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| ** USA resist Russian charge  |
John van der Giessen (L) of USA gathers the loose ball as Denia Antonov of Russia and Hayden Smith of USA contest a lineout during the IRB 2011 Rugby World Cup Pool C match between Russia and the USA at Stadium Taramaki on September 15, 2011 in New Plymouth, New Zealand.
( September 14, 2011 - Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images AsiaPac)
**
The USA held on for a 13-6 win over World Cup debutants Russia in an enthralling encounter in New Plymouth on Thursday.
The USA led 10-3 at the break thanks to a fantastic try from scrum-half Mike Petri but had to wait until deep in the second half to add a penalty to give themselves some breathing room.
Despite what the scoreline might suggest, there was plenty of good rugby on offer. Unfortunately the very wet conditions did not help as driving rain, in the second half in particular, made handling very difficult.
Man of the match: The US dominated the breakdown zone and Mike MacDonald put in plenty of graft as well as being solid at scrum time.
***
next test:
9-20
Russia v Italy
Nelson
*
9-23
USA v Australia
Wellington
****
