Pumas maul France in Marseille

Argentina have pulled off one of the greatest victories of their illustrious history, wrenching the rug out from under the feet of the Six Nations champions ― and conquers of Australia ― with an inspired 24-14 win over France in Marseille on Saturday.

The famous win at the Stade Velodrome ― where all the world's top sides have come a-cropper in recent time ― punctuates France's eight-match winning streak.

Not to belittle Argentina's heroic performance, but France seemed to lack their usual va-va-voom, and found it hard to find their rhythm in the face of a rabid Puma pack who keep the French forwards under wraps for the duration of the game.

Furthermore, most of the French backs looked like they were still suffering the effects of their win over the Wallabies ― the post-match celebrations, that is.

Indeed, the kicking game of Jean-Baptiste Elissalde and Frédéric Michalak had all the composure of a drunk on the Parisian tiles.

Playing with the strong wind at their backs, the Pumas led 19-5 at half-time with fly-half Felipe Contepomi contributing four penalties and converting a try by flanker Martin Durand, who scrambled over following a five-metre scrum.

French momentarily work up, and centre Tony Marsh sliced through for a fabulous try that send the partisan support into raptures, and brought up an impromptu rendition of the Marseillaise.

After the break, Elissalde put his name on the scoresheet with his first penalty, but was forced off the field with an injury in the 58th minute.

Julien Peyrelongue came in at No.10 and Michalak moving to scrum-half.  Michalak also assumed goal-kicking duties and immediately slotted his first penalty.

France appeared to be gaining on the South American 'up-starts' and got within an inch of the line.  In the end, they were forced to settle for another Michalak penalty.

For a moment, it seemed as if the status quo would be maintained ― but the big Argentine forwards drew in a collective breath and pushed the French out of the danger zone and onto their own line.

The tourists were given the opportunity to kick for goal on two occasions, and refused both times ― opting to go for the corner line-out.

And their bravery was rewarded when prop Omar Hasan sealed victory by flopping over for a try after a series of running mauls on the French line just before the final whistle.

Man of the match:  The Argentina forwards were just immense, deconstructing the same unit that bullied the Wallabies into submission last week ― namely, the cultured French pack.  Our award goes to that man who always managed to coerce the best out of the bid Argentines ― the irrepressible Agustín Pichot, surely still one of the finest exponents of scrum-half play to have ever graced a rugby field.

Moment of the match:  With France creeping back into the game, Argentina opted for two line-outs when attempts at the sticks would have been the more pragmatic approach.  It's could have pure machismo, or pure masochism ― but when you can out-gall the Gallic, you know the day will be yours!

Villain of the match:  Despite the furious clash of forwards, it was all good, clean fun.  No villains.

The scorers:

For France:
Try:  Marsh
Pens:  Elissade, Michalak 2

For Argentina:
Tries:  Durand, Hasan
Con:  Contepomi
Pens:  Contepomi 4

The teams:

France:  15 Nicolas Brusque, 14 Aurelien Rougerie, 13 Tony Marsh, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 11 Cedric Heymans, 10 Frederic Michalak, 9 Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Olivier Magne, 6 Serge Betsen, 5 Jerome Thion, 4 Fabien Pelous (captain), 3 Sylvain Marconnet, 2 William Servat, 1 Olivier Milloud.
Replacements:  16 Sebastien Bruno, 17 Nicolas Mas, 18 Pascal Pape, 19 Julien Bonnaire, 20 Julien Peyrelongue, 21 Clement Poitrenaud, 22 Jimmy Marlu.

Argentina:  15 Juan Martín Hernández, 14 Lucas Borges, 13 Federico Martín Aramburu, 12 Manuel Contepomi, 11 Hernán Senillosa, 10 Felipe Contepomi, 9 Agustín Pichot (captain), 8 Gonzalo Longo, 7 Lucas Ostiglia, 6 Martín Durand, 5 Rimas Álvarez, 4 Patricio Albacete, 3 Omar Hasan, 2 Mario Ledesma, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements:  16 Federico Méndez, 17 Daniel Rodríguez, 18 Pablo Bouza, 19 Martín Schusterman, 20 Nicolás Fernández Miranda, 21 Juan de la Cruz Fernández Miranda, 22 Gonzalo Tiesi.

Referee:  Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)

Australia halts Scotland charge

Scotland's search for a win over Australia will continue after the Wallabies secured their second victory over Matt Williams' men in as many weeks with a hard-fought 31-17 triumph in front of 28,000 vocal fans at Hampden Park.

The final score at the home of Scottish football ― where Scotland had never previously lost a rugby match ― closely resembles the one at Murrayfield two weeks ago, but this was a very different game.

Seeking their first win over the Wallabies since 1982, Scotland competed in all areas of the game in a manner which showed real progress is being made under Australian born coach Williams.

Tries from Lote Tuqiri, Phil Waugh, Matt Giteau and George Gregan secured a 14th straight win over Scotland for the Wallabies.

Scotland were the first to threaten, however, Andy Henderson made a fine break in the centre from inside his own half and galloped into the Australia 22 before being stopped by fullback Chris Latham.

Scotland rucked the ball back efficiently though and, from Chris Paterson's delicate chip through, Tuqiri had to scramble the ball out of the field of play with Hogg waiting to pounce.

The Wallabies were forced into an early substitution when centre Stirling Mortlock was forced off ― with a suspected broken cheekbone ― to be replaced by former league star Wendell Sailor.

The change did not affect the visitors' momentum however, and from a scrum inside the Scotland half the home side were penalised and Giteau put the Wallabies ahead in the ninth minute.

Scotland hit back immediately though when George Smith was adjudged offside by referee Alan Lewis and then the Wallabies infringed at a line-out, Paterson slotting both straight-forward penalties.

The Wallabies scored the opening try on 21 when another former rugby league man Tuqiri went in at the corner following a slick handling move in the visiting backs, Giteau converting.

But the score was tinged with controversy, Scotland's players and fans being upset at what appeared a knock-on by George Smith following a fine tackle from Donnie Macfadyen in the lead-up to the try which Lewis ignored.

The Irish official did blow in Scotland's favour on the half hour when he penalised Tuqiri for holding on after he was well tackled by Chris Cusiter in midfield.  Edinburgh utility-back Paterson made no mistake with the kick.

The deficit would have increased again moments later without the intervention of Dan Parks, the stand-off being faced with a two-on-one but guessing correctly and intercepting what would have been a try-scoring pass.

The second try was not long in coming though.

Waugh notched his fourth try in the green and gold after Scotland's defence was stretched to breaking point.

Giteau converted to leave the score 17-9 with half-time looming.

The Wallabies' third league convert Mat Rogers came on just before the interval in place of Clyde Rathbone while Elton Flatley filled in for Stephen Larkham in a blood substitution which became permanent at half-time.

After making no headway in the first 10 minutes of the second-half, Bruce Douglas and Jason White came on for Gavin Kerr and Jon Petrie as Williams sought to create some forward momentum from his pack.

The move seemed to work as Scotland made their first break since Henderson's foray in the opening moments when Cusiter darted through.

The Borders scrum-half was held up inside the Australia 22 but the visitors were penalised for coming over the top and Paterson slotted his fourth penalty to bring his side to within five points of the Wallabies.

Scotland made a mess of the restart but Cusiter again scythed through before chipping ahead into the Wallaby 22.

Sailor did well to tidy up and from the resulting line-out Sydney-born Parks sliced a drop-goal attempt just wide of the posts.

After Scotland's best period of pressure in the game, Australia struck back to regain a comfortable lead when Giteau crossed after the Scotland defence was stretched by a mazy run from hooker Jeremy Paul.

The Scots refused to lie down though and seconds later Flatley's kick was charged down by Hogg, who gathered brilliantly and charged over for his side's first try of the game.  Paterson failed with the conversion from the touchline.

Scott MacLeod, Graeme Morrison, Mike Blair and Robbie Russell all entered the fray in the last 10 minutes as Williams sought to engineer a grandstand finish.

It was not be though, as a magnificent pass from Giteau allowed Wallaby captain George Gregan, winning his 105th cap, to canter in under the posts as Australia wrapped up the win with a clinical breakaway try.

Hogg was denied a second try by good work from the lively Tuqiri as Australia secured yet another win over Scotland.

Man of the Match:  Australia's inside centre Matt Giteau for an excellent performance with the boot and his second-half try that helped Australia to victory.

Moment of the match:  Australian captain George Gregan's late try that finished the Scots late charge for a surprise victory after Scotland came back into the game with Chris Paterson's try in the 66th minute.

Villain of the match:  No real contenders in a relatively clean game that was a good advert for the game.

Scotland:  15 Hugo Southwell, 14 Chris Paterson, 13 Ben Hinshelwood, 12 Andrew Henderson, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Chris Cusiter, 8 Jon Petrie, 7 Donny MacFadyen, 6 Allister Hogg, 5 Nathan Hines, 4 Stuart Grimes, 3 Gavin Kerr, 2 Gordon Bulloch (captain), 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements:  16 Robbie Russell, 17 Bruce Douglas, 18 Scott MacLeod, 19 Jason White, 20 Mike Blair, 21 Gordon Ross, 22 Graeme Morrison.

Australia:  15 Chris Latham, 14 Clyde Rathbone, 13 Stirling Mortlock, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Stephen Larkham (vice-captain), 9 George Gregan (captain), 8 David Lyons, 7 Phil Waugh (vice-captain), 6 George Smith, 5 Daniel Vickerman, 4 Justin Harrison, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Jeremy Paul, 1 Bill Young.
Replacements:  16 Brendan Cannon, 17 Matt Dunning, 18 Radike Samo, 19 Stephen Hoiles, 20 Elton Flatley, 21 Mat Rogers, 22 Wendell Sailor.

England smash Boks at Twickenham

England beat South Africa 32-16 at Twickenham on a miserable London day and were full value for the win.  It was only a late try by South Africa that gave them some meagre look of respectability as England simply strangled them up front and took their chances so well when they had them.

England scored two tries to one, both England's scores coming in the first half.  For the rest it was fly-half Charlie Hodgson's boot, put in place by his dominant pack.

You pays your money and takes your chances, the pub philosopher said.  He may have straightened up his grammar and his accent if he had been at Twickenham but that would have been a fair summary of the first half at greasy Twickenham.

England led 20-6 at half-time.  They came into the South African 22 twice and scored 14 points from their visits.

South Africa paid more frequent visits to the England's 22, but did not look like having a creative idea which could have led to a try.  It was left to late in the second half for a spectacular try and the chance of another soon afterwards.  But they were well and truly beaten.

To compound their problems they were thrashed in the loose for poor, ununified protection of their own ball and made no impact on England's ball.  In both England's tries they missed crucial tackles.  Not only did they turn over ball in the loose but they knocked on with crucial regularity and kicked poorly out of hand ― kicking by reflex and making it an exercise in handing over possession.

England opened the scoring after just over a minute.  Matfield, not for the only time in the half, failed at the England tackle and the went off-side and Charlie Hodgson, the star of the half, goaled.

When Mark Cueto got isolated and held on Percy Montgomery kicked long and low and goaled.  3-3.

