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AUSTRALIA 67 - 5 USA

Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington - Friday 23 September
KO: 20:30 HT: 22-5 Att: 33,824

Adam Ashley-Cooper scored the fastest Rugby World Cup hat-trick ever as Australia scored 11 tries to sweep past USA 67-5 at Wellington Regional Stadium on Friday.

Ashley-Cooper’s treble came in the space of just seven minutes following second-half scores from Drew Mitchell and Pat McCabe to maintain the Wallabies’ tempo.

The wing’s first came after the Wallabies swept across the field from a scrum to create an overlap, replacement Berrick Barnes converting after taking over the kicking duties from Quade Cooper.

Barnes added the extras for Ashley-Cooper’s next two tries before Anthony Faingaa crossed for his second of the night. Radike Samo strode in for Australia's 11th try.

Clinical finishing had put Australia 22-5 up at half-time, having racked up four tries to earn a bonus point.

The Wallabies, stung by the loss to Ireland last week, soon clicked into gear as fly half Cooper set up Robert Horne for the opening try, though Kurtley Beale missed the conversion.

Rocky Elsom crossed next to make it 10-0 but USA, with scrum half and captain Tim Usasz orchestrating matters, found their own attacking rhythm.

Fly half Nese Malifa's crossfield kick was superbly taken by right wing Colin Hawley and only a well-positioned Cooper prevented a try.

Australia then held out for 18 phases but from the resulting scrum USA number 8 JJ Gagiano touched down.

Two moments of Australian alertness then created a comfortable margin. First they pounced on a turnover in their own 22, Elsom linking with Ashley-Cooper to set up Beale for a try; four minutes later Faingaa was on hand to profit from a Horne break.

Cooper, who switched to full back when Beale went off just before half-time, had a wayward night with the boot, converting only two of his five chances.

Coach Robbie Deans had used all his replacements by the 66th minute, and when Faingaa was taken off on a stretcher right on full-time the Wallabies had to play out the remaining seconds with 14.

1 James Slipper 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau 3 Ben Alexander 4 Rob Simmons 5 Nathan Sharpe 6 Rocky Elsom 7 Ben McCalman 8 Wycliff Palu 9 WILL GENIA (C) 10 Quade Cooper 11 Drew Mitchell 12 Robert Horne 13 Anthony Faingaa 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper 15 Kurtley Beale BENCH: 16 Stephen Moore 17 Sekope Kepu 18 Dan Vickerman 19 Radike Samo 20 Luke Burgess 21 Berrick Barnes 22 Pat McCabe

SCORERS T: Horne, Elsom, Beale, Faingaa (2), Mitchell, McCabe, Ashley-Cooper (58, 63, 65), Samo C: Cooper (2), Barnes (4)

1 Shawn Pittman 2 Phil Thiel 3 Eric Fry 4 Scott LaValla 5 Hayden Smith 6 Inaki Basauri 7 Pat Danahy 8 JJ Gagiano 9 TIM USASZ (C) 10 Nese Malifa 11 Kevin Swiryn 12 Junior Sifa 13 Tai Enosa 14 Colin Hawley 15 Blaine Scully BENCH: 16 Brian McClenahan 17 Matekitonga Moeakiola 18 Louis Stanfill 19 Nic Johnson 20 Mike Petri 21 Roland Suniula 22 Chris Wyles

SCORERS T: JJ Gagiano Blaine Scully

ENGLAND 67 - 3 ROMANIA

Otago Stadium, Dunedin- Saturday 24 September KO
KO: 18:00 HT: 34-3 Att: 25,687

Wings Mark Cueto and Chris Ashton each scored hat-tricks as England ran in 10 tries to beat Romania 67-3 at Otago Stadium on Saturday.

It was the first time England have had multiple hat-trick scorers in a World Cup match as the backs cut loose with an ambition that was clear from the outset.

After turning round 34-3 up, England continued the try-scoring a minute after the break when Ben Youngs went over.

Then Manu Tuilagi, who posed problems throughout for the defence, supplied the scoring pass for Ben Foden, and Tuilagi broke through himself for a well-deserved try to bring up England’s half-century of points.

Tom Croft was rewarded for a fine game with the ninth try in the 68th minute, before Ashton completed his hat-trick.

Attacking aside, England coach Martin Johnson will doubtless be pleased with the way the defence repelled the Romanians for several phases on their own line midway through the second half.

England had reached half-time with a bonus point secured after running Romania’s defence ragged.
It had taken them just two minutes to get points on the board when Jonny Wilkinson slotted a penalty.

Man of the match Cueto scored his first World Cup try in the 15th minute when Wilkinson and Ashton combined to send him in at the corner.

