Jay's blog: "Random thoughts from the edge"

England (5) 14 Try: Lewsey Pens: Wilkinson 2 Drop-goals: Wilkinson France (6) 9 Pens: Beauxis 3 Jonny Wilkinson landed two late kicks as the champions fought back to reach their second World Cup final in a row with a dramatic win over hosts France. England took a second-minute lead through Josh Lewsey but two Lionel Beauxis penalties put France 6-5 up. A penalty apiece from Beauxis and Jonny Wilkinson saw France lead 9-8. Wilkinson hit a post with a drop-goal attempt, but landed a penalty and drop-goal in the last five minutes to stun France and send England through. The match started in explosive fashion as England took the lead after just 78 seconds. Andy Gomarsall clipped a box-kick down the line and Damien Traille, usually a centre but playing out of position at full-back, dithered as the ball skittered along near the touchline. When it popped up Traille momentarily slipped and Lewsey latched onto the ball before blasting over and through the Frenchman to score. Wilkinson, whose kicking has been below par in France, missed the tricky conversion, with the ball snaking left of the posts as it has done all too often for the England's fly-half's satisfaction all tournament. It was a stunning start for the champions but France were determined not to lose to England in the semi-finals twice in a row and they tried to hit back by playing with width and pace. England, who beat Les Bleus 24-7 last time round, repelled a series of attacks before a large slice of luck helped France get on the board. Beauxis tried a hugely ambitious drop-goal from near his own 10m line which was partly charged down by the towering Simon Shaw. Serge Betsen picked up the loose ball and when England infringed at the ruck fly-half Beauxis drilled over the penalty to make it 5-3 after seven minutes. England then conceded a couple of penalties and threw in some mistakes as well to help France build some momentum. And when the massive Andy Sheridan, so impressive in the quarter-final win against Australia, was penalised for not taking the bind at a scrum, Beauxis edged France into the lead. With 21-year-old Beauxis missing three long-range drop-goal attempts for the hosts and Wilkinson off target with a similar attempt for England, France were only a point clear at the break. The hosts edged further ahead after 44 minutes through Beauxis' third penalty after England again infringed at a ruck but the visitors soon hit back through Wilkinson's boot. Dan Hipkiss, on as a replacement for Lewsey after the Wasps man appeared to pull a hamstring, made a break to initiate a surging attack and when France fell offside Wilkinson landed his 50th World Cup penalty to make it 9-8. France brought on the mercurial Frederic Michalak with half an hour to go but his first contribution was to miss a drop-goal from right in front of the posts. England came agonisingly close to going back into the lead after an hour but Wilkinson's right-foot drop-goal came cannoning back off the woodwork. When France kicked the ball clear Jason Robinson beat four or five blue defenders on an electric run deep into French territory, but he was eventually halted and Phil Vickery was penalised at the resulting ruck to calm French nerves. The let-off boosted French morale and after taking control territorially it took a tap tackle from replacement flanker Joe Worsley to prevent Vincent Clerc going over, with Sebastien Chabal eventually halted inches short from the winger's pass. England were struggling to get out of their half but they eventually turned the tide as the match entered the last 10 minutes. Toby Flood missed with a poor drop-goal attempt for the champions but, when Dimitri Szarzewski was penalised for a high tackle on Robinson, Wilkinson stepped up. His 75th-minute penalty put England back into the lead and the World Cup-winning hero of 2003 added a drop-goal three minutes later. The hosts threw everything at the champions in a series of desperate late attacks, but Brian Ashton's side held out to claim the chance to defend their title against either South Africa or Argentina in Paris next Saturday. -------------------------------------------------- England: Robinson; Sackey, Tait, Catt, Lewsey; Wilkinson, Gomarsall; Sheridan, Regan, Vickery (capt), Shaw, Kay, Corry, Moody, Easter. Replacements: Chuter, Stevens, Dallaglio, Worsley, Richards, Flood, Hipkiss. France: Traille; Clerc, Marty, Jauzion, Heymans; Beauxis, Elissalde; Milloud, Ibanez (capt), De Villiers, Pelous, Thion, Betsen, Dusautoir, Bonnaire. Replacements: Poux, Szarzewski, Chabal, Harinordoquy, Michalak, Dominici, Poitrenaud. Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)

