Afrique du Sud 30 Sélection Mondiale 27

L'équipe d'Afrique du Sud a battu une sélection mondiale 30 à 27 lors d'un test-match non officiel de rugby samedi à l'Ellis Park de Johannesburg.

La fiche technique :

A Johannesburg (Ellis Park) : Afrique du Sud bat sélection mondiale 30 à 27 (mi-temps: 15-11)
Arbitre : Tappe Henning (AFS)

Les points :

Afrique du Sud : 10 pénalités Montgomery (9), du Toit
XV mondial : 2 essais Marshall, Nacewa, 1 transformation Burke, 5 pénalités Burke

Exclusion temporaire :
Afrique du Sud : Venter (44-53)

Afrique du Sud : Montgomery - Snyman, Fourie, J. de Villiers (cap.), G. du Toit - (o) J. van der Westhuyzen, (m) Januarie - Venter, van Niekerk, van Heerden - van den Berg, Rossouw - Andrews, Shimange, Carstens
Remplaçants utilisés: G. Botha, Sephaka, Muller, Wannenberg, R. Pienaar, Olivier

XV mondial : Burke - Reihana, Castaignède, Waters, Nacewa - (o) Spencer, (m) Marshall - Chabal, Magne, Rush - Samo, Palmer - Visagie, Ibanez, Hewett
Remplaçants: Regan, Califano, Pierre, Harding, Robinson, Mercier, Roff

USA 13 Irlande A' 28

US Eagles fall to Ireland 'A'
Saturday June 03 2006
Irish smiles in San Francisco

Ireland 'A' opened their Churchill Cup account with a solid if unspectacular 28-13 victory over the US Eagles at Santa Clara Stadium in San Francisco on Saturday, running four tries past the hosts.

The scorers :

For the USA :
Try : Sika
Con : Viljoen
Pens : Viljoen 2

For Ireland 'A' :
Tries : Jennings, Fogarty, McMillan, Maxwell
Con : Wallace
Pens : Wallace 2

The teams :

USA : 15 Francois Viljoen, 14 Mike Palefau, 13 Salesi Sika, 12 Vahafalau Esikia, 11 Jeff Hullinger, 10 Alipate Tuilevuka, 9 Tyson Meek, 8 Kort Schubert (captain), 7 Tony Petruzzella, 6 Todd Clever, 5 Mike Mangan, 4 Carl Hansen, 3 John Tarpoff, 2 Owen Lentz, 1 Mike MacDonald.
Replacements: 16 Patrick Bell, 17 Chris Osentowski, 18 Mike French, 19 Brian Schoener, 20 Mark Aylor, 21 Brian Barnard, 22 Mose Timoteo.

Ireland 'A' : 15 Robert Kearney, 14 Simon Keogh, 13 Andrew Maxwell, 12 John Hearty, 11 David Quinlan, 10 Paddy Wallace, 9 Tomas O'Leary, 8 Shane Jennings (captain), 7 Jamie Heaslip, 6 John Muldoon, 5 Matt McCullough, 4 Trevor Hogan, 3 Tom Court, 2 John Fogarty, 1 Ray Hogan.
Replacements: 16 Declan Fitzpatrick, 17 Brian Blaney, 18 Ronan McCormack, 19 Damien Browne, 20 Neil McMillan, 21 Eoghan Hickey, 22 Kieran Lewis.

Referee : Phil Smith (Canada)
Touch judges : Andrew Small (England), Peter Allen (Scotland)

Ecosse A' 13 Saxons Anglais 07

Scots sack the Saxons in Toronto
Saturday June 03 2006
Churchill Cup opens with shock result

Scotland 'A' opened their Churchill Cup account by emulating the Calcutta Cup feat of their superiors, recording a shock 13-7 victory over England Saxons in wet and windy Toronto on Saturday.

A second-half try from Simon Danielli was the telling score for the Scots, who reformed their second-string side for this tournament after an absence of more than three years.
But it was Scotland's brave defence in the closing minutes that proved the difference as England pummelled their line but could not break through a wall of blue jerseys.
At times England committed 12 men to the task of chiselling a hole in the Scottish defence. They found no weakness.
England's hopes of mounting a successful defence at the Churchill Cup are now slim and entirely contingent on Canada beating the Scots in Ottawa this Wednesday.
But another Scottish victory and Steve Bates's men will be in the final.
At the end of a week when the temperature in Toronto hit a sweltering 35 degrees, conditions at York Stadium were more akin to a wet and windy day in Melrose.
England were forced to make a late change on the morning of the game when Ayoola Erinle dropped out of the side and was replaced on the wing by Chris Bell.
The conditions made handling extremely difficult but Scotland started brightly and looked to spread the ball wide from the kick-off.
Helped by England conceding three penalties in the opening three minutes, the Scots marched downfield and fullback Calum MacRae slotted the opening points.
England also initially looked to attack with flair as outside centre Sam Vesty opened up the Scotland defence with quick hands and superb vision.
But the Saxons lacked precision in their finishing. Bell swooped on Vesty's clever grubber down the left flank but spilled ball forward as he slid for the try-line.
When Vesty poked another kick through for Delon Armitage, the London Irish wing's touch was too heavy and the ball skidded through the try zone and went dead.
England began to plough a more direct furrow. Worcester's dynamic No.8 Kai Horstmann, a late replacement on tour for the injured James Forrester, made significant in-roads with the ball in hand.
Saracens' scavenging openside David Seymour worked tirelessly to keep Scotland under pressure but England struggled to find the breakthrough.
The Saxons were warned by New Zealand referee Gary Wise for conceding too many penalties at the breakdown - and Scotland almost stung them with a sweeping break from deep.
Edinburgh flank Alasdair Strokosch burst into space and off-loaded from the tackle to Danielli who ran across field and popped the ball for Craig Hamilton to power clear.
Hamilton galloped from the edge of the England 22 but Armitage hunted down the Glasgow lock and scragged him barely a metre short of the try line.
England's front row, without a single Test cap between them but fired in the furnaces of the Guinness Premiership, began to shunt Scotland's pack into reverse.
The early width was replaced by powerful runs from the likes of Horstman, Andy Beattie and tour captain David Barnes.
Too often the slippery ball was lost in contact and even when Sale lock Dean Schofield powered forward and forced Ross Beattie to dive over the top, fly-half Dave Walder slid his penalty attempt wide.
The opening exchanges of the second half were fractious, Barnes involved twice in scuffles off the ball as England looked for a breakthrough.
But MacRae extended Scotland's lead with his second penalty after Stuart Turner was penalised for boring in before England took a foot-hold in the second half.
Walder decided against going for points when England earned a kickable penalty and their gamble paid off - eventually.
Seymour burrowed from the resultant line-out but referee Wise was poorly positioned on the wrong side of the heap of bodies and awarded the five-metre scrum.
Referee Wise set the scrum three times, warning Scotland along the way for their tactics, before losing patience and awarding England a deserved penalty try, which Walder converted.
But England held the lead for barely four minutes when Danielli, the brightest of sparks in the Scotland back division, finished off another well-oiled attack.
Ross Beattie charged on to fly-half Phil Godman's inside ball before feeding Danielli and the Borders winger outpaced Bell to score.
MacRae converted and then almost moved Scotland two scores clear with a long-range drop goal which fell just short of the bar.
It would have sealed the win. Instead England powered forward again but Scotland held firm through countless phases before Ben Woods was held up over the line and the final whistle sounded.

The scorers :

For England Saxons :
Try : Penalty Try
Con : Walder

For Scotland 'A' :
Try : Danielli
Con : MacRae
Pens : MacRae 2

The teams :

England Saxons : 15 Michael Horak, 14 Delon Armitage, 13 Ben Johnston, 12 Sam Vesty, 11 Ayoola Erinle, 10 Dave Walder, 9 Paul Hodgson (capt, 8 Kai Horstmann, 7 David Seymour, 6 Andy Beattie, 5 Dean Schofield, 4 James Hudson, 3 Stuart Turner, 2 James Buckland, 1 David Barnes.
Replacements: 16 David Paice, 17 Micky Ward, 18 Nick Kennedy, 19 Ben Woods, 20 Richard Wigglesworth, 21 Alex Crockett, 22 Chris Bell.

Scotland 'A' : 15 Calum MacRae, 14 Simon Danielli, 13 Graeme Morrison, 12 Matt Dey, 11 Rory Lamont, 10 Phil Godman, 9 Rory Lawson (capt), 8 David Callam, 7 Alasdair Strokosch, 6 Ross Beattie, 5 Mark Rennie, 4 Craig Hamilton, 3 Colin Noon, 2 Fergus Thomson, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacement: 16 Andrew Kelly, 17 Alasdair Dickinson, 18 Andrew Wilson, 19 Andy Hall, 20 Scott Gray, 21 Colin Gregor, 22 Nikki Walker.

Referee : Gary Wise (New Zealand)
Touch judges : Olan Trevor (Ireland), Kevin McCaslin (USA)

Japon 16 Tonga 57

Tongans tonk the Brave Blossoms
Sunday June 04 2006
Japan fall in Fukuoka

Tonga loose forward Tevita Fifita ran in a brace of tries as his country opened their Pacific Five Nations account with a resounding 57-16 victory over Japan in Fukuoka on Sunday.

