South Africa 31

New Zealand 12

South Africa coach Ian McIntosh confessed his surprise at the ease his sparkling Springboks dismantled a strangely subdued New Zealand in the 2007 World Rugby Classic final.

McIntosh, a former South Africa national team coach, sat almost statuesque on the touchline at the National Sports Centre while the All Blacks struggled to find any kind of rhythm against his veterans, once again in unyielding mood.

But the broad grin spreading across his weathered face after the final whistle was enough indication of his unfettered joy at watching his nation claim their fourth Classic trophy of this Millennium.

"It turned out to be a comfortable victory, didn't it?" said McIntosh whose squad featured two Lions players due to injuries. "To be honest I was quite surprised by the ease of it. Considering it was the end of a long hard week I thought we played very well."

The dismantling process started quite literally in the first few minutes with one of South Africa's burly forwards trading a flurry of fists with his opposite number as tempers boiled over.

Unfortunately for the Kiwis, the Springboks' fighting spirit extended from off-the-ball scuffling and it was no surprise when they took the lead towards the end of the first-period through Peit Joubert, with Braam Van Straaten converting.

South Africa's unrelenting pressure continued after the break with Brett Hennessey increasing their advantage with another converted try, and by the time inspirational skipper Johann Kapp burst through for a third, the All Blacks were pretty much dead and buried.

But the shell-shocked Kiwis did offer brief resistance and made the most of their numerical advantage when South Africa's Marc Watson was sin-binned, with Stephen Skinnon bundling over the line.

Allowing New Zeland to get off the mark seemed only to spur South Africa on with renewed vigour, scoring twice through Deon Kayser and Hennessey before Hayden Scown restored some pride for the All Blacks with a late consolation.

"They just played very well," admitted New Zealand coach and former stalwart Andy Haden. "They were better than us and that's all there is to it. The boys are disappointed with the way they played and South Africa looked sharper and more accurate than us."

The Springboks, who reigned supreme at last month's Rugby World Cup, had been tipped to win the Classic by organiser John Kane at the start of the 20th annual showpiece. Among the star-studded spectators was former England captain Steve Smith, ex-Ireland captain Willie John McBride and Hollywood A-listers Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones.

Earlier in the final day of the tournament France scooped the Plate Final beating Canada 19-5, with tries from Christophe Porcu, Jaray Russel and Lions Paul Jones, who helped out France's injury affected line-up. The Classic Lionesses also mauled Canada 55 -0 in the women's international.

Bermuda 0

Argentina 38

Brave Bermuda battled manfully against a "bigger, stronger and more experienced" Argentina but the gulf in class was massive with the Pumas running riot in a landslide victory.

A trio of tries by Martin Murgier helped the South Americans to their first win of this year's World Rugby Classic, while Fernando Alonso, Santiago Meson and Eliseo Branca also got in on the act.

"I thought we played well against what was a bigger, stronger and more experienced team, " said Lawrence Bird, who coaches the Islanders along with Pete Shillingford.

"To play against Argentina is a great experience and gave us the opportunity to test ourselves against some quality opposition. We tried out a few of our younger players and we were pleased with how they did."

Bird added Bermuda would be looking to play some international ranking fixtures against European opposition next year. This weekend they will be competing in the Caribbean Championships in Bahamas. The sevens rugby event features 12 men's teams and will see Bermuda take on USA South, Martinique and St. Vincent & the Grenadines in Pool C.