England wins thriller against French

Updated March 12, 2012 08:32:11

England stunned hosts France with a thrilling 24-22 away victory to erase any hopes the French had of winning the Six Nations title.

The visitors outscored the French by three tries to one as they became the first team to win at Stade de France in the Six Nations since their compatriots prevailed in 2008.

England had an early chance to go over but it fell short when South African-born lock Mouritz Botha knocked on and France cleared.

The hosts too had an early chance to break the deadlock but Lionel Beauxis, starting for the first time since 2009, saw his drop goal effort fall woefully short of the target.

His half-back partner Julien Dupuy had another chance to put the French ahead in the eighth minute after England was penalised, but the Stade Francais half-back's penalty drifted wide of the post.

But this French dominance came to nothing as a loose pass by Dimitry Szarzewski was picked up by Manu Tuilagi, who sped down the left and outpaced Aurelien Rougerie to touch down in the corner for his fifth try.

Owen Farrell converted brilliantly from the touchline to make it 7-0.

Beauxis got France on the board with a penalty in the 17th minute but it was barely able to enjoy that when it conceded another try.

A brilliant run by England number eight Ben Morgan carved open the French defence and a superb off-load with the back of his hand to Ben Foden saw the full-back tackled by Vincent Clerc but his momentum carried him over the line.

Farrell converted for 14-3.

France was all at sea especially Beauxis and fortunate not to go further behind when the previously foot-perfect Farrell saw a penalty from in front of the posts cannon back off one of them.

The home side reduced the deficit with a Dupuy penalty just after the half-hour mark, as Foden was penalised for not calling for a mark inside his 22 when tackled by Rougerie and then failing to release the ball.

But the French were hit by a further blow in the 37th minute as Clerc had to go off with his lower left arm strapped and was replaced by Maxime Mermoz.

Despite the apparent superiority of the English it was France who went off for half-time boosted by Beauxis landing a long-range penalty to leave it only five points adrift at 9-14.

Farrell made it 17-9 in the 50th minute for a deliberate knock-on and at that point coach Philippe Saint-Andre decided it was time to make sweeping changes sending on three replacements, including Morgan Parra for the struggling Dupuy.

Referee Alain Rolland was not so lenient when England was penalised for a deliberate knock on as he sin-binned Charlie Sharples, who had only come in for his first start on Saturday when David Strettle failed to recover from a chest injury.

Even with the one man advantage the French were unable to make any inroads into the England lead, though, just after Sharples returned, Parra converted a penalty to make it 17-12.

English nerves frayed further when Beauxis landed a long-range penalty from just inside England territory to leave France just two points adrift with near on 10 minutes remaining.

But England hit back in style with its third try as Tom Croft sent Rougerie the wrong way and broke one tackle to touch down. Farrell converted to make it 24-15.

Finally France crossed the try line to make it a tension-filled last five minutes as Wesley Fofana went over in the corner for his fourth try in as many matches after being fed by Parra, who then converted from the touchline.

The French went roaring back into the English half spearheaded by Rougerie but replacement Francois Trinh-Duc's effort at a drop goal fell short and England had held on by the skin of its teeth.

AFP

Tags: sport, rugby-union, france

First posted March 12, 2012 08:05:23

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Force edge out Bulls in thriller

Updated April 24, 2011 00:34:00

The Bulls' Super Rugby title defence is hanging by a thread after a 26-21 defeat to the Western Force in Perth on Saturday night.

Force full-back Cameron Shepherd scored the match-winning try 12 minutes from time and also pulled off a desperate, try-saving tackle earlier in the half to propel the Force to their third victory of the season and second on the trot.

The Bulls, winners of the past two titles, face an almighty task to even qualify for this year's finals, with their third straight loss leaving them with just four wins from nine games.

Force whizz kid James O'Connor nailed six of seven kicks for an 18-point haul, the speedy 20-year-old also creating numerous opportunities in open play.

The Force could not break through the Bulls' resolute defence in the opening half, with three penalties to O'Connor and another to Willie Ripia the only reward.

The Bulls looked dangerous every time they entered their attacking 22m, with hooker Chilliboy Ralepelle barging over in the 11th minute and winger Bjorn Basson adding the visitors' second just eight minutes later.

Basson's try arrived just a minute after O'Connor was harshly sin-binned for a lifting tackle on Bulls full-back Zane Kirchner, who twisted in the tackle and landed heavily on his back.

The Bulls added 10 points to three during O'Connor's spell on the sideline, but a determined Force closed the deficit to just 15-12 by half-time, capitalising on several glaring handling errors by the visitors.

Force scrum-half Brett Sheehan was a fired-up customer and understandably so after copping an off-the-ball elbow to the head from Bulls prop Dean Greyling late in the first half.

Points were hard to come by early in the second half, with Morrne Steyn's 55th-minute penalty quickly cancelled out by O'Connor up the other end.

Shepherd's first heroic act came in the 51st minute when his desperate tackle pushed Jaco Pretorius' boot into touch just as the Bulls centre dived forward in an attempt to score a try.

O'Connor's hot kicking continued as he nailed a pair of vital penalties, and Shepherd put the Force in front in the 68th minute when he grabbed a desperate pass from Ripia and touched down in the corner.

O'Connor's 77th minute penalty gave the Force an eight-point buffer, and although Steyn closed the gap back to five with two minutes remaining, the home side held firm in the dying stages.

