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Test Reports for the Springboks, the Eagles and the All Blacks. Provincial Rugby with Canterbury and the Blue Bulls also.

THE SPRINGBOKS


Gritty Springboks beat England

Strong defence: De Wet Barry
17/06/2000
Pretoria - It was desperately close, but the Springboks resolutely defended a slender lead in the second half of their Vodacom International against England to triumph 18-13 at Minolta Loftus on Saturday. The Boks led 15-10 at halftime in the first of their two-Test series.

It was a match full of drama, passion and tension. The last 20 minutes were nail-biting stuff and the Boks had to pull out all the stops to stem the England tide. The English, desperately looking for what would have been their third Test victory in South Africa, went for broke in those dying moments.

They got three penalties and each time they went for the try. But, as for most of the match, the South African defensive lines were too strong. That the home team came up trumps is testimony to their character - something they will need plenty of in this demanding season.

They already had to dig deep in their reserves in the first half when they were severely disrupted by injuries. The Boks had to make do with a midfield combination of Pieter Rossouw and Percy Montgomery after Robbie Fleck and De Wet Barry spent quite a considerable period of time in the blood bin.

Fleck got an England boot on the head in the first minutes and was left groggy. The stretcher was sent on but the player got up and continued. He was eventually forced to leave the field in the 17th minute. Flank Johan Erasmus left the field simultaneously after sustaining an ankle injury and was replaced by Corne Krige.

Thinus Delport replaced Fleck and went to fullback, with Percy Montgomery moving to centre. In the 22th minute, disaster struck again when inside centre Barry had to leave the field injured. The youngster was replaced by Chester Williams, who went to wing with Rossouw moving to centre.

Minutes later the crowd was shocked when captain Andre Vos was stretchered off, but he returned after receiving treatment for a cut. Albert van den Berg temporarily replaced him.

After halftime, Fleck as well as Barry returned. To make matters worse, tighthead prop Willie Meyer was yellow-carded by referee Colin Hawke for using his boot on an England player in a ruck late in the first half. Luckily, a minute later he was followed to the sin bin by England hooker Phil Greening, also for stomping.

England received a hammer blow before the kick-off when ace flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson had to withdraw due to a stomach ailment. Austin Healey, who was originally selected at right wing, moved to the No 10 slot and Tim Stimpson was promoted from the substitutes?nch to wing.

Healey, who has also represented England at scrumhalf, plays flyhalf for his club Leicester. It was the first time he had to don the No 10 jersey for England and could not really dictate the game in the way manager Clive Woodward would have liked him to do.

Little of the flamboyance that characterised the Boks?rformance against Canada was on display on Saturday. The Boks played a much more structured game and kicked considerably more than last week. They did, however, run the ball whenever the opportunity arose, but England's defence proved impenetrable.

A highly aggressive England pack tried to subdue the Boks with their driving play in the first half, but gave the ball a lot of air in the second stanza and fullback Matt Perry was a constant threat.

The deadly boot of flyhalf Braam van Straaten gave the home team the early ascendancy. The Stormers pivot kicked two penalties before Stimpson?etort for England in the 10th minute. The deadly Van Straaten extended the Boks?ad with three more penalties to 15-3 before wing Dan Luger scored the first try of the match in the 25th minute after some great team work.

Greening was first stopped just short of the line before a great tackle by Breyton Paulse on centre Mike Tindall kept the English at bay. But there was no stopping Luger from the ensuing ruck. Stimpson converted to give England a new lease of life at 10-15.

In the second half, the English raised their game a couple of notches and had the Springboks on the retreat for long spells. England supporters, of course, would feel aggrieved that they weren't awarded a penalty try when Stimpson was tackled by Vos in the in-goal area after a kick-and-chase. The TV referee, however, didn't agree because Stimpson had appeared to knock the ball forward.

This seemed to spur on the English and their bulldog spirit came to the fore as they attacked the Springbok line relentlessly. In the 54th minute, Stimpson reduced the deficit to 13-15 with a penalty.

In the second half, Van Straaten's usual accuracy deserted him on two occasions - first in the 65th minute. Before this game Van Straaten had a proud kicking record of 38 out of 38 at Minolta Loftus, having not missed a kick since 1996 when he played for the Blue Bulls.

But Van Straaten made amends, though, when he slotted home a crucial penalty in the 74th minute after replacement centre Leon Lloyd was penalised for punching Barry. This gave the Boks a five-point cushion at 18-13. Still, the English refused to give up - but nor did Vos's super-Boks.

The stage is now set for another humdinger in Bloemfontein next week. Visiting loose forward Neil Back was named Vodacom Man of the Match.

Scorers:

South Africa - Penalties: Braam van Straaten (6). England - Try: Dan Luger; Conversion: Tim Stimpson; Penalties: Stimpson (2)

By Andrew Koopman

Scoring sequence:

First half: 3-0 Van Straaten penalty (6th min); 6-0 Van Straaten penalty (9th); 6-3 Stimpson penalty (12th); 9-3 Van Straaten penalty (14th); 12-3 Van Straaten penalty (20th); 15-3 Van Straaten penalty (24th); 15-10 Luger try, Stimpson conversion (30th).

Second half: 15-13 Stimpson penalty (14th); 18-13 Van Straaten penalty (45th).

Teams at Minolta Loftus:

South Africa: Percy Montgomery; Breyton Paulse, Robbie Fleck, De Wet Barry, Pieter Rossouw; Braam van Straaten, Joost van der Westhuizen; Andre Vos (capt), Andre Venter, Johan Erasmus, Krynauw Otto, Selborne Boome, Willie Meyer, Charl Marais, Rob Kempson. Substitutes: John Smit, Ollie le Roux (Krige 44th-47th, Kempson 74th), Albert van den Berg (Vos 35th-39th, Boome 74th), Corne Krige (Erasmus 20th), Dan van Zyl, Chester Williams (Barry 31st-40th), Thinus Delport (Fleck 20th- 40th, 74th).

England: Matt Perry; Tim Stimpson, Mike Tindall, Mike Catt, Dan Luger; Austin Healey, Kyran Bracken; Lawrence Dallaglio, Neil Back, Richard Hill, Danny Grewcock, Martin Johnson (capt), Julian White, Phil Greening, Jason Leonard. Substitutes: Mark Regan (Greening 44th-49th), David Flatman (White 59th), Martin Wood, Simon Shaw (Johnson 73rd), Joe Worsley (Grewcock 77th), Leon Lloyd (Catt 74th), Ben Cohen.

Referee: Colin Hawke (New Zealand). Vodacom Man of the Match: Neil Back (England).

England get their result
A rock-solid England inspired by a faultless Jonny Wilkinson at fly-half dominated South Africa 27-22 at the Free State Stadium here Saturday to square the two-Test series 1-1.

A last-ditch effort sparked by a controversial Joost van der Westhuizen try could not see South Africa through a heroic England defence in the dying minutes, as the Springboks were left to rue their many infringements punished by penalties.

Twenty-one-year-old England flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson was sublime, scoring all 27 his team's points, with a breathtaking kicking display that included eight penalties and a drop-goal.

Wilkinson who missed out on last week's Test, won 18-13 by the Springboks hardly put a foot wrong during the match, marshalling his backs brilliantly.

The Springboks, however, will have to go back to the drawing board. Their first-phase possession was woefully inadequate, with referee Stuart Dickenson of Australia warning the South Africans on numerous occasions for infringements on the deck.

The Boks, however, hardly heeded his calls and their indiscipline cost them dearly.

England employed a rock-solid defensive pattern, giving the Springboks very little chance of crossing the line.

The 37,000 strong crowd who braved a chilly Free State evening showed their disapproval of the Boks' display.

The Springboks scored their points through flyhalf Braam van Straaten, who slotted four penalties in the first-half, with Percy Montgomery adding a penalty and a conversion in the second half.

Up until the 80th minute, the Springboks were trailing the tourists 15-27, but former skipper Van der Westhuizen scored a controversial try after the television referee Andre Watson ruled that the scrumhalf had grounded the ball from a ruck on the England line.

Van der Westhuizen's try seemed to put the spark back in the Springboks, who attacked ferociously, but were let down by handling errors and their inability to breach the England defence.

The match was by no means a classic, but was characterised by tough battles among the forwards, with scythe-like defence from both sides.

The win sees England registering their third-only win on South African soil, and very fitting that they should beat the Springboks in Bloemfontein, known as South Africa's City of Roses.

The two-Test series, like the one in 1994, is shared 1-1.

South Africa - Try: Joost van der Westhuizen; Conversion: Percy Montgomery; Penalties: Braam van Straaten (4), Percy Montgomery. England - Penalties: Jonny Wilkinson (8); Drop goal: Wilkinson.

Scoring sequence:

First half: 3-0 Van Straaten penalty (4th minute); 6-0 Van Straaten penalty (10th); 6-3 Wilkinson penalty (15th); 6-6 Wilkinson penalty (21st); 6-9 Wilkinson penalty (28th); 9-9 Van Straaten penalty (30th); 9-12 Wilkinson penalty (32nd); 12-12 Van Straaten penalty (35th); 12-15 Wilkinson penalty (39th); 12-18 Wilkinson penalty (42nd).

Second half: 15-18 Montgomery penalty (6th minute); 15-21 Wilkinson drop goal (8th); 15-24 Wilkinson (9th); 15-27 Wilkinson penalty (15th); 22-27 Van der Westhuizen try, Montgomery conversion (38th).

