United States 9 Uruguay 10

Uruguay defeated the USA 10-9 in Americas Zone qualifying action and in the process have put the American bid to qualify direct for Australia 2003 in jeopardy.

In a windswept match which saw the two forward packs battle to a standstill, Uruguay prevailed over Dave Hodges' XV by a converted penalty try and a penalty goal to three penalty goals.  Some 3,000 watched the River Plate Stadium contest.

Coupled with Canada's 29-11 victory over Chile in Santiago, the Teros victory means the winner of next Saturday's Uruguay-Chile match in Montevideo will claim second place in the Americas qualifying pool and a trip to the 2003 World Cup in Australia.  Barring a draw, the United States will finish third based on a tiebreak formula and go into a special "repechage" playoff series.

"The scoreline reflects how difficult it was for both teams to play rugby," USA coach Tom Billups said after the match.

"But I really want to hand it to our forwards.  We were dramatically better [than the Chile match], and went toe to toe with Uruguay on their home ground," Billups said.

Uruguay scored first, benefiting from a penalty try called by referee Peter Marshall.  Nineteen minutes into the game, at scrummage some eight meters away from the tryline, two set pieces collapsed.  When the third scrum went down, the Australian promptly awarded Uruguay five points, an unusual decision so far out.

The USA struck back with penalty goals from Mike Hercus, at 24 minutes and in first-half injury time.  But the Eagle flyhalf also missed three-point opportunities at 6 and 39 minutes.  On the first occasion the ball hit the upright and rebounded within reach of pursuing Philippe Farner, who had a clear run to the line, before bouncing crazily away.

The two sides traded penalty goals in the second half, one by Diego Aguirre at 67 minutes and one by Hercus at 70 minutes.  Again the Eagles narrowly missed a try, when halfback Kevin Dalzell went over the line but couldn't ground the ball.  Following America's five-meter scrum, Uruguay jumped offside, giving Hercus his chance.

"We held Uruguay to ten points, including a dubious penalty try, a week after Canada shipped 25 in losing here.  They got nothing out of their rolling maul, and we leave South America with our honor intact," Billups said.

"I told the boys that we were going to find a way to Australia, and it looks like we're going to get our chance," Billups said.

The Teams:

United States:  1 Dan Dorsey, 2 Kirk Khasigian, 3 Mike MacDonald, 4 Philippe Farner, 5 Alec Parker, 6 Dave Hodges (c), 7 Kort Schubert, 8 Dan Lyle, 9 Kevin Dalzell, 10 Mike Hercus, 11 David Fee, 12 Jason Keyter, 13 Juan Grobler, 14 Al Lakomskis, 15 Link Wilfley
Reserves:  Chris Miller, Shaun Paga
Unused:  Johnny Naqica, Conrad Hodgson, Kimball Kjar, John Tarpoff, Mose Timoteo

Referee:  Marshall p.

Points Scorers:

United States
Pen K.:  Hercus M. 3

Canada 29 Chile 11

Canada scored a deserved 29-11 win over Chile at the Prince of Wales Country Club in Santiago and in the process qualified in first place in the Americas Zone for the 2003 World Cup.

Canada played an unsteady first-half at the Prince of Wales Country Club in front of 4,000 as Chile caused it some early problems, but Canada stuck to its game plan of getting the ball wide.  In the second-half after an 8-5 half-time score, it put together some constructive phases of polished rugby scoring two tries by its wingers Calgary's Sean Fauth and Victoria's Fred Asselin.  In the first half Canada's No.8 Ryan Banks, who won "Man of the Match" honours, and a silver platter, scored a blustering try.

"We stuck to our plan," said Canada's coach David Clark.  "And we achieved our goal of winning the tournament and gaining first place.  The quality of refereeing was exemplary today and that allowed us to play the game the way we wanted to."

After a long feeling-out period that saw both teams squander scoring chances, Victoria's Bob Ross put Canada ahead with a penalty from 25-metres at 23 minutes:  3-0.  Canada went farther ahead two minutes later when Rod Snow, then Winston Stanley and finally Fred Asselin put together a fine phase of play down the left touch-line.  When Asselin was stopped in a tackle, No.8 Ryan Banks was there to take the ball in from the 22-metere line in a powerful run that saw him score in the corner carrying two tackler over with him.  No conversion:  8-0.

Chile worked its way to near Canada's line where it won a line-out at 35 minutes.  From the line-out it attacked in numbers employing South America's favourite weapon, the rolling maul.  When Canada stopped the maul No.8 Cristian Manzur broke around the side and scored.  Onetto missed the conversion.  8-5 and Ross missed a penalty at 38 minutes to end the half.

Canada looked far more focused and crisper as the second-half began as it put together some fine runs with Banks and scrum-half Ed Fairhurst to the fore.  Ross hit for a penalty at 43 minutes to put Canada ahead 11-5 before Fauth scored a wonderfully engineered try.

Canada won a line-out and with the backs on the attack, centre Nik Witkowski chip-kicked the loveliest of weighted kicks toward the Chilean corner-flag.  Sean Fauth passed his opposite number, leapt in the air, secured the ball and touched down for his fifth try in a Canadian jersey.  No coversion:  16-5.

At 53-minutes, referee Scott Young sent lock Jamie Cudmore, in his first start for Canada, to the sin-bin for using the elbow in a tackle.  After Edmundo Olfos was stretchered off Onetto made good on the penalty:  16-8.

Jared Barker, who replaced Ross at 53 minutes, kicked his first penalty at 59-minutes to widen the margin to 19-8 but Onetto hit one of his own at 66 minutes to make it 19-11.  A try by Fred Asselin, however broke Chilean resolve.  Ron Johnstone won a line-out, the ball went out to Barker who passed directly to Witkowski and this time the nifty play maker, tore though a gap and made ground.  He eventually passed to Asselin going at top speed to score under the posts.  Barker converted:  26-11.  Barker hit another penalty at 76 minutes as the clock wore down.  Final 29-11.

"They put a lot of store in their scrum and it fought manfully but in the end, when we got the ball wide, we scored two cracking tries," said Clark.

"We had to work hard for all our points today," said Canada's captain Al Charron.  "We put in a much better effort today than last week, and though we made mistakes our intensity and focus was there.  It is great to achieve our goal of first place."

"Its been long summer, but it has been fun," said vice-captain Winston Stanley.  "It was a close first-half, but we stuck to it and got the job done."

Whichever team wins next week, that team will win second-place and the loser and the USA will be tied on points and the winner will be determined by the margin ofpoints scored for and against in their respective matches.

"We must go to Uruguay and win next weekend," said a sad Alfonso Escobar the Chilean captain after the match.  "Canada played a very strong game today.  We made a lot of mistakes.  We were very nervous going into the game and we did poorly in the line-out.  We weren't focused enough and Canada took their opportunities well.  We will work hard this week and we'll strive for second-place in Montevideo."

The teams:

Canada:  1 Rod Snow, 2 Mark Lawson, 3 Kevin Wirachowski, 4 Jamie Cudmore, 5 Ron Johnstone, 6 Alan Charron (c), 7 Adam Van Staveren, 8 Ryan Banks, 9 Ed Fairhurst, 10 Bobby Ross, 11 Fred Asselin, 12 John Cannon, 13 Nik Witkowski, 14 Sean Fauth, 15 Winston Stanley
Reserves:  Jared Barker
Unused:  Leif Carlson, Marco Di Girolomo, Josh Jackson, Chad Plater, Kevin Tkachuk, Colin Yukes

Attendance:  4000
Referee:  Young s.

Points Scorers:

Canada
Tries:  Asselin F. 1, Fauth S. 1, Banks R. 1
Conv:  Barker J. 1
Pen K.:  Ross R.P. 2, Barker J. 2

Chile
Tries:  Cristian Manzur 1
Pen K.:  Cristian Onetto 2

Canada 23 Uruguay 25

Canada's five game winning streak came to an unexpected end as they crashed to a 23-25 defeat at the hands of Uruguay in Montevideo in a 2003 Rugby World Cup qualifying clash.

The loss in front of 3000 noisy fans at River Plate Stadium does not spell disaster for the Canadians as it already holds second-place, and has a berth in the 2003 World Cup secured.  It still must play Chile next weekend in Santiago in an attempt to gain the first -place finish it covets.

With few friends in the crowd, a very small and sandy pitch, Canada fought manfully.  But the loss of two men to the sin-bin which, when they were off, accounted for sixteen of Uruguay's points, and four vital missed kicks eventually told the story.

"Uruguay played a tight game with a stronger and more forceful pack than in Edmonton in the first game and were able to employ their rolling maul to effect," said Canada coach David Clark.  "We had the measure of them in the backs but we didn't put our sequences together often enough, and didn't get the ball wide as much as we would have liked."

Canada played into the wind for the opening half and with the game only a minute old Los Teros fullback Juan Menchaca hit for a 40-metre penalty to gain the lead.  Canada's Jared Barker followed at three-minutes with one of his own to tie the score at 3-3.

Uruguay captain Diego Aguirre hit for a second at 14-minutes after Menchaca had rattled one off the posts a few minutes earlier.  Uruguay 6-3.  At 18-minutes, Canada passed the ball wide left to wing Fred Asslein and the speedy winger went inside, then outside, then inside again to beat two men and beat all opponents as he touched down under the posts for a beautiful try.  Barker converted 10-6 and Canada looked in control at this stage in the game, winning Uruguayan line-outs with frequency and forcing the play.

At 31-minutes Barker struck again from 42-meters for his thirty-third (33rd) official kick in succession since last missing one against Scotland, and his 28th kick in succession in these World Cup Qualifiers.  It brought his kicking rate to 50 of 52 in his nine internationals.

Soon after Jon Theil went off with a knock and Kevin Tkachuck replaced him.  Rod Snow moved to tight-head.  Menchaca hit another penalty at 35-minutes for offside as Uruguay moved the score closer at 16-9.  Just on half-time Aguirre hit another as referee Pablo De Luca issued a yellow carded to Ed Fairhurst for what he decreed a stomp.  Very unlike Fairhurst if true.  Half time:  16-12.

Beginning the second-half with fourteen men Canada took an early penalty which Menchaca converted 16-15 and when Barker had the opportunity of edging Canada in front on a penalty at 43-minutes and with the crowd whistling like mad-men, he pushed the ball wide from 45-metres.

Canada found itself on the back foot and deep in its own end and when Uruguay won a line-out five-metres from Canada's line the home team launched its vaunted rolling maul.  Second-row Rodrigo Capo went over in the pile up and managed to touch down:16-20 Uruguay.

Barker had two more shots at goal which went wide before No.8 Ryan Banks, at 55-minutes, launched a strong attack straight up the middle of the pitch.  He linked with fullback Winston Stanley who zigged and zagged through tacklers until he handed to Fairhurst.  He had just returned to the field of play, and the young halback sprinted 22-metres and took two men over in the tackle to give Canada a 23-10 lead with Barker's conversion.

With frustration mounting Kevin Tkachuck received a yellow carded for bringing down a maul after a line-out.  Uruguay took the ball to Canada's line as Canada defended well on the first onslaught, but on the second attempt, at 72-minutes, Eduardo Berrutti rode the maul over the line to give Uruguay a 23-25 lead.  Later Bob Ross had a long range attempt at the posts, but amid the deafening roar of the crowd the ball sailed just wide.  25-23 final.

"It is amazing to me that punching is given a warning and condoned down here, while the collapse of a maul by one tackler is admonished with a yellow card," said David Clark after the game.

