Australia thrashed by otherworldly NZ

New Zealand produced rugby from another planet as they bounced back from the draw in Sydney with a blistering 51-20 win over Australia.

Played out at a ferocious pace and the odd handling error aside, this was New Zealand's best rugby of the year so far.

There was even time to break a record in the final minute, Steven Luatua ensuring that New Zealand put 50 points on Australia on home soil for the first time with his try under the sticks after the hooter.

Any nagging suggestion before kick-off that Steve Hansen's men were on the slide was instantly trashed.

They simply played at an unbreathable tempo for Australia, or indeed any other side on the planet.  Cataloguing all of the brilliant individual moments will take some time.

It's a game played on a different level, a persistent hunt for space with hands always open and passes so well timed that opponents are denied the chance to play and are constantly threatened.  Like a turbocharged game of Sevens with 15 men.  New Zealand are the kings of it, mesmerising when they find their groove.

So many All Blacks were outstanding, but it would be wrong not to single out Brodie Retallick.  His work at the ruck and around the park was staggering.

The world champions were awesome and angry, conceding the first points to a penalty from Kurltey Beale but then surging forward with all the intensity that was missed in attack in Sydney.

Running with plenty of vigour and feeding off the slight of hand from Ryan Crotty and Ben Smith, the high speed start eventually slowed as Cruden added two quick penalties to put the hosts ahead.

Tremendous defence from both teams prevented early tries, but Beale underlined why Ewen McKenzie had gone for his creative streak when sliding through two tacklers before releasing Israel Folau.

Hell then froze over when Richie McCaw received remarkably only his second ever yellow card in Test rugby, the hard line towards cynical defence from New Zealand rising to the fore as Romain Poite didn't hesitate to bin the All Blacks skipper.

After the controversy surrounding Jaco Peyper, the French referee had an excellent game.

Going down to 14 men didn't damper New Zealand's momentum, Cruden regaining the lead with his third strike for a 9-6 scoreline after the opening quarter — one coincidentally without any scrums.

Stopping the All Blacks maul was proving to be a problem for Australia and Rob Simmons paid the price for lifting the leg in the maul, taking his turn to see yellow as McCaw returned to action.

A juggernaut scrum from the All Blacks delivered the try they deserved, eight against a Simmons-less Wallaby pack.  James Slipper went to ground and Poite didn't hesitate to run under the posts to award the score.

Boy this was good;  everything that Sydney wasn't.  Folau cantered through the defence but squandered a pass to the man outside before being tackled high, though it crucially and wrongly went unpunished.

The Wallabies went right but when isolated were pounced upon, New Zealand turning over the ball and countering at a canter up the right touchline for Julian Savea to go over untouched.

23-6.  How could Australia, winless on this ground for 28 years, come back from that?

Sometimes there are no answers to pure brilliance.  A break starting by Beauden Barrett from behind his own posts had New Zealand cutting and gliding their way through tacklers.

Michael Hooper did his all to stop the assault with a breakdown penalty, but the home side were in punishing mode.

Dazzling hands and a well-weighted grubber from Savea infield ended with a try for Kieran Read, his face a picture after a frustrating few months.

McCaw ensured his yellow card was just an anomaly when he crashed over for the bonus point.  If a white flag had been available you'd have understood Australia raising it at 37-6.

A second score from an almost copycat situation for the New Zealand captain brought up the 40-point mark before Folau crossed for his consolation try.  In his impressive Test career so far, this was his lowest moment.

Hooper, tenacious as ever even in defeat, finished a remarkable solo effort off the back of the line-out to add more respectability to the scoreboard at 44-20.

That sign of defiance will be something to take forward, a smidgen of salvation really.  Australia are better this and will show that, but there's no denying they were blown away here.  No side though would have coped.

Barrett's try-saving tackle of Folau in many ways was the icing on the cake, the number ten using the angle to cut him down following an interception break.

If you thought New Zealand were a fading force, think again.

Man of the Match:  Hard to look past Brodie Retallick, the monster lock who played his best game yet for his country.

Moment of the Match:  McCaw's sin-binning was a rarity, but when Julian Savea raced away for the second try the tone of the match was settled.

Villain of the Match:  Lifting the leg in the maul was pretty dumb by Rob Simmons.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Penalty Try, Savea, Read, McCaw 2, Luatua
Cons:  Cruden 5, Barrett
Pens:  Cruden 3
Yellow Cards:  McCaw, B.Franks

Australia:
Tries:  Folau, Hooper
Cons:  Foley 2
Pens:  Beale 2
Yellow Card:  Simmons

New Zealand:  15 Ben Smith, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Wyatt Crockett
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Steven Luatua, 20 Sam Cane, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Malakai Fekitoa

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Pat McCabe, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Nic White, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Sam Carter, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Nathan Charles, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 James Hanson, 17 Pek Cowan, 18 Ben Alexander, 19 Will Skelton, 20 Scott Higginbotham, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Bernard Foley, 23 Tevita Kuridrani,

Date:  Saturday, August 23
Kick-off:  19:35 local (08:35 BST, 07:35 GMT)
Venue:  Eden Park, Auckland
Referee:  Romain Poite
Assistant Referees:  Jaco Peyper, Stuart Berry
TMO:  Shaun Veldsman

Springboks battle past Pumas

South Africa got their Rugby Championship campaign off to a winning start on Saturday thanks to a hard-fought 13-6 victory over Argentina at a very wet Loftus Versfeld.

Springbok scrum-half Ruan Pienaar scored the only try of a game marred by horrendous conditions.

Those expecting the Pumas to get blown away were sorely mistaken as the South Americans fronted up, using the conditions to turn the game into a real armwrestle.

Heyneke Meyer would have been disappointed to see his team unable to create more opportunities considering he is building a gameplan around the expected wet conditions at next year's World Cup.

The Bok set piece was far from dominant, in fact they were going backwards at scrum time.  Argentina's defence against the maul was brilliant and the visitors managed to pinch a few line-outs too.

To be fair, the unseasonal rain in Pretoria caught everyone by surprise and handling was extremely difficult.

The hosts led 10-3 at the interval thanks to an early try from Pienaar.  A massive thunderstorm — complete with bursts of hail — ensured that the scores remained low.

The torrential rain slowed to a drizzle in time for the second half, but the field remained drenched and just two penalties were scored after the break.

It took just 70 seconds for the Boks to produce the only try as Pienaar and Cornal Hendricks combined down the blindside to scamper away and put the scrum-half over.

Handré Pollard added the extras for a perfect start for the home side, but highlights would be few and far between for the following 78-odd minutes.

The next six points would come as a result of Argentina's dominance at scrum time.

The Pumas scrum destroyed their Springbok counterparts to allow Nicolís Sínchez to open the visitors' account from the kicking tee.

The Argentine front row jumped the gun just before the end of the first quarter though and were penalised for pushing too soon.  Pollard made it 10-3.

Both sides came close to scoring tries before the break but Manuel Montero couldn't hold onto Sínchez's pass with the tryline begging.

Likewise, Willie le Roux was unable to control the slippery ball as he tried to gather his own chip ahead — although he would have left a little aggrieved after being held back.

Immediately after the restart Sínchez hit the target from long range — after Lood de Jager didn't roll away — but Morné Steyn, who took over from Pollard early in the second half, replied in kind to restore the seven-point gap soon afterwards.

It was the Pumas who finished the stronger side and the Boks would have been relieved to see their defence hold up against sustained pressure in the final quarter.

With six minutes left on the clock the visitors earned a penalty and kicked for the line where they set up a line-out five metres out.

The Boks managed to get out of jail and managed to avert the second Rugby Championship draw of the day after New Zealand and Australia played to a 12-12 stalemate earlier on Saturday.

Argentina remained undeterred and continued probing and again the visitors came close to scoring when a Steyn clearance kick was charged down before debutant Damian de Allende snatched the ball from the hands of Jeronimo de la Fuente inside the goal area.

Just short of a minute from time Argentina again formed an attacking line-out five metres from the line and launched attack on the line but a handling error brought the match to a dramatic end.

Indeed, although los Pumas would probably have been happy to take a losing bonus-point before kick-off, in retrospect they'll be disappointed to not have snatched a draw.

Man of the match:  A hard choice as there weren't many highlights.  Ramiro Herrera deserves a mention for his scrummaging and Nicolís Sínchez was the most dangerous player with ball in hand.  But the game was won in trenches, where Juan Martín Ferníndez Lobbe worked tirelessly.  Marcell Coetzee topped the tackle stats, tackling his heart out alongside Francois Louw.

Moment of the match:  Only one option here, Pienaar's try put Argentina in a difficult position from the start.

Villain of the match:  The idiot doing a rain dance in the car park before kick off.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Try:  Pienaar
Con:  Pollard
Pens:  Pollard, Steyn

For Argentina:
Pens:  Sanchez 2

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Damian de Allende, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Ruan Pienaar, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Marcell Coetzee, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Teboho Mohoje, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Morné Steyn, 23 Jan Serfontein.

Argentina:  15 Joaquín Tuculet, 14 Horacio Agulla, 13 Marcelo Bosch, 12 Santiago Gonzílez Iglesias, 11 Manuel Montero, 10 Nicolís Sínchez, 9 Martín Landajo, 8 Juan Manuel Leguizamí³n, 7 Juan Martín Ferníndez Lobbe, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomís Lavanini, 4 Mariano Galarza, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Agustín Creevy (c), 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements:  16 Matías Cortese, 17 Lucas Noguera Paz, 18 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 19 Matías Alemanno, 20 Leonardo Senatore, 21 Tomís Cubelli, 22 Jeronimo de la Fuente, 23 Lucas Gonzílez Amorosino.

Venue:  Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Referee:  John Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant Referees:  Steve Walsh (Australia), Marius Mitrea (Italy)
TMO:  Simon McDowell (Ireland)

All Blacks miss out on record, again

Australia and New Zealand couldn't be separated in a wet slugfest of a game in Sydney, battering each other into a 12-12 draw.

This was the second time in less than two years that these two sides have finished all square, after an 18-18 draw in Brisbane in October 2012.

Once again, in a cruel twist, the All Blacks missed out on the 18-game winning record thanks to a draw, only the seventh ever in 150 Bledisloe matches.  Six of those have come in Australia.