Fifita, one of several Japan-based players in the Tongan side, opened the scoring in the first minute but Japan rallied to leave the half-time score balanced 15-13 in favour of the visitors.
But the islanders upped the ante in the second half and ran six tries past the error-prone Japanese.
"The second half was a nightmare," said Japan coach Jean-Pierre Elissalde.
"Every time in contact situations, we were worse than Tonga and lost the ball.
"It didn't matter if we went wide or kept it tight, we were going to lose the ball."
Tonga coach Adam Leach admitted that local knowledge had played a big role in his side's win.
"A lot of the players and me have experience of playing and coaching here," said the former Yamaha Jubilo assistant coach.
"We knew their strengths and weaknesses and that gave us confidence.

The scorers :

For Tonga :
Tries : Fifita 2, Vaikona, Hala'ufia, Hehea, Tuifa, Tu'ipulotu, Filipine
Cons : Hola 3
Pens : Hola 2

For Japan :
Try : Oto
Con : Onishi
Pens : Onishi 3

Maroc 36 Ouganda 03



Coupe du monde 2007 de rugby : Le XIV marocain étrille son homologue ougandais

Dans le cadre des qualifications pour la Coupe du monde 2007 qui auront lieu en France, le stade Tessema de Casablanca a été le théâtre de la première rencontre de l'équipe du Maroc, contre son homologue de l'Ouganda. L'équipe nationale a carrément submergé son adversaire du jour sur le score sans appel de 36 à 3.
Dès les premiers moments de la rencontre, les éléments de l'équipe du Maroc n'y sont pas allés de main morte contre des Ougandais submergés de tous côtés.
Au fil des minutes, le match tournait à la correction. Les Narjissi, Boutati, Derraz, Ezzyar étaient déchaînés.
Les différentes montées du XIV national, appuyé par un nombreux public tout acquis à sa cause, ne trouvaient pratiquement pas d'opposants. Les essais succédaient aux essais, les transformations aux transformations. El Hamzaoui et ses coéquipiers creusaient l'écart à vue d'œil.
Vers la fin de la première période, l'arbitre de la partie a renvoyé les deux protagonistes aux vestiaires sur le score de 19 à 0. La messe était dite et bien dite !
En seconde période, les Marocains sont revenus à l'abordage. Les hommes de Bruno Barrero, coach des Marocains, n'arrivaient pas à se tenir sur place. Ses protégés étaient déterminés à occuper la tête du classement de ce groupe.
Ils ont en point de mire un objectif précis : le leadership pour jouer contre le premier de l'autre groupe ! Les attaques et les montées incessantes des nôtres vont finir par dérouter un adversaire dont le seul objectif avoué était celui de limiter les dégâts.
36-3 est le score final d'un match dominé de bout en bout par le XIV national.
Signalons que pour prendre part à la Coupe du monde qui aura lieu en France en 2007, l'équipe du Maroc se doit d'occuper la tête du classement de son groupe et partant affronter le premier de l'autre groupe qui comprend le Kenya, la Namibie et la Tunisie.

Géorgie 19 Barbarians 28

Barbarians beat Georgia
Sunday June 04 2006
Four tries to three

Before some 10 000 spectators the Barbarians beat Georgia 28-19 in Tblisi on Sunday afternoon There was more than just a rugby match.

The Barbarians led 14-7 at half-time and the Lelos pulled back to 14-all early in the second half, but the Barbarians then added two more tries before the Lelos got their third just before the end.
The Barbarians had 25 players with them and all of them got a game. In fact even coach Pat Howard joined in as one of the 25.
Paliko Jimsheladze, normally a flyhalf but playing fullback in this match, became the first Georgian ever to win 50 caps for his country. In recognition of this feat he was presented with a commemorative cap. The presentation was made by Nodar Qipiani, the first captain of a Georgian national team.
After the match the Barbarians presented .£10 000 for the development of rugby in Georgia.

Scorers :

For Barbarians :
Tries : Monye, Hanley 2, Hallett;
Cons : Malone 3, Hallett

For Georgia :
Tries : Machkhaneli 2, Magrakvelidze
Cons : Barkalaia 2

Teams :

Georgia : 15 Paliko Jimsheladze (captain), 14 Otar Eloshvili, 13 Revaz Guigauri, 12 Irakli Guiorgadze, 11 Irakli Machkhaneli; 10 Otar Barkalaia, 9 Bidzina Samkharadze, 8 Besso Udessiani, 7 Rati Urushadze, 6 Ilia Maissuradze, 5 Levan Datunashvili, 4 Mamuka Gorgodze, 3 Avtandil Kopaliani, 2 Akvsenti Guiorgadze, 1 Mamuka Magrakvelidze
Replacements : 16 Michael Sujashvili, 17 David Khinchaguishvili, 18 Shalva Papashvili, 19 Zviad Maissuradze, 20 George Katcharava, 21 Lexo Gugava, 22 George Elizbarashvili

Coaches : Malkhaz Tcheishvili, Paata Narimanashvili

Barbarians : 15 Neil Hallett, 14 Ugo Monye, 13 Tony Marsh, 12 Kevin Maggs, 11 Lee Robinson; 10 Chris Malone, 9 Jacob Rauluni, 8 Bob Skinstad (captain), 7 Will Skinner, 6 Brad Macleod-Henderson, 5 Simon Miall, 4 James Hamilton, 3 Darren Crompton, 2 Olivier Azam, 1 Justin Fitzpatrick
Replacements : 16 Pieter Dixon, 17 Kevin Tkachuk, 18 Hottie Louw, 19 Daniel Browne, 20 Ian Vass, 21 Leon Lloyd, 22 Steve Hanley, 23 Jason Forster, 24 John Davies

Coach (who played) : Pat Howard

Referee : Tony Spreadbury (England)
Touch judges : Ucha Narimanidze, George Javakhishvili (both Georgia)

USA 06 Maoris Néo Zélandais 74

Maori leave the US Eagles standing
Wednesday June 07 2006
New Zealanders notch up big win in Santa Clara

The New Zealand Maori underlined their Churchill Cup intentions by crushing the USA at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara on Wednesday evening, running in a dozen tries as they notched up a highly accomplish 74-6 victory over their hosts.

Chiefs lock Kristian Ormsby turned his fleet-footed team-mates green with envy as he ran in four tries and duly picked up the man-of-the-match award. The best the backline could muster was a hat-trick from NZ Sevens star Cory Jane.
Liam Messam claimed a brace whilst Zar Lawrence, Shannon Paku and Noble each added a try apiece; fly-half Matt Berquist converted seven of the 12 tries.
But it was the US Eagles who took the lead with a Francois Viljoen penalty in the fifth minute of the game.
The momentum then swung violently towards the New Zealanders as the Maori set about showing the assemble crowd of 3,562 just what a set of fully professional players is able to conjure up.
The Maori will play Ireland 'A' on Saturday with the winner guaranteed a date with Scotland 'A' in the final.
The Scots secured a place in the last two with a 15-10 over host Canada in Ottawa on Wednesday, having already accounted for the England Saxons.

The scorers :

For the NZ Maori :
Tries : Ormsby 4, Jane 3, Messam 2, Lawrence, Paku, Noble
Cons : Berquist 7

For the USA :
Pens : Viljoen 2

The teams :

USA : 15 Francois Viljoen, 14 Brian Barnard, 13 Salesi Sika, 12 Vaha Esikia, 11 Jeremy Nash, 10 Jason Kelly, 9 Mose Timotea, 1 Mike French, 2 Patrick Bell, 3 John Tarpoff, 4 Carl Hansen, 5 Mike Mangan, 6 Todd Clever, 7 Tony Petruzella, 8 Kort Schubert (captain).
Replacements : 16 Owen Lentz, 17 Chris Osentowski, 18 Brian Schoener, 19 Mark Aylor, 20 Tyson Meek, 21 Mike Palefau, 22 Alipate Tuilevuka.

NZ Maori : 15 Shannon Paku, 14 Zar Lawrence, 13 Richard Kahui, 12 Pehi Te Whare, 11 Cory Jane, 10 Matt Berquist, 9 Chris Smylie, 8 Jake Paringatai, 7 Liam Messam, 6 Thomas Waldrom, 5 Paul Tito (captain), 4 Kristian Ormsby, 3 Mike Noble, 2 Luke Mahoney, 1 Greg Feek.
Replacements : 16 Scott Linklater, 17 Deacon Manu, 18 Ross Filipo, 19 Jono Gibbes, 20 Corey Tamou, 21 Callum Bruce, 22 Anthony Tahana.

Referee : Peter Allen (Scotland)
Touch judges : Phil Smith (Canada), Andrew Small (England)

Canada 10 Ecosse A' 15

Scots progress to Churchill Cup Final
Wednesday June 07 2006
Canada unable to topple gutsy visitors

Scotland 'A' booked their place in the final of the Churchill Cup courtesy of a hard-fought 15-10 victory over Canada at Twin Elm Park in Ottawa on Wednesday.