Teams at the Free State Stadium:

South Africa: Percy Montgomery, Breyton Paulse, Robbie Fleck, De Wet Barry, Pieter Rossouw, Braam van Straaten, Joost van der Westhuizen (Yellow card 61st), Andre Vos (capt), Andre Venter, Corn?rige, Krynauw Otto, Selborne Boome, Cobus Visagie, Charl Marais, Robbie Kempson. Substitutes: Japie Mulder, Werner Swanepoel, Chester Williams (Van Straaten 40th), John Smit, Ollie le Roux (Visagie 61st), Albert van den Berg, Warren Brosnihan.

England: Matt Perry, Austin Healey, Mike Tindall, Mike Catt, Ben Cohen, Jonny Wilkinson, Kyran Bracken, Lawrence Dallaglio (Yellow card 45th), Neil Back, Richard Hill, Danny Grewcock, Martin Johnson (capt), Julian White, Phil Greening, Jason Leonard (Yellow card 18th). Substitutes: Mark Regan, David Flatman (Leonard 21st to 28th), Simon Shaw (Grewcock 55th), Joe Worsley (Hill 61st), Will Greenwood, Leon Lloyd (Tindall 72nd), Tim Stimpson.

Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia). Vodacom Man of the Match: Jonny Wilkinson.
Cullen's double sinks Springboks
by Scrum's New Zealand Editor Huw Turner

The demeanour and pronouncements of the South African players and management team in Christchurch this week suggested that they had already settled for defeat, but were hoping to restrict the damage so that they could emerge with some credit.

In blunting All Black offensive power, they were restricted to two Christian Cullen tries, and finishing with a 25-12 defeat, the Springboks may feel that they achieved their objective and Nick Mallett may well claim further success in his determination to transform his side's style of play.

After the extraordinary events in Sydney last weekend, we were back down to earth today. Neither side ever achieved sufficient fluency to break the game open, unforced handling errors and inaccuracies undermining efforts to create and maintain momentum, and both defences simply stifled what invention threatened.

Against Australia, New Zealand struggled with their line out and fringe defence, emerging victorious because of their dynamic three quarter play. In Christchurch, the line out work of earlier in the week had clearly paid off. Blackadder was a solid presence throughout, Flavell in the first half and Maxwell in the second dynamic in threatening the Springboks and, particularly in the second half, winning a good deal of possession on the South African throw in. The Springboks' failure to cross the All Blacks' try line confirms that the decision to start with Kronfeld was the right one as he led the home side's defensive line.

Conversely, the All Black back line had a quiet afternoon. Early on, Mehrtens realised that the Springboks' flat defensive alignment could be breached with a kick over the top and he preferred this tactic to keeping the ball in hand. Robinson and Alatini were therefore seen largely in defence and Lomu and Umaga rarely with space to attack.

Cullen's tries, the first after seven minutes, the second after fifteen, were due firstly to a kick through which Montgomery didn't fancy gathering as Lomu loomed and, secondly, a superb cut out pass by Mehrtens which left the full back with a clear run to the line. We saw very few clear-cut opportunities for tries subsequently as the Springboks scrambled and stifled for all they were worth.

Nick Mallett's determination to see his side play with ball in hand was put into practice, especially in the first half, but it was possible to see the rough edges in the policy. His players tended to attack across field, they lacked composure and accuracy so that fluency rarely materialised, the dropped ball or pass behind the receiving player never too far away. Swanepoel had a good game at scrum half, posing a threat throughout, but Van Straaten is not a dynamic enough player to ignite a back line which did not gel successfully.

The Springbok scrum went well enough, and Van Den Berg, Venter, Erasmus (until his replacement early in the second half) and Vos were always threatening with ball in hand. As the game wore on their lineout came under threat and confidence in it visibly drained away. Without the necessary platform they were unable to seriously threaten in the second half.

The game almost started in sensational fashion, Paulse looking to be impeded as he chased a kick through after Krige and Cullen had collided sickeningly. Both required off-field attention, but the latter returned to score decisive blows with his two tries. Van Straaten had given his side a 6th minute lead and kicked two further penalties at the end of the half to just about keep his side in touch. Montgomery dropped a goal in the 23rd minute but Mehrtens maintained the All Blacks' advantage going into half time with two penalties and a dropped goal of his own. 19-12 at half time.

Only two penalties were scored in the second period, one each to Mehrtens and Brown. A comfortable enough winning margin in the end, the All Blacks never entirely convincing, the Springboks perhaps never believing in themselves sufficiently to offer real menace. Both sides still have much to work on as they both face fixtures against Australia over the next two weekends. Wayne Smith has seen the winning momentum of his side maintained and the pressure on Nick Mallett ought not to have increased too greatly. But I don't suppose too many people will be discussing whether this was, or was not, the greatest game of rugby ever played.

Scorers :

New Zealand 25 : Tries : Cullen (2). Penalties : Mehrtens (3), Brown . Dropped goal : Mehrtens.

South Africa 12 : Penalties : Van Straaten (3). Dropped goal : Montgomery.

New Zealand:
Christian Cullen (Leon McDonald 1, Cullen 5); Tana Umaga, Mark Robinson, Pita Alatini, Jonah Lomu; Andrew Mehrtens (Tony Brown 67), Justin Marshall; Ron Cribb, Josh Kronfeld (Scott Robertson 73), Taine Randell; Todd Blackadder (capt.), Troy Flavell (Norm Maxwell 46); Kees Meeuws, Anton Oliver (Mark Hammer 61), Carl Hoeft (Craig Dowd 48)
Replacement not used: Byron Kelleher

South Africa:
Percy Montgomery; Tinus Delport, Robbie Fleck (Grant,Esterhuizen 74), De Wet Barry, Breyton Paulse; Braam van Straaten, Werner Swanepoel (Joost van der Wethuizen 74); Andre Vos (capt.), Johan Erasmus, Cornus Krige (Warren Brosnihan 1, Krige 6); Andre Venter, Albert van den Berg (Jannes Labushchagne 70); Cobus Visage (Willie Meyer 65), Charl Marais, Robbie Kempson (John Smit 34, 74)
Replacement not used: Chester Williams

Referee: Chris White (Eng)

All Blacks stunned by free-scoring Springboks
The Springboks ended their losing streak in spectacular fashion at Ellis Park on Saturday when they defeated the All Blacks 46-40. Some 57,000 people saw the Boks enjoy a 33-27 halftime lead in a thrill-a-minute Tri-Nations match.

The fireworks which lit up the stadium after the final whistle were almost pale in comparison with the stunning rugby produced by both sides. The Boks thoroughly deserved the standing ovation on their victory lap.

All the pieces in coach Nick Mallett's puzzle finally fell into place on Saturday - to absolutely breathtaking effect. Moreover, it was a great team effort by the home team, who scored six tries to the four of the All Blacks - and this after the Boks had failed to score a try in two Tri-Nations matches.

The Boks now have five log points, while the All Blacks - thanks to the two bonus points they clinched - are still in a position to win the Tri-Nations. If the Boks beat Australia in Durban next week and restrict them to one point, the Kiwis will win the Tri-Nations.

The Boks played with a lot of passion and defended as if their lives depended on it - especially in those last heart-stopping moments when they had to keep the All Blacks at bay.

This was the most points ever scored by the Springboks against the All Blacks. It also was the highest scoring game between the two.

A razor-sharp Robbie Fleck shook off his bad form of the last couple of weeks with a virtuoso performance at inside centre. He and Werner Swanepoel were the stars on attack.

Mallett said earlier this week he wanted better organisation on defence, improved lineout work and the players to take their opportunities. They obliged.

South Africa took the lead in the eighth minute when crowd favourite Chester Williams broke through a Christian Cullen tackle. Andrew Mehrtens slotted the first points with a penalty.

Captain Andre Vos picked up from the base of a scrum on the All Blacks 22, fed scrumhalf Swanepoel, who made a half-break with Thinus Delport on his shoulder as decoy runner before throwing an overhead pass to Williams.

In the 11th minute, Fleck?arted through for a great try after the Boks used second-phase ball to devastating effect. Van Straaten extended the lead to 14-3, but the All Blacks showed just how dangerous they are from broken play when Alama Ieremiah swooped onto a loose ball after a Bok backline move went awry and Mehrtens sent away Tana Umaga for a try under the posts.

Mehrtens converted and the All Blacks were back in contention at 10-14. In the 19th minute, a Mehrtens penalty made the score 13-14.

In the 23th minute South Africa went further ahead after Swanepoel caught Mehrtens after a scrum. The Boks poached the ball at the ensuing ruck and Fleck beat Taine Randell on the inside and there was no stopping the flying centre. Van Straaten converted (21-13).

The Boks stunned the New Zealanders again in the 29th minute when Swanepoel scored after a breathtaking move to secure the Boks' first bonus point in the Tri-Nations series. The move started deep inside the Boks' half when Rassie Erasmus took the ball up and from the ruck and put Corne Krige in possession.

He spotted a gap and ran 40 metres before offloading to Fleck. From the subsequent ruck, Swanepoel dived over (26-13).

The try-hungry Boks were at it again when Delport rounded Cullen after Fleck again injected pace in a backline movement. Esterhuizen sent away the powerful Delport, who was unstoppable from 35 metres out. Van Straaten added the two points and South Africa were sitting pretty at 33-13.

The All Blacks showed fighting spirit and Cullen waltzed through for a try after the visitors put the ball through several phases. Cullen, in the process, erased Jeff Wilson?ame from the record books as New Zealand?op Test try-scorer.

Just before halftime the All Blacks made it clear that they weren?ontent to see their chances of retaining their crown slip away when Umaga easily beat a flat-footed Charl Marais to dot down under the posts. Mehrtens converted and it was 33-27 at halftime.

The Boks extended their lead two minutes into the second half after sustained pressure. Van Straaten slotted the penalty (36-27).

