand of late for some poor performances, got their 2003 Tri-Nations campaign off to the best possible start with a record 52-16 win over the Springboks at Securicor Loftus.

All Black coach John Mitchell has received a hammering in New Zealand of late for dropping Anton Oliver and not selecting Taine Randell and Christian Cullen, but this victory would have bought the Kiwi mentor some time as the "Men in Black" plan their assault on the William Webb Ellis trophy later in the year.

In the process the All Blacks also re-wrote a host of records for Test matches against the Springboks, but for Rudolf Straeuli it was the second time in five Test matches that his side has conceded 50 points or more, with England being the most recent nation to do so (at Twickenham last year).

Not only was this New Zealand's biggest-ever win over the Springboks -- both home and away -- surpassing the 28-nil scoreline in Dunedin in 1999, but it was also South Africa's biggest-ever loss in the Tri-Nations, while New Zealand's record of seven tries on the day equalled their previous record of tries against the Boks in a single game.

Both wingers Joe Rokocoko -- on his Tri-Nations debut -- and Doug Howlett scored two tries, joining Christian Cullen, Jeff Wilson, Frank Bunce, Ben Tune, Joe Roff and Chris Latham as players to have done so in Tri-Nations Tests against South Africa.

The Springboks began the game like the proverbial house on fire, but a 15-minute try-scoring blitz from the New Zealanders shortly after the 10-minute mark shut the Boks out, with the "Men in Black" weighing in with tries from Carlos Spencer, Howlett and Rokocoko, with the visitors' superior skill proving too much for the home team.

Spencer's try came after a wonderful burst from lock Chris Jack, who spotted the smallest of gaps around a ruck in the Bok half.  He simply leant down, picked the ball up and ran ahead before powering through a tackle from Brent Russell.

The ball was re-cycled and Spencer went left, showed the ball to Stefan Terblanché and then coasted in.  Spencer missed the conversion -- after missing an earlier penalty attempt -- but the Kiwis were in the lead at 5-3 after 11 minutes.

But New Zealand's lead was to be short-lived, with Koen succeeding with a well-struck drop-goal from the All Blacks' 10-metre line, after the home side had come close to scoring their first try of the day -- only for Brent Russell, the hero from last week, to knock-on with an open tryline after the initial break from Koen and a superb assist from skipper Corné Krige.

Then the All Blacks stepped into over-drive, with their highly-skilled backs either punching holes or creating holes in SA's brittle defence through their superior power and pace.

New Zealand's second try came off a simple backline move, with Spencer passing to Aaron Mauger, who had drifted down the backline past his marker André Snyman, before unloading to a flying Howlett, who sped over.  Spencer finally converted and the visitors led by 15-6.

The Kiwis then began attacking from their own territory, with fullback Mils Muliaina exploiting some space down the blindside before Rokocoko got in on the act.

Russell managed to half-stop the powerful Kiwi wing and the ball eventually went loose when Richie McCaw could not control it, but a wild inside pass from Russell found the All Black No.11 again, instead of Krige, Russell's intended target, and Rokocoko ran over unopposed.

Spencer converted and suddenly the Boks were staring down the barrel at 22-6, which soon became 22-9 after Koen's second successful penalty attempt.

Any hopes of a Springbok comeback were dashed early in the second stanza when Spencer slotted a penalty soon after the break, while, crucially, just minutes later Stefan Terblanché somehow contrived to lose the ball as he dived for the corner with Thorne in close attendance.

The build-up to Terblanché's try -- courtesy of a strong run from De Wet Barry -- suggested that the Boks had some fight left, but his silly error, and the Kiwi's subsequent scrambling on defence, took them back into enemy territory where Spencer's boot earned them another three points.

A flood of replacements from both sides saw the game lose a bit of shape and structure, but when it returned some delightful handling from Spencer, Jerry Collins and Tana Umaga led to Rokocoko's second try -- which, it must be said, was not as easy as his first five-pointer.  Although his first score was like taking candy from a baby ...

