Samoa and South Africa book an appointment after solid wins, England cruises to a series win in Buenos Aires, and the Canadians run out of steam against Ireland in Toronto.

ITALY 10 vs 39 SAMOA
Saturday, June 8, 12:15 GMT, Nelspruit

After a first half arm wrestle where inspiration was at a premium, the flood gates were burst wide open in the second as Samoa smashed a hapless Azzuri side with power running and some impressive support play. The Manu defenders crashed into the breakdowns and forced several turnovers, but the Italians once again can point fingers at themselves for inaccuracy and lack of physical commitment.

Most impressive for the Samoans were bustling hooker Ole Avei and powerhouse no8 Taiasina Tuifu’a, but most of the forward pack earned their spots on the day. If there was a blight on their record, and one that the Springboks will surely take note of, it was at the scrum, where Italy earned their only try via penalty. Italy now face Scotland in a battle of two disappointed sides trying to escape the foot of the tournament table.

SCORING
Italy – L. Orquera 1p, A. Di Bernardo 1c, Pen try
Samoa – P. Williams 3c 2p 1t, K. Anufe 1c, A. Leiua 1t, J. Leota 1t, T. Tuifu’a 1t, B. Va’aulu 1t

CARDS
Samoa – A. Leiua yellow

ITALY
A. Masi; G. Venditti, G. Canale, G. Garcia, T. Iannone (L. McLean 54); L. Orquera (A. Di Bernardo 43), E. Gori (T. Botes 60); A. de Marchi (M. Rizzo 54), L. Ghiraldini (A. Manici 25), M. Castrogiovanni (L. Cittadini 59); V. Bernabo, M. Bortolami (A. Pavanello 54); A. Zanni, M. Bergamasco (M. Vosawai 59), S. Parisse (capt.).

SAMOA
B. Va’aulu; A. Leiua, P. Williams (capt.), J. Leota (S. Mapusua 71), A. Tuilagi; T. Pisi (K. Anufe 56), J. Su’a (J. Poluleuligaga 65); S. Taulafo (L. Mulipola 60), O. Avei (T. Paulo 71), C. Johnston (J. Johnston HT); F. Paulo, D. Leo (K. Thompson 54); O. Treviranus, J. Lam (P. Fa’asalele 54), T. Tuifu’a.

SOUTH AFRICA 30 vs 17 SCOTLAND
Saturday, June 8, 15:15 GMT, Nelspruit

Scottish rugby fans are no doubt tired of words like “brave” or “valiant” being used to describe their side’s effort in defeat. Sadly, they are once again forced to accept such platitudes as Scotland slipped away in the second half after leading at the intermission. Early injuries to Ryan Wilson, Ruaridh Jackson, and Peter Horne initiated the struggle, a yellow card to Jim Hamilton for a fairly innocuous off-the-ball incident effectively killed them off.

It was a disappointing result for the Scots, as they harassed the Springboks at the breakdown and had them at the back foot. Alasdair Strokosch was a menace at every turn, and centres Matt Scott and Alex Dunbar gave their side good go-forward. The spectre of the South African forwards rose steadily in the second half, and once they grabbed the momentum they never let up.

Despite a less-than-convincing opening half, Heyneke Meyer will be pleased with this side’s fight-back and in particular with Siya Kolisi’s performance after a serious injury to Arno Botha in the fourth minute. Samoa will be licking their chops at the prospect of an historic upset, while Scotland limp on to meet a sorry-looking Italian side desperate for a reputable performance.

SCORING
South Africa – M. Steyn 2c 2p, P. Lambie 1c 1p, J.J. Engelbrecht 1t, J. Serfontein 1t, Pen try
Scotland – G. Laidlaw 2c 1p, M. Scott 1t, A. Dunbar 1t

CARDS
Scotland – J. Hamilton yellow

SOUTH AFRICA
W. le Roux; B. Habana, J.J. Engelbrecht (J. Serfontein 70), J. de Villiers (capt.), B. Basson; M. Steyn (P. Lambie 70), R. Pienaar (P. van Zyl 68); T. Mtawarira (C. Oosthuizen 66), A. Strauss (B. du Plessis 66), J. du Plessis (T. Nyakane 76); E. Etzebeth (F. van der Merwe 66), J. Kruger; M. Coetzee, A. Botha (S. Kolisi 4), P. Spies.

SCOTLAND
P. Murchie; T. Seymour, A. Dunbar, M. Scott, S. Lamont; R. Jackson (P. Horne 32 {H. Pyrgos 43}), G. Laidlaw (capt.); A. Dickinson (M. Low 62), S. Lawson, E. Murray; T. Swinson, J. Hamilton (A. Kellock 61); A. Strokosch, R. Wilson (D. Denton 38), J. Beattie.