Seven minutes later England created an overlap for Cueto to score his second, Wilkinson this time slotting the conversion, and it was then the loose forwards' turn to set him up, James Haskell and Croft combining to set up the third.

Ashton then crossed to bring up the bonus point, then added his second, converted by Wilkinson.

In the 38th minute, Marin Danut Dumbrava finally got Romania on the scoreboard with a penalty, but then hit a post with another on the stroke of half-time.

1 Alex Corbisiero 2 Steve Thompson 3 Dan Cole 4 Louis Deacon 5 Tom Palmer 6 Tom Croft 7 LEWIS MOODY (C) 8 James Haskell 9 Ben Youngs 10 Jonny Wilkinson 11 Mark Cueto 12 Mike Tindall 13 Manu Tuilagi 14 Chris Ashton 15 Ben Foden BENCH: 16 Lee Mears 17 David Wilson 18 Simon Shaw 19 Tom Wood 20 Richard Wigglesworth 21 Toby Flood 22 Delon Armitage

SCORERS T: Cueto (3), Ashton (3), Youngs, Foden, Tuilagi, Croft C: Wilkinson (3), Flodd (4) P: Wilkinson

1 Nicolae Nere 2 Bogdan Zebega Suman 3 Silviu Florea 4 Valentin Poparlan 5 CRISTIAN CONSTANTIN PETRE (C) 6 Sandu Stelian Burcea 7 Cosmin Aurel Ratiu 8 Ovidiu Tonita 9 Lucian Mihai Sirbu 10 Marin Danut Dumbrava 11 Adrian Marian Apostol 12 Iulian Dumitras 13 Ionel Cazan 14 Stefan Eugen Ciuntu 15 Florin Adrian Vlaicu BENCH: 16 Marius Tincu 17 Paulica Ion 18 Mihai Macovei 19 Daniel Gabriel Ianus 20 Valentin Nicolae Calafeteanu 21 Csaba Minya Gal 22 Catalin Marius Nicolae

SCORERS P: Dumbrava

Referee: Romain Poite (FFR)

NEW ZEALAND 37 - 3 FRANCE

Eden Park, Auckland- Saturday 24 September
KO: 20:30 HT: 19-3 Att: 60,856

Full back Israel Dagg led the way with a double as New Zealand swept to a 37-17 victory in their Pool A clash with France at Eden Park.

Tries from number 8 Adam Thomson and wing Cory Jane put the All Blacks in control before Dagg struck either side of half-time. The French hit back through Maxime Mermoz and Francois Trinh-Duc before the Kiwis confirmed their superiority with a fifth try from Sonny Bill Williams.

Fly half Morgan Parra saw a drop kick crash off an upright after three minutes as France pinned the All Blacks back in the early stages.

But New Zealand weathered the storm and went ahead in the ninth minute when Thomson got on the end of a move inspired by a thrilling Ma'a Nonu burst and sidestep to touch down at the corner. Fly half Dan Carter missed the conversion.

Jane extended the lead after 17 minutes when he took a superb pass from Piri Weepu to scythe through the French rearguard for try No.2. This time Carter made no mistake with his kick.

Les Bleus were in disarray four minutes later when Dagg took Carter's pass in acres of space and crossed under the posts to make it 17-0. Carter added the extras.

New Zealand replaced Jane with Williams after 34 minutes.

France got on the scoresheet with a penalty from Dimitri Yachvili as half-time approached.

Dagg scored his second try within a minute the restart after a sweeping move. Carter landed his third conversion of the evening to put the All Blacks 26-3 in front.

The fly half made it four kicks from five attempts when he sent over a long-range penalty.

France hit back when centre Mermoz intercepted a Carter pass to race home. Yachvili's conversion took his side's points tally into double figures.

But Carter banged another stunning drop goal through the posts to take him to 109 points for the tournament.

Replacement Trinh-Duc scored a second try for the French in the 75th minute only to see Williams race through to dive over at the other end almost immediately.