But in the 46th minute Cullen, who injured his hamstring in the move and had to lead the field, weaved some magic again when he used his pace to round Delport in the corner. Mehrtens converted (34-36).

After a failed attempted drop goal by Williams, the All Blacks threw everything into attack and a barn-storming Lomu was stopped short of the line. Cole then adjudged Fleck offside and Mehrtens gave his side the lead for the second time (37-36).

South Africa struck back when Van Straaten succeeded with a penalty (39-37). Mehrtens felt the pressure when he failed with a 42-metre penalty attempt in the 61st minute. He made up for his mishap with a 35-metre drop goal in the 66th minute.

The Springboks came back when substitute prop John Smit charged through to set up a ruck close to the All Black tryline. Swanepoel squeezed through the tackles of replacement prop Greg Somerville and Cribb to score close to the posts. Van Straaten converted (46-40).

After a controversial penalty, when Cole ruled lock Andre Venter didn?se his arms in a tackle on Josh Kronfeld, the All Blacks opted to kick for position. And when they got another penalty in front of the Bok posts, they opted to scrum - two decisions they would rue on Sunday.



Mortlock kicks Wallabies to Tri-Nations glory
By Tim Brimblecombe

What John Eales can do, Stirling Mortlock can do better.

Mortlock is the toast of Australian rugby after landing an injury-time, sideline conversion to give Australia their first Tri-Nations championship with a 19-18 victory against South Africa in Durban.

Mortlock was much maligned for his poor kicking during the international season and there was even some relief when Eales stepped up to take his last-gasp, match-winning kick against the All Blacks in Wellington.

But there was no suggestion Eales would take this pressure kick with the 24-year-old Mortlock showing few nerves to confidently stroke the ball from the sideline after eight minutes of injury time. There was no time for Springbok flyhalf Braam van Straaten to restart as referee Paul Honiss blew full-time to leave the Absa Stadium crowd stunned and the Wallabies jubilant.

The world champions strengthened their claim to the greatest Wallaby line-up of all time with this Tri-Nations title completing a clean sweep of global rugby honours and adding the final piece of silverware to their bulging trophy cabinet.

It wasn?heir prettiest performance of the year, but the satisfaction on the full-time whistle was by no means less as the Wallabies scored their first victory in South Africa since 1992 to edge ahead of New Zealand on the table. It was also the Wallabies fourth successive victory against South Africa.

The victory was a fitting farewell for three Wallaby greats ??op Richard Harry, flanker David Wilson and centre Jason Little ??aying their last games for Australia. Longtime team-mte Tim Horan, who was scheduled to also play his last game tonight before injury brought his Australian career to a premature end, was also on hand to enjoy the moment.

The Wallabies scored the game?nly try and led at half-time 13-6 after a poor first-half by both sides. The game rarely reached the great heights already set by the Tri-Nations this season with both sides guilty of poor handling. However, the game lifted in intensity during the second half with tempers flaring as the tempo built to Mortlock?atch winner.

The normally dynamic Wallaby backline was particularly disjointed with Stephen Larkham forced into several uncharacteristic errors in the face of some intimidating Springbok defence. Rassie Erasmus was superb as he hunted Larkham all over the paddock.

Australia took a 6-3 lead after eight minutes with van Straaten and Mortlock sharing penalty goals.

Both sides then struggled to find any composure as the errors crept in. The Springboks should have taken an 8-6 lead when they held a four-man overlap in the 16th minute, but van Straaten chose to run himself rather than passing. The Wallabies had their chances in Springbok territory, but lacked the composure close to the Springbok line.

South Africa looked to have snatched the lead in the 34th minute when Erasmus intercepted a pass from Wallaby halfback George Gregan as he cleared from a lineout 15m out. However, the video referee judged that Erasmus was held up, despite his own protests that he got the ball down.

With the game set to go into half-time without a try, the Wallabies finally finished off one of their attacking raids with Chris Latham scooping up a superb pass from replacement hooker Jeremy Paul to score in the corner. Van Straaten landed a second penalty on half-time for Australia to take a 13-6 lead into the break.

The game lifted for the better in the second-half with South Africa mustering the same passion they displayed against New Zealand at Ellis Park last week. They starved the Wallabies of possession and three penalties to Van Straaten reduced Australia?ead to 13-12 after just 15 minutes of the second half.

Mortlock extended Australia?ead to 16-12 in the 61st minute, but van Straaten bought South Africa to within a point again with his fifth penalty. The Wallabies lost replacement flanker Matt Cockbain to the sin-bin for 10 minutes during this time, but the Springboks failed to take advantage of the extra man.

The Wallabies continued to struggle for composure and even their much-vaunted lineout stumbled with replacement Albert van den Berg prominent as the Springboks stole three Australian throws.

South Africa took the lead for the first time since the fourth minute when van Straaten landed a long-range penalty in the 78th minute and with the crowd driving their team on, the Springboks were poised to wreck Australia?arty.

As the clock ticked down, the Wallabies launched a final assault on the opposition line, but could find no way through the solid Springbok defence. Their cause looked hopeless when Jason Little was isolated on the wing, but the from the ensuing ruck South Africa were penalised and Mortlock stepped up for his successful shot at glory.

Australia - Try: Chris Latham. Conversion: Stirling Mortlock. Penalty goals: Mortlock 4.

South Africa - Penalty goals: Braam van Straaten 6.

South Africa: Thinus Delport; Chester Williams, Grant Esterhuizen, Robbie Fleck, Breyton Paulse; Braam van Straaten, Werner Swanepoel; Andre Vos (capt, Warren Brosnihan 40), Corne Krige, Rassie Erasmus (Albert van den Berg 58), Mark Andrews (Erasmus 72), Andre Venter (Albert van den Berg 58), Cobus Visagie, Charl Marais (John Smit 78), Robbie Kempson (Ollie le Roux 40). Replacements not used: Percy Montgomery, Jaco van der Westhuzyen, Joost van der Westhuizen

Australia: Chris Latham; Stirling Mortlock, Daniel Herbert, Jason Little, Joe Roff (Ben Tune 72, Rod Kafer 80); Stephen Larkham, George Gregan; Jim Williams, David Wilson (Mark Cockbain 53), Mark Connors (Toutai Kefu 52), John Eales (capt), David Giffin, Fletcher Dyson, Michael Foley (Jeremy Paul 31), Richard Harry (Glenn Panoho). Replacements not used: Sam Cordingley.




THE ALL BLACKS

All Blacks hit the century in Tongan demolition
Test Match Rugby
June 16 at North Harbour Stadium, Albany
By Sophie Lyon
The All Blacks have begun their 2000 season in emphatic style with a 102-0 thrashing of Tonga at North Harbour Stadium on Friday night.

It was a dream debut for North Harbour lock Troy Flavell who picked up a hat-trick of tries on his home ground, while fellow debutant Doug Howlett scored a brace, including a try from his very first touch of the ball in the opening moments of the second half.

The Wayne Smith-coached All Blacks began at pace and finished the same way, absolutely dominating the Tongans - in contrast to a more tentative approach from the All Blacks in their last meeting at the World Cup: the All Blacks won that encounter, too, 45-9.

The Hurricanes' outside-back combination of Christian Cullen, Jonah Lomu, Alama Ieremia and Tana Umaga were full of running, with Cullen looking more than happy with his return to fullback.

It was a fine goal-kicking performance from first-five Tony Brown, who had an early opportunity to get the home side on the scoreboard with a penalty. The successful kick must have been some confidence-booster because the Highlander went on to collect 32 points and score a try.

The All Blacks stamped their authority on the match almost immediately.

Two early try-scoring opportunities went begging before Flavell got his hands on the ball after a great break from Umaga and bustled his way across the line for the first try of the match.

From there on in the All Blacks did not let up.

Ieremia, Cullen and Umaga quickly followed up with tries of their own as the backs showed great confidence in their passing and ability to put other players into space, enabling them to run on to the ball at pace.

The Kiwis had scored 22 points in 15 minutes, leaving the Tongans stunned. They could not get their hands on the ball. Siua Taumaholo got his chance to open Tonga's account midway through the first half with a penalty attempt, but he hooked the kick.

The continued aggression and complete mobility of the All Black pack paid dividends as the Tongan defence was stretched to breaking point and the game well and truly opened up.

Flavell was everywhere in support and showed some instinctive flair which helped him to become the second All Black forward since Ian Kirkpatrick in 1968 to score a hat-trick.

It was somewhat reminiscent of Norm Maxwell's two-try debut at the same ground last season against Manu Samoa, but must help create a bit of a locking dilemma for the All Black selectors.

Smith delivered on his promise to give share game-time around.

With the exception of Andrew Mehrtens and Byron Kelleher, all the reserves got a run and Howlett was particularly dynamic when he came on after the break as replacement for Cullen who suffered a slight strain in his left hamstring.

From the restart after the break Flavell took the kickoff with some style and helped set up Howlett's first try. The first time the Aucklander got his hands on the ball he was off and used his legendary speed to snap up his first test try.

Filo Tiatia, on for former captain Taine Randell, also had a try-scoring debut, while new skipper Todd Blackadder was another to get his name on the scoresheet, even though he had to wait for the video ref to have his say.

With just minutes to play the ton was still on and in the end it was speedster Doug Howlett who again delivered.

His second try, and the team's 15th of the night, helped the All Blacks to their second highest score in a test and a good comeback after the disappointment of their World Cup campaign.
All Blacks 102
Troy Flavell (3), Alama Ieremia, Christian Cullen, Tana Umaga (2), Mark Hammett, Doug Howlett (2), Todd Blackadder, Josh Kronfeld, Filo Tiatia, Tony Brown, Justin Marshall tries, Tony Brown 12 cons, pen

Tonga 0
Halftime: All Blacks 48-0





Records and Scots tumble
By Jenni Rutherford
Records continued to tumble for Wayne Smith's rejuvenated All Black side after their 69-20 victory over the Scots at Carisbrook on Saturday afternoon.

