The Ruck and Maul

New Zealand 27 Italy 6

retro9 — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 23:23:24 +0000

Italy put in a spirited performance but did not have the firepower to threaten the All Blacks who won 27-6. The All Blacks were far from convincing and were saved by the performance of Isaac Ross who inspired the team in the second half to get the All Blacks over the line.

The All Blacks experiment with Luke McAllister appears to have failed with the All Blacks attacking moves falling down on a number of occasions. The Tri-Nations opener is likely to reveal a new combination and the All Blacks will need to work hard in the next few weeks.

Wallabies 22 France 6

retro9 — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 23:14:34 +0000

Wallabies continued their winning start to the 2009 International Rugby season with a 22-6 win against France. In a tough and uncompromising performance the French were never in the game save for some early attacking opportunities where they had the Wallabies on the backfoot.

The Wallabies won convincingly in the end but would be disappointed with their attack only scoring one try and scoring the rest of their points through Matt Giteau’s boot. The Wallabies defence was inspirational at times and is forming as a major area of strength leading into the upcoming Tri-Nations.

Pacific Islands 25 defeat Italy 17

retro9 — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 21:11:53 +0000

The Pacific Islands claimed their first victory against Italy 25-17 scoring three tries to two in a hard fought victory.

The Pacific Islands team started well scoring two tries with provided the foundation for victory.

Scotland 41 defeat Canada 0

retro9 — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 21:04:05 +0000

Scotland continued to show good form in a 41-0 win in a six try victory against Canada.

Ireland 17 defeat Argentina 3

retro9 — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 21:00:16 +0000

Argentina continued it’s slide down the world rugby rankings losing to Ireland 17-3 to a fiery match that saw Ireland win a vital match at Croke Park.

New Zealand 29 defeat Wales 9

retro9 — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 20:50:54 +0000

New Zealand defeated Wales 29-9 but the score indicates a much different game to the one that took place as Wales stuck it to the All Blacks.

Wales led a spirited first half and took the lead 9-6 at halftime.

But it was the brilliance and boot of Dan Carter and two tries in the second half that saw the All Blacks home in a tough encounter that the All Blacks will be happy to escape from in the end.

South Africa 42 England 6

retro9 — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 20:43:00 +0000

South Africa have hit form at the exactly right time as they humbled England 42-6.

South Africa led 20-6 at halftime and went on with it after the break running away with a 42-6 win against an English side with no answers.

The Springboks scored 6 tries to nil to complete the humiliation for England.

France 12 defeat Argentina 6

retro9 — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 07:05:26 +0000

France defeated Argentina 12-6 in what was a generally uninspiring matched played at Marseille.

France sought revenge for their two defeats in the 2007 World Cup and defeated Argentina in a tough and dour match where no tries were scored and the French boot won the match.

France defeated Argentina with three penalties and a drop goal while only Contemponi could muster two penalties for the Argentina side.

Ireland 55 smash Canada 0

retro9 — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 07:00:34 +0000

Ireland confirmed Canada have alot of work to do to be considered a serious Rugby playing nation after being heavily defeated 55-0.

Iraland scored 7 tries to nil as they kept piling on the points, in fact the only thing that stopped more points from being scored was poor weather which restricted the match to a much less open match that expected.

For Ireland 2 tries each went to Bowe and Kearney, while Earls, Heaslip and D. Wallace scored a try a piece. O’Gara kicked 5 conversions and a penalty while P.Wallace kicked a single conversion.

England 39 defeat Pacific Islanders 13

retro9 — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 06:47:41 +0000

England under new coach Martin Johnston were too strong for the Pacific Islanders running out 39-13 victors in a five tries to one victory.

The new star of English Rugby Danny Cipriani was a star in only his second test with a try and 14 points off the boot for a personal tally of 19 points. His performance will go some way to reassuring England that life may still exist after Jonny Wilkinson.

The Pacific Islanders were no easy-beats and pushed the English on many occasions but the English side had too much firepower and match fitness in the end.