1 Tony Woodcock 2 Keven Mealamu 3 Owen Franks 4 Brad Thorn 5 Sam Whitelock 6 Jerome Kaino 7 RICHIE MCCAW (C) 8 Adam Thomson 9 Piri Weepu 10 Daniel Carter 11 Richard Kahui 12 Ma'a Nonu 13 Conrad Smith14 Cory Jane 15 Israel Dagg BENCH: 16 Andrew Hore 17 Ben Franks 18 Ali Williams 19 Anthony Boric 20 Andy Ellis 21 Colin Slade 22 Sonny Bill Williams

SCORERS T: Thomson, Jane, Dagg (2), SB Williams C: Carter (3) P: Carter DG: Carter

1 Jean-Baptiste Poux 2 Dimitri Szarzewski 3 Luc Ducalcon 4 Pascal Pape 5 Lionel Nallet 6 THIERRY DUSAUTOIR (C) 7 Julien Bonnaire 8 Louis Picamoles 9 Dimitri Yachvili 10 Morgan Parra 11 Maxime Médard 12 Maxime Mermoz 13 Aurélien Rougerie 14 Vincent Clerc 15 Damien Traille BENCH: 16 William Servat 17 Fabien Barcella 18 Julien Pierre 19 Imanol Harinordoquy 20 Francois Trinh-Duc 21 Fabrice Estebanez 22 Cédric Heymans

SCORERS T: Mermoz, Trinh-Duc C: Yachvili (2) P: Yachvili

Referee: Alain Rolland (IRFU)

FIJI 7 - 27 SAMOA

Eden Park, Auckland- Sunday 25 September
KO: 15:30 HT: 19-3 Att: 60,327

Goalkicker Tusi Pisi was Samoa’s hero in their 27-7 victory over Fiji at Eden Park on Sunday.

Although the Samoans are better-known for their free-flowing rugby, it was the fly half’s 15-point contribution that swung the Pool D encounter their way.

After scoring all his side’s first-half points, Pisi continued to add to his tally five minutes into the second half with a penalty that put Samoa 15-0 up.

They then withstood sustained pressure on their own line, repelling two Fijian five-metre scrums.

Finally, in the 62nd minute, Samoa breached the Fiji line when number 8 George Stowers broke from a scrum and passed to Kahn Fotuali'i. The scrum half still had plenty to do before wriggling in at the corner.

Fiji hit back with a try from flanker Netani Edward Talei in the 67th minute, Waisea Sedre Luveniyali converting, but the Samoan response was immediate, with man of the match Paul Williams sending Stowers in at the corner.

Williams took over the kicking duties to nudge the score to 27-7.

Akapusi Qera had a chance to claw back a try for Fiji in the dying moments but was forced into touch, then Rupeni Nasiga lost control diving for the line.

Both sides tried to effect their trademark running game in a match that began under leaden skies, but too often the crucial final pass failed to go to hand.

A period of sustained Samoa pressure from the kick-off ended with a penalty opportunity for Pisi, the fly half slotting the three points.

Sailosi Tagicakibau almost scored a try but was amazingly held up by Fiji's Naipolioni Nalaga. From the resulting scrum, Fiji conceded penalty to allow Pisi to extend the lead to 6-0.

Pisi then kicked only Samoa's second drop goal in Rugby World Cup history.

Samoa continued to lay siege to their opponents' line, with Nemia Kenatale just managing to touch down as the imposing figure of Alesana Tuilagi chased a kick through.

Fiji finally had a chance to get on the scoreboard on the half-hour mark but Seremaia Bai’s penalty attempt went wide.

1 Campese Ma'afu 2 Sunia Koto 3 DEACON MANU (C) 4 Seko Kalou 5 Leone Nakarawa 6 Netani Edward Talei 7 Mala Ravulo 8 Sisa Koyamaibole 9 Nemia Kenatale 10 Nicky Little 11 Naipolioni Nalaga 12 Seremaia Bai 13 Gaby Lovobalavu 14 Vereniki Goneva 15 Kini Murimurivalu BENCH: 16 Talemaitoga Dautu Tuapati 17 Setefano Somoca 18 Rupeni Nasiga 19 Akapusi Qera 20 Vitori Tomu Buatava 21 Albert James Vulivuli 22 Waisea Sedre Luveniyali

SCORERS T: Talei C: Luvenyali

1 Sakaria Taulafo 2 MAHONRI SCHWALGER (C) 3 Census Johnston 4 Daniel Leo 5 Kane Thompson 6 Taiasina Tuifua 7 Maurie Fa’asavalu 8 George Stowers 9 Kahn Fotuali’i 10 Tusi Pisi 11 Alesana Tuilagi 12 Seilala Mapusua 13 George Pisi 14 Sailosi Tagicakibau 15 Paul Williams BENCH: 16 Ti'i Paulo 17 Anthony Perenise 18 Filipo Lavea Levi 19 Manaia Salavea 20 Jeremy Sua 21 Eliota Fuimaono Sapolu 22 James So'oialo

SCORERS T: Fotuali'i, Stowers C: Williams P: Tusi Pisi (4) D: T Pisi

Referee: Bryce Lawrence (NZRU)

IRELAND 62 - 12 RUSSIA

Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua- Sunday 25 September
KO: 18:00 HT: 36-0 Att: 25,661

Ireland stayed unbeaten in Pool C after cruising home 62-12 against Russia at Rotorua International Stadium on Sunday night.

