Samoa 60 Uruguay 13

Samoa lived up to their reputation as RWC entertainers, scoring a bagful of tries -- including two from flanker Maurie Fa'asavalu -- to beat Uruguay by 60-13 in Perth.

It was a fairly satisfactory start to the tournament for the Islanders and will give them huge confidence ahead of the "David v Goliath" pool battles to come against South Africa and England, although they will need to make vast improvements around the set-piece if they are to cause an upset on the scale of the one they dished out in Wales back in 1991.

Their scrum and line-out were just about adequate against their heavier South American opponents, but it was the Samoan's mastery of broken-play situations which helped them rack up their mighty tally of points.

At times, it was almost like watching a game of Sevens, as a succession of Samoan runners stepped out of first-up tackles, pinned their ears back and scored from long-range without a hand being laid on them by the opposition.

It was a different story when they were tied up in the middle of the field by Los Teros, whose static upperbody strength and efficent mauling techniques helped keep the scoreline down.

The Samoans were also undone at times by their lack of discipline, particularly in diving off their feet at the ruck.  They were also the recipient of the only yellow card in the match, wing Lome Fa'atau earning censure from the referee in the dying moments for an illegal challenge on a Uruguay player.

Samoa were on the all-out attack from the very kick-off, fly-half Earl Va'a signalling his side's intentions by standing flat and firing out several bullet-passes to his strike runners out wide to make some early incursions into Uruguayan territory.

Uruguay battled on, harrying their opposition and forcing several turnovers of possession.  The South Americans also had some success with the kick-and-chase game, hoofing the ball forward to create some disarray in the Samoan ranks, but could not match their oppponents for sheer rugby skill and attacking pace.

The South Americans also managed to piece together some excellent continuity play in the dying minutes of the match, although in truth the match was well beyond their reach by then.

It took a while for Samoa to hit their stride, rustiness or opening match nerves causing them to make several unforced errors in the handling stakes.

But when their gameplan did click into place, Uruguay were left clutching at shadows as a moment of individual genius saw Samoa open their account, flanker Maurie Fa'asavalu breaching the first line of defence just outside his own half and then putting on the after-burners to score some 40 metres downfield.

Va'a missed the conversion, but with Samoa on song there was to be no respite for Uruguay and just a few minutes later, the South Americans' defence was again stretched to breaking point.  As Samoa attacked down the right, the scoring pass was given to centre Brian Lima, the veteran of four World Cups making no mistake to touch down.

Uruguay were hit by another blow in the 24th minute, Sailosi Tagicakibau making a delightful pick-up down by his bootstraps, the winger barely missing a beat before racing off downfield for his side's third try.

From there on, Samoa were on their way to full points after racking up 10 tries against their opponents, and after this opening engagement will relish the chance to test their sinews against the bigger fish in their pool.

Man of the Match:  Some excellent work from Uruguay's Rodrigo Sanchez, Rodrigo Capo and Emilian Ibarra, particularly in the first half, but it was Samoan fullback Tanner Vili who was the class act of the match, his invention in attack and solidity under the high ball making him a key man in the victory.

Moment of the match:  Rodrigo Capo's first-half try.  Despite looking down for the count after a flurry of first-half tries from Samoa, Uruguay struck back just before the break with an excellent score from Rodrigo Capo, the burly No.8 crashing over in the left-hand corner to score Los Teros' first try of the tournament.  The sheer joy on Capo's face was a sight to behold.

Villain of the match:  While their brave players would never utter a word of complaint about the RWC schedule, it is pretty disgraceful that a minor nation like Uruguay found themselves facing both South Africa and Samoa within the space of four days.

The Teams:

Samoa:  1 Jeremy Tomuli, 2 Jonathan Meredith, 3 Kas Lealamanu'a, 4 Leo Lafaiali'i, 5 Opeta Palepoi, 6 Maurie Fa'asavalu, 7 Peter Poulos, 8 Semo Sititi (c), 9 Steven So'oialo, 10 Earl Va'a, 11 Lome Fa'atau, 12 Terry Fanolua, 13 Brian Lima, 14 Sailosi Tagicakibau, 15 Tanner Vili
Reserves:  Dominic Feaunati, Des Tuiali'i, Simon Lemalu, Mahonri Schwalger, Denning Tyrell, Kitiona Viliamu, Dale Rasmussen

Uruguay:  1 Pablo Lemoine, 2 Diego Lamelas, 3 Rodrigo Sanchez, 4 Juan Alzueta, 5 Juan Carlos Bado, 6 Nicolas Grille, 7 Marcelo Gutierrez, 8 Rodrigo Capo Ortega, 9 Juan Campomar, 10 Bernardo Amarillo, 11 Carlos Baldassari, 12 Diego Aguirre (c), 13 Martin Mendaro, 14 Joaquin Pastore, 15 Juan Menchaca
Reserves:  Juan Alvarez, Nicolas Brignoni, Juan Machado, Jose Viana, Ignacio Conti, Joaquin De Freitas, Juan Andres Perez

Attendance:  22020
Referee:  Mchugh d.

Points Scorers:

Samoa
Tries:  Vili T.A. 1, Fa'atau L.M. 1, Lima B.P. 2, Tagicakibau S. 1, Palepoi O. 1, Fa'asavalu M. 2, Lemalu S. 1, Feaunati D. 1
Conv:  Vili T.A. 2, Va'a E.V. 3

Uruguay
Tries:  Lemoine P.A. 1, Capo Ortega R. 1
Pen K.:  Aguirre D. 1

Fiji 19 United States 18

Oh the agony!  American fly-half Mike Hercus will have nightmares about last-gasp conversion attempt at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, a kick which sailed wide of the uprights and handed Fiji a 19-18 win over the Eagles in their Pool B match at Rugby World Cup 2003.

Hercus, who had a shocking game, had one last chance to atone for his earlier clangers.  He lined up a conversion attempt from wide out, just after flanker Kort Schubert had scored a try to narrow the gap to 19-18 in an intense and entertaining encounter.

But it was clearly not going to be Hercus' day and you could see the agony on his face as he watched the kick drift wide and the realisation began to sink in that he had cost his team the match.

Maybe that is a bit tough on the 24-year-old fly-half from Long Beach in California, but that kick also ensured the Eagles now have the dubious record of the longest losing streak in RWC history -- their only victory in this tournament coming in their debut match, ironically also in Brisbane, against Japan on May 24, 1987.

That aside, the Eagles and Fiji produced 80 minutes of entertaining and exciting rugby, with the final scoreline a relative reflection of the strength of the two teams.

Fiji, who recorded their first win at RWC 2003 on Wednesday, seemed almost obsessed with playing a Sevens-style game and it cost them dearly in the first half.  It allowed the Eagles to put the squeeze on, with a lot less space available than what they are accustomed to, and also saw the Eagles take a 6-3 lead into the break.

Captain Alifereti Doviverata admitted his team were their own worst enemies in the first half, saying afterwards:  "We simply turned over too much ball."

But after the break they turned it all around and playing a more structured game they managed to overcome the early second-half try they conceded -- which pushed the score out to 13-3.

Working hard at the breakdown and then using their pace out wide, they started to break down the rigid American defensive line and eventually build up a 19-13 lead.

But then came that injury-time try, by Schubert, and Hercus' missed conversion -- which added a fitting end to the excitement and drama of the preceding 80 minutes.

American captain David Hodges admitted that his team failed to build on the sound platform they laid in the first half and allowed the Fijians to get their hands on too much ball.

In the end, the Pacific Islanders enjoyed about 60 percent of the possession stakes.

Man of the match:  The American flankers, Kort Schubert and Dave Hodges were brilliant on defence and helped turn over a lot of ball, also producing high work-rate.  Scrum-half Kevin Dalzell also showed his experience behind that big American pack.  For Fiji winger Vilimoni Delasau stepped brilliantly all night and continuously caused problems for the American backs.  But in the end out vote goes to Fijian fly-half Nicky Little, who produced a 100 percent kicking record -- which in the end won his team the match.  He also had a sound all-round game.

Moment of the match:  The Fijians struggled to cope with the tight American defence and their Sevens-style approach did not get the desired result.  But there was a delightful moment when lock Api Naevo scored their only try in the 55th minute -- a classic example of how dangerous they can be when allowed time and space in which to counter-attack from.

Villain of the match:  Eagles fly-half Mike Hercus stands out head and shoulders above the rest in this department with his shocking kicking display.  Not just did he fail to find touch from several penalties, which handed the ball to the Fijians, but a number of his other kicks went directly into touch when they should not have.  And, of course, we all know what happened at the end ...

The Teams:

Fiji:  1 Naka Seru, 2 Greg Smith, 3 Joeli Veitayaki, 4 Apenisa Naevo, 5 Ifereimi Rawaqa, 6 Alfi Mocelutu Vuivau, 7 Koli Sewabu, 8 Alifereti Doviverata (c), 9 Mosese Rauluni, 10 Nicky Little, 11 Vilimoni Delasau, 12 Seru Rabeni, 13 Aisea Tuilevu, 14 Marika Vunibaka, 15 Alfie Uluinayau
Reserves:  Vula Maimuri, Sisa Koyamaibole, Richard Nyholt
Unused:  Waisale Serevi, Bill Gadolo, Norman Ligairi, Epeli Ruivadra

United States:  1 Dan Dorsey, 2 Kirk Khasigian, 3 Mike MacDonald, 4 Luke Gross, 5 Alec Parker, 6 Dave Hodges (c), 7 Kort Schubert, 8 Dan Lyle, 9 Kevin Dalzell, 10 Mike Hercus, 11 David Fee, 12 Kain Cross, 13 Phillip Eloff, 14 Riaan Van Zyl, 15 Paul Emerick
Reserves:  John Buchholz, Salesi Sika
Unused:  Gerhard Klerck, Jurie Gouws, Kimball Kjar, John Tarpoff, Matt Wyatt

Attendance:  30990
Referee:  Jutge j.

Points Scorers:

Fiji
Tries:  Naevo A. 1
Conv:  Little N.T. 1
Pen K.:  Little N.T. 4

United States
Tries:  Van Zyl R. 1, Schubert K.S. 1
Conv:  Hercus M. 1
Pen K.:  Hercus M. 2

Argentina 67 Namibia 14

The Argentinians did more with their bulk than with their brains in battering Namibia 67-14 at the Central Coast Stadium in Gosford in Namibia's first World Cup match, Argentina's second.  Argentina got all they wanted out of the match in terms of points -- a five-point maximum.  The Pumas scored 10 tries to two.

The Pumas' victory started with their forwards and pretty well remained with them as they mauled from line-outs and shoved from scrums.  From scrums they got two pushover tries and two penalty tries.  Their first try came from a line-out as did their third, even though the inside centre scored it.  Martín Gaitan's second try came after he had broken well, but also involved close-quarter bashing.  His third try came from a close-quarter dabbed kick by Gonzalo Quesada.