"But, in spite of all that, we didn't play well.  Great goal kicking is a luxury that we have come to enjoy with Barker and Ross, and they can't be faulted for missing those long-range kicks today.  We'll just have to re-group for next week's game against Chile."

"We were able to use our maul to better effect today," said Uruguay coach Diego Ormaechea.  "We used the ball better than we did in our game in Edmonton.  Canada is big and strong, and every game for Uruguay is difficult.  This will give us a boost for when we meet the USA next weekend."

"A big disappointment," said Canada captain Al Charron.  "We came down here to win two games, but we didn't play well today.  It was a physical game on a narrow pitch and we didn't get things done properly."

Vancouver's Mark Lawson enjoyed a strong game in his first start for Canada and Ed Fairhurst also played with flair as he ran well from the base of the scrum keeping the Los Teros back-row honest.  Leif Carlson also had his first run in a red jersey as he came on for Adam van Staveren in the second-half.

The teams:

Canada:  1 Rod Snow, 2 Mark Lawson, 3 John Thiel, 4 Ron Johnstone, 5 Colin Yukes, 6 Alan Charron (c), 7 Adam Van Staveren, 8 Ryan Banks, 9 Ed Fairhurst, 10 Jared Barker, 11 Fred Asselin, 12 John Cannon, 13 Nik Witkowski, 14 Marco Di Girolomo, 15 Winston Stanley
Reserves:  Leif Carlson, Bobby Ross, Kevin Tkachuk
Unused:  Jamie Cudmore, Sean Fauth, Josh Jackson, Matt King

Attendance:  3000
Referee:  De luca p.

Points Scorers:

Canada
Tries:  Asselin F. 1, Fairhurst E. 1
Conv:  Barker J. 2
Pen K.:  Barker J. 3

Uruguay
Tries:  Capo Ortega R. 1, Berruti E. 1
Pen K.:  Menchaca J. 3, Aguirre D. 2

Australia 31 South Africa 33

The Springboks scored their first win of the 2002 Tri-Nations thanks to a try from Bok fullback Werner Greeff on the stroke of full-time.  South Africa led 14-9 at half-time and won 33-31 thanks to Greeff's conversion of his own score.

In the process, the Springboks wrested the Mandela Cup, which is played on a bi-annual basis, from the Wallabies, whilst the All Blacks were crowned as the Tri-Nations champions for the fourth time in their history.  The Wallabies were in search of their third Tri-Nations series in a row.

Greeff, who came flying in from fullback at the perfect angle, took a neat pass from replacement scrumhalf Johannes Conradie and broke through desperate tackles from Wallaby forwards Nathan Sharpe and Matt Cockbain before diving over next to the uprights.

With the scores tied at 31-all, the courageous Western Province fullback, who had a nightmare start in the goalkicking department, stepped up and calmly slotted the match-winning conversion under huge pressure from a horde of storming Wallabies.

Maybe a draw would have been a fair reflection of the match -- a ding-dong affair if ever -- but the joy on the Boks' faces was plain to see and it was a much-needed win that can only bode well for the future.

This is a good young team with a lot of promise, but after running into a 26-9 lead they very nearly gave the match away when the Wallabies stepped out of first gear and took the lead three minutes from full-time through a spectacular try from Brendan Cannon, which was set up by George Smith.

Smith burst away from a line-out thanks to a stray Ollie le Roux throw and beat attempted tackles from Jannes Labuschagne and Lawrence Sephaka, before setting off on a brilliant solo run into South Africa's 22.  There, he beat tackles from Conradie and Breyton Paulse, before passing to replacement hooker Brendan Cannon, who fell over for the try.

Matthew Burke missed the conversion, but at 31-26 it seemed all over for the brave Boks, who conceded tries to Mat Rogers and Toutai Kefu just before their classy midfielder Marius Joubert was shown a red card for a high tackle on Rogers.

Joubert's centre mate De Wet Barry had also spent some time in the sin bin for a punch on a Wallaby player, while, to make matters worse for them, their captain Corné Krige had left the fray in the 50th minute after taking another bang to his sternum.

But credit must go to stand-in skipper Bob Skinstad for rallying his troops one more time in the dying moments of the match after they won a scrum in Australia's 22 just before the final hooter.

Skinstad made the initial burst off the base of the scrum, Labuschagne carried further and when Greeff came screaming up to collect Conradie's pass, Ellis Park erupted.  It was comparable to scenes from the 1995 World Cup Final at the same venue.

There were similar scenes of joy for the Ellis Park contingent when the Boks eventually woke up close to half-time thanks to tries from their pocket-sized battle-ships Breyton Paulse and Brent Russell.

Paulse's try, his first at Test level since he scored a double against Italy on 30 June last year, was preceded by a neat dart from Marius Joubert, who managed to pass the ball off the ground to a rampaging Sephaka, who hit the Wallaby defence with vigour.

The ball was re-cycled one more time after some other Bok heavies did the hard work and Paulse danced straight between front rankers Jeremy Paul and Bill Young for the five-pointer.

Greeff kicked the conversion from right in front and the Boks were just two points down -- Burke kicked three penalties after some silly Bok errors within striking-distance -- close to the break.

A two-point deficit soon became a five-point lead when Russell, a late replacement for André Pretorius -- who went down with a knee injury at the captain's run on Friday -- spun out of tackles from Daniel Herbert and Stirling Mortlock before turning on his after-burners and leaving Chris Latham in his wake.

Paulse's second try, scored shortly after the break, put the Boks in control at 21-9, but some tigerish defence (on one occasion Joe van Niekerk and Dean Hall combined to deny Toutai Kefu a try in the corner after a brilliant burst from a scrum) and Van Niekerk's second try at Test level -- just before the final quarter -- seemed to be the final nail in Australia's Tri-Nations and Mandela Cup coffin.

Van Niekerk's try, courtesy of a clever pass from Bob Skinstad, was reminiscent of the latter's match-winning try against the Wallabies in the 1998 Tri-Nations, was probably the best of the day, until Smith nearly stole the thunder from the Boks with his 70-metre dash in the lead-up to Cannon's seemingly match-clinching try.

It would have been cruel for the Boks if they had been denied again, but this is Test (at its best we might add!) rugby and sometimes the harshest lessons are the best.  The Boks will feel it was a season of "what-if?" or "could have", but if they are honest with themselves, they contrived to throw away all of their previous matches.

At one stage it seemed as if this match was headed in the same direction.

Acting NZRFU CEO Steve Tew collected the Tri-Nations trophy on behalf of the All Blacks, South Africa's elated skipper Corné Krige collected the Mandela Shield from the former President's son.

It was hard to wipe the smile off Krige's face.  "This one is for you," he said to the Ellis Park faithful after collecting the shield.

Man of the match:  There are tons of contenders here.  For the Wallabies, Nathan Sharpe, George Smith and Toutai Kefu were exemplary, as were George Gregan, Stephen Larkham and Matthew Burke.  For the Boks, Lawrence Sephaka showed his worth and ability, locks Jannes Labuschagne and AJ Venter were hard and never took a backwards step, whilst Joe van Niekerk continues to play better each week, especially in tandem with Bob Skinstad.  Amongst the backs, Neil de Kock, Brent Russell, Breyton Paulse and Werner Greeff deserve praise, but in the end we have settled for a forward.  The lucky man?  Loosehead prop Lawrence Dumisani Sephaka, who at 23, played the match of his life.  He scrummed well, carried the ball strongly (He featured prominently in the build-up to both of Paulse's tries) and defended as if his life depended on it.  He just edges Van Niekerk to this award and wins one back for his fellow prop forwards, whose hard work often goes unnoticed!

Moment of the match:  Brent Russell's try was a wonderful moment as was Joe van Niekerk's burst down the touchline en route to his try, whilst George Smith's burst away from a stray Bok line-out throw, in the build-up to Cannon's try, was brilliant.  But in the end, one cannot ignore Greeff's sensational try.  He took the ball at pace and broke through the attempted tackles from Nathan Sharpe -- the Wallabies' best forward again -- and Matt Cockbain before coolly slotting the conversion (his fourth of the day).  This is a young Bok side with character and verve, and Greeff personified it with his heroics.  Who will forget stand-in skipper Bob Skinstad's celebrations?

Villain of the match:  In a match like this, choosing a villain is not the easiest exercise.  AJ Venter deserves a mention here when he rucked close to Owen Finegan's head, Nathan Sharpe punched a Springbok player and De Wet Barry was penalised for a nifty punch on a Wallaby.  The winner then?  Marius Joubert, who was shown a red card for a high tackle on Mat Rogers.  The Boks were guilty of three other high tackles on the day.

The teams:

Australia:  1 Ben Darwin, 2 Jeremy Paul, 3 Bill Young, 4 Justin Harrison, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 6 Owen Finegan, 7 George Smith, 8 Toutai Kefu, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Stirling Mortlock, 12 Matthew Burke, 13 Dan Herbert, 14 Ben Tune, 15 Chris Latham
Reserves:  Brendan Cannon, Matt Cockbain, Rod Moore, Mat Rogers, David Lyons
Unused:  Elton Flatley, Chris Whitaker

South Africa:  1 Willie Meyer, 2 James Dalton, 3 Lawrence Sephaka, 4 Jannes Labuschagne, 5 A.J. Venter, 6 Corne Krige (c), 7 Joe Van Niekerk, 8 Bobby Skinstad, 9 Neil De Kock, 10 Brent Russell, 11 Dean Hall, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Marius Joubert, 14 Breyton Paulse, 15 Werner Greeff
Reserves:  Faan Rautenbach, Hendro Scholtz, Bolla Conradie, Ollie Le Roux, Stefan Terblanche
Unused:  Adi Jacobs, Victor Matfield

Attendance:  63000
Referee:  O'brien p.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Cannon B.J. 1, Kefu R.S.T. 1, Rogers M. 1
Conv:  Burke M.C. 2
Pen K.:  Burke M.C. 3
Drop G.:  Gregan G.M. 1

South Africa
Tries:  Greeff W.W. 1, Paulse B.J. 2, Russell B. 1, Van Niekerk J.C. 1
Conv:  Greeff W.W. 4

United States 35 Chile 22

Two first-half tries from David Fee propelled the United States to a 35-22 win over Chile in a Rugby World Cup qualifying match.

In a hard-hitting contest, the USA jumped to a 25-3 halftime lead and were never in danger of losing the first-ever rugby international between the American hemisphere countries, played before 2,075 fans on a 75-degree summer afternoon.

Local star Kimball Kjar and Philip Eloff added tries for the USA, while flyhalf Mike Hercus added 15 points goalkicking,.  Nicolas Damm, Bernardo Garcia, and captain Alfonso Escobar scored the visitors' tries, the latter two in the game's dying stages.

With the win, the USA improved its World Cup qualifying tournament record to 1-2 while Chile fell to 1-1.  In other World Cup qualifying action today, Calgary downed Uruguay 51-16 in Edmonton to move its record to 3-0.  Uruguay dropped to 0-2.

Fee, in just his third match for the USA, opened the scoring at 15 minutes.  Hard running by forwards Dan Dorsey and Phillippe Farner set up the winger's first international try.  Hercus converted to give the hosts a 7-0 lead.

Following two penalty goals by Hercus and one from Chilean flyhalf Cristian Gonzalez, Fee's second try broke the match open at 36 minutes.  Mose Timoteo's strong counterattack run opened up the Chilean defense for Fee to scamper 40 yards down the right sideline.