The result means that Scotland, making their debut in the Churchill Cup, have scuppered England's plans of defending the trophy. The men in white fell foul of the Scots on Saturday and now, after just one game, must contend themselves with a shot at third place in this six-team tournament.
Scotland's win over the Canucks was sealed with a late drop-goal from Edinburgh Gunners fly-half Phil Godman after Canada had hit back from 12-0 down.
Borders Reivers wing Nikki Walker opened the scoring after seven minutes with a burst up the middle before Simon Danielli extended Scotland's lead with a superb individual try.
Danielli launched an arcing run from 30 metres out on the right flank, cut through the Canadian centres and scored in the left corner.
But Canada hit back just five minutes later with a try from fullback Mike Pyke, who plys his trade in Scotland, and a James Pritchard penalty hauled the Canucks to within two points at the interval.
Scotland batted down the hatches after the interval as they looked to dig out the win that was secured with Godman's impromptu shoe.
The Scots can now enjoy a 10-day break before the Final at the Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Canada; they are likely to face either Ireland 'A' or the New Zealand Maori.

The scorers :

For Scotland :
Tries : Walker, Danielli
Con : Godman
Drop : Godman

For Canada :
Try : Pyke
Con : Pritchard
Pen : Pritchard

The teams :

Canada : 15 Mike Pyke, 14 Justin Mensah-Coker, 13 Ryan Smith (captain), 12 Chris Pack, 11 James Pritchard, 10 Derek Daypuck, 9 Ed Fairhurst, 8 Aaron Carpenter, 7 Stan McKeen, 6 Sean-Michael Stephen, 5 Josh Jackson, 4 Luke Tait, 3 Mike Pletch, 2 Pat Riordan, 1 Dan Pletch.
Replacements: 16 Aaron Abrams, 17 Hubert Buydens, 18 Matt Phinney, 19 David Biddle, 20 Matt Weingart, 21 Adam Kleeberger, 22 David Spicer.

Scotland 'A' : 15 Calum MacRae, 14 Simon Danielli, 13 Graeme Morrison, 12 Nick De Luca, 11 Nikki Walker, 10 Phil Godman, 9 Rory Lawson (captain), 8 Jon Dunbar, 7 Andy Miller, 6 Scott Gray, 5 Craig Hamilton, 4 Andy Hall, 3 Colin Noon, 2 Andrew Kelly, 1 Alasdair Dickinson.
Replacements: 16 Fergus Thomson, 17 Allan Jacobsen, 18 Mark Rennie, 19 Ross Beattie, 20 Alasdair Strokosch, 21 Colin Gregor, 22 Rory Lamont.

Referee : Kevin McCaslin (USA)
Touch judges : Gary Wise (New Zealand), Olan Trevor (Ireland)

Junior All Blacks 56 Samoa 12

Junior ABs prove too much for Samoa
Friday June 09 2006
Another comprehensive for mature Juniors

Manu Samoa flunked their inaugural Pacific Five Nations exam, going down 56-12 to the Junior All Blacks in North Harbour on Friday evening.
Despite seven changes to the XV that defeated Fiji last week, the JABs once again belied their slightly absurd moniker with a performance of consummate professionalism and maturity.
The match featured the unusual instance of brothers, directly marking each other, scoring tries for opposing teams in an international.
Auckland halfback John Senio scored the first try of the match for Samoa after only two minutes while Canterbury No.9 Kevin Senio scored for the Junior All Blacks two minutes before half-time.
And the family business didn't stop there - New Zealand prop John Schwalger, whose cousin Mahonri Schwalger played at hooker for Samoa, also scored a try.
John Senio's early score seemed to promise a plucky performance from a Samoan team drawn from players based in New Zealand, Japan, Scotland, England, Italy and France - but their defiance quickly faded.
Nick Williams's pair of tries in the middle of the first half turned the tide in favour of the JABs and Jimmy Gopperth's three first-half penalties took the game beyond Samoa's reach.
Indeed, the New Zealanders were able to establish control in almost every facet of the game. They imposed huge pressure on the Samoan scrum, tested their line-out and played at a pace which stretched Samoan fitness.
"We said before the game we must start well, we must score first and we did that - but we didn't go on with it," said Samoa captain Semo Sititi.
Samoa have just over a week to prepare themselves for their next encounter, against Japan in New Plymouth.
The JABs face Tonga in part two of the double header on June 17, and captain Corey Flynn is confident that his side can build on their win over Samoa.
"We really went out there to take it physically to their big guys and we did that but we also did it in a smart way, which was very pleasing," he said.

The scorers :

For Junior All Blacks :
Tries: Williams 2, Senio K., Schwalger, Atiga, Gopperth, Waqaseduadua
Cons: Gopperth 6
Pens: Gopperth 3

For Manu Samoa :
Tries: Senio J., Feaunati
Con: Sanft

Maoris Néo Zélandais 27 Irlande A' 06

Ireland 'A' fall to the NZ Maori
Saturday June 10 2006
Scots await New Zealanders

Scotland 'A' will face the New Zealand Maori in the Barclays Churchill Cup final at Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium next weekend.

The Maori, who scored 12 tries and ran up 74 points in beating the United States on Wednesday, finished top of the competition's Pool B with a 27-6 victory over Ireland 'A' at Santa Clara Stadium in San Francisco on Saturday.
Scotland topped Pool 'A' after hard-fought wins over England Saxons and Canada.
The England Saxons will face the Irish in the Plate Final and the two host nations, Canada and the USA, will contest the Bowl Final.
Saturday's result in California give New Zealand a day's double over Ireland - the first feather in their cap being the All Blacks' hard-fought win over Brian O'Driscoll's gallant troops in Hamilton.
The Maori side scored four tries through Shannon Paku, Liam Messam, Hosea Gear and Thomas Waldrom while the Irish could only manage a penalty and a drop-goal.
New Zealand led 12-3 at half-time through an impressive 80-metre try that was started by Gear and finished by Paku, and a powerful individual effort from Messam.
Ireland's Roger Wilson was sent off after 70 minutes for a head butt and a minute later Ireland were down to 13 men when Jamie Heaslip was yellow-carded for a scuffle with Joe McDonnell - the Maori prop joined the Irish man in the sin-bin.
New Zealand made the most of the extra space with tries to Gear and Waldrom to seal the match.

The scorers :

Ireland 'A' : 6
Pen : P Wallace
Drop : Kearney

NZ Maori : 27
Tries : Paku, Messam, Gear, Waldrom
Cons : Bruce, Berquist
Pen : Bruce

The teams :

NZ Maori : 15 Shannon Paku, 14 Anthony Tahana, 13 Richard Kahui, 12 Neil Brew, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Callum Bruce, 9 Chris Smylie, 8 Liam Messam, 7 Tanerau Latimer, 6 Jono Gibbes (captain), 5 Paul Tito, 4 Kristian Ormsby, 3 Deacon Manu, 2 Scott Linklater, 1 Joe McDonnell.
Replacements : 16 Luke Mahoney, 17 Mike Noble, 18 Thomas Waldrom, 19 Jake Paringatai, 20 Corey Tamou, 21 Matt Berquist, 22 Cory Jane.

Ireland 'A' : 15 Bryn Cunningham, 14 Simon Keogh, 13 Kieran Lewis, 12 David Quinlan, 11 Robert Kearney, 10 Paddy Wallace, 9 Chris Keane, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Shane Jennings (captain), 6 Roger Wilson, 5 Matt McCullough, 4 Trevor Hogan, 3 Tom Court, 2 John Fogarty, 1 Ray Hogan.
Replacements : 16 Brian Blaney, 17 Declan Fitzpatrick, 18 Damien Browne, 19 Neil McMillan, 20 Tomas O'Leary, 21 Eoghan Hickey, 22 Ronan McCormack.

Referee : Andrew Small (England)
Touch judges : Peter Allen (Scotland), Phil Smith (Canada)

Canada 11 Saxons Anglais 41

Some solace for England Saxons
Saturday June 10 2006
Canucks crushed in Toronto

London Irish star Delon Armitage had double reason to celebrate in Toronto after helping the England Saxons to a comfortable 41-11 victory over Canada in Saturday's Churchill Cup encounter at York Stadium.