Ireland stamped their class late in the opening half when they crossed for three quick tries within three minutes to leave them 36-0 up at the break. In all they ran in nine tries, with centre Keith Earls crossing twice, while fly half Ronan O'Gara landed six conversions and a penalty before going off in the second half.

The Irish, who had upset the tournament second favourites Australia in their previous game, were quickly into gear and the forwards soon had the line in sight.

With a try beckoning, the Bears were caught offside right in front of the sticks, gifting O'Gara an easy three pointer to open the scoring after six minutes.

With the Russia fly half Konstantin Rachkov then sin-binned for a clinical knockdown, Ireland seized their opportunity to post two quick tries in his absence.

O'Gara's pin-point accurate kick to the right-hand in-goal area found wing Fergus McFadden and soon after they were over again, Isaac Boss doing well in the build-up to help send in flanker Sean O'Brien, who had looked menacing from the start.

O'Gara converted again and, at 17-0 up after just 15 minutes, the Pool C pacesetters looked comfortable.

Russia had their moments midway through the half when Vladimir Ostroushko took a kick that O'Gara had directed to his wing and raced 40 metres, but his pass inside went astray with the Irish defence stretched.

Ireland threw everything at the Bears late in the first half and were rewarded when Boss was able to ground the ball against the padding of the goalpost two minutes before the break for their third try.
A minute later, they had their fourth, Keith Earls scoring in the corner from the restart to put the Irish 31-0 up, with O'Gara adding his fourth conversion.

And Andrew Trimble scored the fifth try right on half-time to give them ample breathing space, but O’Gara missed his first conversion of the night, albeit from a difficult position.

Earls superbly stepped inside his marker to cross for his second try eight minutes after the break as Russia struggled to cope with the brute force of Ireland's forwards, who were making good yardage up the middle.

But, when the Bears finally broke through they did it in style. From a scrum, their No.9 Alexander Yanyushkin's well-timed pass unleashed full back Vasily Artemyev, who sidestepped through for his side's first points.

Their second try, launched near the half-way mark, was finished off with dogged determination in the left-hand corner through wing Denis Simplikevich, who carried two defenders over the line to post a five-pointer on his Test debut.

Ireland finally responded in the 68th minute, a long O'Gara pass setting up full back Rob Kearney's try - his side's seventh - and it seemed to spark the green men back into life.

O'Gara slotted home his sixth conversion of the night and then went off after another top-notch effort with the boot.

Replacement Shane Jennings went over under the posts with six minutes left and the biggest man in the Ireland side, Tony Buckley, had the final say when he crossed in the last minutes.

1 Cian Healy 2 Sean Cronin 3 Tony Buckley 4 Donncha O'Callaghan 5 LEO CULLEN (C) 6 Donnacha Ryan 7 Sean O'Brien 8 Jamie Heaslip 9 Isaac Boss 10 Ronan O'Gara 11 Andrew Trimble 12 Paddy Wallace 13 Keith Earls 14 Fergus McFadden 15 Rob Kearney BENCH: 16 Rory Best 17 Mike Ross 18 Denis Leamy 19 Shane Jennings 20 Eoin Reddan 21 Jonathan Sexton 22 Geordan Murphy

SCORERS T: McFadden, O'Brien, Boss, Earls (2), Trimble, Kearney, Jennings, Buckley C: O'Gara (6), Sexton P: O'Gara

1 Sergey Popov 2 Valery Tsnobiladze 3 Alexander Khrokin 4 Denis Antonov 5 Adam Byrnes 6 Artem Fatakhov 7 Andrey Garbuzov 8 Victor Gresev 9 ALEXANDER YANYUSHKIN (C) 10 Konstantin Rachkov 11 Vladimir Ostroushko 12 Sergey Trishin 13 Andrey Kuzin 14 Denis Simplikevich 15 Vasily Artemyev BENCH: 16 Evgeny Matveev 17 Ivan Prishchepenko 18 Alexey Travkin 19 Alexander Voytov 20 Andrey Bykanov 21 Mikhail Sidorov 22 Mikhail Babaev

SCORERS T: Artemyev, Simplikevich C: Rachkov Konstantin Rachkov

Referee: Craig Joubert (SARU)

ARGENTINA 13 - 12 SCOTLAND

Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington- Sunday 25 September
KO: 20:30 HT: 3-6 Att: 26,937

A pressure-packed arm wrestle in atrocious conditions ended in high drama with Argentina defeating Scotland 13-12 in their Pool B match.