Three more All Black tries -- and two Spencer conversions -- took their score past the 50-point mark, while South Africa's best back on the day, greenhorn left-wing Ashwin Willemse, scrambled over for his team's only try of the day.  Not that it mattered for much.

Amazingly, Willemse's try -- in the 72nd minute -- signalled South Africa's first points since a Koen penalty in the 33rd minute.

The Kiwis, who still need to brush up their forward play, can take a lot of confidence from this win -- their sixth out of a possible eight on South African soil in the Tri-Nations -- while South Africa must be wishing that these 80 minutes were nothing but a dream.

The truth is, the Boks can pinch themselves well into the night, but the sooner they realise their shortcomings the better, with some individuals -- Joost van der Westhuizen, André Snyman and Stefan Terblanché in particular -- just not up to the required standard of Test rugby, especially when compared to their awesome All Black opponents on the day.

Man of the match:  Just about all 15 of the New Zealanders deserve a look-in here, while for the home team, only Juan Smith and Ashwin Willemse can look back at this game with any pride at all.  The three key men in the All Black machine were back rowers Richie McCaw and Jerry Collins and first five-eighth Carlos Spencer, who recovered from a nervy start to control the game superbly from the No.10 position.  But, in the end we opted for Collins for his powerful defence and strong ball-carrying on attack, with the Hurricanes No.8 slowly, but surely, making a name for himself at the back of the All Black scrum.

Moment of the Match:  Joe Rokocoko's second try was a prime example of wonderful handling from the New Zealanders and the patience required to putting points on the board at the highest level.  Spencer timed his pass well, past two Bok defenders, Collins flung the "hot potato" out to Tana Umaga, who went inside, before flicking the ball out to the newest All Black wing sensation, who simply dived over for the try.

Villain of the Match:  The bumbling Boks were all headed for this award, but All Black replacement prop Kees Meeuws wins this award for his silly elbow in the face of Springbok front rower Robbie Kempson.  Meeuws had just scored a try, Kempson's hand fell on his face and Meeuws responded with a swift elbow into Kempson's nose.  Why do that when your team is winning?

Yellow card(s):  Kees Meeuws (New Zealand, 66)

The Teams:

New Zealand:  1 David Hewett, 2 Keven Mealamu, 3 Greg Somerville, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Ali Williams, 6 Richie McCaw, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Jerry Collins, 9 Steve Devine, 10 Carlos Spencer, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Aaron Mauger, 13 Tana Umaga, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 15 Mils Muliaina
Reserves:  Rodney So'oialo, Brad Thorn, Mark Hammett, Justin Marshall, Kees Meeuws
Unused:  Daniel Carter, Caleb Ralph

South Africa:  1 Richard Bands, 2 Danie Coetzee, 3 Lawrence Sephaka, 4 Victor Matfield, 5 Bakkies Botha, 6 Wikus Van Heerden, 7 Corne Krige (c), 8 Juan Smith, 9 Joost Van Der Westhuizen, 10 Louis Koen, 11 Ashwin Willemse, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Andre Snyman, 14 Stefan Terblanche, 15 Brent Russell
Reserves:  Craig Davidson, Selborne Boome, Robbie Kempson, Andre Pretorius, Dale Santon, Pedrie Wannenburg
Unused:  Gcobani Bobo

Attendance:  50000
Referee:  Rolland a.

Points Scorers:

New Zealand
Tries:  Howlett D.C. 2, Mauger A.J.D. 1, Rokocoko J. 2, Spencer C.J. 1, Meeuws K.J. 1
Conv:  Spencer C.J. 4
Pen K.:  Spencer C.J. 3

South Africa
Tries:  Willemse A.K. 1
Conv:  Koen L.J. 1
Pen K.:  Koen L.J. 2
Drop G.:  Koen L.J. 1

Australia 22 South Africa 26

The Springboks were always going to need something special to pull off a win in their Tri-Nations opener against the Wallabies.  Brent Russell provided that bit of magic as South Africa maintained their good record at home against Australia, with a 26-22 win over the world champions.

