British and Irish Lions boss Ian McGeechan claimed his team “didn’t deserve” to be 2-0 down after world champions South Africa took Test series glory at Loftus Versfeld. The Lions lost 28-25, denied a draw by Springboks substitute Morne Steyn’s 54-metre penalty with the game’s last kick. It was their seventh successive Test loss stretching back to 2001, and renders next week’s third game at Ellis Park in Johannesburg an irrelevance.

Adam Ashley-Cooper came off the bench to score a try in both halves as an experimental Australian side cruised to an emphatic 34-12 victory over Italy in the second and final Test in Melbourne. After conceding three tries in the first half, Italy managed to hold the Wallabies scoreless for 30 minutes in an improved defensive effort in the second half, but was unable to score a single try in an often scrappy encounter at Etihad Stadium.

Gli azzurri, largamente rimaneggiati, hanno perso 34-12 il secondo test match contro i Wallabies. Bene Quartaroli e Favaro. L’Italrugby tornerà in campo sabato prossimo a Christchurch per affrontare la Nuova Zelanda nell’ultimo impegno prima delle vacanze.

South Africa resisted a brave fightback by the British and Irish Lions to beat them 26-21 in Durban and take a one-nil lead in the three-Test series. Ian McGeechan’ side were completely outplayed for the first hour and faced a humiliating defeat when they trailed 26-7 as they lined up for a lineout five metres from their try-line. But, with the Springboks having substituted several of their star players, the Lions staged a thrilling revival in the final quarter, with Tom Croft (pictured) crossing for his second try and Mike Phillips touching down with five minutes remaining to bring them to within one score.

Northern Bulls of South Africa overwhelmed Waikato Chiefs of New Zealand 61-17 at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday to record a record winning margin for a Super 14 final. After conceding the first try of a match watched by a sell-out 52,000 crowd, the Bulls scored four tries en route to a 34-7 half-time advantage and crossed the line a further four times in the second half. The previous widest victory margin was eight years ago when the Australian ACT Brumbies outclassed the South African Coastal Sharks 36-6 in the southern hemisphere championship climax.

Morne Steyn praised everyone except himself after his 21 points lifted Northern Bulls into a Super 14 final showdown against Waikato Chiefs next Saturday. The fly-half contributed four drop goals, three conversions and a penalty as Bulls overcame a 13-point deficit midway through the first half to triumph 36-23 against title holders Canterbury Crusaders at Loftus Versfeld Saturday.

Waikato Chiefs reached their first Super 14 final with a 14-10 victory over Wellington Hurricanes in Hamilton in a match decided by a sweeping 60-metre try for Mils Muliaina. Stephen Donald converted the Waikato captain’s try and the Chiefs withstood a late onslaught to claim a place in the final against the winner of Saturday’s semi-final between the Bulls and defending champions Canterbury Crusaders. The Chiefs, who lost the first three games of the season, produced an outstanding defensive effort in the final 15 minutes when the Waikato Stadium became enshrouded in a thick blanket of fog and the Hurricanes were hammering at their lines.

France rebounded from their crushing defeat to England last week to run in seven tries in an impressive 50-8 thrashing of Italy at the Stadio Flaminio here on Saturday. The hosts were confirmed as the winners of the wooden spoon with their most comprehensive defeat of a dreadful Six Nations campaign that has seen them concede 170 points in five matches and scoring only two tries. For France Francois Trinh-Duc and Sebastien Chabal, the two primary French targets for criticism following the Twickenham debacle, were excellent. However, it was winger Maxime Medard who took the man of the match honours with two tries.

Brutta prestazione degli azzurri, colpiti dalle amnesie e dalle sette mete transalpine. Di Parisse (meta) e Marcato (punizione) gli unici punti della squadra di Mallett che chiude il Sei Nazioni con zero vittorie e il cucchiaio di legno.

Ireland claimed their first Grand Slam since 1948 after edging Wales 17-15 at the Millennium Stadium here on Saturday. Two tries in the first six minutes of the second-half from Brian O’Driscoll and Tommy Bowe, both converted by Ronan O’Gara, seemed set to be enough to see the gritty Irish side to victory. But Wales hit back with four penalties and a drop-goal from Stephen Jones that gave the home side a 15-14 lead with four minutes of the hard-hitting game to play. It was left to O’Gara, whose out-of-hand kicking in the second-half proved the foundation for Irish success, to kick a drop-goal a minute later to end Ireland’s 61-year drought. However, they then survived a fraught final minute when Jones missed with a penalty attempt from just inside the halfway line.

England survived an error-strewn second half to complete a 26-12 victory over Scotland on Saturday, reclaiming the Calcutta Cup and finishing their Six Nations campaign on a high. First-half tries for Ugo Monye and Riki Flutey had England deservedly ahead 15-3 at the break but Scotland closed within six points before a Danny Care drop goal and a late Mathew Tait try made sure.

England romped to their most emphatic victory over France since the glory days of 2003 as Martin Johnson’s under-fire side enjoyed a staggering return to form at Twickenham. If this, as had been mooted in some quarters, was ‘Le Crunch’ for Johnson’s regime after five defeats in seven Tests then England answered their critics in style. All the talk of sin-binnings and ill-discipline was forgotten on a glorious spring afternoon as England roared into a 29-0 half-time lead with tries from Mark Cueto, Riki Flutey, Delon Armitage and Joe Worsely. Flutey added a second shortly after the restart and although France managed two consolation tries through Dimitri Szarzewski and Julien Malzieu the match had long been won by England.