After last week's 102-0 record hiding against Tonga at North Harbour Stadium, the All Blacks try-scoring rampage against Scotland toppled the Springbok record for the most tries against the Scottish, as well as securing the second highest winning margin against the Northern Hemsphere side in history.

Andrew Mehrtens also rewrote the record books, for the quickest person to 600 test points.

Anton Oliver opened the try scoring four minutes into the game. His 112kg frame charged in open space from 30 metres to dot down. It was Oliver's first of two tries for the day and his first test try.

An offside call by Alama Ieremia allowed Scotland's Duncan Hodge to slot a penalty from 40 metres out, while a Todd Blackadder infringement 11 minutes later put the Scots within one point of the homeside after Hodge capitalised on the penalty.

The first 25 minutes saw a lot of tight play, with the Scots closing any gaps, however a debut try to number eight Ron Cribb opened the try fest that continued for the rest of the match.

The Hurricane backline combination of Christian Cullen, Tana Umaga and Jonah Lomu communicated perfectly to set it up for Cribb. The ball travelled through Taine Randell, to Mehrtens who expelled his pass at the right moment to Scott Robertson who passed to new cap Cribb for the try.

The All Black flow had been found, with Lomu scoring two minutes later.

Lomu's power and strength was too much for the Scots. Even when the forceful wing slipped in the wet underfoot conditions he was able to quickly pick himself up and finish it off.

It could have been three tries inside five minutes, but Australian referee Scott Young's knock on call deprived Christian Cullen of a third try.

Wave after wave of All Black attack wore down the Scots. Tana Umaga stepped simply around fullback Chris Paterson to set the New Zealanders up for a healthy 26-6 lead at the halftime break. Umaga's try allowed Merhtens to slot his 600th point.

It was deja vu for Anton Oliver in the second half, scoring his second try for the game in his 20th international match, just three minutes in.

Again the communication of wing Umaga and fullback Cullen was well timed, Umaga offloading to his teammate for a 40m sprint to the line.

Leon MacDonald made his debut 10 minutes into the second half, replacing Cullen. At the same time coach Wayne Smith replaced Taine Randell with Josh Kronfeld forcing Scott Robertson to cover Randell's blindside position.

The Scots were no match for the slick and synchronised All Black side. A Merhtens lob to Jonah Lomu saw the wing lope to the try line for his second of three tries in the match.

Pita Alatini got a taste of glory contributing to the eleven try score-fest.

The Scottish had chances. Shaun Longstaff's efforts were only narrowly shutdown by Christian Cullen in the first half and Longstaff again came very close to scoring only to get tangled up with Leon MacDonald centimetres from the tryline in the middle of the second half.

The Scots, salvaging some dignity, left their run until very late. Massive Richard Melcalfe tumbled over the tryline with just three minutes left for his first test try and then kilted Kiwi Gordon Simpson aided the Scots effort right on fulltime.

The All Blacks proved they could move up a gear after their easy win over the Tongans, while the Scots leave the Edinburgh of the South with a week to figure out how to overcome the slick New Zealanders before the second test at Eden Park.






Comfortable win for All Blacks
Test Match Rugby
July 1 at Eden Park Auckland

Halftime:All Blacks 24-0
By Jenni Rutherford
The All Blacks continued their unbeaten record of the year and against Scotland with a 48-14 win against the visitors in the second test at Eden Park.

The All Blacks scored eight ties to Scotland's two, with Tana Umaga scoring two and debutant Mark Robinson notching up his first try of his international career.

After some dispute and confusion openside flanker Josh Kronfeld scored the All Blacks' first try just four minutes into Kronfeld's 50th match.

The Scots were obsessive with territory early on, almost slipping through the All Black defence on various occasions but as with last week's test, they couldn't utilise the territory they gained.

The new yellow Adidas ball was fumbled and dropped early in the first half by the All Blacks, the mixture of rain and grass making for a greasy concoction reminiscent of soap in the changing room showers, as it skidded and slipped through the New Zealander's hand forcing turnovers.

Despite the weather, the Scottish had worked on their errors of the first test and appeared a more competitive side.

Jonah Lomu showed his brute force and speed deflecting the Scottish tackler to set up Ron Cribb's try under the posts.

The goal posts were the target of early kicks, both Mehrtens and Duncan Hodge were off centre, nipping the woodwork, deflecting the wrong way.

An All Black scrum from deep in their own half demonstrated the New Zealander's ability to complete a set piece with almost every player taking part in the eventual Tana Umaga try.

Mehrtens moved the ball through Crib to Christian Cullen onto Umaga for his first touch, to Marshall who kept the pace on, before offloading to debutante Mark Robinson who selflessly moved the ball to Umaga who scored in the corner. It was a magnificent try that the Scots just could not stop.

Umaga again finished off for New Zealand right on half time, helping the All Blacks to an unanswered 24-0 halftime lead.

The Scots knew they would have to score early if they wanted any chance and that is exactly what they did. Just two minutes out after the 10 minutes break a charge-down from a Mehrtens chipkick saw Chris Patterson sprint to the line for their first try of two.

Alama Ieremia who had a solid game quickly crashed any hopes the Scots had of catching up, scoring with a 20 metre sprint to the line, helping New Zealand to a 31-7 lead.

Cameron Murray made use of an All Black spill, beating Anton Oliver to regather and score Scotland's second try of the match.

New Zealand not to be outdone added three more tries before fulltime, including one to Mark Robinson to allow him his first international try of his career. Robinson was great on attack, breaking the line on several occasions.

With three wins from as many outings, the soft games are over. Australia is next up and will be the first of four much harder, more important matches for Todd Blackadder's boys.

All Blacks 48
Tries: Tana Umaga (2), Ron Cribb, Josh Kronfeld, Alama Ieremia, Mark Robinson, Justin Marshall, Christian Cullen. Cons: Andrew Mehrtens (3), Tony Brown.

Scotland 14
Tries: Chris Paterson, Cameron Murray. Cons: Duncan Hodge (2).





Epic Bledisloe Cup win
By Jenni Rutherford
Pride, passion, faith and finally real rugby celebration can be felt in the hearts of New Zealanders who have been waiting eight months for a chance at beating the world champion Wallabies.

The All Blacks fought hard for the 39-35 win, which puts them at the top of the Tri-Nations table and up 1-nil in the two match Bledisloe Cup competition.

The crowd of 109,874 were treated to an uncharacteristic try fest in the first ten minutes. The first three were in the All Blacks' favour but only began what was an epic battle.

Blinked and you would have missed at least two of the opening tries.

The match burst to life after a rousing haka and a stoic Wallaby Waltzing Matilda, when a kick from Andrew Mehrtens was partially charged down and landed awkwardly where Australian fullback Chris Latham panicked the pass giving the ball to Tana Umaga who streaked to score under the posts.

One was not enough for the All Blacks. Directly from the kickoff the Kiwis attacked again, working quickly wide to wing Jonah Lomu, who forced his way down the touchline before flipping the ball infield for Pita Alatini to score.

The third try came at about the six minute mark, with Alatini and Alama Ieremia combining to put Christian Cullen on a 40 metre run to the line.

A penalty goal to Mehrtens pushed the score to 24-0 after eight minutes.

As soon as the Wallabies touched the ball a Sterling Mortlock break away try was scored and converted.

A mistake in communication between captain Todd Blackadder and Alama Iremeia let speedy Stephen Larkham through for the Mortlock touchdown.

The speed of wing Sterling Mortlock and the passing of George Gregan provided a lethal combination, with another Mortlock try within the first 20 minutes.

Faced with what could have been an uphill battle to come from 24-0 the Wallabies were undaunted by the three tries they had just conceded and promptly set about to remedy the scoreline.

Twenty five minutes into the game each team had three tries a piece, with Chris Latham on the finishing end of a Wallaby charge. The Australians constantly hammered the All Black territory for at least 10 minutes, the New Zealanders unable to get their hands on the ball.

The Wallabies ability to regroup after early All Black tries, worked to the advantage of the Australians who have bred a calm and collected composure when in a losing position.

Joe Roff found the gap for a fourth try after the All Blacks try line took another pounding. Captain John Eales relieved Mortlock from his kicking duties, but was unable to convert to put the homeside in front which eventually saw Mortlock return to the fore.

Both coaches opted for early openside flanker substitutions with Josh Kronfeld relieving Scott Robertson and David Wilson coming off for Toutai Kefu.

Norm Maxwell came under fire from South African referee Andre Watson who penalised him for 'lazy running', a term he must have coined. Maxwell's lethargic pace gave the Wallabies the lead with Mortlock booting it over to be 27-24 ahead.

Spotting Watson's tendency to pick on Maxwell coach Wayne Smith quickly replaced him with Troy Flavell.

Justin Marshall rejuvenated the All Blacks' spirits with unrelenting try. Marshall pushed his way through the Wallaby defence, with a nifty dummy pass.

Mehrtens converted for his fourth of the evening for a slim four point lead.

In a supposed defensive move by coach Wayne Smith, Tony Brown replaced Mehrtens at first five.

George Gregan broke through clumsy All Black defence and managed to find his support in Jeremy Paul, however with eight minutes to go it was never say die for the millennium All Blacks.

With two minutes let on the clock, All Black sides of the last two years would have fallen apart in disarray however Toddy's team kept a level head.