The Trinidad-born wing scored two sharp tries in the first half as the Saxons atoned for last weekend's 13-7 defeat to Scotland 'A' and booked their place in next Saturday's plate final in Edmonton.
Armitage's performance came just hours after Trinidad and Tobago had held out for a shock draw with Sweden at the World Cup in Germany.
Armitage may struggle with split loyalties when Trinidad and Tobago take on David Beckham's men in Nuremberg this Thursday - but this day was all about England.
Saracens wing Richard Haughton put the Saxons ahead before Armitage scored twice in quick succession to open England a 20-0 lead.
Canada hit back with a well-worked try for Coventry winger Nik Witkowski but England surged clear again after the interval with scores from powerful number eight Kai Horstmann and centre Chris Bell.
The game ended on a sour note for Canada, who had lock Matt Phinney sent off for punching before Newcastle flanker Ben Woods rounded off the win with the Saxons' sixth try.
England meet the loser of Saturday's Pool B clash in San Francisco between New Zealand Maori and Ireland A.
The Saxons made nine changes from the Scotland game, with Saracens centre Ben Johnston handed the captaincy, while Canada included Edinburgh fly-half Ander Monro whose grandfather, Lord Monro of Langholm, still sits in the House of Lords and is a former president of the Scottish Rugby Union.
Canada struggled to clear their lines in the heavy head wind and England took maximum advantage as scrum-half Richard Wigglesworth scooped up a loose ball at the base of England's scrum and darted through the Canadian defence.
Wigglesworth's long pass deflected off Justin Mensah-Coker and Haughton, the England Sevens international, juggled the ball before scoring in the right corner.
Walder missed the touchline conversion but extended England's lead with a penalty from under the posts after a powerful Saxons drive.
England's dominance, particularly in the forward exchanges, was heightened after 14 minutes with the sin-binning of Phinney for throwing a punch.
Walder was just beaten to own chip by Witkowski and Bell then had a try ruled out for a forward pass after Horstmann and Luke Narraway combined well down the left flank.
England were picking holes in the Canadian defence almost at will and finally applied the killer touch as Armitage raced over twice in the space of three minutes.
Johnston's pace in midfield took him around his opposite man and he fed Armitage, who cut back on the angle and evaded the clutches of five Canadian defenders to score in the right corner.
Three minutes later and it was Walder who conjured up the opening with a sharp turn of pace as he cut between Monro and David Spicer to send Armitage over again.
Walder's excellent conversion opened England a 20-0 lead - but it did not last as Canada, back to full strength, built their phases to stretch the Saxons and full-back Ed Fairhurst provided the scoring pass for Witkowski.
Canada carried their momentum into the second half and a lightning break from Justin Mensah-Cocker, who was man of the match in the Canucks' 15-10 defeat to Scotland A, forced the Saxons onto the back foot and Monro slotted the penalty.
But as time wore on the Saxons' fitness and strength in depth told. Haughton beat three men with a superb step as England broke down the right wing and Horstmann stretched to score a deserved try.
Bell wasted a golden chance with a poor pass to Armitage but made amends after 62 minutes when he popped up in support to profit from Haughton's searing break.
Phinney was shown his second yellow card before Woods drove over to score with the last play of the game.

The scorers :

For Canada :
Tries : Witkowski
Pens : Monro 2

For England Saxons :
Try : Haughton, Armitage 2, Horstmann, Bell, Woods
Cons : Walder 4
Pens : Walder

Canada : 15 Ed Fairhurst (University of Victoria), 14 Mike Pyke (Edinburgh Gunners, Scotland), 13 Nik Witkowski (Coventry, England), 12 David Spicer (University of Victoria), 11 Justin Mensah-Coker (Meraloma), 10 Ander Monro (Edinburgh Gunners, Scotland), 9 Morgan Williams (Stade Français, France), 8 Sean-Micheal Stephen (Oakville Crusaders), 7 Adam Kleeberger (University of Victoria), 6 David Biddle (Meraloma), 5 Matt Phinney (Meraloma) 4 Luke Tait (Overmach Parma, Italy), 3 Mike Pletch (Oakville Crusaders), 2 Aaron Abrams (Castaway-Wanderers), 1 Mike Barbieri (Overmach Parma, Italy)
Replacements : 16 Pat Riordan (Burnaby Lake), 17 Dan Pletch (Oakville Crusaders), 18 Hubert Buydens (Saskatoon Wild Oats), 19 Oliver Atkinson (Velox Valhallians), 20 Aaron Carpenter (Brantford Harlequins), 21 Kris Witkowski (Castaway-Wanderers), 22 Craig Culpan (Meraloma)

England Saxons : 15 Delon Armitage (London Irish) 14 Richard Haughton (Saracens) 13 Ben Johnston (Saracens, captain), 12 Chris Bell (Leeds Tykes), 11 Alex Crockett (Bath), 10 Dave Walder (Newcastle Falcons), 9 Richard Wigglesworth (Sale Sharks), 8 Kai Horstmann (Worcester Warriors), 7 David Seymour (Saracens), 6 Luke Narraway (Gloucester), 5 Kieran Roche (London Irish), 4 Nick Kennedy (London Irish), 3 Robbie Morris (Newcastle Falcons), 2 David Paice (London Irish), 1 Micky Ward (Newcastle Falcons)
Replacements : 16 James Buckland (Leicester Tigers), 17 David Barnes (Bath), 18 James Hudson (Bath), 19 Ben Woods (Newcastle Falcons), 20 Clive Stuart-Smith (Llanelli Scarlets), 21 Sam Vesty (Leicester Tigers), 22 Ayoola Erinle (London Wasps)

Referee : Olan Trevor (Ireland)
Touch judges : Gary Wise (New Zealand), Kevin McCaslin (USA)

Kenya 25 Tunisie 21

Kenya squeeze home in RWC qualifier
Sunday June 11 2006
Shock for Tunisia

After leading 10-6 at half-time in this Africa World Cup qualifier in Nairobi, Kenya shocked Tunisia with a thrilling 25-21 victory.

Too close for comfort - the words of Kenya coach Manuel Okoth after the narrow victory at the Rugby Football Union of East Africa Ground on a partly cloudy afternoon before 3 000 spectators.
The Tunisians rallied back strongly in the second half to come within one point but the Kenya de fence held. With the hooter gone, Kenya was awarded a penalty which substitute scrumhalf Moses Kola drilled over.
Mohammed Sahraoui, the technical director of the Tunisian team said they had no option but to win the two home matches against Namibia on 1 July in Tunis and Kenya on 16 September. "We still have a chance," he said.
South African referee Louis Mzomba flashed two yellow cards to burly Tunisian prop Sami Limem and hooker Mohamed Ali Kochlef who broke into tears as he walked off the pitch. Kenya flanker Victor Oduor was also given a yellow card.
The win was a dream start for the new Kenya coach Manuel Okoth and his assistant Charles Ngovi who had barely one week to prepare after a humiliating 84-12 defeat at the hands of Namibia on 27 May in Windhoek. The Kenya Rugby Football Union sacked Thomas Odundo who had been in charge for the past three years. "We had to do something after the loss to Namibia," Mwangi Muthee, the KRFU Director in charge of 15s rugby said.
Tunisia flyhalf Lofti Ben M'Sallem kicked over three penalties for Tunisia with the captain Haithem Chelli and Imed Fhal adding a try each. Kais Aissa added a penalty.
The try scorers for Kenya were Ted Omondi, Peter Ocholla and Dan Weku. Omondi who plays for Taffs Well RFC in Wales made a scintillating run through the Tunisia defence to score near the posts in the second half. Peter Mutai and Moses Kola put over one conversion each. Kola also added a penalty.
The teams last met on 21 May in Nairobi in an Africa Rugby Confederation match which Kenya won 37-15. Since then, Kenya has played four matches drawing two, winning one and losing one. Kenya drew 25-25 with Madagascar on 11 June 2005 in the first round of the World Cup qualifier and beat Uganda 8-5 on 25 June in Kampala to advance.
Kenya and Tunisia first played on 20 September 1997 in Tunis in a World Cup qualifier and lost 5-52.
In the shorter version of the game, Tunisia and Kenya have met five times, Kentya winning thrice. The latest was at the GMF Paris Sevens where Kenya narrowly beat Tunisia 12-10 in the Bowl quarter-finals.
Tunisia have been preparing in Leicester and played against England Counties on June 3 at Broad Street, Coventry.

Scorers :

For Kenya :
Tries : Peter Ocholla (), Dan Weku (), Ted Omondi ()
Cons : Peter Mutai (), Moses Kola
Pens : Peter Ocholla (), Moses Kola

For Tunisia :
Tries : Haithem Chelli (), Fhal Imed
Con : Kais Aissa
Pens : Lofti Ben M'Sallem 3

Teams

Kenya : 15 Nato Simiyu (Impala), 14 Ted Omondi (Taffs Well RFC, Wales), 13 Oscar Osir (Impala, vicecaptain), 12 Innocent Simiyu (Kenya Harlequin) - Victor Sudi, 11 Dan Weku (Impala), 10 Peter Ocholla(Impala), 9 Peter Mutai (Kenya Commercial Bank) -Moses Kola, 8 enjamin Ayimba (Nondescripts), 7 SalimChacha (Impala) - Dennis Mwanja, 6 Victor Oduor (Mwamba), 5 Richard Nyakwaka, 4 Michael Aung (Nondescripts), 3 Daniel Kiptoo (Kenya Harlequin) -Richmond Barasa, 2 Frank Ndong (Impala, captain), 1Derrick Wamalwa (Kenya Commercial Bank) - Edwin Alubaka.
Replacements : 16 Edwin Alubaka (Kenya Commercial Bank), 17 Dennis Mwanja (Kenya Commercial Bank), 18 Paul Oimbo (Impala) 19 Richmond Barasa (Mwamba), 20 Moses Kola(Impala), 21 Lavin Asego (Mwamba) and Victor Sudi(Kenya Harlequin).

Coaches : Manuel Okoth, Charles Ngovi

Tunisia : 15 Mahmoud Khadraoui (Naebul), 14 HaithemChelli (Naebul), 13 Kais Aissa ((Gourdon), 12Nasreddine Hammami (Jemmel), 11 Abbes Kherfani (Est),10 Lofti Ben M'Sallem (Naebul), 9 Sabri Gmir (Naebul),8 Khaled Zegdene (Naebul) - Baraoui Rhouma, 7 Imed Fhal (Jemmel) - Yousri Souguir, 6 Rabia Nafla (LaRochelle), 5 Mohammed Ben Hamida (Naebul) - Slim Sallem, 4 Mokhtar Ktari (Cergy Pontoisse), 3 Sami Limem (Jemmel), 2 Med Ali Kochlef (Naebul), 1 Imed Adli (Rumilly) - Aziz Kassar.
Replacements : 16 Akram Aouamri(Dijon), 17 Aziz Kassar (Givors), 18 Slim Sallem(Naebul), 19 Yousri Souguir (Naebul), 20 Bouraoui Rhouma (Chambery), 21 Zied Hleili (Naebul), 22 Mohamed Kayati (Naebul).