Kurtley Beale and Aaron Cruden both landed four penalties each, with New Zealand spending 20 minutes down to 14 men after yellow cards for Wyatt Crockett and Beauden Barrett.

The whistle of referee Jaco Peyper dominated proceedings in a manner that will have frustrated many, with some of his decisions up for debate on a tough night for officials.

Surprisingly given Australia's struggles in the first half the scores were level as full-time approached, in a frantic finish with the All Blacks down to 14 men.

Neither side truly touched their highest level;  disappointing given the build-up to the occasion but the weather was a monumental hinderance.

Pre-game showers aren't uncommon but this was more like a neverending bucket being tipped out of the sky onto the Olympic Stadium.

Conditions therefore were always going to be difficult, even for these two sides regarded as the best attacking outfits in world rugby who enjoyed the chance to perfect their sliding technique around the Sydney turf.

There was no shortage of blood spilled though, with Israel Folau and Brodie Retallick noticeably sporting plenty of claret.

The pace of the game though didn't suffer, nor did the physicality as Folau clattered his way through Jerome Kaino.  With a score to settle, Kaino's thumping tackle on Beale was a decent reprieve.

New Zealand seemed to execute all the small details that little bit better early on.  Winning the favour of the officials at the scrum, with their kicking, the defence, breakdown — they more or less emerged on top in every category on the scoring card in the opening half.

Their power defensively and intensity to keep the Wallabies out shown by the All Blacks was crucial.

So much had been made about Kurtley Beale's selection;  was it politics?  Or a double bluff involving Matt Toomua?  Whatever Ewen McKenzie's masterplan was, it failed to manifest itself clearly for all to see.

Basic penalties — running in front of the kicker, trying to play the ball after the tackle was made — undid any progress early on as New Zealand built up a lead.

Trying to play wide and force opportunities too early, with the Australian back three subdued, was another major error from the home side given the conditions.  Nic White's box kicks were charged down consecutively and with worrying ease, in a poor game from the Brumbies scrum-half.

Still, the Wallabies only trailed 9-3 counting down towards half-time.  A semblance of hope, perhaps a little lucky as the All Blacks failed to capitalise on all of their territory.

Hearing a sharp blast of Peyper's whistle after only 15 minutes is never a good sign, as Aaron Cruden converted two penalties left another out wide to the right.

Beale countered with a long-range penalty of his own and the Wallabies were left sat on three points for most of the first half until the final moments, when Crockett was sent to the bin.

Michael Hooper's high-risk gambles were madness, turning down kickable penalties for scrums in conditions where a more pragmatic approach was needed.  The fact that Beale missed from a harsher angle when Australia did go for the posts was fitting.

Australia's best passage of play after half-time did produce three points from a Beale penalty, cutting the score to 6-9, for some rare points as passes went loose.  One of White's best kicks, one that trickled towards the corner, had Julian Savea under pressure and ended with another three from Beale to tie things up.

Another poor kick from White handed the All Blacks a chance to counter-attack, Cruden curling in his fourth penalty to restore New Zealand's lead.

It took outstanding defence to keep out Pat McCabe in the corner, huge tackles stopping drives from Folau and Sam Carter before the ball went wide.

Barrett's sin-binning for cynical play helped Beale level things up again with his fourth penalty to set up the tense finish, and the very real possibility of a draw.

So it duly finished, the All Blacks missing out on the world record as these two couldn't be separated.  One to forget in the grand history of matches between these two, but a massive chance missed for the Wallabies in the end.

Man of the Match:  Lots of big innings, but the effort of Nathan Charles especially caught the eye.

Moment of the Match:  Forcing their attack wide a little early when straightening may have made more space, Pat McCabe was easily bundled into touch.  Crucial.

Villain of the Match:  Peyper's interpretation of the scrum was quizzable, but the atrocious conditions destroyed the spectacle.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Pens:  Beale 4

For New Zealand:
Pens:  Cruden 4
Yellow Cards:  Crockett, Barrett

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Pat McCabe, 13 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Kurtley Beale, 9 Nic White, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Sam Carter, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Nathan Charles, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 James Hanson, 17 Pek Cowan, 18 Ben Alexander, 19 Will Skelton, 20 Scott Higginbotham, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Bernard Foley, 23 Tevita Kuridrani.

New Zealand:  15 Ben Smith, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Malakai Fekitoa/Ryan Crotty, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Joe Moody, 19 Steven Luatua, 20 Sam Cane, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Malakai Fekitoa/Ryan Crotty.

Referee:  Jaco Peyper
Assistant Referees:  Romain Poite, Stuart Berry
TMO:  Shaun Veldsman

All Blacks pushed hard in Samoa

George Moala's try on debut gave New Zealand a 25-16 win over Samoa but they were given a real scare in Apia.

On a historic occasion, the All Blacks were rattled at times by the ferocious tackling of the Samoans, and struggled with their handling in a physical encounter.

They dominated the first half, with four Dan Carter penalties helping them take a 12-3 lead, although they appeared rusty in their first Test of the season.

Moala's try early in the second half looked to have made the game safe, but Alafoti Faosiliva went over for Samoa with 15 minutes remaining to set up a grandstand finish, before Carter's late penalty eased Kiwi nerves.

It was a special occasion and the first time these two teams have met on Samoan soil and New Zealand's arrival at Faleolo International Airport was similar to that of a nation returning home with the Webb Ellis trophy, such was the buzz on the island for this game.

There was even a half-day national holiday for the match that was played in front of a sell-out crowd in Apia.

Before kick-off there was an impeccably-observed minute's silence to commemorate Samoan legend Peter Fatialofa and Samoan-born former All Black Jerry Collins.

New Zealand made the early running, and although their quick passing and good support lines was held out initially, Samoa sprinted up too quickly in defence allowing Carter to open the scoring with a sixth-minute penalty.

The opening 15 minutes were played almost exclusively in Samoa territory and Carter could have doubled the lead when Kahn Fotuali'i was deemed to be offside at a scrum, but he pulled his effort wide.  He corrected that with the help of the post a couple of minutes later after being the victim of a late tackle.

Samoa finally made a little headway midway through the half, and when Richie McCaw got trapped in a ruck slowing down the maul, he gave Tusi Pisi the chance to put Samoa on the board.  The fly-half made no mistake from halfway to cut the deficit to three.

The Samoans then saw their best chance of the half go begging when Alesana Tuilagi almost got away but couldn't get his pass out to Tim Nanai-Williams.

New Zealand responded with a surging run from Charles Piutau down the left, and when Samoa were caught offside getting back, Carter slotted his third penalty of the half.

The All Blacks were dominating the territorial battle, but struggling to create try-scoring opportunities.  It didn't matter though, with Census Johnston penalised for a dubious scrum infringement,allowing Carter to push the lead to 12-3 with five minutes remaining in the half.

The second half began in a similar vein, with New Zealand thumped back on a number of occasions by some big tackles, but six minutes in they finally crossed for their first try.  After a powerful scrum on the left, Carter produced a perfect cross-kick for Moala, on debut, and the winger collected, brushed off a weak tackle from Tim Nanai-Williams and finished impressively.

Carter converted, but Samoa hit straight back with a second penalty from Pisi when Israel Dagg knocked on under a high ball and then played the ball on the deck.

Pisi missed another shot at goal from more than 50 metres a couple of minutes later, hitting the cross bar, but he found his range once more after 55 minutes when the All Blacks strayed offside.

That was quickly cancelled out by Carter after a powerful scrum from the All Blacks to make it 22-9 to the visitors.

New Zealand were struggling a little to really cut loose, and Samoa got right back into it with 15 minutes remaining when Faosiliva went over.

The back row made the initial break in midfield, and popped up a phase later to collect an offload and power past Charles Piutau for a try that brought the house down.  Nanai-Williams converted to bring the hosts back to within a score.

The All Blacks weren't rattled though, and started to play the game back in Samoan territory, with a powerful scrum seven minutes from time allowing Carter to slot a sixth penalty of the afternoon and push the lead out to nine, 25-16.

Samoa had the final chance of the game, with Jack Lam stopped just short of the line, but it wasn't to be for the home side, who nevertheless recorded their best-ever result against New Zealand.

The scorers:

For Samoa:
Try:  Faosiliva
Con:  Nanai-Williams
Pens:  T. Pisi 3
Yellow Cards:

For New Zealand:
Try:  Moala
Con:  Carter
Pens:  Carter 6

The teams:

Samoa:  15 Tim Nanai-Williams, 14 Alofa Alofa, 13 Paul Perez, 12 Johnny Leota, 11 Alesana Tuilagi, 10 Tusi Pisi, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i, 8 Ofisa Treviranus (c), 7 Jack Lam, 6 Alafoti Faosiliva, 5 Kane Thompson, 4 Teofilo Paulo, 3 Census Johnston, 2 Ole Avei, 1 Sakaria Taulafo.
Replacements:  16 Ma'atulimanu Leiataua, 17 Viliamu Afatia, 18 Anthony Perenise, 19 Joe Tekori, 20 Maurie Faasavalu, 21 Pele Cowley, 22 Faialaga Afamasaga, 23 Ken Pisi.

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 George Moala, 13 Ryan Crotty, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Charles Piutau, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Andy Ellis, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Hika Elliot, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Nepo Laulala, 19 Brodie Retallick, 20 Matt Todd, 21 Brad Weber, 22 Colin Slade, 23 Charlie Ngatai.

Venue:  Apia Park, Samoa
Referee:  Jaco Peyper
Assistant referees:  Angus Gardner (Australia), Rohan Hoffmann (Australia)
TMO:  George Ayoub (Australia)

South Africa humiliate weary Scots

A weakened Scotland side were thrashed 55-6 by South Africa in Port Elizabeth, as the Springboks stayed unbeaten in June.

Marcell Coetzee, Lwazi Mvovo and Lood de Jager all scored twice as South Africa ran in eight tries — avoiding the tense contest witnessed between these two sides in Nelspruit last year.

This was better from the Springboks — a final hit out against green opposition before the real business of The Rugby Championship begins on August 16.

Handing first starts to Handré Pollard and de Jager, with Schalk Burger starting his first Test since the last Rugby World Cup, the Boks were far from disjointed.

But once again consistent excellence evaded them, as South Africa played irresistibly in the opening 20 minutes and final half hour with Scottish defiance coming in between.  Fourie du Preez's departure early in the first half was a sour note, with South Africa supporters praying the news on his injury is positive.