Jonah Lomu, who had been so strong throughout the game was rewarded for his efforts with a touchline sprint. Lomu tip-toed his way to down the sideline for the winning try 90 seconds before the final whistle. Man of the match, Taine Randell lobbed the ball over the heads of the Wallabies, to set it up.

The Australians dominated territory 64% - 38%, but the All Blacks, like their first Scotland game in Dunedin, which saw the Scots play most of their game All Black half, converted more chances into points.

A last minute win by the All Blacks against arguably the best Wallaby side ever, is a good sign for New Zealand team who are making headway in restoring the winning mentality the Black jersey commands.

New Zealand: Tries: Tana Umaga, Pita Alatini, Christian Cullen, Justin Marshall, Jonah Lomu; Conversions: Mehrtens (4); Penalty goals: Mehrtens 2

Australia: Tries: Stirling Mortlock (2), Chris Latham, Joe Roff, Jeremy Paul; Conversions: Mortlock (2); Penalty goals: Mortlock (2)

Australia - Chris Latham; Stirling Mortlock (Andrew Walker 76), Daniel Herbert (Little 70), Jason Little (Rod Kafer 53), Joe Roff; Stephen Larkham, George Gregan; Jim Williams, David Wilson (Toutai Kefu 45), Mark Connors, John Eales (capt), David Giffin, Fletcher Dyson, Michael Foley (Jeremy Paul 40), Richard Harry (Glenn Panoho 57). Replacements not used: Sam Cordingley.

New Zealand - Christian Cullen; Tana Umaga, Alama Ieremia, Pita Alatini, Jonah Lomu; Andrew Mehrtens (Tony Brown 65), Justin Marshall; Ron Cribb, Scott Robertson (Josh Kronfeld 43), Taine Randell, Norm Maxwell (Troy Flavell 50), Todd Blackadder (capt), Kees Meeuws, Anton Oliver (Mark Hammett 73), Carl Hoeft. Replacements not used: Leon MacDonald, Craig Dowd

Referee: Andre Watson (Rsa)

Att: 109,874





Tough victory for All Blacks
By Jenni Rutherford
The All Blacks were brought back down to earth after their euphoric match against the Wallabies last weekend with a solid 25-12 win over the Springboks that paled in comparison to last week's 'game of the century'.

The Jade Stadium clash could have started with the same intensity as the Sydney game, but Werner Swanepoel was denied a sprawling try with a desperate flick coming off Justin Marshall's arm.

All Blacks fullback Christian Cullen was an early casualty, after his collision with Corne Krige left both on the sideline receiving attention.

The Springboks got on the board first, though, when an early tackle was called on Carl Hoeft and Braam van Straaten landed the game's opening penalties.

Jonah Lomu missed his chance to score for the first time against the Springboks, with Cullen on the right side of the bounce for a freak try that put the All Blacks into a lead that they never relinquished.

Cullen showed his adaptability, one minute receiving medical treatment, scoring the All Blacks first try, the next.

Merhtens skewed the conversion, for the All Blacks to lead by two.

A perfectly timed pass from Merhtens set up Cullen's second try.

While the Springboks were watching Lomu, anticipating a short pass from Merhtens, the cunning first-five pushed the pass wide, missing out three players for Cullen to lope home.

Mehrtens' distribution was great, but his kicking game was off in the first 20 minutes, missing the two conversions.

Abrasive lock Troy Flavell made his presence known, breaking through the Springbok line, rampaging forward, but his pass to old mate Ron Cribb was forward and ended up over the sideline when the goal-line beckoned.

The Boks were next to score when, with nowhere to go, fullback Percy Montgomery slotted a 30m drop-kick to put the visitors within four points.

Mistakes continued to riddle the All Blacks' game through strong Springbok defence, but the scoreline again shadowed the errors.

Penalties dominated the game, with English referee Chris White liking his whistle.

Percy Montgomery's reluctance to hold the ball for long led to a successful drop-goal which Merhtens matched 10 minutes later.

Ron Cribb was penalised by White for scatty fighting. Cribb was spotted for throwing a punch at Corne Krige, retaliating for the elbow to the head. Van Straaten notched up his third penalty to put the Boks within seven points at halftime.

The pace of Christian Cullen was on show when he won a desperate race with Springbok flier Breyton Paulse. Paulse kicked ahead and looked to have the field to himself, but Cullen came from behind, making use of the angle of the kick to beat him to the try-line and push the ball dead.

The Springboks lost Krige to the sin-bin with 20 minutes of play left, but managed to continue their shut-out defence, denying the All Blacks any chance of capitalising on their handicap. Off replacement first-five Tony Brown's straight up-and-down bomb, Pita Alatini, with his eyes in the air waiting for the ball, was taken out by Krige's shoulder to his chin. Brown kicked the penalty (his 100th point in tests) and gave the All Blacks a lead of 13.

The six New Zealand points in the second half was a measure of the physical and defensive nature of the game.

In what is becoming a familiar pattern in All Black rugby, the New Zealanders managed the win with less territory and possession than their opposition.

The intense match brought the rugby public back to the real world with a tough test dominated by penalties and with few opportunities to score spectacular tries.

The victory is the All Blacks' second of the Tri-Nations series, which gives them a seven-point lead on the points table ahead of Australia on two points and the Springboks yet to score.
Scorers :

New Zealand 25 : Tries : Cullen (2). Penalties : Mehrtens (3), Brown . Dropped goal : Mehrtens.

South Africa 12 : Penalties : Van Straaten (3). Dropped goal : Montgomery.

New Zealand:
Christian Cullen (Leon McDonald 1, Cullen 5); Tana Umaga, Mark Robinson, Pita Alatini, Jonah Lomu; Andrew Mehrtens (Tony Brown 67), Justin Marshall; Ron Cribb, Josh Kronfeld (Scott Robertson 73), Taine Randell; Todd Blackadder (capt.), Troy Flavell (Norm Maxwell 46); Kees Meeuws, Anton Oliver (Mark Hammer 61), Carl Hoeft (Craig Dowd 48)
Replacement not used: Byron Kelleher

South Africa:
Percy Montgomery; Tinus Delport, Robbie Fleck (Grant,Esterhuizen 74), De Wet Barry, Breyton Paulse; Braam van Straaten, Werner Swanepoel (Joost van der Wethuizen 74); Andre Vos (capt.), Johan Erasmus, Cornus Krige (Warren Brosnihan 1, Krige 6); Andre Venter, Albert van den Berg (Jannes Labushchagne 70); Cobus Visage (Willie Meyer 65), Charl Marais, Robbie Kempson (John Smit 34, 74)
Replacement not used: Chester Williams

Referee: Chris White (Eng)




Eales lands miracle penalty

05/Aug/2000 Australia kept the Bledisloe Cup for a third successive year and stayed in the hunt for its first Tri Nations rugby title when captain John Eales kicked it to a dramatic 24-23 win over New Zealand here today.

With New Zealand ahead 23-21 three minutes into injury time and the crowd calling for the fulltime whistle, the All Blacks lost two successive line-outs on their own throw as Australia kicked the ball to the New Zealand quarter line from where Eales slotted home the penalty.

Eales stepped up to take his only kick for the match after Stirling Mortlock missed a long range penalty attempt in the 36th minute to finish with four successful shots out of seven.
South African referee Jonathan Kaplan immediately blew fulltime and was pelted with bottles by a hostile Wellington crowd as he left the field.

The All Blacks led 20-18 at halftime after another exhilaratingly first half but a dour and desperate second half yielded only a penalty goal apiece until Eales' dramatic kick from slightly to the right of the posts levelled the two match series.

New Zealand had won the first Test in Sydney in equally dramatic circumstances, Jonah Lomu scoring the winning try in the dying minutes as the All Blacks won 39-35.

Australia raced to a 12-0 lead after 15 minutes but in a reduced mirror image of the first Test three weeks ago, the New Zealanders hit back to lead 14-12 eight minutes later following fullback Christian Cullen's second try from a brilliantly executed set move.

Five-eighth Andrew Mehrtens, the devastating Tana Umaga and Lomu combined with several switches of direction to send Cullen racing for the line to equalise with Mehrtens' conversion giving the All Blacks the lead.

Four tries came in the first half, with Australian centre Daniel Herbert busting through the defence to set up Mortlock in the second minute and had a hand in Joe Roff's try in the 15th minute.

The lead changed hands four times in the last three minutes of the half as Mortlock and Mehrtens exchanged two penalties each, with the All Blacks gaining the edge on the halftime whistle.

Mehrtens finished with three penalties and two conversions. Australia and New Zealand now share top spot on the Tri Nations table with 10 points each, with both playing South Africa later this month.

AUSTRALIA 24 (Stirling Mortlock Joe Roff tries Mortlock 3, John Eales penalty goals Mortlock 1 goal) bt NEW ZEALAND 23 (Christian Cullen 2 tries Andrew Mehrtens 3 penalty goals, 2 goals). Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa). Crowd: 36,500 at WestpacTrust Stadium, Wellington.

THE EAGLES
Eagles News
EAGLES WIN EPSON CUP OPENER

(Osaka, Japan) 27 May 2000 -- The USA scored four tries in Osaka, Saturday, to claim maximum competition points from a 36-21 victory over Japan, but it was defense that won the game for the Americans.

Down 7-3, the Eagles scored two tries in the ten minutes before halftime which, together with a 40m Grant Wells penalty, gave the USA an 18-7 lead at the break. While the team never relinquished that lead, it withstood some severe pressure to keep the Japanese at bay.

The Cherry Blossoms' speed created several long breaks, and the Americans' defense withstood repeated challenges. Flyhalf Wells, making his first start for the USA, calmly kicked sixteen points including a late drop goal to give the Eagles' the offensive edge.