ARGENTINA 26 vs 51 ENGLAND
Saturday, June 8, 19:10 GMT, Buenos Aires

A definitive conclusion to a very positive South American for England saw a more competitive match than the previous week, but only just. It’s a rare thing to see such a tame Pumas side at home, even more rare to see their vaunted scrum going straight backwards to the tune of two penalty tries conceded. It’s a fair bet that some of these Argentinean forwards will not be returning to international rugby any time soon.

It took a while for England to get going, but once the scrum started churning the backs got more into the game, and then there was always going to be only one result. The gulf in class was more than apparent from the start, none more so than when Kyle Eastmond skipped through five tacklers nearly untouched to score a brilliant solo try. Marland Yarde impressed with two touchdowns on debut, and the forwards will be more than happy with their contributions across all departments.

The Pumas will hope to put this result behind them as quickly as possible. They say goodbye to Dr. Phil (or do they?) and sadly appear to have lost their best player on the day, Manuel Montero, to a serious knee injury, but will now recall more than twenty of their top professionals for the Rugby Championship next month. England fly home to kick up their feet and enjoy the Lions test series before getting the boots out again for pre-season.

SCORING
Argentina – M. Bustos Moyano 2c 4p, M. Montero 1t, T. Leonardi 1t
England – F. Burns 4c 2p 1t, S. Myler 1c, M. Yarde 2t, R. Webber 1t, K. Eastmond 1t, 2 Pen tries

CARDS
Argentina – M. Bustos Moyano yellow

ARGENTINA
M. Bustos Moyano; B. Agulla, G. Tiesi, G. Ascarate (B. Madero 72), M. Montero (M. Orlando 66); F. Contepomi (capt.), N. Vergallo (T. Cubelli 59); G. Roan (P. Henn HT {M. Guidone 55}), M. Garcia Veiga, M. Bustos (F. Gomez Kodela 66); J. Farias Cabello (E. Lozada 52), M. Galarza; R. Baez (T. de la Vega 59), B. Macome, T. Leonardi.

ENGLAND
M. Brown (B. Foden 59); J. May, J. Joseph, K. Eastmond, M. Yarde; F. Burns (S. Myler 66), L. Dickson (R. Wigglesworth 55); J. Marler (P. Doran-Jones 66), R. Webber (D. Paice 61), D. Wilson (H. Thomas 75); J. Launchbury, D. Attwood (C. Lawes 52); T. Wood (capt.), M. Kvesic, B. Morgan (B. Vunipola 59).

CANADA 14 vs 40 IRELAND
Sunday, June 9, 02:30 GMT, Toronto

Everything seemed to be going right for Canada when Tyler Ardron put them in the lead early in the second half, but the merciless tides of battle turned swiftly for Ireland and stayed the course of the match. The previously resolute Canadian defense turned sour and first up tackles began to be missed in droves, with both poor positioning and a lack of concentration the culprits. Fergus McFadden grabbed a hat trick of tries, more than one of which appeared to be far easier than they should have been.

A record crowd of more than 20,000 showed up to BMO Field to witness James Pritchard eclipse Gareth Rees’ all-time Canadian points scoring record, but alas the joy of victory was beyond the grasp of the home side. Abrasive captain Peter O’Mahony willed a subdued set of forwards back into the game, as their strength and experience grabbed hold in the second half. As the likes of Dan Tuohy and Kevin McLaughlin stretched their legs, the gaps opened up and in piled the points.

So ends a successful, if turbulent, North American tour for Ireland who now officially welcome new coach Joe Schmidt for the November internationals. Canada have no such rest as they fly almost immediately to Japan for the last of their Pacific Nations Cup matches before returning to prepare for the World Cup qualifiers later this summer.

SCORING
Canada – J. Pritchard 3p, T. Ardron 1t
Ireland – I. Madigan 3c, P. Jackson 2c, F. McFadden 3t, A. Trimble 1t, D. Cave 1t, T. O’Donnell 1t

CANADA
C. Braid (P. Parfrey 61); J. Pritchard, C. Hearn, H. Jones, T. Paris; N. Hirayama, P. Mack (S. White 56); H. Buydens (D. Wooldridge 72), R. Barkwill (R. Hamilton 54), J. Marshall (A. Tiedemann 72); J. Sinclair, T. Hotson (J. Phelan 69); T. Ardron, J. Moonlight (N. Dala 61), A. Carpenter (capt.) (L. Underwood 79).

IRELAND
F. Jones (R. Henshaw 71); F. McFadden, D. Cave, J. Downey, A. Trimble; I. Madigan (P. Jackson 63), I. Boss (P. Marshall 63); T. Court (D. Kilcoyne 65), R. Strauss (S. Cronin 65), M. Ross (D. Fitzpatrick 61); D. Tuohy (M. McCarthy 71), D. Toner; K. McLaughlin (C. Henry 71), T. O’Donnell, P. O’Mahony (capt.).