Flying out of the traps in the opening quarter and rejecting the chance to kick penalties, by the start of the second half Pollard was taking the points when on offer.  It was a comprehensive win certainly, but by no means a perfect one.

Vern Cotter's fact-finding tour had previously yielded three wins, but naturally not against opposition of the same quality as the Springboks or with the Test experience of Victor Matfield's 112 caps.

The gulf in both quality and knowledge was enormous — bringing the purpose of the fixture into doubt apart from to appease those fans in the Eastern Cape.  Putting the Scottish squad through a tour that has taken them to the USA, Canada, Argentina and now South Africa — for a Test outside the IRB window — at the end of a long season on reflection feels insane.

Their famed troubles at the breakdown, even with Chris Fusaro back in the saddle in the seven jersey, resurfaced to leave them flailing.

No side can win when the number of penalties against them at the breakdown mounts towards double figures.  Tim Swinson's sin-binning in the second half had been a long time coming.

Criticised for not putting together an 80-minute performance so far in June, the opening salvo from the Springboks was all about getting their powerful carriers onto the ball at pace.

Rejecting the chance to go for the posts, quick ball and pure power helped Marcell Coetzee bust his way over for his first Test try.

The second wasn't far behind — Scotland's ill-discipline setting up South Africa in their half and following Jan Serfontein's carry up the middle, Pollard and JP Pietersen timed their passes to perfection in order for Willie le Roux to cross.

Conceding five penalties in the first ten minutes was an omen of the misery ahead for the Scots, as they continued to be manipulated and forced into rash actions at the breakdown.

South Africa's dominance was not purely based on power though.  Pietersen's clever running and then perfectly weighted kick sat up for the Lwazi Mvovo, who won the race to touch down with a show of blinding pace for try number three after 15 minutes.

For all of their endeavour, there was nowhere for Scotland's runners to go against a brick wall defence from their hosts.

Halting the flow of points by the home side was an achievement as Weir added a second penalty, South Africa ahead 19-6 at the break.

Coenie Oosthuizen should have thrived in the absence of Gurthrö Steenkamp and Tendai Mtawarira, but he laboured at scrum time up against Geoff Cross.

Pollard scored his first penalty in Test rugby after an idiotic act in defence from Ross Ford cancelled out the previous disciplined hard work in defence, with the young Bulls fly-half still easing his way into rugby at the highest level.

Scotland in fact grew in stature, forcing the Springboks to compete, but their persistent infringements couldn't continue without punishment.

Swinson was binned and down to 14 men defending a line-out on their own line, they couldn't stop what is becoming, a trademark, unstoppable maul from South Africa.  Coetzee was the man to dot down for his second try.

Pietersen's fine finish in the corner, evading the tackle of Stuart Hogg, followed by Mvovo's interception score as he latched onto an atrocious pass from Henry Prygos brought up the fifth and sixth tries of the night.  Not that the Boks were done.

De Jager's rambling carry was too fast and too strong for the Scottish defence to get back and stop the young giant on his gallop to the line.

Emptying the bench meant the Boks handed more debuts out to Stephan Lewies and Marnitz Boshoff, with de Jager having enough time to score again, capping a brilliant performance to the delight of a boisterous crowd.  He was unlucky not to win Man of the Match.

Simple, impressive stuff from the Springboks, whose strength in depth shone through.  Aside from the experience of a ruthless hiding, it's difficult to see what Scotland will have learned.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Coetzee 2, le Roux, Mvovo 2, Pietersen, De Jager 2
Cons:  Pollard 5, Boshoff
Pen:  Pollard

For Scotland:
Pens:  Weir 2
Yellow Card:  Swinson

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 JP Pietersen, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Schalk Burger, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 4 Lood de Jager, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Coenie Oosthuizen.
Replacements:  16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Marcel van der Merwe, 19 Stephan Lewies, 20 Teboho Mohoje, 21 Francois Hougaard, 22 Marnitz Boshoff, 23 Zane Kirchner.

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Peter Horne, 11 Tommy Seymour, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Henry Pyrgos, 8 Adam Ashe, 7 Chris Fusaro, 6 Rob Harley, 5 Grant Gilchrist (c), 4 Tim Swinson, 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Al Dickinson
Replacements:  16 Kevin Bryce, 17 Moray Low, 18 Euan Murray, 19 Jonny Gray, 20 Tyrone Holmes, 21 Grayson Hart, 22 Dougie Fife, 23 Peter Murchie

Referee:  Glen Jackson (NZ)
Assistant referees:  Romain Poite (Fra), Marius Mitrea (Ita)
TMO:  Glenn Newman (NZ)

Springboks get out of jail

A 77th-minute penalty try saw South Africa come from behind to edge Wales 31-30 in a drama-filled encounter in Nelspruit on Saturday.

Wales looked on course to record their first-ever win on South African soil in 50 years of asking before a shoulder-charge from Liam Williams on Cornal Hendricks saw the Boks awarded their second penalty try of the game.

In a stunning turnaround in fortunes after last week's drubbing in Durban, Warren Gatland's side led for almost the entire game, matching their hosts physically.

Wales led 17-14 at half time after dominating the opening exchanges.

Tries from Jamie Roberts and Alex Cuthbert saw the visitors race to a 17-0 lead before two yellow cards in the space of three minutes allowed South Africa to come storming back.

The Boks employed their rolling maul to devastating effect, earning a penalty try and forcing two Welshmen into the sin bin as the visitors tried to stop the rumbling green machine.

Hendricks added his name to the scorecard before the interval as the Welsh lead vanished as quickly as it was gained.

Wales moved ahead again as a Ken Owens try early in the second period and a couple of Dan Biggar penalties put visitors in pole position before a piece of Willie le Roux magic set up a grandstand finish.

Wales came out of the blocks breathing fire and punished the error-strewn Boks.  Biggar got the scoreboard ticking with a penalty for a ruck infringement after 12 minutes.

It was all Wales in the first quarter, and Roberts was first over the whitewash after Cuthbert burst through a gap left by Fourie du Preez before offloading to send the big centre under the posts.

Biggar's conversion made it 10-0 as the home side looked shell-shocked.

There was more to come from Wales' strong-running backs as Cuthbert was next to crash over after he and Liam Williams had put their team on the front foot.

The half-hour mark saw the Boks revert to their bread and butter and Wales had no reply to the rolling maul.  Luke Charteris saw yellow for collapsing one before the next drive ended with referee Steve Walsh raising his arm under the sticks for the hosts' first points.  Biggar saw yellow too.

Morne Steyn slotted the conversion and spread the ball wide as soon as it reached his hands again.  The two-man numerical disadvantage was too much for Wales to handle as JP Pietersen bust down the left touchline and linked with Willie le Roux, who sent it to the opposite side of the field and the hands of the racing Hendricks, who bolted home.

Steyn's second conversion meant it was a three-point ballgame as the half-time hooter sounded.

The visitors avoided further damage and struck again as soon as they were back to 15 men.  There was more than a hint of a knock-on as Owens stretched out an arm towards the tryline but Walsh was satisfied he had maintained control.

Biggar's conversion put the men in red 10 points ahead.

South Africa squandered a scoring chance when Du Preez took a very kickable penalty quickly only to see his forwards make a mess of it.  Matfield made sure Steyn slotted the next one to make it 24-17.

Biggar could restore the 10-point gap immediately though as the Boks infringed at the restart.

The situation got worse for the hosts just before the hour mark as Flip van der Merwe saw yellow for taking Alun Wyn Jones out in the air.

Biggar extended the Welsh lead with his third penalty after the Bok scrum faltered, meaning the tourists led by 13 point with 15 minutes to play.

Le Roux came to the rescue, selling a dummy and accelerating into a gap to score.

The finale couldn't have been tighter as Hendricks shrugged off a tackle from George North before diving for the line and being bumped out by Williams.

Walsh had a massive call to make, but got it right, allowing Steyn to slot the winning conversion.

Biggar tried to snatch the win with two long-range drop goals, but fell well short.

Man of the match:  Plenty of names to mention including home town favourite Duane Vermeulen and Wales prop Gethin Jenkins.  But we'll go for Alex Cuthbert, who was unstoppable in the first half.

Moment of the match:  Only one option here, but Walsh's decision to award South Africa's second penalty try was correct.

Villain of the match:  No nasty stuff to report.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Penalty try 2, Hendricks, Le Roux
Cons:  Steyn 4
Pen:  Steyn
Yellow card:  Van der Merwe

For Wales:
Tries:  Roberts, Cuthbert, Owens
Cons:  Biggar 3
Pens:  Biggar 3
Yellow cards:  Charteris, Biggar

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 JP Pietersen, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 4 Flip van der Merwe, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Schalk Brits, 17 Gurthro Steenkamp, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Schalk Burger, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Wynand Olivier, 23 Lwazi Mvovo.

Wales:  15 Liam Williams, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Josh Turnbull, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Matthew Rees, 17 Paul James, 18 Aaron Jarvis, 19 Jake Ball, 20 Dan Baker, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 James Hook, 23 Matthew Morgan

Venue:  Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
Referee:  Steve Walsh (Australia)
Assistant referees:  Romain Poite (France), Francesco Pastrana (Argentina)
Television match official:  Glenn Newman (New Zealand)
Assessor:  Lyndon Bray (New Zealand)

Weir's late penalty stuns Argentina

Duncan Weir's 78th-minute penalty snatched a 21-19 victory for Scotland in Cordoba against Argentina to stay unbeaten under Vern Cotter.

Two tries from each side helped propel a slow burning Test match towards a dramatic finish.

Scotland arrived at this contest on the back of hard-fought wins over the USA and Canada, while Argentina had lost their two-Test series against Ireland.

Changing all but four of their starting XV was bound to disrupt Scotland's momentum as Cotter continues to suss out the options available to him since taking over after years at Clermont.

His primary focus has to be on shoring up Scotland's work at the breakdown, where Argentina ran riot and won countless penalties to fuel their attacks.

Al Dickinson showed early promise for Scotland in the scrum and it was the tourists who struck first, Tommy Seymour's touchline sprint leaving Argentina in a scramble before he fed inside for Stuart Hogg to score.

Hogg's troubles this season are no secret but this marked a step back onto the right track, his sixth try for his country putting them ahead despite some controversy over the grounding.