Russell, an early replacement for injured fullback Jaco van der Westhuyzen, helped himself to a try, while he also set up SA's second five-pointer, a crucial score in the final analysis.

The match started off well enough for the Springboks when Van der Westhuyzen fielded a high ball from the Wallabies, but that simple act could have destroyed his World Cup dream, with the Bok No.15 limping off immediately afterwards.

It was confirmed at half-time that Van der Westhuyzen tore the ligaments in his left knee, ruling him out of action for at least three months.

But Van der Westhuyzen's departure did not have an affect on the home side, with the energetic Russell breathing life into the Bok side just minutes after his arrival.

He ran with purpose and verve, teasing the Wallaby defence with every step he took, and with his forwards controlling the ball well through a series of phases, he was on hand just two minutes after he replaced Van der Westhuyzen, to round off the first try-scoring movement of the day.

Fly-half Louis Koen added the conversion and the Boks held a handy 7-3 lead – after an early Matthew Burke drop-goal.

The home side continued to pressurise the Wallabies, who were battling in the line-outs, with three throws going astray, but when former Cape Town boy Daniel Vickerman claimed some clean line-out ball the Wallabies put Wendell Sailor over for a try off a clever inside ball from his fellow Rugby League convert Mat Rogers.

Burke added the extras to put his side ahead by 10-7, but Koen equalised soon afterwards with his first penalty attempt in the 28th minute.

Another Koen penalty saw the Boks creep ahead at 13-10 before another moment of Russell brilliance led to their second try of the afternoon.

Sailor had made some ground down the right-hand touchline and after getting past Thinus Delport he chipped the ball in-field to his team-mates.  While it seemed like a clever enough move at the time, Sailor managed only to kick the ball straight to Russell on his own 22-metre line.

The little Sharks utility set off immediately, leaving a trail of Wallabies on the ground, before finding support from De Wet Barry.  The Bok No.12 found Russell in support again, who in turn found Stefan Terblanché, before the final pass going to lock Victor Matfield, who was up in support.

Koen, predictably, added the two points, but he missed a penalty on the stroke of half-time to leave his side ahead by 20-10.

The Wallabies got into their stride in the second half, outscoring the Boks by 12-6, but the home team managed to hold on after their rousing first-half display.

Interestingly, as with the start of the match, the Boks once again lost a player to injury, with centre Marius Joubert not returning after the first half.  He was replaced by Gcobani Bobo, with the Lions man having a solid half alongside the big hitting De Wet Barry.

Barry, recalled to the side after an absence of nearly one year, rattled the Wallabies' cages with some ferocious hits in the crucial inside centre position, and that helped unsettle his opposite number, rookie Steve Kefu.  Barry did, however, blot his copy-book when he was yellow-carded early in the second period for a foul at the tackle.

The Wallabies ran in two second-half tries, through Phil Waugh -- in Barry's absence -- and Joe Roff, but Koen's boot kept his team ahead at crucial moments, with the visitors continually having to chase a try in the latter stages of the match, instead of just a penalty, many of which were in kicking distance.

As it turns out, Matthew Burke did not have one penalty attempt at goal, with the much-talked about Bok discipline holding out at key moments -- except for Barry's 10 minutes in the sin bin, despite some huge pressure from the Wallabies.

For Wallaby coach Eddie Jones his team's line-out and ball control will be of major concern, while Bok coach Rudolf Straeuli and his charges will be full of confidence after this win, with the All Blacks in wait in Pretoria next week.

The Boks, however, have not beaten the Kiwis since 2000 -- something they will be keen to rectify next week, with this win coming at just the right time after uninspiring victories over Scotland (twice) and Argentina in June.