It all looked like an Argentinian return to their basics of forward power.  Apart from the pressure they put on the Namibians at scrum-time, the Pumas won three of them by shoving their opponents off the ball and a fourth by wheeling.  Shoving just before the put-in helped their cause.  The brawn of their pack was the Pumas' Eldorado.

The Pumas' line-out worked this time with Federico Méndez throwing in.  They won all 12 of their own throws and plundered four from the Namibians.

The Namibians were outclassed from the start, but not humiliated.  They stood too proud for humiliation.  They did some things neatly, but mostly on the back foot.  They were best when they were able to tap a penalty and run.That said they delighted the sympathetic crowd with two tries.

At half-time the Pumas led 27-7 and already had their bonus point, but their tries were anything but scintillating as they used their mastodon pack to subdue and score.

Their first try came when they mauled a line-out and sent Méndez plodding over.  Their second try came when they shoved a five-metre scrum over and No.8 Pablo Bouza scored.  The third try was scored by the backs but really it belonged to the forwards who mauled a five-metre line-out and gave their backs a few steps to finish it off through a flicked dummy and pass in the half-gap by Gonzalo Quesada for a try by centre Juan Fernández Miranda.  The fourth try was a penalty try when they shoved a five-metre scrum at the Namibian goalline.  The scrum fell apart and a penalty try was awarded.

The most entertaining try of the half came from Namibia's only foray into the Puma 22.  They went through phases, attacked directly and big outside centre Du Preez Grobler danced and then powered over for a popular try just before the half-time break.

In the second half the Pumas' panzer pack rolled the team to victory.  In that half, too, Quesada with his gumshield tucked under his garter found his range and converted all but the last try.

In the half Gaitan got three, one when the Pumas recovered a harmless-looking kick, one after he had made the running and then finished off some cute passing at close quarters and the third off Quesada's dab.  Nicolás Fernández Miranda got his after Felipe Contepomi tapped a penalty and ran, giving the scrum-half a clear run the line.  Longo's second try, at a pushover scrum, seemed to have been preceded by as knock-on.

As in the first half the Namibian try came from many phases.

Man of the match:  Martín Gaitan was the best individual on the Puma side while Hakkies Hüsselman at the heart of every Namibian effort and brave No.8 Sean Furter were the best of the Namibians whose loose forwards actually outperformed the Pumas' trio who were playing in luxury.  But the Man of the match was a collective beast of the Pampas -- the Puma tight five who dominated the match from start to finish.  They steam-rollered over the Namibian pack which had some could names -- on paper.

Moment of the match:  It was all too bash-bash for thrill and it is easy to give Hakkies Hüsselman a sympathy vote for his try.  But really, it belongs to that splendidly controlled dab by Gonzalo Quesada that Martín Gaitan dived onto for the last score of the match.

Villain of the match:  Nobody at all.  There was not even a silly look.

The Teams:

Argentina:  1 Mauricio Reggiardo, 2 Federico Mendez, 3 Martin Scelzo, 4 Rimas Alvarez Kairelis, 5 Pedro Sporleder, 6 Martin Durand, 7 Lucas Ostiglia, 8 Pablo Bouza, 9 Nicolas Fernandez Miranda (c), 10 Gonzalo Quesada, 11 Diego Albanese, 12 Juan Fernandez Miranda, 13 Martin Gaitan, 14 Hernan Senillosa, 15 Juan Martin Hernandez
Reserves:  Felipe Contepomi, Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, Mario Ledesma Arocena, Rodrigo Roncero
Unused:  Patricio Albacete, Ignacio Corleto, Agustin Pichot

Namibia:  1 Neil Du Toit, 2 J.M. Meyer, 3 Kees Lensing, 4 Eben Isaacs, 5 Heino Senekal, 6 Herman Lintvelt, 7 Schalk Van Der Merwe, 8 Sean Furter (c), 9 Hakkies Husselman, 10 Emile Wessels, 11 Melrick Afrika, 12 Du Preez Grobler, 13 Corne Powell, 14 Deon Mouton, 15 Jurie Booysen
Reserves:  Andries Blaauw, Ronaldo Pedro, Niel Swanepoel, Vincent Dreyer, Wolfie Duvenhage, Jurgens Van Lill
Unused:  Cor Van Tonder

Attendance:  17887
Referee:  Williams n.

Points Scorers:

Argentina
Tries:  Gaitan M. 3, Fernandez Miranda J. 1, Fernandez Miranda N. 1, Mendez F.E. 1, Bouza P. 2, Penalty try 2
Conv:  Quesada G. 7
Pen K.:  Quesada G. 1

Namibia
Tries:  Grobler Du P. 1, Husselman D. 1
Conv:  Wessels E. 2

Scotland 32 Japan 11

Late tries flatter Scotland's scoreline

What a star of a Rugby World Cup match!  With a quarter of an hour to go the small, infinitely brave Japanese were within a score of the big, unimpressive Scots.  Then the Scots got three tries to win 32-11 and gain a bonus point.  The Japanese left the Dairy Farmers Stadium in Townsville with no points but with heaps and heaps of honour.  The Scots scored more points, the Japanese more credit.

Before the match Mark Ella, who had been helping Japan, said that they would be competitive.  They were more competitive than the final score suggests.

The difference in physical size between the two teams, most noticeably amongst the backs oddly enough, was almost frightening but the size of the Japanese hearts did much to compensate as they flew at Scottish ankles in defence and did all things with eager resolution.

Scotland led 15-6 at half-time, which did them little credit as they were content to play a kick and maul game, often with little regard for the niceties of angles and obstruction.  This was surprising after the nature of their first try which came after more than a dozen phases and ended leaving right-wing Chris Paterson with an easy trot in on the left.  He converted and Scotland led an comfortable 7-0 after five minutes.

But the Japanese are honourable and brave, and 10 minutes later points' machine Keiji Hirose kicked a penalty and made it 7-3.

Scotland tapped a second free-kick at a scrum, Simon Taylor drove and Scott Grimes took a popped pass to run 25 metres to score in the corner -- 12-3 after 19 minutes.  And four minutes later Hirose goaled another penalty to make it 12-6.

Japan had three wonderful breaks in this half.

First No.8 Takeomi Ito slashed through.  Then centre Yukio Motoki raced through and only a cover tackle by Kenny Logan from the right-wing bundled Hirotoki Onozawa out near the corner-flag.  For the third, right-wing Daisuke Ohata broke through and was close till Ben Hinshelwood blocked him.

The Scots also had their golden opportunity when Chris Paterson broke but he opted to go on a solo meander and a chance went begging.

In the second half the Scots had the wind at their backs and kicked, perhaps reluctant to run at the men who snapped at their ankles, perhaps believing that time and physicality would wear the Japanese down.

Apart from a great run by Jason White the Sots achieved little for the first 20 minutes of the second half while the Japanese delighted the world with a try.  Andy Miller, on for Hirose, broke.  The Japanese got into Scottish territory where they won a line-out.  A clever bit of running gave flier Onozawa an overlap and over he went in the corner.  Surprisingly the matter was referred to the Television Match Official, who took little time in deciding, unlike his other two calls, one of which went against Scotland and one of which went for them.

The one against came as Kenny Logan, who had a sterile match, footed through and diving sought to gather the ball as Ohata made things awkward.  He was judged to have knocked the ball on.

The second was just before the end when Simon Danielli, on for Paterson, footed through, gathered and went over.  That took a lot or deciding as he did not have the ball in hand when he went over.

But it was Paterson, who scored the try that won the match.  Simon Taylor broke off a wobbly Scottish scrum and ran wide to the tight, drawing three defenders with him, sending an inside pass to Paterson who got it in a juggle and had a clear run for the line.

Paterson, whose kicking was wonky, missed and the score was 20-11.  It did not budge again till the Scots actually spread the ball instead of going in for one-at-a-time bashing against men who did not yield.  The ball came wide to Taylor who powered over in Onozawa's tackle.

Then just before the end Danielli came on, footed the ball and scored.  Townsend converted.

Still the Japanese came back with enthusiasm but no more points.

Man of the match:  There were several candidates amongst the losers -- both wings Ohata and Onozawa and both centres Reuben Parkinson and Yukio Motoki, but in the end it was probably a contest between the two No.8s -- Takeomi Ito of Japan, who never stopped being busy and effective and won lots of line-out ball for the Japanese where they were surprisingly and effectively clever, and tall Simon Taylor, our choice as the most imposing player on the field.

Moment of the match:  Hirotoki Onozawa's try.  It was possibly the sweetest moment of the 2003 Rugby World Cup so far.

Villain of the match:  Nobody.  There was not even remotely a candidate in this match of excellent manners.

The scorers:

For Scotland:
Tries:  Paterson 2, Grimes, Taylor, Danielli
Cons:  Paterson, Townsend
Pen:  Paterson

For Japan:
Try:  Onozawa
Pens:  Hirose 2

The teams:

Scotland:  15 Ben Hinshelwood, 14 Chris Paterson (Simon Danielli, 78), 13 Andy Craig, 12 James McLaren, 11 Kenny Logan, 10 Gordon Ross (Gregor Townsend, 65), 9 Bryan Redpath (captain), 8 Simon Taylor, 7 Jon Petrie (Martin Leslie, 56), 6 Jason White, 5 Stuart Grimes, 4 Scott Murray (Ross Beattie, 65), 3 Bruce Douglas (Gavin Kerr, 72), 2 Rob Russell, 1 Tom Smith.
Unused replacements:  16 Gordon Bulloch, 20 Mike Blair.

Japan:  15 Tsutomu Matsuda, 14 Daisuke Ohata, 13 Reuben Parkinson, 12 Yukio Motoki, 11 Hirotoki Onozawa, 10 Keiji Hirose (Andrew Miller, 50), 9 Takashi Tauji (Yuji Sonoda, 50), 8 Takeomi Ito, 7 Takuro Miuchi (captain), 6 Naoya Okubo, 5 Adam Parker, 4 Hajimo Kiso, 3 Masahiko Toyoyama, 2 Masao Amino (Masaaki Sakata, 41), 1 Shin Hasegawa.
Unused replacements:  16 Masahito Yamamoto, 18 Hiroyuki Tanuma, 19 Yasunori Watanabe, 22 Toru Kurihara.

England 84 Georgia 6

England got their RWC campaign off to a resounding start in Perth, scoring a total of 12 tries to storm to an 84-6 victory over tournament minnows Georgia.

It was Jonny Wilkinson, somewhat predictably, who got the rout under way with a finely-struck penalty kick in the fourth minute after an early England attack saw the Georgian defence caught off-side.

Despite the final scoreline, it took England some time to break down the resolute Georgians and hit top stride, Georgia even managing to draw level with a penalty kick in the eighth minute through the boot of winger Malkhaz Urjukashvili.

England spurned a second kickable penalty some moments later, skipper Martin Johnson opting for an attacking line-out in the corner.  England drove on and the ball came left, scrum-half Matt Dawson putting through a grubber for Jason Robinson to chase.  Georgia survived that attack, but were unable to hold out some moments later when Mike Tindall crashed over for a try in the left-hand corner following a simple down-the-line move from England.