Argentina might have been depleted but they didn't lack for skill or flair.  A move starting with Santiago González Iglesias' chip over the top ended with their first try, Javier Ortega Desio crossing in the corner after some fine handling.

New head coach Cotter had stressed the need for Scotland to make the most of their chances when deep in opposition territory, but they let a promising passage come to nothing with Argentina forcing them into holding on just inches from the line.

That unforgiving Pumas defence was beginning to dictate, winning successive breakdown penalties and working their way upfield for Sánchez to land a sweet drop goal to put the hosts ahead.

Handling for both sides carrying into contact was an issue, with a high number of errors disrupting the flow of the first half.

Scotland had to find a way to stop the deluge of penalties against them as Sánchez stretched the Pumas advantage with a long-range strike.  Another of those golden Scottish chances, winning turnover ball five metres out, ended with nothing as the loose pass flew into touch.  Familiar woes.

A set of 20 phases did eventually yield some more points for Weir, his penalty cutting the gap to a single point.

Sánchez responded sensationally, his monster penalty proving to be one that team-mate Marcelo Bosch would have been proud of as he restored Argentina's four-point advantage.  Having only won one of their last 12 matches at home, you could understand the home crowd's excitement.

They erupted when Tuculet crossed in the corner, the full-back too elusive for Blair Cowan and beating Hogg to score.  At 19-10, Argentina felt home and dry.

Sánchez's departure after a lengthy time on the floor was a cause for concern however, but they survived an onslaught on their try line as Scotland twice turned down points for the corner and twice came up short.

Weir's decision to then attempt a long-range penalty after Scotland decimated the Pumas scrum therefore was bemusing, but he landed the penalty with ease to leave the score at 19-13 and give his side hope.

Hope turned into points.  Seymour had enjoyed good space down the left touchline throughout and running into space he released the replacement Henry Prygos for a try that brought Scotland back within a point — putting the onus on Weir to convert for the lead and possibly the win.  He couldn't bring it round.

After looking down and out Scotland now had a dramatic finish on their hands.  With their rolling maul proving too difficult to stop by legal means, Weir was handed another chance to seal the win with what proved to be the winning kick.

Securing the restart was vital but Scotland couldn't do so, handing their hosts one last shot at the win.  Sánchez, who had already done so much, saw his drop goal fall wide to the left.  Scotland march on.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Tries:  Desio, Tuculet
Pens:  Sánchez 2
Drop Goal:  Sánchez

For Scotland:
Tries:  Hogg, Prygos
Con:  Weir
Pens:  Weir 3

Argentina:  15 Lucas González Amorosino, 14 Santiago Cordero, 13 Matías Orlando, 12 Santiago González Iglesias, 11 Manuel Montero, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 9 Tomás Cubelli (c), 8 Tomás De la Vega, 7 Javier Ortega Desio, 6 Rodrigo Báez, 5 Matías Alemanno, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Matías Díaz, 2 Julián Montoya, 1 Bruno Postiglioni.
Replacements:  16 Santiago Iglesias Valdéz, 17 Lucas Noguera Paz, 18 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 19 Tomás Lavanini, 20 Antonio Ahualli de Chazal, 21 Martín Landajo, 22 Matías Moroni y 23 Joaquín Tuculet.

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Nick De Luca, 12 Peter Horne, 11 Tommy Seymour, 10 Duncan Weir, 9 Grayson Hart, 8 Kieran Low, 7 Blair Cowan, 6 Rob Harley, 5 Grant Gilchrist (c), 4 Jonny Gray, 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Al Dickinson.
Replacements:  16 Pat MacArthur, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Jon Welsh, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 Chris Fusaro, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Tom Heathcote, 23 Dougie Fife.

Referee:  John Lacey (Ire)
Assistant referees:  Pascal Gauzère (Fra), Lourens van der Merwe (SA)
TMO:  Deon van Blommenstein (SA)

NZ masterclass silences England

New Zealand found the missing gears to produce an unstoppable first half in Hamilton, hammering England 36-13 to win the series 3-0.

We've been waiting for the All Blacks to truly play like the All Blacks all month.

They levelled the 17-game winning streak by the 1996/1997 Springboks and matched by themselves two years ago in brutal fashion.  It was awesome to behold.  They had only needed 20 minutes in Dunedin - this one was all over after 40.

You can argue this was a game too far for England, but even at peak fitness and with all their starters, hell if any side in the world faced New Zealand in this mood, the outcome would be the same.

Malakai Fekitoa did well on his first start, but it was the more familiar names - Ben Smith, Aaron Smith, Julian Savea, Jerome Kaino, Tony Woodcock and the rest - that were a cut above.  Aaron Cruden too, under pressure from Beauden Barrett, responded.  Savea, unplayable at times, bagged a hat-trick.

That said, England were broken in the first half.  Their set-piece crumbled.  Missed tackles were incessant - 13 in all.  It's not what we've come to expect from Stuart Lancaster's team over the last two years.

Despite their fighting spirit after the break, the result was already decided.  This could have been a hiding, yet England bizarrely kept New Zealand out until well after the hooter sounded.

Performing the Kapa o Pongo in consecutive weeks was as clear sign of respect towards an English outfit that have made New Zealand sweat.

Good pressure at the base of the scrum from Ben Youngs forced the All Blacks into a scramble, Robshaw winning his side an early penalty for Burns to convert.  He hooked it to the left.

Fast starts have helped England be competitive in this series but now it was New Zealand's turn to score first, the ever present Savea given too much room following Chris Ashton's missed tackle on Aaron Smith with Mike Brown unable to stop the giant wing at full flight.

Burns was on the money with his second penalty attempt, but New Zealand were in a ruthless mood.

Cruden responded to his critics with a scything run, England's narrow defence ripped open again so that even though the pass bobbled across the turf Savea still had enough time to gather and go over for his second.  This week, unlike the previous two, even the bad passes were coming off.

Savea could have had a hat-trick inside 14 minutes, if only Ben Smith's final pass hadn't gone forward.  Three times Ashton rushed infield to defend and three times Savea was left with nothing but grass in front of him.

Thriving off England's exhausted set-piece and their backward steps, New Zealand's power was all-consuming as Cruden added another three to the board.  Burns responded to add some colour at 15-6.

When your luck is against you the running is never easy, so Billy Vunipola's extremely harsh yellow card for a high tackle of Cruden stuck England further under the cosh.  There was no time to wallow, the All Blacks short lineout giving Dane Coles a touchline sprint with only Ashton's intervention stopping another try.

England were being burned on the outside time and again as this time Cory Jane had too much speed for the drift, cutting back against it and giving Aaron Smith enough room to finish.

Having relied so much on their organisation in the close quarters in the first two tests, England now had none to speak of even in defence or at the set-piece.

Ben Smith was also matching his mood from Dunedin, the mesmerising full-back at it again with steps, tackles, kicks and assists punishing England over and over in an outstanding first half as Aaron Smith scored again.  They could have lead by more than 29-6 at half-time.

England's character has never been questioned though, despite the deficiencies.  Yarde barged his way over for a second try in two games after a good break from Ben Youngs - who stood out - and could very nearly have had a second when he was held up over the line.

Removing both Kieran Read and Cruden from the line of fire, initially lose a little bit of momentum but they left England sucking in the big ones with a sustained period of pressure the oddly ended with no points scored.

Yarde was turning into a nuisance for the All Blacks with his powerful carries, the intensity from New Zealand naturally slipping away after such a perfect opening 40 minutes.

Giving Yarde space wasn't wide but Savea had the presence to bundle him after touch after the England winger had skipped around Ben Smith - a rare sight at that.

From their spoiling tactics at New Zealand lineouts to their stubbornness, England were frustrating their hosts once again.  Not that it truly mattered.

Wyatt Crockett was the fall guy for the All Blacks persistent discrepancies as the hosts finished the contest with 14 men.  Old All Black errors at the lineout from the previous Tests also crept back in, the perfection of the first half feeling very long ago.

God help any side that faces New Zealand when they consistently get it right for 80 minutes.  It's yet to happen in 2014.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Savea 3, A.Smith 2
Cons:  Cruden 3, Barrett
Pen:  Cruden
Yellow Card:  Crockett

For England:
Try:  Yarde
Con:  Burns
Pens:  Burns 2
Yellow Card:  Vunipola

New Zealand:  15 Ben Smith, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Liam Messam, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Ryan Crotty.

England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Chris Ashton, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Kyle Eastmond, 11 Marland Yarde, 10 Freddie Burns, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Chris Robshaw (capt), 6 Tom Wood, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 David Wilson, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements:  16 Rob Webber, 17 Matt Mullan, 18 Kieran Brookes, 19 Dave Attwood, 20 Ben Morgan, 21 Lee Dickson, 22 Danny Cipriani, 23 Luther Burrell.

Referee:  Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant Referees:  Nigel Owens (Wales), James Leckie (Australia)
TMO:  George Ayoub (Australia)

Pisi's boot sinks Fiji

Samoa fly-half Tusi Pisi landed six penalties to give his side a slender 18-13 victory over Pacific Island rivals Fiji in Suva.

Pisi kicked five first-half penalties to give Samoa a 15-5 lead at halftime and added his sixth penalty, Samoa's only points of the second half, to finish with six goals for seven attempts.

The win lifted Samoa to the top of the three-team Pacific division in the six-nation tournament after their opening draw with Tonga.

Fiji had a win over Tonga and a loss to Samoa, while Tonga ended with a draw and a loss.

Japan have won the North American section with two wins ahead of the match later Saturday between the United States and Canada.

Three players received yellow cards in Saturday's match at Fiji's National Stadium, including Samoa captain David Lemi, his teammate Fautua Otto and Fiji's Leone Nakarawa.

Pisi punished Fiji errors with penalties in the second, 16th, 25th, 28th and final minutes of the first half.  He missed one attempt in the 22nd minute of the second spell but landed another two minutes later to complete his team's scoring.

Fiji scored tries through center Nemani Nadolo in the 11th minute and winger Naplioni Nalaga in the 42nd.  Nemani missed the conversions of both tries but added a second half penalty which briefly cut Samoa's lead to 15-13 before Pisi extended their lead with his final goal.

The defeat is a setback for Fiji ahead of next weekend's critical Oceania World Cup qualifying match against the Cook Islands.  The winner of that match will take a place in Pool A at next year's World Cup alongside Australia, hosts England, Wales and another playoff winner.