One minute before halftime, Utah native Kjar darted from the base on a ruck to run 40 yards untouched.  Hercus' conversion made the count 25-3.

Chile's Damm scored a converted try 7 minutes after halftime to bring the visitors to within 15 points, but Hercus' third penalty goal and Eloff's converted try at 59 minutes put the game out of reach at 35-10.

With several American starters on the bench resting for Thursday's match with Uruguay in San Francisco, Chile's forward power came to fore in tries by Garcia and Escobar.

"Today was a good victory.  It's great to see young guys like Kimball [Kjar] and David Fee taking their chances and scoring tries.  But now we have to immediately focus on Uruguay," USA captain said after the match.

The Teams:

United States:  1 Dan Dorsey, 2 Kirk Khasigian, 3 Mike MacDonald, 4 Philippe Farner, 5 Alec Parker, 6 Conrad Hodgson, 7 Dave Hodges (c), 8 Kort Schubert, 9 Kimball Kjar, 10 Mike Hercus, 11 Johnny Naqica, 12 Jason Keyter, 13 Phillip Eloff, 14 David Fee, 15 Mose Timoteo
Reserves:  Chris Miller, Andy McGarry, Shaun Paga, John Tarpoff, Link Wilfley
Unused:  Kevin Dalzell, Isaac Mbereko

Attendance:  2075
Referee:  Cole a.

Points Scorers:

United States
Tries:  Fee D. 2, Eloff P. 1, Kjar K. 1
Conv:  Hercus M. 3
Pen K.:  Hercus M. 3

Canada 51 Uruguay 16

Canada defeated Uruguay 51-16 in Edmonton, Alberta to take a commanding 3-0 lead in the Americas Zone 2003 Rugby World Cup qualifiers.  The South Americans meanwhile now fall to last place behind Chile (3rd) and the United States who beat Los Condores in Salt Lake City.

Jared Barker continued his kicking dominance, putting across 19 points on the day from two conversions and five penalties -- and has not missed a kick at goal in the current test season.  Overall he is a staggering 41 of 43 and impressed the 3,000 strong crowd at Ellerslie Park

Canadian tries were scored by Winston Stanley, Marco DiGiroamo, Morgan Williams, and forwards Pat Dunkley and Jon Thiel.

Coach David Clark was a bit surprised by the approach the Uruguayans took -- opting to kick possession away rather than use the more familiar rolling maul that is a trademark of South American rugby.

"We didn't think they would do that -- though we saw them do it last week against Chile," offered Clark.  "They started the game by [kicking] all their possession away -- which is no way to play really.  They did surprise us because they didn't get into their rolling maul as much as I thought they would -- and we were ready for that."

Coach for Los Teros Diego Oramechea said they had planned to use that tactic in order to create rucking opportunities -- but Canada simply did too much when they got possession.

"We have our plan and we used the kick up to ruck over the ball.  But when Canada has the ball they are so effective.  I didn't think the final score reflected the effort we put across for three quarters of the game," he said.

Urugauay opened the scoring after playing some useful rugby in the Canadian end -- with inside centre Joaquin De Freitas slotting a penalty after Canada was penalized for an offside -- and then a further ten metres for not retreating quickly enough.

Barker began his perfect day with a kick in the 17th minute from 41 metres to tie the game at 3-3.

Two minutes later he punished an offside by the Teros -- putting the ball across from ten metres.  The Uruguayans continued to be heavily penalized by referee Steve Walsh -- as Barker kicked his third of the day to make the score 9-3 after twenty-five minutes.

Outside centre Nik Witksowski continues to shine this season since making the move from the wing -- and on this day initiated a run to the Teros thirty metre line before passing to Sean Fauth who then freed fullback Winston Stanley for a try under the posts.  Barker converted and then added a penalty at forty minutes to give Canada a 19-3 lead at the interval.

The Uruguayans played with some fire to start the second half -- and ground down to the Canadian ten metre line before No.8 Hernan Ponte broke free for a try just left of the posts.  De Freitas converted and it was 19-10 to the Canucks.

Clark brought standout utility back Marco DiGirolamo in for Sean Fauth to start the second half -- and the Toronto native who had scored two tries against the US did not disappoint -- taking a counter attack from thirty metres -- touching down for the converted try to give Canada a 26-10 lead after 55 minutes.

De Freitas then added his third penalty of the day to keep his side in the game.  Then -- as if the struggle against the larger Canadian forwards was not enough fly-half Sebastien Aguirre was sinbinned for putting his boots in a ruck -- putting the visitors down to 14 men.

Barker hit a 39 metre shot to keep his streak alive -- with Uruguay countering with a Juan Menchaca drop-goal two minutes later to make the score 29-16 after 60 minutes.

Bob Ross came on for Barker in the final fifteen minutes -- kicking a long penalty to increase the advantage to 31-16.

As the Uruguayan forwards began to tire -- as did the team doctor who was tending to many wounds -- the Canadian attack picked up a notch with Morgan Williams scoring a sparkling try off passes from Colin Yukes and Phil Murphy.  With the Ross conversion the Canadians were well in the lead 39-16.

DiGirolamo added to his impressive test season with a huge break that got him to within fifteen metres of the line before defensive cover pulled him down.  As he was about to hit the turf he threw a pass to trailing hooker Pat Dunkley who eagerly took the gift across for Canada's fourth try of the day -- which Ross converted to make the score 46-16.

Mike James initiated the final try of the day -- as the impressive second row charged to the Uruguayan ten metre line before getting bundled into touch.  Before he went out he managed a sharp backhand pass to keep the ball alive with prop Jon Thiel charging over for the final score.

The Bridgend prop admitted the visiting forwards made the Canadian pack work hard for the victory.

"They were pretty big and they took it to us in the first little bit and then they got tired which helped us [open] the game up," said Thiel.

We didn't come out as well as we should have in the second half," noted Clark.  "We allowed them to score a try and we were under pressure.  We would have liked to come into the second half spark it up a bit and really rip into them -- and I think we need to look at that when we prepare for [Chile] next week."

Man of the Match:  Fly-half Jared Barker's flawless kicking kept the Canadians in this match in the early going when the offense sputtered at times.  Then with good distribution, pressure relieving kicks and thoughtful running he helped create a number of flowing moves.

Moment of the match:  The second half try by Marco DiGirolamo exposed the Uruguayan defence -- but also showcased his raw speed and nose for the line.  It was the try that really opened the match up for Canada.

Villain of the match:  Fly-half Sebastien Aguirre getting sinbinned really put his team behind when they were beginning to show some signs of purpose.

The teams:

Canada:  1 Rod Snow, 2 Pat Dunkley, 3 John Thiel, 4 Mike James, 5 Colin Yukes, 6 Dan Baugh, 7 Alan Charron (c), 8 Ryan Banks, 9 Morgan Williams, 10 Jared Barker, 11 Fred Asselin, 12 John Cannon, 13 Nik Witkowski, 14 Sean Fauth, 15 Winston Stanley
Reserves:  Marco Di Girolomo, Ed Fairhurst, Mark Lawson, Phil Murphy, Bobby Ross, Adam Van Staveren
Unused:  Kevin Tkachuk

Attendance:  3000
Referee:  Walsh s.r.

Points Scorers:

Canada
Tries:  Stanley W.U. 1, Williams M. 1, Dunkley P. 1, Thiel J. 1, Di Girolomo M. 1
Conv:  Barker J. 2, Ross R.P. 2
Pen K.:  Barker J. 5, Ross R.P. 1

Uruguay
Tries:  Ponte H. 1
Conv:  De Freitas J. 1
Pen K.:  De Freitas J. 2
Drop G.:  Menchaca J. 1

New Zealand 30 South Africa 23

A late try from centre Aaron Mauger gave New Zealand a hard-fought 30-23 win over South Africa in Durban and a crucial bonus point to put them in pole position for the 2002 Tri-Nations title, although the game will be remembered for all the wrong reasons after a fan raced on to the pitch and assaulted referee David McHugh midway through the game.

Mauger's late try in the second half secured the Kiwis' bonus point -- after they had scored three tries in the first half -- and put all the pressure on the Wallabies ahead of their meeting with the Springboks at Ellis Park in the final clash of the 2002 tournament.

While one has to feel sorry for the Boks, who had their chances in the second period, which they did not take, and some refereeing decisions going against them in the first half, the All Blacks held their nerve and finished the stronger of the two sides after a bizarre and embarrassing incident threatened to leave its mark on a match that proved to be very exciting at times.

The incident in the 43rd minute -- when a crazed fan ran onto the field and tackled Irish referee David McHugh as a scrum was about to form -- nearly soured the entire afternoon as play had to be held up for some time as McHugh was picked up from the ground and eventually replaced by England's Chris White, who, before then, was one of the touch judges.

Springbok skipper Corné Krige kept his troops in a huddle, trying to get them to put the incident of their minds, while All Black skipper Reuben Thorne and his team-mates tossed a ball about in the hope of staying focused on the match.

The scores were tied at 17-all when the oversized -- and clearly drunk -- fan managed to get onto the field of play, but the Boks seemed to be the stronger of the two sides after the hold-up.

A penalty from André Pretorius put the Boks ahead at 20-17 some 10 minutes after the hold-up, but an Andrew Mehrtens penalty, virtually from the re-start tied the scores at 20-all.

Springbok coach Rudolf Straeuli introduced Brent Russell and Johannes Conradie into the game -- shortly before the final quarter.  Russell came on at fullback -- with Werner Greeff moving to inside centre and De Wet Barry leaving the field -- while Conradie replaced his provincial colleague Neil de Kock at scrumhalf

A sweetly struck drop-goal from Pretorius put the Boks back in front by three points, but Russell's dynamic running from the back set his fellow backs on fire soon after his arrival, only for the Boks' poor finishing let them down at crucial moments.

One instance saw Joe van Niekerk outpace the Kiwis down the right-hand touchline, after a well-timed pass from Greeff, but a great tackle from a New Zealand defender saw the ball spill forward before he could find his support.

The Boks hit the Kiwis hard for the next 10 minutes with Russell, Breyton Paulse and Marius Joubert asking questions of the New Zealand defence in their own half.  But Reuben Thorne's men kept their heads before working their way back into enemy territory.

It did not take New Zealand long to force the equaliser (AJ Venter was the guilty man for pulling down a Kiwi line-out jumper), but the Kiwis managed to work their back into the Boks' territory very soon afterwards with a powerful run from tighthead prop Greg Somerville.

Andrew Mehrtens carried it further before opensider Richard McCaw was held up just before the Bok line.  The TMO ruled a five-metre scrum and after Tana Umaga battered the Bok defence from close-in, the Kiwis recycled the ball one more time and went right, where Mauger had enough space to throw a dummy a touch down underneath the uprights.

Mauger's try gave the Kiwis their bonus point after their try-scoring account was opened early in the first half after the visitors were rocked by an early try from the home.

Neil de Kock, who was preferred to Johannes Conradie at No.9, got the Boks' try after James Dalton had created a turnover for South Africa in their own half.  Barry carried the ball on, hit a half-gap before releasing Dean Hall, who handed off Reuben Thorne before racing down the left-hand touchline.

Hall eventually passed inside to Greeff, who linked up with De Kock, and Pretorius's conversion made it 7-0 before New Zealand fullback Leon MacDonald replied with his first Tri-Nations try.

