tters team have been playing some good rugby for quite a while but ending up on the wrong side of the scoreboard.It was time for the performance to give way to the importance of the result. Psychologically Scotland will be a lot stronger for the last swing of Greig Laidlaws boot.8 Wales too won with t

Great art galleries, great architecture, great churches and some decent-looking domes, Michelangelo, restaurants, youll love it. That was my promise to the SuperSport broadcast team who are following the Springboks around this month. A week in Florence, hell, was I envious!But South Africans, being the passionate rugby people they are, will not be leaving one of the worlds great renaissance cities with many happy memories and Bach cantatas echoing in their ears. Instead, there was yet another day of Springbok humiliation. Sky Sports Black Friday sale Upgrade to Sky Sports now and get 12 months half price! One week earlier the largely second string All Blacks had carved Italy open in one of those games where tries are scored from every angle. But on Saturday, Italy reversed their fortunes with an astonishing victory against South Africa. Great credit to Italy, Conor O Shea and Mike Catt (how he must have enjoyed the win) but is it really so astonishing?The Springboks have now lost five of their six games away from home this season and drawn the other with the Barbarians. They have twice been blown away by their former deadly rivals New Zealand. It is time for the word crisis. The dejected Boks leave the field after their loss to the Azzurri They have dropped into fifth place in the world rankings and have only the one game left against Wales - away - before the World Cup draw is made next May. The European teams have the Six Nations in which to rise and fall. The odds are on the South Africans being a tier-two pool draw for Japan with the potential of another England scenario looming large. Allister Coetzee is in a dark place.2 At the other end of the international game there was absolutely no surprise that New Zealand bounced back and beat Ireland in Dublin. What surprised even me was the ferocity of the All Black display. They walked the line of legality and occasionally stepped over it. Who is the better European team, Ireland or England? England is ranked two but has not yet shown quite the level of performance we have witnessed from Ireland this autumn. Stuart Barnes There has been some outrage regarding their aggression but the greater concern is with the officiating that doesnt think the Sam Cane shoulder hit that took Robbie Henshaw out of the game deserved anything but a penalty.While not condoling dangerous and violent play there was something thrilling about a team caring that much about losing. Its up to the referees and their assistants to control their passions. Paul OConnell, Gordon DArcy and Sean Fitzpatrick analyse Irelands loss 3 If high tackles and Sam Cane was the dark side of the All Black performance, Beauden Barrett was their white magic - all good, all positive, and dazzling in nearly everything he did. The first half hour was startling.Eddie Jones wonders whether George Ford can become a better fly-half than Barrett. Superb as Ford was with ball in hand against Fiji, its fair to say that, on Saturdays evidence, he has a way to go... and I loved Fords performance at Twickenham. Highlights of Irelands clash against the All Blacks in Dublin 4 Ireland - losing three key players as they did against France in the World Cup - couldnt quite pull off another epic victory. But then again that was France, this was New Zealand. Disrupted by the loss of key players, still Ireland gave the All Blacks a great game.They lack the match-winning stardust even with those three on the field, but this was a powerful performance, even in defeat. Joe Schmidts team has more strength in depth than ever. He has done a fine rebuilding job post-World Cup. 5 Who is the better European team, Ireland or England? England are ranked two but have not yet shown quite the level of performance we have witnessed from Ireland this autumn. England do have that winning knack, however, and are on a steadily improving curve.We may have to wait for the final match of the Six Nations for some sort of answer, although Ireland will have home advantage. Ireland, meanwhile, have to forget the aches and pains and end the Australian winning run this weekend.Isnt that a fascinating game? If Ireland want to be going toe to toe with England for the status of world number two, this is the sort of game they have to grit out. 6 Lets hope Argentina can give England a work-out. South Africa was comfortable, Fiji a walk in the park. The Pumas are looking ragged. It has been a long year of Super Rugby and the depth of their squad is looking dubious.Individually they are equipped with talent, especially in the back row and midfield, but they are collectively mistake-ridden. If they play their rugby in the wrong parts of the field, England will make short work of them. Paradoxical as it seems, an inspired Argentina is exactly what Joness men need before Australia arrive with revenge in mind. Highlights of Englands Autumn International clash against Fiji at Twickenham 7 Scotland nicked the game against the Pumas with the last kick of the game. Its about time the last-minute break went their way. Vern Cotters team have been playing some good rugby for quite a while but ending up on the wrong side of the scoreboard.It was time for the performance to give way to the importance of the result. Psychologically Scotland will be a lot stronger for the last swing of Greig Laidlaws boot.8 Wales too won with the last kick of the game, this time a drop goal from Sam Davies, but there are few hymns and arias across the Severn Bridge at the moment. Jones: Wales complacent again England coach Eddie Jones blasts complacent Wales Eddie Jones weighed in, accusing Wales of complacency against a team containing seven or eight company players.You and I could play company rugby, said the stirring Jones.9 Tension will be unbearable in Cardiff this weekend. Wales cannot afford to lose against a South African team that are a faded shadow of their old legendary self, while the Springboks cannot