Wilkinson added the extras and England were 10-3 ahead, their slightly nervous start forgotten as they began to hit their stride and play the sort of rugby that has propelled them to top spot in the World Rankings.

Dawson romped over under the posts for England's second try in the 20th minute after taking a simple pop from the base of the scrum from Lawrence Dallaglio, while hooker Steve Thompson scored England's third try after picking up from the back of a ruck and sprinting clear of the scattered defence, Wilkinson adding the extras.

The Georgians were simply unable to cope with the tempo of England's attack and when Neil Back went over in the 26th minute to score England's fourth try -- and secure a bonus point -- England were in an unassailable position.

While Georgia never gave up, continuing to battle for their lost cause, England continued to find acres of space out wide and plentiful possession up front as they went through their full repertoire of moves ahead of the greater tests to come in this tournament.

As expected, England coach Clive Woodward made full use of his bench, Mike Tindall and Matt Dawson the first players to retire from the fray as they were pulled off at half-time to be replace by Dan Luger and Andy Gomarsall respectively.

They were joined by fellow benchmen Jason Leonard, Mark Regan and Lewis Moody, while England's MVP -- Jonny Wilkinson -- was also taken off the field of play to be replaced by Paul Grayson.

Following the encounter, England skipper Johnson proclaimed himself satisfied with his side's opening win.

"It was a strange game as Georgia didn't really play as expected.  They let us pick and go up the middle, while their wide defence was very good," he said.

"We certainly didn't have it all our own way.  They were tough and physical and battled throughout, but we didn't concede a try which was one of the goals we'd set out beforehand.

"Maybe we were a bit rusty but it's a massive game next week and we'll need an improvement.  Neither England or South Africa will have learnt much from each others' opening games."

Man of the match:  Difficult to single anyone out in such a rout.  For Georgia, tough front rower Aleko Margvelashvili and flanker Gregoire Yachvili deserve honourable mentions for showing resistance up-front, but the Man of the match has to come from the ranks of the Men in White given the final scoreline.  With any number of players queuing up for the honour, we'll go for second rower Ben Kay, who was tireless in tight and loose play.

Moment of the match:  Again, plenty to choose from, but we'll go for the moment when England finally broke through to score their first try in the 14th minute.  After a highly effective forward drive down the right, England recycled and attacked left, Jonny Wilkinson throwing the hint of a dummy to break the first line of defence before off-loading an inch perfect pass to Mike Tindall, who went over without a hand laid on him.

Villain of the match:  Apart from the odd niggle, the match was played in excellent spirit throughout, only the head-high tackle by Irakli Giorgadze on Phil Vickery giving referee Pablo de Luca cause to give someone a ticking-off.

The Teams:

England:  1 Phil Vickery, 2 Steve Thompson, 3 Trevor Woodman, 4 Ben Kay, 5 Martin Johnson (c), 6 Neil Back, 7 Richard Hill, 8 Lawrence Dallaglio, 9 Matt Dawson, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 11 Jason Robinson, 12 Will Greenwood, 13 Mike Tindall, 14 Ben Cohen, 15 Josh Lewsey
Reserves:  Andy Gomarsall, Paul Grayson, Jason Leonard, Dan Luger, Mark Regan, Lewis Moody
Unused:  Danny Grewcock

Georgia:  1 Goderdzi Shvelidze, 2 Akvsenti Guiorgadze, 3 Aleko Margvelashvili, 4 Victor Didebulidze, 5 Zurab Mtchedlishvili, 6 Guia Labadze, 7 Gregoire Yachvili, 8 George Chkhaidze, 9 Irakli Abusseridze, 10 Paliko Jimsheladze, 11 Makho Urjukashvili, 12 Irakli Guiorgadze, 13 Tedo Zibzibadze, 14 Vassil Katsadze (c), 15 Bessik Khamashuridze
Reserves:  David Bolghashvili, David Dadunashvili, Vano Nadiradze, Badri Khekhelashvili, Sosso Nikolaenko, Merab Kvirikashvili, Irakli Machkhaneli

Attendance:  25501
Referee:  Deluca p.

Points Scorers:

England
Tries:  Robinson J.T. 1, Greenwood W.J.H. 2, Tindall M.J. 1, Cohen B.C. 2, Dawson M.J.S. 1, Thompson S. 1, Dallaglio L.B.N. 1, Back N.A. 1, Regan M.P. 1, Luger D.D. 1
Conv:  Wilkinson J.P. 5, Grayson P.J. 4
Pen K.:  Wilkinson J.P. 2

Georgia
Pen K.:  Urjukashvili M. 1, Jimsheladze P. 1

Wales 41 Canada 10

Wales got their Rugby World Cup campaign under way by recording an emphatic 41-10 win over Canada in Melbourne with the outstanding Iestyn Harris contributing 16 points.

But whilst the margin of victory probably reflects Canada's deficiencies rather than Wales abilities, there were plenty of encouraging signs for Welsh fans.

Harris played the game of his international life, recording a 100 percent kicking ratio and setting up some fine runs for himself and his team-mates.

It was Canada's fly-half Bob Ross who opened the scoring after only three minutes with a sweetly struck drop-goal after some good pressure, but Wales soon woke up to the task at hand and their thirst was personified by skipper Colin Charvis who starred in some bruising early runs.

But his enthusiasm boiled over when a "stray" arm caught Ross in the face as he attempted to clear his lines and Charvis found himself in the sin bin.

Facing 14 men, Canada turned up the gas and Sweeney began to find life quite claustrophobic with Canada's back row rolling back the years.

Their energy, however, was soon sapped by a rampant Wales pack which sent Harris on a 40-metre break that began a fluid passage that saw the ball swung all the way right before returning quickly to the left leaving the Canadians short of defenders out wide.

Centre Sonny Parker popped up outside his wing to receive the pass and squeeze into the corner and Harris added a well-taken conversion from the touchline.

With the return of Charvis, Wales began to believe in their ability with ball in hand, and some fine pressure pinned Canada back in their 22.  Canada soon cracked and went off-side, giving Harris an easy penalty chance that he did not miss.

More pressure led to another Canadian infringement and Harris stepped up to extend Wales' advantage.

Immediately after the re-start Harris received a pass and burst through a gap in the Canuck midfield to send Sweeney on a run at the Canadian posts but he was brought down five metres short and the move broke down.

But soon enough quick hands took the ball down the short-side and Gareth Cooper skipped over from close-range.  Harris added the conversion just before the break.

Wales came out for the second with every intention of continuing where they left off and a brittle Canuck defence allowed them do just that.

But as the Welsh settled into task of shepherding the game to its inevitable conclusion the Canucks began to assert themselves on the set-piece play -- but other areas of their game were below the necessary standard.

As the phases mounted, the Canucks became disorganised with players in running positions receiving balls whilst stationary.

In comparison Wales' movement looked sharp and Steve Hansen's hard work over the summer seems to have paid off, but not for the first time in this tournament the gulf in preparation and conditioning between the two sets of players was painfully obvious.

A notable exception to this rule was the young Canadian No.8 Josh Jackson, who impressed with some athletic line-out work and tireless support work.

The game soon calmed into a series of rolling mauls that didn't really seem to service any purpose save to allow the players to catch their breaths.

But that man Harris hadn't given up and after spotting an opportunity on the short side he ushered Parker into the gap with a well-timed pass.  The NZ-born centre burst through and fed a pass to winger Mark Jones who had an easy run-in.  Harris added the conversion.

The beautifully worked try lifted the game's tempo and it was soon followed by a try from Charvis, who swivelled of the back of a maul to drop over the line.

With the bonus point secured, Wales brought on a raft of subs and the game's momentum died in the water.

To the Canadians' credit they never gave up and opted to run all their penalties in the second half.

The pressure put Wales on the back-foot and Parker was soon sin-binned for coming in at the side.

Canada again choose to run the penalty and replacement prop Kevin Tkachuk went over from the back of a ruck to add to his impressive scoring record.

Canada's resurgence provoked the Welsh to batten down the hatches and they poured water on Canadian fire by pinning them back with a series of touch-finders.

The coup de grace was delivered by veteran wing Gareth Thomas who was fed the ball out wide and came in off his right foot to skip past two flaying tackles to touch down.  Harris converted to the sound of the referee final whistle.

Man of the match:  No contest -- Iestyn Harris' kicking was impeccable and his vision (see below) was key to Wales' victory.  He finally lived up to his huge potential and now looks like he has secured his spot in the Wales team at inside centre.

Moment of the match:  The game was shaken from a sleepy period by Mark Jones' try which saw Harris pick out a flying and unmarked Sonny Parker on the short side.  The centre burst through the gainline and committed flat-footed Canuck fullback James Pritchard before feeding Mark Jones who sauntered in under the posts.

Villain of the match:  Colin Charvis.  Yes, intimidate the opposition's fly-half by all means.  But don't give him a slap in the chops with the whole world looking on.  Teams need their captains to stay on the pitch.

The Teams:

Wales:  1 Gethin Jenkins, 2 Robin McBryde, 3 Duncan Jones, 4 Brent Cockbain, 5 Gareth Llewellyn, 6 Dafydd Jones, 7 Martyn Williams, 8 Colin Charvis (c), 9 Gareth Cooper, 10 Ceri Sweeney, 11 Mark Jones, 12 Iestyn Harris, 13 Sonny Parker, 14 Gareth Thomas, 15 Kevin Morgan
Reserves:  Huw Bennett, Adam Jones, Dwayne Peel, Robert Sidoli, Mark Taylor
Unused:  Rhys Williams, Jonathan Thomas

Canada:  1 Rod Snow, 2 Mark Lawson, 3 John Thiel, 4 Mike James, 5 Colin Yukes, 6 Alan Charron (c), 7 Adam Van Staveren, 8 Josh Jackson, 9 Morgan Williams, 10 Bobby Ross, 11 Dave Lougheed, 12 Marco Di Girolomo, 13 Nik Witkowski, 14 Winston Stanley, 15 James Pritchard
Reserves:  Garth Cooke, Jamie Cudmore, Kevin Tkachuk, Ryan Smith
Unused:  Aaron Abrams, Ryan Banks, Ed Fairhurst

Attendance:  24874
Referee:  White c.

Points Scorers:

Wales
Tries:  Jones M.A. 1, Parker S. 1, Thomas G. 1, Cooper G.J. 1, Charvis C.L. 1
Conv:  Harris I.R. 5
Pen K.:  Harris I.R. 2

Canada
Tries:  Tkachuk K. 1
Conv:  Pritchard J. 1
Drop G.:  Ross R.P. 1

France 61 Fiji 18

France beat Fiji 61-18 at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane in the first Pool B match of the 2003 Rugby World Cup.  Les Bleus got five points from the match, Fiji none.  But while it was a match that soared on glorious highs it also plunged into an unsightliness which may well have unpleasant consequences.