-AAP

First posted April 24, 2011 00:13:00

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Waldrom brace sinks Lions in thriller

Posted April 24, 2011 06:55:00

Waikato Chiefs flanker Scott Waldrom scored two first-half tries to inspire the New Zealanders to a 34-30 win over the Lions in their Super Rugby match.

In a game between the bottom teams in the South African and New Zealand conferences, the visitors outscored their hosts by five tries to three to kick off their two-match African tour in style.

It was the Chiefs' third win in nine outings while the Lions suffered their ninth loss in 10 matches under former All Blacks coach John Mitchell.

"To get a win like this was pretty pleasing," said Chiefs skipper Mils Muliaina.

"Any team that comes over here must win the physical battle and we did that tonight."

Last year's corresponding match at the same venue produced an extraordinary 72-65 win for the Chiefs, but this was an altogether tighter affair between two sides who stand little chance of advancing to the play-offs.

As was the case in last year's 137-point affair, the result was in the balance until the final whistle when a last-gasp Lions attack was snuffed out just a few metres from the Chiefs' line.

The Lions opened up an early 6-0 lead via two penalties from fly half Burton Francis but the visitors wrested the initiative back with two tries in the space of eight minutes by flanker Waldrom.

The opensider struck in the 22nd minute when he burrowed over from close range before running a perfect angle from first receiver to score from 20 metres out on the half hour.

Mazy run

Fly half Stephen Donald converted to make it 12-6, but the Lions were soon in the lead once again when full-back Michael Killian darted over following a mazy cross-field run from winger Lionel Mapoe after he expertly fielded an attempted touch-finder.

Francis's conversion looked to have given the Lions a morale-boosting one-point lead at the break but the Chiefs had other ideas, lock Romana Graham picking up from a ruck in injury time and stretching over for his team's third try.

Francis cut the deficit to three points when he slotted a third penalty in the 44th minute. The Chiefs replied with a bonus-point try to prop forward Toby Smith with half an hour left.

The Lions' poor defence, which has been their downfall all season, was in evidence once again when Chiefs winger Lelia Masaga cut through with ease from a line-out move before passing to centre Dwayne Sweeney to finish off.

Donald added his third conversion to increase the lead to 15 points. The Lions refused to throw in the towel, replacement flanker Josh Strauss barging over on the hour for his team's second try.

Flanker and former skipper Cobus Grobbelaar dotted down from a line-out drive with eight minutes left to make it a one-point game before Donald ensured much-needed breathing breathing room for his tiring troops with a 76th-minute penalty.

"We spoke this week about letting in too many soft tries and it happened again today," said Lions captain Doppies la Grange.

"I think the guys need a break."

- Reuters

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Hurricanes edge Cheetahs in thriller

Updated April 17, 2011 07:37:00

A last-minute try by Jeremy Thrush helped the Wellington Hurricanes to snap a four-match losing streak as they edged the Cheetahs 50-47 in their Super rugby match on Saturday.

The New Zealand outfit found themselves trailing by three points as the clock ticked down but a superb breakout from deep inside their own half resulted in lock Thrush been given a clear run to the tryline.

The match was a thrilling affair in which the lead changed 12 times as the two teams combined for 11 tries.

"It has been tough for the last four weeks but to score 50 points in a game shows that we must be doing something right," Hurricanes skipper Andrew Hore told reporters.

The first half was a helter-skelter affair as the two teams combined for seven tries in 40 minutes.

The home side opened the scoring in the second minute thanks to a penalty from fly half Sias Ebersohn but two minutes later the visitors breached their opposition's defence as left wing Hosea Gear slid over in the corner following a sweeping backline move.

The Cheetahs struck back almost immediately when scrum-half Sarel Pretorius sneaked over from close range for a converted try.

However, the New Zealanders regained the lead when flank Jack Lam broke free five metres from the Cheetahs' line to canter over untouched for a converted try.

The Cheetahs edged back in front in the 17th minute when an incisive break from fullback Riaan Viljoen led to left wing Riaan Smit scoring a debut try.

The Hurricanes then seemed to take control with two tries, through full-back Andre Taylor and right wing Alapati Leiua, which took the visitors into a 27-17 lead after 25 minutes.

The hosts struck back again, first through an Ebersohn penalty and then a second try from Pretorius which drew the scores level at 27-27.

In the last three minutes before the interval, Ebersohn succeeded with two drop goals while Hurricanes fly half Daniel Kirkpatrick wrapped up the scoring in a breathless first half with a penalty.

The second half began more sedately and Gear opened the scoring in the 50th minute by claiming his second try of the night as he shrugged off three attempted tackles on his way to the tryline.

Gear's effort brought alive the two teams and Smit grabbed his second try after intercepting a loose pass on the halfway line as the home side edged into a 40-37 lead.

But Kirkpatrick nailed two penalties as the Hurricanes took the lead once again as the match moved into the final quarter.

With 14 minutes left Pretorius nipped over to complete his hat-trick to take his season's tally of tries to six.

But Thrush broke the home fan's hearts with his late heroics.

Hurricanes: 50 (H Gear 2, J Lam, A Taylor, A Leiua, J Thrush tries; D Kirkpatrick 4, B Barrett cons; D Kirkpatrick 3 pens)

Cheetahs: 47 (S Pretorious 3, Riaan Smit 2 tries; S Ebersohn 5 conversions, 2 pens, 2 drop goals)

- Reuters

First posted April 17, 2011 07:19:00

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