Man of the Match:  A host of contenders here, with the passionate Springboks providing most of them.  There was Lawrence Sephaka's work-rate, Victor Matfield's line-out prowess, Corné Krige's defence, Louis Koen's boot, De Wet Barry's punishing defence and Russell's running from the back.  For the Wallabies, hard-working flank Phil Waugh stood out, powerhouse No.8 Toutai Kefu and the clever Mat Rogers.  But our final vote goes to Brent Russell for his match-winning effort on attack and defence.  Yes, the little man can tackle, with a try-saving tackle on Toutai Kefu in the 22nd minute.

Moment of the Match:  Sailor's try was impressive, so, too, Russell's, but our moment was Victor Matfield's try, started, of course, by the Bok pocket-rocket from the edge of his 22.  The Boks showed good skill and composure when the move could so easily have broken down, but it was down to Russell, who did the initial running.

Villain of the Match:  Wallaby replacement Lote Tuqiri gets our vote here for his "little" flurry of kicks and/or punches on Springbok hard man Rob Kempson.  Sure, Kempson is no angel, but Tuqiri was lucky to escape any censure.

The Teams:

Australia:  1 Patricio Noriega, 2 Brendan Cannon, 3 Bill Young, 4 David Giffin, 5 Daniel Vickerman, 6 David Lyons, 7 Phil Waugh, 8 Toutai Kefu, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Elton Flatley, 11 Joe Roff, 12 Mat Rogers, 13 Steve Kefu, 14 Wendell Sailor, 15 Matthew Burke
Reserves:  Owen Finegan, Steve Larkham, Ben Darwin, Adam Freier, Nathan Sharpe, Lote Tuqiri
Unused:  Chris Whitaker

South Africa:  1 Richard Bands, 2 Danie Coetzee, 3 Lawrence Sephaka, 4 Victor Matfield, 5 Bakkies Botha, 6 Wikus Van Heerden, 7 Corne Krige (c), 8 Juan Smith, 9 Joost Van Der Westhuizen, 10 Louis Koen, 11 Thinus Delport, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Marius Joubert, 14 Stefan Terblanche, 15 Jaco Van Der Westhuyzen
Reserves:  Gcobani Bobo, Selborne Boome, Robbie Kempson, Brent Russell, Dale Santon, Pedrie Wannenburg
Unused:  Craig Davidson

Attendance:  48678
Referee:  Walsh s.r.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Sailor W.J. 1, Roff J.W.C. 1, Waugh P.R. 1
Conv:  Burke M.C. 2
Drop G.:  Burke M.C. 1

South Africa
Tries:  Matfield V. 1, Russell R.B. 1
Conv:  Koen L.J. 2
Pen K.:  Koen L.J. 4

England A 55 Japan 20

The England XV completed their tour of the Far East with a convincing 55-20 victory over Japan at Tokyo's National Stadium, with Bath fullback Iain Balshaw sending a timely reminder to England senior coach Clive Woodward with a pair of tries.

New Harlequins prop Mike Worsley scored the tourists' first try of the day early on when he crossed the line from short range, ensuring that England were never behind their hosts on the scoreboard, leading 24-10 at the interval.

A try from Namba for the Japanese after some good forward work in the tight kept the game open as a contest, but the intervention of Balshaw from fullback saw the visitors accelerate away.

He intercepted and ran nearly the whole length of the pitch for one of his scores, as well as setting up a try for prop Will Green with a well-judged kick.

England ran in nine tries in total as their strength told late on, with three of them coming from props -- Neal Hatley adding to Green and Worsley's tries.

New Bath scrum-half Martyn Wood helped himself to a pair of tries as the field opened up in hot and humid conditions.

Gloucester wing James Simpson-Daniel and Saracens centre Ben Johnston were the other try-scorers in a game which showed the growing strength in the English game.

The England side was based on the same second-string outfit which claimed the Churchill Cup title in Canada last month, as well as getting the better of a Japan Select XV on Thursday.

But Japan dug in and never gave up, their effort being rewarded right at the end when replacement Takashi Yoshida crossed the line -- Hirose converting for the second time after previously strikng two penalties.

