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/ 30 September 2007

Paterson kicks Scotland into quarterfinal

Peerless goalkicker Chris Paterson sent Scotland into the World Cup quarterfinals again when he landed six penalties to secure an 18-16 victory over Italy in a nervy, rain-affected Pool C showdown on Saturday. Paterson, who had landed nine out of nine conversions in Scotland’s first three games, continued his perfect return with six out of six penalties in St Etienne.

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/ 12 September 2007

Sluggish Italy stumble past Romania

Italy rebounded from their All Black mauling to record a morale-boosting, if incredibly dour, 24-18 win over Romania in a Rugby World Cup Pool C game at the Stade Velodrome in Marseilles on Wednesday. In a game that was certainly no advert for free-flowing rugby, the forwards battled out a war of attrition interrupted by a veritable comedy of handling errors.

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/ 8 September 2007

All Blacks rout struggling Italy

Hot tournament favourites New Zealand got their World Cup campaign off to the ideal start at the Stade Velodrome with a scintillating 76-14 rout of rivals Italy. The contest was dead and buried after the first 20 breathless minutes, during which the All Blacks scored five converted tries against an Italian team shown up to be woefully inept in their early defensive alignment.