MacDonald's try was as a result of some poor first-time tackling in the Boks' midfield, while further poor defence saw referee McHugh award a controversial penalty try to New Zealand just before the end of the first quarter.

New Zealand tore the Bok defence apart again, but a high-tackle from Barry and Joubert on their own tryline was ruled to have cost the Kiwis a try, hence the penalty try, which Mehrtens soon turned into a goal.

At 12-7 down the Boks chipped away at New Zealand's score -- firstly via a Pretorius penalty and then courtesy of a wonderful try from the latter after some good hands and vision from Joe van Niekerk.

The Boks had an earlier Breyton Paulse try disallowed -- after referee McHugh ruled that James Dalton had obstructed the All Black defenders, when he clearly had not -- and they fully deserved their try, only to lose composure one more time before half-time when a basketball-style pass from Tana Umaga put Doug Howlett away for another try just before the break.

Mehrtens missed the conversion, but both teams would have been satisfied with the 17-17 scoreline at the break.  Little did they know, however, how the second half would begin ...

Man of the match:  For the Boks, flanker Joe van Niekerk was superb, lock Jannes Labuschagne was his usual consistent self and winger Dean Hall was courageous.  For the All Blacks, tighthead prop Greg Somerville, lock Chris Jack, flanker Richard McCaw, second five-eighth Aaron Mauger, and right-wing Doug Howlett were excellent.  In the end though -- and for the second time in as many weeks -- our vote goes with the No.7 flanker from the losing side.  Last week it was Richard McCaw, but this week South Africa's Johann van Niekerk wins the man of the match award.  A wonderful attacking force for the Boks -- with his powerful running and clever off-loads -- and a more-than-capable defender, Van Niekerk's mature approach is another impressive part of his make-up.  The man, known to us all as Joe, has come of age.

Moment of the Match:  The Boks' start to the game was superb.  Hall made a smashing run down the left-hand touchline and Greeff and De Kock did well to follow-up.  However, the moment of the match belongs to Kiwi second five-eighth Aaron Mauger for his late try, which was eventually the difference between the two teams.  Mauger troubled the Bok defence all day long with his probing kicks and varied play.

Villain of the Match:  There is no doubt here.  The fan who attacked Irish referee David McHugh was an absolute disgrace to South African rugby and rugby around the world.  He did not belong on the field in the first place and while we may not have agreed with all of McHugh's decisions, an act like that was just unacceptable and it does not belong in this wonderful sport.  Hopefully McHugh did not pick up a serious injury, while we can only hope that the man involved in the incident will be severely punished.

The Teams:

New Zealand:  1 David Hewett, 2 Tom Willis, 3 Greg Somerville, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Simon Maling, 6 Richie McCaw, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Scott Robertson, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Andrew Mehrtens, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Aaron Mauger, 13 Tana Umaga, 14 Caleb Ralph, 15 Leon MacDonald
Reserves:  Sam Broomhall, Daryl Gibson, Mark Hammett, Byron Kelleher
Unused:  Marty Holah, Joe McDonnell, Jonah Lomu

South Africa:  1 Willie Meyer, 2 James Dalton, 3 Lawrence Sephaka, 4 Jannes Labuschagne, 5 A.J. Venter, 6 Corne Krige (c), 7 Joe Van Niekerk, 8 Bobby Skinstad, 9 Neil De Kock, 10 Andre Pretorius, 11 Dean Hall, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Marius Joubert, 14 Breyton Paulse, 15 Werner Greeff
Reserves:  Victor Matfield, Faan Rautenbach, Hendro Scholtz, Bolla Conradie, Ollie Le Roux, Brent Russell
Unused:  Adi Jacobs

Attendance:  52500
Referee:  Mchugh/white c.(43)

Points Scorers:

New Zealand
Tries:  MacDonald L.R. 1, Howlett D.C. 1, Umaga J.F. 1, Mauger A.J.D. 1
Conv:  Mehrtens A.P. 2
Pen K.:  Mehrtens A.P. 2

South Africa
Tries:  Pretorius A.S. 1, De Kock N.A. 1
Conv:  Pretorius A.S. 2
Pen K.:  Pretorius A.S. 2
Drop G.:  Pretorius A.S. 1

Australia 16 New Zealand 14

A penalty from Wallaby centre Matthew Burke on the stroke of full-time gave his side a come-from-behind 16-13 Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup win over the All Blacks at a blustery Telstra Stadium in Sydney.

It was almost a carbon-copy of the 2001 fixture in Sydney, which Australia won 29-26 courtesy of a late Toutai Kefu try, as the Wallabies ran into an early lead before the All Blacks launched a spirited fightback, only to watch the world champions steal it at the end.

The Wallabies' win, sealed in dramatic fashion by Burke, who up till then had kicked just one from four attempts at goal, sees them retain the Bledisloe Cup for the fifth time in succession and, most importantly, it also keeps the 2002 Tri-Nations series alive with two big games coming up over the next two weeks in South Africa.

The All Blacks, who had the consolation of a bonus point, despite losing their first game in 10 starts under John Mitchell, meet the Springboks in Durban next week, while the Wallabies will know exactly what they have to do against the Springboks in Johannesburg -- the following week -- to determine the outcome of the Tri-Nations, which can still be won by either of the three teams involved.

All Black replacement Leon MacDonald was the man that conceded the penalty on the stroke of full-time -- for putting his hands in a ruck in his own 22 -- but the match was turned on its head a few minutes earlier after a sensational try from Wallaby replacement back Mat Rogers.

Rogers had replaced Chris Latham in the 60th minute, but he made his presence felt with under 10 minutes to play when he slipped through a tiny gap in the All Black defence to put his team back into the game.

The build-up to Rogers's try was wonderful as the Wallabies combined power and skill to work their way into enemy territory.  Hooker Jeremy Paul was a central figure as the Australians hit the ball up and some clever stepping from Stephen Larkham saw the Wallabies take the ball up to the All Black tryline.

Gregan fired the ball out to his backs, they sent it out to Rogers and the try was scored! But, with the Wallabies one point down (at 14-13), Burke's conversion hit the uprights and kept New Zealand in the lead.

The Wallabies fought their way back into the Kiwi 22, only for Chris Jack to turn Paul over and win a penalty, but George Gregan and his team-mates kept their cool, kept the ball in hand and forced the penalty after MacDonald's indiscretion.

The All Blacks were leading 13-8 before Rogers's try, his first at Test level, after a second-half score from Richard McCaw and Andrew Mehrtens's second penalty goal of the night.

McCaw's try came as a result of a sloppy line-out throw from Jeremy Paul on his own goalline and it put the "Men in Black" in the lead for the first time at 11-8.

Paul missed his target -- Justin Harrison -- with a wobbly throw and McCaw plucked the ball from the air and dived over without any pressure from the Wallabies.  Mehrtens missed the conversion -- he kicked only three from seven attempts at goal -- but he struck his third penalty in the 63rd minute to put some daylight between the sides at 14-8.

The first half was all Australia as the home team began the match with a furious onslaught on the Kiwis.  Burke and Mehrtens missed four kicks at goal between then in the first 40 minutes, but the difference between the two teams at half-time was Wallaby lock Nathan Sharpe's try in the 16th minute.

Stirling Mortlock and Toutai Kefu did the hard-yards for the Wallabies up the right-hand touchline, but play broke down after some poor option-taking from Jeremy Paul on the left.

The ball went loose, but Ben Tune was on hand to run it up -- and over the advantage line through some hesitant New Zealand defence -- and when Stephen Larkham turned the ball inside, Queensland lock Nathan Sharpe hit the Kiwi defence at an awkward angle to crash over for the try.

Burke missed the conversion, with the wind playing tricks with the kickers, but the Wallaby centre, who had the final say in the match with his boot, and Mehrtens, traded penalties shortly before half-time to see the Wallabies hold a slender 8-3 lead after dominating much of the first stanza of play.

Man of the match:  In the first half two men -- locks Nathan Sharpe and Chris Jack -- stood head-and-shoulders above anybody else, but the second 40 minutes belonged entirely to the dynamic All Black opensider Richard McCaw.  He followed the ball around like a trusty hound, turning it over on the ground or carrying it off the shoulders of his team-mates.  It would be rough on George Smith to say that McCaw totally out-played him, but he certainly won the one-on-one battle between two of the premier No.7s in world rugby.  Other players that caught the eye at times were "Bernie" Larkham and Tom Willis.

Moment of the match:  Mat Rogers's try in the 71st minute was a beauty, after a superb build-up, but the moment that sealed the match was Burke's penalty after the hooter had sounded.  Burke had missed a conversion kick from exactly the same spot just a few minutes earlier, but this time he held his nerve and calmly slotted the match-winning kick that has turned the 2002 Tri-Nations on its head.

Villain of the match:  Compared to last week's match this game was squeaky clean.  Wallaby tighthead Pat Noriega seemed intent on getting his revenge on the All Blacks after the Bledisloe Cup opener in Christchurch, but all he managed to do was cost his team a crucial try in the first half.  Our villain then?  Kiwi replacement Leon MacDonald, who conceded that final penalty for putting his hands in the ruck ... Yes, it is rough on the Crusaders back, who had not even been on the field for very long, but it cost his team the match, the Bledisloe Cup and the Tri-Nations.  Then, to add insult to injury, MacDonald then tried to trip Wallaby No.8 Toutai Kefu when the Wallabies finally got the ball back and after referee André Watson had called out "advantage" to Australia.  A close second?  The two streakers who held up play in the 60th minute as Andrew Mehrtens was about to have a kick at goal.

The teams:

Australia:  1 Patricio Noriega, 2 Jeremy Paul, 3 Bill Young, 4 Justin Harrison, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 6 Owen Finegan, 7 George Smith, 8 Toutai Kefu, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Stirling Mortlock, 12 Matthew Burke, 13 Dan Herbert, 14 Ben Tune, 15 Chris Latham
Reserves:  Matt Cockbain, Elton Flatley, Mat Rogers, Ben Darwin, David Lyons
Unused:  Brendan Cannon, Chris Whitaker

New Zealand:  1 David Hewett, 2 Tom Willis, 3 Greg Somerville, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Simon Maling, 6 Richard McCaw, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Scott Robertson, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Andrew Mehrtens, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Aaron Mauger, 13 Tana Umaga, 14 Caleb Ralph, 15 Christian Cullen
Reserves:  Marty Holah, Leon MacDonald, Joe McDonnell, Daryl Gibson
Unused:  Sam Broomhall, Andrew Hore, Byron Kelleher

Referee:  Watson a.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Rogers M. 1, Sharpe N.C. 1
Pen K.:  Burke M.C. 2

New Zealand
Tries:  McCaw R.H. 1
Pen K.:  Mehrtens A.P. 3

Australia 38 South Africa 27

Australia, with an early try for the much talked about winger Ben Tune, survived a strong second-half comeback from South Africa before a late Chris Latham try secured a 38-27 win, and a bonus point, in a thrilling Tri-Nations Test at the Gabba in Brisbane.

The Wallabies raced into an early 24-3 lead thanks to three tries and some sub-standard Springbok defence and at one stage they looked likely to run away with things as the Boks committed one clanger after another.

Wallaby right-wing Ben Tune, who dominated the news in the build-up to this Test with his drug-scandal, powered his way over in the fourth minute after an elaborate Wallaby backline move.

Matt Burke, who had a solid game in the No.13 jersey, struck the conversion from close-in and he was on target soon afterwards when Stirling Mortlock ran through attempted tackles from Johannes Conradie, André Pretorius and Werner Greeff after Chris Latham had made the initial running when Joe van Niekerk couldn't hold onto him in a tackle.

