Pretorius spurs Springboks to victory

A superb all-round display by first five-eighth Andre Pretorius inspired the Springboks to a 49-29 win over Argentina in a one-off test in Springs today.

Playing in only his third international, Pretorius scored a try, kicked five conversions and three penalties for a personal haul of 24 points.

South Africa notched six tries to two but were never assured of victory until late in the match, as the Pumas continued to put themselves in scoring positions.

But the Springboks had too much firepower in the back division, and although the Pumas more than held their own up front and at the set pieces, they had no answer when South Africa moved the ball wide.

Gonzalo Quesada scored 19 points for the Pumas from five penalties and two conversions.

It took the first five-eighth to 417 points in test rugby, making him his country's leading points scorer ahead of the great Hugo Porta's 410.

South Africa led 17-13 at halftime.

* Samoa and Fiji have qualified for next year's World Cup in Australia.

The Samoans booked their place with the win over Tonga in Apia to move to the top of the triangular Pacific qualifying competition.

Their result also guaranteed Fiji a place in the finals with their match against Tonga still to come.

Fiji stand second, but if they beat Tonga as expected, they could overtake Samoa, depending on points for and against over the series.

The Pacific group winners go into the same World Cup pool as France and Scotland, and the runner-up will be in the same pool as South Africa and England.

With only the top two teams from the Oceania tournament earning automatic places in the World Cup, Tonga, who have played all their three qualifying matches, will have to play off against either the Cook Islands or Papua New Guinea for a chance to go into the repechage draw, where a further two spots are available.

* Canada moved one step closer to qualifying with a convincing 26-9 win over the United States in Toronto today.

Canada built on the success of their 26-23 win over Scotland two weeks ago in Vancouver, but took until the second half to produce the kind of rugby that beat the Scots.

Once they began to play with authority the US had little response, managing only three points in the second half, while Canada accumulated 16.

First five-eighths Jared Barker, who was playing in just his fifth international, had another successful day, nailing all his kicks for 16 points from four penalties and two conversions.

The teams will play their return match in Chicago on July 13.

Also trying to qualify from the zone are Uruguay and Chile. As a quarter-finalist in the 1999 World Cup, Argentina qualified automatically.

- AGENCIES