Coaches : Jacky Beauvais, Samir Ben Magtouf, Mohammed Sahraoui

Referee : Louis Mzomba (South Africa)
Touch judges : Willie Roos, Mandla Dakuse (both South Africa).
Match Commissioner : David Gilbert (Botswana)

Portugal 17 Russie 37

Russians spring another surprise

The Russian were simply outstanding in the first half when they laid the foundations for the victory.
After Portugal led briefly, after captain Vasco Uva had scored a try, but then the Russians got a grip on the game and scored three tries in the first half, followed by another two in the second. At half-time they ;led 19-10.
Wing Pavel Novikov, whose boot had been effective against Romania as well, increased the lead to 22-10 but then Diobo Mateus scored a try for Portugal to bring the score to 22-17 and add to the vocal support of eager supporters. But Russia added two more tries to pull away from their hosts again.

Scorers :

For Russia :
Tries : Grachev, Garbuzov, Trishin 2, Novikov
Cons : Novikov 3
Pen : Novikov 2

For Portugal :
Tries : Vasco Uva, Mateus
Cons : tba 2
Pen : tba

Portugal : 15 Pedro Leal, 14 Antonio Aguilar, 13 Miguel Porteo, 12 Diobo Mateus, 11 Frederico Sousa, 10 Duarte Pinto, 9 Jose Pinto, 8 Vasco Uva (captain), 7 Paulo Murinello, 6 Diago Coutinho, 5 David Penalva, 4 Gonçalo Uva, 3 Joaquim Ferreira, 2 João Correia, 1 Ruben Cristian Spachuk
Replacements : 16 Rui Cordeiro, 17 Juan Vargas, 18 Manuel Pereira, 19 Eduardo Alosta, 20 Pedro Carvalho, 21 Luis Pissarra, 22 Aderito Esteves.

Coach : Tomaz Moraes

Russie : 15 Alex Gvozdovskiy, 14 Alsexande, 13 Yaroslav Rechnev, 12 Sergey Trishin, 11 Pavel Novikov, 10 Alexey Korobeynikov, 9 Victor Motorin, 8 Vladislav Korshunov,7 Viacheslav Grachev (captain), 6 Kirill Kushnarev, 5 Andrey Garbuzov, 4 Valery Fedchenko, 3 Ivan Prischpenko, 2 Vladimir Marchenko, 1 Sergey Novoselov
Replacements : 16 Valery Ignatev, 17 Roman Romak, 18 Alexander Khrokin, 19 Alexander Voytov, 20 Artem Fatakhov, 21 Alexander Shakirov, 22 Yury Kushnarev, 23 Igor Klyuchnikov

Coach : Blikkies Groenewald

Referee : Carlo Damasco (Italy)
Touch judges : Federico Cuesta (Argentina), Andrew McPherson (Scotland)

Argentine A 26 Italie A 11

The forwards set the platform for the Argentinian victory by four tries to one

The Italians were brave and sought to play through their backs. With 20 minutes to go the score was 12-11 to the men from South America but then they got two more tries to make the victory look more comprehensive than it perhaps was.
Italy A scored first when flyhalf Lugano Orquera, ironically an Argentinian, kicked the first if two penalty goals in the half.
Argentina A's reply was two tries - the first by fullback Bernardo Stortoni, the second just before the break by Tomás De Vedia. The conversion by Hernán Senillosa made the score 12-6 at half-time.
Italy got on top in the early part of the second half and a try by scrumhalf Pietro Travagli got them to 12-11.
Then the Argentinians took over and wing Horacio Agulla and lock Estaban Lozada scored tries, both converted.
Afterwards coach Patricio Noriega said: "We faced a very tough opponents today. The Italians have a very good side and have raised the level of their game considerably in the last decade. This gives greater value to this win. Our side had good moments on attack and was ecellent on de fence. At times we were able to go through ten phases."

Scorers :

For Argentina A :
Tries : Stortoni, De Vedia, Agulla, Lozada
Cons : Senillosa 3

For Italy A :
Try : Travagli
Pens : Orquera 2

Teams :

Argentine A : 15 Bernardo Stortoni, 14 Tomás De Vedia, 13 Hernán Senillosa, 12 Pablo Gómez Cora, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Marcelo Bosch, 9 Nicolás Vergallo, 8 Genaro Fessia, 7 Agustín Guzmán, 6 Augusto Petrilli, 5 Esteban Lozada, 4 Pablo Bouza, 3 Pablo Cardinali, 2 Eusebio Guiñazu, 1 Daniel Rodríguez
Replacements : 16 Juan Gómez, 17 Agustín Costa Repetto, 18 Jaime Arocena, 19 Álvaro Galindo, 20 Lucio López Fleming , 21 Agustín Durand, 22 Juan Ignacio Gauthier

Coaches : Patricio Noriega, Marcos Caldo

Italy A : 15 Ludovico Nitoglia, 14 Marko Stanojevic, 13 Walter Pozzebon, 12 Matteo Barbini, 11 Samuele Pace, 10 Luciano Orquera, 9 Pietro Travagli, 8 Roberto Mandelli (captain), 7 David Dal Maso, 6 Aaron Persico, 5 Valerio Bernabò , 4 Tommaso Reato, 3 Lorenzo Cittadini, 2 Luigi Ferraro, 1 Michele Rizzo
Replacements: 16 Flavio Damiano, 17 Luigi Milani, 18 Antonio Pavanello, 19 Enrico Pavanello, 20 Gonzalo Padrò, 21 Gabriel Pizarro, 22 Pino Patelli

Coaches : Franco Bernini, Stefano Bordon

Referee : Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)
Touch judges : Federico Cuesta (Argentina), Andrew McPherson (Scotland)

Junior All Blacks 38 Tonga 10

Junior ABs romp past Tonga
Saturday June 17 2006
Five-try defeat sees All Blacks stretch their lead

The Junior All Blacks trounced Tonga 38-10 in the Pacific Five Nations tournament in New Plymouth on Saturday


Jimmy Gopperth lands his third penalty

Hurricanes fly-half Jimmy Gopperth was the star of the show, scoring two tries, although he could land only one conversion from four attempts.
Blues centre Anthony Tuitavake, Blues winger Viliame Waqaseduadua and Crusaders Cameron McIntyre weighed in with the other tries, while Gopperth landed three penalties and McIntyre converted his own try at the end.
Chiefs hooker Aleki Lutui scored the only Tongan try, with Pierre Hola adding a conversion and a penalty.

The scorers :

For the Junior ABs :
Tries : Gopperth 2, Tuitavake, Waqaseduadua, McIntyre
Cons : Gopperth, McIntyre
Pens : Gopperth 3

For Tonga :
Try : Lutui
Con : Hola
Pen : Hola

Junior All Blacks : 15 Ben Atiga, 14 Sosene Anesi, 13 Anthony Tuitavake, 12 Tamati Ellison, 11 Caleb Ralph, 10 Jimmy Gopperth, 9 Kevin Senio, 8 Nick Williams, 7 Josh Blackie, 6 Steven Bates, 5 Bernie Upton, 4 Hoani MacDonald, 3 Campbell Johnstone, 2 Corey Flynn (captain), 1 Wyatt Crockett
Replacements : 16 Saimone Taumoepeau, 17 John Afoa, 18 Tom Donnelly, 19 Anthony Boric, 20 Jamie Nutbrown, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Cameron McIntyre

Tonga : 15 Sione Mone Tu’ipoluto, 14 Tevita Vaikona, 13 Suka Hufanga, 12 Tatafu Na’aniumotu, 11 Tevita Tui’fua, 10 Pierre Hola, 9 Tevita Palu, 8 Epeli Taione, 7 Nili Latu (captain), 6 Viliami Vaki, 5 Milton Ngauamo, 4 Paino Hehea, 3 Tevita Taumoepeau, 2 Aleki Lutui, 1 Tonga Lea’aetoa
Replacements : 16 Ephraim Taukafa, 17 Maafu Pale, 18 Maama Molitika, 19 Rodney Mahe, 20 Sioeli Nau, 21 Fangatapu Apikotoa, 22 Hudson Tonga’uiha

Referee : Wayne Barnes (England)
Assessor : Bob Francis (New Zealand)

Samoa 53 Japon 09

Samoa smashes Japan
Saturday, June 17, 2006

Samoa showcased their ability to score from broken play when beating Japan 53-9 in a Pacific Five Nations rugby match in New Plymouth today.
Samoa recorded their first win the competition by scoring eight tries to none, with fullback Timoteo Iosua and Blues halfback John Senio grabbing two tries each.
Japan's tigerish defence kept them competitive and at one stage they led 9-5 before leaking two tries in the final five minutes of the first half.
Samoa led 22-9 at halftime.
Despite the convincing scoreline, which followed Samoa's 12-56 opening loss against the Junior All Blacks last week, it took Samoa 30 minutes to settle down.