Mortlock's try was also as a result of a poor attempted skip-pass from Pretorius flew into touch and the Wallabies used the ensuing line-out to attack the Bok defence.

Latham was the next try-scorer after Daniel Herbert had done well to retain the ball -- despite being hit from both sides by Victor Matfield and Corné Krige -- and George Gregan spun the ball to Larkham before the Wallaby fullback ghosted over.

Burke kicked his first penalty just before the half-hour mark to take the scoreline to 24-3 -- the Boks had a solitary Pretorius penalty to show for their efforts at that stage -- but the next bit of action came from the players' fists as tempers flared somewhat after Greeff tackled Latham in the air when the Boks had a rare foray into enemy territory.

The players took the law into their own hands after Greeff's awkward tackle and it ended rather ugly with Wallaby hooker Jeremy Paul and his main line-out target Justin Harrison ending up in the sin bin along with Greeff.

Paul and Harrison landed a torrent of punches on Bok tighthead Faan Rautenbach as nearly all the players got involved.  Bok skipper Corné Krige left the field shortly afterwards with a bloodied face, but it seems that his ribs were bothering him after making another one of his usual bone-crunching hits.

Krige was replaced by debutant Hendro Scholtz, who finally injected some zest into the Boks' play.  Scholtz put in some strong runs and his flanking partner Van Niekerk also started punching small holes in the Wallaby defence.

The Boks were however guilty of rushing things with their one-man overlap, but they were finally rewarded with a try after some excellent play from outside centre Marius Joubert.

The South Africans, with Breyton Paulse at the fore, ran the ball from their own 22 and Joubert found some space just inside the Wallaby 10-metre area before dummying a kick and rounding Latham for the try.

Pretorius wasted no time by drop-kicking the conversion through the uprights, but the Boks' ill-discipline came back to haunt them as James Dalton conceded three points on the stroke of half-time to leave the score at 27-10.

Joubert's try gave the visitors a sniff as they came out firing in the second stanza and it was the self-same man who cork-screwed his way over for the Boks' second try.

Bob Skinstad, who took over the captaincy from Krige, did well to pick up a bouncing ball from a wayward line-out throw before getting the ball to hard-working second rower Jannes Labuschagne.  The Boks recycled the ball quickly and De Wet Barry through a neat long pass to Joubert, who spun through Latham's brave tackle, despite having Stefan Terblanché on his inside.

Burke kept the Wallabies' score ticking over with another penalty soon afterwards, but the Boks hit back shortly before the final quarter when Skinstad showed good power from close-range.

The talented No.8 -- who performed much better than he did against the All Blacks last week -- held off a tackle from Harrison after Paulse presented the ball to him from five metres out.  Paulse had hunted down the ball after a Barry grubber and when Tune could not control the ball the nippy Bok left-wing picked it up and calmly passed it back to Skinstad.

Pretorius missed his first kick of the night, but, at 30-22 it was game-on!

Both sides made some changes shortly after the 60-minute mark and when Burke was replaced by his namesake Mat Rogers, and Mortlock had to step up to the plate to give the Wallabies another three points after yet another Bok infringement near their own goalline.

Springbok utility back Brent Russell gave the Boks a glimmer of hope in the last five minutes of play with a brilliant try shortly after replacing Terblanché on the right-wing to cut the scoreline to 33-27.

Russell showed that he has pace to burn after some great interplay from Joubert and Van Niekerk on his inside and he recovered from a desperate last-ditch tackle from Larkham before diving over.

The Boks had a few chances in the dying minutes of the game, but the Wallabies managed to keep them in their own half before forcing a penalty on the Boks' goalline with the final whistle imminent.

Gregan signalled for the attacking scrum -- when a kick at goal or to touch would have ended the match -- but the Wallaby skipper's faith was rewarded with Latham squeezed over in the left-hand corner for his team's fourth and final try, which also happened to clinch their second bonus point of the 2002 Tri-Nations.

Both teams got four-try bonus points, but Latham's second try at the end robbed the Boks of what should have been a well-deserved bonus point for finishing within seven points.

Man of the match:  There are numerous contenders here ... For the Wallabies, Bill Young was very effective up front, George Smith was brilliant on the ground, Stephen Larkham was his usual self, Daniel Herbert was at his powerful best in the midfield and Chris Latham took his chances.  For the Boks Faan Rautenbach, Joe van Niekerk and Hendro Scholtz were superb up front, while Marius Joubert was the best Bok back with his incisive and powerful running.  But, in the end our wise men opted for George Smith for his crucial turnovers and massive tackle-count.  He was evidently under pressure in the build-up to this game, but he certainly silenced a few doubters with his energetic and ultimately match-winning performance.  Van Niekerk and Joubert pushed him hard for this award.

Moment of the match:  Nippy utility back Brent Russell wasted no time in getting involved when he replaced Springbok right-wing Stefan Terblanché in the 72nd minute.  He showed pace and good determination, but the build-up to his try was superb with Joe van Niekerk the central figure.  It was also the Boks' fourth try and only their second four-try bonus point in Australasia.

Villain of the match:  We have a tie this week and it is hard to separate the two.  Wallaby hooker Jeremy Paul and his Brumby team-mate Justin Harrison were very lucky to get just a yellow card for their efforts in the 32nd-minute punch-up.  They launched a vicious attack on Springbok prop Faan Rautenbach and somehow Springbok skipper Corné Krige ended up with a bloodied face when the players were finally parted.  The fight began after Werner Greeff tackled Chris Latham in the air and the players decided to take the law into their own hands.  But, we have one question -- what more must players do before they are shown red cards?

The teams:

Australia:  1 Patricio Noriega, 2 Jeremy Paul, 3 Bill Young, 4 Justin Harrison, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 6 Owen Finegan, 7 George Smith, 8 Toutai Kefu, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Stirling Mortlock, 12 Matthew Burke, 13 Dan Herbert, 14 Ben Tune, 15 Chris Latham
Reserves:  Brendan Cannon, Matt Cockbain, Elton Flatley, Mat Rogers, Ben Darwin, David Lyons
Unused:  Chris Whitaker

South Africa:  1 Faan Rautenbach, 2 James Dalton, 3 Lawrence Sephaka, 4 Jannes Labuschagne, 5 Victor Matfield, 6 Corne Krige (c), 7 Joe Van Niekerk, 8 Bobby Skinstad, 9 Bolla Conradie, 10 Andre Pretorius, 11 Breyton Paulse, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Marius Joubert, 14 Stefan Terblanche, 15 Werner Greeff
Reserves:  Delarey Du Preez, Adi Jacobs, Hendro Scholtz, Ollie Le Roux, Brent Russell
Unused:  Neil De Kock, A.J. Venter

Attendance:  37528
Referee:  Lander s.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Tries:  Latham C.E. 2, Mortlock S.A. 1, Tune B.N. 1
Conv:  Burke M.C. 3
Pen K.:  Burke M.C. 3, Mortlock S.A. 1

South Africa
Tries:  Joubert M.C. 2, Russell B. 1, Skinstad R.B. 1
Conv:  Pretorius A.S. 2
Pen K.:  Pretorius A.S. 1

New Zealand 41 South Africa 20

An 18-point blitz either side of half-time was all the impetus that the All Blacks needed to record a comprehensive 41-20 Tri-Nations win over the Springboks in Wellington.

New Zealand led 21-13 at half-time despite the Springboks running into an early 10-3 lead after a sensational individual try from fullback Werner Greeff in the sixth minute.

Greeff beat Mark Robinson, Christian Cullen and Doug Howlett en route to the tryline and André Pretorius's conversion put the visitors into a 7-3 lead after an Andrew Mehrtens penalty got the scoreboard ticking over in the second minute.

Pretorius soon added a penalty to stretch the Boks' lead to 10-3, and although Andrew Mehrtens cut the lead to four points, Greeff was on target with a drop-goal just a few minutes later to put the Boks in control at 13-6.

But All Black skipper Reuben Thorne rallied his troops and they hit back with a try of their own shortly before the end of the first quarter.  Kiwi hooker Mark Hammett, who had a nightmarish performance against the Wallabies last week, finally found one of his jumpers -- Chris Jack -- at a line-out, and scrumhalf Justin Marshall made some ground before Richard McCaw carried the ball further.

A third Crusader, No.8 Scott Robertson, soon arrived on the scene to make a telling forage into enemy territory and although Marshall took the wrong option by turning the ball inside to Mark Robinson, the Kiwis quickly re-cycled the ball to the right for Doug Howlett to dive over.

Mehrtens swung in a wonderful conversion from far out to tie the scores 13-all, but that was where the Boks' scoring ended for some time as the All Blacks slowly started making and breaking first-time tackles.

Mark Hammett was the man to benefit from the Kiwis' renewed vigour as he streaked over from a clever line-out move with Robertson, although replays suggest that Hammett's throw did not go five metres and both his feet were in the field of play at the time of his throw.

Mehrtens missed the conversion, but he added a penalty on the stroke of half-time and a drop-goal soon afterwards to put his side ahead at 24-13.

Then Greeff, who could do no wrong up till then, mis-judged a chip-ahead from Kiwi second five-eighths Aaron Mauger from the re-start to Mehrtens's drop-goal, which allowed Mauger to have another hack at the ball.  Caleb Ralph nailed Stefan Terblanché in the tackled and Tana Umaga, who had replaced the injured Mark Robinson, won the ball on the ground and presented it to Justin Marshall.

Marshall went right and the Boks defended bravely, but a change of direction saw Thorne crash over for the try.  Mehrtens did the necessary and at 31-13 the All Blacks had ripped the heart out of the young Bok side.

To their credit Krige's side did manage to pull one try back -- Marius Joubert won the race to the goalline after Pretorius's attempted penalty kick to touch bounced loose -- but 31-20 soon became 36-20 after Justin Marshall powered his way over for his fifth career try against the South Africans.

Marshall's try came just after the self-same Joubert had been sin-binned in rather dubious circumstances after a high-tackle on Doug Howlett and a few swats at Tana Umaga, who came to Howlett's assistance.

Scott Robertson rubbed more salt into the Boks's already infected wound with a late try after yet another well-executed line-out move close to the Bok line.

In the end a 21-point winning margin -- as predicted by the Zurich Computer rankings -- seems massive.  And, indeed it is.

The All Blacks will feel well-satisfied with their ninth straight Test triumph -- and bonus point -- that reinforces their position at the top of the Tri-Nation standings while Bok captain Corné Krige believes his team can take something out of the performance.

The Bok performance had shades of Nick Mallett's side's determination in 1998, but it also provided us with a trip down memory lane into Carel du Plessis' beleaguered side of 1997, which lost 55-35 to New Zealand at Eden Park.  Hopefully the Boks will remember next week to keep their error-rate down as the world champion Wallabies lie in wait.

Man of the match:  Springbok fullback Werner Greeff started the match like a house on fire and his captain Corné Krige did not stand back to anyone.  For the All Blacks, opensider Richard McCaw was at his brilliant best -- ripping the ball away from hapless Bok attackers and supporting his team-mates on the run -- while flyhalf Andrew Mehrtens ran things well from the crucial flyhalf spot.  But, in the end our vote goes to All Black No.8 Scott Robertson for his complete performance from the base of the Kiwi scrum.  He broke numerous Bok tackles on attack and tackled like a man possessed and for good measure he also scored the All Blacks' fifth try.  He completely out-played his opposite number Bob Skinstad.