A poor clearance from Breyton Paulse gave England an attacking line-out.  It went deep and became a maul.  Steve Thompson wandered off it and gave to Andy Gomarsall.  The scrum-half gave to Hodgson who went past De Wet Barry and through Montgomery and Paulse to score under the posts.  He converted.  10-3.

Hodgson started the next try in unpromising circumstances, under pressure not far from touch.  But he sprinted down the blindside and gave to Josh Lewsey who charged ahead.  England won the ball and Henry Paul kicked high and wide.  Cueto dived at the dropping ball in the in-goal area, caught it and scored.  Hodgson converted.  17-3.

When Lewis Moody was penalised for going in at the side of a tackle, Montgomery again goaled from a long way out ― 17-6.  But soon afterwards the Springboks were penalised for off-side.  20-6.

The Springboks had a great attacking chance when Matfield won an England line-out close to their line, but somehow, mysteriously, Joe Worsley paddled the ball back and England relieved the pressure.

In the first half the Springboks' discipline held and the penalty count was 3-all.  In the second half the penalties went 8-2 in favour of England, which made the visitors' task impossible.

South Africa scored first in the second half, when Graham Rowntree was penalised at a scrum and Montgomery made it 20-9.  Hodgson made it 23-9, then 26-9 with a neat dropped goal, then 29-9, then 32-9.

With seven minutes left Van Der Westhuyzen skipped out of Hodgson's tackle near the half-way line and sped straight downfield before sending replacement Bryan Habana, on for injured Jean de Villiers, speeding round behind the posts.

When Van Niekerk had a run down the same channel Habana came inside him to take the pass and was caught by the cover.

South Africa?  Where, oh where, is all the liveliness, joy, confidence, spirit of the Tri-Nations?  This was not a spirited performance.  England?  Great stranglehold but was is the weather that stopped them scoring a try for 54 minutes despite a plethora of possession?

Man of the Match:  It has to be Charlie Hodgson ― no doubt.  He scored a great individual try ― the sort of try that left the opposition shaking their heads for they knew that he should not have scored it.  In addition he kicked 22 points ― 27 out of 32.  He was also the spark that ignited England's second try.  There were other great performances ― Martin Corry and Josh Lewsey amongst them.

Moment of the Match:  This one is Mark Cueto's try ― Hodgson's vision and dash, Josh Lewsey's accelerated burst, Henry Paul's brilliant kick and Mark Cueto's dive, catch and score.

Villain of the match:  Nobody, unless you want to give it to the Boks for a poor effort.  But nobody in terms of foul play.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Hodgson, Cueto
Cons:  Hodgson 2
Pens:  Hodgson 5
DG:  Hodgson

For South Africa:
Try:  Habana
Con:  Montgomery
Pens:  Montgomery 3

The teams:

England:  15 Jason Robinson (captain), 14 Mark Cueto, 13 Mike Tindall, 12 Henry Paul (Will Greenwood, 71), 11 Josh Lewsey, 10 Charlie Hodgson, 9 Andy Gomarsall (Harry Ellis, 66), 8 Martin Corry, 6 Joe Worsley (Andy Hazell, 71), 7 Lewis Moody (Andy Hazell, 6-14), 5 Steve Borthwick (Ben Kay, 71), 4 Danny Grewcock, 3 Julian White, 2 Steve Thompson, 1 Graham Rowntree.
Unused replacements:  16 Andy Titterrell, 17 Andy Sheridan, 22 Ben Cohen.

South Africa:  15 Percy Montgomery, 14 Breyton Paulse (Jaque Fourie, 72), 13 Marius Joubert, 12 De Wet Barry, 11 Jean de Villiers (Bryan Habana, 72), 10 Jaco van der Westhuyzen, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Joe van Niekerk, 7 AJ Venter (Danie Rossouw, 55), 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Eddie Andrews (CJ Van der Linde, 44), 2 John Smit (captain), 1 Os du Randt (CJ Van der Linde, 17-23).
Unused replacements:  16 Hanyani Shimange, 19 Gerrie Britz, 20 Michael Claassens.

Referee:  Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Touch judges:  Paul Honiss (New Zealand), Malcolm Changleng (Scotland)
Assessor:  David Kerr (Scotland)
Television match official:  Alan Lewis (Ireland)

Ireland slams the US Eagles

Ulster winger Tommy Bowe scored a debut try as Ireland gradually ground down the US Eagles at Lansdowne Road on Saturday, claiming six of their seven tries in a pulsating second-half to end the game winners by 55-6.

Bowe's provincial colleague David Humphreys also added 20 points from his nine successes with the boot to break through the 500-points mark in international rugby.

Starting the day on 491, he converted efforts from Bowe and man of the match Eric Miller in the first-half and Geordan Murphy (two), Marcus Horan, Frankie Sheahan and Peter Stringer tries in the second-half.

The Americans, only seven points down at the interval, scored just two penalties from the boot of fly-half Mike Hercus, but tired nearing the hour-mark due to a four-month lay-off.

Having made nine changes to last Saturday's line-up, Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan watched his side go through the motions in the first-half, failing to hit the heights of their 17-12 defeat of South Africa in squally Dublin conditions.

A shoddy scrum and a series of knock-ons when on the attack saw an error-strewn first 40 minutes dominated by Scottish referee Rob Dickson's whistle.

Even the marked absence of the Americans' famed physicality and the sin-binning of flanker Brian Surgener on 27 minutes failed to see Ireland push clear ― with Hercus nonetheless managing a second penalty for the Eagles when down to 14 men.

Miller was central to Ireland's first points after six minutes, taking up an initial drive from debutante Denis Leamy drew an offside and offered Humphreys his first shot at the posts.

With Tom Billups' visitors not breaking into Irish territory until the 10th minute, Ireland were given a degree of latitude with both Paul O'Connell and the recalled Kevin Maggs prominent ball carriers.

Hercus failed to punish Leamy's high tackle after 13 minutes, missing his first penalty attempt to the left but the former Australia Under-21 did level with a second 30-metre effort four minutes later.

Humphreys smartly replied for 6-3 two minutes later, followed quickly by Hercus' wayward drop goal attempt, set up by burly centre Salesi Sika.

Then Bowe's collect from Hercus on the left touchline after 24 minutes finally opened up a stout American rearguard action.

With Murphy, returned to his favoured fullback position, used twice in subsequent drives, centre Shane Horgan eventually put Miller in past Treviso lock Gerhard Klerck ― one of only four European-based professionals in the Eagles side ― at the right corner.

Humphreys converted to push Ireland 13-3 clear but even with Surgener off the field for persistent offside, the visitors fronted up.

Brian O'Driscoll's neat chip and charge down the right flank saw David Fee retreating but crucially more unforced errors from the Irish attack with hands in the ruck coughed up great field position on the half-hour.

O'Driscoll fielded Humphreys' skip pass five minutes before the break but his pass to the right evaded Horgan's grasp.

Just 13-6 up at the break, an expansive Ireland opened the second-half with a try after 50 seconds through Murphy.  The Leicester Tiger danced easily around Francois Viljoen to set the try-fest rolling.

O'Driscoll set Murphy up again for a right-wing dash around Sika to the line after 55 minutes and three minutes later 20-year-old Bowe crowned his first start with a try ― darting past Al Lakomskis for the left corner.

Close-range drives from Munster duo Horan and Sheahan ― both notching their second international tries on rare starts ― tallied up the Irish points and substitute Stringer sniped over on the right in injury time to put a gloss on the scoreline.

Man of the match:  Left wing Tommy Bowe for his debut try that helped to ignite the Irish Backs for a second-half assault on the Americans line.

Moment of the match:  The start of the second-half when Ireland came out firing after a poor first-half that was dull and lacked imagination.

Villain of the match:  US flanker Brian Surgener for his yellow card in the 27th minute for persistent off-sides that was killing the game at rucks and mauls.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  Sheahan, Bowe, Miller, Murphy 2, Horan, Stringer
Cons:  Humphreys 7
Pens:  Humphreys 2

For USA:  Hercus 2

The teams:

Ireland:  15 Geordan Murphy, 14 Shane Horgan, 13 Brian O'Driscoll (captain), 12 Kevin Maggs, 11 Tommy Bowe, 10 David Humphreys, 9 Guy Easterby, 8 Eric Miller, 7 Denis Leamy, 6 Simon Easterby, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Donccha O'Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Frankie Sheahan, 1 Marcus Horan.
Replacements:  16 Shane Byrne, 17 Simon Best, 18 Leo Cullen, 19 Anthony Foley, 20 Peter Stringer, 21 Ronan O'Gara, 22 Girvan Dempsey.

USA:  15 Francois Viljoen, 14 Al Lakomskis, 13 Paul Emerick, 12 Salesi Sika, 11 David Fee, 10 Mike Hercus, 9 Mose Timoteo, 8 Kort Schubert (captain), 7 Tony Petruzzella, 6 Brian Surgener, 5 Gerhard Klerck, 4 Alec Parker, 3 Jacob Waasdorp, 2 Matt Wyatt, 1 Mike MacDonald.
Replacements:  16 Mike Hobson, 17 Chris Osentowski, 18 Jurie Gouws, 19 Fifita Mo'unga, 20 David Williams, 21 Matt Sherman, 22 Albert Tuipulotu.

Referee:  Rob Dickson (Scotland)

France 27 Australia 14

France outgunned Australia in a pulsating match in Paris for a first win over the Wallabies for three years.

Nicolas Brusque and Frederic Michalak scored tries and scrum-half Jean-Baptiste Elissalde kicked 17 points for France's eighth straight win.

Captain George Gregan scored for the Wallabies but his side were undone by French invention and stout defence.

Australia trailed 12-11 at half time and struggled to find their spark against the Six Nations champions.

France coach Bernard Laporte said:  "I am proud of my players.  They battled to win this match by applying a lot of defensive pressure and taking risks.

"And don't forget we were kept out three times on the try line."

Australia coach Eddie Jones admitted his side "just weren't good enough".

"The second half was really disappointing, there were too many turnovers.  We would have needed to be tactically and technically better.  We didn't respond to the pressure," said Jones.

"Our consistency was not good enough.  We went back to our old habits.  It just wasn't good enough."

Points Scorers:

France:  (12) 27
Tries:  Brusque, Michalak
Cons:  Elissalde
Pens:  Elissalde (5)

Australia:  (11) 14
Tries:  Gregan
Pens:  Giteau, Flatley (2)

The teams:

France:  Brusque, Rougerie, Marsh, Jauzion, Heymans, Michalak, Elissalde, Milloud, Servat, Marconnet, Thion, Pelous, Betsen, Magne, Harinordoquy.
Replacements:  Bruno, Mas, Pape, Bonnaire, Peyrelongue, Poitrenaud, Dominici.

Australia:  Latham, Rathbone, Mortlock, Giteau, Tuqiri, Larkham, Gregan, Young, Paul, Baxter, Harrison, Vickerman, Smith, Waugh, Roe.
Replacements:  Cannon, Dunning, Chisholm, Lyons, Flatley, Rogers, Sailor.

