England clinch Sydney battle for 3-0 series win

England completed an outstanding 3-0 series in Australia after coming out on top in a barnstormer of a third Test, winning 44-40 in Sydney.

A late score for Taqele Naiyaravoro meant the Wallabies edged the try-scoring battle five to four, after equally clinical attacking and some tired defending by both sides, but in the end it came down to the points off the boot of Owen Farrell, 24 overall as he knocked over six penalties and three conversions.  He finished with 23 kicks out of 26 attempts over the three Tests.

After the one-way demolition that New Zealand dished out in Dunedin this refreshingly was a proper Test match, both sides swinging blows at the other to tip the scoreboard back and forth.

A record crowd for Allianz Stadium of 44,063 were treated to some contest, and one which the Wallabies had to win after two confidence-sapping losses.  Instead they became only the fourth team in history to score 40 points in a Test match and lose.

England's defence wasn't the sensational force from seven days ago but they showed real tenacity to keep coming back at the Wallabies when in the past their heads might have dropped.

Australia hadn't been defeated 3-0 in a home series since South Africa in 1971.  Now England head home with their chests puffed out having changed that.

England's early approach was so controlled, directed excellently by Ben Youngs through a series of short pop passes which culminated with Dan Cole crashing over for his third try in 68 Tests.

Australia's response though was instant, Israel Folau breaking up the touchline before passes to Matt Toomua and then Bernard Foley saw the fly-half canter over.  A possible knock-on in the build-up was ruled out by the TMO, allowing Foley to convert to make it 7-7.

It was a decent response from Stephen Moore's side, forcing England to miss tackles which they made in Melbourne to get over the gain line.

The improvement in the width of their play thanks to Matt Toomua's return was obvious, stretching England far more than last week and subsequently rewarded with a second try.

Dane Haylett-Petty has enjoyed an outstanding series and now has a first Test try to his name, waiting patiently on the wing for Australia to send the ball wide until the overlap was found and Folau put his winger over in the corner.  Foley couldn't convert, leaving the Wallabies ahead 12-7.

England's scrum hit back by winning a penalty, knocked over by Farrell, only for the tourists to hold on at the restart for Foley to counter with three points of his own.

Big hits from the Australian defence were forcing handling errors out of England but a moment of skill from Anthony Watson unlocked the defence.

Chipping over the top of Haylett-Petty, it was Mike Brown who won the race to the ball following up to score and tie the game, Farrell's touchline coversion then putting England ahead 17-15.

Immediately after that happened the new face in England's XV, Teimana Harrison, was hauled off and replaced by Courtney Lawes on 31 minutes, with Maro Itoje moving to six, in a move similar to Luther Burrell's early substitution in the first Test.

Foley missed a penalty to restore the lead, after a late tackle from Cole, as a quality Test match headed towards half-time with Foley nudging the Wallabies back ahead after Maro Itoje went offside.  Adam Coleman was a half-time replacement for Will Skelton as he made his Wallabies debut.

A curious start to the second half followed, a high kick from George Ford hitting the spider-cam above but with play carrying on Youngs pinned Australia right back in their corner.

Stephen Moore overthrew from the subsequent lineout five metres out but Chris Robshaw couldn't ground the ball, held up and handing the tourists a close-range scrum, from which there was no stopping Billy Vunipola as England scored their third try.  Farrell couldn't convert, but England led 22-18.

There was nothing wrong his next effort, a superb long-range penalty by Farrell stretching England's lead to seven.

Typical of the contest Australia's response was almost instant, Coleman on debut bursting through the middle only to be hauled down short of the line.

Now it was the Wallabies' turn to have a five-metre scrum and they stretched England one way and then the next before Michael Hooper went through the tackle of Brown and reached out to try and ground the ball on the line.  Foley converted, levelling things up at 25-25.

England freshened up with the arrival of Danny Care and Jack Clifford off the bench to add some pace and the pack was still working away, James Slipper penalised for not binding square before Farrell landed his third penalty to restore the lead.

It didn't last long.  Toomua busted through a tired tackle attempt from Billy Vunipola and had Folau on his inside to score Australia's fourth try.

A penalty against Fardy for playing the ball on the floor helped Farrell to chip back again, cutting the gap to one point at 32-31, as England never gave up.

Jamie George, the super sub from Melbourne, came back off the bench and struck again with his golden boot, although this time luck played a huge part as a trickling ball ricocheted forward off his legs and the hooker pounced on it to score.  Farrell again converted, giving England a six-point lead.

A moment of madness from Nick Phipps loosely flicking the ball backwards started off the chain of events which led to that score and now Australia had to keep their heads, down by nearly a converted score with time ticking away.

Farrell had a shot at another penalty won from England's driving maul and typical of a series in which he's come so far he landed it from some way out, taking England over the 40-point barrier for a 41-32 lead.

Straight away Foley responded with three points from right out in front to bring the Wallabies back within a converted score but now the hosts were fighting against the clock as England noticeably took their time, bringing on Elliot Daly into the back row as the legs began to tire.

Farrell hammered home the result, his sixth penalty confirming not just the win, but a series whitewash against the team who dumped them out of their own Rugby World Cup last year.

Naiyaravoro had the final say with a try after the siren, but this was England's night.  They have completely deserved to win the series, and this will go right up near the top as one of their finest achievements.

Man of the Match:  Plenty of standout performers on both sides, Dane Haylett-Petty and Sean McMahon for Australia, but the composure of Owen Farrell decided both the Test and the series.

Moment of the Match:  He might have been a touch fortunate with the way the ball bounced his way but Jamie George's try gave England the margin they needed.

Villain of the Match:  Nothing nasty to report.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Foley, Haylett-Petty, Hooper, Folau, Naiyaravoro
Cons:  Foley 3
Pens:  Foley 3

For England:
Tries:  Cole, Brown, B Vunipola, George
Cons:  Farrell 3
Pens:  Farrell 6

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Dane Haylett-Petty, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Sean McMahon, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Will Skelton, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore (c), 1 James Slipper
Replacements:  16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Scott Sio, 18 Greg Holmes, 19 Adam Coleman, 20 Wycliff Palu, 21 Nick Frisby, 22 Christian Leali’ifano, 23 Taqele Naiyaravoro

England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Jack Nowell, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Teimana Harrison, 6 Chris Robshaw, 5 George Kruis, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley (c), 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements:  16 Jamie George, 17 Matt Mullan, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Joe Launchbury, 20 Courtney Lawes, 21 Jack Clifford, 22 Danny Care, 23 Elliot Daly

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees:  Craig Joubert (South Africa), Mike Fraser (New Zealand)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Scotland squeeze past Japan

Scotland were made to work hard before securing a narrow 21-16 victory over Japan in Tokyo on Saturday.

Just like last weekend's first Test, Japan held the upper hand early on, and led 13-9 at the break but Scotland progressively got into their stride though and took control of the game and the result secures them a 2-0 series victory over the Brave Blossoms.

As the scoreline suggests, this was an even affair and although Scotland secured victory thanks to the goalkicking of Henry Pyrgos and Greg Laidlaw, Japan scored the only try.

The first half was a stop-start affair characterised by several handling errors, especially from the visitors who stuttered with ball in hand during this period.

The match started at a frenetic pace with both sides giving the ball plenty of air before Pyrgos gave the visitors the lead via a penalty in the third minute, but Yu Tamara replied with a three-pointer of his own, from the kicking tee, shortly afterwards.

Pyrgos added his second penalty 10 minutes later before the game came alive in the 20th minute when the Brave Blossoms launched an attack from inside their half and were rewarded with the opening try, after the ball went through several pairs of hands.  Shoukei Kin was prominent throughout and eventually offloaded to Kaito Shigeno who rounded off the score.

Tamura added the extras but Pyrgos narrowed the gap to four points by the half-hour mark and although both sides launched several attacks towards the end of the first half, neither side could add to their tally during this period.

The second half was a more subdued affair but both sides continued to concede penalties.  Tamura added his third three-pointer in the 49th minute after Scotland were blown up for taking Shigeno out, off the ball, at a ruck.

The visitors had replaced Pyrgos with Laidlaw at half-time and he soon made his presence felt when he landed a penalty after Japan infringed at a ruck.

Laidlaw made it a one-point ball-game with his second successful penalty on the hour-mark and the visitors looked stronger during the game's latter stages.

The hosts were then penalised for illegal scrummaging in the 71st minute, and Laidlaw slotted another three-pointer from the kicking tee before securing victory with another penalty, three minutes before full-time, after Rikiya Matsuda was pinged for holding onto the ball on the ground.

Man of the Match:  Several Japanese players worked themselves into the ground during the game, both defensively and going forwards.  Amanaki Mafi tackled everything that moved and scrum-half Kaito Shigeno was a livewire.  Both Scotland’s Greig Laidlaw arrived onto the pitch after 50-minutes and used all of his experience to galvanise the side together and his boot kicked them to victory.

Moment of the Match:  Not often does this award get handed to the losing side but the only try of the game deserves this.  Japan ran in a length of the field score showing miss passes, steps and pace all around.  Almost every Japanese player was involved and Kaito Shigeno had the luck to finish off the score, much to the delight of the home crowd.

Villain of the Match:  Nothing nasty to report.

The scorers:

For Japan:
Try:  Shigeno
Con:  Tamura
Pens:  Tamura 3

For Scotland:
Pens:  Pyrgos 3, Laidlaw 4

Japan:  15 Rikiya Matsuda, 14 Male Sa'u, 13 Tim Bennetts, 12 Harumichi Tatekawa, 11 Yasutaka Sasakura, 10 Yu Tamara, 9 Kaito Shigeno, 8 Amanaki Mafi, 7 Shoukei Kin, 6 Hendrik Tui, 5 Naohiro Kotaki, 4 Hitoshi Ono, 3 Kensuke Hatakeyama, 2 Shota Horie (c), 1 Keita Inagaki
Replacements:  16 Takeishi Kizu, 17 Masataka Mikami, 18 Shinnosuke Kakinaga, 19 Kotaro Yatabe, 20 Ryu Kolinasi Holani, 21 Keisuke Uchida, 22 Kosei Ono, 23 Mifi Poseti Paea

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Matt Scott, 12 Peter Horne, 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Henry Pyrgos (c), 8 Ryan Wilson, 7 John Barclay, 6 Josh Strauss, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Moray Low, 2 Stuart McInally, 1 Rory Sutherland
Replacements:  16 Fraser Brown, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Willem Nel, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 John Hardie, 21 Greig Laidlaw, 22 Huw Jones, 23 Sean Lamont

Referee:  Marius Mitrea (Italy)
Assistant Referees:  Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand), Brendan Pickerill (New Zealand)
TMO:  Ian Smith (Australia)

All Blacks thrash Wales to clinch series whitewash

New Zealand produced a masterclass of attacking rugby on Saturday as they demolished Wales, running out 46-6 winners in Dunedin.

In a thrilling display of enterprising rugby in which they stayed true to their attacking roots but also showed tremendous discipline on defence, the world champions outscored their visitors by six tries to zero with Beauden Barrett leading the way with a superb all-round display, finishing with a 26-point haul via two tries, five conversions and two penalties.

The victory secures a 3-0 series whitewash for the All Blacks and stretches their unbeaten run against Wales to 29 matches.

The result also means the world champions have now stretched their winning run on home soil to an incredible 41 consecutive matches and Wales are now the fourth country – along with Australia, France and South Africa – against whom the world champions have wracked up more than 1000 points.

Wales were impressive during the early exchanges but unlike the two previous Tests – in Auckland and Wellington – when they were still in the game at half-time, they faded badly on this occasion and had no answer for the All Blacks' dominance on attack.

The visitors made the brighter start and took the lead via a Dan Biggar penalty in the sixth minute, after Sam Cane infringed at a ruck, before Barrett drew the home side level from the kicking tee when Wales' back-line went offside on defence.

Dane Coles was then blown up for obstruction in the 17th minute and Biggar restored the visitors three-point lead when he landed his second penalty.

Shortly afterwards Ben Smith ran onto a pass from Barrett close to Wales' 10-metre line and went on a mazy run before Rhys Patchell halted his progress with a desperate tackle close to the visitors' try-line.

From the ensuing scrum, the All Blacks set up some phases with their forwards before Aaron Smith threw a long pass to his namesake, Ben Smith, who got over in the right-hand corner for the opening try.

Barrett missed with the conversion attempt but soon made it 11-6 with his second successful penalty.  The All Blacks continued to dominate and spent large periods camped inside Wales' half with the two Smiths – Aaron and Ben – and Israel Dagg prominent as they launched several attacks from inside their half.

And on each occasion they got over the gainline with ease, leaving defenders floundering as they soon found thmselves deep inside Wales' 22.  One such attack saw Brodie Retallick, Julian Savea, Dane Coles, Ryan Crotty, Barrett, and Dagg all handling the ball before the latter was stopped just short of the try-line, but George Moala did well to gather before barging over for his second Test try in as many appearances.

Barrett added the extras which meant the home side were sittting pretty at 18-6 as the teams changed sides at the interval.

Wales tried to take on the All Blacks at their attacking game but their decision to run the ball from their own try line, soon after the restart, backfired when they were called back for a forward pass from Jonathan Davies to Hallom Amos.

That error had calamitous consequences as Barrett took a flat pass from Aaron Smith from the resulting scrum on Wales' five-metre line, and the direct route had the desired effect as he flattened Biggar on his way over the whitewash.

Shortly afterwards, the world champions were reduced to 14 men – Sam Cane receiving his marching orders for continually infringing at the ruck area, but that setback had little impact on the match an Wales failed to add to their tally.

The All Blacks rang the changes and in the 57th minute Lima Sopoaga, shortly after entering the fray, put Barrett in the clear on the edge of Wales' 22 before he slipped past two defenders and got over for his second try.

The hosts had the game in the bag but didn't take their foot off the pedal and five minutes later Coles got his name onto the scoresheet after running onto a flat pass from Cane.

Wales upped the ante in a bid to add some respectability to the score, but shortly before full-time they conceded a turnover inside New Zealand's half and Dagg sealed the win when he outpaced the cover defence before clinching the result with his side's sixth try.

Man of the Match:  Several All Blacks put their hand up with Aaron Smith, Ben Smith and Israel Dagg particularly outstanding but, in the end, Beauden Barrett gets our vote for a superb allround showing.

Moment of the Match:  Although New Zealand held a comfortable 18-6 lead at the interval, Barrett's first try, shortly after the restart, hammered home his side's dominance and there was no looking for the world champions after that.

Villain of the Match:  Nothing nasty to report.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Barrett 2, B Smith, Moala, Coles, Dagg
Cons:  Barrett 5
Pens:  Barrett 2
Yellow Card:  Cane

For Wales:
Pens:  Biggar 2

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 George Moala, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Sam Cane, 6 Elliot Dixon, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Charlie Faumuina, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements:  16 Codie Taylor, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Ofa Tu'ungafasi, 19 Luke Romano, 20 Liam Squire, 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22 Lima Sopoaga, 23 Waisake Naholo

Wales:  15 Rhys Patchell, 14 Liam Williams, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Hallam Amos, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (c), 6 Ross Moriarty, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Rob Evans
Replacements:  16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Aaron Jarvis, 18 Samson Lee, 19 Jake Ball, 20 Ellis Jenkins, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Scott Williams

Referee:  Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant Referees:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Andrew Lees (Australia)
TMO:  George Ayoub (Australia)

Georgia get the better of Fiji

Georgia finished their tour of the Pacific Islands on a high when they claimed a hard-fought 14-3 victory over Fiji in Suva on Friday.

In a tightly contested clash, Georgia did well to keep the home side's dangerous back-line in check thanks to a heroic defensive effort.

The visitors opened the scoring via a Merab Kvirikashvili penalty early in the first half, but Fiji struck back with a three-pointer off the kicking tee from Ben Volavola which meant the teams were deadlocked at 3-3 at half-time.

Georgia gained the upper hand shortly after the restart when Lasha Khmaladze crossed for the game's only try and although Kvirikashvili failed to convert the visitors continued to dominate.

Kvirikashvili added two further penalties with his second one, shortly before full-time, sealing a memorable victory.

The result means Georgia have completed their tour to the Pacific Islands with an unbeaten record after they drew their opening Test with Samoa before beating Tonga last weekend.

The scorers:

For Fiji:
Pen:  Volavola

For Georgia:
Try:  Khmaladze
Pens:  Kvirikashvili 3

Fiji:  15 Benito Masilevu, 14 Savenaca Rawaca, 13 Adriu Delai, 12 Eroni Vasiteri, 11 Patrick Osborne, 10 Ben Volavola, 9 Nemia Kenatale, 8 Eremasi Radrodro, 7 Mosese Voka, 6 Naulia Dawai, 5 Tevita Cavubati, 4 Savenaca Tabakanalagi, 3 Taniela Koroi, 2 Sunia Koto (c), 1 Peni Ravai
Replacements:  16 Viliame Veikoso, 17 Campese Maáfu, 18 Mesake Doge, 19 Nemia Soqeta, 20 Malakai Ravulo, 21 Henry Seniloli, 22 Seremaia Bai, 23 Vereniki Goneva

Georgia:  15 Merab Kvirikashvili, 14 Giorgi Pruidze, 13 David Kacharava, 12 Merab Sharikadze, 11 Sandro Todua, 10 Lasha Khmaladze, 9 Giorgi Begadze, 8 Beka Bitsadze, 7 Giorgi Tkhilaishvili, 6 Shalva Sutiashvili (c), 5 Giorgi Nemsadze, 4 Giorgi Chkhaidze, 3 Irakli Mirtskhulava, 2 Jaba Bregvadze, 1 Karlen Asieshvili
Replacements:  16 Shalva Mamukashvili, 17 Zurab Zhvania, 18 Nikoloz Khatiashvili, 19 Nodar Cheishvili, 20 Lasha Lomidze, 21 Vazha Khutsishvili, 22 Lasha Malaghuradze, 23 Saba Shubitidze

Referee:  JP Doyle (England)

Argentina too good for France

Argentina went 1-0 up in their two-Test series with France after a 30-19 win at the Estadio Monumental José Fierro in Tucumán.

Los Pumas outscored Les Bleus by three tries to one thanks to first-half efforts from Manuel Montero and Joaquín Tuculet and a sensational late score from Guido Petti, while France in response crossed through Rémi Bonfils.

But the second half truly was dictated by the goalkicking prowess of Nicolás Sánchez and Jules Plisson, as both sides were repeatedly punished by the whistle of referee John Lacey.

Sánchez in the end finished with 15 points, including the final conversion of Petti's try which proved to be enough for Argentina to seal the win.

This was very much an experimental French outfit, featuring seven new caps in total and captained by Jules Plisson on just his 12th cap.

Head coach Guy Novès of course was unable to pick players from the four Top 14 semi-finalists – Clermont, Racing 92, Montpellier and Toulon – preventing him from selecting France's regular captain from the Six Nations in Guilhem Guirado.

Still, this was a valuable opportunity for Novès to get a closer look at those players on the fringes of his radar pushing for selection.

They certainly had the brighter start, winning their first four lineouts with Plisson fizzing out passes trying to get his back three onto the ball before slotting the first points with a close-range penalty after ten minutes.

Plisson had a chance to double that tally after Argentina were penalised for collapsing the maul, only to miss, with Argentina instead charging upfield and tying the score through a Sánchez three-pointer.

The hosts were beginning to play with real confidence and a slick attack saw Argentina try and break France's defence down the left and right sides, sucking in defenders before the ball was flung wide to Montero for a score in the corner.  Sánchez landed an impressive conversion from out wide to make the score 10-3.

Plisson straight away had a chance to reply only to miss his second penalty, keeping the gap at seven points, and soon he was left in a hopeless chase trying to catch Tuculet as Argentina raced in for their second try.

Excellent work from Montero saw the juggernaut Argentine wing fend off Jonathan Danty before finding Tuculet on his inside, with the full-back having the speed on the angle to go over by the posts.

Penalties however in Argentina's half were keeping France in the contest, and after kicking to touch they hit back through a rolling maul with Bonfils the scorer.  Plisson converted to make it 17-10.

Despite the French pack also having the edge in the scrum, they couldn't find another score before the first half came to a close as Argentina went in ahead.

Early pressure from France at the start of the second half was rewarded with three more points from Plisson to make it 17-13, and Argentina's indiscipline was starting to become a real issue as their penalty count crossed into double figures.

Consecutive infringements in their own 22 led to referee John Lacey showing a yellow card to lock Javier Ortega Desio.

Plisson obliged with his third penalty, cutting the gap to one, and a fourth soon followed to put France into the lead again at 17-19.

Sánchez had a chance to stem the tide but his penalty effort clattered back off the right upright towards the end of the third quarter with the game finely poised.

Now though France were coming under pressure from the referee, loosehead prop Jefferson Poirot sin-binned as Sánchez stepped up to make it 20-19 to Argentina.

Three more points from Sánchez, landing his fifth kick out of six, gave Argentina more of a cushion, but the fly-half couldn't land his next effort from halfway as France began to tire and as a result gave away soft penalties.

And not long after Argentina found the knockout score, a deep attack remarkably finished off by Petti, who showed an impressive turn of speed to cut through the French defence to go over by the posts.

With the conversion of Sánchez the hosts now comfortably led 30-19 with five minutes remaining and despite a late French attack, the result was already settled.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Tries:  Montero, Tuculet, Petti
Cons:  Sánchez 3
Pens:  Sánchez 3
Yellow Card:  Desio

For France:
Try:  Bonfils
Con:  Plisson
Pens:  Plisson 4
Yellow Card:  Poirot

Argentina:  15 Joaquín Tuculet, 14 Santiago Cordero, 13 Matías Moroni, 12 Juan Martín Hernandez, 11 Manuel Montero, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 9 Martín Landajo, 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Tomás Lezana, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Javier Ortega Desio, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Ramiro Herrera, 2 Agustín Creevy (c), 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro
Replacements:  16 Julián Montoya, 17 Santiago García Botta, 18 Enrique Pieretto, 19 Ignacio Larrague, 20 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 21 Tomás Cubelli, 22 Santiago González Iglesias , 23 Ramiro Moyano

France:  15 Hugo Bonneval, 14 Xavier Mignot, 13 Julien Rey, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Djibril Camara, 10 Jules Plisson (c), 9 Baptiste Serin, 8 Kevin Gourdon, 7 Raphaël Lakafia, 6 Loann Goujon, 5 William Demotte, 4 Julien Ledevedec, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Rémi Bonfils, 1 Jefferson Poirot
Replacements:  16 Clément Maynadier, 17 Uini Atonio, 18 Lucas Pointud, 19 Fabrice Metz, 20 Louis Picamoles, 21 Sébastien Bézy, 22 François Trinh-Duc, 23 Gaël Fickou

Referee:  Johnny Lacey (Ireland)
Assistant Referees:  Stuart Berry (South Africa), Luke Pearce (England)
TMO:  Johan Greeff (South Africa)

Six-try Canada thrash Russia

Canada returned to the victory trail when they claimed a deserved 46-21 win over Russia in Calgary on Saturday.

The Canucks, who lost narrowly against Japan last weekend, outscored their visitors six tries to three with Gordon McRorie leading the way with a 26 point haul via a brace of tries, five conversions and two penalties.

Russia battled throughout and couldn't match the pace and intensity of the home side who went into this clash ranked one place higher than them, in 18th place, on the World Rugby rankings.

Canada made the brighter start and raced into a 19-0 lead inside the opening quarter after McRorie, Taylor Paris and Matt Evans crossed for tries.

They continued to dominate and in the 24th minute Pat Parfrey scored their fourth try after gathering a skip pass from Evans.

To their credit, Russia ddin't surrender and in the 31st minute front-row Innokentiy Zykov barged over for their opening try which Yury Kushnarev converted to cut the lead to 26-7 at half-time.

A McRorie penalty in the 43rd minute made it 29-7 and shortly afterwards he combined with Djustice Sears-Duru before dotting down under the posts to give the Canucks a commanding 36-7 lead.

Midway through the half, Jordan Wilson-Ross sealed victory when he crossed for Canada'a sixth try and although Russia added some respectability to the score with two consolation tries from Evgeny Elgin and Evgeny Matveev, McRorie slotted a late penalty to add the final nail in the visitors' coffin.

The scorers:

For Canada:
Tries:  McRorie 2, Paris, Evans, Parfrey, Wilson-Ross
Cons:  McRorie 5
Pens:  McRorie 2

For Russia:
Tries:  Zykov, Elvin, Matveev
Cons:  Kushnarev 3

Canada:  15 Matt Evans, 14 Dan Moor, 13 Mozac Samson, 12 Nick Blevins, 11 Taylor Paris, 10 Pat Parfrey, 9 Gordon McRorie, 8 Aaron Carpenter, 7 Lucas Rumball, 6 Kyle Baillie, 5 Evan Olmstead, 4 Jamie Cudmore (c), 3 Jake Ilnicki, 2 Ray Barkwill, 1 Djustice Sears-Duru
Replacements:  16 Eric Howard, 17 Tom Dolezel, 18 Matt Tierney, 19 Cam Pierce, 20 Alistair Clark, 21 Jamie Mackenzie, 22 Liam Underwood, 23 Jordan Wilson-Ross

Russia:  15 Artemyev Vasily (c), 14 Uzunov Konstantin, 13 Gerasimov Dmitry, 12 Rudenko Vladimir, 11 Kolomiytsev Evgeny, 10 Kushnarev Yury, 9 Shcherban Alexey, 8 Rudoi Anton, 7 Temnov Andrey, 6 Gresev Viktor, 5 Antonov Denis, 4 Garbuzov Andrei, 3 Zykov Innokentiy, 2 Gasanov Nazir, 1 Bitiev Azamat
Replacements:  16 Matveev Evgeny 17 Volkov Alexey 18 Podrezov Vladimir 19 Elgin Evgeny 20 Butenko Pavel 21 Iagudin Rushan 22 Ianiushkin Sergei 23 Ryabov Anton

Referee:  Shuhei Kubo (Japan)

Italy squeeze past USA

Italy got the job done but were made to graft for their 24-20 victory over the USA in San Jose on Saturday.

The result was a momentus one for the Azzurri as it's their first victory under new head coach Conor O'Shea, who took over the reins from Jacques Brunel at the end of a winless Six Nations campaign.

Italy's hero was their hooker, Ornel Gega, who scored a try either side of half-time which paved the way to victory.  Azzurri fly-half Carlo Canna also impressed with a 14-point haul via three penalties, a conversion and a drop goal.

Despite finishing on the losing side, the Eagles were competitive throughout and they will be happy with their competitive performance as they came into this clash after ending off their Americas Rugby Championship campaign in February with two successive defeats against Brazil and Uruguay.

The USA opened the scoring in the 12th minute via an AJ MaGinty penalty but Canna drew his side level from the kicking tee soon afterwards.  The game came alive in the 21st minute when referee Marius van der Westhuizen awarded a penalty try to the home side.  This after a Canna was adjudged to have thwarted a certain try with a deliberate knock on.

The Azzurri struck back 10 minutes later when Gega scored his first try from close quarters after his side set up a drive from a line-out deep inside the Eagles' 22.

Shortly before half-time, Canna slotted a penalty which meant the visitors held a slender 11-10 lead at the interval.

Italy were fastest out of the blocks and a well-taken drop goal from Canna extended their lead in the 43rd minute before MacGinty struck back with his second penalty to narrow the lead to one point again in the 51st minute.

The home side suffered a setback five minutes later, however, when Cam Dolan received a yellow card for dangerous play at a line-out inside his 22.

From the ensuing penalty, Italy kicked for touch and, in similar fashion to his try in the first half, Gega barged over from a rolling maul at the line-out.

Canna added the extras to give his side a 21-13 lead but the USA didn't surrender and struck back with a Tony Lamborn try in the 70th minute, after MacGinty and Mike Te'o did well in the build-up.

MacGinty slotted the conversion to narrow the gap to a point but Canna secured victory for the visitors with his third penalty shortly before full-time.

The scorers:

For USA:
Tries:  Penalty try, Lamborn
Cons:  MacGinty 2
Pens:  MacGinty 2
Yellow card:  Dolan

For Italy:
Tries:  Gega 2
Con:  Canna
Pens:  Canna 3
Drop goal:  Canna

USA:  15 Will Holder, 14 Taku Ngwenya, 13 Thretton Palamo, 12 Shalom Suniula, 11 Blaine Scully, 10 AJ MacGinty, 9 Nate Augspurger, 8 Cam Dolan, 7 Todd Clever (C), 6 Andrew Durutalo, 5 Greg Peterson, 4 Nate Brakeley, 3 Chris Baumann, 2 James Hilterbrand, 1 Titi Lamositele
Replacements:  16 Joe Taufete'e, 17 Ben Tarr, 18 Angus MacLellan, 19 Stephen Tomasin, 20 Harry Higgins, 21 Tony Lamborn, 22 Chad London, 23 Mike Te'o

Italy:  15 Luke McLean, 14 Leonardo Sarto, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Tommaso Castello, 11 David Odiete, 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Andries Van Schalkwyk, 7 Simone Favaro, 6 Robert Barbieri, 5 Marco Fuser, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Ornel Gega, 1 Andrea Lovotti
Replacements:  16 Oliviero Fabiani, 17 Sami Panico, 18 Pietro Ceccarelli, 19 Valerio Bernabò, 20 Maxime Mbandà, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Tommaso Allan, 23 Giovanbattista Venditti

Referee:  Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)

South Africa rally to defeat Ireland

South Africa hit back against Ireland at Ellis Park despite trailing for the majority of the match, ultimately winning 32-26 to tie the series.

Ireland were in complete control for close to 60 minutes in Johannesburg thanks to tries from Devin Toner and Jamie Heaslip along with the boot of Paddy Jackson, who scored 16 points.

But as the tourists began to tire in the final quarter South Africa finally came good after an abject first half, finishing with four tries from Ruan Combrinck and Warren Whiteley, both replacements at half-time, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Damian de Allende.  From 26-10 down, they scored 22 unanswered points.

Facing an expected backlash from South Africa, Ireland were by far the better side for the majority of the contest, but the Springboks dug deep and eventually came up with the goods to turn the boos from the crowd into cheers.

The result means the series is now tied at 1-1 ahead of the final Test in Port Elizabeth next weekend.

First blood at the scrum went the way of the Springboks, the penalty going against Tadhg Furlong for scrumming on the angle with Elton Jantjies stepping up to knock the ball over from just inside Ireland's half.

Aspects of South Africa's game were immediately brighter than the previous week but it wasn't long until the boos rang out as Willie le Roux lashed another wasteful kick long into Irish hands.

Jackson levelled things up with a penalty after ten minutes and after South Africa strayed offside he doubled his tally, making it 3-6.

Turning down kickable points was a basic mistake from Adriaan Strauss with Ireland's rip defence continually winning turnovers.

Ireland meanwhile oozed control, their rolling maul resulting in another shot for Jackson which he unsurprisingly converted to stretch the lead to six points.

Just like at Newlands the indiscipline from the home side continued to cost them, Jackson striking again to ominously make it 3-12 for Ireland.

Jantjies had a chance to stem the tide, a soft penalty conceded by Andrew Trimble holding Faf de Klerk in at the ruck, but he could only strike the left upright.  Ireland infringed again immediately from the ricochet but this time Jantjies' effort slid down the left, keeping the gap at nine points.

Now South Africa were panicking.  Lwazi Mvovo failed to deal with a high kick forward as Andrew Trimble brilliantly scooped the ball back in-field to Jared Payne.  The Ireland full-back was brought down short of the line but after recycling Devin Toner crashed over, converted by Jackson to make it 3-19.

Jackson's perfect run came to an end with a penalty miss but Ireland had already done some damage, as the Springboks sprinted off at half-time to a cacophony of boos from their own supporters.

Allister Coetzee had to change something and the introduction of Ruan Combrinck and Warren Whiteley was a start, as was some slicker ball and greater intent.

Jackson missed his second penalty narrowly down the right upright but Ireland had ridden out a potentially tricky opening ten minutes at the start of the second half with South Africa looking to find a way back into the contest.

The Springbok scrum though was being decimated, the power of Quinn Roux added to the second row making a difference and allowing Ireland to more or less play the game exactly where they wanted to.

Finally South Africa made a breakthrough, a quick lineout giving Le Roux time to counter-attack before he released Combrinck, who busted through the tackle of Jackson to finish in the corner.

Jantjies, who might have been rocked by those earlier misses, crucially landed the conversion from out wide to make the score 10-19.

Ireland's response was immediate, charging down Faf de Klerk's box kick and winning a deep penalty before opting for the corner instead of going for the posts.

South Africa had no answer for Ireland's maul, Jamie Heaslip touching down for their second try to take the air out of the Ellis Park.  Jackson landed a sublime conversion to make it 10-26.

The other half-time replacement for the Springboks was the next to score, Whiteley's footwork allowing him to score in the corner after Combrinck had thundered through the tackle of Payne on the other side to start off the attack.  This time there was no conversion, Ireland taking a 26-15 lead into the final 15 minutes.

Suddenly the altitude looked a factor as South Africa turned on the power, Pieter-Steph du Toit crashing over by the posts to cut the deficit even further after Jantjies' conversion to make it just 22-26.

A momentous steal from Eben Etzebeth helped the Springboks climb another rung on the comeback ladder and the killer blow came from De Allende, busting through some tired Irish tackles for South Africa's fourth try, and more importantly the one to put them ahead.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Combrinck, Whiteley, Du Toit, De Allende
Cons:  Jantjies 3
Pen:  Jantjies

For Ireland:
Tries:  Toner, Heaslip
Cons:  Jackson 2
Pens:  Jackson 4

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Adriaan Strauss (c), 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements:  16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Julian Redelinghuys, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Warren Whiteley, 21 Rudy Paige, 22 Morne Steyn, 23 Ruan Combrinck

Ireland:  15 Jared Payne, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Stuart Olding, 11 Craig Gilroy, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Rhys Ruddock, 6 Iain Henderson, 5 Quinn Roux, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Rory Best (c), 1 Jack McGrath
Replacements:  16 Richardt Strauss, 17 David Kilcoyne, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Donnacha Ryan, 20 Sean Reidy, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Tiernan O’Halloran

Referee:  Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  Glen Jackson (New Zealand), Ben Whitehouse (Wales)
TMO:  Jim Yuille (Scotland)

Scotland come back to defeat Japan

Scotland came from behind to defeat Japan 26-13 at Toyota Stadium in Tokyo on Saturday.

It was a game of two halves as the first half showed some great running rugby opposed to a more placid second half.  The Japanese looked dominant in the first quarter of the game as they scored a great running try through Shota Horie.  Greg Laidlaw's boot however kept his side in contention.

Scotland dominated the possession as the visitors had a whopping 64 percent, while Japan also missed 17 tackles to Scotland's eight.

Japan's discipline really let them down as they coneded 11 penalties in the first half alone and two yellow cards, coming three minutes apart as Hendrik Tui and Rikiya Matsuda were sent to the bin, reducing the hosts to 13 men and killing the momentum Japan were building in the first half.

The first points came from Scotland captain Laidlaw who knocked over a penalty after Japan were penalised using hands at the breakdown.

Horie then scored a fantastic try after Amanaki Mafi broke the line and somehow got round Duncan Taylor who passed to his the captain to dot it down.

Laidlaw however kept his team in the game but after half an hour Japan were ahead 10-9.

From a Scottish rolling maul, Matsuda in a last gasp attempt tried to stop the play with a deliberate knockdown, which led to Scotland receiving a penalty try and Matsuda being sent to the bin for ten minutes.  Laidlaw made no mistake in converting the try.  Scotland went into the second half leading 16-10 as a result.

Japan were simply unable to defend with only 13 players on the field as Nel then crashed over for the five-pointer from close range.

The final score did not reflect some great running rugby from both teams in the second half, with only Nel's try and Laidlaw's penalty to show for it.

The scorers:

For Scotland:
Tries:  Penalty Try, Nel
Cons:  Laidlaw 2
Pens:  Laidlaw 4

For Japan:
Try:  Horie
Con:  Tamura
Pens:  Tamara 2
Yellow Cards:  Matsuda, Tui

Japan:  15 Kotaro Matsushima, 14 Mifiposeti Paea, 13 Tim Bennetts, 12 Harumichi Tatekawa, 11 Yasutaka Sasakura, 10 Yu Tamura, 9 Kaito Shigeno, 8 Amanaki Mafi, 7 Shokei Kin, 6 Hendrik Tui, 5 Naohiro Kotaki, 4 Hitoshi Ono, 3 Kensuke Hatakeyama, 2 Shota Horie, 1 Keita Inagaki
Replacements:  16 Takeshi Kizu, 17 Masataka Mikami, 18 Shinnosuke Kakinaga, 19 Kotaro Yatabe, 20 Hiroki Yamamoto, 21 Keisuke Uchida, 22 Kosei Ono, 23 Rikiya Matsuda

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Duncan Taylor, 12 Matt Scott, 11 Damien Hoyland, 10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Greig Laidlaw, 8 Ryan Wilson, 7 John Hardie, 6 John Barclay, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Willem Nel, 2 Stuart McInally, 1 Alasdair Dickinson
Replacements:  16 Fraser Brown, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Moray Low, 19 Tim Swinson, 20 David Denton, 21 Henry Pyrgos, 22 Peter Horne, 23 Sean Maitland

Referee:  Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees:  Marius Mitrea (Italy), Brendan Pickerill (New Zealand)
TMO:  Ian Smith (Australia)

England clinch historial series in Australia

England clinched a first-ever series win in Australia with a remarkable defensive effort, scrapping their way to a 23-7 win in Melbourne.

The tourists led 13-7 for almost the entire second half thanks to a try from Dylan Hartley and two Owen Farrell penalties, before a breakaway try finished off by Farrell made sure that England would make history.

After the thrills and spills of Sydney this was more of a traditional Test slugfest, boiling over at times and leaving Dan Cole early on with his shirt ripped off his back.

Tries from the two captains Stephen Moore and Hartley were copycat efforts off rolling mauls and from then on it was all about desire.  Exhausting enough just watching, both sets of players left everything out there.

Australia had chances to take penalties but opted for the lineout instead – brave at first, but the longer they trailled the more foolish turning down those points seemed.

From renowned tacklers likes James Haskell and Maro Itoje to someone whose tackling has been doubted like George Ford, England defence's was remarkable, even when it looked like their legs might give way.

Chris Robshaw celebrated his 50th cap with an outstanding display.  Haskell finished with 21 tackles.  Australia will feel that Farrell's late try was burglary, but the truth is England had more than earned it for their work camped in their own 22.

Farrell, metronomic with his place kicking in Sydney, couldn't draw his first attempt around to keep the scores at 0-0.

The pre-match concerns about the AAMI Park struggling with Test level scrums proved to be more than valid, as the two packs churned up dead turf at an alarming rate following the first couple of engagements.  Frankly, it was an embarrassment.

If the scrums were a letdown then a scrap which blew up following Robshaw's apparent neck roll on Nick Phipps saw both sides steaming into one another, a lengthy TMO referral resulting in Moore being penalised for flying in off his feet.

Patience was the key to England's approach on attack and after a bomb from Ford went unclaimed by the Wallabies waiting underneath, allowing it to bounce, Joseph pounced to secure possession to set up an attack which resulted in England kicking to the corner from a penalty and eventually scoring.

Having set the maul England's second phase gave them the power required to drive forward with Hartley pouncing for the try.  Farrell converted to make it 7-0.

A superior kicking game and the outstanding work of Cole in the scrum was allowing England to control proceedings, Farrell adding a penalty to stretch the lead to ten.

Seemingly in a daze Australia desperately needed something to snap out of their lull, and it came from their own maul.

The loss of Rory Arnold to the blood bin didn't matter as the Wallaby pack set and then powered over with the captain Moore the scorer.  Foley put his Sydney kicking woes behind him by landing the conversion from out wide to make it 7-10.

Samu Kerevi repayed the faith shown in him by Michael Cheika with some punishing runs, threatening to split England open with the first half running down.

Australia though had a final chance to attack after Billy Vunipola kicked the ball out seemingly at the same time as the hooter.

The hosts instead cracked out an attack from the resulting lineout which went four minutes and over 20 phases into overtime, the Wallabies finishing it with absolutely no points whatsoever.  England led by the break, just, as both teams headed down the tunnel still scrapping.

It was the visitors who started the second half with more energy but they had been lucky to not lose a man to a yellow card in the first half after cynical penalties close to their own line.

A TMO referral for a block in the back by Farrell suggested that sin-binning would finally happen, except instead Australia were penalised for obstruction and Farrell obliged to make it 7-13.

Only an excellent turnover from Robshaw on his 50th cap could keep Australia out again but the Wallabies were starting to surge, a fresh front row turning the screw on the scrum to test England's defence again.  Foley's knock-on brought that to an end.

With England tiring the introduction of Christian Lealiifano to add some width to Australia's game looked like a masterstroke as the Wallabies enjoyed close to 70 percent possession in the second half.

Time and again England's defence five metres out from their line remained resolute, desperately kicking clear whenever they could.

Waiting for a vital mistake, England pounced.  Courtney Lawes burst up the middle was followed up by replacement hooker Jamie George, and it was his grubber kick which unlocked the Australia defence, Farrell racing up in support to get to the ball and score the series-winning score.

Another dominant scrum from England had Billy Vunipola roaring in celebration and Farrell lining up another penalty, stretching the score to 23-7.

Sunday will be a rough day for Australia as they try and recover for Sydney.  England meanwhile will savour the moment.  What a turnaround from their Rugby World Cup disaster.

Man of the Match:  A tie between England's two "six and a halves" – Chris Robshaw and James Haskell – whose defensive efforts will be remembered for some time.

Moment of the Match:  Finely poised for so long, Jamie George's support line and kick ahead suddenly have Australia scrambling as Farrell pounced for that winning score.

Villain of the Match:  Nothing overly nasty to report.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Try:  Moore
Con:  Foley

For England:
Tries:  Hartley, Farrell
Cons:  Farrell 2
Pens:  Farrell 3

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Dane Haylett-Petty, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Samu Kerevi, 11 Rob Horne, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Sean McMahon, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Sam Carter, 4 Rory Arnold, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore (c), 1 James Slipper
Replacements:  16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 Toby Smith, 18 Greg Holmes, 19 Dean Mumm, 20 Ben McCalman, 21 Nick Frisby, 22 Christian Leali’ifano, 23 Luke Morahan

England:  15 Mike Brown, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Jack Nowell, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 James Haskell, 6 Chris Robshaw, 5 George Kruis, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Dylan Hartley, 1 Mako Vunipola
Replacements:  16 Jamie George, 17 Matt Mullan, 18 Paul Hill, 19 Joe Launchbury, 20 Courtney Lawes, 21 Jack Clifford, 22 Danny Care, 23 Elliot Daly

Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant Referees:  Nigel Owens (Wales), Mike Fraser (New Zealand)
TMO:  Glenn Newman (New Zealand)

New Zealand power past Wales in Wellington

New Zealand outscored Wales to remain unbeaten in the second of the three-match Test series when they won 36-22 in Wellington on Saturday.

The win not only means that the All Blacks are 2-0 up in the three-match Test series after winning the opening Test in Auckland last week, but this victory also extends the All Blacks winning streak against Wales to 27 matches, the last time New Zealand lost to Wales was in 1953, and wraps up the series.

The home side outscored the visitors by five tries to three with Israel Dagg, Ben Smith, Beauden Barrett, Waisake Naholo and Ardie Savea getting over for the All Blacks, while it was Alun Wyn Jones, Liam Williams and Jonathan Davies who dotted down for Warren Gatland's men.

New Zealand fly-half Aaron Cruden added one conversion and one penalty before being stretchered off, before replacement Barrett slotted three conversions, which along with his try took his personal tally to eleven points.

In similar fashion to last week's loss, the visitors matched the two-time world champions once again in the opening 40 with the score level at 10-10 as the teams headed into the tunnel in Wellington.  However, like last week, it was the power of that All Blacks bench and a step up in class which allowed the home side make amends for a rather lacklustre first half performance.

Wales kept out a wave of resilient attacks from the All Blacks in the opening ten minutes deep inside their own half.  These attacks laid a solid platform for the current world champions to gain the upper hand over their opposition.  However it was the visitors who got the first points of the match when Biggar converted a penalty which handed his side a brief 0-3 lead.

The home side applied consistent pressure inside the Wales' 22 allowing them to run with confidence within striking distance after a well guided floating pass from scrum-half Aaron Smith to Malakai Fekitoa before the midfielder passed to Dagg, who was playing in his 50th Test, which allowed the full-back to dive over and with Cruden's conversion saw the home side command a 7-3 lead.

Wales talisman Jones rounded off a well-worked move to go in for Wales' first try on the stroke of half time, with Jonathan Davies heavily involved during the build-up as his an overhead pass sent the second-row, playing in his 101st Test, over the whitewash.

Biggar converted from a difficult angle as the players headed into the break with the scores locked at 10-10.

It looked like the visitors were set to score as they laid a solid foundation in the opening ten minutes when inspirational captain Sam Warburton turned over the ball deep inside his own half, only for a pass to go astray which Dagg pounced on and set up an ideal attacking position for the home side.

Ben Smith, playing in his 50th Test match, rounded off an impressive attack which replacement fly-half Barrett converted to give the All Blacks a 17-10 lead.

Moments later Barrett and Naholo crashed over for their side's third and fourth try respectively, with the fly-half only succeeding with one of his two conversion attempts, stretching New Zealand's lead to 29-10.

It was in the build up to Barrett's try, which started deep inside the home side's half after Smith sniped around a ruck, that the All Blacks' attacking prowess and slick handling skills become more evident.

Despite the home side dominating the scoreboard they were trailing in terms of the possession (44 percent) and territory (45 percent) stats as well as making 46 passes less than Wales' 187.

This conversion rate continued as replacement loose forward Ardie Savea, in front of his home crowd, finished off yet another well-worked team try and his first for New Zealand.  Barrett added the extras as the match slipped away from Wales with the scoreboard on 29-10.

Two quick tries in succession from the visitors, Liam Williams with a spectacular solo effort and then a score from Jonathan Davies, trimmed the gap somewhat, including a conversion from Biggar to reduce the home side's lead to 36-22 as the final five minutes were approaching.

The visitors' late surge was however not enough to overpower the All Blacks' discipline on defence.  However this was a much improved second half performance by Wales compared to last week.

Man of the Match:  Tough one to call as the All Blacks' team performance once again in impeccable form, however the returning full-back Israel Dagg's effort deserves a mention.  The Crusaders utility back joined the backline during attack and made valuable metres.

Moment of the Match:  An all-round performance from the All Blacks, but the impact of home side's bench cannot go unnoticed with the likes of Beauden Barrett, Ardie Savea and Seta Tamanivalu adding value both on attack and defence which allowed New Zealand to score (26) second half points.

Villian of the Match:  Nothing nasty to report.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Dagg, Smith, Barrett, Naholo, A Savea
Cons:  Cruden, Barrett 3
Pen:  Cruden

For Wales:
Tries:  AW Jones, L Williams, J Davies
Cons:  Biggar 2
Pen:  Biggar

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Waisake Naholo, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Sam Cane, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements:  16 Nathan Harris, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Ardie Savea, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Seta Tamanivalu

Wales:  15 Rhys Patchell, 14 Liam Williams, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Hallam Amos, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (c), 6 Ross Moriarty, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Luke Charteris, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Gethin Jenkins
Replacements:  16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Rob Evans, 18 Tomas Francis, 19 Bradley Davies, 20 Ellis Jenkins, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Scott Williams

Referee:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant Referees:  Jérôme Garcès (France), Wayne Barnes (England)
TMO:  George Ayoub (Australia)

Georgia narrowly edge past Tonga

Georgia claimed an emphatic 23-20 victory over Tonga after they scored a converted try deep into injury time at ANZ National Stadium in Suva on Saturday.

The visitors' outside centre David Kacharava crossed the whitewash on two occasions to help his side secure a rewarding win.

Both sides dotted down twice with tries for Tonga coming via Viliame Iongi and replacement forward Sione Angaelangi, while midfielder Kacharava scored both of Georgia's tries.

Full-back Merab Kvirikashvili's kicking accuracy saw him convert both tries in addition to three penalty conversions which took his account to 13 points.

The visitors fought back in excellent fashion as they overpowered and outmuscled their opponents in some facets of the game.  The Tonga pack, however, were matched by a clinical defensive effort from Georgia, who sealed the win with Kacharava's late score.

The scorers:

For Tonga:
Tries:  Iongi, Angaelangi
Cons:  Takulua, Fosita
Pen:  Takulua

For Georgia:
Tries:  Kacharava 2
Cons:  Kvirikashvili 2
Pens:  Kvirikashvili 3

Tonga:  15 Tevita Halaifonua, 14 Otulea Katoa, 13 Apakuki Ma’afu, 12 Latiume Fosita, 11 Viliame Iongi, 10 Kali Hala, 9 Tane Takulua, 8 Sione Tau, 7 Jack Ram, 6 Nili Latu (C), 5 Dan Faleafa, 4 Uili Kolo’ofa’I, 3 Sione Faletau, 2 Elvis Taione, 1 Eddie Aholelei
Replacements:  16 Sosefo Sakalia, 17 Sione Angaelangi, 18 Sila Puafisi, 19 Opeti Fonua, 20 Steve Mafi, 21 Wayne Ngaluafe, 22 Viliami Hakalo, 23 Daniel Kilioni

Georgia:  15 Merab Kvirikashvili, 14 Tamaz Mchedlidze, 13 David Kacharava, 12 Merab Sharikadze, 11 Sandro Todua, 10 Lasha Khmaladze, 9 Giorgi Begadze, 8 Beka Bitsadze, 7 Giorgi Tkhilaishvili, 6 Shalva Sutiashvili (c), 5 Giorgi Nemsadze, 4 Giorgi Chkhaidze, 3 Anton Peikrishvili, 2 Jaba Bregvadze, 1 Zurab Zhvania
Replacements:  16 Shalva Mamukashvili, 17 Karlen Asieshvili, 18 Mirtskhulashvili, 19 Nodar Cheishvili, 20 Lasha Lomidze, 21 Vazha Khutsishvili, 22 Lasha Malaghuradze, 23 Giorgi Pruidze

Referee:  Nick Briant (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  Pascal Gauzère (France), Faa’vae Neru (Samoa)

England Saxons edge past South Africa 'A'

The boot of pivot Danny Cipriani helped England Saxons secure their second win over South Africa 'A' by beating them 29-26 in George on Friday.

This was the second match between these two sides, Saxons were victorious in the first game when they held out for a 32-24 win in Bloemfontein last week Friday.  This week, however, the South Africa 'A' side certainly put up a much improved overall performance.

Fly-half Danny Cipriani's fine form off the tee continued from last Friday's performance, which saw the Wasps-bound pivot succeed with five from six, while this week his kicking accuracy was the difference in the end for the visitors as he managed to convert three tries and the ultimate match winning penalty from his five attempts, only missing Taylor's first try.

SA 'A' managed to crossed the whitewash on four occasions which included a brace from Sergeal Petersen and a try apiece from Jean-Luc du Preez and Francois Venter while England Saxons four tries came courtesy of a brace from hooker Tommy Taylor along with a try apiece for Matt Kvesic and Christian Wade.

Despite the home side enjoying a healthy 68 percent possession for most of the opening 40, they only managed to score two tries – through du Preez and Petersen's first try – while an unconverted try scored by hooker Tommy Taylor along with what proved to be the match winning penalty conversion from Cipriani handed the home side a slender 12-8 lead as the players headed into the tunnel.

South Africa 'A' head coach Johan Ackermann's ten changes to his side which lost last week has certainly paid off as a fairly young home side were playing like men possessed in the opening 40.

Fly-half Francois Brummer's form from the tee was rather poor, in comparison to his counterpart, as the pivot missed two easy penalty attempts, in the first half, which could have given the home side a bigger cushion than the four point half-time lead and, in hindsight, a possible win in the end.

The England Saxons' clinical defence, in the opening quarter, was too strong for the home side, the likes of Dave Ewers and speedster Christian Wade held out a wave of relentless South Africa 'A' attacks but a brilliant lineout steal from RG Snyman saw Sharks loose forward du Preez power over form close range for the first points of the game, Brummer missed the conversion.

In contrast to last week's opening half, the home side succeeded in starving their opponents of quality possession and territory and looked after the ball which not only frustrated an experienced England Saxons side but they were also doing all of the tackling.  The visitors having to make 58 first half tackles compared to the 14 of the hosts.

In particular for the visitors, prop Alec Hepburn was instrumental throughout as the Exeter Chiefs hardman kept the home side busy not only at the scrum time but also when he carried the ball as the SA 'A' players found it very difficult to stop him on numerous occasions.  It was from a lineout set piece that saw Taylor control the ball at the back of the maul for his first try.

Speedster Petersen showed his skill when he scored his second try, in the opening minutes of the second 40, after beating three England defenders and was once again heavily involved, moments later, in the build-up that saw his Cheetahs colleague Venter go over for the home side's fourth try after the stand-in captain squeezed in between two Saxons to get his hand first on the ball to dot down.

The visitors were somewhat stunned with this quick second half start from the hosts, but in similar fashion to his first try, front-rower Taylor collected the ball at the back of the maul to crash over for his and England's second try and along with Cipriani's conversion from up against the touchline reduced the home side's lead to 26-15.

Minutes later the visitors made it a four-point game, as the match approached the final quarter, following some persistent pressure deep inside South Africa 'A' territory which saw Gloucester back-row Kvesic scoop up a loose ball to dive over and Cipriani added the extras to make the scoreboard read 26-22.

The experience of this England Saxons side paid off after a clinical attacking passage on the try line of the South Africa 'A', a quick pass out to the flying Wade saw him dive over as Cipriani's conversion handed England a 29-26 lead with less than five minutes remaining and they held on to this three-point lead to secure a second consecutive victory over the South Africa 'A' side and claiming the two-match series, 2-0.

The scorers:

For South Africa 'A':
Tries:  Petersen 2, du Preez, Venter
Cons:  Brummer 2, Zas

For England Saxons:
Tries:  Taylor 2, Kvesic, Wade
Cons:  Cipriani 3
Pen:  Cipriani

South Africa 'A':  15 Leolin Zas, 14 Sergeal Petersen, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Lukhanyo Am, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Francois Brummer, 9 Piet van Zyl, 8 Arno Botha, 7 Oupa Mohoje (c), 6 Jean-Luc du Preez, 5 RG Snyman, 4 Jason Jenkins, 3 Marcel van der Merwe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Thomas du Toit
Replacements:  16 Edgar Marutlulle, 17 Coenie Oosthuizen, 18 Lizo Gqoboka, 19 JD Schickerling, 20 Nizaam Carr, 21 Ntando Kebe, 22 Howard Mnisi, 23 Travis Ismaiel

England Saxons:  15 Mike Haley 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Nick Tompkins, 12 Ollie Devoto, 11 Christian Wade, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Don Armand, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Dave Ewers, 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Dave Attwood (c), 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Tommy Taylor, 1 Alec Hepburn
Replacements:  16 George McGuigan, 17 Ross Harrison, 18 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 19 Mitch Lees, 20 Sam Jones, 21 Micky Young, 22 Sam Hill, 23 Sam James

Referee:  Jaco van Heerden (South Africa)
Assistant Referees:  Quinton Immelman (South Africa), Egon Seconds (South Africa)
TMO:  Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Chiefs put Wales to the sword

Six tries from the Chiefs saw them outclass Wales by 40-7 in a one-off friendly match in Hamilton on Tuesday.

The last time Wales loss to a New Zealand club side was back in 1988 against Waikato in a match which the current Wales head coach Warren Gatland scored.

This time around Gatland had less to celebrate.

The home side outscored Wales by six tries to one, with Brad Weber, Tom Sanders, Dominic Bird, James Lowe, Toni Pulu and Sam McNicol all scoring for the two-time Super Rugby champions while Kristian Dacey notched up Wales' only try.

Veteran playmaker Stephen Donald's fine form from the tee saw him add eight points through four conversions.

The loss comes just days after Wales' Test squad lost to the All Blacks in Auckland in the first of the three-match Test series.

A mismatch in the midfield saw Donald assist with a brilliant score after the skipper dummied Josh Turnbull before offloading to his half-back partner, Brad Weber, to run in for the first try of the match, Donald added the extras to give the visitors an early lead.

Despite the possession and territory being fairly poised, the home side's strike rate was better in the opening 40 and after a few exciting line breaks the Chiefs' confidence in their attacking abilities grew.

The Chiefs kept ball in hand and applied consistent pressure which handed them ideal opportunities to starve Wales from quality possession, fly-half Donald's visionary skills freeing up the dangerous Chiefs backs which saw them score three unanswered tries in the first half, Tom Sanders and Dom Bird adding to Weber's earlier effort.

The visitors came out firing after the break but they had to wait until the 55th minute to get on the scoreboard.

A well-worked lineout maul, metres from the Chiefs' try line, allowed Wales to overpower the home side as replacement hooker Kristian Dacey crashed over and Priestland's conversion made the score 21-7.

A massive 80 phases in total compared to that of the hosts' six in the second half testifies that Gatland's men gave it their all as the match was slipping away from them.

This effort from the visitors was however short-lived, as the Chiefs' patience on defence paid off after a quick lineout throw led to replacement forward Taleni Seu offloading to James Lowe for the home side's fourth try, which Donald converted from a difficult angle to make the score 28-7.

Minutes later it was the fastest man in New Zealand Rugby, according to Chiefs head coach Dave Rennie, Toni Pulu, who took the game well out of the reach of Wales after a clever grubber kick from Seu allowed Pulu to collect and crash over for his side's fifth try.

There was still time however for another score as Sam McNicol went over for the home side's sixth and final try, with the conversion taking the score to 40-7 and capping off a memorable win for the Chiefs, and a poor night for Wales.

The scorers:

For Chiefs:
Tries:  Weber, Sanders, Bird, Lowe, Pulu, McNicol
Cons:  Donald 4, Lowe

For Wales:
Try:  Dacey
Con:  Priestland

Chiefs:  15 James Lowe, 14 Toni Pulu, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Andrew Horrell, 11 Sam Vaka, 10 Stephen Donald (c), 9 Brad Weber, 8 Tom Sanders, 7 Lachlan Boshier, 6 Mitchell Brown, 5 Michael Allardice, 4 Dominic Bird, 3 Hiroshi Yamashita, 2 Rhys Marshall, 1 Mitchell Graham
Replacements:  16 Hika Elliot, 17 Siegfried Fisi’ihoi, 18 Atu Moli, 19 Taleni Seu, 20 Tevita Koloamatangi, 21 Kayne Hammington, 22 Sam McNicol, 23 Latu Vaeno

Wales:  15 Matthew Morgan, 14 Eli Walker, 13 Tyler Morgan, 12 Scott Williams, 11 Tom James, 10 Rhys Priestland, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 James King, 7 Ellis Jenkins, 6 Josh Turnbull, 5 Luke Charteris (c), 4 Jake Ball, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Scott Baldwin, 1 Rob Evans
Replacements:  16 Kristian Dacey, 17 Aaron Jarvis, 18 Rhodri Jones, 19 Bradley Davies, 20 Taulupe Faletau, 21 Aled Davies, 22 Gareth Anscombe, 23 Rhys Patchell

Venue:  FMG Stadium, Hamilton

Japan edge out Canada

Japan recorded a 26-22 victory over Canada at BC Place in Vancouver on Saturday to kick off their June international account with a triumph.

Despite being 0-5 adrift when Taylor Paris scored for Canada, Japan bounced back with a penalty from fly-half Yu Tamura that made it 3-5.

Canada added the second try of the match via hooker Ray Barkwill that scrum-half Gordon McRorie converted to push his side 3-12 ahead.

Just before the break Japan responded through hooker Takeshi Kizu to close the gap to 10-12 before Tamura kicked a penalty for the lead.

At 13-12 Japan were just ahead at the turnaround but it was Canada who struck first after the break when Jamie Cudmore made it 13-17.

But when Aaron Carpenter was yellow carded, Tamura made Canada pay with three points before the number eight returned to the action.

Japan crucially were the next scorer on 70 minutes through Kotaro Matsushima, converted by Tamura, which pushed them 23-17 ahead.

So when Tamura made it 26-17 Canada needed two scores and could only muster one via Carpenter as their June opener ended in defeat.

The scorers:

For Canada:
Tries:  Paris, Barkwill, Cudmore, Carpenter
Con:  McRorie

For Japan:
Tries:  Kizu, Matsushima
Con:  Tamura 2
Pen:  Tamura 4

Canada:  15 Matt Evans, 14 Dan Moor, 13 Brock Staller, 12 Nick Blevins, 11 Taylor Paris, 10 Pat Parfrey, 9 Gordon McRorie, 8 Aaron Carpenter, 7 Lucas Rumball, 6 Kyle Baillie, 5 Evan Olmstead, 4 Jamie Cudmore (c), 3 Jake Ilnicki, 2 Ray Barkwill, 1 Djustice Sears-Duru
Replacements:  16 Eric Howard, 17 Tom Dolezel, 18 Matt Tierney, 19 Paul Ciulini, 20 Matt Heaton, 21 Alistair Clark, 22 Jamie Mackenzie, 23 Mozac Samson

Japan:  15 Kotaro Matsushima, 14 Mifiposeti Paea, 13 Tim Bennetts, 12 Harumichi Tatekawa, 11 Yasutaka Sasakura, 10 Yu Tamura, 9 Fumiaki Tanaka, 8 Kyosuke Horie, 7 Taiyo Ando, 6 Yoshiya Hosoda, 5 Naohiro Kotaki, 4 Kazuhiko Usami, 3 Kensuke Hatakeyama, 2 Takeshi Kizu, 1 Keita Inagaki
Replacements:  16 Futoshi Mori, 17 Masataka Mikami, 18 Shinnosuke Kakinaga, 19 Kotaro Yatabe, 20 Shokei Kin, 21 Kaito Shigeno, 22 Kosei Ono, 23 Rikiya Matsuda

Referee:  Federico Anselmi (Argentina)

Japan edge out Canada

Japan recorded a 26-22 victory over Canada at BC Place in Vancouver on Saturday to kick off their June international account with a triumph.

Despite being 0-5 adrift when Taylor Paris scored for Canada, Japan bounced back with a penalty from fly-half Yu Tamura that made it 3-5.

Canada added the second try of the match via hooker Ray Barkwill that scrum-half Gordon McRorie converted to push his side 3-12 ahead.

Just before the break Japan responded through hooker Takeshi Kizu to close the gap to 10-12 before Tamura kicked a penalty for the lead.

At 13-12 Japan were just ahead at the turnaround but it was Canada who struck first after the break when Jamie Cudmore made it 13-17.

But when Aaron Carpenter was yellow carded, Tamura made Canada pay with three points before the number eight returned to the action.

Japan crucially were the next scorer on 70 minutes through Kotaro Matsushima, converted by Tamura, which pushed them 23-17 ahead.

So when Tamura made it 26-17 Canada needed two scores and could only muster one via Carpenter as their June opener ended in defeat.

The scorers:

For Canada:
Tries:  Paris, Barkwill, Cudmore, Carpenter
Con:  McRorie

For Japan:
Tries:  Kizu, Matsushima
Con:  Tamura 2
Pen:  Tamura 4

Canada:  15 Matt Evans, 14 Dan Moor, 13 Brock Staller, 12 Nick Blevins, 11 Taylor Paris, 10 Pat Parfrey, 9 Gordon McRorie, 8 Aaron Carpenter, 7 Lucas Rumball, 6 Kyle Baillie, 5 Evan Olmstead, 4 Jamie Cudmore (c), 3 Jake Ilnicki, 2 Ray Barkwill, 1 Djustice Sears-Duru
Replacements:  16 Eric Howard, 17 Tom Dolezel, 18 Matt Tierney, 19 Paul Ciulini, 20 Matt Heaton, 21 Alistair Clark, 22 Jamie Mackenzie, 23 Mozac Samson

Japan:  15 Kotaro Matsushima, 14 Mifiposeti Paea, 13 Tim Bennetts, 12 Harumichi Tatekawa, 11 Yasutaka Sasakura, 10 Yu Tamura, 9 Fumiaki Tanaka, 8 Kyosuke Horie, 7 Taiyo Ando, 6 Yoshiya Hosoda, 5 Naohiro Kotaki, 4 Kazuhiko Usami, 3 Kensuke Hatakeyama, 2 Takeshi Kizu, 1 Keita Inagaki
Replacements:  16 Futoshi Mori, 17 Masataka Mikami, 18 Shinnosuke Kakinaga, 19 Kotaro Yatabe, 20 Shokei Kin, 21 Kaito Shigeno, 22 Kosei Ono, 23 Rikiya Matsuda

Referee:  Federico Anselmi (Argentina)

Argentina get the better of Italy

Argentina got their international campaign off to a fine start when they claimed a deserved 30-24 win over Italy in Santa Fé on Saturday.

In an evenly contested clash, momentum between the two sides ebbed and flowed for large periods, especially in the first half, and both sides scored two tries apiece.

Argentina's had the better of the exchanges during the second half, however, with Nicolas Sanchez, who finished with a 20-point haul via six penalties and a conversion, leading the way with a commanding allround performance.

Italy, who were playing their first match under new coach Conor O'Shea, were competitive throughout but conceded too many penalties and when it was within goalkicking range, Sanchez made them pay.

Both sides gave the ball plenty of air during the opening exchanges but had little to show for their enterprising efforts.  Nicolas Sanchez opened the scoring from the kicking tee in the 11th minute but Carlo Canna drew the visitors level with a penalty of his own three minutes later.

The home side were in the ascendancy, however, and Sanchez soon made it 6-3 when he slotted his second penalty in the 18th minute.  Argentina's dominance continued and five minutes later Manuel Montero gathered a kick from Sanchez before crossing for the opening try.

Sanchez failed with his conversion attempt and the hosts were then dealt a blow when Guido Petti was sent to the sin bin for a dangerous tackle on Andries van Schalkwyk on the half-hour mark.

Canna narrowed the gap to five points with his second penalty before Sanchez restored parity when he added his third penalty shortly afterwards.

Italy soon made their numerical advantage count and struck back via a Leonardo Sarto try, five minutes later.  The five-pointer was set-up by a mazy run from Simone Favaro who bamboozled the los Pumas defence with a superb turn of speed.

Favaro was eventually brought to ground inside the home side's 22 but Michele Campagnaro did well to offload to Sarto, who dived over despite having a defender on his back.

Sanchez and Canna both added a penalty apiece which meant los Pumas held a slender 17-16 lead at half-time.  Canna gave the visitors the lead for the first time when he landed his fourth penalty three minutes into the second half and for the next 15 minutes the Azzurri did well to keep the home side at bay before Sanchez put his side back in the lead with another three pointer from the tee.

Sanchez then made a superb line break before drawing in a couple of defenders close to Italy's 22 and offloaded to Juan Martin Hernandez, who got a pass out to Matías Moroni who dived over in the left-hand corner.

Sanchez added the extras and slotted his sixth penalty shortly afterwards to give his team a 30-19 lead.  To their credit Italy didn't surrender and five minutes later, Favaro crossed for their second try from a rolling maul close to the homeside's try-line.

Although that score meant they still had a chance to snatch victory, Argentina had the better of the closing exchanges and did well to secure the result.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Tries:  Montero, Moroni
Con:  Sanchez
Pens:  Sanchez 6
Yellow Card:  Petti

For Italy:
Tries:  Sarto, Favaro
Con:  Canna
Pens:  Canna 4

Argentina:  15 Joaquin Tuculet, 14 Santiago Cordero, 13 Matías Moroni, 12 Juan Martin Hernandez, 11 Manuel Montero, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Martin Landajo, 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Thomas Lezana, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Matias Alemanno, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Nahuel Chaparro Tetaz, 2 Agustín Creevy (c), 1 Santiago García Botta
Replacements:  16 Julian Montoya, 17 Felipe Arregui, 18 Enrique Pieretto, 19 Javier Ortega Desio, 20 Juan Manuel Leguizamón, 21 Tomás Cubelli, 22 Jeronimo de la Fuente, 23 Ramiro Moyano

Italy:  15 Luke McLean, 14 Leonardo Sarto, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Tommaso Boni, 11 David Odiete, 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Edoardo Gori, 8 Andries van Schalkwyk, 7 Simone Favaro, 6 Abraham Steyn, 5 Marco Fuser, 4 Quintin Geldenhuys, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Ornel Gega, 1 Andrea Lovotti
Replacements:  16 Oliviero Fabiani, 17 Sami Panico, 18 Pietro Ceccarelli, 19 Valerio Bernabo’, 20 Robert Barbieri, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Tommaso Allan, 23 Giovanbattista Venditti

Referee:  Stuart Berry (South Africa)
Assistant Referees:  Luke Pearce (England), Joaquín Montes (Uruguay)

14-man Ireland secure first-ever win in SA

A heroic defensive effort propelled Ireland to a first-ever win in South Africa by 26-20, despite a red card in the first half to CJ Stander.

Stander's sending off, midway through the opening half, was the big talking point of this match.  It came after he knocked Springbok fly-half Pat Lambie out cold while attempting to charge down a chip kick from the pivot.

Referee Mathieu Raynal, after consulting the television match official, Jim Yuille, gave the South African-born back-row his marching orders, although television replays showed that it was a harsh decision with a yellow card probably the right call.

But despite playing with 14 men for most of the match, and even with 13 at one stage, when Robbie Henshaw was yellow-carded late in the same half, Ireland kept their structure, dominated for large periods and held on for a deserved victory.

The Boks looked disjointed throughout and committed a plethora of handling errors and conceded several turnovers, while their decision making also left a lot to be desired.

Ireland's fly-half Paddy Jackson deserves plenty of credit for his game-management in this victory.  He was under pressure going into this Test – after getting a place in the starting line-up when first-choice pivot Johnny Sexton withdrew shortly before the tour due to injury – and despite having one of his passes intercepted, from which the Boks scored a try, finished with a 16-point haul via three penalties, two conversions and a drop goal.

The visitors made the brighter start and were on the attack from the kick off when JP Pietersen was penalised for taking Devin Toner out in the air on the edge of the visitors' 22.

Lambie had a chance to open the scoring as early as the fifth minute, however, after Ireland were penalised for an indiscretion at a ruck, but his shot at goal was wide of the target.

Ireland held the upper hand for the next five minutes and although they kept play mostly amongst the forwards they were eventually rewarded when striking out wide with their backs, with Jared Payne crossing for the opening try in the 11th minute when he gathered a Luke Marshall grubber kick behind the Boks' try line.

Jackson added the extras and to add insult to injury for the hosts, Lood de Jager was yellow carded for pulling down a maul in the build-up, after Raynal had penalised the Boks repeatedly for similar offences earlier on.

The Boks eventually opened their account via a Lambie penalty in the 15th minute but Jackson restored parity four minutes later with a three-pointer of his own, from the kicking tee.

Ireland were in the ascendancy, but Stander's red card brought the home side back into the match.  Elton Jantjies came on to replace Lambie, who left the field on a stretcher, and shortly after the Lions fly-half's introduction he slotted his side's second penalty.

The home side were soon camped inside their opponents' half for large periods, but Ireland did well to keep them at bay although it was only a matter of time before the Boks would make their numerical advantage count.

And Jantjies would play a leading role in doing just that, setting up Lwazi Mvovo for the Boks' opening try in the 31st minute with a delightful inside pass to the flyer, who showed a tremendous burst of speed which took him clear of the cover defence before diving over.

Ireland suffered a further setback when they were reduced to 13 men after Henshaw was sent to the sin bin for a high tackle on Jantjies in the build-up.

But despite playing with two extra players, South Africa failed to capitalise and it was Ireland who scored the only points during this period with Jackson landing a drop goal in the 36th minute which meant the sides were deadlocked at 13-13 at half-time.

The visitors continued to dominate and from the restart they were soon inside the Boks' 22.  And after setting up a couple of phases with their forwards, Conor Murray spotted a gap, before burrowing his way over the try-line.

Jackson's conversion meant the visitors were now leading 20-13 and although the next 20 minutes turned into a slugfest, with no points being scored, the situation suited the visitors.

Jackson gave his side a ten-point lead in the 67th minute when he slotted another penalty but from the restart Pieter-Steph du Toit intercepted a pass from the Irish pivot before scoring under the posts.

Jantjies slotted the conversion and with the score at 20-23, the Boks were back in the match, although time was running out on the clock.  They upped the ante on attack but continued to make mistakes and in the 74th minute Jackson added another penalty after Frans Malherbe entered a ruck from the side.

The closing minutes was a frantic affair as the hosts launched several attacks and just before full-time JP Pietersen had a chance to score what could potentially have been the winning try, but he was bundled into touch by three defenders, as Ireland made history.

Man of the Match:  Ireland's entire team deserve credit for this result but the performance of captain Rory Best at the coalface of their forward effort should not be underestimated.  The hooker led from the front and his decison-making, especially after Stander's sending off, helped pave the way to a memorable and historical Irish victory.

Moment of the Match:  One can't look past Stander's red card in the 23rd minute.  But although it meant the visitors were reduced to 14 men for most of the match it had the reverse effect on his team-mates who played like men possessed for the rest of the match to secure a memorable result.

Villain of the Match:  When scratching the surface, Robbie Henshaw deserves this dubious honour for his ill-timed yellow card, especially considering the fact that his side were already down to 14 men.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Mvovo, Du Toit
Cons:  Jantjies 2
Pens:  Lambie, Jantjies
Yellow Card:  De Jager

For Ireland:
Tries:  Payne, Murray
Cons:  Jackson 2
Pens:  Jackson 3
Drop Goal:  Jackson
Yellow Card:  Henshaw
Red Card:  Stander

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Lionel Mapoe, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Pat Lambie, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Siya Kolisi, 6 Francois Louw, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Adriaan Strauss (c), 1 Beast Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Julian Redelinghuys, 19 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 20 Warren Whiteley, 21 Rudy Paige, 22 Elton Jantjies, 23 Jesse Kriel.

Ireland:  15 Jared Payne, 14 Andrew Trimble, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Luke Marshall, 11 Keith Earls, 10 Paddy Jackson, 9 Conor Murray, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Jordi Murphy, 6 CJ Stander, 5 Devin Toner, 4 Iain Henderson, 3 Mike Ross, Rory Best (c), 1 Jack McGrath.
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Finlay Bealham, 18 Tadgh Furlong, 19 Ultan Dillane, 20 Rhys Ruddock, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Ian Madigan, 23 Craig Gilroy.

Referee:  Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant Referees:  Angus Gardner (Australia), Matthew Carley (England)

Samoa and Georgia held to draw

Samoa and Georgia couldn't be separated after 80 minutes at Apia Park on Saturday, with both sides forced to settle for a 19-19 draw.

Three penalties apiece from Samoan fly-half Patrick Fa'apale and Georgia full-back Merab Kviriashvili meant that both sides were tied up at 9-9 by half-time.

Samoa though were the first side to break the try line, veteran winger and Samoa captain David Lemi crashing over and Fa'apale converting to make it 16-9.

Credit to Georgia however for responding, the power of their rolling maul allowing them to hit back with their first try as flanker Giorgi Tkhilaishvili was credited with the score, Kvirikashvili converting to level the scores.

Fa'apale and Kvirikashvili traded further kicks to make it 19-19 but a late drop goal chance Lasha Khmaladze went wide, leaving the two sides level on points.

The scorers:

For Samoa:
Try:  Lemi
Con:  Fa'apale
Pens:  Fa'apale 4

For Georgia:
Try:  Tkhilaishvili
Con:  Kvirikashvili
Pens:  Kvirikashvili 4

Samoa:  15 Albert Nikoro, 14 Faatoina Autagavaia, 13 Reynold Lee Lo, 12 Faialaga Afamasaga, 11 David Lemi (c), 10 Patrick Fa'apale, 9 Dwayne Polataivao, 8 Jeff Lepa, 7 TJ Ioane, 6 Alafoti Faosiliva, 5 Teofilo Paulo, 4 Faatiga Lemalu, 3 James Johnston, 2 Motu Matuu, 1 Sam Aiono
Replacements:  16 Seilala Lam, 17 Nuuuli Lene, 18 Jake Grey, 19 Talaga Alofipo, 20 Oneone Faafou, 21 Danny Tusitala, 22 D'Angelo Leuila, 23 Malu Falaniko

Georgia:  15 Merab Kviriashvili, 14 Giorgi Pruidze, 13 David Kacharava, 12 Merab Sharikadze, 11 Sandro Todua, 10 Lasha Khmaladze, 9 Giorgi Begadze, 8 Lasha Lomidze, 7 Giorgi Tkhilaishvili, 6 Shalva Sutiashvili (c), 5 Giorgi Nemsadze, 4 Giorgi Chkhaidze, 3 Irakli Mirtskhulava, 2 Jaba Bregvadze, 1 Karlen Asieshvili
Replacements:  16 Shalva Mamukashvili, 17 Zurab Zhvania, 18 Anton Peikrishvili, 19 Nodar Cheishvili, 20 Saba Shubitidze, 21 Vazha Khutsishvili, 22 Lasha Malaghuradze, 23 Tamaz Mchedlidze

Referee:  Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  Andrew Lees (Australia), James Leckie (Australia)

Brave Wales downed by New Zealand

New Zealand recovered from being 15-18 down at the break to win 39-21 in their opening Test against Wales in Auckland on Saturday.