Longo's try gave Argentina breathing space in Paris Argentina (13) 19 Tries: Longo Cons: F Contepomi Pens: F Contepomi (3) Drop-goal: Hernandez Scotland (6) 13 Tries: Cusiter Cons:Paterson Pens: Parks, Paterson Argentina powered their way into the semi-finals of the World Cup for the first time after winning a war of attrition with Scotland in Paris. The Scots went ahead with a monster penalty from Dan Parks, but Felipe Contepomi replied twice for the Pumas. Gonzalo Longo then charged down a Parks kick and pounced on the loose ball to score and give Argentina control. Chris Cusiter squirmed over in reply for Scotland after the break, but the Pumas held on for a nervous victory. Argentina, who also reached the quarter-finals in 1999, will now face South Africa in the semi-final in Paris next Sunday. And defeat for Scotland meant there will be no Six Nations treble following surprise wins for England and France on Saturday. Both sides went into the game unchanged, but the Argentines had been more impressive in disposing of Ireland in their last match than the Scots were in a stuffy win over Italy. And, while both sides traded high up and unders during a cagey opening, it was the Pumas who made the better catches and the greater ground when the passes started to flow. However, fly-half Juan Martin Hernandez missed a drop-goal attempt, while Contepomi sliced wide a penalty. And, from the restart, an Argentine infringement gave Parks an opportunity of his own. The fly-half's kick from just inside the opposition half crept over the crossbar to put the Scots in front. Scotland had to withstand a series of Argentine attacks and eventually conceded a penalty after a high tackle on Hernandez by Nathan Hines. Contepomi made no mistake this time from straight in front of the posts to level the scores. And the Pumas went ahead after 28 minutes when he kicked from a tighter angle after Rory Lamont was trapped after hesitating while calling for a mark that the referee failed to award. It got worse for Scotland when Parks' kick was charged down by Longo and the number eight won the race for the ball that squirmed towards the try line. Contepomi's conversion put Argentina in control, but Chris Paterson maintained his 100% record with the boot as Scotland replied by winning a penalty in front of the posts. However, the Scots conceded another penalty within seconds of the restart for an infringement in the ruck and Contepomi slotted over a simple kick. Replacement Andy Henderson won a penalty for Scotland, but Parks fluffed his long-range effort. And Hernandez made it 19-6 after 54 minutes when his own superb kick for touch gave him room for a fine drop-goal. Scotland surged back into the game when replacement scrum-half Cusiter finished off in the corner after a thrilling passing move. The Scots piled forward in search of another score and looked likely to craft a patient forward try before Parks' ill-founded cross kick went straight into touch-in-goal with about a minute left. They were given one final chance to score when the experienced Pichot tried to run down the last seconds in his 22, only to concede a late scrum. But a Scotland knock-on heralded the final whistle to shatter their dreams and kick-start the Argentine party. -------------------------------------------------- Argentina: Corleto, Borges, M. Contepomi, F. Contepomi, Agulla, Martin Hernandez, Pichot, Roncero, Ledesma, Scelzo, C. Fernandez Lobbe, Albacete, Ostiglia, J. Fernandez Lobbe, Longo Elia. Replacements: Senillosa for M. Contepomi (67), Hasan for Scelzo (57), Kairelis for C. Fernandez Lobbe (51), Leguizamon for Ostiglia (55). Not Used: Basualdo, Fernandez Miranda, Todeschini. Scotland: R. Lamont, S. Lamont, Webster, Dewey, Paterson, Parks, Blair, Kerr, Ford, E. Murray, Hines, Hamilton, White, Hogg, Taylor. Replacements: Southwell for R. Lamont (68), Henderson for Dewey (41), Cusiter for Blair (56), Smith for Kerr (56), S. Lawson for Ford (68), MacLeod for Hamilton (56), Brown for Hogg (56). Att: 75,000 Ref: J Jutge (France).