Referee:  Chris White (RFU)

Scotland 100 Japan 8

Scotland put last weekend's defeat against Australia behind them with a try-scoring romp over Japan at McDiarmid Park in Perth.

The inexperienced tourists were shown no mercy by a rampant Scottish side who ran in 15 tries.

Ally Hogg opened the scoring after only 90 seconds, but Japan hit back with a try from Daiman moments later.

It was one-way traffic after that as Scotland racked up the most points they have ever scored in an international.

Scotland went ahead with less than two minutes on the clock through a try from flanker Hogg.

Prop Allan Jacobsen made a break on the halfway line and fed to scrum half Cusiter who then sent Hogg clear into the 22 and the Edinburgh man touched down in the corner.

Paterson converted, but Japan hit back immediately, winger Daiman scoring a try in the left corner after excellent passing and pace from the Japanese backline.

Poor handling from winger Sean Lamont saw a clear-cut Scotland try go begging after the Glasgow winger dropped a pass with the line beckoning.

The opening quarter was played at a frantic pace with both sides tying to keep the ball alive and play the game at a hundred miles an hour.

The result was a scrappy, error-strewn affair, but Scotland settled their nerves with a second try after 19 minutes.

Centre Andy Henderson made a burst through the Japanese midfield before the ball was recycled and fed blind out the backs to Edinburgh full-back Hugo Southwell who raced over to score.

Paterson added the conversion, before slotting a penalty moments later to stretch the Scottish lead to 17-5.

The Scotland wing then grabbed a try of his own ― and another conversion ― after dancing round the Japanese defence on the left touchline.

Japan reduced the scoreline slightly on the half-hour mark with a penalty from scrum-half Ikeda, after flanker Donnie Macfadyen was penalised for hanging onto the ball in front of the posts.

But Scotland nudged ahead thanks to a first ever try in a Test for Scotland from Dan Parks and a Paterson conversion.

Before the half-time whistle, it was try-time again for Matt Williams' side, this time number 8 Jon Petrie popping out of a ruck on the half-way line and sprinting 45 yards unopposed to the Japanese line.

Paterson was unable to maintain his perfect kicking display however and failed to send over the extra two points ― but the Scots still entered the break with a commanding 36-8 lead.

The scoring continued five minutes after the break with Paterson hacking on a bouncing ball from a Dan Parks chip to grab his second try of the afternoon.

Substitute scrum-half Mike Blair then got in on the act, touching down for a try after collecting another delicately-placed Dan Parks kick.

Next up for a try was Henderson, with the Glasgow player running in unchallenged after Scottish pressure created a huge overlap out wide.

Paterson increased his points haul with his third try and another conversion to make it 60-8 with less than an hour gone.

Replacement centre Graeme Morrison added more points to the scoreline with his first ever try for his country, before Lamont, Southwell, Macfadyen and Robbie Russell stretched the lead even further with touchdowns of their own.

With Paterson sending over several conversions to take his points tally to 40, Russell rounded off the scoring with another try to take the scoreline to 100 points for the first time in Scottish Test rugby history.

Points Scorers:

Scotland:  (36) 100
Tries:  Hogg, Southwell (2), Paterson (3), Parks, Petrie, Blair, Henderson, Morrison, Lamont, MacFadyen, Russell (2)
Cons:  Paterson (11)
Pens:  Paterson

Japan:  (8) 8
Tries:  Daiman
Pens:  Ikeda

The teams:

Scotland:  H Southwell (Edinburgh), C Paterson (Edinburgh), B Hinshelwood (Worcester), A Henderson (Glasgow), S Lamont (Glasgow), D Parks (Glasgow), C Cusiter (The Borders), A Jacobsen (Edinburgh), G Bulloch (Glasgow), G Kerr (Leeds Tykes), S Grimes (Newcastle Falcons), N Hines (Edinburgh), A Hogg (Edinburgh), D Macfadyen (Glasgow), J Petrie (Glasgow).
Replacements:  R Russell (London Irish), C Smith (Edinburgh), S MacLeod (The Borders), J White (Sale Sharks), M Blair (Edinburgh), G Ross (Leeds Tykes), G Morrison (Glasgow).

Japan:  Ryohei Miki (World Fighting Bull), Koichiro Kubota (NEC), Seiichi Shimomura (Sanyo), Yukio Motoki (Kobe), Hayato Daimon (Kobe), Keisuke Sawaki (Suntory), Wataru Ikeda (Sanyo), Takuro Miuchi (NEC), Hajime Kiso (Yamaha), Naoya Okubo (JRFU), Hitoshi Ono (Toshiba), Takanori Kumagai (NEC), Ryo Yamamura (Yamaha), Takashi Yamaoka (Suntory), Yuichi Hisadomi (NEC).
Replacements:  Mitsugu Yamamoto (Sanyo), Masahito Yamamoto (Toyota), Feletliki Mau (World Fighting Bull), Takatoyo Yamaguchi (Kubota), Kiyonori Tanaka (Suntory), Masatoshi Mukoyama (NEC), Hideyuki Yoshida (Kubota).

Referee:  A Cole (Australia)

Ireland 17 South Africa 12

Ronan O'Gara scored all Ireland's points as the home side claimed only their second ever win over South Africa on an emotional day at Lansdowne Road.

O'Gara's first-half try, poached after a quick tap-penalty, helped the Irish to a 8-3 lead at half-time.

Three further O'Gara penalties extended Ireland's lead to 17-6 as the game entered the final quarter.

Two Percy Montgomery penalties set up a frantic finish but Ireland held out to claim a famous victory.

Ireland began strongly and were never led, but the match was tense and closely fought throughout.

Aware of the threat posed by the South Africans, Ireland pressed hard from the outset, and played some impressive rugby while searching for a breakthrough.

Early on, Denis Hickie thought he was in for a try after a delightful backline move but Shane Horgan's pass was adjudged to have gone forward by referee Paul Honiss.

Ireland continued to press and they showed their intent by opting for a line-out in the 19th minute when three straight-forward points were on offer.

Another South African infringement a minute later led to Ireland's first points ― O'Gara took a quick tap-penalty and charged over the opposition line for an Irish try.

The Springboks could feel hard done by as captain John Smit had his back to the play when O'Gara pounced after referee Honiss had told the skipper to warn his own players after consistent infringements.

Stung by the score, the South Africans almost replied with a try of their own within 60 seconds with Geordan Murphy's ankle-tap tackle denying a certain try for Percy Montgomery.

However, the Springboks did win a penalty a minute later which Montgomery easily slotted to cut Ireland's lead to 5-3.

Ireland got out of jail when the South Africans had a three-to-one overlap near the Irish line only to waste the chance.

After the sustained Springboks pressure, the Irish produced an attack of their own in the 34th minute which culminated with O'Gara's clever drop-goal to restore his side's lead to five points which remained the margin at half-time.

Sustained Irish pressure immediately after half-time was rewarded by another O'Gara penalty.

However, Montgomery responded quickly by slotting over a superb penalty from near the right touchline to cut Ireland's lead to five points again.

Montgomery then burst through the Irish defence in the 48th minute and it took a superb Girvan Dempsey tackle to prevent a try.

The South Africans suffered a double-blow in the 52nd minute when Schalk Burger was sin-binned for the second week in a row after killing the ball and O'Gara punished the transgression by notching another penalty.

In the 61st minute, Hickie was left frustrated by a poor pass from Girvan Dempsey as a chance to seal the match was wasted.

However, a late tackle on Brian O'Driscoll enabled O'Gara to notch another penalty in the 63rd minute which extended Ireland's lead to 17-6.

However, two Montgomery penalties had Ireland's lead in peril again as the Springboks closed to within five points with seven minutes remaining.

South Africa produced a huge effort in the closing minutes but Ireland held on to claim a deserved victory.

Points Scorers:

Ireland:  (8) 17
Tries:  O'Gara
Pens:  O'Gara 4
Drop goal:  O'Gara 1

South Africa:  (3) 12
Pens:  Montgomery 4

The teams:

Ireland:  G Dempsey, G Murphy, B O'Driscoll (capt), S Horgan, D Hickie, R O'Gara, P Stringer, R Corrigan, S Byrne, J Hayes, M O'Kelly, P O'Connell, S Easterby, J O'Connor, A Foley.
Replacements:  F Sheahan, M Horan, D O'Callaghan, E Miller, G Easterby, D Humphreys, K Maggs.

South Africa:  P Montgomery, B Paulse, M Joubert, De Wet Barry, A Willemse, J van der Westhuyzen, F Du Preez, O Du Randt, J Smit (captain), E Andrews, B Botha, V Matfield, S Burger, AJ Venter, J van Niekerk.
Replacements:  H Shimange, CJ van der Linde, G Britz, D Rossouw, M Claassens, J de Villiers, G du Toit/J Fourie.

Referee:  Paul Honiss (New Zealand)

England 70 Canada 0

Jason Robinson marked his first match as England captain with a dazzling hat-trick as Canada were put to the sword.

England ran in first-half tries through Robinson (two), Josh Lewsey (two), Mike Tindall and Mark Cueto to lead 32-0.

Robinson and Charlie Hodgson added tries at the start of the second half before being taken off to be saved for South Africa.

England added further scores through Will Greenwood, Cueto again, Lewis Moody and Hugh Vyvyan.

The game had an edgy start with knock-ons by both sides before Hodgson took control.

The fly-half sliced through the Canadian backs from a line out and fired a lovely long pass to Robinson.

The new captain still had a lot to do but he handed off the first man and carried the next two Canadian defenders over the line.

Five minutes later Gomarsall's sniping break was acrobatically finished off in the same spot by the flying Lewsey.

And the Wasps wing was soon on the scoresheet again as he plucked Hodgson's pin-point cross-field kick out of the air before racing over untouched.

Hodgson failed to convert all three tries from near the touchline but at 15-0 after 21 minutes England were well on their way.

A fine delayed pass from Henry Paul, followed by a clean break, set up Tindall for England's fourth try, with Hodgson finally on target with the conversion.

Hodgson was heavily involved a minute later, cutting through the defence before feeding Robinson, who put the third member of the Sale triumvirate, Cueto, over for his first England try.

Robinson then collected his second try with a matador's dummy, wrong-footing two Canadian defenders, at the end of a brilliant England counter attack.

Hodgson missed both conversions but England led 32-0 at the break.

The fly-half was on target with the extras after he opened the scoring in the second half with a fine solo try.

Robinson scored a dazzling solo try, converted from wide out by Paul, to complete his hat-trick and was promptly taken off to be saved for the forthcoming tests with South Africa and Australia.

Hodgson soon followed him off after a performance marked by some lovely passing and great vision.

With their bench on the field England lost their rhythm for a few minutes but picked up again to run in further tries through Greenwood, Cueto once more, Moody and Vyvyan.

Paul converted two of them as England got coach Andy Robinson's reign off to an emphatic start.

