All Blacks in Chicago

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New Zealand All Blacks to play at Chicago’s Soldier Field in November

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Agreement is understood to have been reached that the All Blacks will play a test in Chicago on November 2. Some tinkering of the pitch at Soldier Field, home of the Chicago Bears, will ensure it is wide enough to host the fixture. USA Rugby is moving towards agreement with relevant English Premiership clubs about player release.

The expectation is that a minimum 40,000 tickets will be sold, which should enable USA Rugby to make a sizeable profit after they have paid the New Zealand Rugby Union a guaranteed sum, believed to be $1 million to cover their costs.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=11233010

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Pool C - Italy v USA

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Italy 27 - USA 10

Luke McLean of Italy (L) attempts to break free during the IRB 2011 Rugby World Cup Pool C match between Italy and the USA at Trafalgar Park on September 27, 2011 in Nelson, New Zealand.

( September 26, 2011 - Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images AsiaPac)

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Italy secured a four-try 27-10 win over the USA at Trafalgar Park on Tuesday in a result that means Pool C will go right down to the wire on Sunday.
The five-point success sees the Azzurri go level on points with the Wallabies - who play Russia on Saturday - and just three behind Ireland.
Man of the match: USA centre Paul Emerick was impressive every time he touched the ball while Sergio Parisse was his usual destructive self. However, for his scrummaging and try-scoring effort we go with Martin Castrogiovanni. His clash with Cian Healy should be epic.
http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,9989_7205513,00.html
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next test:
10-2
Italy v Ireland
Dunedin
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USA finishes 1-3
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Pool C - Australia v USA

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Wallabies power past USA

Will Genia of the Wallabies is tackled by Hayden Smith of the USA during match 23 of the IRB 2011 Rugby World Cup between Australia and the USA at Wellington Regional Stadium on September 23, 2011 in Wellington, New Zealand.

( September 22, 2011 - Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images AsiaPac)

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Australia returned to winning ways after their shock loss to Ireland at the Rugby World Cup after sweeping past the USA 67-5 in Wellington on Friday.
The Wallabies punished some weak defence from the Americans (responsible for 24 missed tackles) by running in eleven tries, with wing Adam Ashley-Cooper bagging a hat-trick.
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Blaine Scully of the USA is tackled by Adam Ashley-Cooper
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Man of the match: Count them... one, two, three - it has to be Adam Ashley-Cooper, who proved to be a threat with ball in hand throughout when he wasn't crossing the whitewash.
http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,16024_7195343,00.html
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next test:
9-27
Italy v USA
Nelson
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10-1
Australia v Russia
Nelson
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Pool C - USA v Russia

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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)

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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.

http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,16024_7177957,00.html

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next test:

9-20

Russia v Italy

Nelson

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9-23

USA v Australia

Wellington

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Pool C - Ireland v USA

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Ireland battle to win over USA

Takudzwa Ngwenya of USA runs with the ball during the IRB 2011 Rugby World Cup Pool C match between Ireland and the USA on September 11, 2011 in New Plymouth, New Zealand.

( September 10, 2011 - Photos by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images AsiaPac)

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Ireland got their World Cup campaign off to a stuttering start with a 22-10 win over USA at the Taranaki Stadium in New Plymouth on Sunday.

The match was played in rainy conditions and although Ireland held the upper hand in most facets of play, they struggled to breach their opponents' defence.

They only scored three tries, which means that they failed to secure a bonus point.

Ireland's forwards illustrated their dominance with the first scrum of the match when they shoved their opponents off the ball and that scene was repeated on numerous occasions during the rest of the match.

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Man of the match: Ireland's front-row of Mike Ross, Rory Best and Tom Court for the demolition job they did on the USA pack in the scrums.

Moment of the match: The 40th minute when Tommy Bowe got in for the opening try of the match. Up to that point Ireland were kept out by a fine defensive effort from USA.

http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,16024_7169484,00.html

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Paul O'Connell of Ireland wins the line out

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next test:

9-15

USA v Russia

New Plymouth

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9-17

Ireland v Australia

Auckland

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