They clinched the winning try through substitute Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino with six minutes to play and then held out a resolute Scotland in a nail-biting finish.

The match began at a ferocious pace as these teams were meeting in a virtual Pool B knockout clash - the loser was going to find it very difficult to get through to the quarter-finals.

Scotland showed their intention to run the ball early and play an up-tempo game but it was 20 minutes before Argentine captain Felipe Contepomi opened the scoring a penalty straight in front.

Scotland continued to run at the Pumas with wing Max Evans making some good breaks but Argentina's scrambling defence held them out and good work at the breakdown brought turnovers.

Territory see-sawed until Scottish pressure forced Argentina into defending on their own goal line. A lineout won against the throw brought another attack from the Scots which was again battered away by scrambling defence.

But the Scots refused to slow their tempo and a scrum penalty won right on the 22 gave Paterson a kick that he landed for Scotland's first points.

Argentina was struggling against the hammering from the Scots and several injuries, most notably to number 8 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe and tighthead prop Juan Figallo who had to be replaced, wasn't helping.

A long-range penalty attempt by Scotland fly half Ruaridh Jackson from just inside halfway just snuck over to give Scotland a 6-3 lead at the break.

Los Pumas tried to level things up quickly at the start of the second half with a drop goal attempt from full back Martin Rodriguez but he fell well short, his second missed attempt for the match.

Evans continued to trouble Argentina who remained under pressure and were still troubled by injury worries with the game going on around players being treated on the ground.

The rain had become heavier making ball handling a lottery and the surface slippery.

Mistakes were coming on both sides as the pressure mounted with Scotland still running at the Pumas, whose scrambling defence at times was extraordinary.

Both sides pushed forward but a charge down by Scotland's Graeme Morrison led to an incursion put Chris Paterson close enough for a drop goal attempt after 57 minutes but it went left.

The restart gave the Pumas a chance with an offside penalty 40 metres out missed left by Contepomi.

Both teams kicked in an attempt to gain territory until Paterson spilled a high ball that led to a penalty from a scrum for Argentina that Contepomi put through from 30 metres to level the scores with minutes to play.

This had the Scots piling the pressure back on and a mistake from the restart got them within drop goal distance and fly half Jackson was this time on target as the Scots dragged back the advantage.

Yet another restart and the pressure this time coming from the Pumas leading to another penalty from about 30 metres but Contepomi's shot bounced off the post.

Dan Parks came on to replace Paterson and his first touch was a kick that put them just five metres from the Argentine line. From the lineout Parks put over a drop goal that left Argentina needing a converted try to win it.

Up stepped Amorosino, who had just come off the bench. He received the ball on halfway and sliced through four defenders down the right to go all the way. Contepomi converted to give Argentina a one-point lead with six minutes left.

Despite several scares, including a missed drop goal by Parks, Argentina held on to win.

1 Rodrigo Roncero 2 Mario Ledesma Arocena 3 Juan Figallo 4 Manuel Carizza 5 Patricio Albacete 6 Julio Farias Cabello 7 Juan Manuel Leguizamón 8 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe 9 Nicolás Vergallo 10 Santiago Fernández 11 Horacio Agulla 12 FELIPE CONTEPOMI (C) 13 Marcelo Bosch 14 Gonzalo Camacho 15 Martín Rodríguez BENCH: 16 Agustín Creevy 17 Martín Scelzo 18 Mariano Galarza 19 Genaro Fessia 20 Alfredo Lalanne 21 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino 22 Juan Jose Imhoff

SCORERS T: Amorosino C: Contepomi P: Contepomi (2)

1 Allan Jacobsen 2 Ross Ford 3 Geoff Cross 4 Richie Gray 5 Jim Hamilton 6 Ally Strokosch 7 John Barclay 8 Kelly Brown 9 RORY LAWSON (C) 10 Ruaridh Jackson 11 Sean Lamont 12 Graeme Morrison 13 Nick De Luca 14 Max Evans 15 Chris Paterson BENCH: 16 Dougie Hall 17 Alasdair Dickinson 18 Nathan Hines 19 Richie Vernon 20 Mike Blair 21 Dan Parks 22 Simon Danielli

SCORERS P: Paterson, Jackson DG: Jackson, Parks

Referee: Wayne Barnes (RFU)

WALES 81- 7 NAMIBIA

Stadium Taranaki, New Plymouth- Monday 26 September
KO: 19:30 HT: 22-0 Att: 14,710

Rugby World Cup debutant Scott Williams scored three tries as Wales ran out easy 81-7 winners over Namibia in a Pool D match at Stadium Taranaki on Monday.