South Africa (13) 37 Tries: Fourie, Smit, Pietersen, Smith, James Cons: Montgomery (3) Pens: Steyn, Mongtomery Fiji (3) 20 Tries: Delasau, Bobo Cons: Bai (2) Pens: Bai (2) South Africa edged an absorbing clash with the exciting Fijians 37-20 to book a World Cup semi-final place. The Springbok forwards laid a platform for total domination and South Africa romped to a 20-6 lead in Marseille, but the Fiji backs had other ideas. Two Fijian tries in two second-half minutes levelled the game at 20-20 before South Africa crept ahead. Juan Smith and Butch James added to earlier tries from Jaque Fourie, John Smit and JP Pietersen. South Africa will travel to Paris to play either Argentina or Scotland next Sunday. The Springboks made a thunderous start but Fiji were let off the hook when Montgomery's early penalty bounced back off the posts. A change of kicker saw Steyn make amends shortly after but Fiji emerged more or less intact from the early Springbok forward barrage and demonstrated their intent to play fast and loose. It almost paid off, too, when Fiji pressed deep into Springbok territory and charged down Steyn's attempted clearance, only for Rabeni to knock-on in midfield. But South Africa were playing a controlled game and by sticking to their plan of patient forward effort they rumbled back down the other end and went close when Juan Smith was held up on the line. But the threat remained and they soon worked in centre Fourie for a try in the left corner. Montgomery missed his conversion and Fiji, sparked by the spiky scrum-half and captain Mosese Rauluni, eventually established a foothold with a Seremaia Bai penalty after Bakkies Botha had illegally felled blind-side Semisi Naevo in the line-out. The green machine renewed normal service soon after and a bullocking run from Botha led to a period of intense Springbok pressure, leading to a simple push-over try from skipper Smit. Another score early in the second-half from South Africa might have extinguished Fijian hopes, but it was the Pacific Islanders who narrowed the gap when Bryan Habana held onto the ball and Bai stroked three points. For the first time the Springboks looked rattled, and Fiji went for the jugular with a stunning move orchestrated by, among others, the livewire Rauluni. But maddeningly, for those hoping for a repeat of Saturday's underdog heroics, South Africa turned over the ball and romped upfield before eventually conjuring a good score in the right corner for Pietersen. Fiji suffered a further blow when Seru Rabeni was sin-binned for a late tackle on James earlier in the move. And that seemed to be that. But out of nowhere, Fiji left wing Vilimoni Delasau chipped over the head of Montgomery and won the race to touch down the ball. That seemed to light some sort of magic touch paper and from the restart, Fiji full-back Norman Ligairi broke through the South African defence and set off upfield. The languid Fijians are deceptive movers and the pacy Rauluni took the ball on and offloaded brilliantly to Sireli Bobo, who used his momentum to crash over. Bai's conversion levelled the scores, but South Africa edged back in front when a Fijian infringement during a driving maul gave Montgomery a cheap three-pointer. But the increasingly tense drama was set for more twists. First, Fijian hooker Sunia Koto was held up inches short, before lock Ifereimi Rawaqa was denied a try by the desperate lunge of Pietersen as he dived for the line. And to Fiji's dismay, the South African forwards punished them heavily when they muscled their way to the Fijian line for Smith to touch down. Tempers flared in a fraught final 10 minutes when South Africa set up camp on Fiji's line. The Springboks squandered two scoring chances when Schalk Burger and Fourie du Preez fumbled over the line but with the time almost up, James dived over to seal the win. -------------------------------------------------- South Africa: Percy Montgomery, JP Pietersen, Jaque Fourie, Francois Steyn, Bryan Habana, Butch James, Fourie du Preez, Dannie Roussouw, Juan Smit, Schalk Burger, Victor Matfield, Bakkies Botha, CJ van der Linde, John Smit, Os du Randt Replacements: Gary Botha, Gurthro Steenkamp, Jannie du Plessis, Johann Muller, Wikus van Heerden, Ruan Pienaar, Wynand Olivier, Andre Pretorius. Fiji: Norman Ligairi; Vilimoni Delasau, Kameli Raturou, Seru Rabeni, Sireli Bobo, Seremaia Bai, Mosese Rauluni, Sisa Koyamaibole, Akapusi Qera, Semisi Naevo, Ifereimi Rawaqa, Kele Leawere, Henry Qiodravu, Sunia Koto, Graham Dewes Replacements: Bill Gaddo, Jone Railomo, Aca Ratuva, Wame Lewaravu, Jone Daunivucu, Gabby Lovobalavu