The scorers :

For Samoa :
Tries : Iosua 2, Senio 2, Fa'atau, Lima, Vili, Tuilagi
Cons : Vili 5
Pen : Vili

For Japan :
Pens : Ando 2
Drop : Ando

Irlande A 30 Saxons Anglais 27

Ireland 'A' add to English misery
Saturday June 17 2006
Irish clinch the Churchill Cup plate with last-gasp try

Ireland 'A' snatched the Churchill Cup plate and a worthy third-place finish in the tournament with a dramatic injury-time 30-27 victory over England Saxons in Edmonton on Saturday - a result that piles more misery on English rugby.

The Saxons had taken a last-minute lead through Saracens centre Ben Johnston but then lost David Barnes and Andy Beattie to the sin-bin as Ireland 'A' piled on the pressure in search of a response.
And against 13 men it came from Leinster prop Ronnie McCormack, who was driven over the English line six minutes into added time.
As referee Peter Allan awarded the score, England's replacement hooker David Paice was trading blows with Trevor Hogan and became the third Saxons players to be yellow carded.
Barnes and Beattie were both sin-binned for collapsing Ireland's dominant driving mauls and that eventually proved decisive in an attritional, physical encounter.
England's line-out malfunctioned badly as James Buckland struggled to find his jumpers and the Saxons were putting no real pressure on the Irish set piece.
But England held in there and took a 17-13 lead into the interval after the game had opened in the 10 minutes of first-half injury-time caused by Connacht prop Rat Hogan suffering a suspected broken leg.
Ireland should have moved into an early lead after a sharp break from Ulster fly-half Paddy Wallace but his long pass was just too far ahead of unmarked winger Andrew Maxwell.
England were on the receiving end at the breakdown too but it earned them an early lead after Irish captain Shane Jennings had been warned for stamping on Saxons' Kai Horstmann.
Ireland went close through Ulster lock Matt McCullough after powerful number eight Jamie Heaslip had charged 30 yards through Clive Stuart-Smith's tackle.
The Irish then lost Hogan after his right leg was caught awkwardly in a tackle but moved ahead with two penalties from Wallace as England suffered under pressure at the breakdown.
Ireland shot themselves in the foot as Ayoola Erinle charged down an attempted clearance from full-back Bryn Cunningham.
England made hard work of the try but Horstmann dived over in the corner after bounce-passes from Erinle and then Delon Armitage.
The Irish hit back immediately as John Hearty ran an excellent angle onto Wallace's pass and Heaslip barged over in the first minute of added time.
But there was still time for England to regain the advantage and Erinle picked up Dave Walder's clever grubber kick and powered through Cunningham to score.
England extended their lead to 22-13 after the interval when Sam Vesty used Erinle as the decoy to straighten past Hearty and Wallace to score.
The Irish refused to concede defeat as England struggled with injuries. Seymour was replaced with a neck injury and head coach Jon Callard emptied his bench as the game went to uncontested scrums.
McCullough was driven over to reduce England's advantage and after David Barnes was sin-binned for collapsing a powerful driving maul the Irish took a 23-22 lead through hooker John Fogarty.
England pressed Ireland back as the game entered injury time. They mixed up their options, trying the cross kick for Horstmann and the chip forward for Armitage.
Neither worked but a stolen lineout in the Irish 22 and slice of luck after Vesty's grubber deflected off Mossie Lawlor and Johnston held on to score.
But England's inability to defend the driving maul proved costly as McCormack sealed the win for Ireland.

The scorers :

For Ireland 'A' :
Tries : Heaslip, McCullough, Fogarty, McCormack
Cons : Wallace 2
Pens : Wallace 2

For England Saxons :
Tries : Horstmann, Erinle, Vesty, Johnston
Con : Walder 2
Pens : Walder

The teams :

England Saxons : 15 Delon Armitage, 14 Richard Haughton, 13 Ben Johnston, 12 Chris Bell, 11 Ayoola Erinle, 10 Dave Walder, 9 Clive Stuart-Smith, 8 Kai Horstmann, 7 David Seymour, 6 Kieran Roche, 5 Nick Kennedy, 4 James Hudson, 3 Stuart Turner, 2 James Buckland, 1 David Barnes.
Replacements : 16 David Paice, 17 Mickey Ward, 18 Andy Beattie, 19 Luke Narraway, 20 Richard Wigglesworth, 21 Michael Horak, 22 Ben Woods.

Ireland 'A' : 15 Bryn Cunningham, 14 Andrew Maxwell, 13 John Hearty, 12 David Quinlan, 11 Conor McPhillips, 10 Paddy Wallace, 9 Tomas O'Leary, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Neil McMilan, 6 Shane Jennings (captain), 5 Matt McCullough, 4 Trevor Hogan, 3 Tom Court, 2 John Fogarty, 1 Ray Hogan.
Replacements : 16 Brian Blaney, 17 Ronan McCormack, 18 Damien Browne, 19 John Muldoon, 20 Chris Keane, 21 Eoghan Hickey, 22 Mossie Lawlor.

Maoris Néo Zélandais 52 Ecosse A 17

NZ Maori clinch the Churchill Cup
Saturday June 17 2006
New Zealanders romp to victory in Canada

Scotland 'A' were overwhelmed by a dazzling try-scoring display as the New Zealand Maori regained the Churchill Cup in Edmonton on Saturday.

The Maori, who could not defend their title last year because they were otherwise engaged beating the British & Irish Lions in Hamilton, ran in seven tries to Scottish scores from prop Alasdair Dickinson and replacement wing Nikki Walker.
Scotland can still reflect on an encouraging tournament that yielded victories over the England Saxons and Canada inside four days, but they could not match the power, off-loading or finishing prowess of the unstoppable Maori.
The Maori's victory confirmed a southern hemisphere rugby whitewash this weekend, coming after New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and Argentina had completed Test victories over Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales.
And the Maori did it without captain Jonno Gibbes who pulled his hamstring just before kick-off in the pre-match warm-up. Thomas Waldrom was promoted from the bench and made a swift impact.
Scotland knew they had to keep possession after watching Ireland punished for their turnovers in the Maori's pool victory in San Francisco last weekend.
They did it well, keeping things tight to build pressure - but there was little Ross Beattie could do when he was hit with a shuddering tackle from Kristian Ormsby and the ball spilled loose.
Maori hooker Scott Linklater led the charge downfield and fed the ball inside to number eight Liam Messam who delayed his pass perfectly for Waldron to power over the line.
It was a classic Maori sucker punch but it was not enough to floor the Scots, who are in confident mood after victories over the England Saxons and Canada and refreshed by a 10-day break.
They continued to build the phases, keeping the Maori under the cosh in their own 22, and the pressure paid off when Edinburgh prop Alasdair Dickinson was driven over the line. It was the first try the Maori have conceded all tournament.
The Scots, for all their endeavour, blew too many first-half chances. With the Maori stretched, Scotland had numbers right but scrum-half and captain Rory Lawson looked left first and the chance was gone.
The Maori, on the other hand, were clinical and explosive, attacking from deep and finishing with spectacular style.
Powerful winger Hosea Gear burst through one tackle and then, just before he was bundled into touch, slipped a magnificent offload inside to the supporting prop Joe McDonnell for the second Maori try.
That brilliance was soon matched by scrum-half Chris Smylie who burst into the Scotland half from the base of a scrum and flicked a pass behind his back to Shannon Paku with the 60-metre try finished off by Messam.
Scotland fly-half Calum MaCrae, having missed one penalty shot, reduced the half-time arrears to 24-10 but the Maori streaked clear after the interval.
Bruce landed two more penalties before Paul Tito picked off a perfect long pass from Bruce and sent Waldrom over under the posts for his second score of the afternoon.
Richard Kahui touched down for the Maori's fifth try after Ormsby had brushed aside two Scottish tacklers, and the Waikato lock then registered one for himself after expert offloads from Tito and replacement Pehi Te Whare.
Nikki Walker streaked over in the corner for Scotland's second score eight minutes from time, but the Maori simply responded in kind with Anthony Tahana finishing off good work from Paku.

The scorers :

For NZ Maori :
Tries : Waldrom 2, McDonnell, Messim, Kahui, Ormsby, Paku
Cons : Callum 4
Pens : Callum 3

Scotland 'A' :
Tries : Dickinson, Walker
Cons : MacRae 2
Pen : MacRae

The teams :

NZ Maori : 15 Shannon Paku, 14 Anthony Tahana, 13 Richard Kahui, 12 Neil Brew, 11 Hosea Gear, 10 Callum Bruce, 9 Chris Smylie, 8 Liam Messam, 7 Tanerau Latimer, 6 Jono Gibbes (captain), 5 Paul Tito, 4 Kristian Ormsby, 3 Deacon Manu, 2 Scott Linklater, 1 Joe McDonnell.
Replacements : 16 Luke Mahoney, 17 Mike Noble, 18 Thomas Waldrom, 19 Jake Paringatai, 20 Corey Tamou, 21 Matt Berquist, 22 Pehi Te Whare.

Scotland 'A' : 15 Calum MacRae, 14 Simon Danielli, 13 Graeme Morrison, 12 Matt Dey, 11 Rory Lamont, 10 Phil Godman, 9 Rory Lawson (captain), 8 David Callam, 7 Alasdair Strokosch, 6 Ross Beattie, 5 Mark Rennie, 4 Craig Hamilton, 3 Alasdair Dickinson, 2 Fergus Thomson, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements from : Colin Noon, Tommy McGee, Andy Hall, Scott Gray, Andrew Kelly, Andy Miller, Nick De Luca, Nikki Walker, Colin Gregor.