The Cook Islands have never qualified for a World Cup but have a strong team, including players with Super Rugby experience.

The scorers:

For Fiji:
Tries:  Nadolo, Nalaga
Pen:  Nadolo
Yellow Card:  Nakarawa

For Samoa:
Pens:  Pisi 6
Yellow Card:  Otto, Lemi

Fiji:  15 Metuisela Talebula, 14 Napolioni Nalaga, 13 Asaeli Tikoriotuma, 12 Nemani Nadolo, 11 Sireli Bobo, 10 Jonetani Ralulu, 9 Nikola Matawalu, 8 Nemani Nagusa, 7 Akapusi Qera (c), 6 Dom Waqaninburotu, 5 Leone Nakawara, 4 Api Ratuniyarawa, 3 Manasa Saulo, 2 Tuapati Talemaitoga, 1 Campese Ma'afu.
Replacements:  tbc

Samoa:  15 Faatoina Autagavaia, 14 Fautua Otto, 13 George Pisi, 12 Jonny Leota, 11 David Lemi (capt), 10 Tusiata Pisi, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i, 8 Taiasina Tuifua, 7 Jack Lam, 6 Maurie Fa'asavalu, 5 Daniel Leo, 4 Teofilo Paulo, 3 James Johnston, 2 Ti'i Paulo, 1 Logovi'i Mulipola.
Replacements:  16 Wayne Avei, 17 Anthony Perenise, 18 Census Johnston, 19 Piula Fa'asalele, 20 Iosefa Tekori, 21 Vavao Afemai, 22 Patrick Fa'apale, 23 Anitelea Tuilagi

Referee:  Mathlieu Rayna (France)

Italy's dire run continues in Japan

Italy remained winless in 2014 after crashing to a third loss in June with a 26-23 defeat against Japan in Tokyo on Saturday.

The result is the Brave Blossom's first-ever victory over Italy as the Azzurri slumped to their ninth consecutive defeat.

The scores were level at 13-13 at half time but New Zealand-born Male Sa'u ran in a try midway through the second half to lead Japan to their tenth straight Test-match win.

Sa'u's converted try gave Japan a 26-16 lead at the Prince Chichibu memorial ground.

Robert Barbieri crossed for Italy late on to cut the deficit to three but the visitors ran out of time.

Ayumu Goromaru accounted for 14 points for Japan with four penalties and a conversion.

Saturday's encounter was Japan's only game against a Six Nations side before the 2015 Rugby World Cup where Japan will compete in Pool B against South Africa, Scotland, the United States and Samoa.

The scorers:

For Japan:
Tries:  Yamada, Sa'u
Cons:  Goromaru 2
Pens:  Goromaru 4
Yellow Card:  Yamada

For Italy:
Tries:  Penalty Try, Barbieri
Cons:  Orquera, Allan
Pens:  Orquera 2

Japan:  15 Ayumu Goromaru, 14 Akihito Yamada, 13 Male Sa'u, 12 Yu Tamura, 11 Kenki Fukuoka, 10 Harumichi Tatekawa, 9 Fumiaki Tanaka, 8 Ryu Koliniasi Holani, 7 Michael Leitch, 6 Justin Ives, 5 Luke Thompson, 4 Shoji Ito, 3 Kensuke Hatakeyama, 2 Shota Horie, 1 Masataka Mikami.
Replacements:  16 Hisateru Hirashima, 17 Takeshi Kizu, 18 Hiroshi Yamashita, 19 Shinya Makabe, 20 Hitoshi Ono, 21 Hendrik Tui, 22 Atsushi Hiwasa, 23 Toshiaki Hirosi.

Italy:  15 Luke McLean, 14 Leonardo Sarto, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Andrea Masi, 11 Giovambattista Venditti, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Robert Barbieri, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Joshua Furno, 5 Marco Bortolami, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys (c), 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Alberto De Marchi.
Replacements:  tbc

Referee:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Garratt Williamson (New Zealand), Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
TMO:  Peter Marshall (Australia)

Wallabies thrash woeful France

Australia completed a 3-0 series whitewash over France with a 39-13 drubbing at the Sydney Football Stadium on Saturday.

After being shut out in a tight game in Melbourne last week, the impressive hosts outscored les Bleus five tries to one in a performance that bodes well for their chances in the Rugby Championship.

The Wallabies were 20-6 up at the interval and were good value for their lead.  Not once did France even come close to replying to the first-half tries from debutant Will Skelton and Israel Folau as their stale attack shot blanks at the well-organised Aussie defence.

By contrast, Australia were playing with real spark and vigour, dominating territory and possession and moving the ball across the park at pace.

Folau bagged his double early in the second half before skipper Michael Hooper's try on the hour mark left no doubt over the final result.

The tourists scored a consolation try via a driving maul but their dismal afternoon was capped by a late Nick Phipps touchdown as the Wallabies punished the lacklustre French defence.

To further emphasise the contrast with last-week's dour affair in front a record low crowd, the Sydney faithful set a new attendance benchmark of over 43 000 and their team didn't disappoint with a clinical display.

France were never in it.

Australia were first to score — after just two minutes — when Bernard Foley slotted a long-range penalty.

Maxime Machenaud — a late replacement for the injured Morgan Parra — should have levelled matters immediately after but his shot at goal hit the woodwork.

The Wallabies couldn't get over the whitewash last week but Skelton touched down for the first try after just eight minutes.  The hosts took it through 20 phases before the massive lock went straight through Fulgence Ouedraogo to power home from 5m out.

Foley added the extras to give Australia a 10-point lead after as many minutes — the perfect start.

Despite an 84kg disadvantage, the French scrum earned a penalty which full-back Brice Dulin sent over from halfway, in a rare highlight for the visitors' set piece.

But the good work was immediately undone as France coughed up a ruck penalty at the restart when Hooper wrapped up Dulin to allowed Foley to restore the 10-point gap as the first quarter came to an end.

With French prop Rabah Slimani in the sin bin (for an tackle without the ball), the Wallabies cashed in on their numerical advantage as Folau produced an excellent diving finish in the corner.

Foley's touchline conversion split the uprights and at 20-3, the writing was on the wall for les Bleus.

Machenaud landed a penalty for a collapsed maul shortly before the break to cut the deficit to 14 points when the half-time hooter sounded.

But a comeback wasn't to happen.  First-half try scorers Skelton and Folau combined to put another nail in the French coffin as the big lock's pop pass found a flying Folau, who raced home untouched.

Kurtley Beale impressed off the bench.  He sliced the French defence apart and combined with Foley to put Hooper away for the fourth Aussie try.

France hooker Guilhem Guirado crashed over at the back of a rolling maul with 15 minutes to play but Phipps could add the icing to the Wallaby cake, catching France unawares by taking a quick tap to sneak over.

The scorers:

For Australia: 
Tries:  Skelton, Folau 2, Hooper, Phipps
Cons:  Foley 4
Pens:  Foley 2

For France: 
Try:  Guirado
Con:  Machenaud
Pens:  Dulin, Machenaud
Yellow cards:  Slimani

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Nick Cummins, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nic White, 8 Wycliff Palu, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 Nathan Charles, 17 Scott Sio, 18 Laurie Weeks, 19 James Horwill, 20 Ben McCalman, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Kurtley Beale, 23 Rob Horne.

France:  15 Brice Dulin, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Hugo Bonneval, 10 Remi Tales, 9 Maxime Machenaud, 8 Damien Chouly, 7 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (capt), 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Alexandre Flanquart, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Alexandre Menini.
Replacements:  16 Christophe Tolofua, 17 Vincent Debaty, 18 Thomas Domingo, 19 Bernard Le Roux, 20 Louis Picamoles, 21 Yannick Nyanga, 22 Frederic Michalak , 23 Remi Lamerat.

Venue:  Allianz Stadium, Sydney
Referee:  Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  Wayne Barnes (England), George Clancy (Ireland)
Television match official:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

England breeze past Crusaders

England caught the eye in Christchurch's AMI Stadium with a thumping 38-7 victory over the error-strewn Crusaders on Tuesday.

The visitors made a flying start, scoring an early brace through Joe Gray and Ben Foden, before Brad Barritt and Alex Goode cancelled out Matt Todd's five-pointer for the hosts with tries of their own.

And further touchdowns from Anthony Watson and Chris Pennell settled the issue in the second half with the depleted Crusaders struggling to convert their field position into points.

Blindsides Jordan Taufua and James Haskell embodied the tussle up front with a bruising ding-dong battle that saw each take it in turn to put the other flat on his back.

And it was typically strong carries from Watson and Matt Kvesic that laid the platform for England to break the deadlock, as Danny Cipriani ghosted through a gap in the home 22, and fired the ball back inside for his hooker Gray to splash over.

The pivot converted, and England immediately cranked up the pressure.  There were shades of Rob Howley and Clement Poitrenaud by the corner flag as Johnny McNicholl dallied over a bouncing ball that stubbornly refused to graze the touchline;  Foden — playing on the wing — snuck in and picked his pocket.

Cipriani failed to master the swirling breeze from the touchline, but England were playing with a spring in their step, and averaging more than a point a minute at 0-12 with eight on the clock.

The Crusaders, in front of a capacity home crowd, responded with purpose, but errors and imprecision meant their pressure failed to yield points until the 23rd minute, when Todd — an early replacement for George Whitelock, who picked up a head knock — burrowed his way over in the shadow of the uprights, Tom Taylor converting.

If the AMI Stadium faithful expected a backlash, they were left sorely disappointed minutes later when Barritt stepped past Tyler Bleyendaal and powered his way over the line for England's third.  Cipriani's conversion took the scoreline to 7-19.

England were making a habit of pinching seemingly secure Crusaders possession from the murky depths of rolling mauls, and it was from such a steal by captain Ed Slater that the hosts were caught cold in their own 22.

The ball was moved swiftly through the hands, allowing Goode to dummy and slalom his way over untroubled.  Cipriani too had no problems off the tee, and banged over his third conversion of the night to hand England a deserved 7-26 half-time lead.

The fly-half was replaced by Stephen Myler seven minutes into the second forty, adding further to speculation that he may be Stuart Lancaster's pick for the final Test with Owen Farrell ruled out.

