Biggar stars as Wales top world rankings with England win

Dazzling Nkosi seals victory for lacklustre Boks over Argentina

CARDIFF, Aug 18, (Agencies): Wales beat England 13-6 in Cardiff to go top of the official world rankings and avenge their loss in the reverse fixture last Sunday as the Rugby World Cup looms.

A fired-up Wales, fielding a near full-strength side against a more mixed England lineup for their second warmup game in a row, scored the only try of an error-strewn encounter through winger George North.

Flyhalf and man of the match Dan Biggar, in the spotlight after Gareth Anscombe was ruled out of the World Cup, impressed with a smart cross-field kick for North’s try after England’s Anthony Watson had been yellow-carded.

Former British and Irish Lions wing J.J. Williams had stirred controversy before the match by saying Wales would not win the World Cup with Biggar at fly-half.

The win was tempered by the late withdrawal of Wales full back Liam Williams with a tight hamstring, adding to the hosts’ concerns following Anscombe’s ankle injury in the previous fixture.

Back rowers Aaron Wainwright and Josh Navidi were prominent in Wales’s much-improved defensive effort, while fullback Leigh Halfpenny weathered a few early slips to deliver some fine attacking play as well as three points from the boot. Few of England’s fringe players advanced their claims for a starting spot, with the visitors scoreless in the first half and lacking momentum until more established stars like Jamie George and Owen Farrell came on in the third quarter.

George Ford, captain for the day, again showed signs of wayward kicking from the hand that had been his only flaw in a strong performance in the previous match, while scrumhalf Willi Heinz was less effective than at Twickenham.

Ford notched England’s only points in the game from two penalties.

For coach Eddie Jones, the main positives of a stodgy performance will be the lack of injuries apart from the pre-game withdrawal of winger Ruaridh McConnochie, and some brilliant late-game charges from replacement hooker George.

In Pretoria, wing S’busiso Nkosi scored two excellent solo tries as much-changed South Africa survived a massive scare at home to see off Argentina with a 24-18 victory in their one-off test at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

Springbok

flyhalf Elton

Jantjies

England’s Courtney Lawes (center), is tackled by Wales’ Dan Biggar and Aaron Shingler during the International Friendly Rugby Union match between Wales and England at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales on

Aug 17. (AP)

kicked 14 points as the home side battled to open up the visitors’ defence in a scrappy World Cup warm-up clash that included numerous errors from both sides. Argentina scored tries through lock Guido Petti and skipper Pablo Matera and might have had more were it not for poor handling at vital moments as they slipped to a ninth successive Test defeat.

The Boks fielded a completely new starting XV from the one that thumped Argentina 46-13 in Salta the week before to lift the Rugby Championship. The South American side also came into the match with 10 changes, which no doubt contributed to the disjointed nature of the contest.

In Rome, Italy submitted Russia to a humbling 85-15 defeat on Saturday, running in 13 tries in their final home appearance before the Rugby World Cup.

Matteo Minozzi led the scoring with three tries at the Stadio Riviera delle Palme in San Benedetto del Tronto as Italy’s back division ran riot. Captain Sergio Parisse was also among the try-scorers as Italy reached halftime 38-8 ahead. The pace did not drop as Tommaso Allan, who kicked six conversions, went over within a minute of the restart. Other notable performances came from Mattia Bellini and Edoardo Padovani, who both claimed a couple of tries.

Italy travel to France and England for further warm-ups before heading for the World Cup. They face Namibia, Canada, South Africa and New Zealand in Pool B.

Russia, ranked 20th in the world, face Japan, Samoa, Scotland and Ireland in Pool A. Their opening game against hosts Japan launches the tournament in Tokyo on Sept 20.

In Nice, France, France blew away Scotland 32-3 in a Rugby World Cup warmup match on Saturday.

In a first hit-out for both teams, the French looked far more ready and hit the ground running. They scored five tries, the first in only the second minute. A Scottish throw-in went through the intended catcher’s hands, France countered, and wing Alivereti Raka on debut angled in to crash over beside the posts.

It was the third time in four matches Scotland has conceded a try early.

It got only better for France, which outclassed the Scots across the park and posted 30-plus points against a team other than Italy for the first time in nearly three years.

Camille Lopez added a penalty earned from their superior scrum, and quick ruck ball gave right wing Damien Penaud an overlap to put in fullback Maxime Medard.

Adam Hastings slotted a penalty for Scotland’s only points, then was sinbinned moments later for blocking a pass.

France took advantage by setting up a lineout maul, and No. 8 Gregory Alldritt peeled off to score his third try in two games against Scotland this year. That made it 20-3 at halftime, which came as a relief for the Scots.

The visitors were stressed in the tight and loose, and it didn’t take long in the second spell for coach Gregor Townsend to debut center Rory Hutchinson and lock Scott Cummings around Medard’s second try from quick hands.

Scotland had a try by Huw Jones disallowed for a forward pass, and France finished with a score by scrumhalf Antoine Dupont.

France goes to Murrayfield for the return match next Saturday.