Williams' first try came in the eighth minute when Leigh Halfpenny made a break after some slick passing from a scrum and off-loaded to the inside centre, who raced within centimetres of the left touchline to score.

His second try came soon after the break as he got on the end of play at a breakdown and Wales had a bonus point. Williams' third came in the 70th minute when he broke through a tiring Namibian defence to dot down.

Having been kept scoreless for the last 22 minutes of the first spell to lead 22-0 at the break, Wales began scoring with the ease they started the match with.

Prop Gethin Jenkins scored with a 25-metre run in the 50th minute at the end of a move that went back and forth across the pitch. With the conversion the score was 36-0.

Then Namibia made their mark in the 52nd minute when Nico Esterhuyse intercepted a Welsh pass, offloaded to big second row Heinz Koll, who raced into the right corner to score a universally popular try. Theuns Kotze strode to the top RWC points scorer for Namibia when he converted for 36-7.

But Namibia were reduced to 14 men when replacement Raoul Larson was yellow-carded for collapsing a scrum.

George North, a 55th minute replacement, crept up alongside a Welsh scrum and sprinted over in the 61st minute for Wales' sixth try, converted by Stephen Jones.

A minute later North was again in the action when he made a break and passed to Jonathan Davies to race from the 22-metre mark to score. The Stephen Jones conversion, his last piece of action before being replaced, put the score to 50-7.

North, the youngest try scorer in RWC history at 19, scored again in the 66th minute, and the conversion from Rhys Priestland made the score 57-7.

Then Williams struck for his hat-trick of tries four minutes later and Priestland's conversion made the score 64-7.

Lloyd Williams then struck in the 75th minute wide on the left and Priestland hit a post with the conversion, before two minutes later Lee Byrne was on the end of a big overlap to score. Priestland again missed the conversion, with the score 74-7.

It became 79-7 when Alun Wyn Jones went over in the final minute.

Stephen Jones had earlier celebrated the start of his 101st Welsh cap with the first points of the match, a penalty in the third minute.

Playing in a strong breeze coming from the nearby Tasman Sea and on a heavy field, where handling was often a lottery, both sides fumbled early opportunities.

After Williams had scored his first try, following more quick passing which made a mockery of the conditions, Bradley Davies broke a tackle in the 14th minute and fed big wing Aled Brew, who burst a weak Namibian tackle and raced to the line. Jones converted to make it 15-0.

Four minutes later Ryan Jones took a quick tap-penalty, passed to Toby Faletau who had a simple trot to the line, and Stephen Jones converted for 22-0.

1 Gethin Jenkins 2 Lloyd Burns 3 Craig Mitchell 4 Bradley Davies 5 Alun Wyn Jones 6 Ryan Jones 7 SAM WARBURTON (C) 8 Toby Faletau 9 Tavis Knoyle 10 Stephen Jones 11 Aled Brew 12 Scott Williams 13 Jonathan Davies 14 Leigh Halfpenny 15 Lee Byrne BENCH: 16 Ken Owens 17 Ryan Bevington 18 Luke Charteris 19 Andy Powell 20 Lloyd Williams 21 Rhys Priestland 22 George North

SCORERS P: T: S Williams (3), Brew, Faletau, Jenkins, North (2), J Davies, L Williams, Byrne, AW Jones C: S Jones (6), Priestland (3) P: S Jones (2)

1 Johnnie Redelinghuys 2 Hugo Horn 3 Jané Du Toit 4 Heinz Koll 5 Nico Esterhuyse 6 Tinus Du Plessis 7 JACQUES BURGER (C) 8 Jacques Nieuwenhuis 9 Eugene Jantjies 10 Theuns Kotze 11 Danie Dames 12 Darryl De La Harpe 13 Piet Van Zyl 14 Danie Van Wyk 15 Chrysander Botha BENCH: 16 Bertus O'Callaghan 17 Raoul Larson 18 Wacca Kazombiaze 19 Rohan Kitshoff 20 Ryan De La Harpe 21 TC Losper 22 David Philander

SCORERS P: T: Koll C: Kotze

Referee: Steve Walsh (ARU)

CANADA 23 - 23 JAPAN

McLean Park, Napier- Tuesday 27 September
KO: 17:00 HT: 7-17 Att: 14,335

Canada and Japan played out only the third draw in the history of the Rugby World Cup, finishing 23-23 at McLean Park on Tuesday.

The two teams also drew in their 2007 encounter.

Tries by Shota Horie and Kosuke Endo plus 13 points from the boot of James Arlidge seemed to be enough for John Kirwan’s Brave Blossoms to end a 17-match winless streak.