His absence did nothing to harm England's performance.  The hosts battered and bludgeoned Lancaster's defence after the break, but failed to break down the visitors' rear-guard.

By contrast, England were clinical, the Crusaders clinging on by virtue of two brilliant turnovers on their own try-line.  Their resistance was broken and the game put to bed in some considerable style on 58 minutes.

A fantastic delayed run off Pennell, timed to perfection by Watson, saw the wing slice through the hosts' midfield and round Taylor to score under the posts.

The try of the day was converted by Myler, and proved to be the only points of a second half that brimmed with blood and guts, but failed to produce much in the way of attacking inspiration until Pennell gathered Barritt's kick with the clock red for a sixth try in the corner.

Myler couldn't quite add the extras from the touchline, but further evidence of England's growing squad depth came to the fore anew in the Garden City.

The scorers:

For Crusaders:
Try:  Todd
Con:  Taylor

For England:
Tries:  Gray, Foden, Barritt, Goode, Watson, Pennell
Cons:  Cipriani 3, Myler 2

The teams:

Crusaders:  15 Tom Taylor, 14 Jimmy McNicholl, 13 Reynold Lee-Lo, 12 Kieron Fonotia, 11 Nafi Tuitavake, 10 Tyler Bleyendaal, 9 Willi Heinz, 8 Luke Whitelock, 7 George Whitelock (c), 6 Jordan Taufua, 5 Joel Everson, 4 Jimmy Tupou, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Corey Flynn, 1 Tim Perry
Replacements:  16 Ben Funnell, 17 Joe Moody, 18 Siate Tokolahi, 19 Scott Barrett, 20 Matt Todd, 21 Andy Ellis, 22 Adam Whitelock, 23 Rob Thompson.

England:  15 Alex Goode, 14 Ben Foden, 13 Henry Trinder, 12 Brad Barritt, 11 Anthony Watson, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Lee Dickson, 8 Tom Johnson, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 James Haskell, 5 Dave Attwood, 4 Ed Slater (c), 3 Henry Thomas, 2 Joe Gray, 1 Alex Waller.
Replacements:  16 David Ward, 17 Nathan Catt, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 Michael Paterson, 20 Richard Wigglesworth, 21 Stephen Myler, 22 Jonny May, 23 Chris Pennell.

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wal)

Wales steam-rolled by Springboks

South Africa made it three wins from three for the SANZAR nations on Saturday as they beat Wales 38-16 at Kings Park in Durban.

This won't be a phrase Welsh supporters will like to hear but it was men against boys in this first of two Tests, with the Bok power glaringly dominant as their big runners laid the platform for victory.

Wales will not take a great deal from the game, other than they'd be wise winning Pool A at the World Cup in order to avoid the Boks in a likely quarter-final.  That message of course applies to both England and Australia ahead of next year.

The Welsh did come out of the blocks with real intent in Durban though as they looked to end their poor form against SANZAR sides, possibly guilty of blowing a big chance inside two minutes when Liam Williams' pass wasn't held by Alex Cuthbert on the right touchline.  Had that gone to hand and not to land he was in for all money.

Fortunately for the full-back and wing, Wales did find consolation in the form of a Dan Biggar drop which put them 0-3 up on three minutes.

However, back came the Springboks via two of their attacking threats as Willie le Roux's smart chip was grounded superbly over the line by Bryan Habana, Morné Steyn's successful conversion from wide out making it 7-3 for a score that settled the home players and fans.

An advantage on the scoreboard would become replicated numerically for the Boks on the thirteenth minute when Jamie Roberts was yellow carded for taking out Le Roux whilst he was in the air.  Roberts was a picture of regret and replays showed there wasn't intent.

The South Africans grabbed the opportunity with both hands, Duane Vermeulen powering over following a sturdy line-out drive.  It was now 14-3 before Le Roux and Habana combined again for the wing's brace to make it 21-6 following another smartly taken Biggar drop-goal.

Both outfits would have chances to add to their respective tally before the half-hour as first Jan Serfontein — in for Frans Steyn — was an inch away from grounding the ball over the line and then Wales showed poor basic skills in blowing numbers down the left touchline.

The latter-mentioned blunder would come back to haunt Wales before the break as that man Le Roux pounced from yet another chip, as South Africa's lead grew to 22 points before Biggar had the last say before half-time, knocking over a penalty goal for a 28-9 scoreline.

South Africa wanted more of the same in the second half and so it proved to be with twelve minutes gone, with a Steyn penalty and Cornal Hendricks' try from another Le Roux assist extending the margin.  Steyn was kicking effortlessly as he landed the tough conversion.

Warren Gatland had no choice but to try his hand and bring on the pace of Gareth Davies, Matthew Morgan and other fresh legs up front.  And it almost paid off in the form of a try for the scrum-half, who was denied after a searing run because Biggar's offload was forward.

There would be consolation before the end though as an individual score from Cuthbert that saw him break from his own 22, gliding past several defenders, gave Wales their first five-pointer of the game on 70 minutes.  But by that point the game was well gone, with South Africa worthy winners as they tried but failed to finish with a sixth score in the dying embers.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Habana 2, Vermeulen, Le Roux, Hendricks
Con:  Steyn 5
Pen:  Steyn

For Wales:
Try:  Cuthbert
Pen:  Biggar
Drop:  Biggar 2
Yellow:  Roberts (dangerous tackle — 13 mins)

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 JP Pietersen, 12 Jan Serfontein, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Morné Steyn, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Willem Alberts, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Victor Matfield (c), 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Gurthro Steenkamp.
Replacements:  16 Schalk Brits, 17 Tendai Mtawarira, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Schalk Burger, 21 Ruan Pienaar, 22 Johan Goosen, 23 Lwazi Mvovo.

Wales:  15 Liam Williams, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 George North, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Mike Phillips, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Aaron Shingler, 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Adam Jones, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Gethin Jenkins.
Replacements:  16 Matthew Rees, 17 Paul James, 18 Samson Lee, 19 Ian Evans, 20 Josh Turnbull, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 James Hook, 23 Matthew Morgan.

Referee:  Romain Poite (France)
Assistant Referees:  Steve Walsh (Australia), Marius Mitrea (Italy)
TMO:  Vinny Munro (New Zealand)

Japan get better of USA

Japan made it two wins from two in the Pacific Nations Cup after beating the United States 37-29 on Saturday, with Ayumu Goromaru kicking 17 points.

The full-back converted all four of Japan's tries and also sent over three penalties to help the Brave Blossoms claim a bonus-point victory.

Ryu Koliniasi Holani scored two tries while scrum-half Fumiaki Tanaka and winger Akihito Yamada scored a try apiece in reply to three tries from USA star Blaine Scully, with Cam Dolan adding another for the spirited home side.

Japan, who began their campaign with a win in Canada last week, now have nine points from two matches and host Italy next week in a friendly.

Ireland wrap up series in Tucumán

Ireland secured a 23-17 victory over Argentina on Saturday as tries from Simon Zebo and replacement Ian Madigan won the series in Tucumán.

The triumph at Estadio José Fierro was not as convincing as last week as Argentina fought until the end, with Madigan's try being the difference.

Jonathan Sexton opened the scoring on five minutes off the tee after number eight Antonio Ahualli de Chazal was caught offside at ruck time.

And the Pumas were struggling to keep offences to a minimum as referee Pascal Gauzère didn't waste time to brandish a card, hooker Matías Cortese being shown yellow for no use of the arms in the tackle.  The result was Sexton doubling Ireland's lead in the sunshine, with things already looking ominous for the hosts.

That wouldn't prove to be the case though as when Andrew Trimble was shown yellow for taking out a Puma off the ball in a possible try-scoring position, fly-half Nicolás Sánchez stepped up to put his outfit on the board.  It was now 3-6 with eighteen minutes played in the second Test.

Ireland did show their quality in attack with a quarter gone when Sexton's cross kick to Zebo led to Lucas González Amorosino getting back in time to ground the wing's chip downfield.  It was a warning shot however to the Pumas that Ireland wouldn't be afraid to try things.

The warning was heeded and in fact thrown back in the visitors' court when Argentina chanced their arm from deep, scrum-half Martin Landajo's break leading to Amorosino carrying on the run before recycled ball found Joaquín Tuculet for a popular score.

Following the successful extras, Argentina were now 6-10 ahead with 25 minutes played before Irish fly-half Sexton cut the lead to just a point eight minutes from the break.

Sexton had a chance to push Ireland back into the lead three minutes after the break but was off-target as they struggled for any real spell of possession and territory.  If they could get good ball one worried for how the Pumas would contain them in the closing stages.

And so that proved as a nice inside ball from Leinster scrum-half Eoin Reddan finally broke the deadlock for the Irish, his pass sending over the poacher Zebo to make it 16-10.

Darren Cave came agonisingly close to possibly putting the result beyond doubt but was pulled up just short when grounding after a strong carry from Rhys Ruddock.  Had he crossed, a successful conversion would have put Joe Schmidt's men thirteen points up.

But that mission would be accomplished by Madigan with eight minutes left as his classy try under the posts made it 23-10 before Amorosino crossed with the final play of the game.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Tries:  Tuculet, Amorosino
Con:  Sanchez, Iglesias
Pen:  Sanchez
Yellow:  M Cortese (no arm tackle — 9 mins)

For Ireland:
Tries:  Zebo, Madigan
Con:  Sexton, Madigan
Pen:  Sexton 3
Yellow:  Trimble (off-the-ball tackle — 16 mins)

Argentina:  15 Joaquín Tuculet, 14 Lucas González Amorosino, 13 Jerónimo De la Fuente, 12 Gabriel Ascárate, 11 Manuel Montero, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 9 Martín Landajo (captain), 8 Antonio Ahualli de Chazal, 7 Tomás De la Vega, 6 Rodrigo Báez, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Matías Cortese, 1 Lucas Noguera Paz.
Replacements:  16 Santiago Iglesias Valdez, 17 Bruno Postiglioni, 18 Matías Díaz, 19 Matías Alemanno, 20 Javier Ortega Desio, 21 Tomás Cubelli, 22 Santiago González Iglesias, 23 Matías Orlando.

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Fergus McFadden, 12 Darren Cave, 11 Simon Zebo, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Chris Henry, 6 Rhys Ruddock, 5 Paul O'Connell, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Mike Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Dave Kilcoyne.
Replacements:  16 Rob Herring, 17 James Cronin, 18 Jack McGrath, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Jordi Murphy, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Noel Reid.