Moment of the Match:  At first we pencilled in Werner Greeff's try -- the Boks' first in New Zealand since Pieter Rossouw's try during their 13-3 triumph in Wellington in 1998 -- but once the complexion of the game changed so did our moment of the match.  Our moment then?  Robertson's try, which came shortly before the final whistle.  It was fully-deserved by the Canterbury and Crusaders No.8 and just-reward for hard work a wonderful performance from him.

Villain of the Match:  It may be a bit rough on him, but Marius Joubert wins our vote here for his sin-binning in the 55th minute.  He cannot be blamed for the high-tackle, as he was going in the opposite direction to Doug Howlett, but his flurry of punches afterwards were unnecessary.

The Teams:

New Zealand:  1 David Hewett, 2 Mark Hammett, 3 Greg Somerville, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Simon Maling, 6 Richard McCaw, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Scott Robertson, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Andrew Mehrtens, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Aaron Mauger, 13 Mark Robinson, 14 Caleb Ralph, 15 Christian Cullen
Reserves:  Sam Broomhall, Joe McDonnell, Tom Willis, Byron Kelleher, Jonah Lomu, Tana Umaga, Royce Willis

South Africa:  1 Willie Meyer, 2 James Dalton, 3 Lawrence Sephaka, 4 Jannes Labuschagne, 5 Victor Matfield, 6 Corne Krige (c), 7 Joe Van Niekerk, 8 Bobby Skinstad, 9 Bolla Conradie, 10 Andre Pretorius, 11 Dean Hall, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Marius Joubert, 14 Stefan Terblanche, 15 Werner Greeff
Reserves:  Neil De Kock, Adi Jacobs, Faan Rautenbach, A.J. Venter, Ollie Le Roux,
Unused:  Hendro Scholtz, Breyton Paulse

Referee:  Dickinson s.

Points Scorers:

New Zealand
Tries:  Howlett D.C. 1, Hammett M.G. 1, Marshall J.W. 1, Robertson S.M. 1, Thorne R.D. 1
Conv:  Mehrtens A.P. 2
Pen K.:  Mehrtens A.P. 3
Drop G.:  Mehrtens A.P. 1

South Africa
Tries:  Greeff W.W. 1, Joubert M.C. 1
Conv:  Pretorius A.S. 2
Pen K.:  Pretorius A.S. 1
Drop G.:  Greeff W.W. 1

Canada 36 United States 13

Canada has stayed at the top of the Americas Zone World Cup qualifying table with a resounding 36-13 victory over the USA in Chicago in front of 2,400 fans.  A pair of Marco DiGirolamo tries in the first half proved to be the difference, while fly-half Jared Barker had a perfect day, kicking four penalties and two conversions for 16 points.

The US got a late second half try from replacement fullback Mike Hercus who also had a conversion and two penalties to account for all the US points.

Fly-half Link Wilfley's first shot at goal -- from 39 metres into a stiff breeze went instantly off course -- and it appeared the Rotherham player was still struggling to find his once prominent kicking form.

"We took advantage of [US] mishaps, and it comes from pressure defense," Canadian captain Al Charron said after the match.

"Our execution today was a lot more crisp.  You can't expect to win test match football if you don't convert pressure into points.  We didn't do that today," USA coach Tom Billups said.

Barker got his side on the board in the eleventh minute with a 41 metre kick, punishing a US offside to make the score 3-0 to the visitors.

Olo Fifita went down at 16 minutes and after some treatment on the pitch went off, with Brian Surgener coming on as a blood substitution.

Canada was awarded a penalty on the play for obstruction, and Barker hit the long 42 metre penalty.  6-0 Canada.

Wilfley then had a 15 metre shot go awry, and a few boo-birds began to whistle.

Referee Nigel Whitehouse continued to call the USA for a variety of infractions and it was Barker again two minutes later to extend the Canuck lead to 9-0.

At 27 minutes Sean Fauth found a seam inside the US 22 and then off-loaded to late substitution Marco DiGirolamo who touched down under the posts.  Barker added the extra two points and the Canadians were out to a storming 16-0 lead.

DiGirolamo then added his second of the day in the 32nd minute, diving into the left corner, and with the touchline conversion by Barker Canada was in control 23-0.

Just before the half Canada threatened again with a five metre scrum, but the Eagles dodged that bullet as the Canucks wheeled giving possession to the US.  The next scrum resulted in a penalty for boring in, and the US kicked out of trouble.

The US went to Mike Hercus, who had come on just before the break as a replacement for Mose Timoteo, and he was true on a 45 metre effort, bringing the pro-USA crowd to its feet.  26-3.

Hercus added another penalty at 61 minutes to cut the Canadian lead to 26-6.

With a hard day of work behind him, Jared Barker came off, to be replaced by veteran Bob Ross, who promptly slotted a shot from 39 metres 29-6 Canada.  Barker is now 12 for 12 in the kicking department over the last two qualifying games.

With the US showing little forward momentum Canada continued to press, winning a lineout at the American ten metre line, and the ball was spun wide with Sean Fauth coming in from the opposite wing, taking a quick pass and then feeding Fred Asselin who touched down in the right corner.  Ross converted and the score ballooned to 36-6

The US managed to organize a drive, getting down to the Canadian five metre line with the a US ruck freeing Mike Hercus under the posts.  He converted his own score to take the sting out of a poor US performance, making the final score 36-13.

The USA now takes on Chile in Salt Lake City on August 10th, while Canada plays Uruguay in Edmonton on the same day as Americas Zone qualifying continues.

Man-of-the-match:  As a replacement for John Cannon, Marco DiGirolamo took all the guessing out of what his abilities are in the mid-field, scoring two tries but also showing tremendous defensive resolve and solid distribution skills.  As team captain Al Charron said following the victory:  "Discounting his two tries Marco still was outstanding in defense and with the ball in hand, so a real great effort by him!"

Moment of the match:  The final Canadian try which came from a Canadian penalty lineout.  It was a complete team try with the forwards winning the ball cleanly, quick ball down the line, and Sean Fauth showing innovation coming off the opposite wing with Winston Stanley also helping from the fullback spot to free the speedy Fred Asselin for the score.

Villain-of-the-match:  While he is a talented and very fast wing, Jone Naqica continues to put his side in jeopardy with poor decision making.  On a day when his team was under pressure and all hands on deck were required his yellow card offence for disrupting a quick tap ball by Morgan Williams was the last thing the Americans needed.

The teams:

Canada:  1 Ryan Banks, 2 Adam Van Staveren, 3 Phil Murphy, 4 Alan Charron (c), 5 Mike James, 6 Pat Dunkley, 7 John Thiel, 8 Rod Snow, 9 Morgan Williams, 10 Jared Barker, 11 Fred Asselin, 12 Marco Di Girolomo, 13 Nik Witkowski, 14 Sean Fauth, 15 Winston Stanley
Reserves:  Jamie Cudmore, Bobby Ross, Colin Yukes, Matt King

United States:  1 Olo Fifita, 2 Kort Schubert, 3 Dave Hodges (c), 4 Philippe Farner, 5 Eric Reed, 6 Dan Dorsey, 7 Kirk Khasigian, 8 Mike MacDonald, 9 Kevin Dalzell, 10 Link Wilfley, 11 Johnny Naqica, 12 Jason Keyter, 13 Phillip Eloff, 14 David Fee, 15 Mose Timoteo
Reserves:  Juan Grobler, Mike Hercus, Kimball Kjar, Brian Surgener, John Tarpoff

Attendance:  2500
Referee:  Whitehouse n.

Points Scorers:

Canada
Tries:  Asselin F. 1, Di Girolomo M. 2
Conv:  Barker J. 2, Ross R.P. 1
Pen K.:  Barker J. 4, Ross R.P. 1

United States
Tries:  Hercus M. 1
Conv:  Hercus M. 1
Pen K.:  Hercus M. 2

Australia 6 New Zealand 12

The All Blacks, playing the last few minutes with only 14 men, held onto a six-point lead with the Wallabies attacking relentlessly to win this Tri-Nations/Bledisloe Cup clash by 12-6 at a cold and wet Jade Stadium in Christchurch.

It was the first tryless encounter between New Zealand and Australia since 1991, but what the game lacked in attack, the two teams more than made up for with superb defence.

The Wallabies, after being pinned back in their half for most of the game, changed that trend in the final 15 minutes and launched the one attack after the other.

And when outside centre Mark Robinson was sent to the sin-bin with less than 10 minutes left on the clock, the tide seemed to be turning for the visitors.

But the Australians miscalculated the All Blacks' resilience in defence, and every time they got a promising move going, the home team tackled them into the ground and won back the ball.

The miserable conditions turned the game into a kicking contest between All Black pivot Andrew Mehrtens and the Wallabies' Stephen Larkham and Chris Latham, a battle Mehrtens won in the end.

The outside backs saw very little ball as both sides elected to mince it up in the forwards, and it is here where the All Blacks laid the platform for their win.

The home team had the upper-hand up front, and with Richard McCaw and Scott Robertson leading the charge, they had the Wallabies under pressure at rucks at mauls.

McCaw, despite the few penalties he conceded, was brilliant, and the turn-ver count of 28-19 in New Zealand's favour shows that he had the acsendancy on the ground over Wallaby opensider George Smith.

Chris Jack and Greg Somerville also had good games for the home team, while Toutai Kefu and Nathan Sharpe were the Wallabies' best forwards on the night.

But the All Black General Andrew Mehrtens was the biggest thorn in the Wallabies' side.

His tactical kicking was superb and he constantly had the Australians turn around with probing kicks downfield.  In total, the All Blacks kicked the ball almost 90 times, with Mehrtens doing the honours most of the time.

From there Larkham and Latham were forced to find touch, and although the All Blacks struggled at the line-outs (the Wallabies poached five of their throws), the enjoyed territorial advantage to such an extent that, before the last quarter, the Wallabies had less that 40 percent of the ball.

It was clear that New Zealand coach John Mitchell had told his team -- and Mehrtens in particular -- to keep Australia away from their 22, something the All Blacks did with clinical perfection.

And although the Wallabies had 60 percent of the ball, there was nothing they could do with it as the All Blacks drilled into them every time they tried to get an attack going.

The Wallabies also made life difficult for themselves with too many handling errors.  And as Australian coach Eddie Jones rang the changes in the second half, Mitchell stuck with the team he had sent onto the field, not disrputing their rhythm, a tactical move that paid off towards the end as the All Blacks stuck to their game-plan that eventually won them the match.

Man of the match:  Richard McCaw was good, as was Toutai Kefu.  But Andrew Mehrtens, the man who did most of the pre-match talk in the media, played his part to perfection, keeping the Wallabies as far away from the All Black try-line as possible.  He was also successful with all his kicks at goal under difficult circumstances, while Wallaby kicker Matt Burke missed two penalties.

Moment of the match:  The last movement of the game was quite special.  The Wallabies got a penalty, which Chris Latham stabbed into touch on the New Zealand 22, with 45 seconds left on the clock.  They did get the ball back, but the All Blacks applied so much pressure that when the Wallabies finally lost possession, they were on their own 10-metre line.  Justin Marshall kicked the ball into touch and the final whistle went.

Villain of the match:  Seeing that the game was quite clean, Mark Robinson, who got yellow carded for an early tackle late in the game, wins this dubious award.