Points Scorers:

England:  (32) 70
Tries:  Robinson 3, Lewsey 2, Tindall, Cueto 2, Hodgson, Greenwood, Moody, Vyvyan
Cons:  Hodgson 2, Paul 3

Canada:  0

The teams:

England:  Jason Robinson (capt), Mark Cueto, Mike Tindall, Henry Paul, Josh Lewsey, Charlie Hodgson, Andy Gomarsall, Graham Rowntree, Steve Thompson, Julian White, Danny Grewcock, Steve Borthwick, Lewis Moody, Andy Hazell, Martin Corry.
Replacements:  Andy Titterrell, Andrew Sheridan, Ben Kay, Hugh Vyvyan, Hall Charlton, Will Greenwood, Ben Cohen.

Canada:  Derek Daypuck, David Moonlight, Ryan Smith, Marco Di Girolamo, Stirling Richmond, Ed Fairhurst, Pat Fleck, Kevin Tkachuk, Aaron Abrams, Forrest Gainer, Josh Jackson, Mike Burak, Jamie Cudmore, Stan McKeen, Colin Yukes.
Replacements:  Mark Lawson, Garth Cooke, Dan Pletch, Christoph Strubin, David Spicer, John Cannon, Sean O'Leary.

Italy 10 New Zealand 59

An experimental All Blacks side scored nine tries to beat Italy in Rome.

The visitors raced ahead with debutant Conrad Smith, fly-half Daniel Carter and Mils Muliaina all scoring tries in the first eight minutes.

Italy limited the damage to 35-3 by half-time but prop Saimone Taumoepeau ― another All Black new boy ― went over at the restart to renew the onslaught.

Muliaina, Tama Umaga and Richie McCaw all scored twice while Mauro Bergamasco grabbed a late Italian consolation try.

Italy coach John Kirwan was left cursing his team's woeful start.

"It was devastating.  There were too many turnovers and we showed our opponents too much respect," said Kirwan, an All Black legend.

"We just stood back and watched what was happening and you can't do that against a team like the All Blacks."

Meanwhile, New Zealand coach Graham Henry said he would definitely be shuffling his pack for next week's match against Wales in Cardiff.

"We wanted to see how the team performed today.  There will be changes, but not wholesale ones," said Henry.

Points Scorers:

Italy:  (3) 10
Try:  Bergamasco
Con:  Wakarua
Pen:  Wakarua

NZ:  (35) 59
Tries:  Smith, Carter, Muliaina (2), Umaga (2), Taumoepeau, McCaw (2)
Cons:  Carter (7)

The teams:

Italy:  Kaine Robertson, Ludovico Nitoglia, Matteo Barbini, Matteo Pratichetti, Walter Pozzebon, Rima Wakarua, Paul Griffen, Andrea Lo Cicero, Fabio Ongaro, Salvatore Perugini, Marco Bortolami, Santiago Dellape, Aaron Persico, Mauro Bergamasco, David Dal Maso.
Replacements:  Giorgio Intoppa, Salvatore Costanzo, Enrico Pavanello, Silvio Orlando, Pietro Travagli, Luciano Orquera.

New Zealand:  Mils Muliaina, Rico Gear, Conrad Smith, Tana Umaga (capt), Joe Rokocoko, Daniel Carter, Byron Kelleher, Saimone Taumoepeau, Anton Oliver, Carl Hayman, Chris Jack, Norm Maxwell, Jerry Collins, Richie McCaw, Mose Tuiali'i.
Replacements:  Corey Flynn/Keven Mealamu, Greg Somerville, Ali Williams, Steven Bates, Jimmy Cowan, Luke McAlister/Aaron Mauger, Ma'a Nonu.

Wales 66 Romania 7

Tom Shanklin crossed over four times as Wales routed Romania 66-7 in Cardiff ― equalling the Welsh record for individual tries in an international.

Shanklin opened the scoring, throwing a subtle dummy to touch down in the fifth minute before adding one more before the break and two in the second half.

Rhys Williams, Gethin Jenkins, Gavin Henson, Stephen Jones, Dafydd Jones and Gareth Cooper also grabbed tries.

Stephen Jones kicked seven conversions and substitute Ceri Sweeney got one.

Romania gained their consolation try just before half-time from Paris-based scrum-half Lucian Sirbu.

His touchdown was converted by fly-half Ionut Tofan, but it meant little as the visitors could not come close to staving off a sixth successive defeat against the hosts.

Wales took the field in their new change strip of white shirts and black shorts with green trimmings, and they were determined to make an immediate impact.

Lock Luke Charteris made a strong early run into the opposition's midfield, and Wales continued to threaten, with skipper Gareth Thomas only being hauled down courtesy of a desperate ankle-tap tackle.

But the visitors could only keep Wales out for so long and Shanklin, who ended the night having matched the individual scoring exploits of past Welshmen such as Maurice Richards, Ieuan Evans and Glen Webbe, wasted little time in grabbing the seventh international try of his career.

Fly-half Stephen Jones slotted the angled conversion, and Wales were on their way.

The home side struck again on 16 minutes when an exquisite inside pass from Henson sent Williams dashing 30 metres to cross the line.

Jones' conversion made it 14-0, and Wales moved further away when the fly-half ghosted clear and touched down near the posts and then duly converted.

Attacking threat

Romania could offer little in terms of an attacking threat as the first-half closed out with Jenkins crashing over for his first Test try and Shanklin throwing an outrageous dummy and strolling over from 20m, with Jones slotting both conversions.

Sirbu took his chance after a wayward pass from fly-half Jones, but when the second half restarted Wales were swiftly back in the groove, Henson cruising through a gap for his third touchdown in two games.

Then, sent free by another line-breaking Henson pass, Shanklin completed his hat-trick, with Jones maintaining his perfect kicking record by slotting a seventh conversion for a 49-7 lead.

Wales then wrapped up with a flurry of try-scoring to give coach Mike Ruddock plenty to feel positive about ahead of next week's showdown with New Zealand.

Points Scorers:

Wales:  (35) 66
Tries:  Shanklin (4), R Williams, S Jones, Jenkins, Henson, D Jones, Cooper
Cons:  S Jones (7), Sweeney

Romania:  (7) 7
Try:  Sirbu
Con:  Tofan

The teams:

Wales:  G Thomas, R Williams, Shanklin, Henson, Luscombe, S Jones, Peel, Jenkins, M Davies, A Jones, Llewellyn, Charteris, D Jones, Charvis, Owen.
Replacements:  S Jones, D Jones, J Thomas, M Williams, Cooper, Sweeney, Taylor.

Romania:  Maftei, Ghioc, Sauan, Gontineac, Teodorescu, Tofan, Sirbu, P Balan, Zebega, Socaciu, Tatu, Petre, Mersoiu, Tudori, Petrache.
Replacements:  Mavrodin, B Balan, Ursache, Oprisor, Andrei, Dobre, Dimofte.

Attendance:  35,408
Referee:  K Deaker (New Zealand)

Scotland 14 Australia 31

Australia weathered a second-half fightback from Scotland to begin their European tour with a 31-14 victory.

The Wallabies did all the hard work by half-time at Murrayfield as scores from Stirling Mortlock, Clyde Rathbone (two) and Lote Tuqiri gave them a 28-0 lead.

Sean Lamont and Hugo Southwell's tries cut the gap, with Matt Giteau's penalty the only further score for Australia.

The tourists can claim a fourth victory this year over the Scots if they win the rematch in Glasgow on 20 November.

Scotland sent out a side composed entirely of home-based players for the first time since 1985.

But their chances of claiming a first win over Australia for 22 years faded within the first 20 minutes.

The home side made a strong start and could have taken an early lead, but Chris Paterson missed a simple penalty.

They soon paid the price for some slack defending as Rathbone sent Mortlock charging through a gap to score.

Rathbone added two carbon-copy tries in quick succession, charging down the right wing after slick passing from his team-mates had created an overlap.

Some more quick ball allowed Wallabies captain George Gregan to send Tuqiri in for the fourth try, and Matt Giteau kicked his fourth conversion.

Nathan Hines then denied Stephen Larkham as the Wallaby fly-half slid towards the line, and the Scots survived further embarrassment before half-time.

Scotland were a changed side after the break, and were rewarded for a sustained spell of pressure when Lamont dived over from close range and Paterson converted.

There was a hint of an unlikely comeback when replacement Southwell jinked through on the right and slid over, the video referee confirming his first try for his country.

Paterson's conversion cut the gap to 14 points, but the entertainment value dimmed after that as both sides were let down by some sloppy play in wet conditions.

Giteau scored Australia's first points of the half with a penalty as he continued his flawless kicking display.

But Scotland's strong finish should give them heart ahead of the home meeting with Japan next weekend.

Points Scorers:

Scotland (0) 14
Tries:  Lamont, Southwell
Cons:  Paterson 2

Australia (28) 31
Tries:  Mortlock, Rathbone 2, Tuqiri
Cons:  Giteau 4
Pens:  Giteau 1

The teams:

Scotland:  Moffat, Lamont, Morrison, Henderson, Paterson, Parks, Cusiter, Jacobsen, Bulloch, Douglas, Hines, MacLeod, Gray, Hogg, MacFadyen.
Replacements:  Ford, C. Smith, Kellock, Petrie, Blair, Craig, Southwell.

Australia:  Latham, Rathbone, Mortlock, Giteau, Tuqiri, Larkham, Gregan, Young, Paul, Baxter, Harrison, Vickerman, Smith, Waugh, Roe.
Replacements:  Cannon, Dunning, Chisholm, Lyons, Flatley, Rogers, Sailor.

Referee:  Steve Walsh (New Zealand).

Wales 36 South Africa 38

South Africa's Grand Slam trail began with a narrow win in a pulsating game at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.

Tries from Jaco van der Westhuyzen and Joe van Niekerk helped the Boks to an early 23-6 lead, but a Schalk Burger sin-binning aided a Wales fightback.

A Gavin Henson try and Stephen Jones (21 points) brought it to 23-22, before Jean de Villiers and Percy Montgomery (23 points) took the Boks away.

Henson got his second, then Dwayne Peel crossed with the last move of the game.

It was a nightmare start for the home side, the Springboks' superior physical presence at the breakdown forcing a Wales offence, Montgomery landing a first-minute penalty.

The visitors' forwards were delivering perfect ball, with the outstanding Victor Matfield to the fore, and when Marius Joubert played a neat switch in midfield he found himself in acres of space.

Hal Luscombe managed to scythe the centre down yards from the line, but it was quickly recycled to van der Westhuyzen who crossed in the corner.

Wales responded with some heavy tackling and good driving play, Luscombe again prominent, and were rewarded with two Stephen Jones penalties against one from Montgomery.

But when Michael Owen spilt attacking ball, Newport-based Montgomery quickly punished his adopted country, bursting through a weak Colin Charvis tackle.

After a 60-yard run Montgomery played a one-two with De Wet Barry before sending the supporting van Niekerk in for the second try.

Montgomery and Jones exchanged penalties as referee Paddy O'Brien repeatedly blew up for handling at the ruck, and on the stroke of half-time Springbok flanker Burger was yellow carded for his third offence.

Jones landed the goal, and added another soon after the break when a superb Peel break forced van Niekerk into a cynical offence to deny a try.

The visitors were shaken further as Dafydd Jones stole maul ball deep in their half before rumbling over the top of Montgomery.