Referee : Nigel Owens (Wales)
Touch judges : Olan Trevor (Ireland), Phil Smith (Canada)

Canada 33 USA 18

Canada thump USA
Saturday June 17 2006
Win Bowl in Edmonton

On the final day of the Churchill Cup Canada beat the USA 33-18 in the final op the Churchill Cup played before some 8 000 spectators at the Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton on Saturday.

This result puts Canada in fifth place in the six-team tournament.
Canada dominated all phases of play as its pack got un top, mauling strongly.
Canada were on top from the start but the Eagles' de fence restricted them to 13-6 at half-time. The second half belonged to the fitter Canadians who could have won by a bigger margin. As it was they ran in three tries in the half.
Flyhalf James Pritchard got the scoring going with a penalty after just two minutes. Both sides ran, the USA spearheaded by the Parma centres of Tu’ipoluto and Paul Emerick, the Candians with Mike Pyke and big Justin Mensah-Coker prominent. The United States had a great opportunity when left wing Mike Palefau ran down the left touch but his pass to fuilback Jeff Hullinger went into touch. The USA;s reward was a penalty by Jason Kelly.
Pyke had a good run and then Pritchard gave his side back the lead with a second penalty, after which Canada got its first try.
It started with a driving maul from a line-out. The forwards then released the ball to the backs and an orthodox passing movement put Justin Mensah-Coker in for his first try for Canada, his first on two in this match. Pritchard converted from touch and Canada led 13-3 after 25 minutes' play.
The only other score in the half was a second penalty goal by Kelly though Canada was close when it built up the phases and then when the Canadians burst out of their own 22 from a turn-over and Pyke was tackled by Hullinger just short of the line..
Just before half-time referee Andrew Small of England sent Pritchard to the sin bin for illegal activities at a tackle/ruck.
Soon after the restart Canada got a second try when Morgan Williams took a tap penalty and the ball went through the hands to Mensah-Coker for his second try. 18-6. Pritchard was in the sin bin and so Monro took the conversion but without success.
Pritchard back, it was prop Rod Snow's turn to go to the sin bin for dissent. Straight afterwards flank Todd Cleaver scored for the USA as they drove a maul over the Canadian line. 18-11.
A maul by Canada's seven forwards got the ball to the Eagles' line and Williams scored. This time Pritchard was there to convert. 25-11. He followed this with a penalty.
After Pyke had made the running Pritchard scored Canada's final try before the Eagles got a last-minute try through substitute Alipate Tuilevuka, who converted the try, which was followed by the final whistle.
Afterwards Canada's coach Ric Suggitt said: “Who wouldn't be happy with that today? The guys put it together today. We still had a few lapses but there were a lot of positives. We're starting to put the pieces of the puzzle together and I think we're happy with that. Some would say we have a psychological edge from this win looking toward the World Cup Qualifying match in St. John’s, but what we have to do now is get ready to play Barbados next week, and a stronger US team on August 12.”
The Eagles' coach was less pleased. Peter Thorburn said afterwards: "The fitness levels right across the board are not sufficient to play the game at any sustained pace. Until that's fixed we'll be under pressure. It's not as simple as that but that is the basis.”

Scorers :

For Canada :
Tries : Mensah-Coker 2, Williams, Pritchard
Cons : Pritchard 2
Pens : Pritchard 3

For USA :
Tries : Cleaver, Tuilevuka
Con : Tuilevuka
Pens : Kelly 2

The teams :

Canada : 15 Mike Pyke, 14 Justin Mensah-Coker, 13 Chris Pack, 12 David Spicer, 11 James Pritchard, 10 Ander Monro, 9 Morgan Williams, 8 Sean-Micheal Stephen, 7 Stan MCKeen, 6 Adam Kleeberger, 5 Mike Burak, 4 Luke Tait, 3 Rod Snow, 2 Pat Riordan, 1 Dan Pletch.
Replacements : 16 Aaron Abrams, 17 Mike Barbieri, 18 Mike Pletch, 19 Oliver Atkinson, 20 Aaron Carpenter, 21 Ed Fairhurst, 22 Derek Daypuck.

USA : 15 Jeff Hullinger, 14 Mike Palefau, 13 Paul Emerick, 12 Albert Tuipulotu, 11 Jeremy Nash, 10 Jason Kelly, 9 Tyson Meek, 8 Kort Schubert (captain), 7 Todd Clever, 6 Scott Lawrence, 5 Mike Mangan, 4 Carl Hansen, 3 John Tarpoff, 2 Patrick Bell, 1 Mike MacDonald.
Replacements : 16 Owen Lentz, 17 Chris Osentowski, 18 Brian Schoener, 19 Mark Aylor, 20 Mose Timoteo, 21 Alipate Tuilevuka, 22 Brian Barnard.

Referee : Andrew Small (England)
Touch judges : Gary Wise (New Zealand), Olan Trevor (Ireland)

En match de qualification pour la coupe du monde de rugby la côte d'ivoire et le Maroc de Narjissi ont fait match nul 9 à 9



Ivory Coast hold Morocco

Morocco were held to a surpise 9-9 draw by the Ivory Coast in Abidjan on Saturday to open up the northern pool of Africa's second round of World Cup qualfying.
Having won their first match against Uganda 36-3, Morocco were expected to triumph against the Ivory Coast but the home side outplayed them for much of the game and matched them up front to secure a fighting draw.
The Ivory Coast are veterans of one Rugby World Cup, having contested the 1995 tournament in South Africa.
They next play Uganda on 1 July and victory in Kampala would take them level with Morocco on points at the top of the pool.
The crucial showdown clash, however, is likely to be the return fixture between Morocco and Ivory Coast in Casablanca on 30 September.
In the other pool leaders Namibia face Tunisia on 1 July, the Tunisians out for their first win after losing to Kenya in Nairobi last weekend.

L'Australie tombe l'Irlande

Après avoir tremblés en début de 2e période, les Australiens ont finalement dominé l'Irlande ce samedi à Perth (37-15).

Les Irlandais terminent leur tournée dans l'hémisphère Sud par un nouveau revers. Après deux défaites contre la Nouvelle-Zélande, ce sont cette fois les Wallabies qui ont privé les hommes verts de la victoire (37-15). Menés 3-11 à la pause grâce à un essai de Latham, les Irlandais repassaient en tête au début du second acte grâce aux essais de O'Gara et Best (15-11). Mais un final impressionant des Australiens (26-0 en 25 minutes, 4 essais de Gerrard, Holmes, Gregan et Sheperd) assurait finalement la victoire des locaux.

Fidji 23 Samoa 20

Ligairi strikes twice as Fiji pip Samoa
Saturday June 24 2006
Luveitasau sent off for dangerous tackle

Fiji punctuated their Pacific Five Nations campaign with a tense 23-20 victory over Samoa in Suva on Saturday.
The Fijians showed great character in the face of adversity to play more than 50 minutes of the match with 14 men after Mosese Luveitasau was dismissed by referee Wayne Barnes for a spear-tackle after just 27 minutes.
Samoa, full of confidence after a good win against Japan, started the game well and dominated the early exchanges as the visitors' pack subjected Fiji's eight to severe pressure both at the set-piece and the breakdown. A concerted period of pressure on the Fiji line eventually led to Danile Farani crossing for the game's opening try.
However, just as it appeared that the Samoans would pile on the points, Fiji came right back into the match with Norman Ligairi weaving his way to the line for a sensational individual try after Rupeni Caucaunibuca's break. Seremia Bai's penalty in the 21st minute stretched the home side's lead to 10-5.
However, Luveitasau's sending off left Fiji facing a rather difficult task, but the home side showed immense character not only to withstand immense pressure from the Samoans, but also to rally and produce the next score of the game as Norman Ligari bagged his brace.
Fiji held a 17-5 lead at the interval, but Samoa, playing with the wind behind the, increased the pressure in the second half and soon took advantage of the extra man. Loki Crichton struck his first penalty goal of the afternoon to reduce the deficit and six minutes later converted Eliota Fuimaono Sapolu's try to reduce Fiji's lead to just two points.
However, just as it appeared that the Fijians would capitulate, a string of Samoan errors and some committed Fiji defence, allowed the home side to come back into the game. Three consecutive Bai penalties eased the home side's nerves and despite Semo Setiti's late score, Fiji hung on for a memorable victory.

The scorers :

For Fiji :
Tries : Ligairi 2
Cons : Bai 2
Pens : Bai 3

For Samoa :
Tries : Farani, Sapolu, Sititi
Cons : Crichton
Pens : Crichton

Red card(s) : Luveitasau (Fiji) - dangerous tackle, 27

The teams :

Fiji : 15 Norman Ligairi, 14 Mosese Luveitasau, 13 Kameli Ratuvou, 12 Seru Rabeni, 11 Rupeni Caucaunibuca, 10 Seremaia Bai, 9 Jacob Rauluni, 8 Netani Talei, 7 Aca Ratuva (Alivereti Doviverata, 69), 6 Semisi Naevo, 5 Simon Raiwalui (captain), 4 Isoa Domolailai, 3 Apisai Nagi (Ravuamo Samo, 75), 2 Sunia Koto, 1 Josese Bale

Samoa : 15 Tanner Vili, 14 Lome Faátau, 13 Seilala Mapusua (yellow card 27-36), 12 Eliota Sapolu, 11 Brian Lima, 10 Loki Crichton, 9 John Senio, 8 Semo Sititi (captain), 7 Ulia Ulia (Isaac Feaunati, 75), 6 Daniel Farani, 5 Chad Slade (Pelu Taele, 57), 4 Daniel Leo, 3 Census Johnstone (Muliufi Salanoa, 75), 2 Mahonri Schwalger, 1 Justin Vaa (Philemon Tolefoa, 66).