"The Japanese team had us in some grim defensive situations," noted USA head coach Duncan Hall. "We were under pressure. They played very flat and very fast, and they were always going to have the pace advantage. The boys really stuck to their guns, and all deserve credit. It was teamwork that won."

The Eagles were first on the scoreboard with a 30m Wells penalty in the sixth minute, but Japan's scrumhalf Yuji Sonoda answered with a try only two minutes later, scampering over from the base of a ruck on the American goal line. And although the Eagles' larger pack began to win the possession battle, the next 20 minutes were scoreless.

It was Chicago's young center, Philip Eloff, who broke the stalemate, with a big bust from inside his own 40m line. His cutback line found support from left wing Malakai Delai, who then put fellow wing Andre Blom under the posts at 30 minutes.

"We weren't in the game for most of the first half," said Hall. "We looked slow. But the guys got used to the pace of the game."

As a result of that adjustment, Wells added a 40m penalty and Kurt Shuman crossed for a try right before the halftime whistle. The Eagle fullback found the corner when the USA isolated and stripped Japan's fullback of the ball at the Cherry Blossom's 40m line. Flanker Kort Schubert took a run from the ruck that followed, found Philippe Farner in support and the lock, in turn, got the ball out to Shuman.

After the halftime break, Wells again opened the scoring. The Golden Gate flyhalf kicked a 27m penalty in the 43rd minute when the Japanese were caught offside at a scrum.

But the Eagles' two score lead did not last long. From the ensuing restart, the Japanese spread the ball left then right, stretching the US defense and giving speedster Michinori Oda room down the wing. Kurihara's conversion made it only a seven point game.

The US remained 21-14 ahead for fifteen minutes until, with the Eagles' scrum led by loosehead John McBride starting to cause trouble for the Japanese, captain Dave Hodges drove off the base approximately 25m out, stiffed armed one would-be tackler and ran in a try out wide.

"Dave had an outstanding match," acknowledged head coach Hall. "He played well in attack and defense and his try came at a crucial time."

Again the Japanese struck back almost immediately, with Oda intercepting an errant Eagles pass and running 35m for his second try under the posts in the 23rd minute, making it 26-21 and keeping the Cherry Blossoms in the hunt.

With less than ten minutes left in the match the USA pulled clear once more. A Shuman break down the sideline was kept alive by replacement prop Joe Clayton and Wells, and quick hands got the ball back inside where hooker Kirk Khasigian finished.

The Japanese were not about concede, however, and another period of goal line pressure only ended for the USA when an Eloff tackle forced a knock-on, snuffing the host's comeback aspirations.

The USA then worked its way down the length of the field and, undaunted by a light rain that fell on Hanazono Stadium through much of the match, Wells sealed the win with an injury-time drop goal that bounced in off the right-hand up-right.

"There's still plenty to learn and to work on," coach Hall said from Japan after the win. "We need to recycle our players better on defense, and we're going to have to work on creating space in attack. But the team played with a lot of passion. And it was great for the new players to start with a win, especially a win away from home."

The USA now returns home to host Canada on June 3 in Manchester, New Hampshire. The Canadians also won their first match of the Epson Cup, beating Tonga 29-11 last weekend. The Japanese, who won last year's Epson Cup tournament, are now 0-2.

Final: United States 36 Japan 21 (halftime USA 18-7)

USA: Tries: Blom, Shuman, Hodges, Khasigian
Pens: Wells (3)
Conv: Wells (2)
Drop Goals: Wells

Japan: Tries: Oda (2), Sanara
Conv: Kurihara (3)

United States: Kurt Shuman; Andre Blom, Philip Eloff, Juan Grobler, Malakai Delai; Grant Wells, Kevin Dalzell; John McBride (Joe Clayton), Kirk Khasigian, Ray Lehner, Philippe Farner, Matt Kane, Don Younger, Dave Hodges (captain), Kort Schubert.

THREE-TRY SECOND HALF LIFTS USA TO 34-25 CANADIAN VICTORY

(Manchester, New Hampshire) 3 June 200--Center Juan Grobler's try seven minutes from the end lifted the United States to its first lead in a dramatic 34-25 Epson Cup Pacific Rim win over visiting Canada before 1,800 at Manchester's Singer Park.

The converted score gave the USA a 31-25 edge, but Canada spent some desperate final minutes deep in the American end, sometimes within yards of the goalline. Ferocious tackling from USA captain Dave Hodges and first-year player Kort Schubert frustrated the visitors' hopes.

Grant Wells added a drop goal in injury time to seal the American victory, which sends the 2-0 Eagles to the top of the Epson Cup standings. Canada falls to 1-1 and fourth place.

"Juan's score was a big moment for us, but I thought our young international team really learned alot between the first and the second half," US captain Dave Hodges said afterward.

A converted try from center Nik Witkowski and two penalty goals from Scott Stewart helped Canada jump out to a 20-7 edge at the interval. Kurt Shuman scored in the early moments for the USA, but the first half largely belonged to the visitors.

Benefiting from a slight breeze,Wells kicked a penalty goal early in the second half to make the count 20-10. But the Beavers looked omnious when Ryan Banks scored an unconverted try in the 51st minute, opening a 15-point margin.

The US began its three-try, 24-point rally with Robbie Flynn's converted 57th-minute try, his first in international rugby. Replacement Joe Clayton tallied ten minutes later and Wells conversion brought the hosts to within a point, 25-24.

The thrilling match recalled last year's 18-17 nailbiter in Toronto, won in the dying minutes by the USA.

The USA's next Epson Cup game is a top-of-the-table clash against second-place Fiji, July 1 in troubled Suva, while Canada faces Samoa in Apia the same day. Both teams are in action next week, however, the USA hosting Ireland here in Manchester and Canada traveling to East London to meet South Africa.

Final: United States 34 Canada 25 (halftime Canada 20-7)

United States: Tries: Shuman, Flynn, Clayton, Grobler Conversions: Wells (4) Penalty goals: Wells Drop goals: Wells Canada: Tries: Toews, Witkowski, Banks Conversions: Stewart (2) Penalty goals: Stewart (2) Final: United States 36 Japan 21 (halftime USA 18-7)

USA: Tries: Shuman, Flynn, Clayton, Grobler
Cons: Wells (4)
Pens: Wells
DG: Wells

Japan: Tries: Toews, Witkowski, Banks
Conv: Stewart (2)
Pens: Stewart (2)

Ref: Anetere'a Aiolupotea (Samoa)

United States: Kurt Shuman; Andre Blom, Philip Eloff, Juan Grobler, Malakai Delai; Grant Wells, Kevin Dalzell; John McBride (Joe Clayton), Kirk Khasigian (Robbie Flynn), Ray Lehner, Philippe Farner, Tom Kelleher, Don Younger, Dave Hodges (captain) (John Burke), Kort Schubert.

Eagles squad strengthens for South Pacific

24/Jun/2000 The USA welcomes back some veteran performers for the second half of the Epson Cup Pacific Rim competition, with wing Vaea Anitoni, lock Luke Gross and center Alatini Saulala heading the list of players joining the squad for the first time in 2000.

Anitoni, the Eagles' leading all-time try scorer, has juggled work commitments to join the team again, while Gross has just completed a professional season in Italy and Saulala returns from a lingering hamstring injury. Between them, they boast 98 appearances for the USA.

"It is the most experienced team that has been available this year," noted USA head coach Duncan Hall. "Against the teams we are going to play, experience will be essential, if we are to be competitive."

The Eagles are 2-0 in the Epson Cup after victories over Japan and Canada, but the remaining matches promise even bigger challenges. The USA leaves Saturday for away matches against Fiji and Tonga, before returning to San Francisco to play Samoa on July 15.

While some rugby pundits are already speculating that the USA-Samoa match may decide the Pacific Rim, coach Hall is focused on the next two tests where his team will face heat, humidity, and partisan home crowds. "If Fiji live up to what they did in the Rugby World Cup, they are very dangerous," he said, "and their squad is now at its strongest."

The USA returns almost its entire starting line-ups from the Japan and Canada matches. One exception is wing Andre Blom who is unavailable due to work committments. His absence makes Anitoni's return particularly timely for the Eagles.

The USA were dangerously thin in the outside backs throughout their first three week assembly, but the return of Saulala, the call up of OMBAC's Dave Disorbo and Hayward's Roger Grant gives the Eagles some depth.

Back row help has also been added with Aspen's Jason Gillam and Hayward's Olo Fifita joining the team for the first time, while collegiate prospect Mike MacDonald joins John McBride, Ray Lehner and Joe Clayton as the squad's fourth prop.

Forwards: Joe Clayton, Philippe Farner, Olo Fifita, Robbie Flynn, Jason Gillam, Luke Gross, Dave Hodges (captain), Matt Kane, Kirk Khasigian, Ray Lehner, Mike MacDonald, John McBride, Kort Schubert, Don Younger.

Backs:Vaea Anitoni, Kevin Dalzell, Malakai Delai, Dave Disorbo, Phillip Eloff, Roger Grant, Juan Grobler, Alatini Saulala, Kurt Shuman, Mose Timoteo, Grant Wells, Link Wilfley. Manu Samoa wins Epson Cup
by Brian Lowe

Manu Samoa won the 2000 Epson Cup, but was made to work hard in beating a determined United Sates 19-12 in the final game of the championship.

In front of a good crowd at San Francisco's Boxer Stadium the Samoans ran in three tries to two to seal victory. although the Americans dominated territorially for most of the 80 minutes.

Manu Samoa opened the scoring in the 14th minute with a try by scrum half Filemu that resulted from a sweeping movement downfield that started inside their own quarter. The score was converted by flyhalf Vili and the islanders took a 7-0 lead.