New Zealand (13) 18 Try: McAlister, So'oialo Pens: Carter (2) Cons: Carter France (3) 20 Try: Dusautoir, Jauzion Pens: Beauxis (2) Cons: Beauxis, Elissalde France set up a World Cup semi-final with England after a stunning win over hot favourites New Zealand in Cardiff. The All Blacks dominated the first half but only had Luke McAlister's try to show for it, with Lionel Beauxis's penalty being France's lone score. McAlister was sin-binned after the restart and Thierry Dusautoir took advantage to score and level the score. Rodney So'oialo's try restored the New Zealand lead before Yannick Jauzion's try which turned out to be the winner. France's pre-match intentions were made clear by their unblinking staring-down of the haka, but the early loss of Serge Betsen, knocked out cold in a fourth-minute ruck, disrupted their plans. Dan Carter's early penalty put New Zealand ahead and when McAlister ran straight at and through the French defensive line, it looked like a try was sure to follow. But an expertly timed tackle by Vincent Clerc forced Ali Williams's feet into touch as he went over in the corner and saved his team going further behind. That McAlister cameo showed just what a threat he was, though, and it was not long before that threat was converted into points. Carter's expertly-timed pass sent McAlister through the defence once again, and he swapped passes with Jerry Collins to fly over the line for the opening try. Another Carter penalty extended the lead as France failed to match their pre-match theatrics with any positive action. They did not attempt a running attack out of defence in the first half-hour, and only had one Beauxis penalty on the board at the break. But the game turned just after the restart, when McAlister was sin-binned for deliberate obstruction on Jauzion as he chased Beauxis's kick-through. This prompted France's backs finally to spring into life as a meaningful attacking force, and their reward came when Dusautoir found a way through on the right to touch down behind the posts. So'oialo slid under several challenges to claim New Zealand's second try and restore the lead, but the introduction of Frederic Michalak had instant effect as France promptly went ahead for the first time. Damien Traille fed Michalak, who added a burst of speed, twisted in a tackle and off-loaded to Jauzion to touch down. Jean-Baptiste Elissalde's conversion put France on top and as the pressure on New Zealand grew, so did France's confidence. Inspiring comparisons with their legendary 1999 semi-final win over the All Blacks, they refused to let anyone or anything get past them, and held on for a legendary win. New Zealand's failure to reach the semi-final for the first time means this is the least successful World Cup campaign in their history. -------------------------------------------------- New Zealand: MacDonald, Rokocoko, Muliaina, McAlister, Sivivatu, Carter, Kelleher; Woodcock, Oliver, Hayman, Robinson, Williams, Collins, McCaw (capt), So'oialo. Replacements: Hore, Tialata, Jack, Masoe , Leonard, Evans, Toeava. France: Traille, Clerc, Marty, Jauzion, Heymans, Beauxis, Elissalde; Milloud, Ibanez (capt), De Villiers, Pelous, Thion, Betsen, Dusautoir, Bonnaire. Replacements: Szarzewski, Poux, Chabal, Harinordoquy, Michalak, Dominici, Poitrenaud

Australia (10) 10 Try: Tuqiri Pen: Mortlock Con: Mortlock England (6) 12 Pens: Wilkinson (4) Jonny Wilkinson was the scourge of Australia again as his four penalties put England in the World Cup semi-final after a thrilling win in Marseille. Lote Tuqiri's try put Australia 10-6 up but Wilkinson's boot and a dominant scrum kept England in the game. There was little flowing rugby in the second half but England's powerful pack gradually ground Australia down. Wilkinson and Stirling Mortlock both missed kicks in a nail-biting climax, but England held on for a famous win. Wilkinson may well claim the headlines with his 12-point haul - which made him the World Cup's all-time leading point-scorer - but it was England's pack which did the real damage to an Australia side who were odds-on to make the last four. England's front row of Andrew Sheridan, Mark Regan and Phil Vickery pulverised Australia at the scrum and