17 Nov 2012

Southern supremacy as Australia beat England

Stalwart defending keeps England out at Twickenham to complete a day of triumph for southern hemisphere rugby.

A week after being humiliated by France in Paris, Australia were determined to avoid handing England a third successive victory.

England led 9-6 with three Toby Flood penalties after 35 minutes but Nick Cummings then scored the opening try for Australia, only for Manu Tuilagi to reply to give the hosts a wobbly 14-11 half-time lead.

The Wallabies came out fired up for the second half and with some clever chipped kicks and strong scrummaging allowed Berrick Barnes to land three penalties.

England stepped up the pressure in the last 20 minutes but refused easy points, opting to run penalties within kicking range in search of a decisive try.

But Australia kept them at bay, helped by a string of English handling errors, to keep the scoreline at 14-20 and reclaim the Cook Cup.

Scots yield to Springboks

South Africa rode out a second-half fightback by Scotland to win 21-10 at Murrayfield.

Scotland were on the back foot for much of the first half, and when Springboks hooker Adriaan Strauss scored his second try early in the second things were beginning to look bleak.

But the Scots rallied, with reserve halfback Henry Pyrgos finishing off a well-worked move from a lineout five minutes later.

Scotland spent much of the match camped in the opposition half but failed to add to the score.

All Blacks dominant in Rome

World champions New Zealand moved through the gears after a slow start to beat Italy 42-10 in Rome.

Aaron Cruden put the All Blacks ahead with a penalty before captain Kieran Read went over for the first try.

The visitors were leading 13-0 before Alberto Sgarbi forced his way over the line following relentless Italian pressure in front of the posts. Luciano Orquera added the two point conversion to peg the lead back to 13-7 at halftime.

The All Blacks had to wait until the 49th minute before they registered a second try when Ma’a Nonu crashed over from close range.

Orquera then dropped a goal for three points before Cory Jane’s score and a late Julian Savea double, both set up by Jane.

Aaron Cruden kicked 17 points for an All Blacks side that made 14 changes after beating Scotland last week.