The ecstasy came with Rupeni Caucaunibuca's try.  The unpleasantness came when Caucaunibuca -- and others -- took time out to express anger outside of the laws of the game, with the winger flooring Olivier Magne, a much bigger man.

There was a time when Fiji looked zestful and confident.  Then the zest seemed to dribble from their legs as the composed French used the ball to take the game far away from the Islanders, scoring five tries in the last 24 minutes after Fiji had burst back to 24-18 early in the second half.

The match started with penalties.  Two against France for diving on their own ball gave Fiji the lead after four minutes, but then one against a Fijian tackler and one against a scrum collapse made it 6-3 to France after 10 minutes.

At this stage Fiji were using what possession they could get to move the ball -- sensibly and understandably -- to their speedy wings.  They were the first to score a try largely thanks to a French wing and the Fijian scorer.

Aurélien Rougerie, the best attacking player in the half, kicked out of defence.  It was an execrable kick that sailed across towards his left.  Aisea Tuilevu got the bouncing ball and cleverly played it back inside to lock Api Naevo.  The big man sold a dummy, steamed ahead and barged over for the try.

This gave the Fijians heart and their tackling suddenly lifted a degree, not always amiably as they led with the shoulder.

This was the next irony of the match, for after they took heart and tightened their defence France scored two tries.

The first came after Nicholas Brusque had started a run down the right.  Olivier Magne was buried in a tackle which became a French scrum about 20 metres from the Fijian line and towards the French left.  They won the scrum and went left.  Imanol Harinordoquy, the No.8, picked up and gave to Fabien Galthié as Brusque came speeding up from fullback.  Brusque's pass sent Christophe Dominici nipping in for a try.

From the kick-off, Rougerie broke out.  Norman Ligairi fumbled near his line.  France then tapped a penalty and the forwards surged over for a try credited to Harinordoquy.

They nearly got a third when Rougerie was bounced out at the corner post.

Half-time came and France led 24-8.

Nicky Little kicked his second penalty and then came that magic moment when Caucaunibuca scored.  Fiji were down around their 22, France knocked on on Fiji's left and Little picked up the ball.  He passed to Ligairi, who floated an outrageous pass, born of Sevens, over several heads to Caucaunibuca near the touchline, just outside his 22.

The speedy wing started striding.  He strode past Rougerie as if the Frenchman were rooted to the spot.  He ran away from Harinordoquy's attempt to cover.  Then the Fijian turned inside and swept past Brusque to stroll over at the posts.

The whole world was now exposed to the genius that the Super 12 had seen revealed.

Was an upset in the offing?

Alas, the lit fire was extinguished as Moses Rauluni conceded two penalties and France led 30-18.

Then the French counter-attacked, Tony Marsh came in on a switch and sent centre partner Yannick Jauzion for the first of his hat-trick of tries.

Then came the fighting.  It started with a rough tackle on Frédéric Michalak at which the French showed anger.  Rauluni was the object of French anger, Serge Betsen the object of Fijian anger, but the real dust-up centred on Olivier Magne, whom the Fijians had previously found prickly.  Caucaunibuca got in two shots, Magne one.  Magne ended floored but arose in time to be sent to the sin bin along with Caucaunibuca.

Soon afterwards Marsh made a half-break and sent Jauzion over under the posts for France's bonus point.

Then Dominici did some dancing and Jauzion was back under the posts.

By this time Fiji had fallen apart, their pack battered into subjection, their scrum-half living in intolerable conditions.

From a five-metre line-out the French surged over and the referee told Raphaël Ibañez that he had scored.

Waisale Serevi was on at fullback.  He chipped twice, disastrously on both occasions.  From the second Galthié countered and Dominici got his second try.

It was a strange match -- a glorious moment, some great moments, some tawdry moments and lots of desultory handling.

Man of the match:  There was Fabien Galthié, full of life behind the French pack and No.8 Imanol Harinordoquy was full of activity.  But our Man of the Match is a two-man creature -- the centres Tony Marsh and Yannick Jauzion who combined brilliantly and created opportunities for each other and the rest of their team -- Marsh so pleasingly back from illness to greatness.

Moment of the match:  Rupeni Caucaunibuca's try -- the moment of the 2003 Rugby World Cup up till now.

Villain of the match:  There were those angry men of the second half, especially the two sent to the sin bin -- Rupeni Caucaunibuca, who may have been fortunate that the card was not redder in hue, and Olivier Magne.

The Teams:

France:  1 Jean-Jacques Crenca, 2 Raphael Ibanez, 3 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 4 Fabien Pelous, 5 Jerome Thion, 6 Serge Betsen Tchoua, 7 Olivier Magne, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 9 Fabien Galthie, 10 Frederic Michalak, 11 Aurelien Rougerie, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 13 Tony Marsh, 14 Christophe Dominici, 15 Nicolas Brusque
Reserves:  Olivier Brouzet, Gerald Merceron, Pepito Elhorga, Christian Labit, Damien Traille
Unused:  Yannick Bru, Olivier Milloud

Fiji:  1 Richard Nyholt, 2 Greg Smith, 3 Joeli Veitayaki, 4 Apenisa Naevo, 5 Ifereimi Rawaqa, 6 Sisa Koyamaibole, 7 Kitione Salawa, 8 Alifereti Doviverata (c), 9 Mosese Rauluni, 10 Nicky Little, 11 Rupeni Caucaunibuca, 12 Seru Rabeni, 13 Aisea Tuilevu, 14 Vilimoni Delasau, 15 Norman Ligairi
Reserves:  Waisale Serevi, Kele Leawere, Sami Rabaka Nasagavesi, Naka Seru, Koli Sewabu, Marika Vunibaka
Unused:  Bill Gadolo

Attendance:  46795
Referee:  Rolland a.

Points Scorers:

France
Tries:  Jauzion Y. 3, Dominici C. 2, Ibanez R. 1, Harinordoquy I. 1
Conv:  Michalak F. 4
Pen K.:  Michalak F. 6

Fiji
Tries:  Caucaunibuca R. 1, Naevo A. 1
Conv:  Little N.T. 1
Pen K.:  Little N.T. 2

Ireland 45 Romania 17

Keith Wood and his Irish team showed far too much class on Saturday for Romania as they smashed them by 45-17 in their Pool A Rugby World Cup match at Gosford's Central Coast Stadium in Sydney, on day two of the 2003 tournament.

The Irish, producing a clinical and efficient performance, scored five tries to go top of the Pool A standings, ahead of hosts Australia.

Wood said afterwards that scoring four tries, for a bonus point, had been foremost in their minds, as bonus points will play an important role in Pool A -- which also includes Australia and Argentina.

He praised the Romanians for producing a very credible performance and keeping it positive., which obviously allowed the Irish to play the type of rugby that would regarded as "entertaining".

Wood also said not one of the numerous knocks his team took during the game seem serious and he is confident all the players will be available for the next fixture, against Namibia next Sunday, October 19.

Romanian captain Romeo Gontineac admitted that the Irish were simply too good for his team, especially in the first-half -- which saw Ireland take a 26-0 lead.  He was more pleased with the spirit showed by his side after the break, which saw a 19-17 scoreline in favour of the Irish.

In the opening stages the Romanians held their own up front and even managed to put the Irish scrum under pressure -- even winning a heel against the head.  But as the half wore the Irish took command and started piling up the points.

Ireland started slowly, at least on the scoreboard and after 20 minutes all they had to show for their efforts in the face of some dogged Romanian defence was three penalties for a 9-0 lead.

But then the Irish cranked up the pace and they soon found a gap in midfield, where Kevin Maggs wrecked havoc and set Shane Horgan up for the first try.  Humphreys converted for a 16-0 lead.

Ten minutes later the Irish scored one of the most delightful tries of the year, with hooker Keith Wood running onto the ball at full pace at a ruck, taking a pass from scrum-half Peter Stringer like a back,and bursting through and over the line without a hand being laid on him.

A Humphreys penalty completed the scoring in the first-half.

Five minutes after the break Romania were awarded a penalty try when Humphreys shoved an opponent in the ingoal area.  Ionut Tofan added the conversion and a penalty three minutes later to make it 26-10.

Two tries by Denis Hickie, both in which fullback Girvan Dempsey played a key role, and one by Victor Costello saw the Irish race out to 45-10 lead.  This also brought up an Irish record of 43 tries for Hickie.

Late in the game Valentin Maftei scored a consolation try, just reward for the brave Romanians, to make the final score 45-17.

Man of the match:  In the early stages of the game Romanian loosehead prop Petru Balan was very influential, especially in the scrums.  But in the final analysis fullback Girvan Dempsey's creative ability is what set up several opportunities for the Irish and ensured the hard-earned ball by the forwards did not go to waste.  Dempsey gets our vote.

Moment of the match:  No doubt hooker and Irish captain Keith Wood's try in the 32nd minute, when he received the ball at pace and raced past a ruck -- catching the defence napping -- in one of the best forward tries you will see.

Villain of the match:  Romanian fly-half Ionut Tofan wasted a lot of ball, not that the Romanians saw too much of it anyway.  Maybe it is harsh on the young and inexperienced fly-half, but this is the reality of Test rugby and the RWC.

The Teams:

Ireland:  1 Reggie Corrigan, 2 Keith Wood (c), 3 Marcus Horan, 4 Malcolm O'Kelly, 5 Paul O'Connell, 6 Victor Costello, 7 Keith Gleeson, 8 Anthony Foley, 9 Peter Stringer, 10 David Humphreys, 11 Denis Hickie, 12 Brian O'Driscoll, 13 Kevin Maggs, 14 Shane Horgan, 15 Girvan Dempsey
Reserves:  Shane Byrne, Guy Easterby, John Hayes, John Kelly, Donncha O'Callaghan, Ronan O'Gara, Alan Quinlan

Romania:  1 Petru Balan, 2 Razvan Mavrodin, 3 Marcel Socaciu, 4 Sorin Socol, 5 Augustin Petrechei, 6 George Chiriac, 7 Ovidiu Tonita, 8 Cristian Petre, 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, Marius Nicolae, Cezar Popescu, Ioan Teodorescu, Petrisor Toderasc, Marian Tudori, Mihai Vioreanu

Attendance:  19193
Referee:  Kaplan j.

Points Scorers

Ireland
Tries:  Horgan S.P. 1, Hickie D.A. 2, Wood K.G.M. 1, Costello V.C.P. 1
Conv:  Humphreys D.G. 3, O'Gara R.J.R. 1
Pen K.:  Humphreys D.G. 4

Romania
Tries:  Maftei V.D. 1, Penalty Try 1
Conv:  Tofan I.R. 1, Andrei I. 1
Pen K.:  Tofan I.R. 1

South Africa 72 Uruguay 6

The Springboks, sparked by a two-try blitz from captain Joost van der Westhuizen inside the first five minutes, scored 12 tries, some thoroughly entertaining, as they overpowered minnows Uruguay by 72-6 at the Subiaco Oval in Perth on Day Two of the 2003 Rugby World Cup.