But a 79th-minute penalty from Canada's Ander Monro left the sides sharing the points in this Pool A match.

Determined running and resolute defence from both sides characterised the match, and with the second half only four minutes old Phil Mackenzie summoned all his pace and power to bring Canada back to 17-12.

Monro then notched a 64th-minute penalty but Arlidge hit back immediately to maintain a five-point gap.

Another Arlidge penalty made it 23-15 but a try by Monro left the match finely poised with five minutes left, then the same player slotted a penalty to make it 23-23.

An Arlidge drop goal attempt fell short in the dying seconds.

Canada had the best of the early exchanges but Japan hit back with two tries to lead 17-7 at half-time.

Canada’s DTH van der Merwe was denied only by a despairing tap-tackle in the fifth minute, then a move from a scrum was held up over the line.

Moments later van der Merwe shrugged off a tackler to cross under the posts, James Pritchard converting.

Japan replied almost immediately, hooker Horie burrowing his way over to score Japan's 50th Rugby World Cup try after Alisi Tupuailai’s offload.

Arlidge added the extras then kicked a penalty to put Japan 10-7 up, but the try came at a price as Tupuailai was replaced soon afterwards by Bryce Robins.

Shaun Webb then almost squeezed in at the corner after a move that began in Japan's 22 but was nudged into touch.

Sustained pressure saw wing Endo race in on the stroke of half-time, again converted by Arlidge.

1 Hubert Buydens 2 PAT RIORDAN (C) 3 Jason Marshall 4 Jebb Sinclair 5 Jamie Cudmore 6 Adam Kleeberger 7 Chauncey O'Toole 8 Aaron Carpenter 9 Ed Fairhurst 10 Ander Monro 11 Phil Mackenzie 12 Ryan Smith 13 DTH van der Merwe 14 Matt Evans 15 James Pritchard BENCH: 16 Ryan Hamilton 17 Scott Franklin 18 Tyler Hotson 19 Jeremy Kyne 20 Sean White 21 Nathan Hirayama 22 Conor Trainor

SCORERS T: van der Merwe, MacKenzie, Monro C: Pritchard P: Monro (2)

1 Hisateru Hirashima 2 Shota Horie 3 Nozomu Fujita 4 Luke Thompson 5 Toshizumi Kitagawa 6 Sione Talikavili Vatuvei 7 Michael Leitch 8 TAKASHI KIKUTANI (C) 9 Fumiaki Tanaka 10 James Arlidge 11 Hirotoki Onozawa 12 Ryan Nicholas 13 Alisi Tupuailai 14 Kosuke Endo 15 Shaun Webb BENCH: 16 Yusuke Aoki 17 Kensuke Hatakeyama 18 Hitoshi Ono 19 Toetuu Taufa 20 Atsushi Hiwasa 21 Murray Williams 22 Bryce Robins

SCORERS T: Horie, Endo C: Arlidge (2) P: Arlidge (3)

Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (SARU)

ITALY 27 - 10 USA

Trafalgar Park, Nelson- Tuesday 27 September
KO: 19:30 HT: 20-10 Att: 14,977

First-half tries from Sergio Parisse, Luciano Orquera and Martin Castrogiovanni propelled Italy on their way to a 27-10 victory in their Pool C match with USA at Trafalgar Park on Tuesday.

The Eagles hit back with a try, conversion and penalty from Chris Wyles before the interval but a converted penalty try 14 minutes from time sealed victory, along with a potentially crucial bonus point, for the Italians.

The Italians got off to a flier in the third minute when captain Parisse collected in acres of space and ambled home under the posts after a surging move on the left exposed the USA defence. Mirco Bergamasco added an easy conversion.

The Eagles hit back after 17 minutes when centre Paul Emerick capitalised on a great lineout to break through three tackles before offloading to Wyles who charged over. The full back then kicked the extras to level the score.

Mirco Bergamasco and Wyles landed penalties at either end before a powerful drive from the Italian forwards opened the way for fly half Orquera to sneak through a gap and put his side 15-10 ahead just before the half hour. This time Bergamasco saw his conversion slip outside the right-hand post.

Prop Castrogiovanni muscled his way over at the left corner after Fabio Semenzato was halted just short of the line but referee George Clancy ruled out the try after consulting the TMO.

However, Castrogiovanni was not to be denied when he drove through a ruck of defenders on the stroke of half-time to plant the ball down.

The Azzurri secured the bonus point after 66 minutes when the USA pack collapsed under a surge from the Italy scrum and Clancy gave a penalty try. Bergamasco stroked over his third successful kick of the night to extend the deficit to 17 points.