Quick ball came back to Henson who side-stepped over, Jones' conversion bringing Wales to within a point.

South African discomfort was short-lived, a great midfield break sending De Wet Barry on a 50-yard run, only for the centre to be superbly held up over the line by Wales captain Gareth Thomas.

From the resulting scrum, Joubert sent a neat inside pass to replacement de Villiers, who restored South Africa's comfort zone with a converted try.

The game was getting loose, and when Shane Williams spilled the ball under a heavy Bakkies Botha tackle it came to van der Westhuyzen on the wing.

His burst for the line was denied by Henson, but the fly-half fed inside to Montgomery for a simple try.

Wales brought on fresh legs, and after good work from the forwards Sonny Parker fed Henson in the corner for his second try.

Then, with the last move of the match, the mighty Springbok scrum was destroyed by tight-head Adam Jones, their defensive set-piece sent into disarray and allowing Peel to sneak over for a memorable, if ultimately worthless, score.

Points Scorers:

Wales (12) 36
Tries:  Henson (2), Peel
Cons:  S Jones (3)
Pens:  S Jones (5)

South Africa (23) 38
Tries:  van der Westhuyzen, van Niekerk, de Villiers, Montgomery
Cons:  Montgomery (3)
Pens:  Montgomery (4)

The teams:

Wales:  G Thomas (Toulouse, capt), H Luscombe (Dragons), S Parker (Ospreys), G Henson (Ospreys), S Williams (Ospreys), S Jones (Clermont-Auvergne), D Peel (Scarlets), D Jones (Ospreys), S Jones (Dragons), A Jones (Ospreys), B Cockbain (Ospreys), M Owen (Dragons), D Jones (Scarlets), C Charvis (Newcastle), R Jones (Ospreys).
Replacements:  M Davies (Neath), G Jenkins (Blues), L Charteris (Dragons), M Williams (Blues), M Phillips (Scarlets), C Sweeney (Dragons), T Shanklin (Blues).

South Africa:  P Montgomery (Dragons), B Paulse (Western Province), M Joubert (Western Province), De Wet Barry (Western Province), A Willemse (Lions), J van der Westhuyzen (NEC), F du Preez (Blue Bulls), Os du Randt (Free State Cheetahs), J Smit (Natal Sharks), E Andrews (Western Province), B Botha (Blue Bulls), V Matfield (Blue Bulls), S Burger (Western Province), J Smith (Free State Cheetahs), J van Niekerk (Western Province).
Replacements:  H Shimange (Western Province), CJ van der Linde (Free State), G Britz (Free State Cheetahs), T Dlulane (Pumas), M Claassens (Free State Cheetahs), J de Villiers (Western Province), B Russell (Natal).

Attendance:  55,346
Referee:  Paddy O'Brien (New Zealand)

Italy 51 Canada 6

Andrea Masi and Fabio Ongaro scored two tries apiece as Italy thrashed Canada 51-6 in L'Aquila.

Mauro Bergamasco and debutant Pietro Travagli also went over for the home side while New Zealand-born fly-half Rima Wakarua kicked 27 points.

Canada's only scoring contribution came from two Jared Baker penalties.

Italy led 13-3 after a scrappy first half but played much better after the interval, with their forwards laying the foundations for an emphatic win.

Afterwards, Italy coach John Kirwan said discipline had been the key to victory at the Tommaso Fattori stadium.

"We made too many errors in the first half and I wasn't at all pleased, but we tightened up in the second," said the New Zealander.

"I told them to keep attacking and they didn't let me down.  We were very aggressive and didn't give much away."

Both teams are in action again next weekend, with Italy facing the All Blacks while Canada travel to Twickenham to play England.

Points Scorers:

Italy:  (13) 51
Tries:  Masi 2, Ongaro 2, Bergamasco, Travagli.
Cons:  Wakarua 6
Pens:  Wakarua 3

Canada:  (3) 6
Pens:  Baker 2

The teams:

Italy:  Robertson, Nitoglia, Canale, Masi, Dallan, Wakarua, Griffen, Lo Cicero, Ongaro, Perugini, Dellape, Bortolami (capt) Persico, Bergamasco, Dal Maso.

Replacements:  Intoppa, Costanzo, Pavanello, Orlando, Travagli, Orquera, Pozzebon.

Canada:  Fyffe, Pyke, Cannon, Di Girolamo, Richmond, Barker, Fairhurts, Tkachuk (co-capt) Lawson (co-capt), Cooke, Burak, Yukes, Cudmore, Webb, McKeen.

Replacements:  Abrams, Gainer, Pletch, Jackson, Fleck, Smith, Daypuck.

Referee:  Lyndon Bray (New Zealand)

Australia expose All Blacks in Sydney

New Zealand go down to inspired Wallabies

A massive effort from Australia subjected New Zealand to their first defeat under Graham Henry ― a nail-biting 23-18 loss in Sydney on Saturday.  Penalty kicks were traded galore before Wallaby wing Lote Tuquiri snuck across for a crucial try at the Telstra Stadium, the scene of the All Blacks' loss to the Wallabies in RWC 2003.

The home side's victory in front of 82,000 tense spectators throws the Tri-Nations open again, with all three sides still in contention for the title.

It was a tough, uncompromising, closely contested match ― but the Wallabies deserved their victory.

The match had been all Wallabies in the second half until they went into a 23-18 lead in the 68th minute.  Then the All Blacks went into overdrive, but the Wallaby line did not yield.

But for most of the match the Wallabies looked stronger and more cohesive.  The All Blacks appeared surprisingly ragged, almost seeming to hope for a gifted moment.

The Wallabies take four points from the match, the All Blacks a bonus point for being, thanks to penalty goals, within seven points of the winners ― the two sides are now tied on nine points each, with the Boks on two but with a game in hand.

The Bledisloe Cup stays in New Zealand as the series ends 1-1, and that means the holders keep the big trophy.

That the All Blacks scored no tries and now have two from three Tri-Nations matches will invite further questions about their new flat alignment.  Things looked a bit better when Andrew Mehrtens became the general for the last half hour of the match, which will also invite further questions.

The first half was a real battle.  At first it seemed that New Zealand would win it as they looked sharper, more powerful and more effective and went into a 9-0 lead which became 12-3.  But then the Wallabies, with much thanks to flanker George Smith, fought their way back to a 12-all half-time score.

It was a still night in Sydney, but also very cool ― with breath on the air as Carlos Spencer barked the haka.

Australia ran the very first ball from the kick-off and Stirling Mortlock surged forward, but was tackled and the All Blacks won a turn-over.  The Wallabies were off-side and Daniel Carter made it 3-0.

From the re-start it was the All Black turn to run the ball.  Ali Williams broke and Carl Hayman took it on.  It was much better than the Wallabies' first effort.  It became a penalty against Justin Harrison but Crater's comfortable kick swung wide.

When Nathan Sharpe went off-side, Carter made it 6-0.  When George Smith put his hands in a ruck, Carter made it 9-0.  Indeed, at this point it looked like it would be a 'black' night in Sydney.

But then the Wallabies hit back ― Lote Tuqiri surged at the line and the television match official was called upon, only to advise that the big wing was millimetres short.

The referee went back to a penalty earlier at the tackle.  Matt Burke, on for bleeding Mortlock, kicked the goal, 9-3.

The Wallabies then drove the best maul of the half and the ball went sweetly right to Clyde Rathbone who chipped ahead but the ball dribbled into touch.

The All Blacks lost three of their seven line-outs in the half, and they lost this one five metres from their line and the Wallabies bashed.  Latham was almost there and then Carlos Spencer went grossly off-side.  The referee penalised him, but George Gregan ― not for the first time ― added his pennyworth and the referee reversed the penalty right under the Wallaby crossbar.

Instead of a Wallaby three-pointer, Carter got a fourth when Nathan Sharpe held on in a tackle.  12-3 after 27 minutes.

Then the Wallabies took over.

Tuqiri was marked by three each time he touched the ball, but he battled manfully and ended up scoring the only try of the match.

He started an attack that became a penalty for Matt Giteau when Keven Mealamu was off-side.  Giteau made it 12-9 when Xavier Rush wwnt off-side.  The next All Black off-side earned Ali Williams a yellow card.

That gave the Wallabies an attacking line-out.  Attack they did, and then Kees Meeuws kicked the ball whilst lying on the ground at the tackle and Giteau made it 12-12.

Right from the start of the second half ― and for the next half an hour ― the Wallabies dominated.

The Wallabies won the kick-off and Latham cut sharply down the left.  He was tackled five metres short.

The Wallabies came right back, and Rush played a man without the ball.  Giteau kicked the penalty to make it 15-12.  The Wallabies were in front for the first time.  They were not headed again in the next 39 minutes.

Sam Tuitupou came on for Carter and did bits of bashing in tandem with Marty Holah.  But Spencer missed a comfortable kick when the Wallaby front row was penalised.  Then Mils Muliaina cut sharply between Phil Waugh and George Smith and when Smith stayed in the wrong place at a tackle Spencer levelled the scores at 15-15.

Then the Wallabies flung themselves on sharp attack.  They went right and came back left and with three to two David Lyons hung on and was tackled short of the line.  It seemed a chance blown.  But the ball came back quickly with a pass to Tuqiri.  The great wing juggled, hung on and flopped over for the try which made it 20-15.  Burke missed the conversion.

At this stage Williams came back.  In his absence the Wallabies scored eleven points to three.

Tuitupou, Umaga and Holah combined to go directly for the impregnable Wallaby line and when Phil Waugh hung onto Marshall's arm, Mehrtens, on for Spencer, goaled.  20-18.

The tension was enormous and the Wallabies rode it best, especially after Smith stole a wonky pass from Mehrtens whose arm had been snagged by Waugh.  Latham slashed through off a switch and got to a metre or two.  Umaga was penalised for coming in at the side and the Wallabies chose a five-metre line-out.  The All Blacks stood firm.  Then there was a line-out six metres from the All Black line, but Gregan knocked on the knock-down.

Still the Wallabies attacked and Jeremy Paul, on for Cannon, produced a miracle steal from a New Zealand line-out and the Wallabies were attacking again.  Tuqiri was held up over the line near the posts but when Marshall went off-side Burke made it 23-18.

That was the end of the scoring ― though the All Blacks had many attacking opportunities after Carl Hayman had charged down a Larkham clearance.

Latham saved in one attack when he pinched the ball from Mealamu as the hooker fell.  The Wendell Sailor, on for Rathbone, saved by grabbing hold of a dropping pass.

The All Blacks were not finished as they won a Wallaby line-out and produced an overlap which Muliaina could not use.

The final hooter went and the All Blacks attacked and attacked, but when Sam Tuitupou knocked-on an awkward pass from Mose Tuiali'i, Gregan picked up the ball and booted it into touch to put the Wallabies ― and the Springboks ― back into Tri-Nations contention.

