Roundup of this weekends International Results
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The international fixture list is getting busy in preparation for France, and it's no longer clear where the destiny of the 2007 William Webb Ellis Cup lies.
A feast of weekend rugby saw Australia, South Africa and Argentina complete Test victories over Wales, England and Ireland respectively, while the Churchill Cup continued in England and the Pacific Nations Cup opening round was completed.
While the results went largely as expected, some highly-fancied teams barely scraped home and less-fancied nations like Wales and Argentina showed they could be real threat at the World Cup later this year.
Argentina beating Ireland is something of an upset, while Australia struggling against Wales was a surprise to most. It would seem that the World Cup will be closely fought with a number of traditionally strong countries currently struggling, while the Pumas seem to finally be turning into a rugby power.
The results from second-tier competitions such as the Churchill and Pacific Nations Cups are also encouraging with minor nations showing great improvement.
New Zealand Maori 59 Canada 23
The NZ Maori team opened their Churchill Cup defence with a strong win against a surprisingly resilient Canada. Even though they were out-matched in almost all areas of the game, the Canadians never gave up and were rewarded with two late tries. Maori winger Anthony Tanaha was in unstoppable form, scoring two tries and troubling his opposite number every time he touched the ball. The speed and power of the Maori forwards caused problems for the Canadian pack, who often found themselves driven backwards at the breakdown, while the backs provided some hard-hitting defence. This loss will see Canada go into the plate final against USA next weekend, while NZ Maori play Ireland 'A' midweek for a place in the final.
Australia 'A' 60 Tonga 15
The weekend opened with what should have been the first game of the Pacific Nations Cup. The round three clash between Samoa and Fiji was played last weekend due to scheduling conflicts. Australia 'A' put away a physical Tongan team in Sydney despite a lack of cohesion. Poor passing and general rust from some players kept Tonga in the game for most of the first half, before the Australian's superior fitness saw them rack up 47 points in the second half. Winger Lachlan Turner showed his class, scoring a hat-trick of tries, and league convert Ryan Cross managed two tries inside five minutes. The win briefly sent Australia 'A' to the top of the table.
Fiji 30 Japan 15
Leading 15-3 at half time, it looked like Japan were set to cause the first upset of the Pacific Nations Cup. But the bigger and more experienced Fijian side were able to regroup in the second half and score 27 unanswered points to launch themselves to the top of the table. Newcomer Taniela Rawaqa starred for Fiji, scoring a try and landing two penalties and two conversions for a haul of 15 points. A late try to Isoa Neivua secured a bonus point for Fiji.
Australia 29 Wales 23
Following in the footsteps of their A side, the full Wallabies team looked decidedly rusty as they squeaked home against a Welsh side missing most of their stars. With time up on the clock and trailing by 22-23, the Wallabies launched a last, desperate attack which culminated in replacement flanker Stephen Hoiles scoring on the right flank to seal the game. But before Hoiles' try it was a comedy of errors from the Wallabies, as they squandered chance after chance and allowed the Welsh to capitalise. In the first half a dropped ball followed by a dreadful attempt to clean up gifted Wales their first try, then an ill-advised midfield pass led to an intercept and a second try for Wales. Australia would not hit the lead until the 63rd minute and then only momentarily after a drop goal from Welsh first-five James Hook. Despite the win, the Australians have a lot to work on if they are to be competitive in next month's tri-nations tournament, while a largely second-string Welsh side have shown how dangerous their first-choice team will be in France.
South Africa 58 England 10
An injury-ravaged England team were never expected to be much of a threat to the Springboks but few expected a record-breaking scoreline. England captain Jason Robinson said: "We showed character but we weren't good enough on the day." Unfortunately that character shown by England allowed the Springboks to score four tries in the last 10 minutes of the game. Wingers Bryan Habana and Ashwin Willems picked up two tries each and Percy Montgomery scored 23 points with his boot. England can take little away from a game where their traditionally-strong set pieces fell apart, their forwards were going backwards and their only try came once the game was decided.
Argentina 22 Ireland 20
An 80th-minute drop goal to first-five Filipe Contepomi denied Ireland their first-ever win in Argentina. The Irish led the game from the sixth minute and looked to be in control for most of the match but the boot of Contepomi kept the home side in touch. Ireland managed two tries to one through debutant Brian Carney and a penalty try. This win against the more favoured Irish will boost Argentinian hopes of a good showing in this year's Rugby World Cup.
Junior All Blacks 31 Samoa 10
Round 1 of the Pacific Nations Cup concluded in Asia with the Junior All Blacks showing good form against a determined Samoa. The home side were on the back foot almost immediately as the Juniors scored two quick tries to lead 12-0 after only eight minutes. Fullback Gavin Williams landed a penalty goal to keep Samoa in touch, and once the Samoan forwards got into their work, they were able to gain equality. Even though the forward battle was tight, the ball for the Juniors was faster and their backs made fewer mistakes. The Samoans did manage a late consolation try when Junior All Blacks' half-back Jimmy Cowan threw a terrible pass near his own goal-line which led to a turnover and a try to replacement David Lemi. Junior All Blacks' captain Marty Holah was outstanding, winning several turnovers at the break-down while the five-eighths pairing of Stephen Donald and Stephen Brett were able to control the game thanks to front-foot ball. Cowan also had an excellent game, running from the base of rucks and mauls effectively, as well as distributing well.