1 Salvatore Perugini 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini 3 Martin Castrogiovanni 4 Quintin Geldenhuys 5 Cornelius van Zyl 6 Alessandro Zanni 7 Mauro Bergamasco 8 SERGIO PARISSE (C) 9 Fabio Semenzato 10 Luciano Orquera 11 Mirco Bergamasco 12 Gonzalo Garcia 13 Gonzalo Canale 14 Tommaso Benvenuti 15 Andrea Masi BENCH: 16 Fabio Ongaro 17 Andrea Lo Cicero 18 Marco Bortolami 19 Paul Derbyshire 20 Edoardo Gori 21 Riccardo Bocchino 22 Luke McLean

SCORERS T: Parisse, Orquera, Castrogiovanni, PT C: Mirco Bergamasco (2) P: Bergamasco

1 Mike MacDonald 2 Chris Biller 3 Matekitonga Moeakiola 4 John van der Giessen 5 Hayden Smith 6 Louis Stanfill 7 TODD CLEVER (C) 8 Nic Johnson 9 Mike Petri 10 Roland Suniula 11 James Paterson 12 Andrew Suniula 13 Paul Emerick 14 Takudzwa Ngwenya 15 Chris Wyles BENCH: 16 Phil Thiel 17 Shawn Pittman 18 Scott LaValla 19 Pat Danahy 20 Tim Usasz 21 Nese Malifa 22 Blaine Scully

SCORERS T: Wyles C: Wyles P: Wyles YC Louis Stanfill

Referee: George Clancy (IRFU)

GEORGIA 25 - 9 ROMANIA

Arena Manawatu, Palmerston North- Wednesday 28 September
KO: 19:30 HT: 12-6 Att: 13.228

Mamuka Gorgodze became Georgia’s record try-scorer as the Lelos beat Romania 25-9 in their Pool B match at Arena Manawatu on Wednesday.

Gorgodze crashed over in the 56th minute for his 19th Test try after the Georgians had laid siege to the Romanian line, stringing together 17 phases. Merab Kvirikashvili’s conversion made it 19-6.

Kvirikashvili and Romanian replacement full back Florin Adrian Vlaicu traded penalties to make it 22-9, then Malkhaz Urjukashvili took over the kicking duties to put Georgia 25-9 ahead.

Goalkicking dominated the first half, with Georgia fly half Kvirikashvili kicking all four penalty chances and his opposite number Marin Danut Dumbrava slotting two to leave the Lelos 12-6 ahead.

There was plenty of attacking endeavour from both sides but it was matched by defensive commitment.

The Romanian scrum got an early nudge on their opponents, showing the benefits of former All Black prop Steve McDowall's coaching role.

A penalty from a collapsed scrum gave Romania fly half Dumbrava an early chance but his kick failed.
His opposite number Kvirikashvili didn't miss, putting Georgia 3-0 up, but Dumbrava soon hit back to level.

Another two penalties from Kvirikashvili nudged the score along to 9-3 before the fly halves exchanged kicks before the break for Georgia to go in 12-6 ahead.

1 David Khinchagishvili 2 Jaba Bregvadze 3 David Zirakashvili 4 Ilia Zedginidze 5 Vakhtang Maisuradze 6 Giorgi Chkhaidze 7 Mamuka Gorgodze 8 Dimitri Basilaia 9 IRAKLI ABUSERIDZE (C) 10 Merab Kvirikashvili 11 Alexander Todua 12 Tedo Zibzibadze 13 David Kacharava 14 Revaz Gigauri 15 Lasha Khmaladze BENCH: 16 Goderdzi Shvelidze 17 Vasil Kakovin 18 Levan Datunashvili 19 Givi Berishvili 20 Bidzina Samkharadze 21 Irakli Chkhikvadze 22 Malkhaz Urjukashvili

SCORERS T: Gorgodze C: Kvirikashvili P: Kvirikashvili (5), Urjukashvili

1 Mihaita Alexandru Lazar 2 MARIUS TINCU (C) 3 Paulica Ion 4 Valentin Neculai Ursache 5 Cristian Constantin Petre 6 Mihai Macovei 7 Ovidiu Tonita 8 Daniel Carpo 9 Florin Surugiu 10 Marin Danut Dumbrava 11 Madalin Vlad Lemnaru 12 Tiberius Ionut Dimofte 13 Csaba Minya Gal 14 Stefan Eugen Ciuntu 15 Iulian Dumitras BENCH: 16 Bogdan Zebega Suman 17 Silviu Florea 18 Valentin Poparlan 19 Daniel Gabriel Ianus 20 Valentin Nicolae Calafeteanu 21 Constantin Gheara 22 Florin Adrian Vlaicu

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