England Avoid Unwanted Record

By beating South Africa, England avoided an unwanted record of eight successive defeats in international rugby union test matches. After falling behind 12 points, England staged a grand comeback to defeat The Springboks 23-21 at Twickenham. Andy Robinson, the English coach, was a relieved man indeed. In Paris, the All-Blacks had to fight hard before succumbing France to a 23-11 defeat, the second victory in a row. Although Les Bleus had an early lead, New Zealand showed class to triumph in the end. Elsewhere, Scotland defeated the Pacific Islanders 34-22 at Murrayfield in a match that injured several players. Argentina continued their fine form when the Pumas overcame Italy 23-16 in Rome. A day earlier, Wales whitewashed Canada 61-26 at the Cardiff Millineum Stadium. Today, the Wallabies face a resurgent Irish side in an interesting encounter.