The Teams:

Japan:  T Kurihara (Suntory), D Ohata (Montferrand), H Namba (Toyota Motor), Y Motoki (Kobe Steel), H Onozawa (Suntory), K Hirose (Toyota Motor), Y Sonoda (Kobe Steel), S Hasegawa (Suntory), M Amino (NEC), M Toyoyama (Toyota Motor), H Kiso (Yamaha Motor), A Parker (Toshiba Fuchu), T Ito (Kobe Steel), T Miuchi (capt, NEC), Y Saito (Colomiers).
Reps:  M Yamamoto (Toyota Motor), H Matsuo (Toshiba Fuchu), K Kubo (Yamaha Motor), Y Watanabe (Toshiba Fuchu), W Murata (Yamaha Motor), R Parkinson (Sanix), T Yoshida (Suntory).

England:  I Balshaw (Bath), M Cueto (Sale Sharks, D Scarbrough Leeds Tykes 67), B Johnston (Saracens), H Paul (Gloucester), J Simpson-Daniel (Gloucester), D Walder (Newcastle Falcons, O Barkley Bath 73), M Wood (Bath), M Worsley (NEC Harlequins, N Hatley London Irish 58), P Greening (London Wasps, A Titterrell Sale Sharks 65), W Green (London Wasps), A Codling (Saracens, P Volley London Wasps 27), C Jones (A Sheridan 58 both Sale Sharks), P Anglesea (Sale Sharks), A Hazell (Gloucester, D Hyde Leeds Tykes 60), H Vyvyan (capt, Newcastle Falcons).

Points Scorers:

For Japan:
Tries:  Yoshida, Namba
Cons:  Hirose 2
Pens:  Hirose 2

For England:
Tries:  Balshaw 2, Wood 2, Simpson-Daniel, Johnston, Worsley, Green, Hatley
Cons:  Walder 5

Attendance:  20000
Referee:  Deaker k.

United States 6 England XV (non-cap) 43

England confirmed their standing as the top side in the world as their A-side romped to glory in the Churchill Cup Final, beating the USA Eagles by 43-6 at the Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver.

First-half tries from powerful centre Ben Johnston and skipper and No.8 Hugh Vyvyan, all of which were converted by fly-half Dave Walder, put England into a useful 17-6 half-time lead, with the visitors scoring another four tries in the second half.

Back rower Pete Anglesea, inside back Henry Paul, mobile hooker Phil Greening and starting fullback Iain Balshaw scored England's second-half tries, with Walder kicking another two conversions and Olly Barkley adding one conversion.

However, it wasn't plain sailing early on, with flanker Kort Schubert signalling USA's ambition in an early charge to the posts.  That resulted in a Link Wilfley penalty and Johnston finally put England on the scoresheet in the 24th minute.  The Saracens centre was first to Walder's chip over the Eagles' defence for an easy run-in.

Walder converted and then traded penalties with Wilfley for a 10-6 lead before Vyvyan picked up the ball from Paul's long pass and galloped in.

Pete Anglesea scored England's third try in the second half when he crashed over next to the flag from James Simpson-Daniel's pass and Walder's extras gave them some daylight at 24-6.

The Newcastle Falcon, relishing some game time after missing most of the season with a broken leg, created Paul's try with a dribbled drop-out on his own 22, Vyvyan provided the link and the Gloucester centre beat David Fee to the corner.

There was still time for Phil Greening and Martyn Wood to employ a one-two at the front of the line-out for the hooker to go over, while Iain Balshaw had the last word with a try from Simpson-Daniel's feed.

"English rugby is on a real high at the moment," said Paul after the match.  "It doesn't matter whether you're in New Zealand and Australia or over here -- it's all about playing well as a squad.

"We have done a job here and hopefully we will be good enough if we have to step up.  It's good that England has a pool of around 60 players to chose from rather than just 20 or so."

Paul also saluted Mallinder and assistant Steve Diamond, saying:  "The coaching staff have really fired us.  We have learnt a lot from Jim and Steve and they have done a good job of keeping everyone tight."

