Canada came out all guns blazing in their encounter against Wales, and for 0 minutes they were the dominating team on the field.

Two tries for the Canadians in the first half saw them leading by 12-9 at half time, and it looked like another upset was on the cards. After the break Wales played more constructive rugby after the experienced Stephen Jones and Colin Charvis were introduced. These players helped to settle things down and Wales started to dominate. The better quality possession the Welsh secured in the second half got converted into 5 tries whilst Canada only managed one more try in the second half. Final score: Wales 42 Canada 17.

Pre-tournament favourites, New Zealand, kicked off their World Cup campaign with an emphatic victory over Italy on Saturday.

The game was over as a contest within the first 20 minutes, with the All Blacks running in 5 tries and securing the bonus point in this time period. Italy did manage to score an intercept try but they had no answer to the class of the All Blacks. Halftime score: New Zealand 43 Italy 7

The second half followed the script of the first, with the All Blacks again running in 5 tries in a 20 minute period. A late consolation try for Italy gave them something to smile about but they just could not keep up with the pace and skill of the men in black. Star players for New Zealand included Richie McCaw, Jerry Collins and winger Doug Howlett who scored 3 tries. Final score: New Zealand 76 Italy 14

Jake White picked his strongest possible squad to take on Samoa this coming Sunday.

John Smit makes his return to the side and will captain a side that has played in a combined total of 609 test matches (that is just the starting XV). Jean de Villiers slots back into the inside centre position after recovering from a rib injury. JP Pietersen gets the nod for the number 14 jersey and hopefully he will silence his critics and grab this opportunity with both hands.

SA side to face Samoa: 15. Percy Montgomery, 14. JP Pietersen, 13. Jaque Fourie, 12. jean de Villiers, 11. Btyan Habana, 10. Butch James, 9. Fourie du Preez, 8. Danie Rossouw, 7. Juan Smith, 6. Schalk Burger, 5. Victor Matfield, 4. Bakkies Botha, 3. CJ van der Linde, 2. John Smit(captain), 1. Os du Randt

Reserves: 16. Bismarck du Plessis, 17. BJ Botha, 18. Johann Muller, 19. Wikus van Heerden, 20. Ricky Januarie, 21. Andre Pretorius, 22. Francois Steyn

The Bokke should expect a hard, physical encounter against the Samoans but the experience and size of the SA side should see them to a comfortable victory.

SARB would like to wish the Springboks all the best for their World Cup campaign.

Jake White picked his strongest available squad to face Scotland in a World Cup warm up match on Saturday.

SA fans will be happy to see Bryan Habana return to the starting XV, but there are still injury concerns for White. John Smit, Jean de Villiers and Wynand Olivier are all still struggling with injuries. Victor Matfield will again captain the Bokke in Smit’s absence and Francois Steyn will start at inside centre. A solid performance by the younster could see him start at number 12 in the World Cup whilst de Villiers and Olivier are injured.

SA squad to face Scotland: 15. Percy Montgomery, 14. JP Pietersen, 13. Jaque Fourie, 12. Francois Steyn, 11. Bryan Habana, 10. Butch James, 9. Fourie du Preez, 8. Danie Rossouw, 7. Juan Smith, 6. Schalk Burger, 5. Victor Matfield(captain), 4. Bakkies Botha, 3. CJ van der Linde, 2. Gary Botha, 1. Os du Randt

Reserves: 16. Bismarck du Plessis, 17. BJ Botha, 18. Albert van den Berg, 19. Wikus van Heerden, 20. Ruan Pienaar, 21. Andre Pretorius, 22. Ashwin Willemse.

Jake White will hope that this squad can get things back on track after the poor performance in Galway on Tuesday.

The All Blacks are overwhelming favourites to beat Australia in their Tri-Nations encounter this weekend and thus retain the Bledisloe Cup.

Graham Henry has made four changes to the All Black side that beat the Springboks last weekend and John Connolly has made only one change to the Wallaby team that lost to SA.

All Black team: 15. Leon MacDonald, 14. Rico Gear, 13.Mils Muliaina, 12. Luke McAllister, 11. Joe Rokocoku, 10. Dan Carter, 9. Byron Kelleher, 8. Rodney So’oialo, 7. Richie McCaw(captain), 6. Jerry Collins, 5. Troy Flavell, 4. Chris Jack, 3. Carl Hayman, 2. Anton Oliver, 1. Tony Woodcock

Reserves: Kevin Mealamu, Neemia Tialata, Ross Filipo, Chris Masoe, Piri Weepu, Aaron Mauger and Nick Evans

Australian team: 15. Julian Huxley, 14. Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13. Stirling Mortlock(captain), 12. Matt Giteau, 11. Lote Tuqiri, 10. Stephan Larkham, 9. George Gregan, 8. Wycliff Palu, 7. George Smith, 6. Rocky Elsom, 5. Dan Vickerman, 4. Nathan Sharpe, 3. Guy Shepherdson, 2. Stephen Moore, 1. Matt Dunning

Reserves: Adam Freier, Al Baxter, Mark Chisholm, Stephen Hoiles, Phil Waugh, Scott Staniforth and Mark Gerrard

The game takes place at the MCG in Melbourne on Saturday and the All Blacks should win this one with ease but Bledisloe Cup encounters between these two sides are always tough and maybe the Wallabies can cause a bit of an upset.