Australia 36 USA Eagles 0

Australia stormed into the final of the Plate competition with a five-star display against USA Eagles at the National Sports Centre last night.

And they were helped on their way by a trio of emergency stand-ins from Bermuda.

Steve Husbands, Alan Thomas, and Divid Pringle helped ease an injury crisis that had torn into the Wallabies ranks following their first game against France.

Without six players, the Australians turned to the Bermuda players, and they weren't made to regret their decision.

The threesome all played a part in the win, with Husbands setting up the Wallabies fifth try, and Pringle actually touching down, only to be called back because the ball had bounced into touch and then come back.

Thomas, too, did his fair share of work, crashing through a couple of tackles as he kept the Aussies moving forwards at crucial times.

"I never thought in a million years that I would get to play for Australia," said Husbands.

"I got smashed a couple of times, but I loved every minute of it.

"One of the boys is hosting a couple of the Aussie players, and we were out on Tuesday night and were asked if we fancied a game. So I did."

Husbands did more than just set up the sixth try, he also had a couple of big hits on Guy Mumford and Lance Vesley that stopped Eagles counter-attacks dead in their tracks.

And such was the force of his second hit that he knocked Vesley out of the game altogether.

By that time the Australians were already 36-0 up, and had more than buried the memory of their first game against France.

Inspired by the darting runs, and sleight of hand, of Josh Gamgee, backed up by the stirling defensive work of Steve Brennan, the Australians were just too strong for their American counterparts.

Gamgee scored two of his side's five tries, and had a hand in two more.

His first, midway through the first half started the rout, and when Cameron Pither stole the ball from the back of an Eagles ruck moments later, it was Gamgee who raced clear to put his side 14-0 ahead.

In the end the Wallabies won because they dealt with the conditions better than the Eagles, who had chances to score, but invariably knocked on, or dropped the ball at crucial moments.

The second half was one way traffic, with Ed Brenac and Matt Nethery both crossing to put their side 24-0 ahead.

By that point the Eagles had come close to breaching the Aussie defence on several occasions, but each time they were undone by Brennan, who always seemed to find a way to come up with the ball at crucial moments.

Tim Maxwell added a fifth try, before the Wallabies wrapped up the win with a well worked sixth.

Once again Gamgee was involved and his half break eventually saw Husbands get clear down the right wing. For a time it looked as if the Bermuda international might score himself, but he drew in defenders, and then sent David Flannery clear just as he was about to be knocked into touch.

The Australians will now meet the winners of tonight's second Plate semi-final, between Argentina and Canada, in Saturday's final.

Classic Lions 12 France 7

A Mark Blair try was enough to help the Classic Lions scrape into the final of the World Rugby Classic after an edgy win over France.

Blair crashed over midway through the second half following a well worked Lions lineout, five metres from the French line.

The defending champions will now face the winners of tonight's second semi-final between South Africa, who the Lions beat in last year's final, or a resurgent All Blacks team looking to add to their record seven wins.

But they will have to up their game considerably if they are to beat either team following a somewhat scrappy encounter with the French.

Not that the nature of last night's game will have come as much of a surprise.

A war of attrition was on the cards the moment the game was confirmed, and the inclement weather did little to help.

Ball handling was difficult from the off, with the greasy conditions more suitable to a Northern Hemisphere game of ten man rugby with lots of kicking.

And for a time it seemed like that is what the semi-final would descend into.

Knock-ons, and dropped passes were abound in a first half that only really came to life moments before the break when David Aurado broke from the back of a scrum and sent Stephane Glas clear from close range.

The Lions drew level almost immeditely, with Dave Scully neatly chipping through after a well-worked Lions line-out, and Johnny Bell falling on the ball under the posts.

With the conditions worsening, the second half descended into a fight for territory, and once Blair had crashed over, it was left to the likes of Colin Charvis and Mark Regan to make the hard yards and keep France at bay.