Possession went back and forth for the next quarter of an hour before the Eagles replied with a try of their own in the 31st minute.The touch down by loose forward Schubert resulted from a lineout close to the Samoan goal line and fly half Grant Wells converted to level the score at 7-7.

Manu Samoa hit right back in the 35th minute when the islanders won a lineout just 5 metres out and Filemu fed Vili who dummied and ducked under a tackle to dot down out wide.The attempted conversion was pushed wide leaving the score at 12-7 in favour of the Samoans. That was the half time score.

The second half began with both sides missing long range shots at goal before the Americans gained possession from a Samoan mistake on their own 10 metres line.In the 51st minute Eagle outside centre Phillip Eloff made a bust and the ball wound up in the hands of winger Malakai Delai who scored a try that went unconverted to see the US draw level at 12-12.

Sustained attack by Samoa and gritty defence by the Eagles set the tone of play for the next stanza that led up to what turned out to be the match-winning try in the 60th minute.The ball passed through more than a dozen pairs of hands during a series of rucks before second rower Curtis crashed over the line. The try was converted by Vili and Samoa took a 19-12 lead.

In the dying stages of the match the Eagles bombed a possible scoring opportunity that could have levelled the score, but instead they gave possession back to Samoa who held on for the victory.

Afterwards, Eagles coach Duncan Hall praised his players. 'I'm very proud of the team.They dominated territorially, their tackling was excellent, the scrum was solid as were the lineouts.'

'We're a young team and we're learning all the time .We're learning to adapt to different conditions and situations. We had a couple of chances that we didn't take, especially late in the game, and we gave Samoa a couple of chances that they did take.I'm proud and pleased with our performance today.'

The win leapfrogged Manu Samoa ahead of Fiji in the final standings and gave John Boe's charges their first Epson Cup championship.

Manu Samoa

1. Lealamanua 2. Fuga 3. Asi 4. Curtis 5. Tone 6. Sititi (c) 7. Glendinning 8. Feaunati 9. Filemu 10. Vili 11. Lima 12. Tuigamala 13. Vaega 14. Seveali'i 15. Samania. Subs : 16. Tyrell 17. Ngapaku 18. Fanolua 19. Matauiau 20. Leota 21. Palepoi 22. Cowley

United States

1. Clayton 2. Khasigian 3. Lehner 4. Farner 5. Gross 6. Fifita 7. Schubert 8. Hodges (c) 9. Dalzell 10. Wells 11. Delai 12. Grobler 13. Eloff 14. Anitoni 15. Shuman Subs : 16. Naivalu 17. Wilfley 18. Timoteo 19. Younger 20. Kane 21. McBride 22. Flynn

CANTERBURY CRUSADERS

Crusaders in Super 12 three-peat
New Zealand rugby was back on sure footing after the Canterbury Crusaders won their third successive Super 12 title with a tense 20-19 defeat of the ACT Brumbies in a bitterly cold Canberra.

It is the third time the Crusaders have ventured into enemy territory to take the Super 12 honour and tonight the victory was based on a magnificent defensive effort.

The Brumbies have swept all before them in 2000 with their spectacular attacking display, but they could manage just one try against the inspired Crusaders defence. Not even a ground record crowd of 27,489 could lift the Brumbies, despite an exciting comeback in the final 20 minutes when it seemed the home side would steal the game.

The Crusaders led 12-3 at half-time, but a parochial Bruce Stadium crowd, who were defying the character-building temperatures after a day in which light snow fell in Canberra, were still confident the Brumbies could finish strongly. And when Stirling Mortlock landed a wobbly penalty to give the Brumbies a 19-17 lead, the first time they led in the game, with six minutes remaining the celebrations in Canberra were ready to go.



Unfortunately for the home crowd, Crusaders captain Todd Blackadder and his men showed the sort of composure that the Brumbies had become renowned for. They snatched back the lead with a penalty to the deadly accurate Andrew Mehrtens in the 76th minute and held off a desperate Brumbies in the final minutes. Only moments earlier, Crusaders coach Robbie Dean was about to pull Mehrtens from the field with the pivot cramping badly.

It was another superb kicking display by Mehrtens who landed five from five penalties, while Mortlock, so reliable during the season, had a sorry day with the boot missing four penalty shots.

Of course, while Blackadder rejoiced a hat-trick of Super 12 triumphs, there was only sadness for his opposite. ACT captain Brett Robinson, leading the side in his second Super 12 final, was playing his last game for the Brumbies and didn't deserve to bow out in such heartbreaking fashion.

From the first minute of play there were signs the Canterbury wall was going to be a hard nut to crack. The Brumbies certainly had their fair share of possession in the early stages, but despite some excellent recycling could not break the gain line. And in the final analysis, the Brumbies will be wondering how they managed just one try in 80 minutes after dominating the ruck and mauls by an extraordinary 164-36.

The Crusaders came out intent on making every one of their first-up tackles count. Not satisfied to just stop the opposition, the Crusaders continually drove the ball carrier backwards. So effective was the Crusaders defence that the Brumbies were forced into kicking more times in the opening 20 minutes than they probably had all season.

It's no secret the way to beat the Brumbies, or at least slow them up, is to shut down halves George Gregan and Stephen Larkham and the Crusaders did it to perfection. Brumbies coach Eddie Jones couldn't help but mention following the game some of the interference at the ruck and maul that Gregan had to deal with. But the ploy worked as Gregan's service to Larkham was erratic to say the least.

And all during this time, the boot of Mehrtens was decisive with three penalties in the first 13 minutes pushing his side to an early 9-0 lead. He added a fourth penalty in the 22nd minute for a 12-0 lead. Mortlock missed two shots during this time in what was a disappointing first half by the Brumbies.

The Brumbies struggled to work many of the sharp manoeuvres in the backline they had become renowned for, while simple handling errors was a sure sign the Crusaders defensive effort was getting results.

And when the Brumbies butchered a lineout in the 26th minute, just metres short of the Crusaders line, it was obvious all was not well with the home side. Not even when Crusaders prop Greg Somerville received 10 minutes in the bin for stomping in the 30th minute could the Brumbies find any way through the opposition defence. All they could salvage was Mortlock's first successful penalty in the 34th minute. Winger Joe Roff came close out wide in the 31st minute, but the finishing just wasn't there and the Crusaders defence was equal to the task

Crusaders flanker Scott Robertson was at the forefront of a rugged team defensive effort, and along with No.8 Ron Cribb and the inspirational Blackadder could be holding more celebrations when the All Black squad is announced on Sunday.

Coach Eddie Jones obviously gave his side a wake-up call during the half-time break, as it was a rejuvenated Brumbies who came out for the second half. There was a lot more purpose in their forward drives and a penalty to Mortlock in the 49th minute reduced Canterbury's lead to 12-6.

But despite all the early pressure, this three points was all the Brumbies could manage with the Crusaders defence standing tall again. And the Brumbies were to pay for their failure to convert this pressure just three minutes later when Cribb showed excellent skills to break through a flimsy tackle 20m out, toe the ball ahead and then regain possession to score a lovely individual try. It was the highlight of few attacking moments for the Crusaders, but it was enough to extend their lead to 17-6 and give them a real sniff at a hat-trick.

The Brumbies, however, continued to dominate play in the second half. And when replacement flanker George Smith strolled through a rare hole in the 64th minute, ironically it was tackle-happy Robertson who missed him, the Brumbies were back in the game with Mortlock's easy conversion reducing the lead to 17-13.

The home side continued to lift with their confidence back and Mortlock brought the Brumbies to within a point with a penalty in the 70th minute. With his fourth penalty just creeping over the crossbar in the 74th minute, the Brumbies had the lead for the first time in the game at 19-17.

Mehrtens and poor discipline were always going to be the Brumbies' biggest danger in these final minutes. Sure enough, with four minutes remaining the Crusaders were awarded a penalty and the All Black flyhalf happily stepped up to stroke over the winning goal. The Brumbies might look back at their decision to try and run the ball out of their half when the penalty was conceded rather than kick it downfield into Crusaders territory.

The Brumbies attacked desperately in the final minutes, but there was to be no denying the magnificent Crusaders. So close were the Brumbies in these final stages, that Larkham might have even considered repeating his World Cup drop-goal efforts, but there was to be no fairytale ending this time.

CRUSADERS 20 (Try: Cribb; Pen: Mehrtens 5) d BRUMBIES 19 (Tries: Smith; Cons: Mortlock; Pens: Mortlock 4). Half-time: Canterbury 12-3. Crowd: 27, 489.

NORTHERN TRANSVAAL BLUE BULLS

Casper does it again
Pretoria - The Blue Bulls fought off a desperate second-half comeback by the Pumas to claim their second Currie Cup victory with a 56-49 (half-time 27-13) win at Loftus on Saturday.

Three late tries by the Pumas threatened the Bulls' dominance but was ultimately not enough against a 36-point individual haul from Bulls fullback Casper Steyn (pictured) and a comprehensive first half from the home side.

The Pumas struggled to find their feet for most of this game as the Bulls were given the kind of space not normally allowed Currie Cup sides.

McNeil Hendricks ran in two of their five tries in a first half that featured two intercept tries as well.

The first came courtesy of lock Draadkar de Lange who, after snatching the ball on the halfway line, found that he never had the pace to make the tryline. Hendricks was on hand to take the pass and claim the first try of the match.

The Pumas replied with the same when wing Gavin Passens poached a loose Bulls pass to score his side's only try of the half.

But it was two quick tries in the final 10 minutes of the half, first by Bulls prop Christo Bezuidenhout and then Hendricks' second, that gave coach Eugene van Wyk's team the half-time lead and a vital cushion they would need later in the match.