Van der Westhuizen, who stood in as captain for the injured Corné Krige, completed his hat-trick in the second half.

In a game, which in fairness had many positives, the biggest headache for Bok coach Rudolf Straeuli would have been the team's woeful goal-kicking, especially with England up next, where they will not have as many scoring opportunities as they did against Los Teros on Saturday.

And we all know that in Johnny Wilkinson England have a world class goal-kicker, which means that the 50 percent strike rate of fly-halves Louis Koen (five out of nine) and Derick Hougaard (one out of three) will not be acceptable.

A fifty percent success-rate at this level of the game is shocking!

But let's focus on the positives first.

Under the astute guidance of Van der Westhuizen, the Boks flexed their muscles from the opening kick-off, smashing the Uruguayans out of the way to score inside the first minute when the captain strolled over.

The official clock had not yet reached five minutes when Van der Westhuizen scored his second try, as the Boks enjoyed a monopoly of possession and territory.

The Boks continued to dominate both these facets of play as the Uruguayans hardly saw the ball.  In the first 15 minutes the Boks had 77 percent possession and spent 80 percent of the time in the South American's half.

The third try came in the 19th minute when impressive flanker Joe van Niekerk burst over, with the bonus point secured in the 29th minute when lock Bakkies Botha added his name to the scoresheet.

Koen kicked just two of his four conversions in this period.

Los Teros had six points (two penalties) as reward for some very brave defence, but with the game long over as a contest, it was simply a case of how long South Africa keep kept their structure.

Another two tries and a Koen conversion saw the Boks lead 36-6 at the break.

The avalanche of tries continued after the break, and included Van der Westhuizen's third -- which pushed his try-scoring record for South Africa to 38.

But the Boks steadily lost their concentration, as they started to tire, and mistakes started to creep into their game.

On the whole they can be happy that they beat a bunch of amateur minnows convincingly, but there were still far too many handling errors and lapses in concentration which will cost them dearly against a team like England.

The Bok defence stood firm and the fact that they didn't concede a try certainly counts in their favour.

As for Uruguay, they simply never saw enough of the ball to have been a threat -- with the Boks enjoying an advantage of 58 percent in the possession stakes at the end of the game.

Los Teros certainly did not lack bravery, but they were also no match for the faster, bigger, stronger Boks.

Man of the match:  Three tries and a good all-round game; stand-in captain Joost van der Westhuizen had one of those days players dream about.  Not his greatest ever match in the Green and Gold, but Van der Westhuizen still did enough to earn our award.

Moment of the match:  In the 35th minute the Boks ran the ball out from their own 22 and De Wet Barry put Jaque Fourie into space, with Fourie sprinting 70 metres downfield to score a brilliant try as he weaved his way past defenders.

Villain(s) of the match:  This goes to the two goal-kickers, Louis Koen and Derick Hougaard, who managed a poor 50 percent strike rate -- with Koen even resorting to drop-goals to convert tries

The Teams:

South Africa:  1 Richard Bands, 2 Danie Coetzee, 3 Lawrence Sephaka, 4 Victor Matfield, 5 Bakkies Botha, 6 Danie Rossouw, 7 Joe Van Niekerk, 8 Juan Smith, 9 Joost Van Der Westhuizen, 10 Louis Koen, 11 Ashwin Willemse, 12 Jaque Fourie, 13 De Wet Barry, 14 Thinus Delport, 15 Werner Greeff
Reserves:  Derick Hougaard, Neil De Kock, Faan Rautenbach, Hendro Scholtz, John Smit, Selborne Boome, Ricardo Loubscher

Uruguay:  1 Pablo Lemoine, 2 Diego Lamelas, 3 Rodrigo Sanchez, 4 Juan Alzueta, 5 Juan Carlos Bado, 6 Nicolas Brignoni, 7 Marcelo Gutierrez, 8 Rodrigo Capo Ortega, 9 Emiliano Caffera, 10 Sebastian Aguirre, 11 Alfonso Cardoso, 12 Diego Aguirre, 13 Martin Mendaro, 14 Emiliano Ibarra, 15 Joaquin Pastore
Reserves:  Bernardo Amarillo, Eduardo Berruti, Nicolas Grille, Juan Menchaca, Guillermo Storace, Juan Andres Perez, Hernan Ponte

Attendance:  16962
Referee:  O'brien p.

Points Scorers:

South Africa
Tries:  Greeff W.W. 1, Fourie J. 1, Delport G.M. 1, Van Der Westhuizen J. 3, Bands R.E. 1, Botha J.P. 2, Van Niekerk J.C. 1, Rossouw D. 1, Scholtz H. 1
Conv:  Koen L.J. 5, Hougaard D.J. 1

Uruguay
Pen K.:  Aguirre D. 2

New Zealand 70 Italy 7

The All Blacks got their 2003 Rugby World Cup campaign off to a good start with a 70-7 Pool D win over Italy in Melbourne, but their victory was marred by an injury to centre and vice-captain Tana Umaga.

Umaga limped off the in the 24th minute after taking a knock to his knee, and although his replacement, Ma'a Nonu, impressed in his absence, the dreadlocked Hurricanes skipper is crucial to New Zealand's cause -- his experience no doubt a major influence in their midfield.

First five-eighth Carlos Spencer also limped around at one stage, with what looked like an ankle injury, but he shook it off and completed the game, while another injury worry for New Zealand would have been left-wing Joe Rokocoko, who pulled up lame after scoring his second try in the 69th minute.

Rokocoko was replaced by Leon MacDonald and although he seemed comfortable enough, coach John Mitchell cannot afford to risk his key men before the play-offs start.

At the end of the day, however, the Kiwis outscored the Azzurri by 11 tries to one and although they made a few handling errors and battled with execution at times, Mitchell would generally have been pleased by his side's showing, most notably by Nonu and Carter, both of whom are merely "fill-in" players at this stage.

Nonu set up a few tries with his strong running and trademark spinning in and out of tackles, while Carter's distribution was smooth and he made some nice darts from second five-eighth.

The All Black forwards did not quite run all over their opponents, with the Azzurri holding their own in the set-pieces, especially in the first half as New Zealand went into the shed at 25-0 up, courtesy of four first-half tries.

Lock Brad Thorn, a former Rugby League star, opened his side's tally in the 12th minute, followed soon by his skipper Reuben Thorne, Howlett and Spencer, who benefited from a good Rokocoko dash down the left flank.

Howlett began the second half with a simple run-in after just three minutes, but Italy managed to ruffle a few feathers with a try of their own on the 50-minute mark.  No.8 Matt Phillips, who ironically was born in NZ, forced his way over the tryline after a good build-up, with fly-half Francesco Mazzariol leading the charge.

The ABs, however, hit back with a Rokocoko try, his first at the RWC, to go 37-7 ahead, before Spencer, Justin Marshall, Carter and Rokocoko, again, got over for five-pointers.

Rokocoko's replacement, Canterbury star Leon MacDonald, wrapped things up with his team's 11th try on full-time, mainly thanks to some strong running from Nonu, who featured in the build-up to three of the previous four tries.

Man of the match:  While the injury to Tana Umaga will be of great concern to All Black coach John Mitchell, the form of his replacement and lookalike, Ma'a Nonu, would have pleased the Kiwi mentor.  Nonu ran strongly, creating a lot for his outside men, although some 50-50 passes did not go to hand.  Daniel Carter was another to catch the eye from the No.12 position, especially his last few kicks at goal, while little Italian No.10 Francesco Mazzariol did his reputation no harm with a polished display.

Moment of the Match:  It can only be Howlett's first try, which began after a wonderful counter-attack from Daniel Carter deep in his own territory.  Joe Rokocoko fielded the ball in his 22, beat two defenders before passing to Carter, who burst away and then freed Howlett -- he of the bushy mop of hair.

Villain of the Match:  Nothing serious to report from this match, but the All Blacks' goal-kicking must be another major concern for Mitchell.  Spencer looked to be battling with an ankle problem before handing over to Carter, but it remains to be seen if he can blame his dodgy ankle for his three misses.  Carter started well, then missed a few, before hitting four in succession.

The Teams:

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

Italy:  1 Ramiro Martinez-Frugoni, 2 Carlo Festuccia, 3 Salvatore Perugini, 4 Cristian Bezzi, 5 Carlo Checchinato (c), 6 Scott Palmer, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 8 Matthew Phillips, 9 Matteo Mazzantini, 10 Francesco Mazzariol, 11 Mirco Bergamasco, 12 Matteo Barbini, 13 Andrea Masi, 14 Nicola Mazzucato, 15 Gert Peens
Reserves:  Andrea Benatti, Gonzalo Canale, Leandro Castrogiovanni, Fabio Ongaro, Sergio Parisse, Alessandro Troncon
Unused:  Rima Wakarua-Noema

Attendance:  40715
Referee:  Cole a.

Points Scorers:

New Zealand
Tries:  Howlett D.C. 2, Carter D.W. 1, Rokocoko J. 2, Spencer C.J. 2, Marshall J.W. 1, Thorn B.C. 1, Thorne R.D. 1, MacDonald L.R. 1
Conv:  Carter D.W. 6
Pen K.:  Spencer C.J. 1

Italy
Tries:  Phillips M. 1
Conv:  Peens G. 1

Australia 24 Argentina 8

Wallaby wing Wendell Sailor scored the first try of the 2003 Rugby World Cup, his 20th minute effort helping Australia to a 24-8 win in the tournament opener at in Sydney.

As with RWC'99, it was not an auspicious opening match, with the sheer magnitude of the occasion seemingly having a detrimental effect on both sets of players in the opening exchanges.  Argentina, in particular, were clearly overawed, only playing to their potential in the dying stages when the match was over as a competitive occasion.

The atmosphere at the ground -- so heady for the spectacular opening ceremony -- began to fizzle out once the match settled into its workaday rhythm and was further dissipated by a lengthy break at the beginning of the second half as Australian second rower David Giffin was stretchered from the field after falling awkwardly at the kick-off.  Supporters of all nationalities will no doubt wish a speedy recovery to the forward who has been one of his country's key men in recent years.

But despite the gloom engendered by that unfortunate injury, coach Eddie Jones will be relieved to at least begin his campaign on a winning note, however the victory was achieved.  Jones had kept his cards close to his chest in the build-up to the tournament, repeatedly telling the many doubters that his side's poor Tri-Nations form meant nothing in the context of the World Cup.

After this showing, there are now even more question marks hanging over the team, with nothing in their game-plan to suggest that they are in contention to lift rugby's greatest prize for an unprecedented third time.  But while the alarm bells may be ringing, it is not yet time to abandon the good ship Wallaby, particularly if they can build on the few positives of the match.

As the final scoreline suggests, Australia did excel for brief periods, but despite a surfeit of possession throughout proceedings, they were never able to capitalise on their superiority and play like World Champions.