laid the platform for the back-row trio of Lewis Moody, Martin Corry and Nick Easter to nullify George Smith at the breakdown. Despite Mortlock's penalty giving Australia an early lead, he missed two other kickable chances as England had the better of the opening 40 minutes. An unlucky bounce from Mike Catt's kick into the right-hand corner denied Paul Sackey the chance to score for England's opening try. England were totally on top at the scrum, but the early penalties at the set-piece went against them as Australia tried to neutralise their opponents' advantage. A trademark Jason Robinson burst of speed tore through the defensive line as the defending champions finally found the fluency in attack which has eluded them for virtually the entire tournament. Mathew Tait was central to England's next burst forward, involved several times in a sweeping cross-field move but for all their pressure, the only change to the scoreline was two Wilkinson penalties. The Wallabies made England pay when Tuqiri eluded the grasp of Josh Lewsey to stretch over in the right-hand corner, finishing off after Berrick Barnes' clever dummy allowed Mortlock's battering-ram run to set up the try. The score, improved by Mortlock's superb conversion, put Australia four points up at the break but soon after the restart it looked like England's pack had set up their first try. The pack was in reverse as George Gregan was smothered by Lewis Moody and Andy Gomarsall, trying to get the ball away. But with the try-line within reach, Wilkinson's pass caught Catt unawares and he knocked on. Although the attack failed to produce a try, Wilkinson notched another penalty to reduce the deficit to 10-9 as a rattled Australia started to lose their discipline. Australia were attempting to re-establish themselves in the game when Tait's inspired hack from a stray pass by George Gregan sent play back down the other end of the field. Rocky Elsom was panicked into conceding a penalty that Wilkinson slotted over to give England the lead. Andrew Sheridan had Australia's front row on the back foot for the whole match Australia did engineer a massive overlap on halfway, but Sackey took a gamble by coming in off his wing to take Mortlock man-and-ball, and the decision proved a try-saver as the Aussie captain lost possession. Drew Mitchell's introduction instantly gave Australia more punch in attack but Nathan Sharpe's knock-on at the vital moment scuppered a dangerous attack. When Gregan - who was out-of-sorts throughout - conceded a clear penalty for offside on the halfway line, it seemed set up for Wilkinson to apply the finishing touch to another memorable win, but his kick drifted inches wide of the left-hand post. Mortlock then had a chance to snatch a late victory for Australia with a penalty, but made a mess of it and England held on for their biggest result since the 2003 World Cup final. England will now face the winner of Saturday's second quarter-final between New Zealand and France. -------------------------------------------------- England: Robinson; Sackey, Tait, Catt, Lewsey; Wilkinson, Gomarsall; Sheridan, Regan, Vickery (capt), Shaw, Kay, Corry, Moody, Easter. Replacements: Chuter, Stevens, Dallaglio, Worsley, Richards, Flood, Hipkiss. Australia: Latham; Ashley-Cooper, Mortlock, Giteau, Tuqiri; Barnes, Gregan; Dunning, Moore, Shepherdson, Sharpe, Vickerman, Elsom, Smith, Palu. Replacements: Freier, Baxter, McMeniman, Hoiles, Waugh, Huxley, Mitchell.

South Africa (24) 64 Tries: Burger, Steyn, Habana 2, van der Linde, Du Preez, Fourie 2, Smith Cons: Montgomery 6, James 2 Pens: Mongtomery USA (10) 15 Tries: Ngwenya, Wyles Cons: Hercus Pens: Hercus Group A winners South Africa made it four wins out of four as they cruised past the USA in Montpellier. Schalk Burger, Francois Steyn and Bryan Habana crossed for the Boks before Takudzwa Ngwenya scored a brilliant try for the US to make it 24-10. South Africa ran in six more tries after the interval while Chris Wyles crossed for the Eagles. The Boks suffered a major scare when Habana went off with blood pouring from his face after a clash of heads. Coach Jake White is confident the 24-year-old wing will be fit for next weekend's quarter-final against Fiji in Marseilles. But tight-head prop BJ Botha was forced off with a knee problem which looks like keeping him out of the game amd could end his tournament. "Bryan's fine - he's got some stitches