England now travel to Tokyo for two games against a Japan Select XV (Thursday, July 3) and Japan (Sunday, July 6) and for Mallinder the job is only half done.

"Three from three -- you can't ask for anything more than that but we set out our goals from the outset and that's winning all five games; that is our No.1 priority.  We have got two tough games in difficult humid conditions; we don't know much about Japan so the challenge is there for us."

The Teams:

United States:  1 Dan Dorsey, 2 Kirk Khasigian, 3 Mike MacDonald, 4 Luke Gross, 5 Brian Surgener, 6 Conrad Hodgson, 7 Kort Schubert, 8 Dan Lyle (c), 9 Kimball Kjar, 10 Matt Sherman, 11 David Fee, 12 Kain Cross, 13 Phillip Eloff, 14 Riaan Van Zyl, 15 Link Wilfley
Reserves:  Jason Keyter, Mark Griffin, Kevin Dalzell, Olo Fifita, Jurie Gouws, John Tarpoff, Mose Timoteo

Referee:  Deluca p.

Points Scorers:

United States
Pen K.:  Wilfley L.M. 2

South Africa 26 Argentina 25

Louis Koen's boot once again saved some blushes for the Springboks as they recorded a lucky 26-25 win over Argentina at the Eastern Province Rugby Football Union (EPRFU) Stadium in Port Elizabeth.

Koen struck a penalty goal from just outside the Puma 22 only seconds before the final whistle was sounded by Welsh referee Nigel Williams to secure a win that could very easily have gone the other way after the visitors led by 25-16 going into the final five minutes.

A try from replacement back Brent Russell -- and Koen's conversion from in front of the uprights -- put the Boks within striking distance before Koen's final penalty burgled the win for South Africa after a Pedrie Wannenburg dash down the right-hand side touchline had won the favourable field position for the home side.

After South Africa's less-than-convincing two-Test triumph over Scotland earlier this month, more questions remain unanswered despite the Boks' unbeaten record this year.

Despite his 100 percent kicking record, is Koen the right man for the fly-half spot given his hesitancy on attack?  Why were the Puma forwards so efficient at hitting rucks and mauls, with the Bok pack lumbering around the park?

And lastly, why was Russell given just seven minutes to weave his magic, when, clearly, he is the only back in South Africa with the pace and vision to test opposition defences?

The Pumas preyed on the Boks' poor hands and option-taking at crucial moments, with the visitors scoring three wonderfully-constructed tries from long-range, with the hapless home team managing one try off a Puma error in the first period and Russell's effort after finally taking the ball through enough phases to tire the Puma defence.

Before Russell's score, Argentina were well in control at 25-16, but they would be kicking themselves for trying to protect their lead at that stage instead of trying to build on it.

A sensational try from young fullback Juan Martín Hernández -- and Gonzalo Quesada's conversion -- had given them a nine-point lead, but they could well have enjoyed a bigger advantage at that stage had an earlier try not been disallowed.

Argentina inside centre Felipe Contepomi scored what looked to be a legitimate intercept try in the 64th minute, only for referee Williams to disallow it on the advice of one of his touch judges.

Lock Rimas Álvarez, who was yellow-carded in the first half, was the man fingered for punching, although the Pumas did not have to wait too long for their third try, with Hernández's effort coming less than five minutes later.

It all began when Puma right-wing José Maria Núñez Piossek got past his marker Pieter Rossouw, replacement lock Patricio Albacete took the ball further and Hernández's pace saw him over the tryline.

Rossouw seemed set to make up for his defensive lapse from the re-start when he chased and re-gathered his own kick-ahead, only to go for the tryline himself, despite having the necessary support on his outside.

The Pumas did well to snuff out any of SA's try-scoring chances in those final frantic minutes, but Russell's fresh legs and try-scoring appetite eventually foiled them.

Earlier, the visitors went into the dressing-room with a slender 15-13 half-time lead after South Africa had run into an early 10-nil lead.