Time and time again, the ball was whipped out to the wide open spaces in double-quick time, the Wallabies strike-runners tested Argentina's defences to the limit before taking play back in-field and starting all over again with the help of the outstanding back row trio of Lyons, Smith and Waugh.  But the breakthroughs that would have seen them grab a handful of tries were few and far between.

The three loose forwards had a massive influence on the Wallabies win, No.8 David Lyons, was in inspired tackle-busting form up the middle of the park, while his partners-in-crime reveled in the multi-phase play created by Australia.

Indeed, it was one of Lyons' barnstorming runs from the back of the scrum which set up Australia's first score, with the Waratahs star taking the direct route through three Argentine tacklers to set up a prime attacking ruck for his team.

With the Pumas' defensive line stretched to breaking point, they crept up over the offside line, the Wallabies were awarded a penalty and Elton Flatley was on target to put his side up by 3-0.

Argentina battled on -- Contepomi missing an ambitious penalty kick some moments later -- but the Pumas found themselves conceding another three points in the 15th minute as the Wallabies seized the initiative.

Admittedly, the Wallabies were helped in no small part by their opposition who were undone by several below-par aspects of their play, most notably Mario Ledesma's continuing inability to find his men in the lineout.  Normally an exceptional No.2, the hooker had a match to forget, his set-piece drills disintegrating in the big match occasion.

The lineout was the Pumas' achilles heel, meaning that for long stretches of the match they had to do without primary possession, and with the Wallabies holding sway in most other departments, Argentina found themselves fighting a rear guard action, thus conceding a steady stream of penalties.  Even when they did manage to get hold of the ball, poor kicking options by the halfbacks gave it back to the opposition.

Argentina were not even able to consolidate around their much-vaunted scrum, a series of free kicks negating what advantage they should have held in this area and the Pumas pack suffering the ignominy of losing a ball against the head early in the second half.

With Pumas fly-half Felipe Contepomi missing four out of five kicks at goal, it was not a pretty picture for coach Marcelo Loffreda who could be forced to rethink various selections, not least at No.10, with points machine Gonzalo Quesada surely in line for a recall to allow Contepomi to revert to centre.

Contepomi's physical presence would be put to much better use further out, where Argentina suffered most during the match, the Pumas unable to deal convincingly with the muscular running of heavyweight wingers Sailor and Roff and the trickery of Stephen Larkham, the fly-half running rings around a one-paced Argentina back row.

The superiority in this area was apparent in the Wallabies' first try, scored by Sailor in the 20th minute after some great handling by the Australian backline.  The move started deep in the Australian half, Roff fielding a kick from Argentina skipper Agustin Pichot and racing down the left hand touchline, combining beautifully with Flatley to keep the ball alive.

With Argentina at sixes and sevens, the ball came back to the right at lightning speed, Sailor showing tremendous close-quarter power to score in the right-hand corner and spark the game into life, much to the delight of the capacity crowd.

With the game all but lost thanks to the damage inflicted by Flatley's boot, Argentina did rally in the dying stages, fullback Ignacio Corleto streaking over for a try in the left-hand corner.  After a lengthy wait, the video ref gave the score the thumbs-up, but Contpomi predictably missing the conversion which would have put his side within seven points of their opponents and in with a shout of a bonus point.

But that was rendered irrelevant some minutes later when Joe Roff -- one of Australia's best players on the night -- sliced through the defence to score a great individual try and put the Pumas out of their misery once and for all.

Man of the match:  David Lyons (Australia).  While Wendell Sailor and Joe Roff proved more than a handful for the Argentine defence, it was No.8 David Lyons (Australia), taking over from injury victim Toutai Kefu, who was Australia's main man, his strong running from the base of the scrum and in broken play causing no end of problems for the Pumas.

Moment of the match:  Ignacio Corleto's try was the highlight of the second half, but it was Wallaby wing Wendell Sailor's try which really set the pulse racing, the former Rugby League man crashing over after a superb passage of play which saw Australia mesmerise the Pumas' defence with an end-to-end move.

Villain of the match:  The inaugural match of RWC 2003 was a pretty clean affair, Argentina centre Manuel Contepomi's first-half challenge on Wallaby fullback Mat Rogers, and subsequent yellow-carding, the only blot on an otherwise clean copybook.

The teams:

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

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

Attendance:  81350
Referee:  Honiss p.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Sailor W.J. 1, Roff J.W.C. 1
Conv:  Flatley E.J. 1
Pen K.:  Flatley E.J. 4

Argentina
Tries:  Corleto I. 1
Pen K.:  Contepomi F. 1

Italy 31 Georgia 22

Italy made hard work of a tough Georgia side when the two countries met at the Stadio Comunale Censin Bosia in the Italian town of Asti in a pre-World Cup Test, with the Azzurri taking the spoils by a 31-22 margin only.

The sides were tied 13-13 at the break, and the Lelos of Georgia even had to battle on without their full numbers, after fullback Bessik Khamashuridze and lock Zurab Mtchedlishvili were both sin-binned -- Khamashuridze then being red-carded later in the match.

Italian props Leandro Castrogiovanni and Andrea Lo Cicero scored first-half tries to add to a Ramiro Pez penalty, while Lelos wing Makho Urjukashvili scored their only try of the game on the half hour mark.

The second half saw Italy score tries through their two most-capped players of all time, captain Alessandro Troncon and back rower Carlo Checchinato.

Georgia, meanwhile, had the boot of fly-half Pavle Jimsheladze to thank for the majority of their points with a string of penalties and a conversion for their try, while centre Makho Urjukashvili dropped a goal during the physical encounter.

Italy:  1 Leandro Castrogiovanni, 2 Fabio Ongaro, 3 Andrea Lo Cicero, 4 Marco Bortolami, 5 Santiago Dellape, 6 Andrea De Rossi, 7 Aaron Persico, 8 Sergio Parisse, 9 Alessandro Troncon (c), 10 Ramiro Pez, 11 Mirco Bergamasco, 12 Giovanni Raineri, 13 Cristian Stoica, 14 Nicola Mazzucato, 15 Gonzalo Canale
Reserves:  Carlo Festuccia, Gert Peens, Mauro Bergamasco, Carlo Checchinato, Salvatore Perugini, Juan Manuel Queirolo
Unused:  Vincenzo Zullo

Georgia:  1 Avtandil Kopaliani, 2 Akvsenti Guiorgadze, 3 Aleko Margvelashvili, 4 Victor Didebulidze, 5 Zurab Mtchedlishvili, 6 George Chkhaidze, 7 Gregoire Yachvili, 8 Ilia Zedguinidze (c), 9 Irakli Abusseridze, 10 Paliko Jimsheladze, 11 Makho Urjukashvili, 12 Irakli Guiorgadze, 13 Tedo Zibzibadze, 14 Irakli Machkhaneli, 15 Bessik Khamashuridze
Reserves:  David Dadunashvili, Vano Nadiradze, Gocha Khonelidze, David Kiknadze, Goderdzi Shvelidze, Guia Labadze, Irakli Modebadze

Attendance:  6000
Referee:  Ramage i.

Points Scorers:

Italy
Tries:  Troncon A. 1, Lo Cicero A. 1, Castrogiovanni M.L. 1, Checchinato C. 1
Conv:  Pez R. 1
Pen K.:  Pez R. 3

Georgia
Tries:  Urjukashvili M. 1
Conv:  Jimsheladze P. 1
Pen K.:  Jimsheladze P. 4
Drop G.:  Urjukashvili M. 1

Ireland 29 Scotland 10

Ireland's last visit to Murrayfield ended in a record Six Nations win over their hosts seven months ago, but for Eddie O'Sullivan's charges the only thing broken at the Edinburgh venue was Geordan Murphy's left leg, as his side won 29-10.

Tries from wings Denis Hickie and Anthony Horgan and bustling centre Kevin Maggs cemented the Irish win, on a frustrating final afternoon at the home of Scottish rugby for coaching tandem Ian McGeechan and Jim Telfer -- but the game was ultimately overshadowed by Murphy's 19th-minute injury.

Shifting his weight under a heavy double tackle from Andy Craig and lock Nathan Hines, the Leicester Tiger fell awkwardly to the ground near the Scottish 10-metre line.

In the ensuing minutes, with the Irish medical team ensconced on the halfway line, and a stretcher being readied, you could forgive many of the Irish players for retreating to inside their 22, evidently distancing themselves from the scene of one of their most pivotal players, with hands on head and his World Cup dreams in tatters.

While Murphy was taken to hospital with a suspected broken left leg, Scotland created and penetrated opportunities, but failed to convert their first-half chances.  Wing Chris Paterson, entrusted with the kicking duties, left Victor Costello unpunished, following a left-sided penalty in the second minute.

Ronan O'Gara, returning to first team duty for the first time since the June trip to Samoa, also missed his first kick at the posts as the game took the shape of a rust-laden pre-season friendly.

It took 22 minutes for the first score of the game to be landed from the boot of Paterson, his first success at the third attempt, following Murphy's fall and subsequent sidelining.

Prop Reggie Corrigan and mercurial centre Brian O'Driscoll also hit the deck with injury in the first half, neither looking too serious, as the strain was beginning to show on Irish coaching staff in the West stand.

Strong defence from Paul O'Connell and prop Marcus Horan kept a five-phase home side out near the Irish line, nearing the half-hour, before a turnover by substitute Girvan Dempsey on Paterson, resulting in Horan stretching just two metres short of the Scottish tryline.

Ireland had their first points on the board with a 32nd minute O'Gara penalty, and four minutes later they took the lead with Kevin Maggs muscling over from close range.

A Keith Wood line-out was gobbled up by O'Connell, and from the second pick and drive Peter Stringer released the line for Maggs to squeeze through the 10-12 gap and edge over, under the tackles of Gordon Ross and Andrew Mower.  O'Gara converted to send his side in at the interval, with a 10-point lead.

Scotland almost notched a try through Allan Jacobsen and Simon Taylor in first-half injury-time, but it was the visitors who took on the initiative after 12 minutes of the second period.

Skipper Wood took an inside pass from O'Gara, and the former Harlequins hooker released try-happy Denis Hickie to sprint past substitute Simon Webster on the outside, and ground the ball before hitting the corner-flag.

That score, brilliantly converted by O'Gara, effectively sealed an Irish win and Munster wing Anthony Horgan, in his third international, scored his first try just on the hour mark.

A midfield break from Brian O'Driscoll paved the way for Horgan to steam over on the right-wing, following a massive punt forward from the influential O'Gara.

As both sets of players visibly tired from a game of running patterns, a Hickie cutback saw O'Driscoll grounded, but the Leinster centre still had the will and vision to pop a pass into the welcoming arms of back row David Wallace, sin-binned at the end of the first half, to glide over for a welcome fourth score in the 70th minute and confirmation of his return to form.

Shaven-headed Simon Webster, unfortunate to concede two tries as last man to Hickie and Horgan on his debut, crossed for a 79th minute consolation, to send Scotland down under on the back of a sole try in the past fortnight, against the Murphy-less Irish, with 17.

For Eddie O'Sullivan, his second victory at Murrayfield was unfortunately a long-faced let-down, rather than a warm-up for the pending festivities in Australia.

Man of the match:  Ireland fly-half Ronan O'Gara controlled matters in the second half tactically, and barked the back line into shape following a slow start.  Ireland, as a whole, came into their own in the second period, with Keith Wood prominent in the loose, following the loss of two of his line-outs in the first forty minutes.

Moment of the match:  Nothing could match the sight of Geordan Murphy's ankle snapping short of the Scottish 10-metre line after barely 20 minutes at Murrayfield.  Grown men winced in full view of television replays, as many questioned the validity of playing a hard-edged, full-blown Test match five weeks before the biggest rugby event in sporting history gets under way.

Villain of the match:  Unintentionally Nathan Hines' 6ft plus frame has robbed Ireland the rugby world of the running delights and World Cup potential of Geordan Murphy.  The "Tigerish" fullback looked far from "Wizard of Oz" material with a paperweight left ankle in view.  Scottish lock Hines was eventually sin-binned after half-an-hour for persistent ruck infringing.

The Teams:

Ireland:  1 Reggie Corrigan, 2 Keith Wood (c), 3 Marcus Horan, 4 Malcolm O'Kelly, 5 Paul O'Connell, 6 Eric Miller, 7 David Wallace, 8 Victor Costello, 9 Peter Stringer, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 11 Denis Hickie, 12 Brian O'Driscoll, 13 Kevin Maggs, 14 Anthony Horgan, 15 Geordan Murphy
Reserves:  Shane Byrne, Kieron Dawson, Girvan Dempsey, Simon Easterby, Guy Easterby, David Humphreys, Simon Best

Scotland:  1 Allan Jacobsen, 2 Gordon Bulloch (c), 3 Gordon McIlwham, 4 Nathan Hines, 5 Stuart Grimes, 6 Andrew Mower, 7 Ross Beattie, 8 Simon Taylor, 9 Michael Blair, 10 Gordon Ross, 11 Kenny Logan, 12 Andrew Craig, 13 Andrew Henderson, 14 Chris Paterson, 15 Glenn Metcalfe
Reserves:  Iain Fullarton, Jon Petrie, Simon Webster, James McLaren, Matthew Proudfoot, Robbie Russell
Unused:  Graeme Beveridge

Attendance:  35264
Referee:  Whitehouse n.

Points Scorers

Ireland
Tries:  Horgan A. 1, Maggs K.M. 1, Hickie D.A. 1, Wallace D.P. 1
Conv:  O'Gara R.J.R. 3
Pen K.:  O'Gara R.J.R. 1

Scotland
Tries:  Webster S. 1
Conv:  Paterson C.D. 1
Pen K.:  Paterson C.D. 1

England 45 France 14

A brace of tries by Northampton Saints wing Ben Cohen was one of many highlights for England as they cruised to a comfortable 45-14 win over France as they wrapped up their Rugby World Cup preparations at Twickenham.

Two tries from wing Ben Cohen and one from fullback Jason Robinson in the seven minutes before the half-time whistle added fuel to the fire in a dominant display, while Iain Balshaw's try 10 seconds into the second half and a late Josh Lewsey effort stamped a seal of class on to an accomplished showing.

France, without many of their star names, lacked ideas, thrust and seemingly a gameplan, as their paper-thin midfield leaked tries, although a tougher second-half performance saw them at least prevent the score from reaching 50 points, with a late try from replacement wing Aurélien Rougerie being their only touchdown of the day.

On the day that Ireland's Geordan Murphy was ruled out of the World Cup after breaking a leg in a World Cup warm-up, both Clive Woodward and Bernard Laporte will no doubt breathe a sigh of relief that none of their stars have seemingly fallen victim to the most ill-timed of injuries, although England centre Stuart Abbott did have a hint of a limp as he left the field midway through the second half, while scrum-half Kyran Bracken went off after only 33 minutes.

Star turns Jonny Wilkinson and Martin Johnson both exuded leadership and ruthlessness in their only World Cup warm-up outings, although they were both taken from the field after 43 minutes to be wrapped back up in cotton-wool before the showpiece in Australia in a month's time.

England had welcomed back a whole host of their stars for the match after their second-string fell by a single point in Marseille last week, and there were stellar displays from the likes of hooker Steve Thompson and fullback Robinson, as well as two-try hero Cohen.

With coach Clive Woodward set to name his World Cup squad on Sunday, the likes of Abbott, No.8 Martin Corry and wing Balshaw were all arguably among the main candidates playing for their places.

Balshaw showed real hunger and may well have done enough, while Abbott looked assured with some silky combination play alongside Will Greenwood -- the aggressive Corry putting in some big hits, but perhaps failing to exert the same authority as a Lawrence Dallaglio on proceedings.

For the French, some shocking tackling in the three-quarters blighted their play, with Xavier Garbajosa, Clément Poitrenaud and Yannick Jauzion being the chief culprits -- accounting for at least three of the England tries with their half-hearted efforts in contact.

Fly-half Gérald Merceron looked short of ideas, and did nothing to suggest that he will trouble Frédéric Michalak's place in the side, although he did deliver the odd deft chip and admittedly had the majority of his ball on the back foot.

Scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili suffered under the pressure from the English loose forwards, while a back row of Patrick Tabacco, Christian Labit and Sébastien Chabal never imposed themselves on the game.

It took replacement wing Rougerie to spark some life into their ailing fortunes with some barnstorming runs by the big Montferrand man down the right, as well as pulling off a magnificent try-saving tackle on Balshaw, covering for yet another weak tackle attempt by his fellow three-quarters.

Despite their heavy loss, it was actually France who led early on after scoring the first points of the game through a Merceron penalty, but a subsequent perfect four from four by Wilkinson eclipsed Les Bleus' initial efforts for a 12-3 advantage on the half-hour.

Thompson did his best Jonah Lomu impression with a powering break down the left-wing, giving the lawnmower treatment to the two unfortunate defenders in his wake, although the move broke down before a try could be scored.

French flanker Tabacco found himself an early visitor to the sin bin for a late challenge -- the only player binned all match -- and once England scored their first try on 33 minutes, the French defensive dam had been busted.

Cohen opened the try account after Wilkinson grubbered ahead in the 22, a botched attempt to handle the ball from the retreating Yachvili seeing it bounce of the post, only for the grateful Cohen to dot down.

Wilkinson converted, and only three minutes later was lining his second attempt after Cohen grabbed his another try -- a Wilkinson break seeing him off-load to Greenwood before the supporting Cohen powered over courtesy of a short pop pass on the 22.

Again, Wilkinson had no problems with the extras, and with the 'Men in White' now totally dominant, fullback Robinson -- who looked dangerous all game -- decided to have a sprint for the line from 50 metres down the left-wing, some slipshod French tackling seeing the Sale Sharks flyer breeze home virtually unopposed after Poitrenaud's challenge dissolved without a fizz.

Even from the left touchline the conversion was no trouble for Wilkinson, with his side going into the interval with a massive 33-3 scoreline to their credit.

And 10 seconds into the second half they ran in their fourth try, Balshaw magnificently collecting a switched kick-off and haring past Garbajosa down the right-wing while the crowd were still getting back to their seats.

But, given the flood of scoring that had preceded it, the next 40 minutes proved barren for the English, who plugged away with solid play but could not breach the renewed French defence, which had finally found some fight after a shaky start -- buoyed by the introduction of veteran forwards Olivier Magne and Fabien Pelous from the bench.

Replacement wing Rougerie made a big impact and almost scored twice out wide on the right, only some last ditch England defence saving them, while the hosts too showed adventure, Grayson delivering a sublime pass to Balshaw down the right-wing, only to see the Bath man's chip go into touch near the corner-flag.

At 38-3 down, and with the game well beyond them, the French then took the remarkable decision to kick for goal when given a penalty near the 22, Merceron slotting it through to the deafening ring of boos from the agitated Twickenham crowd.

Having finally found some rhythm, France mounted some sound attacks, hooker Ibanez ploughing through a midfield gap on the 22 only to be stopped just short, while a solid tackle from Abbott stopped Rougerie converting a cross-field bomb into a score in the corner.

Abbott then limped off the field, but England still pressed -- Balshaw twice going close to scoring with an attack down the right and then a fumbled attempt to clutch a Grayson chip from under the crossbar.

As if Merceron's penalty attempt was not bizarre enough, centre Jauzion then took proceedings into the twilight zone with his extraordinary decision to opt for an impromptu drop-goal on the 22.  While it went through the posts, it stank of the desperation and typified the lack of ideas besetting the French at times.

With the game ambling towards its final minutes after a quiet period, a flowing break down the left-wing brought some life back to the crowd, with Cohen spinning a beautifully weighted pass to replacement lock Simon Shaw.

The recycle saw breaks from West and Greenwood, before the ball found its way to Dawson from 10 metres out -- the scrum-half drawing his man before popping a perfect pass for Lewsey to crash over the line for a try, converted by Grayson.

But that was not to be the final score of the match, as replacement wing Rougerie was rewarded for his persistence and endeavour, touching down in the right corner in the fifth minute of stoppage time after a desperate hack from Yachvili somehow found its way to Pelous, who was lingering in the backline -- Rougerie finishing off from short range after stepping inside Robinson.

Merceron missed the conversion from way out wide, leaving French coach Bernard Laporte to ponder his options going into the World Cup, after a match which confirmed that depth may well be a problem if their frontline stars go down.

For England, a perfect send-off to the World Cup, with their blistering spell before the interval taking them a plane above their opponents, although their failure to make the most of some chances elsewhere in the match may still be a nagging annoyance to the perfectionist coaches, despite the undoubted creative headway made by all and sundry in white.

Man of the match:  A tough choice given the number of accomplished displays from those in the (skintight) England shirts, with hooker Steve Thompson and fullback Jason Robinson both failing to put a foot wrong all match.  But, for his explosive impact just before the break, and some try-saving challenges, left-wing Ben Cohen gets our nod.  From the French ranks the candidates are few and far between after a dismal early performance, although replacement wing Aurélien Rougerie was outstanding after coming on at half-time for Christophe Dominici.

Moment of the match:  The second try from England wing Ben Cohen in the final minutes of the first half wins our vote, after stiff competition from all four other touch-downs by his team, and the moment when French flanker Sébastien Chabal laid his lips on England hooker Steve Thompson in the heat of battle.  But Cohen's try had a shuddering ring of power.  Started by a break from Jonny Wilkinson near the 22, he off-loaded to his left for Will Greenwood, who passed out of the tackle to Cohen at pace, the wing burning a hasty path toward the posts.

Villain of the match:  Some shocking missed tackles blighted the French play, especially early on, so our villainous award goes to the entire French backline's one-on-one defensive efforts.