in his right cheek," said White. "Botha I think will be ruled out. He's done damage to knee ligaments. "Whether they have to operate or not we'll decide on Monday but I think he's probably out and we'll have to replace him. South Africa, who finished five points clear of England, scored the opening try after nine minutes through Burger, playing out of position at number eight on his return from a two-match ban. Montgomery converted before adding a penalty to put South Africa 10-0 up. The Boks enjoyed territorial dominance as the half wore on but the US defended bravely and even trimmed the gap through a Hercus penalty. Steyn then stepped his way through the Eagles' midfield for the second before Habana sizzled over on the end of an overlap for his 27th try for South Africa. Montgomery converted both to make it 24-3 before the US scored a try of the tournament contender. Todd Clever intercepted five metres from his own line and produced a big hand-off to get rid of Butch James before feeding supporting second row Alec Parker. He found Hercus in support and the fly-half looped out a sumptuous pass to right winger Ngwenya, who had half the length of the pitch to go and Habana to beat. Habana offered him the outside and, after some dancing footwork to get the South African star off balance, Ngwenya took him on before scorching over in the corner and running round under the posts. Hercus converted to make it 24-10 at the break but Habana, who must have spent the interval fuming, raced over for his second try just two minutes after the re-start. Replacement prop CJ van der Linde soon bullocked over, with Montgomery converting, but the Boks then put themselves in deep trouble as they tried to run from their own line. The USA sent the ball left and Wyles crashed over, and it became a bad couple of minutes for South Africa as they lost Habana after he over-enthusiastically chased the restart and clashed heads with Ngwenya. Two more tries, from Fourie du Preez and Jaque Fourie, brought up the half century for the Boks before Fourie grabbed his second try. With six minutes left the USA introduced Thretton Palamo, aged all of 19 years and two days, to become the youngest ever player to feature in the World Cup. He enjoyed one powerful carry, while there was still time left for Springbok flanker Juan Smith to romp over as South Africa and the USA ensured the pool stages at the 2007 World Cup ended in hugely entertaining fashion. -------------------------------------------------- South Africa: Montgomery; Ndungane, Fourie, Steyn, Habana; James, Du Preez; Du Randt, Smit (capt), BJ Botha, Van den Berg, Matfield, Van Heerden, Smith, Burger. Replacements: Du Plessis, Van der Linde, Bakkies Botha, Skinstad, Pienaar, Pretorius, Pietersen, Olivier. USA: Wyles; Ngwenya, Eloff, Esikia, Sika; Hercus (capt), Erskine; MacDonald, Lentz, Osentowski, Parker, Mangan, Stanfill, Clever, Payne. Replacements: Burdette, Moeakiola, Aylor, Bloomfield, Petri, Malifa, Palamo.

Argentina (18) 30 Tries: Borges, Agulla Cons: Contepomi Pens: Contepomi (3) Drop-goals: Hernandez (3) Ireland (10) 15 Tries: O'Driscoll, Murphy Con: O'Gara Pens: O'Gara Ireland's disappointing World Cup ended with them failing to get out of the pool stages for the first time. Eddie O'Sullivan's men needed to score four tries and beat Argentina by eight points to get through but they fell to a 15-point defeat at Parc des Princes. Lucas Borges and Horacio Agulla scored tries for the Pumas in the first half. Brian O'Driscoll got over for an Irish touchdown with Geordan Murphy briefly raising Irish hopes with a try early in the second half. As for Ireland, the inquests will begin about where they went so badly wrong. Disappointingly unconvincing wins over Namibia and Georgia and defeat by France left them with a mountain to climb against Argentina in the final Pool D match. However, it started promisingly as Ireland had lots of ball in the opening 10 minutes. But they failed to make their pressure count and it was Argentina who made the breakthrough. After a solid scrum, the ball was worked to winger Borges who ran over with the Irish defence in a muddle. Ronan O'Gara then kicked a penalty but Argentina replied instantly with a drop-goal from Juan Martin Hernandez. Irish hopes were momentarily lifted eight minutes from the break when skipper O'Driscoll smashed through tame tackling for a try and O'Gara's conversion edged