Man of the Match:  Tana Umaga did so well in defence, and managed some sharp moments of his own when he had the ball.  Marty Holah was all head-up and earnest endeavour, but really the award but go to a Wallaby.  Brave Nathan Sharpe;  clever Stephen Larkham with his judicious distribution;  energetic, strong Chris Latham;  never-defeated George Gregan;  strong Lote Tuqiri ― and our choice, George Smith, who tackled, ran and stole enough to break New Zealand hearts.

Moment of the Match:  The big moments could be the negative ones ― the scrap over the hoarding when Carlos Spencer wanted to take a quick throw-in and Stephen Larkham was silly.  In fact the whole incident was silly ― astonishingly silly for an international match.  Ali Williams went off-side in a series of New Zealand back-foot offences ― seven in all ― and earned a yellow card, which produced ten productive minutes for the Wallabies.  But the moment must be that Wallaby attack and the juggle, grab and flop for the only try of the match by Lote Tuqiri.

Villain of the Match:  The Larkham-Spencer silliness over the hoarding was unedifying and undignified.  George Gregan could have provided a telling moment when he mouthed off and elicited a reversed penalty for his trouble.  Justin Harrison just carries on being silly.  But really the award must go to Ali Williams ― his yellow card laid the way for the Wallabies' match-winning points.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Try:  Tuqiri
Pens:  Burke 2, Giteau 4

For New Zealand:
Pens:  Carter 4, Spencer, Mehrtens

The teams:

Australia:  15 Chris Latham, 14 Clyde Rathbone (Wendell Sailor, 73), 13 Stirling Mortlock (Matthew Burke, 17-23, 62), 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Stephen Larkham, 9 George Gregan (captain), 8 David Lyons (John Roe, 70), 7 Phil Waugh, 6 George Smith, 5 Nathan Sharpe (Daniel Vickerman, 70), 4 Justin Harrison, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Brendan Cannon (Jeremy Paul, 57), 1 Bill Young (Matt Dunning, 13-20, 74).
Not used:  20 Chris Whitaker.

New Zealand:  15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Doug Howlett, 13 Tana Umaga (captain), 12 Daniel Carter (Sam Tuitupou, 41), 11 Joe Rokocoko, 10 Carlos Spencer (Andrew Mehrtens, 60), 9 Justin Marshall, 8 Xavier Rush (Mose Tuiali'i, 71), 7 Marty Holah, 6 Jono Gibbes, 5 Ali Williams, 4 Chris Jack, 3 Carl Hayman, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Kees Meeuws (Greg Somerville, 71).
Not used:  16 Andrew Hore, 19 Craig Newby, 20 Byron Kelleher.

Yellow card:  Ali Williams (NZ), 38.

Australia 30 South Africa 26

Australia weathered one of rugby's most protracted cliff-hangers to secure a tense 30-26 Tri-Nations victory over South Africa in Perth.  The Boks lead for long periods of the game, but in the end it was South Africa-born Wallaby Clyde Rathbone who delivered the coup de grace with a try in the 71st minute of play.

The match at the Subiaco Oval was filled with drama for the 42,000 crowd.  The Wallabies scored four tries and thus won a bonus point.  South Africa got a bonus point for losing by fewer than seven points.

Rathbone's winning try -- which took a careful effort from the television match official -- was scored in the right corner with replacement Matt Burke kicked the difficult conversion to put South Africa out of penalty goal range.

As the final whistle was imminent, the Springboks threw everything at the Wallabies in search of a winning try -- but to no avail.

Part of South Africa's problem was their inability to win possession.  They lost seven line-outs to the more competitive Wallabies, and threw one in skew.  They also lost a sloppy scrum.  In addition, they again conceded more penalties than their opponents.

There was a great moment to start the match when George Gregan led his side out in his 100th Test, securing his status as one of the great players of rugby's history.

South Africa played into a stiff breeze in the first half as rain fall intermittently, but they led 16-15 at the interval.

South Africa scored first after they ran from a line-out and kept possession through several phases until Rathbone was penalised for going to ground at a tackle near the touch-line, and Percy Montgomery's place-kick went through off the up-right.

Then came a wonderfully athletic Australian try.  From a line-out after AJ Venter had been penalised, Matt Giteau kicked a right-to-left high diagonal ball.  Montgomery and Breyton Paulse were in the vicinity of the dropping ball but it was winger Lote Tuqiri who outjumped them, caught cleanly, twisted and scored.  Matt Giteau converted from far out and after six minutes the Wallabies led 7-3.

South Africa responded by launching an attack on the left.  Paulse came running round from the right wing and gave a pass to Jean De Villiers which looked to be forward.  The wing, just in from touch, rushed ahead and then grubbered left-footed down into the Wallaby in-goal where Jaco van der Westhuyzen fell on it to score.  Montgomery's conversion, relatively easy, went astray.

The Springboks come close again when Montgomery counter-attacked sharply, and only a brilliant tackle by Giteau on De Villiers saved the Wallaby line.

When Al Baxter was penalised at a scrum, Montgomery made it 11-7 to South Africa.

After Venter had been penalised for an early, tackle the Wallabies mounted an attack.  They seemed to have an overlap but the pass to Rathbone went into touch.  Still the Wallabies attacked, but it was the Springboks who scored!

On the bindside, Larkham passed to his right.  De Villiers stuck out a hand, caught the ball and sprinted some 90 metres to score in the corner -- 16-7.

After the restart, Fourie du Preez kicked downfield, Tuqiri marked and suddenly Chris Latham was on the run.  This created much space for the Wallabies on their right.  Only an ankle-tap stopped Giteau until eventually the ball was out at the corner flag with a line-out to the home side.

The Wallabies mauled from the line-out but the Springboks shoved them sharply back.  But Gregan got the ball to Larkham who slipped the on-rushing Van der Westhuyzen and got over in a tackle.  Again an easy conversion was missed.  16-12 to South Africa.

After the Springboks had lost successive line-outs Gerrie Britz went off-side five metres from his line and slap in front of the posts, and Giteau made it 16-15.

Another Bok indiscretion early in the second half gave Giteau another penalty goal when Bakkies Botha was penalised for toppling Nathan Sharpe in a line-out.  Australia led 18-16.

Soon afterwards the locals were guily used their hands in the ruck and the visitors stole pack the lead with a penalty.

Giteau then missed a penalty from in front, but the Wallabies ran the drop-out back.  Larkham skidded past Eddie Andrews before feeding Latham who rushed it on, bumping off Montgomery to score.  23-19 to Australia.

At this stage Gaffie du Toit was on for De Villiers.  De Wet Barry grubbered left-footed towards the Wallaby line and Du Toit brilliantly gathered the ball just short of the line and managed to touch down with Rathbone and Latham closing in.  Montgomery converted to make it 26-23 to South Africa with 16 minutes to go.

Rathbone then ran back a deep ball and beat three men to put the Wallabies back on the attack.  Burke broke and Latham sent out a brilliant, long pass to Rathbone who squeezed in on the right as Du Preez tackled him.

The Wallabies came close again when Latham appeared to ground the ball for a try, but the Springbok snatched up the ball from the in-goal and Du Preez ran and hoofed downfield.  Rathbone saved brilliantly and -- after a long period of play -- Latham's action was referred to the television match official.

It was not a try, but in the proceeding passage of play Marius Joubert and Stirling Mortlock et al had an emotional moment which became a penalty to South Africa which they ran and ran and ran -- phase after phase -- without really troubling the yellow defence.

Man of the Match:  There are many candidates for Australia Nathan Sharpe who did so much to deny the Springboks possession, George Smith who got his mitts just about everywhere, Clyde Rathbone and Lote Tuqiri with their strong running and Stephen Larkham for three moments of genius which made tries, and for South Africa ubiquitous, competitive, energetic Schalk Burger and Bakkies Botha who was brave and effective.  But our Man of the Match, especially for this match, goes to George Gregan for the way he notched up his century with a strong, calm and decisive display.

Moment of the Match:  There was that unusual moment of referral to the television match official after a long passage of play.  There was Clyde Rathbone's burst downfield.  There was Gaffie du Toit's pick-up and score.  Our Moment of the Match is that athletic bit of commitment -- and immense concentration -- that spawned Lote Tuqiri's try.

Villain of the Match:  There were silly moments but nothing too serious.  One wishes that Marius Joubert and De Wet Barry would keep tackles lower, that Chris Latham would not feign innocence when he is naughty, and that Justin Harrison would not try to be the clumsy Wyatt Earp of the rugby field.

The Teams:

Australia:  1 Alastair Baxter, 2 Jeremy Paul, 3 Bill Young, 4 Justin Harrison, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 6 George Smith, 7 Phil Waugh, 8 David Lyons, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 12 Matt Giteau, 13 Stirling Mortlock, 14 Clyde Rathbone, 15 Chris Latham
Reserves:  Matthew Burke, Matt Dunning, John Roe, Daniel Vickerman
Unused:  Wendell Sailor, Chris Whitaker, Adam Freier

South Africa:  1 Eddie Andrews, 2 John Smit (c), 3 Os Du Randt, 4 Bakkies Botha, 5 Gerrie Britz, 6 A.J. Venter, 7 Schalk Burger Jr., 8 Jacques Cronje, 9 Fourie Du Preez, 10 Jaco Van Der Westhuyzen, 11 Jean De Villiers, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Centre Marius Joubert, 14 Breyton Paulse, 15 Percy Montgomery
Reserves:  Gaffie Du Toit, Joe Van Niekerk, C.J. Van Der Linde
Unused:  Hanyani Shimange, Bolla Conradie, Brent Russell, Albert Van Den Bergh

Attendance:  42107
Referee:  White c.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Latham C.E. 1, Rathbone C. 1, Tuqiri L.D. 1, Larkham S.J. 1
Conv:  Giteau M.J. 1, Burke M.C. 1
Pen K.:  Giteau M.J. 2

South Africa
Tries:  De Villiers J. 1, Van Der Westhuyzen J 1, Du Toit G.S. 1
Conv:  Montgomery P.C. 1
Pen K.:  Montgomery P.C. 3

New Zealand 23 South Africa 21

An inspired South Africa gave the All Blacks the fright of their lives by taking a lead into the final minute of the Tri-Nations clash in Christchurch, but Doug Howlett broke South African hearts by sliding over for a last-gasp winning try.  The Boks won 3-1 on tries, but the spoils go to the home side who finished the day 23-21 to the good.

It was a thriller as the All Blacks attacked and attacked, battered and battered, and then got it wide to Howlett who scored in the corner to win the match.  The Springboks might have scored three tries to one -- but they gave away a heap of penalty.

The victory puts the All Blacks well clear at the top of the Tri-Nations with successive victories, but both at home and each with only a single try.

As against Australia, the All Blacks dominated possession and territory but as against Australia they -- with their much-vaunted back-line -- scored only one try, and that at the death.

The score was 21-18 to the Springboks as the All Black wave broke over the visitors again and again, breaking on the rocks of determined defence till it went wide and there was nobody left to tackle Howlett.  It was the All Blacks' only real chance of a try and they took it -- with ecstatic gratitude.

It was a reward for the grip they had on the game but especially on the second half when they kept the Springboks point-less.  The All Blacks were aided by a powerful display in the scrums, where the Springboks were expected to dominate, and a penalty count of 13-5 in their favour.