Referee : Wayne Barnes (England)
Assessor : Ian Scotney (Australia)

Junior All Blacks 38 Japon 08

Tuitavake helps JABs to 'grand slam'
Saturday June 24 2006
Junior All Blacks finish Pacific Five Nations unbeaten

A hat-trick to wing Anthony Tuitavake saw the Junior All Blacks complete a Grand Slam of the Pacific Five Nations with a 38-8 win in Dunedin on Saturday


Hat-trick : Anthony Tuitavake

Caleb Ralph bagged a brace of tries from the other wing as the JABs eventually overcame a stiff Japanese challenge.
Wataru Ikeda had Japan in the lead for the first quarter as a much-changed JAB outfit struggled to find rhythm and unitary strength, but Tuitavake crossed after 20 minutes to give his team a lead they never lost.
All six tries came from the backs as they eventually began to combine properly, and Tuitavake and Ralph both scored before the break, finishing off multi-phase sweeping moves to make the half-time score 19-3.
Ralph strolled through some weak tackles just after the break, and then Tuitavake finished off his hat-trick after 52 minutes, dotting down between the posts.
Cameron McIntyre finished off the home team's scoring just after the hour, but Japan did snatch a consolation score from full-back Takashi Miyake, and were praised by JAB captain Corey Flynn after the match.
"We're so used to the clinical form of rugby in New Zealand and they bring out a helter skelter (approach). They just fly at you and it's very hard to combat," said Flynn to reporters.

The scorers :

For the Junior All Blacks :
Tries : Tuitavake 3, Ralph 2, McIntyre
Cons : McIntyre 4

For Japan :
Try : Miyake
Pen: Ikeda

CM - Qualif.

Canada-Barbade : 71-3

Le Canada a écrasé la Barbade 71 à 3 samedi (mi-temps : 45-0) dans un match qualificatif pour la Coupe du monde 2007, qui aura lieu en France.

Dans un groupe 3b des Amériques, qui compte en plus de la Barbade et du Canada, l'équipe des Etats-Unis, seul le premier sera qualifié pour la Coupe du monde, tandis que le deuxième disputera un match de barrage contre le deuxième du Groupe 3a, où on trouve l'Argentine, l'Uruguay et le Chili.

Notons dans ce match le retour de Colin Yukes avec la sélection canadienne au poste de numero 6





RWCQ : CANADA SETS RECORDS IN BARBADOS

Canada romped to a record-setting eleven try win over Barbados in Bridgetown Barbados on Saturday in beating the Caribbean Island nation 71-3 in their 2007 Rugby World Cup Qualifying match. Wing James Pritchard also set a Canadian record in scoring three tries and kicking eight conversions, for a 31 points total, surpassing Gareth Rees’ record of 27 points.
20 year-old DTH Van der Merwe scored two tries, in his debut, in his second-half of play after coming on to replace Mike Pyke at fullback.
On the strength of a hat trick of tries by wing James Pritchard, Canada romped to a 45-0 half-time lead over Barbados in the first forty-minutes in front of 1000 fans. Centre Ryan Smith, #8 Sean-Michael Stephen, scrum-half Morgan Williams and fullback Mike Pyke also touched down. Pritchard converted five of the tries in contributing 25 points to Canada’s cause in the first-half.
Kert Johnston gave Barbados its only points at three minutes into the second-half from a penalty kick, before Canada went back on the offense. Ten minutes after coming into the match 20 year-old DTH Van der Merwe scored his first try for Canada, with wing Justin Mensah-Cocker adding another try at 55 minutes to the two he scored against the USA last weekend in Edmonton.
Flanker Adam Kleeberger claimed his first Canadian try with a minute to go and DTH Van der Merwe finishing off the rout with his second on the full-time whistle. James Pritchard converted three of the second-half tries to bring his final points haul to 31 points – a new Canadian record surpassing the 27 points Gareth Rees scored against Namibia in 1999. Final Score 71-3.
“Conditions were very hot,” commented Manager Bob McGeein following the match. “ But the team coped well and kept up the pressure for the full match.”
While today’s win is not the most points Canada has recorded in a match, the win sets a winning margin record surpassing the 72-11 score Canada recorded against Namibia in the final game of its 1999 World Cup in Toulouse and it also sets a try-scoring record with eleven surpassing the previous nine try total notched against Namibia in ’99.
The victorious Canadian players will attend a reception this evening and will fly back to their Canadian and overseas homes on Sunday. Canada’s next international match will take place against the USA in St. John’s, Newfoundland on August 12, as Canada’s qualifying journey to the 2007 Rugby World Cup continues.

Canada :

15 Pyke 14 Mensah-Coker 13 Smith R. 12 Spicer 11 Prichard 10 Monro 9 Williams M. (Cap) 8 Stephen 7 Kleeberger 6 Yukes 5 Burak 4 Tait L. 3 Snow 2 Riordan 1 Pletch D.

16 Buydens 17 Lawson 18 Pletch M. 19 Biddle 20 Mc Keen 21 Fairhurst 22 Daypuck

Tonga 77 Iles Cook 10

Tonga mash Cooks
Monday June 26 2006
World Cup qualifier in Rauratonga

On Saturday in an Oceania World Cup qualifier at the Tereora National Stadium in Rauratonga, the visiting Tongan side beat Cook Islands 77-10 in the first leg of the qualifier. The second leg will be played kin Tonga.

A large crowd turned up to witness the power, pace and speed of the Tongan team as they completely outclassed the Cook Islands outfit from the outset.
The Tongan team who comprise mainly of overseas professional players (playing in Japan, England, France and New Zealand) were captained by Waikato Chief’s Super 14 openside flank Nili Latu, were ‘smarter’ in all facets of play with their noticeable physical size, strength and speed coming to the fore. Latu in his aftermatch speech did remark that regardless of the score line that Tonga too had been in a similar predicament previously and for the Cook Islands boys and management to have faith in themselves and to continue their objective to qualify for the rugby world cup.
The biggest cheer of the day was reserved for the 78th minute when Cooks tighthead prop Stan Wright crashed over for a try after the Tongans failed to defuse a quickly-taken Cooks 22m drop-out.
For Tonga, Japan-based powerhouse No.8 Filipine was virtually unstoppable with ball in-hand while NPC Counties-Manukau right wing Tui’fua also impressed with his strong running often turning up in midfield in search of extra work.
For the Cook Islands, Northland NPC prop Wright and string-bean lock Tuainekore Herrmann toiled all day. The next World Cup qualifying match will be played in Tonga on 8 July. Current IRB standings have Tonga is ranked 16th while the Cook Islands are 53rd on the IRB ladder. To the Cook Islands team, welcome to World Cup level rugby.

Scorers :

For Tonga :
Tries : V Hakalo 3, Lotu Filipine 2, H Tongahuia 2, T Tui’fua 2, S Tuipolotu, C Hala’ufia, E Taukafa, T Tamoepeau
Cons : P Hola 3, F Apikotoa 3

For Cook Islands :
Try : S Wright
Con :. N Robinson
Pen : N Robinson

Teams :

Tonga : 15 Sione Mone Tu’ipoluto, 14 Tevita Tui’fua, 13 Suka Hufanga, 12 Tatafu Na’aniumotu, 11 Viliami Hakola, 10 Pierre Hola, 9 Soane Havea, 8 Lotu Filipine, 7 Nili Latu (captain), 6 Viliami Vaki, 5 Maama Molitika, 4 Paino Hehea, 3 Peni Fakalelu, 2 Maafu Pale, 1 Tonga Lea’aetoa

Replacements : 16 Ephraim Taukafa, 17 Tevita Taumoepeau, 18 Chris Haalufia, 19 Rodney Mahe, 20 Sioeli Nau, 21 Fangatapu Apikotoa, 22 Kaiongo Tupou

Cook Islands : 15 Adam Vardey, 14 Ben Maaka, 13 Eugene Marsters, 12 ,Teokotal Tuaivi 11 Jason Tetevano, 10 Nathan Robinson, 9 Amosa Amosa, 8 Nick Connal, 7 Antonio Diaz, 6 Rudal Aiono, 5 Tai Marstens, 4 Kore Herrman, 3 Stanley Wright, 2 Len Toi, 1 Len Toi.

Replacements : 16 William Heather, 17 Mike Toki, 18 Mark Charlie, 19 Aaron Hanson, 20 Gene Lutton, 21 Duane Gukisuva, 22Jason Tou

Referee : Paul Honiss (New Zealand)
Touch judges : Marius Jonker (South Africa), Gary Wise (New Zealand)
Match Commissioner : Michael Goodwin (New Zealand)
Assessor : Lee Smith (New Zealand)