afford to lose to a Welsh team that is struggling to find any kind of form.I fear the pressure, the fear of not losing, as opposed to going out and playing positive winning rugby, could limit the quality of the rugby. You can chuck all my normal performance talk out the window, winning is even more important for both teams Saturday than it was for Scotland last weekend. Wales need a last-minute drop goal from Sam Davies to secure a win over Japan 10 New Zealand are talking up the unpredictable French. Go look at Frances record in the last five or six years, study the DVDs of their inept performances. France have not been unpredictable for ages, they have been useless.It would be an infinitely greater shock for France to beat a New Zealand team in Paris than it was when Ireland won in Chicago.Upgrade to Sky Sports now and get 12 months half price. Hurry, offer ends December 4! Also See: Hansen: Strongest ever Lions Jones: Ford must be selfish Follow @SkySportsRugby Rugby on Sky Authentic Custom Canadiens Jersey . Scott won the Australian PGA last week in his first event in Australia since winning the U.S. Masters in April. American Matt Kuchar, ahead by two strokes with four to play and even with Scott with one to go, double-bogeyed the 18th after taking two shots to get out of a bunker. Wholesale Custom Canadiens Shirts . The International Olympic Committee released the official list of bid cities on Friday after the deadline for applications had passed. The candidates -- all previously announced in their own countries -- are: Almaty, Kazakhstan; Beijing; Krakow, Poland; Lviv, Ukraine; Oslo, Norway; and Stockholm. http://www.customcanadiensjersey.com/custom-jacques-plante-jersey-large-75d.html .J. -- New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz will miss the rest of the season after having surgery on his left knee. Custom Canadiens Jerseys .H. -- Matt Kenseth made it 2 for 2 in the Chase, holding off teammate Kyle Busch to win Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Custom Canadiens T-shirts .C. -- After a listless first half, the Washington Wizards used a big third quarter run to beat the Charlotte Bobcats Bradley Beal scored 21 points and the Wizards used a 17-0 run in the third quarter to take control of what had been a close game and beat the Bobcats 97-83 on Tuesday night. LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The Chicago Bears took a gamble when they drafted Kyle Long.It has paid off in a big way, and they rewarded him with a four-year contract extension.The Bears locked up their star right guard and three-time Pro Bowl lineman through the 2021 season on Wednesday.Ive known since Day 1 that I wanted to be a Chicago Bear for life and get an opportunity to play for the best franchise in football in the best city in America, said Long, who had two years remaining on his contract.When the talk started about it, I said, `Look, I dont want to be a part of the talks, but what I do want you guys to understand is that I want to be here forever and get it done, so thats what they did.Its an important step for a team last in the NFC North at 6-10 in its first season under general manager Ryan Pace and coach John Fox.Long is one of seven Bears to make the Pro Bowl in each of his first seven seasons, a list that includes Gale Sayers, Dick Butkus, Mike Ditka and Brian Urlacher.With the signing of Josh Sitton on Sunday following his surprise release from Green Bay, Chicago has two elite guards to help protect quarterback Jay Cutler and open holes for running backs.The moves on the line combined with the overhaul to the front seven on defense have the Bears aiming higher this season, starting with the opener Sunday at Houston.Kyle is extremely talented, a great teammate and more than deserving of this contract, Pace said. He is a big piece of the foundation we are building and we only expect him to continue to get better. We are excited to announce this long-term commitment to Kyle.Fox echoed that, saying, He brings the right mindset every day to work. I think hes a leader in that locker room, so obviously an important cog of hopefully what well be about moving forward.Long was seen as something of a gamble when former general manager Phil Emery drafted him out of Oregon with the 20th pick in 2013. After all, he had limited experience in college and a history that included a DUI and academic issues that nearly derailed him.ddddddddddddThe son of Hall of Famer Howie Long, Kyle Long was drafted in 2008 in the 23rd round as a left-handed pitcher out of high school in Virginia by the Chicago White Sox.He went to Florida State on a baseball scholarship rather than turn pro, lasted one semester because of grades and got a DUI in January 2009. He failed academically at Piedmont Community College in Virginia before heading west to Saddleback Junior College in Southern California.Long decided to follow in the footsteps of his father and brother Chris, an NFL defensive end, but found he was better suited to block than tackle.Despite playing just one season at Oregon and appearing in 11 games, Long quickly blossomed into a standout lineman and one of the most popular players in Chicago.I found something that I can improve every day on, help those around and have that 8-year-old mentality where youre flying around at recess the whole time with your buddies, he said. Thats what its about.Long made the Pro Bowl his first two years as a right guard, and he made it again last season after being switched to right tackle when the Bears cut Jordan Mills just before the opener.The offseason signing of right tackle Bobby Massie cleared the way for Long to move back inside. And with the addition of Sitton -- a player Long helped recruit -- on the left side, the guard spots could be a strength for the Bears for the next few years, barring a position switch or unexpected decline.A healthy and effective Long figures to take the load off Massie and the center -- be it veteran Ted Larsen or rookie Cody Whitehair. Long suffered a shoulder injury in the second preseason game at New England that kept him out of practice until Monday. But he said he feels great, ready to roll.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '