France run out comfortable winners over Italy

France rounded off their Rugby World Cup warm-up fixtures with a comprehensive 47-19 victory over Italy at the Stade de France on Friday.

Les Bleus crossed seven times, which includes a penalty try, as Yoann Huget, Camille Chat, Antoine Dupont, Arthur Iturria, Wenceslas Lauret and Thomas Ramos scored.  Fly-half Romain Ntamack also impressed with his goal-kicking, landing five conversions from six attempts in Paris.

In reply, Italy went over through Mattia Bellini (2) and Jake Polledri as they now switch their attention to tackling England in Newcastle.

France enjoyed the perfect start when slick hands led to wing Huget crossing on two minutes, the try coming after Wesley Fofana's break.  Ntamack couldn't slot the conversion so it remained 5-0, with the early score misleading the fans it would be a high-scoring first quarter.

Indeed there was to be no further score until the 19th minute as, with France minus a sin-binned Louis Picamoles, Italy took the advantage when wing Bellini went over thanks to Sergio Parisse's pass.  The Azzurri would go into the lead thanks to the extra two from Tommaso Allan.

France were down to 13 men seconds after the seven points when Rabah Slimani followed his number eight for a 10 minute spell on the chair.  But that didn't deter Les Bleus as they were awarded a penalty try shortly after as Huget was held back by Bellini, who was shown yellow.

With 13 against 14 France were still on the attack and their pack showed their muscle when hooker Chat scored to make it 19-7 with the two, which was the half-time scoreline in a first 40 that was high on penalties, which kept referee Matthew Carley busy at the Stade de France.

France came out for the second period firing and a solo score from Dupont was then followed by Iturria getting over for his first Test try, which slingshotted the French into a comfortable 33-7 advantage on 46 minutes.  Italy were now shell shocked as the game looked beyond them.

🇫🇷🇮🇹 C'est terminé au @StadeFrance ! Les Bleus terminent leur série de 3 matches de préparation à la Coupe du Monde par une large victoire contre l'Italie ! #NeFaisonsXV #FRAITA #XVdeFrance pic.twitter.com/uilQCu5OdX

— France Rugby (@FranceRugby) August 30, 2019

However, Polledri clawed the Italians back into matters with a crossing on 51 minutes, making it 33-14 after Allan's successful conversion.

That prompted both coaches to utilise their bench as several players emerged for the closing half-hour.  But it was a man on the field from the outset who crossed next as France flanker Lauret went over from close range to make it 40-14, effectively sealing the victory in Paris.

Italy did score their third try on 67 minutes through Bellini, which was his brace, but it was replacement Ramos who had the final say as his try and France's seventh of the evening rounded off a morale-boosting win that sends France into the Rugby World Cup on a positive.

The scorers:

For France:
Tries:  Huget, Penalty try, Chat, Dupont, Iturria, Lauret, Ramos
Cons:  Ntamack 5
Yellow Cards:  Picamoles, Slimani

For Italy:
Tries:  Bellini 2, Polledri
Cons:  Allan 2
Yellow Card:  Bellini

France:  15 Maxime Medard, 14 Yoann Huget, 13 Sofiane Guitoune, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Gael Fickou, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Yacouba Camara, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Romain Taofifenua, 4 Arthur Iturria, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Camille Chat, 1 Jefferson Poirot (c)
Replacements:  16 Guilhem Guirado, 17 Cyril Baille, 18 Emerick Setiano, 19 Felix Lambey, 20 Francois Cros, 21 Baptiste Serin, 22 Virimi Vakatawa, 23 Thomas Ramos

Italy:  15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Mattia Bellini, 13 Michele Campagnaro, 12 Luca Morisi, 11 Matteo Minozzi, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Jake Polledri, 6 Abraham Steyn, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Alessandro Zanni, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Luca Bigi, 1 Simone Ferrari
Replacements:  16 Federico Zani, 17 Andrea Lovotti, 18 Tiziano Pasquali, 19 Dean Budd, 20 Sebastian Negri, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Carlo Canna, 23 Tommaso Benvenuti

Referee:  Matthew Carley (England)
Assistant referees:  Luke Pearce (England), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

Dominant England put 57 points on Ireland

England put down a marker in their penultimate home game before the Rugby World Cup as they beat Ireland 57-15 at Twickenham on Saturday.

The hosts crossed eight times and go into their final match, against Italy in Newcastle, full of confidence before they fly out to Japan.

Joe Cokanasiga (2), Elliot Daly, Manu Tuilagi, Maro Itoje, George Kruis, Tom Curry and Luke Cowan-Dickie got the tries while captain Owen Farrell kicked 15 points as England racked up their biggest ever score against Ireland in an international.  It was an impressive showing.

In reply, Ireland went over via Jordan Larmour and Bundee Aki but they were extremely poor at Twickenham.

England would have been enthused by their first-half performance as they went over three times to go in 22-10 to the good in the sunshine.

In conditions perfect for running rugby, both sides chanced their arm in attack and it was Ireland who crossed first, this after Farrell landed a penalty.  The try came out wide as Jacob Stockdale's chip sat up for Larmour, with Ross Byrne making it 7-3 off the tee.

England took just three minutes to respond though as quick hands from a scrum saw the ball moved to Cokanasiga, who showed pace and his strength with a fend to cross the whitewash.  Despite Farrell missing the tough conversion attempt, England were back in front.

The lead changed hands twice more approaching the half-hour as first Iain Henderson's breakdown work allowed Byrne to slot a penalty.  But then numbers were created by England in the 22 and Curry timed his pass well to Daly for a score on the right to make it 15-10.

It's full time at Twickenham and England have recorded an emphatic victory over Ireland in the #QuilterInternationals 🌹#ENGvIRE #CarryThemHome pic.twitter.com/92Q1TTvAvN

— England Rugby (@EnglandRugby) August 24, 2019

England would score again in the closing 10 minutes of the half as scrappy ball at the base five metres out did not stop Tuilagi going over.  Further concern for Ireland would be the sight of both scrum-half Conor Murray and prop Cian Healy coming off the field injured.

Murray did return before the break but was replaced permanently at half-time before England continued to show their quality, pouncing on an Irish overthrow at a line-out 20 metres out as Itoje ran a smart line off Ben Youngs.  That pushed England into a 29-10 lead.

In their first warm-up fixture, Ireland were struggling to keep pace and the margin grew on 53 minutes when Kruis scored to make it 36-10.

Curry was next to cross three minutes later after nice hands from Kyle Sinckler to Sam Underhill sent him over and England up to 43 points.

The icing was added on 65 minutes with Cokanasiga's second try bringing up 50 points and, despite Aki finishing well on the right wing on 73 minutes, it did little to paper over a dismal day for Joe Schmidt's outfit, with Cowan-Dickie having the final say for a rampant England.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Cokanasiga 2, Daly, Tuilagi, Itoje, Kruis, Curry, Cowan-Dickie
Cons:  Farrell 6, Ford
Pen:  Farrell
Yellow Card:  Kruis

For England:
Tries:  Larmour, Aki
Con:  Byrne
Pen:  Byrne

England:  15 Elliot Daly, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Owen Farrell (c), 11 Jonny May, 10 George Ford, 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Tom Curry, 5 George Kruis, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Jamie George, 1 Joe Marler
Replacements:  16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Courtney Lawes, 20 Mark Wilson, 21 Willi Heinz, 22 Piers Francis, 23 Joe Marchant

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Jordan Larmour, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Ross Byrne, 9 Conor Murray, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 Jean Kleyn, 4 Iain Henderson, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy
Replacements:  16 Sean Cronin, 17 Jack McGrath, 18 Andrew Porter, 19 Devin Toner, 20 Tadhg Beirne, 21 Luke McGrath, 22 Jack Carty, 23 Andrew Conway

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant referees:  Jérôme Garcès (France), Alexandre Ruiz (France)
TMO:  Philippe Bonhoure (France)

Scotland gain revenge over France

Scotland came from 11 points down to avenge last weekend’s disappointing loss in Nice and defeat France 17-14 at Murrayfield on Saturday.

Les Bleus were the better team in the first half and were 14-10 ahead at the interval thanks to a pair of Damian Penaud tries.

Greig Laidlaw kicked a penalty in between those efforts from the wing before Sean Maitland crossed the whitewash to keep the hosts in the contest at the break.

The Scots then controlled much of the second period and deservedly scored through Chris Harris to secure the win and get their World Cup preparations back on track.

It was a much improved effort from the Scots but there were still far too many errors, particularly in the opening half-hour.  One such mistake allowed the visitors to get the ideal start as Penaud intercepted a stray pass and strolled across the whitewash unopposed.

Although Laidlaw immediately reduced the arrears, the home side continued to struggle with ball in hand.  Their physicality and intent may have been more to Gregor Townsend’s liking, but several knock-ons halted any momentum garnered.

France were not much better in a number of the exchanges but they initially had the quality when it mattered.  That was shown by Sofiane Guitoune, who was a late replacement for Wesley Fofana, when the centre sprinted through a gaping hole and found his right-wing to score.

For the second time, Thomas Ramos was on target with the conversion and Les Bleus held a 14-3 advantage, but they were pegged back by Scotland.

🗣 "That's more like it from Scotland!"

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Finn Russell sets up Sean Maitland for Scotland's first try of the day, just before half time! pic.twitter.com/wXUrN8ZSf1

— Premier Sports 📺 (@PremierSportsTV) August 24, 2019

In keeping with the game, it came from a mistake as the visitors lost the ball deep inside their half.  Blair Kinghorn pounced before the ball was shifted left and Maitland was on hand to collect Finn Russell’s pass and touch down.

The second period continued in the same vein as the first with errors pervading the play, which led to a number of scrums.  That favoured Townsend’s charges, who were controlling the set-piece battle, and they began to get the upper hand.

Jacques Brunel’s men conceded some needless penalties and their opponents set up camp in the 22.  The Scots duly pressurised the French defence and it was eventually breached when Harris took a superb line to finish underneath the posts.

They had the momentum and France were far too loose, but this French outfit showed last week that they could produce the spectacular and almost created a superb score.

Forwards and backs linked well before Maxime Medard chipped the ball over the top, but Stuart Hogg covered well and that proved to be their final chance as Scotland claimed the win.

The scorers:

For Scotland:
Tries:  Maitland, Harris
Cons:  Laidlaw 2
Pen:  Laidlaw

For France:
Tries:  Penaud 2
Cons:  Ramos 2

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Tommy Seymour, 13 Chris Harris, 12 Pete Horne, 11 Sean Maitland, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Greig Laidlaw (c), 8 Blade Thomson, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Ryan Wilson, 5 Sam Skinner, 4 Scott Cummings, 3 Willem Nel, 2 George Turner, 1 Gordon Reid
Replacements:  16 Grant Stewart, 17 Allan Dell, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Grant Gilchrist, 20 John Barclay, 21 George Horne, 22 Rory Hutchinson, 23 Blair Kinghorn

France:  15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Sofiane Guitoune, 12 Gael Fickou, 11 Alivereti Raka, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Antoine Dupont, 8 Gregory Alldritt, 7 Charles Ollivon, 6 Arthur Iturria, 5 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 4 Felix Lambey, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Guilhem Guirado (c), 1 Jefferson Poirot
Replacements:  16 Camille Chat, 17 Cyril Baille, 18 Emerick Setiano, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Yacouba Camara, 21 Baptiste Serin, 22 Romain Ntamack, 23 Maxime Medard

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees:  Andrew Brace (Ireland), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

Five-try France hammer Scotland in Nice

France strolled to a comfortable 32-3 win over Scotland in their Rugby World Cup warm-up match at Allianz Riviera on Saturday.

Les Bleus scored five tries in total as Alivereti Raka, Maxime Medard (2), Gregory Alldritt and Antoine Dupont went over in a superb victory.

Scotland, who take on the same team at Murrayfield next week, could only muster three points via the boot of Adam Hastings on a hard night.

Raka would get the scoreboard ticking as early as the second minute when a slick set play near to the Scottish posts saw the powerful Fijian-born Clermont wing crash over for a 7-0 lead, Camille Lopez adding the two.  It was an early warning shot fired by a hungry France side.

Lopez made it 10-0 off the tee on 15 minutes and the gap was further extended eight minutes later, full-back Medard finishing off a free-flowing move on the left as Scotland were on the ropes.  Lopez's difficult conversion attempt was missed which meant that Hastings' well struck penalty from in front, fortunately for the visitors, reduced the margin with Les Bleus now leading 15-3 with 26 minutes on the clock.

Things would then take a turn for the worse for Scotland when Hastings was yellow carded for slapping down a ball while France were on the attack.  That was duly capitalised on by France as number eight Alldritt went over close to the touchline for their third try of the night.

🇫🇷🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Première répétition prometteuse pour les Bleus 👏🏻 Prochaine étape samedi prochain à Murrayfield !#XVdeFrance #FRAECO #NeFaisonsXV pic.twitter.com/SdwjtCwRhF

— France Rugby (@FranceRugby) August 17, 2019

Scotland did manage to avoid any further damage to the scoreboard late in the first half and returned with fresh legs coming on during the first 10 minutes, in-form Northampton Saints outside centre Rory Hutchinson one of those to emerge as he made his bow on the international stage.

However, there was no change in fortunes for the Scots as Medard's second try arrived on 53 minutes thanks to quick hands before scrum-half Dupont was next to cross the whitewash, capping off a break from loosehead prop Jefferson Poirot.  France were now leading 32-3 after an hour.

Scotland, to their credit, did rally late on and Huw Jones was denied a try after a forward pass before another attack saw them fumble five metres out.  It summed up a difficult and sobering evening for Gregor Townsend's men as they now head home looking for a response next week.

The scorers:

For France:
Tries:  Raka, Medard 2, Alldritt, Dupont
Cons:  Lopez 2
Pen:  Lopez

For Scotland:
Pen:  Hastings
Yellow Card:  Hastingson

France:  15 Maxime Medard, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Gael Fickou, 12 Wesley Fofana, 11 Alivereti Raka, 10 Camille Lopez, 9 Antoine Dupont, 8 Gregory Alldritt, 7 Charles Ollivon, 6 Francois Cros, 5 Sebastien Vahaamahina, 4 Paul Gabrillagues, 3 Rabah Slimani, 2 Camille Chat, 1 Jefferson Poirot (c)
Replacements:  16 Peato Mauvaka, 17 Dany Priso, 18 Emerick Setiano, 19 Felix Lambey, 20 Louis Picamoles, 21 Baptiste Serin, 22 Romain Ntamack, 23 Thomas Ramos

Scotland:  15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Duncan Taylor, 11 Byron McGuigan, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 Ali Price, 8 Josh Strauss, 7 Jamie Ritchie, 6 John Barclay, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Ben Toolis, 3 Simon Berghan, 2 Stuart McInally (c), 1 Jamie Bhatti
Replacements:  16 George Turner, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Zander Fagerson, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Matt Fagerson, 21 George Horne, 22 Rory Hutchinson, 23 Blair Kinghorn

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees:  Wayne Barnes (England), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

Springboks hold off Pumas in Pretoria

South Africa continued with their impressive recent form when they beat Argentina 24-18 in a World Cup warm-up match in Pretoria on Saturday.

In a tightly contested affair, momentum between the two sides ebbed and flowed throughout and the result was in the balance until the game's closing stages.  The home side did enough to clinch the result, however, after both sides scored two tries apiece.

Sbu Nkosi scored both five-pointers for the Springboks and their other points came via the boot of Elton Jantjies, who kicked four penalties and a conversion.  For Argentina, Guido Petti and Pablo Matera scored tries while Joaquín Díaz Bonilla slotted a penalty and a conversion and Benjamin Urdapilleta also added a three-pointer off the kicking tee.

Although the teams showed a willingness to run the ball, the opening exchanges were characterised by several unforced errors from both sides and we had to wait until the 20th minute for the opening points — a penalty from Jantjies.

The match had a stop-start nature to it up to that point and there were several brutal collisions — none more so than Marcos Kremer's hit on Marcell Coetzee in the 17th minute.  Kremer's no-arms challenge resulted in him being penalised but Coetzee was forced off the field for a HIA, which he failed, and he was replaced by Kwagga Smith.

The game came alive just after the half hour-mark when Jantjies found Warrick Gelant in space out wide with a well-timed skip pass.  Gelant offloaded to Nkosi, who did well to beat two defenders before crossing for the opening try.

Jantjies' conversion attempt struck an upright but the visitors drew level on the stroke of half-time when Petti intercepted a pass from Cobus Reinach close to the halfway line, before outpacing the cover defence to cross for a deserved try.

Bonilla succeeded with the conversion attempt which meant the visitors held a slender 10-8 lead at the break.

📽️ VIDEO: South Africa 24-18 Argentina.  https://t.co/ZWOOOcW2PF #RSAvARG pic.twitter.com/4socIw8SP5

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) August 17, 2019

South Africa drew first blood after the restart and they did it in style courtesy of another superb try from Nkosi in the 48th minute.  This, after he found himself in space down the right flank and he did brilliantly to beat three defenders before diving over the whitewash in spectacular fashion.

Jantjies added the extras which gave the home side a 15-10 lead but Urdapilleta reduced the deficit for the visitors when he added a penalty in the 57th minute.

Another Jantjies penalty on the hour-mark gave the Boks some breathing space but the Pumas struck back five minutes later when Matera crashed over from close quarters to draw his side level at 18-18.

Urdapilleta failed to convert before Jantjies gave South Africa the lead again via a penalty in the 69th minute.

The closing minutes were tense and the visitors thought they had regained the lead when Lucas Mensa rounded off a flowing move which started inside the Pumas' half.  His effort was disallowed, however, after television replays revealed that Jeronimo de la Fuente had obstructed Vincent Koch when he was trying to make a tackle on Urdapilleta in the build-up.

Despite that setback, Argentina continued to attack in a bid to secure victory, but the home side sealed their win when Jantjies slotted his fourth penalty in the 78th minute.

For South Africa:
Tries:  Nkosi 2
Con:  Jantjies
Pens:  Jantjies 4

For Argentina:
Tries:  Petti, Matera
Con:  Bonilla
Pens:  Bonilla, Urdapilleta

South Africa:  15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Sbu Nkosi, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 André Esterhuizen, 11 Dillyn Leyds, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Marcell Coetzee, 7 Rynhardt Elstadt, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Schalk Brits (c), 1 Thomas du Toit
Replacements:  16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Marvin Orie, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Faf de Klerk, 23 Frans Steyn

Argentina:  15 Joaquin Tuculet, 14 Sebastián Cancelliere, 13 Jeronimo de la Fuente, 12 Lucas Mensa, 11 Ramiro Moyano, 10 Joaquín Díaz Bonilla, 9 Felipe Ezcurra, 8 Javier Ortega Desio, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera (c), 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Santiago Medrano, 2 Julian Montoya, 1 Mayco Vivas
Replacements:  16 Santiago Socino, 17 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 18 Juan Figallo, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Tomas Lezana, 21 Gonzalo Bertanou, 22 Benjamin Urdapilleta, Santiago Carreras

Referee:  Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant Referees:  Andrew Brace (Ireland), Pierre Brousset (France)
TMO:  Simon McDowell (Ireland)

Wales move to number one after win over England

Wales moved to the top of the world rankings following a deserved 13-6 triumph over arch-rivals England at the Principality Stadium.

Warren Gatland’s charges dominated the opening half and deservedly went into the interval 10-0 in front via George North’s converted try and Dan Biggar’s penalty.

The Red Rose improved slightly in the second period and reduced the deficit via successive George Ford three-pointers, but Leigh Halfpenny was successful off the tee to seal the win and move them ahead of New Zealand in the rankings.

Gatland’s men lacked intensity in their opening World Cup warm-up encounter but that was well and truly rectified in Cardiff.  They controlled the early exchanges with their excellent defence regularly forcing the visitors back.

The set-piece was also far more efficient while they had the better of the breakdown and the Welsh had several opportunities inside the opposition 22 before Biggar kicked them ahead.

Under pressure, discipline was an issue for England and it led to a yellow card for wing Anthony Watson, who was sent from the field for a deliberate knock on.

Watson hadn’t even headed off the pitch when the hosts went quickly.  It caught the Red Rose unawares as Josh Adams went sprinting down the right.  The wing was brought down but the away side were completely disorganised defensively and a simple cross-field kick from Wales’ fly-half allowed North to score.

The pivot had been criticised earlier in the week by ex-wing JJ Williams, but this was an excellent response and his conversion from the left extended their advantage to 10 points at the interval.

Eddie Jones needed a response from his charges but they once again struggled to create openings.  However, with the introduction of the replacements, the visitors did start to gain some traction at the scrum and they were rewarded with a Ford penalty.

The likes of Joe Marler and Jamie George were making a difference and Ford reduced the arrears further going into the final quarter.

Wales managed to regain their composure but England were still in contention and almost created a chance when Maro Itoje intercepted.

However, an infringement halted their attack and eased the pressure, allowing Gatland’s side to move into the England half and earn a penalty, which Halfpenny kicked to complete the win.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Try:  North
Con:  Biggar
Pens:  Biggar, Halfpenny

For England:
Pens:  Ford 2
Yellow Card:  Watson

Wales:  15 Leigh Halfpenny, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Dan Biggar, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Ross Moriarty, 7 James Davies, 6 Aaron Wainwright, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4 Jake Ball, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements:  16 Elliot Dee, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Aaron Shingler, 20 Josh Navidi, 21 Aled Davies, 22 Jarrod Evans, 23 Owen Watkin

England:  15 Elliot Daly, 14 Anthony Watson, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Piers Francis, 11 Joe Cokanasiga, 10 George Ford (c), 9 Willi Heinz, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Lewis Ludlam, 6 Courtney Lawes, 5 Maro Itoje, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements:  16 Jamie George, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Kyle Sinckler, 19 George Kruis, 20 Jack Singleton, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Owen Farrell, 23 Manu Tuilagi

Referee:  Pascal Gaüzère (France)
Assistant referees:  Mathieu Raynal (France), Alexandre Ruiz (France)
TMO:  Brian MacNeice (Ireland)

New Zealand hammer Australia to retain Bledisloe Cup

The All Blacks returned to the victory trail courtesy of an impressive 36-0 victory over the Wallabies at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday.

The result was sweet revenge for the hosts, who suffered a humiliating defeat to the Wallabies in their corresponding fixture in Perth seven days ago, and they also retained the Bledisloe Cup for the 17th successive year.

As the scoreline suggests, the world champions were full value for this win as they dominated all facets of play and eventually outscored the Wallabies by five tries to none, with Richie Mo'unga, Aaron Smith, Sonny Bill Williams, Sevu Reece and George Bridge all crossing the whitewash.  Mo'unga also slotted three conversions and a penalty, and Beauden Barrett also succeeded with a two-pointer off the kicking tee.

The All Blacks held the upper-hand from the outset and took an early lead courtesy of a Mo'unga penalty in the fourth minute after a scrum infringement from the Wallabies forwards.

New Zealand continued to dominate during the next 15 minutes but failed to convert that dominance into points.  The Wallabies were slowly getting into the game but poor goal-kicking from Christian Lealiifano proved costly as he was off target with two penalty attempts shortly after each other, midway through the half.

Despite those misses, the visitors launched several attacks but there was no reward as they were met with a solid defensive effort from the All Blacks.  In the 29th minute, an Australian attack went pear-shaped when Reece Hodge spilled a pass from Kurtley Beale on New Zealand's 10-metre line and Mo'unga gathered the loose ball before racing away to score the opening try.

He added the extras and with a 10-0 lead, the world champions were growing in confidence.  Three minutes later, George Bridge made a brilliant line break which tore the Wallabies' defence to shreds before throwing an inside pass to Smith, who had an easy run-in over the try-line.

Once again, Mo'unga was successful off the kicking tee but New Zealand were dealt a blow in the 37th minute when Dane Coles was yellow carded for a dangerous challenge on Nic White.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, the All Blacks finished the half the stronger and led 17-0 at half-time, although it could have been a bigger lead had Mo'unga not missed another penalty just before the interval.

The All Blacks continued to dominate after the break and shortly after the restart Williams ran a great angle close to the Wallabies' try-line before crashing over for his side's third try.

That score knocked the wind out of the Wallabies' sails and, although they tried desperately to open their account, they battled to breach the All Blacks' defence.

And in the 67th minute Reece showed great composure when he booted the ball upfield, deep inside the Wallabies' half, before regathering to score his side's fourth try.

With the game in the bag, the hosts continued to attack and sealed the win in the 77th minute when Bridge rounded off out wide after Anton Lienert-Brown did well in the build-up.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Mo'unga, Smith, Williams, Reece, Bridge
Cons:  Mo'unga 3, B Barrett
Pen:  Mo'unga
Yellow Card:  Coles

New Zealand:  15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 George Bridge, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Sam Cane, 6 Ardie Savea, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Patrick Tuipulotu, 3 Nepo Laulala, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements:  16 Codie Taylor, 17 Ofa Tuungafasi, 18 Angus Ta’avao, 19 Jackson Hemopo, 20 Matt Todd, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Ngani Laumape, 23 Jordie Barrett

Australia:  15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Reece Hodge, 13 James O’Connor, 12 Samu Kerevi, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Christian Lealiifano, 9 Nic White, 8 Isi Naisarani, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Izack Rodda, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Tolu Latu, 1 Scott Sio
Replacements:  16 Folau Fainga’a, 17 James Slipper, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Rob Simmons, 20 Liam Wright, 21 Will Genia, 22 Matt To’omua, 23 Adam Ashley-Cooper

Referee:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant Referees:  Matthew Carley (England), Shuhei Kubo (Japan)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

England end Wales' winning run

England proved too strong for Wales as they ran out 33-19 winners in an entertaining Rugby World Cup warm-up encounter at Twickenham on Sunday.

In a fast-paced match, both sides scored three tries apiece but England committed fewer unforced errors and were deserved winners in the end.

Much was made of England fielding an under-strength team while the visitors had what was close to their strongest starting XV, but the hosts were the dominant side for most of this match and the result brings Wales' 14-match winning run to an end.

George Ford led the way for England with a 15-point haul, courtesy of three conversions and three penalties, and their other points came via tries from Billy Vunipola, Joe Cokanasiga and Luke Cowan-Dickie, as well as a late drop-goal from Elliot Daly.

For Wales, Gareth Davies, George North and Wyn Jones crossed the whitewash, while Gareth Anscombe and Dan Biggar added conversions.

England dominated the early exchanges and were up 14-0 by the 15th minute courtesy of converted tries from Vunipola and Cokanasiga.

Vunipola's effort came as early as the fourth minute when he showed great determination and leg drive to power his way over the try-line before Cokanasiga scored from close range after the ball went through several phases in the build-up.

The visitors needed a response and that came midway through the half when Gareth Davies took on the English defence before crossing for a deserved try.  Davies gathered the ball on England's 10-metre line and did well to escape Vunipola's attentions with a strong fend before beating Daly with deft footwork on his way to the line.

Although they were back in the game, Wales' joy was short-lived as they suffered a setback in the 34th minute with what looked like a serious knee injury to Anscombe.  He sustained the injury five minutes earlier when making a clearance kick but continued to play despite running around with a limp.  He eventually hobbled off the field and was replaced by Biggar.

And just before half-time, the visitors suffered another setback when a throw-in at a lineout on their five-metre line went awry and Cowan-Dickie pounced on the loose ball before crashing over the try-line.  Ford added the extras which meant England were leading 21-7 at the interval.

Wales came out firing after the break but England drew first blood after the restart when Ford slotted his first penalty in the 44th minute.

The visitors narrowed the gap in the 50th minute when North burst through a couple of tackles to score his side's second try after Ken Owens was stopped close to the line in the build-up.

The next 10 minutes saw Wales up the ante on attack and they were rewarded in the 56th minute when Jones barged over for their third try, although Biggar was off target with the conversion attempt.

The final quarter saw England regain the initiative and Ford added two penalties before a 73rd minute drop-goal from Daly sealed what proved to be a comfortable win in the end.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Vunipola, Cokanasiga, Cowan-Dickie
Cons:  Ford 3
Pens:  Ford 3
Drop goal:  Daly

For Wales:
Tries:  G Davies, North, W Jones
Cons:  Anscombe, Biggar

England:  15 Elliot Daly, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Piers Francis, 11 Anthony Watson, 10 George Ford (c), 9 Willi Heinz, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Lewis Ludlam, 5 Charlie Ewels, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Dan Cole, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements:  16 Jack Singleton, 17 Joe Marler, 18 Harry Williams, 19 George Kruis, 20 Courtney Lawes, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Joe Marchant, 23 Manu Tuilagi

Wales:  15 Liam Williams, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Ross Moriarty, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Aaron Wainwright, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4 Adam Beard, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Nicky Smith
Replacements:  16 Elliot Dee, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Jake Ball, 20 Aaron Shingler, 21 Aled Davies, 22 Dan Biggar, 23 Owen Watkin

Referee:  Mathieu Raynal (France)
Assistant Referees:  Pascal Gaüzère (France), Alex Ruiz (France)
TMO:  Brian MacNeice (Ireland)

Five-try Ireland get the better of Italy

Ireland got their 2019 Rugby World Cup warm-up campaign off to a solid start courtesy of a 29-10 triumph over Italy at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday.

The home side had a good first half and created plenty of try-scoring opportunities during that period but they went off the boil after half-time before eventually outscoring the Azzurri by five tries to two.

Joey Carbery, Dave Kearney, Andrew Conway, Jordi Murphy and Kieran Marmion scored Ireland's tries and Carbery also succeeded with two conversions, although there were concerned looks in the Irish camp when the Munster fly-half was forced off the field with an ankle injury early in the second half.

Italy's points came courtesy of tries from Maxime Mbanda and Carlo Canna.

The opening exchanges were evenly contested but the visitors gained the ascendancy as the half progressed and opened the scoring after 12 minutes when Mbanda crossed for the opening try.  This, after Italy's forwards went on the drive from a lineout before Jimmy Tuivaiti broke away deep inside Ireland's 22.  He was brought to ground close to the Irish try-line where Mbanda gathered the ball before crashing over.

Ireland put that setback behind them and were soon in control of proceedings.  In the 18th minute, they showed great attacking variation from a lineout deep inside their opponents' half before beautiful hands from Chris Farrell put Carbery into space and he crossed for an easy five-pointer.

Carbery dusted himself to slot the conversion which gave his side a 7-5 lead but the Azzurri regained the initiative midway through the half when Canna gathered a perfectly weighted grubber kick from Giulio Bisegni before dotting down.

Once again, Canna failed with the conversion attempt and that would be the last time the visitors would score points in the match as Ireland upped the ante on attack and replied with well-taken tries from Kearney and Conway to take a 19-10 lead at the interval.

First, space was created for Kearney out wide and he had an easy run-in on the left flank after gathering the final pass from Jordan Larmour.  And just before half-time, Conway crossed for his side's third try from close range after good work from his forwards in the build-up.

Full time score @AVIVAStadium IRELAND 29-10 ITALY #ShoulderToShoulder #TeamOfUs #IREvITA pic.twitter.com/VXOVJPZuU4

— Irish Rugby (@IrishRugby) August 10, 2019

The home side were fastest out of the blocks in the second half and five minutes after the restart Jordi Murphy crossed for their third try off the back of a lineout drive deep inside Italy's half.

Shortly afterwards, Carbery left the field when he injured his ankle under a mass of bodies deep inside his half.  The next 15 minutes was a dour affair with both sides committing several unforced errors during that period.

In the 63rd minute, there was further joy for the home crowd when Marmion charged down a clearance kick from Ian McKinley before regathering the loose ball on his way over the try-line to seal an unspectacular victory for his team.

The scorers:

For Ireland:
Tries:  Carbery, Kearney, Conway, Murphy
Cons:  Carbery 2

For Italy:
Tries:  Mbanda, Canna

Ireland:  15 Jordan Larmour, 14 Andrew Conway, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Chris Farrell 11 Dave Kearney, 10 Joey Carbery, 9 Luke McGrath, 8 Jordi Murphy, 7 Tommy O’Donnell, 6 Rhys Ruddock (c), 5 Jean Kleyn, 4 Devin Toner, 3 Andrew Porter, 2 Rob Herring, 1 Jack McGrath
Replacements:  16 Niall Scannell, 17 Cian Healy, 18 John Ryan, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Tadhg Beirne, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Jack Carty, 23 Mike Haley

Italy:  15 Edoardo Padovani, 14 Angelo Esposito, 13 Tommaso Benvenuti, 12 Matteo Minozzi, 11 Giulio Bisegni, 10 Carlo Canna, 9 Guglielmo Palazzani, 8 Jimmy Tuivaiti, 7 Maxime Mbanda, 6 Giovanni Licata, 5 Dean Budd (c) 4 Alessandro Zanni, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Oliviero Fabiani, 1 Nicola Quaglio
Replacements:  16 Federico Zani, 17 Andrea Lovotti, 18 Simone Ferrari, 19 Marco Lazzaroni, 20 Renato Giammarioli, 21 Callum Braley, 22 Ian McKinley, 23 Sebastian Negri

Referee:  Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant Referees:  Tom Foley (England), Mike Adamson (Scotland)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

Handre Pollard stars as Boks win Rugby Championship

South Africa are the Rugby Championship champions for the first time after they produced another excellent display to hammer Argentina 46-13 in Salta.

Although Los Pumas got off to an outstanding start, with Santiago Cordero touching down, the Springboks deservedly took a 24-13 advantage into the break via tries from Bongi Mbonambi and Pollard, while the fly-half added 14 points from the tee.

Argentina were simply overpowered by Rassie Erasmus’ team and the away side duly sealed the win when Pollard, Makazole Mapimpi and Cheslin Kolbe went over.

It meant the ‘Boks finished a fine campaign unbeaten and secured their first southern hemisphere crown since 2009, when it was called the Tri Nations.

The Springboks have enjoyed a revival under Erasmus, justifiably taking the title after three fine performances in the competition, but they were initially put under pressure with Nicolas Sanchez to the fore.

The fly-half broke through the visiting rearguard and took play up to the 22.  Although the visitors did well to halt the break, the fly-half produced a deft cross-field kick for Cordero to collect and score.

Unperturbed, the two-time World Cup winners hit back via Pollard’s penalty before they put the Argentines’ set-piece under significant duress.  Mario Ledesma’s men have struggled in the tight this year and South Africa took advantage of their weaknesses at the lineout and scrum.

Following a penalty, South Africa set up a maul and the home side were powerless to stop their opponents’ dominant drive, which surged across the whitewash and allowed Mbonambi to touch down.

HIGH FIVE! ✋

Springboks back on top in Salta courtesy of a try from Mbonambi and the boot of Pollard.  ARG 13—14 SA

Follow the action here 👉 https://t.co/2FydW54qer pic.twitter.com/1ffqX6rIEN

— Sky Sports Rugby (@SkySportsRugby) August 10, 2019

To the Pumas’ credit, they battled and regained their advantage via their stand-off’s three-pointer, but the Springboks remained in the ascendancy and took a 14-10 advantage through successive Pollard efforts off the tee.

Although Argentina remained in contention via their pivot, Erasmus’ charges continued to control matters and were rewarded by Pollard’s try and penalty for an 11-point buffer at the interval.

Ledesma needed a response from his squad but it failed to materialise as another needless penalty resulted in the visiting playmaker extending their lead.

The hosts were boosted by a yellow card for scrum-half Faf de Klerk after a series of infringements, but Argentina failed to benefit and were instead sent into reverse by some brutal ‘Bok defence.  It altered the momentum and, after good work from Steven Kitshoff and Franco Mostert, Pollard barged over from close range.

That was effectively game over but South Africa were not finished there and rounded off a fine display with two further tries via wingers Mapimpi and Kolbe.

Well done guys!! Congratulations on a splendid victory and successful campaign.  pic.twitter.com/eYYWf4Xiq6

— Springboks (@Springboks) August 10, 2019

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Try:  Cordero
Con:  Sanchez
Pens:  Sanchez 2

For South Africa:
Tries:  Mbonambi, Pollard 2, Mapimpi, Kolbe
Cons:  Pollard 3
Pens:  Pollard 5
Yellow Card:  De Klerk

Argentina:  15 Emiliano Boffelli, 14 Santiago Cordero, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Jeronimo de la Fuente, 11 Ramiro Moyano, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Tomas Cubelli, 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Javier Ortega Desio, 6 Pablo Matera (c), 5 Marcos Kremer, 4 Matias Alemanno, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Agustin Creevy, 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro
Replacements:  16 Julian Montoya, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Santiago Medrano, 19 Guido Petti, 20 Tomas Lezana, 21 Gonzalo Bertanou, 22 Benjamin Urdapilleta, 23 Joaquin Tuculet

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Duane Vermeulen (c), 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Kwagga Smith, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements:  16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Francois Louw, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Frans Steyn, 23 Jesse Kriel

Referee:  Romain Poite (France)
Assistant referees:  Matthew Carley (England), Karl Dickson (England)
TMO:  Rowan Kitt (England)

Wonderful Wallabies thrash 14-man All Blacks

The Wallabies produced their best display, arguably since the last World Cup, to claim a rare Bledisloe Cup victory over the All Blacks following a 47-26 triumph in Perth on Saturday.

New Zealand did play half of the match with 14 men after Scott Barrett was sent off, which was just their fourth red card ever and their first since Sonny Bill Williams was dismissed against the British and Irish Lions in 2017.

It was a key moment in the contest, but Australia were still the better team before that incident and deserved the 13-12 lead handed to them by Reece Hodge’s try and the accurate kicking of Christian Lealiifano.

New Zealand responded through tries from Anton Lienert-Brown and Rieko Ioane but they were powerless to stop an excellent Aussie outfit.

Lealiifano added another off the tee on the stroke of half-time before Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Nic White, Marika Koroibete, Hodge and Kurtley Beale completed the win, despite Beauden Barrett’s and Ngani Laumape’s consolation efforts.

The result puts the Wallabies back on track ahead of the World Cup while further questions will be asked of the All Blacks, who have struggled for form over the past three matches.

It has been a disappointing Rugby Championship on the whole, but this was in stark contrast to the previous four games in the competition.  Although there were still a number of errors, it was a far more entertaining affair which saw a particularly thrilling opening quarter.

Australia controlled the early exchanges, forcing the All Blacks to infringe on several occasions and allowing Lealiifano to kick them ahead, before they brilliantly created the first try of the game.

James O’Connor was making his return to the starting line-up after six years in the international wilderness and he superbly got his hands free, sending Hodge scampering across the whitewash.

The conversion was added by their fly-half and they duly had the ideal start, but the Wallabies were soon pegged back by the visitors, who upped the intensity and cut out the key mistakes.

It allowed them to get on the front foot and good hands on the right gave Jack Goodhue plenty of space.  The Crusaders man kicked ahead and, with the ball bouncing in-goal, Goodhue’s centre partner, Lienert-Brown, pounced to touch down and reduce the arrears.

Buoyed by that effort, New Zealand went on the attack again and Dane Coles’ excellent break set up their next score as the hooker and Aaron Smith combined to provide Ioane with an easy run to the line.

Steve Hansen’s men were still struggling for dominance, however, with the hosts playing their best rugby for some time and Lealiifano rewarded their endeavour with a second three-pointer.

Discipline was a particular problem for the away side and that was shown by second-row Barrett, who was adjudged to have shoulder charged the head and neck of Michael Hooper, leading to a red card.

VICTORY!

We have defeated the All Blacks 47—26 in the #BledisloeCup here at Optus Stadium.

READ:  https://t.co/fN82aVPAgB#AUSvNZL #BledisloeCup #GoldBlooded pic.twitter.com/9PGOF8QgD5

— Qantas Wallabies (@qantaswallabies) August 10, 2019

Australia’s pivot kicked the resultant penalty attempt and they began the second period in the ascendancy against the 14 men of New Zealand.

The forwards carried well close to the opposition line and the space eventually opened for Rory Arnold to find Salakaia-Loto, who scored.

Michael Cheika’s charges were now rampant and Samu Kerevi displayed his destructive qualities to power through Smith and Beauden Barrett.  The centre then did well to avoid going into touch when Laumape came across, off-loading for White to deservedly touch down.

The All Blacks are rarely finished, though, even when down to 14, and they hit back through their full-back, but the Wallabies soon put the game beyond doubt.

They controlled the play nicely and deservedly crossed the whitewash twice more through Koroibete and Hodge.  Although the visitors hit back immediately through Laumape, Beale rounded off a wonderful evening for Cheika’s men.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Tries:  Hodge 2, Salakaia-Loto, White, Koroibete, Beale
Cons:  Lealiifano 2, Toomua 2
Pens:  Lealiifano 3

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Lienert-Brown, Ioane, B Barrett, Laumape
Cons:  Mo’unga 3
Red Card:  S Barrett

Australia:  15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Reece Hodge, 13 James O’Connor, 12 Samu Kerevi, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Christian Lealiifano, 9 Nic White, 8 Isi Naisarani, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 5 Rory Arnold, 4 Izack Rodda, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Tolu Latu, 1 Scott Sio
Replacements:  16 Folau Fainga’a, 17 James Slipper, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Adam Coleman, 20 Luke Jones, 21 Will Genia, 22 Matt Toomua, 23 Tom Banks

New Zealand:  15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Jack Goodhue, 12 Anton Lienert-Brown, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Sam Cane, 6 Ardie Savea, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Scott Barrett, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements:  16 Codie Taylor, 17 Atu Moli, 18 Angus Ta’avao, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Matt Todd, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Ngani Laumape, 23 George Bridge

Referee:  Jérôme Garcès (France)
Assistant referees:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Shuhei Kubo (Japan)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Wallabies win dour clash with disappointing Pumas

Australia bounced back from last week's disappointing loss in Johannesburg as they overcame Argentina 16-10 at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.

The result moves them up to third place in the Rugby Championship standings, just two points behind New Zealand who they face on August 10.

It was a fitting farewell to the Brisbane venue from Will Genia as he put in an assured performance on his last match at the ground, while Christian Lealiifano enjoyed a strong return to international rugby, orchestrating the game nicely for the 50 minutes he was on the field.

Reece Hodge crossed the whitewash for Australia, with Lealiifano kicking eight points, while Facunda Isa went over for Argentina late on.  This is the Pumas' second defeat in this year's competition as they are now rooted to the foot of the table ahead of hosting South Africa.

The Wallabies led 10-3 at the end of an error-strewn first half at Suncorp Stadium, with both sides' games littered with handling mistakes.

However, one moment of brilliance from Australia saw them score the all-important first try, which proved the difference at the turnaround.

Australia took the lead on 11 minutes through the boot of Lealiifano, this after Argentina second-row Tomás Lavanini had hands in the ruck.

Izack Rodda would soon launch an attack from deep for the hosts but, as mentioned, a handling error from said player ultimately foiled it.

Sanchez would haul the Pumas back level on 24 minutes as Sekope Kepu's decision to try and bat the ball back whilst on the floor backfired.

But the moment of the half came six minutes later as Marika Koroibete's line bust led to the overlap being smartly used, with Kurtley Beale grabbing the assist and feeding Hodge who finished well.  With the superb conversion from Lealiifano, the Wallabies had a seven-point buffer.

FULL TIME!

The #Wallabies win 16-10 against Los Pumas at the Suncorp Stadium!

Well done boys! #AUSvARG #GoldBlooded pic.twitter.com/jtEoza38Ze

— Qantas Wallabies (@qantaswallabies) July 27, 2019

That lead would grow just two minutes into the second 40 when the Pumas were penalised for angling in at scrum time, Lealiifano converting.

The returning Brumbies fly-half was on target again in the 51st minute when a powerful Wallabies scrum got the better of their Pumas rivals.  That was Lealiifano's last act of the game as he was replaced by Toomua, with the former giving a warm reception as he departed the action.

Unfortunately the game dipped in quality thereafter as there was no further score in the next 23 minutes.  Argentina, though, would thankfully end the drought as Isa crossed after splitting from the tail of a maul, with the two from replacement Joaquín Díaz Bonilla making it 16-10.

Australia's dominance at scrum time continued, however and three minutes from time Matt Toomua should have slotted three points to seal the victory.  He was unsuccessful but it mattered not for the Wallabies as they comfortably held on to get their first victory of this campaign.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Try:  Hodge
Con:  Lealiifano
Pens:  Lealiifano 2

For Argentina:
Try:  Isa
Con:  Bonilla
Pen:  Sanchez

Australia:  15 Kurtley Beale, 14 Reece Hodge, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Samu Kerevi, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Christian Lealiifano, 9 Will Genia, 8 Isi Naisarani, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Lukhan Salakai-Loto, 5 Rory Arnold, 4 Izack Rodda, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Folau Fainga’a, 1 Scott Sio
Replacements:  16 Tolu Latu, 17 James Slipper, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Rob Simmons, 20 Luke Jones, 21 Nic White, 22 Matt Toomua, 23 James O’Connor

Argentina:  15 Joaquín Tuculet, 14 Santiago Cordero, 13 Matías Moroni, 12 Jerónimo de la Fuente, 11 Ramiro Moyano, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 9 Tomás Cubelli, 8 Facundo Isa, 7 Tomás Lezana, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomás Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Julián Montoya, 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro
Replacements:  16 Santiago Socino, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Ramiro Herrera, 19 Matías Alemanno, 20 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 21 Felipe Ezcurra, 22 Joaquín Díaz Bonilla, 23 Matías Orlando

Referee:  Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  Paul Williams (New Zealand), Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

All Blacks stunned as late try sees them draw with Boks

Herschel Jantjies was once again the South African hero as the scrum-half touched down late on to help rescue a 16-16 draw against the All Blacks in Wellington.

The Springboks controlled the opening half-hour and deservedly went 6-0 in front via Handre Pollard but one error saw New Zealand hit back as Jack Goodhue touched down for a 7-6 lead at the interval.

Beauden Barrett then added a penalty early in the second period to extend the hosts’ buffer but Pollard kept Rassie Erasmus’ men in contention.

There was little between the two but the defending world champions appeared to display the greater control and quality in the latter exchanges and moved 16-9 up through successive Richie Mo’unga three-pointers.

There was one last sting in the tail from South Africa, however, as Jantjies crossed the whitewash – Pollard converting – to level matters late on.

It means that the Boks reside at the top of the Rugby Championship table with one round remaining while the All Blacks, who once again failed to fire in attack, sit in second.

There was plenty of excitement before the game with the introduction of Mo’unga and the selection of Barrett at full-back, but the former began rather nervously.

Twice the fly-half’s kicks were charged down and it allowed a confident Springboks side to get on the front foot.  They capitalised on the hosts’ errors and were rewarded by the accurate boot of Pollard, who kicked two penalties for a 6-0 advantage.

His playmaking team-mate was also struggling and their decision-making was quite simply atrocious in the opening quarter.  There were mistakes aplenty and the full-back, who surprisingly took on kicking duties, missed a relatively simple chance to reduce the arrears.

South Africa were almost toying with the home side.  Their defence was exceptional and the half-backs – Faf de Klerk and Pollard – were varying the kicking game nicely.

As a result of the pressure exerted, the Springbok pivot was handed another opportunity, but this time his effort was awry off the tee.

It was to prove costly as the visitors failed to garner the points their dominance deserved.  Even when New Zealand are playing poorly, they are always dangerous off turnover ball and one moment of quality was the away team’s undoing.

🤩 That pace from Barrett and the finish from Goodhue!  Tune into @skysportnz for a massive second half as the All Blacks lead @Springboks 7—6.#NZLvRSA #BACKBLACK 🇳🇿🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/otGYpzx0Wi

— All Blacks (@AllBlacks) July 27, 2019

South Africa knocked on in the midfield and the space opened up out wide for Barrett to scamper down the right.  Goodhue was on his shoulder and, after receiving a pass from the full-back, the centre crossed the whitewash unopposed for a one-point advantage at the break.

Buoyed by that score, the All Blacks displayed much more composure at the start of the second half and extended their lead via Barrett’s three-pointer.

Erasmus’ men were now the side making the needless errors, but they were kept in the game by the errant boot of New Zealand’s kicker, who missed his second penalty attempt.

Following that miss, the visitors responded when Pollard kicked another three-pointer – a minute after Brodie Retallick had sustained a nasty-looking shoulder injury – but Mo’unga immediately restored the four-point gap.