Referee:  Pascal Gauzère (France)
Assistant Referees:  Glen Jackson (New Zealand), John Lacey (Ireland)
TMO:  Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Scotland edge out Canada

Scotland avoided a shock defeat to Canada as they held on for a 19-17 success against the home outfit at BMO Field in Toronto on Saturday.

A harsh red card for Canada flank Jebb Sinclair soured what was an absorbing Test, but it will be one that the hosts will feel they could have won.

For Scotland though, they have made it two wins from two on tour as they backed up last week's victory over the USA with this tight triumph.

Scotland's scrum was dominant early on and it led to the first points of the game being scored by scrum-half Greig Laidlaw with two minutes gone.

However, the visitors had to survive a scare soon after as Canada half-back Phil Mack was denied a score when Jeff Hassler was deemed to have knocked on when looking to collect the ball.

Scotland knew they were in a Test match from then on and following defending on their own line, the hosts then put their foot to the floor as former Glasgow back Taylor Paris' step and speed on halfway sparked a good passage in the 22.  In fact it resulted in James Pritchard knocking over three points.

And things would improve further for the Canadians when a break from outside centre Ciaran Hearn saw him feed Ospreys wing Hassler for the game's opening try.  Hassler, who made the RaboDirect PRO12 Dream Team this season, finished well but Pritchard's conversion wasn't of the same ilk.

Scotland did reply five minutes later though when second-row Grant Gilchrist went over for a converted try that pushed the Scots back into the lead.

Laidlaw would extend the scoreline to 13-8 two minutes before the break as again Canada were penalised at scrum time in what was an area of concern.

The turnaround saw Canada strike first and then second when full-back Pritchard added three points to his tally to put his side two points behind on 43 minutes and when Scotland offended eight minutes later, Canada were back in front via the boot of their number fifteen.  Was a shock on the cards?

Scotland full-back Stuart Hogg had other ideas as he sent over a long-range penalty to make it 16-14 before Pritchard missed the chance to respond fifteen minutes from time when his attempt hit the upright.  Harry Jones though had no such trouble when he lined up a successful penalty for 16-17.

It was now tit-for-tat in Toronto as Laidlaw pushed his side in front with an effort off the tee as territory became critical in the closing stages.

And then would come the moment of controversy on the 76th minute as with Canada 30 metres out, Sinclair was red carded after being adjudged to have led with the elbow whilst carrying into replacement Ruaridh Jackson.  It was a card that stunned both the crowd and media alike and a disappointing way to end a physical but fair game.

The scorers:

For Canada:
Try:  Hassler
Pen:  Pritchard 3, Jones

For Scotland:
Try:  Gilchrist
Con:  Laidlaw
Pen:  Laidlaw 2, Hogg

Canada:  15 James Pritchard, 14 Jeff Hassler, 13 Ciaran Hearn, 12 Nick Bevins, 11 Taylor Paris, 10 Harry Jones, 9 Phil Mack, 8 Tyler Ardron (c), 7 John Moonlight, 6 Jebb Sinclair, 5 Jamie Cudmore, 4 Tyler Hotson, 3 Jason Marshall, 2 Aaron Carpenter, 1 Hubert Buydens.
Replacements:  16 Ray Barkwill, 17 Andrew Tiedemann, 18 Jake Ilnicki, 19 Kyle Gilmour, 20 Jon Phelan, 21 Gordon McRorie, 22 Connor Braid, 23 DTH van der Merwe.

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Sean Lamont, 12 Peter Horne, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Greig Laidlaw (c), 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 Kelly Brown, 6 Al Strokosch, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Moray Low, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Gordon Reid.
Replacements:  16 Kevin Bryce, 17 Kyle Traynor, 18 Geoff Cross, 19 Kieran Low, 20 Blair Cowan, 21 Grayson Hart, 22 Ruaridh Jackson, 23 Max Evans.

Referee:  Mike Fraser (NZ)
Assistant referees:  Stuart Berry (SA), Nick Ricono (USA)
TMO:  Davey Ardrey (USA)

Wallabies edge France in dire Test

Australia edged out France 6-0 in one of the worst Test matches in recent memory to clinch the Test series in Melbourne.

Bizarrely considering there were 73 points last Saturday, we didn't get any at all here until the 53rd minute.  Hardly a great advert for the rugby public in this part of Australia.

Both teams were overly cautious, kicked endlessly, dropped passes and conceded needless penalties when finally in a position to attack.  Boy it was dull to watch.

There were no excuses related to the weather or off-field politics, both teams were simply dire.  France might have shown more bite, but there was little class or control.  The Wallabies were worthy of their win.

Where was the Wallabies' sense of adventure from Brisbane?  It's a well-known fact that French flair under Philippe Saint-André is dead, but a sign of an effective gameplan might have been encouraging a week after being thrashed.

Brice Dulin and Nic White missed penalty opportunities but the Wallabies had come closest earlier in the first half when a decision went to the TMO.

Matt Toomua's chip over the top fooled everybody and in the scramble for the ball with Dulin he was adjudged to have obstructed the France full-back in the second before Ben McCalman grounded the loose ball.

France were made of much sterner stuff than the turnstile who rocked up at Suncorp.  A lot of that comes down to their selection, as the big guys returning to the starting XV made a big impact.

Thierry Dusautoir was arguably the most important returnee, coming into the side and characteristically hacking his way through a ton of work at the breakdown to give France a good share of possession.

Rémi Talès showed far greater control outside Morgan Parra and it kept France on the up in terms of territory, their pack bolstered by the addition of Yannick Nyanga along with a pair of hungry young props in Alexandre Menini and Rabah Slimani.  France's defence was solid, their set-piece clicking nicely.  There was little else to them.

There was no way this one would finish scoreless and the inevitable breakthrough came from a penalty by Foley to put the Wallabies into the lead.  The way it had gone, you suspected it might be the only score.

James Horwill's 50th cap came to a conclusion when he was replaced by a debutant in Luke Jones — a former ball boy for Australia over ten years ago.

White added a second penalty to at least give the Wallabies some comfort on the scoreboard with time winding down in the final quarter.

There were few chances, Adam Ashley-Cooper knocking on just short of the line in pursuit of a hacked through ball behind the French defence.

Bernard Le Roux's yellow card however seemed to condemn France to another defeat but White couldn't land the penalty with ten minutes to go.

Two front-rowers on debut for Australia made their bow as Nathan Charles and Laurie Weeks entered the fray, France still believing that the result was in reach.

A late break started by Dulin nearly rewarded that hope with what would have been a completely unfitting moment of brilliance from the visitors given the nature of the contest.  A lineout outside the 22 gave them a final chance.

Naturally it went up in smoke with a miscued pass from Yoann Huget after he burst through the defence.  The Wallabies found a way to win, gritty but nowhere near glorious.

One to forget.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Pens:  Foley, White

For France:
Yellow Card:  Le Roux

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Nick Cummins, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nic White, 8 Ben McCalman, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Scott Fardy, 5 James Horwill, 4 Rob Simmons, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 Nathan Charles, 17 Pek Cowan,) 18 Laurie Weeks, 19 Luke Jones, 20 Scott Higginbotham, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Kurtley Beale, 23 Pat McCabe.

France:  15 Brice Dulin, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Maxime Médard, 10 Rémi Talès, 9 Morgan Parra, 8 Damien Chouly, 7 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 6 Yannick Nyanga, 5 Yoann Maestri, 4 Alexandre Flanquart, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Guilhem Guirado, 1 Alexandre Menini.
Replacements:  16 Brice Mach, 17 Thomas Domingo, 18 Nicolas Mas, 19 Bernard le Roux, 20 Louis Picamoles, 21 Antoine Burban, 22 Frédéric Michalak, 23 Remi Lamerat.

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees:  Craig Joubert (South Africa), Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Television match official:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Ruthless All Blacks restore pride

An outstanding second half display from world champions New Zealand clinched the Test series by beating England 28-27 in Dunedin.

England had at one point led 10-0, but that felt a long old time ago when they were being battered relentlessly by the All Blacks deep into the second half.  The score might have been tight at the final whistle, but England had been blown away by the time Mike Brown and Chris Ashton crossed.

The verdict coming out of Auckland was that England's best chance of beating New Zealand on their own turf had been and gone.  That rings more true now than ever.  As the game progressed, so their error count duly rose, despite their grit and integrity.

A flick of the switch, so typical of the All Blacks, was the surge they needed to take the game by the scruff of the neck and go for the win to clinch the series.

It was played at the pace that New Zealand complained they didn't get to play at in Auckland, at the speed that England thrive at with Danny Care scuttling around at the base - although this was far from his best game in a white shirt.

Beating New Zealand would have given England a phenomenal accolade, but regardless of the result they have proven they could compete against the best in their own backyard.  Add in the factor of Twickenham and they will be a force at the World Cup, make no bones about it.

When the volume under the Forsyth Barr roof rose and the All Blacks began flowing effortlessly into space, the game was always going to be up.  Ben Smith delivered a masterclass, feeding off England's loose kicking game, while Julian Savea was monstrous.

Jaco Peyper looked set to rule with an iron fist with New Zealand repeatedly disrupting England's maul illegally, Farrell adding the first points.

So much was made of McCaw's absence in the first Test, not in body but effort, that a monster performance was expected in Dunedin.

After conceding the first penalty, his missed tackle on Marland Yarde was unbelievable.  The young winger was too sharp, too strong to be stopped.

England had burst out of the blocks but had so long to go.  New Zealand would inevitably respond, Ben Smith slipping Luther Burrell's tackle to start an attack that ended with three points for Cruden.

The All Blacks number ten was eager to test the fielding abilities of Manu Tuilagi in his new wing role, a troublesome bounce ending in a penalty when Mike Brown held on.  He couldn't land the shot at goal.

Nor could Farrell, handed a long-range opportunity after Ma'a Nonu was penalised for obstruction.

Little inaccuracies were made enormous by the importance of this fixture, Care's kicking not what it could be, Ben Smith slipping as he cleared to touch.  Make no mistake, England were on a par with the All Blacks.  They still led 10-3 creeping up to the half hour mark.