The teams:

England:  15 Jason Robinson, 14 Ben Cohen, 13 Stuart Abbott, 12 Will Greenwood, 11 Iain Balshaw, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Kyran Bracken, 8 Martin Corry, 7 Richard Hill, 6 Neil Back, 5 Martin Johnson (c), 4 Ben Kay, 3 Julian White, 2 Steve Thompson, 1 Trevor Woodman
Reserves:  Matt Dawson, Paul Grayson, Jason Leonard, Simon Shaw, Dorian West, Josh Lewsey, Lewis Moody

France:  15 Clement Poitreneaud, 14 Christophe Dominici, 13 Brian Liebenberg, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 11 Xavier Garbajosa, 10 Gerald Merceron, 9 Dimitri Yachvili, 8 Christian Labit, 7 Patrick Tabacco, 6 Sebastien Chabal, 5 Olivier Brouzet, 4 David Auradou, 3 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 2 Raphael Ibanez (c), 1 Olivier Milloud
Reserves:  Yannick Bru, Olivier Magne, Fabien Pelous, Aurelien Rougerie, Sylvain Marconnet
Unused:  Imanol Harinordoquy, Frederic Michalak

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Robinson, Balshaw, Cohen 2, Lewsey
Cons:  Wilkinson 3, Grayson
Pens:  Wilkinson 4

For France:
Try:  Rougerie
Pens:  Merceron 2
Drop:  Jauzion

Attendance:  75000
Referee:  Williams n.

United States 31 Uruguay 17

The USA bagged second spot in the Pan-American Championship in the Argentinean capital Buenos Aires, putting paid to Uruguay with a 31-17 scoreline.

Uruguay finished bottom of the competition, having lost all their games, and Los Teros came in for heavy criticism from USA coach Tom Billups due to their misplaced aggression, which saw four players yellow-carded.

"It is unfortunate that the Uruguayans decided to bring such a thuggish attitude to the contest," said Billups.

"All rugby players are vulnerable at some time or other in a game, and there were times when red cards must have been considered."

Centre Philip Eloff opened the scoring for the Eagles in the opening minute with a try after David Fee had broken through the defence to find his support runner -- Eloff running in the score from halfway.

Both teams kicked a penalty before America's second try, scored by fullback Paul Emerick after barging his way over.

The Uruguayans scored a converted try from a dab ahead, but a further penalty from Hercus and a try from wing Riaan Van Zyl restored the Eagles' lead to 25-10 at the interval.

Hercus struck a penalty and dropped a goal as a messy second half got underway, before Uruguay hit back with their second try -- the last points of the match.

The Teams:

United States:  1 Dan Dorsey, 2 Kirk Khasigian, 3 Mike MacDonald, 4 Luke Gross, 5 Alec Parker, 6 Jurie Gouws, 7 Kort Schubert, 8 Dan Lyle (c), 9 Kevin Dalzell, 10 Mike Hercus, 11 David Fee, 12 Jason Keyter, 13 Phillip Eloff, 14 Riaan Van Zyl, 15 Paul Emerick
Reserves:  Gerhard Klerck, Aaron Satchwell, Jacob Waasdorp, Matt Wyatt
Unused:  Kain Cross, Richard Liddington, Mose Timoteo

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

Referee:  Borsani s.

Points Scorers:

United States
Tries:  Emerick P.L. 1, Eloff P. 1, Van Zyl R. 1
Conv:  Hercus M. 2
Pen K.:  Hercus M. 3
Drop G.:  Hercus M. 1

Uruguay
Tries:  Campomar J. 1, Ponte H. 1
Conv:  Menchaca J. 1, Amarillo B. 1
Pen K.:  Menchaca J. 1

England 16 France 17

France extended their perfect run at Marseille's Stade Velodrome, with Les Bleus fielding something near their strongest team and squeezing home 17-16 against an England outfit minus many of its star names -- ending England's 14-match winning streak in the process.

Not since March 2002 -- against France in Paris -- had England been beaten, and now any thoughts of breaking the world record run of consecutive Test wins can go out of the window -- although a combative French side were good value for their win after applying sufficient elbow grease in key areas.

Even the hot-and-cold kicking and decision-making of their fly-half Frédéric Michalak could not throw them off the scent, with the Toulouse star adding three penalties and a drop-goal to fullback Nicolas Brusque's first-half try.

Two late drop-goal attempts from England fly-half Paul Grayson were in vain, as they battled well against a hungry French pack, but were visibly missing star names such as Martin Johnson, Jonny Wilkinson and Jason Robinson -- with only three or four of their starters from this match likely to figure in the first-choice World Cup side.

And the teams meet again at Twickenham on Saturday, a match in which England coach Clive Woodward has signalled his intent to field some of his frontline players to get them in the World Cup swing.

There were a number of solid performances by the men in white, not least from try-scorer Mike Tindall, although the centre limped off the field midway through the second half in what may well be a worry for the management.

Fit-again Austin Healey started at scrum-half and was one of the oustanding England performers, showing nerve and direction, while flankers Martin Corry and Lewis Moody also gave good physical accounts of themselves in the open field, covering yard after yard.

For France, in what was pretty much their main starting XV, virtually all of the tight five can pat themselves on the back for their superb scrummaging, while second rower Fabien Pelous excelled throughout.

The relaxed play of fly-half Michalak will no doubt have nerves jangling however, and his often wasteful use of posession will have frustrated captain Fabien Galthié, who was his usual bustling self.

With both sides bedecked in their bizarre new skin-tight kits, the sets of players looked more like cyclists, sprinters or rave dancers than rugby players, and with a whole host having to go off for running repairs on their figure-hugging attire, it seems work still needs to be done by the manufacturers.

It was France who had the early lead with a Michalak penalty after only two minutes, but Grayson levelled the scores six minutes later with one of his own.

The 60,000 capacity crowd were on their feet when Christophe Dominici broke through a tackle and hared away down the left-wing towards the tryline, although play was brought back for a previous infringement.

But despite most of the play being in the tight exchanges, it was a back who scored the opening try, with the shaven-headed Tindall powering his way over after a long line-out down the left-wing, taking the ball at second receiver before bashing his way through a double tackle on the 22, having a clear run to the line thereafter.

Grayson converted, and got France on the back foot with some well-taken punts, although when he chipped the French defence in the corner for Iain Balshaw to touch down a try -- the Bath speedster was judged to have been in front of the kicker, and the score was chalked off.

But France were pressuring upfront, especially in the scrums, their dominance however failing to be rewarded by the inconsistent boot of Michalak, who missed two penalties and a conversion before the half was out.

He did however strike a cool drop-goal to bring the deficit back to four points, and Les Bleus took the lead not long after when fullback Brusque crashed over in the left corner for a try -- a handy midfield scrum seeing the ball worked wide before cutting it back inside and flat-footing the English defence.

It looked they would be back behind soon after as England No.8 Alex Sanderson charged down a Michalak clearance, only to bounce the ball in his attempt to ground it -- the video referee being called upon to make the tough decision.

A penalty apiece for Grayson and Michalak in first-half injury-time took the score to 14-13 in favour of the hosts at the interval -- referee Lawrence playing a whole eight minutes of extra time before blowing the whistle.

As the second half started, Grayson got an apt reminder of the presence of the French pack when Pelous clattered him with a beauty of a tackle.

With France having more than their fair share of the ball, a deft crossfield kick caught the England defence unawares, with Brusque chasing the kick into the left corner only for the video referee -- after a lengthy ponder -- to rule that he had a hand on the whitewash of the dead ball area when he touched the ball down.  It was a lucky escape for England, who were caught napping.

Michalak fired wide with a drop-goal attempt not long after, and with England captain Dorian West leaving the field for Steve Thompson, the mantle of captaincy passed to Grayson, who struggled at times with punting off his left foot, and never looked to have anything near the same sort of running threat of first choice Jonny Wilkinson, despite having a generally solid game.

And it was Grayson who nudged England into the lead on the 60-minute mark with a penalty from right of the posts, but Michalak put Les Bleus back on track with a quick reply, his penalty bouncing in off the top of the upright to claim what would actually be the last points of the match, with 20 minutes still left.

The latter stages saw French territorial domination, with midfield big-hitter Brian Liebenberg coming on to good effect, although his prime use seemed to be as a battering ram and a clearance man at the ruck.

He did however potentially save France the match as a frantic England mounted an injury-time onslaught, charging down a Grayson drop-goal attempt, with the fly-half then going on to fire another attempt wide of the posts moments later.

That miss brought about the full-time whistle, as France made it four wins from four matches at the Stade Velodrome -- with the notable scalps of New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and now England to have fallen in what is rapidly becoming a rugby graveyard for the world's top sides.

Ahead of next week's rematch at Twickenham however, there may be enough chinks in the armour to suggest that a more familiar-looking England team can turn this result around.

Man of the match:  With the domination exerted by the French pack, our award really has to go to one of their front five, and for his all-round play, lock Fabien Pelous is the recipient, although tighthead prop Sylvain Marconnet could also have a near equal claim, while wing Christophe Dominici looked good on the odd occasion he got the ball.  For England, Austin Healey was outstanding at scrum-half, exercising good decision-making and proving his World Cup fitness, while openside Lewis Moody and centre Mike Tindall were among those to shine.

Moment of the match:  In an interesting game short on raw electrifying incidents, the well-crafted first-half try of French fullback Nicolas Brusque gets our vote, with the ball being shifted left through the hands before finding its way to Brusque on a straightening line -- the Biarritz player racing for the left corner and slamming the ball down under the challenge of the frantic English tacklers.

Villain of the match:  While it is sorely tempting to cite the cringingly tight shirts worn by both teams for our award due to crimes against fashion and male dignity, our decision goes to the member of the England support team who ran up the touchline and interfered with the (missed) conversion attempt of Frédéric Michalak after Brusque's try.  Michalak, to his credit, did not let the incident faze him, and while it may well have been an accidental transgression, it still could have easily soured the game.

The Teams:

England:  1 Graham Rowntree, 2 Dorian West (c), 3 Julian White, 4 Danny Grewcock, 5 Steve Borthwick, 6 Martin Corry, 7 Lewis Moody, 8 Alex Sanderson, 9 Austin Healey, 10 Paul Grayson, 11 Ben Cohen, 12 Mike Tindall, 13 Ollie Smith, 14 Josh Lewsey, 15 Iain Balshaw
Reserves:  Andy Gomarsall, Jason Leonard, Simon Shaw, Jamie Noon, Steve Thompson
Unused:  Andy Hazell, Dave Walder

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 Nicolas Brusque
Reserves:  David Auradou, Raphael Ibanez, Sebastien Chabal, Brian Liebenberg, Olivier Milloud, Patrick Tabacco
Unused:  Xavier Garbajosa

Attendance:  60000
Referee:  Lawrence m.

Points Scorers:

England
Tries:  Tindall M.J. 1
Conv:  Grayson P.J. 1
Pen K.:  Grayson P.J. 3

France
Tries:  Brusque N. 1
Pen K.:  Michalak F. 3
Drop G.:  Michalak F. 1