The Bulls were at one stage looking comfortable on a 37-20 scoreline, and Steyn added to that with his converted try before the Pumas came surging back in the final minutes of the second half.

Two tries, by Piet Joubert and Chaka Willemse, in the space of five minutes brought the Pumas to within five points of their rivals.

Passens then scored his second try four minutes from time and again the Bulls were under threat at 53-49. But a final decisive penalty by Steyn ensured the Bulls a victory.

Scorers:

Blue Bulls - Tries: McNeil Hendricks (2), Christo Bezuidenhout, Draadkar de Lange, Casper Steyn; Conversions: Steyn (5); Penalties: Steyn (7).

Pumas - Tries: Gavin Passens (2), Bennie Nortje, Giscard Pieters, Piet Joubert, Chaka Willemse; Conversions: Jorrie Kruger (5); Penalties: Kruger (3).



Boks spark WP victory
The return of Western Province's Springbok backline sparked their side to a 43-30 victory over the Blue Bulls in a match worthy of the traditions of these two famous names at Newlands on Saturday.

Province scored five tries to the three of the Bulls to ensure maximum points and put further behind them the nightmare of their opening round defeat by the Border Bulldogs.

The home side played some irresistible rugby and should have led by much more than 20-10 at the break.

Springboks Breyton Paulse (2) and Percy Montgomery were both on the scoresheet, with Jeffrey Stevens and Robert Markram also crossing in a game that the outpaced Bulls bravely refused to concede.

They trailed 20-3 at one point in the first half as Province scored three quick tries to threaten an avalanche. But on the stroke of the break the predatory Joost van der Westhuizen (picture) scored his side's first try to close the gap to 10 points.

It undid much of the good work that had been done by Province, a large part of it emanating from the clever hands of flyhalf Chris Rossouw, who gave flashes of a Larkhamesque talent.

Casper Steyn scored a second try for the Bulls after a Dan van Zyl penalty to close the gap to its narrowest at 23-17. But from there Province hit the afterburners, with further tries from Paulse and Markram putting the game beyond the visitors' reach.

Danie van Schalkwyk scored a try with the final move of the match to give the Bulls the slimmest of consolations and Casper Steyn the chance to further prove himself SA's most reliable kicker.

He landed six out of six shots at goal for 20 points, while Dan van Zyl had a perfect record for Province with five out of five after taking over from Montgomery (two from six).

Montgomery's all-round performance from the back might have been enough to convince national coach Nick Mallett that he's worthy of winning the Bok No 15 jersey back from Thinus Delport.

Scorers:

Fedsure Western Province - Tries: Breyton Paulse (2), Percy Montgomery, Jeffrey Stevens, Robert Markram; Conversions: Montgomery, Dan Van Zyl (2); Penalties: Montgomery, Van Zyl (3).

Mr Price Blue Bulls - Tries: Joost van der Westhuizen, Casper Steyn, Danie van Schalkwyk; Conversions: Steyn (3); Penalties: Steyn (3).
Steyn boosts Bulls
Pretoria ??superlative allround display by fullback Casper Steyn (pictured) carried the Bulls through to a comfortable 48-19 victory over the Eagles at Minolta Loftus on Friday. The Springbok hopeful contributed 40 points as the men from the North recorded their first victory in the 2000 Currie Cup.

It was a much-needed morale boost for the Bulls after the 58-37 thrashing they received from Griquas in Kimberley in the first round. They are now joint leaders in Section Y after the four points they got for the victory, while Frans Ludeke?agles shift down to fourth place.

Although the Bulls scored three superb tries, they too often looked bereft of ideas at the back. Their second-phase ball was also to slow, though that was more as a result of the negative approach from the visitors. They were repeatedly blown up for infringements ??ten under their own goalposts ??t referee Carl Spannenberg refused to hand out a yellow card or award a penalty try.

However, credit must be given to the Eagles defence, in particular that of loose forwards Harold Karele, Johan Wasserman and Lodewyk Hattingh. They produced one big hit after another, with Bulls flyhalf Marius Goosen and centres Danie van Schalkwyk and Tiaan Joubert often taking a while to get up off the turf.

The game started rather slowly with both teams waiting for the opposition to make the first move. The Bulls tried the odd wide pass early on, but some poor handling and option taking, coupled with the tackles from the abovementioned three, halted their progress.

A couple of penalty exchanges between Steyn and Rynhard van As followed, before the 1998 champions finally strung a few fases together. A great break by the fullback freed Rayno Hendriks down the right-hand touchline, with the winger doing wonderfully well to get the ball down. Steyn?onversion from the touchline set the tone for things to come.

The Bulls continued to dominate the possession and territory, but had to rely on penalties for the rest of their scoring in the half. The Eagles, who seemed content to kick away their minimal possession, were given a lifeline deep into first half injury time when Wim Meyer threw a wild pass into no-man?and in the opposition 22. Super 12 winger Paul Treu gratefully accepted and sprinted clear to reduce the halftime score to 22-16.

The second half followed a similar pattern as the men from George continued to add to the penalty count. Another Steyn three-pointer in the 51st minute made the score 25-16, before the fullback helped himself to the first of his two tries. Some good work from Meyer and captain Ruben Kruger in the left-hand corner resulted in an easy run-in for the No 15.

The Bulls sprung into life after the score and seemed to find some gaps in a tiring Eagles defence. However, poor final passes and mediocre option taking denied them the much-needed bonus point. A Goosen drop goal and two more Steyn penalties increased the lead to 41-19, before a replica of the visitors' try in the first half presented the fullback with his second. The resulting conversion brought up his 40th point in the game.

Scorers:

Blue Bulls ??ies: Rayno Hendriks, Casper Steyn (2); Conversions: Steyn (3); Penalties: Steyn (8); Drop goal: Marius Goosen.

Eagles ??y: Paul Treu; Conversion; Rynhard Van As; Penalties: Theo van Rensburg, Van As (3).

Scoring sequence:

First half: 3-0 Steyn penalty (9th minute); 3-3 Van Rensburg penalty (13th); 10-3 Hendriks try, Steyn conversion (15th); 13-3 Steyn penalty (20th); 13-6 Van As penalty (26th); 16-6 Steyn penalty (32nd); 16-9 Van As penalty (36th); 19-9 Steyn penalty (38th); 22-9 Steyn penalty (40th); 22-16 Treu try, Van As conversion (43rd).

Second half: 25-16 Steyn penalty (11th minute); 32-16 Steyn try, Steyn conversion (15th); 35-16 Goosen drop goal (21st); 35-19 Van As penalty (25th); 38-19 Steyn penalty (27th); 41-19 Steyn penalty (41st); 48-19 Steyn try, Steyn conversion (44th).

Teams:

Blue Bulls: Casper Steyn; Rayno Hendriks, Tiaan Joubert, Danie van Schalkwyk, Wim Meyer; Marius Goosen, Norman Jordaan; Schutte Bekker, Anton Leonard, Ruben Kruger (capt), Derick Grobbelaar, Draadkar de Lange, Piet Boer, Naka Drotske, Pierre Ribbens. Substitutes: Hannes Venter (Goosen 78th), Jacques Olivier, Coenraad Groenewald, Joseph Ntsongwana, Jaco Barnard, George van der Walt, Christo Bezuidenhout (De Lange 43rd).

Eagles: Theo van Rensburg (capt); Paul Treu, Rickus Lubbe, Rudi Keil, Darryl Coeries; Rynhard van As, Craig Turvey; Harold Karele, Johan Wasserman, Lodewyk Hattingh, Drickus Hancke, Klein-Jan Tromp, Renier van der Bergh, Tommie Webb (Van der Bergh 72nd), Lourens Campher. Substitutes: Gustav Rademeyer (Webb 67th), Connie Botha (Campher 23rd), Johann Kapp (Tromp 58th), Denzil Frans (Karele 56th), Wayne Munn (Turvey 71st), Dominic Malan (Lubbe 71st), Manie du Toit (Coeries 53rd).
Griquas gore Bulls
Kimberley - Griquas defeated the Blue Bulls 58-37 in an entertaining opening first round Currie Cup fixture on Saturday. The home team led 34-14 at halftime.

Having lost a number of big-name players in the off-season, Griquas took the field as clear underdogs. But a stunning first-half performance in which flyhalf and captain Boeta Wessels time and again cut through the Bulls defence, set the home side on course for a well-deserved seven-tries-to-four victory.

For Griquas, no one played better than their returning SA under-23 players, flank Thando Manana and especially lock Victor Matfield (picture). The Bulls were unfortunate to lose the services of prop Os du Randt (hamstring) on Friday and their bad luck continued on Saturday.

Centre Franco Smit had to leave the field after receiving a hard hit on the head, while replacement flank Jannie Brooks had to quit with a broken finger and scrumhalf Conrad Beytenbach with a groin strain.

But Griquas' victory came through their committed and spirited performance, which came on top of some low-key play in two recent home friendlies.

The Griquas halfbacks, Hakkies Husselman and Wessels, came out of the match with enhanced reputations with their probing play.

For the home side, centre Edrich Lubbe ontributed 23 points by way of seven out of seven conversions and three penalties. Blue Bulls fullback Casper Steyn fared even better, scoring 27 points in all via two tries and 17 with the boot

Scorers:

Griquas - Tries: Charl Scholtz (2), Andre Vermeulen, Boeta Wessels, Dries Scholtz, Pierre Uys, Thando Manana; Conversions: Edrich Lubbe (7); Penalties: Lubbe (3).

Blue Bulls - Tries: Casper Steyn (2), Wim Meyer, Rayno Hendricks; Conversions: Steyn (4); Penalties: Steyn (3).