Hopefully it was aerobic enough for the All Blacks, a mad passage including a kick to touch by David Wilson and a full fledged sprint from Manu Tuilagi down the wing, stopped by a truly outstanding tackle from Ben Smith.

The All Blacks had the final say, Joe Marler pinged at the scrum for Cruden to land his second penalty.  England lead by four but would they regret their missed chances?  New Zealand couldn't keep dropping easy passes as Cory Jane had done forever.

England's over-exuberance backfired.  An offload from Twelvetrees that wasn't necessary fell loose and the All Blacks countered with devastating effect, Cruden's dummy freeing the space for Savea to hand Ben Smith the simplest of finishes.  New Zealand finally ahead at 13-10.

Farrell immediately tied things up with a penalty as Dylan Hartley entered the fray as England looked for a second wave, but Aaron Smith should have given New Zealand a second try.  Flying up the touchline with Messam outside he was shut down by Farrell.

New Zealand were unrelenting, picking up the pace as Nonu found the space outside Burrell and fed Savea for New Zealand's second try.  The third had to come, Ben Smith's wizardry tearing England to pieces.  Had the final pass from Conrad Smith to Messam not been butchered then the light would have been turned out.

There was time for that moment.  New Zealand's maul, reminiscent of England's dominance in that area back in the first half, yielded another penalty.  The damage of Farrell going to the bin was enormous.

Barrett made no mistake after hitting the post earlier on.  At 21-13 down with 14 men, England's road back looked too long.

Nonu made sure of that.  With extra space and freed by a long pass from Conrad Smith, the centre was too fast and too strong to be brought down by Yarde and Burrell as he cut his way infield.  It was an exceptional, ruthless score.

Restored to 15 men England did have another score in them, Mike Brown delivering after a contentious call at the previous ruck by going on his own and spinning out of the tackle of Aaron Smith and Jane to just about get the ball to ground.

England though were still out of reach at 28-20, but it was an act of defiance.  They showed a ton of character, but lacked the extra touch of class and final pass.  There will be question marks over the selection of Twelvetrees, Burrell, and on moving Tuilagi to the wing.

By the end bizarrely England fell only a point short, some Tuilagi magic and the passing of Brown giving Chris Ashton a run-in to leave England short only by a single point.  There is pride to take from that, but - crucially - it wasn't enough to win.

Based on the last two weeks, you want to watch these two sides take each other on again and again.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  B.Smith, Savea, Nonu
Cons:  Cruden, Barrett
Pens:  Cruden 2, Barrett

For England:
Tries:  Yarde, Brown, Ashton
Cons:  Farrell 3
Pens:  Farrell 2
Yellow Card:  Farrell

New Zealand:  15 Ben Smith, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Jerome Kaino, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Victor Vito, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Malakai Fekitoa.

England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Manu Tuilagi, 13 Luther Burrell, 12 Billy Twelvetrees, 11 Marland Yarde, 10 Owen Farrell, 9 Danny Care, 8 Ben Morgan, 7 Chris Robshaw (c), 6 Tom Wood, 5 Geoff Parling, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 David Wilson, 2 Rob Webber, 1 Joe Marler.
Replacements:  16 Dylan Hartley, 17 Matt Mullan, 18 Kieran Brookes, 19 Courtney Lawes, 20 Billy Vunipola, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Freddie Burns, 23 Chris Ashton.

Referee:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant Referees:  Nigel Owens (Wales), Jérôme Garcès (France)
TMO:  George Ayoub (Australia)

Clinical Fiji thrash Tonga

Fiji showed no mercy to their Pacific Island rivals as they hammered Tonga 45-17 in their Pacific Nations Cup clash.

Picking up where they left off against Italy last week, Fiji ran in six tries in Luatoka.

Four of those went to two players, with Watisoni Votu and Sireli Bobo both scoring twice along with tries from Akapusi Qera and Nemani Nadolo.

Nadolo, the Crusaders star, started again at inside centre and was impressive off the kicking tee, scoring six conversions and a penalty.

Fiji flew out into a 17-0 lead after 14 minutes thanks that penalty and tries from Votu and Nadolo to start the contest at a blinding pace.

Despite Fangatapu Apikotoa added a penalty to put Tonga on the board, Bobo struck again before half-time, the 38-year-old putting Fiji out of sight.

Votu added his second after the interval but the match turned when Viliami Fihaki came off the bench for Tonga to score two tries, both converted by Latiume Fosita.  Suddenly the contest wasn't over at 31-17.

But Fiji had too much quality to not secure the result and scored two very late tries through Qera and Bobo's second to seal the win.

The scorers:

For Fiji:
Tries:  Votu 2, Nadolo, Bobo 2, Qera
Cons:  Nadolo 6
Pen:  Nadolo

For Tonga:
Tries:  Fihaki 2
Cons:  Fosita
Pen:  Apikotoa

Fiji:  15 Timoci Nagusa, 14 Sireli Bobo, 13 Adriu Delai, 12 Nemani Nadolo, 11 Watisoni Votu, 10 Jonetani Ralulu, 9 Nikola Matawalu, 8 Akapusi Qera (capt), 7 Malakai Ravulo, 6 Dom Waqaninburotu, 5 Leone Nakawara, 4 Api Ratuniyarawa, 3 Manasa Saulo, 2 Tuapati Talemaitoga, 1 Campese Ma'afu.
Replacements:  16 Bill Veikoso, 17 Jerry Yanuyanutawa, 18 Isei Colati, 19 Api Naikatani, 20 Nemani Nagusa, 21 Nemia Kenatale, 22 Waisea Nayacalevu, 23 Metuisela Talebula.

Tonga:  unannounced

Referee:  Rohan Hoffman (Australia)
Assistant referees:  JP Doyle (England), Mathieu Raynal (France)

Italy nilled by Samoa

Samoa fly-half Tusi Pisi kicked five penalties in his side's 15-0 victory over struggling Italy at Apia Park on Saturday.

The result follows the Azzurri's loss to Fiji last weekend to round off a poor year in Test rugby so far.

Pisi made them pay with five successful kicks as Samoa responded from their surprising 18-18 draw with Tonga last weekend.

The former Hurricanes number ten landed four of his penalties in the first half to leave the Italian chasing the scoreboard in tough conditions.

The win certainly isn't of character for Samoa given that this was their fifth victory over Italy in six meetings, but they would have expected a greater threat from their visitors.

Italy have now lost their last eight matches going back to last November, an unwanted record for Jacques Brunel heading into the Rugby World Cup.

The scorers:

For Samoa:
Pens:  Pisi 5

For Italy:

Samoa:  15 Faatoina Autagavaia, 14 Fautua Otto, 13 George Pisi, 12 Alapati Leiua, 11 David Lemi (capt), 10 Tusiata Pisi, 9 Kahn Fotuali'i, 8 Kane Thompson, 7 Jack Lam, 6 Ofisa Treviranus, 5 Daniel Leo, 4 Faatiga Lemalu, 3 James Johnston, 2 Ti'i Paulo, 1 Logovi'i Mulipola.
Replacements:  16 Wayne Ole Avei, 17 Census Johnston, 18 Sakaria Taulafo, 19 Maurie Fa'asavalu, 20 Piula Fa'asalele, 21 Patrick Fa'apale, 22 Vavao Afemai, 23 Johnny Leota.

Italy:  15 Luke McLean, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Andrea Masi, 12 Gonzalo Garcia, 11 Giovambattista Venditti, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Robert Barbieri, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Paul Derbyshire, 5 George Fabio, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys (c), 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Alberto de Marchi.
Replacements:  16 Andrea Manici, 17 Matias Aguero, 18 Dario Chistolini, 19 Marco Bortolami, 20 Josh Furno, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Luciano Orquera, 23 Tommaso Iannone.

Referee:  George Clancy (Ireland)
Assistant Referees:  Andrew Lees (Australia), James Leckie (Australia)

Scotland see off Eagles

An early Tim Visser try saw Scotland on their way to a 24-6 victory over the USA at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston on Saturday.

The Scots were dominant, but made rather hard work of their win in the sweltering Houston heat against an Eagles side that is on the up in world rugby.

Visser bagged his team's first after a super sniping dart from skipper Greig Laidlaw, who had opened the scoring with a penalty, to finish off in the corner, the captain converting.

The scrum-half had already traded penalties with Chris Wyles, before he had the simple task of adding the extras after the Scottish pack won a series of scrum penalties, Olive Kilifi was sent to the sin-bin, and eventually Pascal Gauzere lost patience and headed under the posts.

The Scots could have scored more in the first half, but a combination of poor finishing and stubborn USA defence kept the score to 17-3 at the break.

The second half followed a familiar pattern, with play lit up by a moment of genius from the talented Stuart Hogg.  Wyles had momentarily reduced the visitors' lead, before the full-back seized upon a high ball, and took advantage of poor defensive positioning to speed home from long-range.

The scorers:

For USA:
Pens:  Wyles 2
Yellow card:Kilifi

For Scotland:
Tries:  Visser, Penalty Try, Hogg
Cons:  Laidlaw 2
Pen:  Laidlaw

The teams:

USA:  15 Chris Wyles, 14 Blaine Scully, 13 Seamus Kelly, 12 Andrew Suniula, 11 Luke Hume, 10 Shalom Suniula, 9 Mike Petri, 8 Cam Dolan, 7 Scott LaValla, 6 Todd Clever (c), 5 Hayden Smith, 4 Louis Stanfill, 3 Eric Fry, 2 Phil Thiel, 1 Oliver Kilifi
Replacements:  16 Tom Coolican, 17 Nick Wallace, 18 Titi Lamositele, 19 Tai Tuisamoa, 20 Danny Barrett, 21 Folau Niua, 22 Chad London, 23 Tim Maupin

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Sean Maitland, 13 Sean Lamont, 12 Duncan Taylor, 11 Tim Visser, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Greig Laidlaw (c), 8 Johnnie Beattie, 7 Blair Cowan, 6 Al Strokosch, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Geoff Cross, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Gordon Reid
Replacements:  16 Pat MacArthur, 17 Alex Allan, 18 Moray Low, 19 Grant Gilchrist, 20 Kieran Low, 21 Grayson Hart, 22 Ruaridh Jackson, 23 Max Evans

Referee:  Pascal Gauzere (Fra)
Assistant referees:  Francesco Pastrana (Arg), Chris Assmus (Can)
TMO:  Alan Hosie (Sco)