TEST RUGBY RESULTS: Saturday 4 June

04.06.2011
Barbarians (UK) RFC 31, Wales 28 in Cardiff (Wales 130^th Anniv.; Test match)
England Saxons 87, United States 8 in Northampton (Churchill Cup, Pool A)-Non test
Canada 26, Italy ‘A’ 12 in Northampton (Churchill Cup Pool B)-Non test
Hungary 21, Norway 5 in Budapest (ENC 2C)
Korea 58, Singapore 19 in Ansan (Asia Nations Div.1, Final)
Philippines 86, Malaysia 20 in Ansan (Asia Nations Div.1, Playoff 3^rd-4^th)

Briefly
It was not a happy day for Wales. The Barbarians ruined their celebration party by scoring a try in the last move of the match to win. After the match Wales named a 45 man squad to prepare for the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

The England Saxons walked all over the USA in the first rugby international of the 2011 Churchill Cup. A worrying result for coach Sullivan. Even given that it was not the USA’s strongest lineup, this was a case of you are only as good as your second best players. It was not a good look!

Canada showed every intention of being a difficult team to bundle out of the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Italy ‘A’ was a handy side but their chances slumped in the second half with a player yellow-carded. Never the less, it was still a good win which backed up the Canadians second placing in last year’s Churchill Cup and their good results on the November 2010 European tour.

	P	W	D	L	PF	PA	DIFF	BT	BL	PT
ISRAEL	4	3	0	1	77	55	22	0	0	12
DENMARK	4	2	1	1	78	76	2	0	1	11
HUNGARY	4	2	0	2	77	65	12	0	2	10
AUSTRIA	4	2	0	2	65	67	-2	0	1	9
NORWAY	4	0	1	3	31	65	-34	0	1	3

Hungary eased itself into the middle of the Division 2C points table with a good 21-5 win over the visiting Norwegians. The Hungarians are now within striking range of the competition leaders going into the second round of the competition. Norway, on the other hand, are firmly placed at the bottom of the table and will need to do something magical next season to avoid relegation.

In the Asia Nations Division 1 tournament all hell broke loose. The Koreans squashed Singapore to elevate themselves back into the top division of Asian rugby, whilst Malaysia slumped to another defeat, this time heavily to Philippines. The Philippines remain in Division 1 whilst Malaysia is relegated to Division 2. Questions will need answering as to why this Malaysian squad was not its strongest; a number of players from the leading club side COBRAS being unavailable, and the lack of impact the imported club players from New South Wales making little difference. We shall see.