It was almost a shock result in the first international of this series as the All Blacks continued their run of struggling in their June opener.

But in the end they clicked in spells in the second half with tries from Waisake Naholo, Kieran Read and Nathan Harris adding to first-half efforts from Julian Savea and Naholo again.  Aaron Cruden kicked 14 points on the night.

In reply Wales' scorers were Taulupe Faletau and Rhys Webb to go with Dan Biggar's 11 points in an improved effort after losing to England.

It was an open and entertaining first half in Auckland with line breaks aplenty leading to the likes of Liam Williams and Naholo starring.

New Zealand almost took the lead inside two minutes when centurion Alun Wyn Jones was penalised for hands in a ruck, but Cruden struck the upright from distance before Wales held off the ensuing attack.  Cruden though made no mistake three minutes later to put his side in front.

Williams then came to the party as he gave Savea the slip down the right wing before recycled ball to the left saw the basics done well as slick passing shifted the ball out to Faletau, who dived over.  Biggar was wide with the conversion but Welsh fans were smiling at 3-5.

Cue a response from New Zealand, and how.  Wales wing Hallam Amos gave himself some on-the-job training when he showed Naholo too much room down the right wing and the All Black duly took it, racing to the 22.  Cruden would then smartly kick cross-field to Savea who made it 8-5.

They weren't done as then full-back Ben Smith showed his class, claiming Biggar's high kick on his 22 before setting off to the Welsh ten-metre line and finding Naholo on his right.  The Highlanders combination worked and with Naholo racing over, suddenly New Zealand were 15-5 up.

Credit to Wales though as after Biggar had made it 15-8 and then 15-11 with penalties, it was Williams again causing havoc in New Zealand's defence.  He split through, this time on halfway, and had Webb on his shoulder for the try as they went into the break in front.  Remarkably this was the first time a nation had led against the All Blacks at half-time at Eden Park since the Wallabies way back in 2009.

The big question was whether the Welsh could maintain their lead in the second-half and Steve Hansen was clearly not happy with his side, taking off Savea for Beauden Barrett in the 42nd minute.  That meant Ben Smith moved to the right wing as Barrett slotted in at full-back.

It didn't take long for New Zealand to move level as Cruden kicked a penalty on 48 minutes, but Wales were back ahead soon after when Webb was the recipient of a late hit.  Biggar made no mistake this time after an earlier miss as confidence continued to grow in the Welsh team.

Defence not attack was always going to be critical under the expected All Black onslaught and with front row pair Gethin Jenkins and Ken Owens leading by example, Wales managed to keep New Zealand at bay on the hour mark.  One wondered, however, how long the wall would stand.

Not that long was the answer, as on 63 minutes the hosts turned down a kickable penalty with scrum-half Aaron Smith inviting wing Naholo to barge his way over.  Cruden added the simple extras as New Zealand hit the front at 25-21.  Wales would now need to find a moment of magic.

But it was the All Blacks who put the seal on the come-from-behind victory as replacement lock Patrick Tuipulotu set up Read under the posts on 68 minutes to make it 32-21 with Cruden's successful conversion.

That crucially put Wales two scores behind and it could have been worse but for Wayne Barnes adjudging Cruden's pass to TJ Perenara to be forward.  The television match official argued otherwise, as did the vast majority, but Barnes decided to go with himself.

Wales, still fighting, could have set up a grandstand finish but it was their turn to be denied as Faletau was in front of the kicker before he raced over, with New Zealand then going up the other end to seal the result when Harris finished off wide out ahead of Cruden coolly slotting the extras.

Man of the match:  A few men on both sides put their hand up for this award as Liam Williams and Taulupe Faletau stood out for Wales while Waisake Naholo and Kieran Read were impressive in black.  But we go for Ben Smith, who again showed his importance to this New Zealand side.

Moment of the match:  When the Welsh scored through Taulupe Faletau in the tenth minute, it set the tone for a brilliant game to start this June series.

Villain of the match:  We don't like to pick up on an error in such an entertaining game but Wayne Barnes calling Aaron Cruden's pass to TJ Perenara forward was one for the archives.  Despite several replays and advice from elsewhere Barnes stood by his decision.  An amazing call.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Savea, Naholo 2, Read, Harris
Cons:  Cruden 4
Pens:  Cruden 2

For Wales:
Tries:  Faletau, Webb
Con:  Biggar
Pens:  Biggar 3

New Zealand:  15 Ben Smith, 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Malakai Fekitoa, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Sam Cane, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Brodie Retallick, 4 Luke Romano, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements:  16 Nathan Harris, 17 Wyatt Crockett, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Ardie Savea, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Seta Tamanivalu

Wales:  15 Liam Williams, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Jamie Roberts, 11 Hallam Amos, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Sam Warburton (c), 6 Ross Moriarty, 5 Alun Wyn Jones, 4 Bradley Davies, 3 Samson Lee, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Gethin Jenkins
Replacements:  16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Rob Evans, 18 Tomas Francis, 19 Jake Ball, 20 Ellis Jenkins, 21 Gareth Davies, 22 Gareth Anscombe, 23 Scott Williams

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant Referees:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Will Houston (Australia)

England Saxons hold off South Africa 'A'

England Saxons outscored South Africa 'A' four tries to three to hang on for a 32-24 win in Bloemfontein on Friday.

The Saxons looked primed to give South Africa 'A' a thrashing based off their clinical first half, leading 22-3 at the break.

Nick Tompkins, Mike Haley, Matt Kvesic and Alec Hepburn were all excellent for the visitors as they punished the South Africans on turnover ball.  Their handling and offloading also deserves plenty of credit once they settled into the game.

By contrast South Africa 'A' felt completely disjointed.  Time and again the carelessly tried to attack from the wrong areas of the pitch and when the ball consequently went loose, they were punished.

A better second half from the hosts turned a one-sided affair into an actual contest, tries from Francois Brummer, Piet Van Zyl and Sikhumbuzo Notshe trimming England's lead to just a point with the clock running out.

Ollie Devoto's try though sealed the win for England in the final few minutes.  The two sides will meet again in George next Friday.

Several scrums within the opening ten minutes highlighted the number of handling errors coughed up by both sides as they tried to build some familiarity between combinations.

England's forwards wasted no time in getting acquainted with Garth April, the rising star with the Sharks taking some heavy tackles early on.  However he stepped up to land a long-range penalty attempt off the kicking tee to put the hosts ahead 3-0.

Half breaks for Nic Groom and Nizaam Carr for South Africa 'A' went to waste but they remained well in control of possession and territory as England's penalty and tackle counts continued to rise.

The first try though went to the Saxons.  Tompkins and Danny Cipriani tore up the the ground after an interception from the outside centre, made by Semesa Rokoduguni's pressure in defence, and recycling from the ruck Dan Robson's flat pass to Alex Lewington gave England the space for prop Hepburn to finish.  Cipriani converted to make it 7-3.

Turning down a kickable penalty after the Saxons went offside, Scarra Ntubeni then overthrew at the lineout to throw away another big chance.

England were less frivolous, Francois Venter tackling a man without the ball for Cipriani to knock over a penalty and make the score 10-3.

Robson came so close to following those points up with a wonder try, created by Cipriani's flat pass to Rokoduguni to make the break, but in the process of chasing his own kick ahead he appeared to pull up.

There was no catching Rokoduguni a few minutes later though, released down the outside after England attacked on turnover ball, won by Kvesic, before his sublime chip and chase left Leolin Zas trailing behind.

Just as South Africa 'A' thought they were putting something together through Travis Ismaiel they were ripped open again, Robson showing remarkable patience and footwork to dance rings around Venter for England's third try.  Cipriani couldn't convert, but England held a commanding lead at 22-3.

Robson, already struggling, then limped off to be replaced by Micky Young, but England barely seemed to lose a step.  With their back row dominating the breakdown and South Africa 'A' showing little in attack, the visitors comfortably led at half-time.

Seeking a spark Johan Ackermann hauled off April and the entire SA 'A' front row, minutes before the hosts grabbed their first try after returning to the corner before Brummer crashed over, which he converted to make it 10-22.

Cipriani responded with a second penalty to stretch the gap on the scoreboard to 15 points.

Twice the hosts turned down kickable penalties and twice they came up with nothing, allowing England's tiring pack to move away from their own 22 in the process.

South Africa 'A', steadily improving in the second half, were soon over again through replacement scrum-half Van Zyl as he sniped around the edge of the ruck, Brummer's extra two points making it then 17-25.

However getting on top of replacement loosehead Ross Harrison the South African scrum began to play more of a role.

The hosts also had far more steam, finishing off a brilliant counter-attack from well within their own 22 through the excellent Notshe, who started it all with a chip and chase deep in his half and had the pace to finish it off after the final pass from Carr.

Brummer's conversion meant England's 19-point advantage from half-time had been trimmed to just one, and based off the momentum of the second half the game looked like the South Africans' for the taking.

England though came through, Cipriani's low kick and the flick on from Christian Wade setting up an offload off the ground for Devoto to score their fourth try, and the winner, which Cipriani converted to make it 32-24.

South Africa 'A' did their best to fashion a consolation try, but England once more turned it over to secure a deserved win.

The scorers:

For South Africa ‘A’:
Tries:  Brummer, Van Zyl, Notshe
Cons:  Brummer 3
Pen:  April

For England Saxons:
Tries:  Hepburn, Rokoduguni, Robson, Devoto
Cons:  Cipriani 3
Pens:  Cipriani 2

South Africa ‘A’:  15 Leolin Zas, 14 Travis Ismaiel, 13 Francois Venter, 12 Howard Mnisi, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Garth April, 9 Nic Groom, 8 Nizaam Carr, 7 Oupa Mohoje (c), 6 Sikhumbuzo Notshe, 5 Stephan Lewies, 4 JD Schickerling, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Scarra Ntubeni, 1 Thomas du Toit
Replacements:  16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Coenie Oosthuizen, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Jean-Luc du Preez, 21 Piet van Zyl, 22 Francois Brummer, 23 Lukhanyo Am

England Saxons:  15 Mike Haley, 14 Semesa Rokoduguni, 13 Nick Tompkins, 12 Ollie Devoto, 11 Alex Lewington, 10 Danny Cipriani, 9 Dan Robson, 8 Sam Jones, 7 Matt Kvesic, 6 Don Armand, 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Dave Attwood (c), 3 Kieran Brookes, 2 Tommy Taylor, 1 Alec Hepburn
Replacements:  16 George McGuigan, 17 Ross Harrison, 18 Jake Cooper-Woolley, 19 Mitch Lees, 20 Dave Ewers, 21 Micky Young, 22 Sam James, 23 Christian Wade

Referee:  Rasta Rasivhenge (South Africa)
Assistant Referees:  Lourens van der Merwe (South Africa), Jaco Kotze (South Africa)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)