A try from hooker Danie Coetzee, after scrum-half Craig Davidson charged down his opposite number's clearance kick, together with the conversion and a penalty goal from Koen seemingly put the home side in control.

But the visitors were merely waiting for their chance and when Bok lock Quinton Davids coughed up possession in the Puma 22, they counter-attacked, with Contepomi eventually emerging from a maul on the SA line with ball in hand.

Surprisingly, Quesada missed the conversion, but he was on song less than five minutes later when the Pumas worked an innocent looking line-out ball down the short-side through back rowers Lucas Ostiglia and Rolando Martin -- right-wing Núñez Piossek having enough pace to go all the way.

Koen also kicked a penalty at the end of the first half, with the Bok fly-half also having the final say at the end of the second period as the Boks rounded off preparations for the Tri-Nations.

It could be a long few months for Bok supporters ...

Man of the match:  Not many contenders from the home side, although Pedrie Wannenburg should be commended for his non-stop display, despite some unforced errors at the back of the Springbok scrum.  Brent Russell was a handful in his seven-minute cameo, while Jaco van der Westhuyzen was good under the high ball.  For Argentina, captain and No.8 Gonzalo Longo, scrum-half Nicolás Fernández Miranda and inside centre Felipe Contepomi all impressed, with the latter eventually winning Planet Rugby's vote.  His forwards laid the platform, but his decisive play from the No.12 position -- on attack and defence -- very nearly gave his side the edge at the end of the day.

Moment of the match:  One moment stands out -- Contepomi's disallowed try in the 64th minute, which was cancelled out when second rower Rimas Álvarez was spotted landing a few punches on Boks Corné Krige and hooker Danie Coetzee.  Fullback Hernández scored his team's third try shortly afterwards, but if the visitors had scored two tries in that short space of time the home team would have battled to fight back from that deficit.

Villain of the match:  Most of the Springboks' discipline was poor, and their ball-retention in the tackle-situation was once again way below-par.  But they won, and the man that could quite easily be blamed for Argentina's loss is Álvarez, who spent 10 minutes in the sin bin in the first half and had Contepomi's second-half try disallowed for punching.

The Teams:

South Africa:  1 Robbie Kempson, 2 Danie Coetzee, 3 Cobus Visagie, 4 Victor Matfield, 5 Quinton Davids, 6 A.J. Venter, 7 Corne Krige (c), 8 Pedrie Wannenburg, 9 Craig Davidson, 10 Louis Koen, 11 Pieter Rossouw, 12 Gcobani Bobo, 13 Marius Joubert, 14 Stefan Terblanche, 15 Jaco Van Der Westhuyzen
Reserves:  Richard Bands, Selborne Boome, Brent Russell, Bobby Skinstad
Unused:  Trevor Halstead, Lawrence Sephaka, Joost Van Der Westhuizen

Argentina:  1 Roberto Grau, 2 Mario Ledesma Arocena, 3 Mauricio Reggiardo, 4 Rimas Alvarez Kairelis, 5 Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, 6 Rolando Martin, 7 Lucas Ostiglia, 8 Gonzalo Longo Elia (c), 9 Nicolas Fernandez Miranda, 10 Gonzalo Quesada, 11 Diego Albanese, 12 Felipe Contepomi, 13 Jose Orengo, 14 Jose Nunez Piossek, 15 Juan Martin Hernandez
Reserves:  Patricio Albacete, Santiago Gonzalez Bonorino, Federico Mendez, Santiago Phelan, Hernan Senillosa
Unused:  Matias Albina, Bernardo Stortoni

Attendance:  34000
Referee:  Williams n.

Points Scorers:

South Africa
Tries:  Coetzee D. 1, Russell R.B. 1
Conv:  Koen L.J. 2
Pen K.:  Koen L.J. 4

Argentina
Tries:  Hernandez J.M. 1, Nunez Piossek J.M. 1, Contepomi F. 1
Conv:  Quesada G. 2
Pen K.:  Quesada G. 2