LONDON: South Africa showed England how far it still has to go to become a genuine contender for honors with a hard-fought 21-11 win at Twickenham Saturday. The Springboks showed their trademark pragmatism to batter England physically and force a series of simple errors that checked the momentum built by the home side's wins over Australia and Samoa. Morne Steyn kicked two penalties and hit the post with two more before replacement Willem Alberts and Lwazi Mvovo touched down in the final quarter. Ben Foden got a late breakaway try for England. Australia ended its European tour in ruthless style by inflicting a record 59-16 defeat on France at a chilly Stade de France. In Cardiff, New Zealand winger Hosea Gear scored two tries and flyhalf Dan Carter broke test rugby's points-scoring record as the All Blacks sealed its fourth Grand Slam against home nations by beating Wales 37-25 Saturday. In Italy, Mirco Bergamasco kicked eight penalties from as many attempts as Italy rallied from a 15-point deficit to win 24-16 over Fiji and end a six-test losing streak. Having lost to Argentina and Australia in Italy's previous November internationals, the pressure was on coach Nick Mallett. Scotland replacement Ruaridh Jackson scored a penalty with the last kick of the match to give the home side a 19-16 win over Samoa. Romania, meanwhile, brushed aside lightweight Uruguay to score five tries in a 39-12 victory Saturday that gave it the last berth at the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