The teams:

Australia:  1 Patricio Noriega, 2 Jeremy Paul, 3 Bill Young, 4 Justin Harrison, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 6 Owen Finegan, 7 George Smith, 8 Toutai Kefu, 9 George Gregan (c), 10 Steve Larkham, 11 Stirling Mortlock, 12 Matthew Burke, 13 Dan Herbert, 14 Ben Tune, 15 Chris Latham
Reserves:  Matt Cockbain, Elton Flatley, Mat Rogers, Ben Darwin, David Lyons
Unused:  Brendan Cannon, Chris Whitaker

New Zealand:  1 David Hewett, 2 Mark Hammett, 3 Greg Somerville, 4 Chris Jack, 5 Simon Maling, 6 Richard McCaw, 7 Reuben Thorne (c), 8 Scott Robertson, 9 Justin Marshall, 10 Andrew Mehrtens, 11 Doug Howlett, 12 Aaron Mauger, 13 Mark Robinson, 14 Caleb Ralph, 15 Christian Cullen
Unused:  Ben Blair, Sam Broomhall, Joe McDonnell, Tom Willis, Daryl Gibson, Byron Kelleher, Royce Willis

Referee:  Kaplan j.

Points Scorers:

Australia
Pen K.:  Burke M.C. 2

New Zealand
Pen K.:  Mehrtens A.P. 4

Chinese Taipei 3 Japan 155

It was a day of records at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Stadium in Tokyo, when Daisuke Ohata scored eight tries and Japan equalled the biggest victory margin ever in an international, beating Chinese Taipei by 155-3 in a 2003 Rugby World Cup Asian qualifying match.

Ohata's eight tries are a new Japanese record, while his 40 points are also the most scored in an international for his country.

The most tries ever scored in an international are the 10 scored by Ashley Billington for Hong Kong, against Singapore, in 1994.  G.M. Jorge (for Argentina against Brazil in 1993) and Lance Fitzpatrick (for the Cook Islands against Tahiti in 2001) have both scored eight tries in a Test -- equal second to Ohata's mark.

The flying winger's try-scoring feat improves on the previous Japanese mark, set by Terunori Masuho against Taiwan in 1998, when he touched down five times.  Toru Kurihara, who scored 35 points against South Korea three weeks ago, held the previous record for most points in a Test for Japan.  Japan won that match 90-24.

Ironically Ohata's last try came in injury-time, giving him his 30th Test try and making him the greatest try-scorer in Japan's history.

Japan also equalled the world record for the biggest winning margin in a Test, with the 152 points equal to the 152-0 win Argentina posted against Paraguay in a South American championship match earlier this year.

This was also Japan's highest score in a Test match, eclipsing the previous mark of 134 points against Taiwan in Taipei at the Asian championships in 1998.

For Japanese coach Shogo Mukai it also put to rest one of the most embarrassing moments in his career.  Mukai was the coach of Japan when they were beaten 145-17 by New Zealand at the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

"I had always expected our team to play better than Taiwan in all aspects," he told the media.  "Japan had been at the receiving end of a 145 points defeat before, so I wanted to score more than that," Mukai added.

But for captain Hideki Nanba the main goal, qualifying for RWC 2003, was far more important than the victory margin.  They have two more matches in the Asian qualifying tournament left and will meet South Korea next Sunday and Chinese Taipei a week later -- two matches which should see them qualify.

"The best thing today was that we didn't give a single try to Taiwan," Nanba told the media.  "But we haven't yet won a ticket to the World Cup.  I just want to concentrate on our text match, to beat South Korea," he added.

South Korea head the standings with seven points from two wins and one defeat, while Japan are second with two straight wins for six points.  Bottom of the Asian standings are Taiwan, with just two points after failing to win any of their matches.

Taiwan's captain Lin Yi-te said that Saturday's match had illustrated how far behind his country was in competing realistically against the Asian super powers.

"We've played many games, but today's game was the toughest.  The Japanese are really strong.  In Taiwan there are not so many rugby players, while facilities and conditions are not on par with that in Japan.

"I hope we can reduce the points deficit a bit when we play Japan next time," he said.

Flyhalf Andrew Miller of New Zealand, who replaced Toro Kurihara at half-time, kicked 12 conversions, also a new national record breaking the previous mark of 11 made by Kurihara.

Japan scored a total of 23 tries.

The Teams:

Japan:  1 Shin Hasegawa, 2 Masaaki Sakata, 3 Masahiko Toyoyama, 4 Koichi Kubo, 5 Adam Parker, 6 Naoya Okubo, 7 Dean Anglesey, 8 Yuya Saito, 9 Sinichi Tsukida, 10 Andy Miller, 11 Toru Kurihara, 12 Yukio Motoki, 13 Hideki Nanba (c), 14 Daisuke Ohata, 15 Hirotoki Onozowa
Unused:  Takeomi Ito, Ken Iwabuchi, Kazuya Koizumi, Ryohei Miki, Wataru Murata, Masahito Yamamoto, Ryo Yamamura

Referee:  Deaker k.

South Africa 60 Samoa 18

In their last game before the 2002 Tri-Nations, South Africa ran in eight tries, including a brace each for centre De Wet Barry and winger Dean Hall, as the Springboks overcame Samoa 60-18 in a one-off Test at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.

But never mind what the scoreboard said, this was not the kind of performance coach Rudolf Straeuli would have liked to see with the All Blacks waiting in Wellington in two weeks' time.

The Bok forwards struggled against a Samoan pack not exactly known for their brilliant forward play.  The home team played far too loose and never looked like a unit.

A few players did catch the eye, and Joe van Niekerk and Hottie Louw showed that Straeuli can't leave for Australasia without them.  Van Niekerk was rewarded with a late try, but got a fist on the eye when he accidentally hit a Samoan player, lying on the ground, with the ball in his celebration.

On the other hand, Samoa's pack did very well, with their three loose forwards -- Semo Sititi, Maurie Fa'asavlu and Kitiona Viliamu -- making life difficult for the Boks with superb play in the loose.

They were well backed up by Trevor Leota, who could teach the Boks a few things about playing with vigour.  Yes, the gold-haired hooker did get sin-binned, but he was the heart of the Samoan pack.

André Pretorius again showed his worth in the Bok No.10 jersey, while Werner Greeff's stock also rose considerably with a great game at fullback before he left the field after 55 minutes with what looked like a knee injury.

The visitors deserve praise for the way that they played.  Coach John Boe had said during the week that they came to Pretoria to play rugby, which is what they did when they got the ball.

Samoa played much more enterprising rugby, and the Boks and England can take notice of this young islanders team ahead of next year's World Cup.

The Springboks were slack on defence and they won't be happy with the three tries scored against them.

In fact, the Samoans scored the try of the game when Fereti Tuilagi crossed after a move that had started behind their own goalline.  The Boks' poor defence, and a crucial missed tackle from No.8 Bob Skinstad, did help Samoa get on the scoreboard, but that was a good indication of how the Samoans play rugby.

The line-outs and the restarts were a huge problem for the Boks, and with players like Chris Jack and Justin Harrison waiting for them, the South Africans will have to give serious attention to these areas.

Straeuli could take some heart from a few good tries scored by the home team.

The first five-pointer, after 14 minutes, was a beauty.

Greeff kicked downfield, with a speeding Van Niekerk chasing.  The loose forward gathered the ball 10 metres out and unselfishly passed to Greeff after he had crossed the line for the fullback to dot down under the uprights.

Five minutes later the visitors got one back after Tuilagi scored a superb effort that started behind the Samoans' own posts.  Their rich Sevens heritage showed and after a few great passes -- and poor tackles by the Boks -- the inside centre was able to get over for his second Test try.

But from then on it was plain sailing for the home team, and although they failed to grab the imagination, the South Africans scored two more tries -- by recalled lock Victor Matfield from a line-out drive, and De Wet Barry from a five-metre tap-kick -- to lead 27-5 at the break.

The second half was not a very memorable affair, and the Boks got most of their points in the last 20 minutes when the game had opened up and the Samoans tired in the thin highveld air.

The Boks also scored two tries -- through Delarey du Preez on his Test debut and big Dean Hall -- while Trevor Leota was in the sin bin for a late charge on his opposite number Danie Coetzee.  But, even with 14 men on the park, Samoan skipper Semo Sititi also crossed for a try.

Man of the match:  André Pretorius was the best back on the park, but loose forward Joe van Niekerk showed that the Boks can't keep on persisting with him on the bench.  He played a superb game, defended well and is a more than useful option in the line-outs.  He played a lot like a young Bob Skinstad, only a bit tighter.

Moment of the match:  Samoa's first try, in the 19th minute, was pure class.  For a moment they forgot that this was not a Sevens game and threw the ball around with finesse, beating tackles before Fereti Tuilagi crashed over for a superb five-pointer.

Villain of the match:  The game was played in good spirit, but Trevor Leota was yellow-carded for a needless late-charge on Danie Coetzee.

The Teams:

South Africa:  1 Faan Rautenbach, 2 Danie Coetzee, 3 Lawrence Sephaka, 4 Victor Matfield, 5 Hottie Louw, 6 Corne Krige (c), 7 Joe Van Niekerk, 8 Bobby Skinstad, 9 Bolla Conradie, 10 Andre Pretorius, 11 Dean Hall, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Marius Joubert, 14 Stefan Terblanche, 15 Werner Greeff
Reserves:  Neil De Kock, Delarey Du Preez, Adi Jacobs, Shaun Sowerby, Quinton Davids, Daan Human, Breyton Paulse

Samoa:  1 Jeremy Tomuli, 2 Trevor Leota, 3 Tamato Leupolu, 4 Leo Lafaiali'i, 5 Opeta Palepoi, 6 Maurie Fa'asavlu, 7 Kitiona Viliamu, 8 Semo Sititi (c), 9 Stephen So'oilao, 10 Earl Va'a, 11 Lome Fa'atau, 12 Elvis Seveali'i, 13 Fereti Tuilagi, 14 Alesana Tuilagi, 15 Silao Leaega
Reserves:  Aleki Toleafoa, Potu Leavasa, Kas Lealamanu'a, Carl Manu, Jonathan Meredith, Ponaly Tapela, Denning Tyrell

Referee:  Cole a.

Points Scorers:

South Africa
Tries:  Barry De W. 2, Du Preez G.J.D. 1, Greeff W.W. 1, Hall D.B. 2, Matfield V. 1, Van Niekerk J.C. 1
Conv:  Pretorius A.S. 7
Pen K.:  Pretorius A.S. 2

Samoa
Tries:  Sititi S. 1, Tuilagi F. 1
Pen K.:  Va'a E.V. 1

Canada 26 United States 9

Canada has put its first leg of the 2003 Rugby World Cup qualifiers to bed with a convincing 26-9 victory over the USA at Fletcher's Field in Markham.

The match -- the first of six home and away tests for the two squads that will also involve Chile and Uruguay -- was played under intense 27 degree heat -- which began to take its toll in the second half.

Jared Barker had another sparkling day for Canada -- with the fly-half striking for two conversions and four penalties for a 16 point haul.

The US responded with two Link Wilfley kicks along with a solo penalty from relatively new cap Mike Hercus -- though Wilfley missed another four attempts on the day.

Canada had a 10-6 half time lead after flanker Dan Baugh completed a long passage where fullback Winston Stanley brought the ball up to the US 30 metre line before offloading to a trailing Rod Snow, who passed back to Fauth.  The sprinty winger then passed it back to Snow at the ten metre line -- where he flipped it to Baugh -- who looked to pass outside before getting tackled across the Eagles try line.  With the Barker conversion the Canucks seemed poised to run away with the match in the second half.