It was icy cold, crisp, wind-free and dry at Jade Stadium in Christchurch.

The Springboks ended the first half leading 21-12, but more significantly three tries to zero.

The first try came before half a minute had run.  Jaco van der Westhuyzen kicked off to start.  Marty Holah gathered the rolling kick and charged ahead.  The All Black forwards gathered, the ball came back and John Smit of South Africa was there to pick up.

He passed to Van der Westhuyzen who passed to De Wet Barry who did a switch with Jean de Villiers.  Tackled short De Villiers was able to place the ball for a try in the left corner.

Percy Montgomery converted.  7-0.

Then the All Blacks settled in Springboks territory and garnered penalties.  Daniel Carter's first kick bounced back off the upright but then he goaled three in a row to make the score 9-7 to New Zealand.

But the Springboks came back.  They won their scrum which disintegrated.  Fourie du Preez picked up, put his head down and charged.

He chipped feebly but AJ Venter gathered the ball and got a brilliant pass out to Jacques Cronjé, who had earlier lost the ball three times.  This time he caught it and plunged over in that left corner.  Again Montgomery converted.  14-9.

Carter responded by adding yet another penalty before the third -- and final -- Bok try.  Montgomery countered sharply and with acceleration from a Mils Muliaina kick.  Marius Joubert ran strongly past Greg Somerville and got an awkward pass to Schalk Burger who managed to control the ball and get it to Du Preez who went over in the same corner, from which Montgomery goaled again.

In that half the All Blacks came fairly close once but were well tackled.  The Springboks had a gilt-edged chance when Cronjé knocked on with a four-to-one opportunity.

In the second half Carter kicked two more penalties and then when he went off Carlos Spencer kicked one.  That made it 21-18 with 11 minutes to go.

The Springboks were close-ish on two occasions, both from Breyton Paulse chips.  On the first occasion they were close to getting a five-metre scrum as Muliaina took the ball back for the touch down and once when Joe Rokocoko beat Paulse to the ball and Paulse was penalised.

Then came the victory attack in which Tana Umaga created a telling break and strong replacement Byron Kelleher was an effective presence in everything.

Two moments had a serious bearing -- the Springbok scrum which the All Blacks wheeled to get the put-in and the long throw the Springboks took at a defensive line-out that went awry and created a scrum to New Zealand, six metres out and slap in front.

Man of the match:  Byron Kelleher in his effective quarter of an hour is a candidate as were Kees Meeuws whose scrummaging has been so powerful and meaningful for New Zealand, Chris Jack who was great at line-outs and with ball in hand, Joe Rokocoko who made things out of bits and pieces, Mils Muliaina looked to run whenever possible and Keven Mealamu who does not stop.  Percy Montgomery meant much to the Springboks and Jaco van der Westhuyzen had probably his best match at fly-half.  But our Man of the Match is all-action Schalk Burger who had a huge effect on the match and was certainly the dominant loose forward on the field, just shading strong AJ Venter.

Moment of the Match:  All four tries were glittering moments against a black backdrop.  The brightest pair were early and late -- the Springboks' try in the first minute and the All Blacks' in the last.  But the Moment of the Match was doubtless the last moment as the ball went from Kelleher to Spencer.  He sent a long pass to Mils Muliaina with Brent Russell coming at him.  Muliaina gave the sweetest of passes to Doug Howlett who surfed over in the victorious corner.

Villain of the Match:  None, because it was hard but well-mannered, though two penalties for high tackles by De Wet Barry brings him closest to villainy.

The Teams:

New Zealand:  1 Greg Somerville, 2 Keven Mealamu, 3 Kees Meeuws, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Simon Maling, 6 Jerry Collins, 7 Marty Holah, 8 Xavier Rush, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Carlos Spencer, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Daniel Carter, 13 Tana Umaga (c), 14 Joe Rokocoko, 15 Mils Muliaina
Reserves:  Ali Williams, Byron Kelleher, Sam Tuitupou
Unused:  Nick Evans, Andrew Hore, Craig Newby, Tony Woodcock

South Africa  1 Eddie Andrews, 2 John Smit (c), 3 Os Du Randt, 4 Bakkies Botha, 5 Albert Van Den Bergh, 6 A.J. Venter, 7 Schalk Burger Jr., 8 Jacques Cronje, 9 Fourie Du Preez, 10 Jaco Van Der Westhuyzen, 11 Jean De Villiers, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Marius Joubert, 14 Breyton Paulse, 15 Percy Montgomery
Reserves:  Faan Rautenbach, Brent Russell, Joe Van Niekerk
Unused:  Danie Coetzee, Bolla Conradie, Quinton Davids, Gaffie Du Toit

Attendance:  34000
Referee:  Cole a.

Points Scorers:

New Zealand
Tries:  Howlett D.C. 1
Pen K.:  Carter D.W. 5, Spencer C.J. 1

South Africa
Tries:  De Villiers J. 1, Du Preez P.F. 1, Cronje J. 1
Conv:  Montgomery P.C. 3

South Africa 38 Pacific Islanders 24

The Springboks got their Australasian tour off to a victorious start with a 38-24 win over the Pacific Islanders in Gosford.  The win also saw veteran fullback Percy Montgomery overtake Naas Botha as the most prolific points scorer for the Boks.

But the Boks will not be happy with a performance that saw them slip from total domination in the first half to an outfit that lacked cohesion and structure to allow the gutsy Islanders team back into the game after the break.

The Boks were never going to attempt to beat the Islanders at their own game and they signaled their intent early on, destroying their out-gunned opponents in the forward exchanges.  It was an awesome display by the South African pack, out-muscling the Islanders at the breakdowns and scrums and out-jumping them at the lineouts.

The commentators implied that the Islanders were suffering from fatigue after a gruelling Test schedule, but such an assumption was laughable.  The Boks were simply denying their opponents any ball, and the little they got was on the back-foot and under immense pressure.

Montgomery got the scoring underway with a long-range penalty and the Boks then spent the next five minutes camped in the Islander half for a prolonged period of assault from their gargantuan tight five.

Predictably the first Bok try came from the scrum -- an area the Islanders never came to grips with despite their weight advantage -- and young No.8 Jacques Cronje broke from the back and scored underneath the posts.  Montgomery continued to find the middle of the posts.

The Islanders attempted to gather some momentum after the try, but when Bok centre De Wet Barry put in a massive hit on his opposite number the Islanders were turned over and hurried back into their own 22.

Scrum-half Bolla Conradie chipped over the retreating defence and winger Breyton Paulse showed a clean pair of heels to snap the ball up and go over for the first of his two tries.  Montgomery continued to close in on Botha's record with the conversion.

At the break it looked ominous for the Islanders with the Boks well in control at 23-0.

But the second half was a different game.  The Islanders looked more motivated, while the Boks -- sensing a big win -- began to play as individuals, seeking personal glory over the whitewash, rather than keeping to the game-plan that had worked to their advantage.

It worked initially with fly-half Jaco van der Westhuyzen drawing the defence to put Paulse over for his second of the evening.

Montgomery then claimed the South African record with another long-range effort, but the glory was short-lived when brilliant Islander winger Sitiveni Sivivatu burst through some shabby Bok defence to score in the corner.

But it served as little motivation to the South Africans who continued to throw the ball around shamelessly.  The result was a host of errors and another Sivivatu try in the corner.

The sight of the Chiefs star grounding the ball again seemed to sting the Boks back into action and it was again Montgomery who proved the catalyst, chipping through the Islanders defence for winger Jean de Villiers to pick up his first international try.

But from that point onwards the Boks did little to impress.  Their game-plan was thrown out the window never to return.  Montgomery in particular seemed to suffer a rapid change of fortune, but he was not the only one.

Two more tries from hard-running No.8 Sione Lauaki and big winger Sireli Bobo made the score more respectable for the Islanders at 38-24.  But it should never have been that close.

The Boks should have closed the game down long before Bobo went over in the 80th minute and it should serve as a wake-up call for the South Africans who will face a far more challenging All Blacks side next weekend in Christchurch.

Man of the match:  For the Islanders Sivivatu and Lauaki were both superb and never threw in the towel.  But this award could go to only one man -- Schalk Burger -- who once again got through a mountain of work for the Boks.  Where he gets the energy is anybody's guess.

Moment of the match:  There were some fantastic tries, but Jean de Villiers' try in the second half welcomed the belated return of a phenomenal talent, who has been kept off the centre stage for far too long.

Villian of the match:  It was a clean game and despite some poor option-taking, nobody deserves this award.

The Teams:

South Africa:  1 Eddie Andrews, 2 John Smit (c), 3 Os Du Randt, 4 Bakkies Botha, 5 Gerrie Britz, 6 A.J. Venter, 7 Schalk Burger Jr., 8 Jacques Cronje, 9 Bolla Conradie, 10 Jaco Van Der Westhuyzen, 11 Jean De Villiers, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Marius Joubert, 14 Breyton Paulse, 15 Percy Montgomery
Reserves:  Fourie Du Preez, Quinton Davids, C.J. Van Der Linde, Pedrie Wannenburg
Unused:  Danie Coetzee, Gaffie Du Toit, Brent Russell

Pacific Islanders:  1 Soane Tonga'uiha, 2 Aleki Lutui, 3 Tevita Taumoepeau, 4 'Inoke Afeaki (c), 5 Ifereimi Rawaqa, 6 Sione Lauaki, 7 Alifereti Doviverata, 8 Sisa Koyamaibole, 9 Mosese Rauluni, 10 Tanner Vili, 11 Sireli Bobo, 12 Seilala Mapusua, 13 Seru Rabeni, 14 Sitivini Sivivatu, 15 Norman Ligairi
Reserves:  Filipo Levi, Tu Tamarua, Brian Lima, Steven So'oialo, Taufa'ao Filise, Seremaia Baikeinuku, Joeli Lotawa

Referee:  Young s.

Points Scorers:

South Africa
Tries:  Paulse B.J. 2, De Villiers J. 1, Cronje J. 1
Conv:  Montgomery P.C. 3
Pen K.:  Montgomery P.C. 4

Pacific Islanders
Tries:  Bobo I. 1, Sivivatu S.W. 2, Lauaki S. 1
Conv:  Rabeni R.S. 2

Australia 7 New Zealand 16

New Zealand beat Australia 16-7 at Westpac Stadium in Wellington, thus retaining the Bledisloe Cup and taking a strong step forward to Tri-Nations success.  They were full value for their victory as they dominated the match far more comprehensively than the score suggests.  The Wallabies were brave in defence, in which the weather was their ally.

Wellington was wet -- not especially windy -- but wet as the rain teemed down, handling was iffish and footing uncertain.

From Stephen Larkham's first kick-off which went directly into touch, the All Blacks had almost total domination of the first half.  The Wallabies had one foray into the All Black 22 while the New Zealanders were several times close to the Australian goal-line.  In the second half, too, the Wallaby went twice into the All Blacks 22 -- and scored once!

In the first half the All Blacks threw into 18 line-outs, the Wallabies into seven, which is part of the story of getting possession.  True the All Blacks lost three but the Wallabies gave up three as well.