them into a two-point lead. That advantage was shortlived as Hernandez produced a second drop-goal four minutes later. Argentina punished slack Irish defending in the 38th minute with Agulla getting over for their second try and Felipe Contepomi converted, making it 18-10 to the Pumas at half-time. It looked all over for Eddie O'Sullivan's men but hope flickered again when full-back Murphy scored a 47th-minute try after the ball was swung out to the right flank from a line-out. That left Ireland 21-15 in arrears but knowing two converted tries would be enough to get them through to the quarter-finals. However, two Contepomi penalties and a third Hernandez drop-goal sealed Argentina's victory to leave Ireland packing their bags for an early flight home. -------------------------------------------------- Argentina: Corleto, Borges, M. Contepomi, F. Contepomi, Agulla, Martin Hernandez, Pichot, Roncero, Ledesma, Scelzo, C. Fernandez Lobbe, Albacete, Ostiglia, J. Fernandez Lobbe, Longo Elia. Replacements: Basualdo, Hasan, Kairelis, Durand, Fernandez Miranda, Todeschini, Senillosa. Ireland: Murphy, Horgan, O'Driscoll, D'Arcy, Hickie, O'Gara, Reddan, Horan, Flannery, Hayes, O'Callaghan, O'Connell, Easterby, D. Wallace, Leamy. Replacements: R. Best, Young, O'Kelly, N. Best, Boss, P. Wallace, Duffy. Referee: P Honiss (New Zealand)

France (23) 64 Tries: Poitrenaud, Nyanga, Beauxis, Dominici 2, Bruno, Nallet, Martin, Bonnaire Cons: Beauxis 5 Pens: Beauxis 3 Georgia (0) 7 Tries: Maisuradze Cons: Khamashuridze World Cup hosts France beat Georgia but the victory was not enough to help them avoid a quarter-final against favourites New Zealand in Cardiff. Tries from Clement Poitrenaud, Yannick Nyanga and Lionel Beauxis helped France into a 30-0 half-time lead. Christophe Dominici (2), Sebastien Bruno, Lionel Nallet, Remy Martin and Julien Bonnaire completed the rout. The win meant France briefly went top of the group but Argentina's win over Ireland relegated them to second place. France must now travel to Wales while Argentina, whose victory over the hosts in the first match of the tournament set them on their way to topping Pool D, will meet Scotland in Paris in the last eight. In the end it was a game too far for Georgia, who have lit up the World up with their never-say-die attitude. They won their first ever World Cup match when they downed Namibia and also came within inches of shocking Ireland, but there was nothing left in the tank in Marseille on Sunday. France took an early lead through a Beauxis penalty and he added the conversion after the classy Yannick Jauzion made a superb outside break to set up Poitrenaud, who glided over for the opening try. Beauxis, who scored 24 points in all, landed two further penalties either side of a missed penalty attempt by fly-half Merab Kvirikashvili for Georgia and France ran in two more tries before the break. Nyanga crossed down the blindside for the first before Beauxis went over after a neat scissors with Poitrenaud. Beauxis converted both scores to put France 30-0 up at the break and they scored their fourth try, earning a bonus point in the process, when Dominici latched onto the fly-half's inch-perfect cross-kick. Sale hooker Bruno marked his arrival with a score before Dominici latched onto a neat Jean-Baptiste Elissalde kick to grab his second. Nallet and Martin extended the lead before Zviad Maisuradze powered over for a converted try from a quick tap penalty to give the Georgian fans something to cheer about. There was a sour note late on, with Otar Eloshvili lucky not to be sent off after a shocking spear tackle on Martin, but overall Georgia's time in France has been a triumph. The hosts had the last word as number eight Bonnaire went over out wide but they must now travel outside French borders as they bid to keep their World Cup bid alive. -------------------------------------------------- France: Poitrenaud; Rougerie, Marty, Jauzion, Dominici; Beauxis, Mignoni; Milloud, Bruno, Poux, Nallet, Thion, Betsen, Nyanga, Bonnaire. Replacements: Szarzewski, Mas, Pelous, Martin, Elissalde, Skrela, Clerc. Georgia: Barkalaia; Urjukashvili, Gigauri, I Guiorgadze, Khamashuridze; Kvirikashvili, Abusseridze; Magrakvelidze, A Guiorgadze, Zirakashvili, Didebulidze, Mtchedlishvili, I Maisuradze, Urushadze, Chkhaidze. Replacements: Shvelidze, Kopaliana, Datunashvili, Z Maisuradze, Samkharadze, Eloshvili, Elizbarashvili.