"The work was good and we got the ball wide and had plenty of support.  We put the ball inside, outside -- then we scored under the posts -- you can't get any better than that, said a jubilant Canadian head coach David Clark -- whose team has now won two in a row -- including a 26-23 victory over Scotland two weeks ago.

The US opened the scoring at the twenty minute mark -- after referee Alan Lewis of Ireland judged Canada offside.  Link Wilfley hit the ball cleanly from 33 metres -- to give his side a 3-0 lead.

The Canadians got those points back two minutes later with a Jared Barker penalty kick -- after the Eagles were guilty of killing the ball -- 3-3 after twenty-two minutes.

The US made some threatening moves with its young backline -- driving to the Canadian two metre line -- with the Canucks finally succumbing to the pressure with an offside penalty.  Wilfley made no mistake to give his team a 6-3 lead.

The try by Baugh followed but the US were still in the contest -- unlike the week before where Scotland had opened a huge halftime lead.

"They were very much to type actually," said coach Tom Billups of the Canadians.  "They are a cagey bunch -- and they picked their moments well.  At test level rugby you can't afford to miss as many points as we did and expect to come away with a result.  That proved out again today -- and it turned out to be a very typical US versus Canada rugby game."

From the opening kick off in the second half the Eagles had another shot at goal after Canada was called for killing the ball in the ruck -- but Wilfley's kicking troubles continued -- with the Rotherham fly-half missing from twenty-three metres.

The Americans then avoided a penalty as Ryan Banks chased a well weighted ball from John Cannon down the left wing.  New cap David Fee -- seeing no support options slapped the ball into touch rather than take contact in close to the tryline -- but Lewis did not make the call and the US were able to control the resulting Canadian lineout.

Al Charron had his typical day at the office with the Canadian captain getting a free pass through the US line all afternoon.  A number of his traipsing runs exposed the young American backline -- and supporting forwards began to spin the ball with authority in the loose.

In the 53rd minute a long Canadian run -- that touched at least ten sets of hands -- finally ended with a penalty against the US for killing the ball.  Barker set the kick up in front of the posts -- approximately ten metres out.  As he approached to make the kick Wilfley charged it down -- to the amazement of all assembled.  Lewis -- somewhat puzzled issued a no charge order that is normally heard for conversion kicks -- and Barker put the chip shot through easily to extend the Canadian lead to 13-6.

The Canadians kept the US in check for some minutes -- but Nik Witkowski was called for playing the ball on the ground -- giving the Eagles another shot at goal.  Hercus took over the kicking chores -- and curled his 29 metre effort to pull his side to within four -- 13-9.

Barker continued to show he is a long threat with his foot -- slotting a penalty from 49 metres -- with former Canadian fly-half and new CEO of Rugby Canada Gareth Rees whooping his appreciation for the huge kick.

With a comfortable lead the Canadians began to expand the game plan -- with Adam Van Staveren breaking free on his 35 metre line -- then passing to Fauth who zoomed up the left wing before finding scrum-half Morgan Williams in space.  The speedy half back seemed away to the races when Olo Fifita stuck his hand out and collared him bringing him to ground heavily.  The crowd of 2,200 crowed its anger at Lewis for the non-call -- and the US ended up with the throw in.  Lewis missed a total of five high tackles in the game -- a concern to be sure as players on both sides of the ball began to feel the results of these transgressions.

At 66 minutes John Cannon found a gap inside the American half -- driving to the five metre line before finding second row Mike James who lunged across for the try under the posts.  The Barker conversion gave Canada a 23-9 lead.

Barker had the final say on matters with a long penalty and the final 26-9 scoreline.

While there were a number of blood substitutions during the game -- the single worse incident occurred with just minutes to go and the Eagles threatening the Canadian line.  Hercus was taking the ball into contact when he was tackled by Canadian fly-half Bob Ross -- knocking him back into Keyter causing the pair to clack heads in a sickening crunch.  Medical personnel rushed to the field as blood poured from a wound above Keyter's eye -- with Hercus also coming off from the collision.

Both left the field under their own power-- though following the game Hercus was nauseaous and taken to local hospital with a possible concussion.

Despite American pressure inside the Canadian twenty-two metre line the Canadians defensive resolve did not break -- and with the full time whistle the men in red had secured a 17 point advantage heading into Chicago on July 13th as the two teams meet for the second half of the home and away series.

Man-of-the-Match:  Jared Barker went 6 for 6 for Canada, while Ryan Banks made many hard yards in his hour on the field, but Al Charron put his typical stamp on events with big runs, even bigger tackles -- and a number of well passed balls that expanded Canada's game.

Moment-of-the-match:  The first Canadian try showed a great interaction between the forwards and backs -- with Rod Snow yet again finding himself close to the tryline before passing off to Dan Baugh.

Villain-of-the-match:  Villain is a harsh word -- but Link Wilfley with the four missed kicks and then the mystifying charge down did not help his side out on a day he was sorely needed.

The teams:

Canada:  1 Rod Snow, 2 Pat Dunkley, 3 John Thiel, 4 Mike James, 5 John Tait, 6 Dan Baugh, 7 Alan Charron (c), 8 Ryan Banks, 9 Morgan Williams, 10 Jared Barker, 11 Fred Asselin, 12 John Cannon, 13 Nik Witkowski, 14 Sean Fauth, 15 Winston Stanley
Reserves:  Ed Fairhurst, Mark Lawson, Phil Murphy, Bobby Ross, Adam Van Staveren
Unused:  Marco Di Girolomo, Kevin Tkachuk

United States:  1 Dan Dorsey, 2 Kirk Khasigian, 3 Mike MacDonald, 4 Philippe Farner, 5 Luke Gross, 6 Olo Fifita, 7 Kort Schubert, 8 Dave Hodges (c), 9 Kevin Dalzell, 10 Mike Hercus, 11 Johnny Naqica, 12 Jason Keyter, 13 Link Wilfley, 14 David Fee, 15 Mose Timoteo
Unused:  Chris Miller, John Buchholz, John Tarpoff

Attendance:  2200
Referee:  Lewis a.

Points Scorers:

Canada
Tries:  James M.B. 1, Baugh D.R. 1
Conv:  Barker J. 2
Pen K.:  Barker J. 4

United States
Pen K.:  Wilfley L.M. 2, Hercus M. 1

South Africa 49 Argentina 29

South Africa won their one-off Test against Argentina by 49-29, but is was by no means a vintage performance by the Springboks in only their second-ever Test in Springs, east of Johannesburg.

The home team struggled to find their rhythm, which must be alarming for coach Rudolf Straeuli, with the Tri-Nations just three weeks away.

But that was not the home team's only problem ...

Their discipline was poor, and apart from all the penalties they conceded a penalty try 10 minutes from the end to keep the Pumas' hopes of an upset victory alive.

Buoyed by 24 points from André Pretorius and two superb late tries, by Stefan Terblanché and Johannes Conradie, the Boks scored their third consecutive Test win under Straeuli.

The Sharks right-wing's five-pointer was a beauty.  Werner Greeff, who had replaced Brent Russell at fullback just before half-time, brilliantly took a high ball, eluded a few tackles before passing to Pretorius who got Terblanché away for his second try of the day.

Although things got exciting towards the end, the first 20 minutes produced some of the most forgettable Test rugby seen in a long time by a South African outfit.

The 21,000-strong crowd must have wanted a ticket refund after the boring rugby that was dished up in the first quarter.

Both teams seemed content to put the ball through phases, but lost possession with handling errors or by giving away stupid penalties.

Speaking of all the penalties, Straeuli must have had some harsh words for his team at half-time, as they looked solid in the first 15 minutes after the break.

Both teams were solid in the tight phases, with the Pumas probably better in the scrums.

Bob Skinstad and Hottie Louw secured good line-out possession for the Springboks, and the Pumas' locks -- Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe and Rimaz Álvarez -- also had good games.

Scrumhalf and captain Agustin Pichot marshalled his backline well, but the Boks' defence at the back was just too good.

After Pumas flyhalf Gonzalo Quesada, who missed three penalty kicks at goal in the first half, had cut down the Boks' half-time lead from 17-13 to just one point with a 55-metre penalty, Terblanché scored his first try and Pretorius added the conversion as well as two penalties with his trusty right boot.

At 30-16 the Springboks looked to be cruising, but the Pumas -- via the boot of Quesada and the penalty try -- clawed their way back to 37-29 before Terblanché and Conradie, who replaced the Craig Davidson, sealed the Boks' win.

The home team could have been further ahead, but the Argentineans hit back and scored all their points in the last 10 minutes before half-time.

At that stage the Boks were ahead courtesy of two tries -- by local boy Adrian Jacobs and the Sharks' Davidson -- scored in the 23rd and 27th minute respectively.

Jacobs's was a beauty after Bob Skinstad won back the ball after Diego Albanese failed to control an up-and-under from Davidson.  The Boks spun the ball wide to the speedy Falcon, who scored in front of his home town crowd, much to his, and their, delight.

Pretorius, who missed only two from 10 kicks at goal, converted both and added a 21st-minute penalty to set the crowd alight as their favourite team seemed to be finding their feet after the Pumas had dominated the opening exchanges.

But as the Boks' concentration slipped, so did their discipline and the visitors hit back through a try by Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe and a conversion and two penalties by ever-reliable Quesada.

But the thin highveld air and the Boks' superior fitness towards the end did not help the Pumas as they saw the result slip from their claws.

Man of the match:  Following hot on the heels of SA A flyhalf Butch James's performance against Argentina during the week, André Pretorius showed that he was not going to let go of his No.10 jersey without a fight.  His distribution was superb, and he is very fast of the mark as well as a fearless defender.  And there is nothing wrong with his goalkicking either.  When last have we seen a Bok Test flyhalf sport and 80-percent kicking record from 10 attempts.

Moment of the match:  Moments after the referee had awarded a penalty try to the Pumas, the Boks hit back.  It started with Werner Greeff taking a high ball, twisting his way out of a tackle and speeding up-field before feeding Pretorius, who went to the deck but got the ball out to Terblanché to round off a great counter-attacking move.

Villain of the match:  Every single player -- in Green and Gold and Blue and White -- who conceded stupid penalties.  There were too many to name here, and they certainly didn't help the game to deliver as a spectacle.

The Teams:

South Africa:  1 Ollie Le Roux, 2 James Dalton, 3 Willie Meyer, 4 Jannes Labuschagne, 5 Hottie Louw, 6 A.J. Venter, 7 Corne Krige (c), 8 Bobby Skinstad, 9 Craig Davidson, 10 Andre Pretorius, 11 Breyton Paulse, 12 De Wet Barry, 13 Adi Jacobs, 14 Stefan Terblanche, 15 Brent Russell
Reserves:  Werner Greeff, Faan Rautenbach, Bolla Conradie, Quinton Davids, Daan Human, Marius Joubert, Joe Van Niekerk

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

Referee:  Erickson w.

Points Scorers:

South Africa
Tries:  Davidson C.D. 1, Jacobs A.A. 1, Conradie J.H. 1, Pretorius A.S. 1, Terblanche C.S. 2
Conv:  Pretorius A.S. 5
Pen K.:  Pretorius A.S. 3

Argentina
Tries:  Fernandez Lobbe C.I. 1, Penalty Try 1
Conv:  Quesada G. 2
Pen K.:  Quesada G. 5