November tests sharpen World Cup appetites

LONDON - Such is the grip the World Cup now has on rugby that even New Zealand's successful Grand Slam tour of Europe has been relegated to a mere stepping stone towards the 2007 tournament in France.

Emulating their clean sweep of 1978 would previously have been greeted as a momentous event in the sport's history but All Blacks coach Graham Henry knows it will count for nothing if his side do not bring home the Webb Ellis Cup after four successive failures.

Henry felt able to pick experimental teams against Wales, Ireland and, in yesterday's slam decider, Scotland.

They all proved easily too strong for a trio of home nations all in some degree of disarray and only against a resurgent England did Henry call on his strongest 15.

That 23-19 Twickenham victory was the highlight of the All Blacks' victorious tour as the visitors, reduced to 14 men for the last 23 minutes, withstood a relentless English forward barrage.

"For me that was the special moment of the tour," Henry said.

The All Blacks return home as clear leaders of the current game, having also beaten the Lions and won the Tri-Nations in a memorable year.

Hard on their heels are France, who completed their own clean sweep of November internationals with a 26-20 victory over South Africa yesterday.

France took the honours thanks in part to a typically flying start with two tries in the first 10 minutes to complete their own "November Slam" after earlier wins over Australia, Canada and Tonga.

Springboks coach Jake White recognised that France on home soil represent a formidable barrier.

"The reality is that to win the World Cup you're going to have to beat France at the Stade de France," he said.

South Africa were the only team to beat New Zealand this year and with several new young players in their midst, they are certainly back up challenging after several years in the doldrums.

Australia, in contrast, endured a dire tour losing to France, England and Wales, with victory over Ireland their only success in their last nine outings.

With half their team at home injured, coach Eddie Jones remained upbeat after signing off with a thrilling 22-24 loss to Wales yesterday.

"We have the nucleus of a side to win the World Cup," Jones said.

The Australian Rugby Union was not so easily pleased, however, and has ordered a review into what went wrong on this tour.

The low point was probably the front row's humiliation at the hands of England in a 16-26 loss at Twickenham which went a long way towards restoring the world champions' confidence after a dire Six Nations.

The New Zealand contest and a five-try, 40-3 thrashing of Samoa yesterday completed England's workout, when their pack reasserted itself as one of the best in the game.

What England still lack, however, is the cutting edge in the backs that can take advantage of their forward power and until they find it they will remain outsiders for 2007.

It is the opposite case for Wales, whose backs sparkled as their pack wavered in a topsy-turvy series of games.

Swept aside by New Zealand 3-41 lucky to beat Fiji 11-10 and beaten 16-33 by South Africa, they salvaged things yesterday with an effervescent win over the Wallabies, their first over them in 10 matches.

With half a dozen leading players out injured they remain an unpredictable threat to anyone and will approach the defence of their Six Nations title with cautious optimism.

The same cannot be said for Ireland, who without injured captain Brian O'Driscoll looked decidedly off the pace and were well beaten by the All Blacks and Australia before a 43-12 win over Romania.

Scotland, under new coach Frank Hadden, typically showed flashes of quality, particularly in the second half against New Zealand when they matched them in scoring 7-7 in their 10-29 defeat.

But home defeats against Argentina and Samoa exposed a lack of depth that looks destined to leave the Scots struggling for some time.

Argentina, on the rare occasions they are at full strength, continue to knock at the door and also beat Italy and sign off with a home game against Samoa next week.

The Italians, who beat Tonga and Fiji, are still struggling to establish themselves as a major European force.

The Pacific islanders of Samoa, Fiji and Tonga also remain on the periphery as their shortage of funds and inability to find preparation time leave them destined to remain in a supporting role.

- REUTERS