New Zealand (36) 85 Tries: Sivivatu 2, Masoe, Rokocoko 3, Evans, Mauger, Toeava 2, Hore, Smith, Howlett Cons: McAllister 4, Evans 6 Romania (5) 8 Tries: Tincu Pens: Vlaicu Joe Rokocoko went over for a hat-trick of tries as New Zealand ran in 13 tries to beat Romania in their final Pool C clash in Toulouse. The All Blacks were in dominant form with two tries apiece for Sitiveni Sivivatu and Isaia Toeava. Chris Masoe, Aaron Mauger, Andrew Hore, Nick Evans, Conrad Smith and Doug Howlett also went over. Romania tried hard but their only try came after 31 mintues through hooker Marius Tincu. The All Blacks set out their intentions from the start with the first of Sivivatu's tries coming with less than a minute on the clock. From then on it was one-way traffic as the Romanians had no answer to New Zealand's fast attack and the All Blacks built up a 31-0 lead after 25 minutes. Romania showed some determination to take more from the contest early in the second half but the relentless All Blacks could not be contained. Rokocoko completed his hat-trick in the second half and his side finished with a flourish with replacement Doug Howlett stretching his all-time New Zealand try scoring record to 49. Sale-bound Luke McAllister kicked four goals with Evans notching six. With four wins out of four, the All Blacks will travel to Cardiff next weekend in confident mood to play France, Argentina or Ireland in the quarter-finals. -------------------------------------------------- New Zealand: Evans, Rokocoko, Toeava, Mauger, Sivivatu, McAlister, Ellis, Tialata, Mealamu, Somerville, Thorne, Robinson, Collins, Masoe, Lauaki. Replacements: Hore, Woodcock, Jack, McCaw, Leonard, Howlett, Smith. Romania: Dumitras, Ciuntu, Gal, Gontineac, Brezoianu, Dimofte, Sirbu, B. Balan, Tincu, Florea, Socol, Petre, Corodeanu, Manta, Tonita. Replacements: Mavrodin, Ion, Ursache, Ratiu, Calafeteanu, Vlaicu, Dascalu. Referee: Joel Jutge (France)

Scotland (12) 18 Pens: Paterson 6 Italy (10) 16 Tries: Troncon Cons: Bortolussi Pens: Bortolussi 3 Scotland edged into the quarter-finals of the World Cup after a tense win over Italy in rain-lashed St Etienne. Once again Scotland had the unerring kicking of Chris Paterson to thank, with the winger knocking over six penalties from six attempts. Italy skipper Alessandro Troncon bundled over for a first half try and David Bortolussi kept Italy in touch. Neither side showed much in the way of attacking ambition but the Scots showed superior discipline to progress. In the last eight Scotland will play the winners of Pool D, who are likely to be either Argentina or France. Scotland made a bright start with Paterson confidently clipping over two penalties inside the first five minutes. And, when Mauro Bergamasco was sin-binned for a cynical challenge on Simon Taylor, Scotland looked ready to seize the initiative and build on their early lead. However, the Italians recovered from a jittery opening to come roaring back and a huge up-and-under from Ramiro Pez resulted in a bruising game's only try. Mirco Bergamasco flattened the referee as he followed up and appeared to take Rory Lamont out before the dropping ball had reached the Scot. From the resulting ruck, Troncon burst over from close range to put Italy into the lead. Bortolussi landed the conversion before stretching the advantage with a long range penalty. Mirco Bergamasco should have been the second Italian to have a yellow card but the officials somehow missed a blatant trip on Dan Parks. There was a further blow for Scotland when influential full-back Rory Lamont had to be replaced by Hugo Southwell, following a bone-shuddering collision with Andrea Masi. But the dependable Paterson slotted two more penalties to give Scotland a narrow lead at the interval. After the break Bortolussi was inches short with a long range penalty and Paterson tucked over a close range effort after a dangerous Scottish break. The Gloucester signing made it six from six as Italian indiscipline gifted the Scots another cheap three points. Nathan Hines was then sin-binned for a high tackle after a slick passing move from Italy, who were showing marginally more imagination with the ball in attack. Bortolussi kicked the penalty and the impressive fullback narrowed the gap to two points as Italy enjoyed their man advantage. Scotland had a rare glimpse of the try-line when a Pez clearance kick was charged down but the bouncing ball would not fall the way of Frank Hadden's side. Scottish nerves were frayed when Italy won a 75th minute penalty but Bortolussi was again just out of luck from a long way out. -------------------------------------------------- Scotland: R Lamont; S Lamont, Webster, Dewey, Paterson; Parks, Blair; Kerr, Ford, Murray, Hines, Hamilton, White (capt), Hogg, Taylor. Replacements: Lawson, Smith, MacLeod, Brown, Cusiter, Henderson, Southwell. Italy Bortolussi; Robertson, Canale, Mirco Bergamasco, Masi; Pez, Troncon (capt); Perugini, Festuccia, Castrogiovanni, Dellape, Del Fava, Sole, Mauro Bergamasco, Parisse. Replacements: Ongaro, Lo Cicero, Bernabo, Ghiraldini, Griffen, De Marigny, Galon.