In the second half the All Blacks were not penalised at all, while the two penalties which the All Blacks scored both came from some form of foul play.  For the first Brendan Cannon punched Keven Mealamu in the face in what looked like gratuitous violence.  For the second, just before the end, Stirling Mortlock tackled Tana Umaga high.

After his first failed kick-off, Larkham followed with more flops as the Wallabies appeared unnerved in the absence of George Gregan and in the face of pressure.  Larkham may well have had his worst match in the Wallaby jersey.  Lost without Gregan?

Both teams, the best ball-handlers in the world of rugby, battled with passing, but the All Blacks more than the wallabies as they tried to attack.

The Wallabies threatened first when Justin Harrison charged down a Mils Muliaina clearance but Doug Howlett saved and Clyde Rathbone was penalised.

That was the best of the first ten minutes.

Muliaina broke past Stirling Mortlock and the move was carried on until Muliaina kicked and Chris Latham saved.

Kees Meeuws, twice penalised at scrums, worked a clever move at a line-out and the All Blacks attacked but lost the ball.

They got a ball they did not deserve soon afterwards when the referee adjudged the Wallabies to have carried over and gave the All Blacks a five-metre scrum but a skidding pass became a scrum which became a penalty and relieved the pressure on the wallabies -- temporarily.

The All Blacks had a good moment from a line-out when Mealamu threw short to Chris Jack who set off with Mealamu to within three metres of the line.

After Daniel Carter had been short with a kick at goal when Phil Waugh stamped on a player some distance from the obvious ball. he goaled one when Al Baxter was penalised at a scrum.  Carter later missed one when Bill Young was penalised for playing a man without the ball.

That made the half-time score 3-0 to New Zealand.

The second half was marred by an ugly fight.  Cannon punched Mealamu who objected.  They were not the only fighters as Justin Harrison, who expressed his dislike for Justin Marshall, and Carlos Spencer also appeared to be doing the punching.  In the end both hookers -- Mealamu and Cannon -- were sent to the sin bin, Australia were penalised and Carter made it 6-0.

Twice in the half Chris Whitaker was forced to carry over an All Black grubber.  From a five-metre scrum the All Blacks bashed, Joe Rokocoko came from the left and threw a long pass to his right and Doug Howlett had an easy passage to the line.  Carter converted.  13-0.

The game looked safe for New Zealand who carried on attacking.

Then the Wallabies had two chances, one slight, one realised, both from kicks.

Lote Tuqiri had a long kick but Howlett got back, Wallabies did not arrive and Justin Marshall cleared.

Then Matt Giteau kicked high and seemingly innocuously.  But Rokocoko dropped and slipped to the ground.  Mortlock dived onto the ball and surfed over under the bar.  Giteau converted.  13-7, but that was that -- the Wallabies had no other chances in the match.

With a minute to go Mortlock was penalised and Carter kicked the straight-forward kick over.

Man of the Match:  Brave as Stirling Mortlock was, and hard as Chris Whitaker tried, the Man of the Match has to be an All Black, the question is who.  Chris Jack had a huge game, Keven Mealamu was all action and courage, blotted copybook apart, Tana Umaga was always a handful and Mils Muliaina full of life.  But our choice was eventually between Marty Holah who was here there and effectively everywhere and our eventual choice brave, strong, decisive Justin Marshall on a night when the scrum-half had to be good.

Moment of the Match:  There was the joy of Doug Howlett's try, there was Simon Maling's skidding pass, and there was the unedifying fight.  But our moment is Stirling Mortlock's dive onto the ball as he surfed it over in the wet.

Villain of the Match:  Brendan Cannon and Keven Mealamu were the men with the yellow cards in which Cannon looked more guilty than Mealamu.

The Teams:

Australia:  1 Alastair Baxter, 2 Brendan Cannon, 3 Bill Young, 4 Justin Harrison, 5 Nathan Sharpe (c), 6 Radike Samo, 7 Phil Waugh, 8 David Lyons, 9 Chris Whitaker, 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 12 Matt Giteau, 13 Stirling Mortlock, 14 Clyde Rathbone, 15 Chris Latham
Reserves:  Jeremy Paul, Wendell Sailor, Matt Henjak, Matt Dunning, George Smith
Unused:  Matthew Burke, Daniel Vickerman

New Zealand:  1 Carl Hayman, 2 Keven Mealamu, 3 Kees Meeuws, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Simon Maling, 6 Jono Gibbes, 7 Marty Holah, 8 Xavier Rush, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Carlos Spencer, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Daniel Carter, 13 Tana Umaga (c), 14 Joe Rokocoko, 15 Mils Muliaina
Reserves:  Jerry Collins, Andrew Hore
Unused:  Nick Evans, Craig Newby, Greg Somerville, Byron Kelleher, Sam Tuitupou

Attendance:  38000
Referee:  Rolland a.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Mortlock S.A. 1
Conv:  Giteau M.J. 1

New Zealand
Tries:  Howlett D.C. 1
Conv:  Carter D.W. 1
Pen K.:  Carter D.W. 3

Australia 29 Pacific Islanders 14

Australia were made to work very hard for their 29-14 win in the historical inaugural Test against the Pacific Islanders at the Adelaide Oval.  The Wallabies outscored the hardy visitors by five tries to two, but the game was a lot closer than the margin suggested.

In an historic match in Adelaide, Australia beat the Pacific Islanders 29-14, a tough encounter on a slithery evening before a cheerful crowd of some 20 000.  The Wallabies won but the Islanders hurt the Wallabies.

Clyde Rathbone, three-try scorer against England, was hurt in three tackles this week and eventually left the field.  Joe Roff hurt a knee in a tackle and left.  George Gregan was heavily dumped in a tackle and left.  Stirling Mortlock was hurt in a tackle and left with a bulging eye.  Others could also have been hurt as the Islanders bashed with ball in hand and then bashed the Wallabies when the Australians had the ball.

The Islanders played their first Test ever and did so well.

There were also memorable moments for André Watson, who was refereeing his last Test after a wonderful career, and Brumbies prop Nic Henderson, brought into the squad when Matt Dunning hurt an eye.  Late in the match Henderson got onto the field, just in time to win his first cap.

It certainly was a contest.  One interesting area of contention was at the tackle where the Islanders drove in hard and won a surprising number of turn-overs.

For long periods of the match, despite the conditions, the Islanders, in their blue and red shorts and red, white and blue jerseys, deprived the Wallabies of the ball as they went through many phases -- more phases than metres against a determined Australian defence.

A feature of the match was the judicious kicking by the Wallabies against the pointless kicking of the Islanders.

The rain held off for the start of the match.  There was none while the Australians sang their anthem and the Pacific Islanders their aggressive dance, a sipi tau, a Tongan form of wardance, led by a tattooed baggage master in war dress.

Not long afterwards, the rain started and the ground became increasingly slippery, very much a cricket ground in shape, amenities and bald pitch.

The Islanders' full back, experienced Norman Ligairi, had problems getting to the ball as the Wallabies kicked cleverly.  A Stephan Larkham kick forced a line-out, to the Islanders, five metres from the Islanders' line.  The Islanders lost five of their 16 line-outs but won this own and scrumhalf Mosese Rauluni cleared badly.  Rathbone, back after his first shaking up, played inside.  The Wallabies countered on their left, Lote Tuqiri straightened up to fix two defenders before giving to Mortlock who still had hard work ahead as he scored in Lome Fa'atua's tackle.  Roff missed the conversion from the corner.  He missed the next two conversions as well, unusual for the great man.

Just before half-time Australia countered off a Tanner Chan Vili kick and got their second try when Larkham grubbered ahead on the left and Matt Giteau did well to grab the bobbing ball to score in the corner.

That made it 10-0 at half-time.

The best two breaks of the half had been by Larkham and Vili.  It was a half of stern defence.

In the second half Seremaia Bai missed his second penalty kick at goal but then the Islanders bashed with urgent purpose at the Wallaby line, which held.  The ball then came to their left and strong flank Sione Lauaki burst through George Gregan and Justin Harrison to score near the posts.  10-7 after 48 minutes.

Australia had had two five-metre line-outs in the first half without scoring.  But in the second half they got one right, drove their maul over for back-man Jeremy Paul to score:  15-7.

They tried it again soon afterwards but the maul fell down.  Back the ball came to Larkham who lobbed a long high kick across the posts to his right.  Lote Tuqiri was one of those contesting the ball.  He knocked it back and Giteau dropped on it.  This time Roff converted.  22-7 after 57 minutes.

Paul was just short after a fourth five-metre line-out and then the television match official judged that Chris Latham had lost the ball in grounding it.

The Islanders survived and scored when Bai broke, looked to his right and chipped a delightful ball which speedster Sireli Bobo caught and scored.  Bai converted.  22-14 after 71 minutes.

The Wallabies caught the Islanders napping from the kick off.  Larkham kicked left.  Matt Burke got the ball, and got a clever pass to Mortlock who battled his way ahead to score in the corner.  Matthew Burke converted.

Man of the Match:  There were two excellent, creative flyhalves -- Tanner Chan Vili for the Islanders and Stephen Larkham for the Wallabies.  Our Man of the Match is Stephan Larkham, who ran with decision, kicked judiciously and tackled as effectively as anybody on the field.

Moment of the Match:  Seremaia Bai's chip that gave Sireli Bobo his try.

Villain of the Match:  Dan Vickerman got the only yellow card of the match but our villain is Inoke Afeaki.  Long after Clyde Rathbone had passed to his right Afeaki, from behind, laid him waste and forced the young wing off the field.

The Teams:

Australia:  1 Alastair Baxter, 2 Brendan Cannon, 3 Bill Young, 4 Justin Harrison, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 6 Radike Samo, 7 Phil Waugh, 8 David Lyons, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 12 Matt Giteau, 13 Stirling Mortlock, 14 Clyde Rathbone, 15 Joe Roff
Reserves:  Matthew Burke, Chris Latham, Jeremy Paul, Chris Whitaker, Nic Henderson, George Smith, Daniel Vickerman

Pacific Islanders:  1 Taufa'ao Filise, 2 Aleki Lutui, 3 Soane Tonga'uiha, 4 'Inoke Afeaki (c), 5 Ifereimi Rawaqa, 6 Sione Lauaki, 7 Sisa Koyamaibole, 8 Alifereti Doviverata, 9 Mosese Rauluni, 10 Tanner Vili, 11 Lome Fa'atau, 12 Seilala Mapusua, 13 Seremaia Baikeinuku, 14 Sitivini Sivivatu, 15 Norman Ligairi
Reserves:  Sireli Bobo, Leo Lafaiali'i, Semo Sititi, Steven So'oialo, Tevita Taumoepeau, Seru Rabeni
Unused:  Joeli Lotawa

Attendance:  19296
Referee:  Watson a.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Mortlock S.A. 2, Giteau M.J. 2, Cannon B.J. 1
Conv:  Roff J.W.C. 1, Burke M.C. 1

Pacific Islanders
Tries:  Lauaki S. 1, Bobo I. 1
Conv:  Baikeinuku S. 2