CARDIFF, 7 November 2004 — South Africa withstood a brave Wales fightback to beat the hosts 38-36 the Millennium Stadium yesterday and get their grand slam bid off to a victorious start.
The Springboks scored four tries to open a 38-22 lead late in the second half but the Welsh crossed the line twice in the dying minutes to come agonizingly close to claiming only their second win in 18 games against the Tri-Nations champions.
South Africa had surged into an early 10-0 lead through a penalty from fullback Percy Montgomery, who scored 23 points in all, and a try by flyhalf Jaco van der Westhuyzen.
Wales stayed in touch through the boot of flyhalf Stephen Jones but South Africa moved 20-6 ahead after 25 minutes when Montgomery burst through the heart of the Welsh defense and combined with marauding number eight Joe van Niekerk who touched down under the posts.
Jones kicked two more penalties to reduce the deficit to 23-12 at half-time and the touring side were reduced to 14 men when flanker Schalk Burger was shown the yellow card for persistent infringement on the floor.
Wales took full advantage, Stephen Jones kicking a penalty just after the interval and center Gavin Henson crashing over from close range following a powerful run by flanker Dafydd Jones to move within a point at 23-22.
South Africa were rocking but were immediately galvanized by the impressive Burger’s return. Center De Wet Barry scythed through the Welsh defense and although he was stopped inches from the line, replacement Jean de Villiers ran on to a delightful inside pass from Marius Joubert to bundle his way over the line. Montgomery converted and the gifted fullback then took advantage of ragged Welsh defense to claim a try of his own and give his side daylight.
Lively Italy Run Riot to Thrash Canada 51-6
In Rome, Italy got their series of November test matches off to the best possible start with a 51-6 demolition of Canada yesterday.
It was a surprisingly easy victory for a team who edged to a 19-14 win last time the two sides met in a nervy group stage encounter at the 2003 World Cup.
It was a different story this time as a lively performance by the home side’s backs generated an early dominance not reflected in the 13-3 half-time scoreline at the Tommaso Fattori stadium in L’Aquila, 90km north of Rome. Flyhalf Rima Wakarua scored the first of his 21 points with a penalty after less than two minutes to set the tone for a one-sided contest.
Wingers Ludovico Nitoglia and Denis Dallan both went close to puncturing the visitors’ backline before inside center Andrea Masi latched on to a neat reverse pass to score the only try of the half in the 20th minute. Canada came out aggressively after the interval but Italy stretched their lead in the 55th minute when their forwards drove the ball over the line for hooker Fabio Ongaro to touch down. Five minutes later Canada were reduced to 14 men when flanker Jamie Cudmore was sin-binned for lashing out at Dallan.
From then on Italy ran riot. A superb solo run by Mauro Bergamasco stretched the lead to 30-6 and three minutes later the Stade Francais flanker split open the Canadian defense as he set up Ongaro to score his second try.
Rearguard Action Spares Scots Blushes
In Edinburgh, Australia kicked off their European tour with a 31-14 defeat of Scotland at Murrayfield but the gloss was taken off the result by a stirring second half fightback from the Scots. Having scored four converted tries to lead 28-0 at the interval, the Wallabies looked set to chalk up a record victory against a Scottish side suffering badly from the absence of their most experienced players through a combination of injury and English club commitments. But they were frustrated by the Scots, who took advantage of some slack Australian defending to score two tries early in the second half and give the scoreline a much more respectable look.