It meant a tense final 10 minutes but the All Blacks seemed to take control through a second penalty from their fly-half.  However, South Africa produced a fine move in the final minute as Cheslin Kolbe raced down the right and chipped ahead.  Jantjies was in support and, although he received a bit of luck by not knocking on under pressure from Aaron Smith, the youngster collected and touched down.

The scrum-half should have taken it closer to the uprights in preparation for the conversion but it did not matter as Pollard added the extras to dramatically tie the game.

The kick is good! 🙌

Nerves of steel from Pollard who nails the conversion on the hooter and it is a draw! 😰

Follow live coverage of the Rugby Championship clash between New Zealand and South Africa live on Sky Sports Action here:  https://t.co/1y9UxtDIBM pic.twitter.com/wE0dU4VyE6

— Sky Sports Rugby (@SkySportsRugby) July 27, 2019

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Try:  Goodhue
Con:  Barrett
Pens:  Barrett, Mo’unga 2

For South Africa:
Try:  Jantjies
Con:  Pollard
Pens:  Pollard 3

New Zealand:  15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Jack Goodhue, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Richie Mo’unga, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Matt Todd, 6 Shannon Frizell, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements:  16 Dane Coles, 17 Ofa Tuungafasi, 18 Angus Ta’avao, 19 Vaea Fifita, 20 Dalton Papalii, 21 Aaron Smith, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 George Bridge

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Duane Vermeulen (c), 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Kwagga Smith, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Replacements:  16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Tendai Mtawarira, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Francois Louw, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Frans Steyn, 23 Jesse Kriel

Referee:  Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant referees:  Angus Gardner (Australia), Shuhei Kubo (Japan)
TMO:  Rowan Kitt (England)

Improved Maori All Blacks beat Fiji in Rotorua

The Maori All Blacks bounced back from last week's loss to Fiji by beating the same opposition 26-17 in Rotorua to level the two-game series.

Scores from Sean Wainui, Rob Thompson, Alex Nankivell and Isaia Walker-Leawere saw them to victory, with Otere Black slotting six points.

In reply the Fijians scored tries through Veremalua Vugakoto and John Dyer while Alivereti Veitokani sent over two conversions and a penalty.

The teams went into the break locked at seven points apiece after a tight first half, with the Maori All Blacks much improved from last week.

Fiji would take the lead, however, on nine minutes when a superb between-the-legs pass from back-row Dominiko Waqaniburotu put hooker Vugakoto over on the left.  With the successful conversion from Veitokani, John McKee's men had themselves a handy early advantage.

That lead did not last long though as the hosts hit back five minutes later, Wainui adding to his two tries in Suva with another crossing.  It came from a good pass from inside centre Nankivell as pressure on the Fijian finally told, with his Chiefs team-mate going over to make it 7-7.

Veitokani would miss a penalty attempt on 31 minutes but an entertaining first half of action was edged by the Maori All Blacks in Rotorua.

They got the vital opening score of the second half when Thompson crossed thanks to an excellent pass from scrum-half Bryn Hall for 14-7.

Veitokani did respond off the tee on 52 minutes to cut the gap to four points, which was how it stayed until the hour mark, before Nankivell collected a cross-field kick from Black that had come loose.  Black could not slot the difficult extras but the hosts were two scores clear.

That advantage grew when Walker-Leawere, who had replaced the injured Pari Pari Parkinson earlier in the second period, made it 26-10 after he went over for a converted try on 64 minutes that seemed to put the match beyond doubt in front of the watching 13,000 fans.

Fiji did rally late on with a try from substitute Dyer after an impressive scrum near to the whitewash, which made it 26-17 with just four minutes left in the game.  But the Maori All Blacks had enough of a cushion to see out the game and make it a tied series with the Fijians.

The scorers:

For Maori All Blacks:
Tries:  Wainui, Thompson, Nankivell, Walker-Leawere
Cons:  Black 3

For Fiji:
Tries:  Vugakoto, Dyer
Cons:  Veitokani 2
Pen:  Veitokani

Maori All Blacks:  15 Shaun Stevenson, 14 Jordan Hyland, 13 Rob Thompson, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 Sean Wainui, 10 Otere Black, 9 Bryn Hall, 8 Whetukamokamo Douglas, 7 Mitch Karpik, 6 Reed Prinsep, 5 Pari Pari Parkinson, 4 Tom Franklin, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Ash Dixon (c), 1 Ross Wright
Replacements:  16 Nathan Harris, 17 Haereiti Hetet, 18 Marcel Renata, 19 Isaia Walker-Leawere, 20 Akira Ioane, 21 Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 22 Fletcher Smith, 23 Teihorangi Walden

Fiji:  15 Kini Murimurivalu, 14 Patrick Osbourne, 13 Waisea Nayacalevu, 12 Jale Vatubua, 11 Filipo Nakosi, 10 Alivereti Veitokani, 9 Henry Seniloli, 8 Nemani Nagusa, 7 Mosese Voka, 6 Dominiko Waqaniburotu, 5 Apisalome Ratuniyarawa, 4 Tevita Ratuva, 3 Lee-Roy Atalifo 2 Veremalua Vugakoto, 1 Campese Ma’afu
Replacements:  16 Samuel Matavesi, 17 Joeli Veitayaki, 18 Luke Tagi, 19 Albert Tuisue, 20 John Dyer, 21 Serupepeli Vularika, 22 Sevanaia Galala, 23 Josh Matavesi

Referee:  Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  Damon Murphy (Australia), Jordan Way (Australia)
TMO:  James Leckie (Australia)

Pumas go agonisingly close against All Blacks

New Zealand held on to pick up a 20-16 win over Argentina in their opening Rugby Championship game of 2019 in Buenos Aires on Saturday.

Despite not scoring a point in the second stanza, the All Blacks managed to keep their noses in front at full-time as the Pumas were kept at bay.

Ngani Laumape and Brodie Retallick crossed for New Zealand in the first period while Beauden Barrett kicked two conversion and two penalties.

In reply the Pumas' try scorer was Emiliano Boffelli, who also added a penalty, while Nicolás Sánchez slotted two penalties and a conversion.

New Zealand would have been delighted to head into the break leading 20-9 after an evenly contested first half at Jose Amalfitani Stadium.

They were six points down with as many minutes on the clock after Sánchez and Boffelli landed a penalty goal each after All Black offences.

However, there was a drastic change in momentum on 16 minutes after fly-half Barrett's chip ahead put Argentina in all kinds of bother.  Penalty offences would then go against the hosts before a quickly taken tap by Aaron Smith led to Laumape crashing over under the uprights.

Sánchez did manage to nudge the hosts back in front at 9-7 on 21 minutes, but Barrett responded soon after as the lead changed hands again.

At this point New Zealand were still on top and closed out the first half strongly, with Barrett's second penalty then followed up by Retallick's crossing on the stroke of half-time.  The lock galloped over untouched from 40 metres out after gleefully collecting a stray Sánchez pass.

Debut 🙌#ARGvNZL pic.twitter.com/LAfbvGeWUn

— All Blacks (@AllBlacks) July 20, 2019

The first 20 minutes after the interval was all Argentina, however, as Sanchez's high kick under a penalty advantage saw Boffelli collect and go over.  That proved the confidence booster the Pumas needed and they were unlucky not to have cut the lead further after a missed penalty.

At 20-16 down the Pumas knew they could not let the All Blacks regroup and needed to keep the pressure on, as both sides went to the bench.

Argentina did go agonisingly close to scoring on the left wing, but Ramiro Moyano's foot was in touch before he got his offload back inside.  Despite their disappointment one sensed the hosts would have at least one more opportunity in the closing nine minutes to seal a famous win.

That opportunity came with time running into the red but from an attacking line-out five metres out their maul was stifled and the hopes of victory extinguished, with New Zealand holding on to claim four points on the road as they now head home to Wellington to face South Africa.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Try:  Boffelli
Con:  Sanchez
Pens:  Sanchez 2, Boffelli

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Laumape, Retallick
Cons:  B Barrett 2
Pens:  B Barrett 2

Argentina:  15 Emiliano Boffelli, 14 Matías Moroni, 13 Matías Orlando, 12 Jerónimo de la Fuente, 11 Ramiro Moyano, 10 Nicolás Sánchez, 9 Tomás Cubelli, 8 Javier Ortega Desio, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomás Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Agustín Creevy, 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro
Replacements:  16 Julián Montoya, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Santiago Medrano, 19 Matías Alemanno, 20 Tomás Lezana, 21 Felipe Ezcurra, 22 Joaquín Díaz Bonilla, 23 Joaquín Tuculet

New Zealand:  15 Ben Smith, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Ngani Laumape, 11 Jordie Barrett, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane (c), 6 Vaea Fifita, 5 Patrick Tuipulotu, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Angus Ta’avao, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Ofa Tuungafasi
Replacements:  16 Liam Coltman, 17 Atu Moli, 18 Nepo Laulala, 19 Jackson Hemopo, 20 Luke Jacobson, 21 Brad Weber, 22 Josh Ioane, 23 Braydon Ennor

Referee:  Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  Andrew Brace (Ireland), Alexandre Ruiz (France)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)

Bonus-point win for impressive Springboks

South Africa kicked off their Rugby Championship campaign on a positive note as they overcame Australia 35-17 in Johannesburg on Saturday.

Herschel Jantjies enjoyed a dream debut as he scored two while Lood de Jager, S'bu Nkosi and Cobus Reinach also crossed to seal the bonus.

In reply the Wallabies' two tries came via Dane Haylett-Petty and Bernard Foley as they struggled at Ellis Park in a disappointing showing.

The Springboks were leading 14-10 at the interval in an evenly contested first period, with Australia possibly feeling upset not to be in front.

Defences were on top early on before Nkosi broke down the right wing on 11 minutes before finding his scrum-half Jantjies in support.  It was the ideal nerve settling score for the debutant and his namesake, Elton, added the simple extras as South Africa moved seven points up.

Foley did cut the lead to four points on 17 minutes after a breakdown offence and they went close to moving in front soon after as centre Samu Kerevi's pass to flank Lukhan Salakaia-Loto saw him gallop over.  However, that pass was adjudged to have been forward by the TMO.

After that fillip, the Boks were then dealt a blow when centre Andre Esterhuizen was yellow carded for making a high tackle on Tom Banks.  However, it did not affect them in the immediate aftermath as Pieter-Steph du Toit's chip kick over the top led to De Jager burrowing over.

Australia needed to rally and did so on 29 minutes as, with a numerical advantage, they went wide to where Haylett-Petty finished very well.  That was the beginning of a dominant spell in opposition territory for the visitors, but they couldn't make it count as the half ended 14-10.

Congratulations to our three Springbok debutants today.  Rynhardt, Herschel and Lizo are now Boks #912, #913 and #914 respectively.  #Respect #StrongerTogether #RSAvAus pic.twitter.com/0sIS1Ustkj

— Springboks (@Springboks) July 20, 2019

The Boks enjoyed the better of the early second-half sparring and came close to extending the lead but for Jantjies' penalty coming up short.  However, they would continue to dominate in the 22 of Australia, who had lost Taniela Tupou to the sin-bin for a dangerous clear-out.

The pressure eventually told on 56 minutes as quick hands coupled with offloading in contact allowed Nkosi to go over on the right for 21-10.

South Africa were now motoring with Jantjies claiming his brace on 63 minutes, racing in on the blindside of a ruck to make it a 28-10 buffer.

Australia desperately needed the next score and they got it when Kurtley Beale's break and offload found Foley who crossed to cut the gap and with it take the try bonus-point away from the Springboks.  Therefore with 10 minutes to play there was plenty still riding on the game.

But South Africa ultimately managed to reclaim that bonus point in the final play of the game as Reinach darted over to secure the five points, putting down a marker to their Rugby Championship rivals as they now prepare to head to Wellington where New Zealand lie in wait.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  H Jantjies 2, De Jager, Nkosi, Reinach
Cons:  E Jantjies 5
Yellow Card:  Esterhuizen

For Australia:
Tries:  Haylett-Petty, Foley
Cons:  Foley 2
Pen:  Foley
Yellow Card:  Tupou

South Africa:  15 Warrick Gelant, 14 S’bu Nkosi, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Elton Jantjies, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Francois Louw, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Rynhardt Elstadt, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth (c), 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Beast Mtawarira
Replacements:  16 Schalk Brits, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Marvin Orie, 20 Marcell Coetzee, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Frans Steyn, 23 Dillyn Leyds

Australia:  15 Tom Banks, 14 Dane Haylett-Petty, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Samu Kerevi, 11 Reece Hodge, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nic White, 8 Isi Naisarani, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 5 Rory Arnold, 4 Izack Rodda, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Folau Fainga’a, 1 James Slipper
Replacements:  16 Jordan Uelese, 17 Harry Johnson-Holmes, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Rob Simmons, 20 Jack Dempsey, 21 Will Genia, 22 Matt To’omua, 23 Kurtley Beale

Referee:  Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees:  Matthew Carley (England), Karl Dickson (England)
TMO:  Rowan Kitt (England)

Four-try Fiji stun Maori All Blacks

Fiji made a statement of intent in their opening game of a two-match series against the Maori All Blacks when they beat their New Zealand rivals 27-10 in Suva on Saturday.

The result is an historical one for the Pacific Islanders as it is their first triumph over the Maori All Blacks since 1957.

Fiji outscored their visitors by four tries to two with Waisea Nayacalevu leading the way with a brace and Viliame Mata and Alivereti Veitokani also crossed the whitewash.  The rest of their points came via the boot of Ben Volavola, who slotted two conversions and a penalty.

The Maori All Blacks' points came courtesy of two tries from Sean Wainui.

The home side dominated from the outset and led 12-0 at half-time after Veitokani and Mata scored their tries.

Just before the interval, the visitors were reduced to 14 men when Otere Black was yellow carded for a cynical defensive foul inside his 22 and Fiji made full use of their numerical advantage when Nayacalevu crossed for his first try early in the second half.

Volavola also added a penalty shortly after the restart but the Maori All Blacks struck back with Wainui's two tries after Black returned from the sin bin.

The home side finished stronger, however, and sealed a memorable win when Nayacalevu scored his second try in the game's closing stages.

It's after 62 years Fiji Airways Flying Fijians have managed to beat Maori All Blacks.  What a game its was 27-10 infront of the home crowd.  Click below to read the game review#itsfijistime: https://t.co/4ThHvKx8Pc

— Fiji Rugby Union (@fijirugby) July 13, 2019

The scorers:

For Fiji:
Tries:  Veitokani, Mata, Nayacalevu 2
Cons:  Volavola 2
Pen:  Volavola

For Maori All Blacks:
Tries:  Wainui 2
Yellow Card:  Black

Fiji:  15 Alivereti Veitokani, 14 Josua Tuisova, 13 Waisea Nayacalevu, 12 Lepani Botia, 11 Eroni Sau, 10 Ben Volavola, 9 Frank Lomani, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Semi Kunatani, 6 Dominiko Waqaniburotu, 5 Leone Nakarawa, 4 Albert Tuisue, 3 Manasa Saulo, 2 Sam Matavesi, 1 Peni Ravai
Replacements:  16 Mesulame Dolokoto, 17 Eroni Mawi, 18 Kalivati Tawake, 19 Api Ratuniyarawa, 20 Nemani Nagusa, 21 Henry Seniloli, 22 Sevanaia Galala, 23 Patrick Osbourne

Maori All Blacks:  15 Fletcher Smith, 14 Shaun Stevenson, 13 Rob Thompson, 12 Teihorangi Walden, 11 Sean Wainui, 10 Otere Black, 9 Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 8 Akira Ioane, 7 Mitch Karpik, 6 Reed Prinsep, 5 Tom Franklin, 4 Isaia Walker-Leawere, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Ash Dixon (c), 1 Ross Wright
Replacements:  16 Nathan Harris, 17 Haereiti Hetet, 18 Marcel Renata, 19 Pari Pari Parkinson, 20 Whetukamokamo Douglas, 21 Bryn Hall, 22 Alex Nankivell, 23 Jordan Hyland

Referee:  Damon Murphy (Australia)
Assistant referees:  Nic Berry (Australia), Jordan Way (Australia)

England and Scotland draw Calcutta Cup thriller

A late George Ford converted try denied Scotland a famous come-from-behind Calcutta Cup win at Twickenham in a contest that finished 38-38.

It was a quite stunning 80 minutes on Saturday as the Scots appeared to have done the unthinkable when they came back from 31-0 down to go 38-31 in front with four minutes remaining on the match clock.  But with time up in the clash, Ford had other ideas to save English blushes.

England‘s other try scorers were Jack Nowell, Tom Curry, Joe Launchbury and Jonny May while for Scotland Stuart McInally, Darcy Graham (2), Magnus Bradbury, Finn Russell and Sam Johnson crossed in a match high on entertainment, bringing down 2019’s Six Nations curtain in style.

England were rampant from the off and raced into that big lead after half-an-hour courtesy of five crossings as Scotland were on the ropes.

They got the ball rolling with one minute played when slick handling and decoy runners allowed Henry Slade room to feed Nowell who finished well, cutting back inside off the right wing nicely.  Owen Farrell added the conversion and it wouldn’t be long before the tee was on again.

Their second came seven minutes later as a penalty nudged into the corner led to Curry burrowing over from a line-out rush to make it 14-0.

England were motoring and the only negative from the early stages was an injury to Ben Moon that saw him replaced by Ellis Genge.  The prop was immediately into the action and his carry and combination with fellow front-row Kyle Sinckler created Launchbury’s score on 14 minutes.

Farrell would then add a penalty to his conversion on 25 minutes as the lead was stretched to 24 points before a quickly taken penalty saw Slade race down the left wing before throwing a lovely inside pass to May who finished with ease.  Scotland looked in danger of a hammering.

Fortunately for Gregor Townsend’s men they would get on the board before half-time when McInally showed good pace to cross from 60 metres, this after he charged down Farrell’s attempted cross-kick.  The busy hooker intelligently changed his angle of running to get over in time.

Crucially for Scotland’s hopes of a revival they also scored first after the break when Graham finished well for 31-12 after good handling.  That was added to when Bradbury raced over on 51 minutes as suddenly Scotland had pulled themselves back into the match at just 31-19 down.

Indeed the match had now turned on its head at Twickenham and when the lively Graham raced over on 57 minutes on the right wing, Scotland had themselves a try bonus point to their name as it was now the English who were reeling, with head coach Eddie Jones stunned in his seat.

Amazingly, the game was tied at 31-31 on the hour when Russell intercepted Farrell’s loose pass before running under the posts from distance and the stunning comeback looked to be complete on 76 minutes, Johnson bouncing off would-be tacklers en route to the line for a 38-31 lead.

But England somehow managed to pick themselves up off the canvas and Ford’s last ditch try salvaged a draw to end an unbelievable meeting.

The scorers:

For England:
Tries:  Nowell, Curry, Launchbury, May, Ford
Cons:  Farrell 4, Ford
Pen:  Farrell

For Scotland:
Tries:  McInally, Graham 2, Bradbury, Russell, Johnson
Cons:  Russell 2, Laidlaw 2

England:  15 Elliot Daly, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Manu Tuilagi, 11 Jonny May, 10 Owen Farrell (c), 9 Ben Youngs, 8 Billy Vunipola, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Mark Wilson, 5 George Kruis, 4 Joe Launchbury, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Jamie George, 1 Ben Moon
Replacements:  16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Ellis Genge, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Brad Shields, 20 Nathan Hughes, 21 Ben Spencer, 22 George Ford, 23 Ben Te’o

Scotland:  15 Sean Maitland, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Nick Grigg, 12 Sam Johnson, 11 Byron McGuigan, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ali Price, 8 Magnus Bradbury, 7 Hamish Watson, 6 Sam Skinner, 5 Grant Gilchrist, 4 Ben Toolis, 3 Willem Nel, 2 Stuart McInally (c), 1 Allan Dell
Replacements:  16 Fraser Brown, 17 Gordon Reid, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Jonny Gray, 20 Josh Strauss, 21 Greig Laidlaw, 22 Adam Hastings, 23 Chris Harris

Referee:  Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees:  Jérôme Garcès (France), Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
TMO:  Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Wonderful Wales thrash Ireland to claim Grand Slam

Wales secured their third Grand Slam under the stewardship of Warren Gatland following an outstanding 25-7 triumph over Ireland at the Principality Stadium.

Saving their best performance for the final game, they were magnificent, opening up an early 7-0 advantage through Hadleigh Parkes’ try, before Gareth Anscombe carried on their good work by kicking three penalties for a 16-0 lead.

In contrast, Joe Schmidt’s team were abysmal.  Ill-disciplined and lacking any creativity, they never particularly looked like breaching the hosts’ stout defence.  Instead, it was the Welsh that looked assured in difficult conditions and Anscombe added three more three-pointers to complete a wonderful campaign.

Their winning streak now stands at 14 and it was the ideal way to mark Gatland’s final Six Nations game in charge, while they have very much put themselves in the World Cup mix.

In their three previous Grand Slam campaigns, Wales have been at home in the final match and they once again used the energy of the crowd to put the visitors under immediate pressure.

Gatland’s outfit were on the front foot in the opening minute, winning a lineout on the opposition 22 and forcing the away side to infringe.  From the penalty advantage, Anscombe’s trademark chip over the top was well collected by Parkes and the hosts already held a seven-point buffer.

Ireland immediately looked to respond, testing the Welsh defence with some neat kicks, and Johnny Sexton almost caught them out by finding Jacob Stockdale out wide.  However, that man Parkes, who has been outstanding over the past couple of games, was aware of the danger and put last season’s championship top-scorer into touch.

Buoyed by the centre’s superb effort, Wales upped the intensity once more and another Irish infringement allowed Anscombe to make it 10-0.

Schmidt’s men were struggling and they were evidently rattled.  As a result, they continued to make mistakes and the hosts’ kicker was on hand to punish any indiscretion, moving them 16-0 ahead at the interval.

Even at half-time, the champagne was on ice and it got even better for Gatland’s charges as Anscombe extended their lead at the start of the second period.

It was a brilliant display in tough conditions and Ireland had no answer to their opponents’ excellence.  Although it may not have been pretty, the weather dictated that and the forwards did their jobs superbly, regularly forcing the visitors into reverse.

They duly gave Anscombe opportunities off the tee and the Cardiff Blues man was in no mood to miss, adding two more for an insurmountable lead.

Ireland battled to get something from the contest and Jordan Larmour did go over, but it didn’t dampen Wales’ spirits, who never faltered and deservedly claimed another Grand Slam under Gatland.

The scorers:

For Wales:
Try:  Parkes
Con:  Anscombe
Pens:  Anscombe 6

For Ireland:
Try: Larmour
Con:  Carty

Wales:  15 Liam Williams, 14 George North, 13 Jonathan Davies, 12 Hadleigh Parkes, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Gareth Davies, 8 Ross Moriarty, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Josh Navidi, 5 Alun Wyn Jones (c), 4 Adam Beard, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Rob Evans
Replacements:  16 Elliot Dee, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Jake Ball, 20 Aaron Wainwright, 21 Aled Davies, 22 Dan Biggar, 23 Owen Watkin

Ireland:  15 Rob Kearney, 14 Keith Earls, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 Jacob Stockdale, 10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Conor Murray, 8 CJ Stander, 7 Sean O’Brien, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 5 James Ryan, 4 Tadhg Beirne, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 2 Rory Best (c), 1 Cian Healy
Replacements:  16 Niall Scannell, 17 Dave Kilcoyne, 18 Andrew Porter, 19 Quinn Roux, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Kieran Marmion, 22 Jack Carty, 23 Jordan Larmour

Referee:  Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant referees:  Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand), Karl Dickson (England)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

France end campaign on a high after beating Italy

France finished their Six Nations campaign on a high courtesy of a hard-fought 25-14 win over Italy at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome on Saturday.

In a tightly contested affair, momentum between the sides ebbed and flowed but it was France who got the rub of the green in the end as they outscored the Azzurri by three tries to one.

The result was in the balance until the game’s dying moments but a try from Damian Penaud secured the win for Les Bleus after Italy wasted try-scoring opportunities at the other end just before that.

The victory is France’s second of the tournament while Italy finish winless for the fourth successive year and extend their drought in the Six Nations to 22 matches.

Italy dominated the early exchanges and raced into a 6-0 lead after Tommaso Allan succeeded with two penalties.

France were slowly getting into the game and in the 16th minute Penaud gathered a pass from Maxime Medard close to the halfway line before setting off on a brilliant run down the right-hand touchline.  He cut infield and beat Tito Tebaldi with deft footwork before offloading to Antoine Dupont, who went over for the opening try.

Romain Ntamack slotted the conversion which gave his side a 7-5 lead but Les Bleus were dealt a blow shortly afterwards when their captain, Guilhem Guirado, was forced off the field with a rib injury.

Despite that setback, France still held the upper-hand and midway through the half Ntamack extended their lead via another penalty after Andrea Lovotti slowed the ball down illegally at a ruck.

Italy were soon camped inside Les Bleus’ 22, however, and in the 24th minute Allan stabbed through a well-weighted grubber kick which caught the French defence by surprise.  Marco Zanon gave chase but the ball bounced off the padding of an upright and the debutant centre knocked on.

Two minutes later, the Azzurri were denied again when Braam Steyn went over the whitewash under a mass of bodies, but television replays were inconclusive whether he grounded the ball.

It was all Italy during the rest of the half but despite spending most of the closing stages on the attack inside France’s half, they could not add to their points tally and the teams changed sides at the interval with Les Bleus holding a slender 10-6 lead.

Italy continued the second half like they finished off the first and in the 42nd minute Allan added another penalty after Yacouba Camara infringed at a ruck.

The visitors regained the initiative, however, and they did so in style courtesy of a brilliant try from Yoann Huget.  This, after France’s forwards laid the groundwork with some strong carries.  A long pass from Ntamack was gathered by Medard, who offloaded to Huget and the winger did well to outpace the cover defence on his way over the try-line.

Ntamack’s conversion was successful which gave the visitors some breathing space with the score 17-9 in their favour.  Italy had an opportunity to narrow the gap in the 49th minute, when France strayed offside on defence but Allan’s was off target with his penalty attempt.

The Azzurri put that miss behind them and five minutes later Tebaldi crossed the whitewash from close quarters after an extended period in Les Bleus’ 22.  Allan’s conversion attempt was wide of the mark but with the home side trailing by just three points, they were back in the match and continued to attack.

France needed a response and that came in the 63rd minute when Ntamack landed a drop goal from inside Italy’s 22 after Camille Chat did well in the build-up with a strong carry.

The next 10 minutes was a frantic affair as Italy launched several attacks in a bid to narrow the gap.  In the 66th minute, Tebaldi thought he was over for his second try but his effort was disallowed after he lost the ball forward before regathering and dotting down.

In the 72nd minute, Les Bleus suffered a setback when Chat halted a maul illegally from Italy close to his try-line and he was sent to the sin bin for his efforts.

With a numerical advantage, Italy dominated proceedings but in the 75th minute Zanon blew the chance to score his side’s second try when he had the ball knocked from his grasp while crossing the try-line.

The tackle was made Penaud, who finished the game as Les Bleus’ hero when he gathered a pass from Ntamack before racing away to score the try which sealed his side’s win.

The scorers:

For Italy:
Try:  Tebaldi
Pens:  Allan 3

For France:
Tries:  Dupont, Huget, Penaud
Cons:  Ntamack 2
Pen:  Ntamack
Drop goal:  Ntamack
Yellow Card:  Chat

Italy:  15 Jayden Hayward, 14 Edoardo Padovani, 13 Marco Zanon, 12 Luca Morisi, 11 Angelo Esposito, 10 Tommaso Allan, 9 Tito Tebaldi, 8 Sergio Parisse (c), 7 Jake Polledri, 6 Abraham Jurgens Steyn, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 David Sisi, 3 Tiziano Pasquali, 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1 Andrea Lovotti
Replacements:  16 Luca Bigi, 17 Cherif Traore’, 18 Simone Ferrari, 19 Alessandro Zanni, 20 Sebastian Negri, 21 Guglielmo Palazzani, 22 Ian McKinley, 23 Luca Sperandio

France:  15 Maxime Medard, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Mathieu Bastareaud, 12 Geoffrey Doumayrou, 11 Yoann Huget, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont, 8 Louis Picamoles, 7 Yacouba Camara, 6 Gregory Alldritt, 5 Paul Willemse, 4 Felix Lambey, 3 Demba Bamba, 2 Guilhem Guirado (c), 1 Etienne Falgoux
Replacements:  16 Camille Chat, 17 Dany Priso, 18 Dorian Aldegheri, 19 Paul Gabrillagues, 20 Arthur Iturria, 21 Baptiste Serin, 22 Camille Lopez, 23 Thomas Ramos

Referee:  Matthew Carley (England)
Assistant Referees:  Nigel Owens (Wales), Andrew Brace (Ireland)
TMO:  Graham Hughes (England)