Villiers backs Goosen to shine

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South Africa captain Jean de Villiers has backed rookie fly-half Johan Goosen to handle the pressure against New Zealand in Saturday's Rugby Championship finale.

Goosen made his Test debut in last week's victory over Australia but he relinquished the kicking duties after just two strikes at goal due to a bruised heel.
But the 20-year-old came through a fitness test on Wednesday and he will start in Soweto with a heavy responsibility on his shoulders.
South Africa should have beaten the All Blacks in Dunedin three weeks ago but Morne Steyn, Goosen's predecessor at fly-half, had a disastrous day with the boot and saw 22 points go begging.
Coach Heyneke Meyer said: "If we get into a position to win then we have to win. We played so well in Dunedin but in the end it's who wins on the scoreboard that matters.
"Maybe the All Blacks underestimated us in Dunedin. They won't do so again. It will be harder to win this Saturday. We have to take our opportunities.
"The All Blacks are a quality side and to beat them you have to be kicking at 80%."
De Villiers is confident that Goosen can deliver.
"Can he handle the pressure? I can tell you not much bothers the Goose," he said.
"To me it seems the bigger event, the bigger response from him. He just gets on with the job.
"I am very confident in Johan's ability. He kicked in training on Wednesday and it went well for him and there is no reason he can't carry that form into Saturday's game."
The Springboks are unchanged from their 31-8 victory over Australia, although prop Coenie Oosthuizen replaces Pat Cilliers on the bench.
The All Blacks were crowned inaugural winners of the Rugby Championship with a commanding victory in Argentina last week but they are refusing to rest on their laurels.
Number eight Kieran Read said the test of true champions was to win away from home.
"It would really cement our number one status to win away from home against one of the top sides. If we don't win, then a lot of what we've achieved goes out the window," Read said.
"To be number one, you can't just win at home and it's really important to win this weekend, there's no bigger challenge than playing the Springboks at home."

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NFL: Cowboys beat Giants in opener

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Tony Romo threw for 307 yards and three touchdowns on Wednesday night as the Dallas Cowboys opened the season with a 24-17 victory over the New York Giants.

Kevin Ogletree was the recipient on two occasions, with fellow wide receiver Miles Austin on the end of a third as the Cowboys stretched their lead to 24-10 in front of 82,287 fans - a record crowd at MetLife Stadium for a Giants game.
New York reduced the deficit with 2:36 remaining in the fourth quarter when Eli Manning and Martellus Bennett connected, but they could make no further inroads.
The game was a rematch of the Jan 1 game won by the Giants that ultimately gave them the NFC East title. The Cowboys defended solidly as they made three sacks and six pressures to frustrate the Super Bowl champions who lost the season opener for the first time in nine games.
Ogletree also impressed for the Cowboys as he made114 yards on eight catches and had 25 receptions for 294 yards. The New York native confessed his surprise at the confident manner of his side's victory and enjoyed his team's performance at the MetLife Stadium.
"A huge emphasis for us was big plays," said Ogletree.
"I don't want the focus to be on me too much, but I am very, very humbled and appreciative of how we played today [Wednesday].
"I'm close to home, so it's a good feeling. But Dallas is my home now."

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Haskell fit for World Cup warm-up

England flanker James Haskell has been passed fit for selection against Ireland on Saturday.

Haskell was sent for a precautionary scan on his foot, which revealed only mild inflammation to a tendon.
The 26-year-old trained fully with the squad on Tuesday and will be available for England's final Rugby World Cup warm-up international.
England manager Martin Johnson will name his side to face Ireland at Thursday's lunchtime.
With squad captain Lewis Moody still recovering from a knee injury, Haskell will be in the running to start at open-side flanker, the position he played during England's title-winning Six Nations campaign.
England fielded mix-and-match teams for the games against Wales - but Johnson is looking to field his strongest possible side for the trip to Dublin.
Manu Tuilagi made a try-scoring Test debut in England's victory over Wales at Twickenham earlier this month and he is pushing for a second start.
Although normally considered an outside centre, Tuilagi could emerge as an option for England in the 12 jersey. Shontayne Hape is the only recognised inside centre in England's 30-man World Cup squad.
Johnson must decide whether to stick by Toby Flood, who has been first choice fly-half since the end of the 2010 Six Nations, or reinstall Jonny Wilkinson at number 10.
Whichever decision Johnson makes will set the tone for England, a fortnight before their opening World Cup fixture against Argentina.
England have the option of starting with both Flood and Wilkinson - but that would seem unlikely given Johnson has no other specialist fly-half cover.
Loosehead prop Andrew Sheridan is in line to make his first appearance of the warm-up campaign after recovering from summer shoulder surgery.
As well as Moody, England will be without Ben Youngs in Dublin as the Leicester scrum-half continues his comeback from knee surgery.
Joe Simpson, selected as England's third scrum-half behind Youngs and Richard Wigglesworth, is set to make his Test debut at the Aviva Stadium.

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New Zealand retain Bledisloe Cup

New Zealand retained the Bledisloe Cup and made it two wins from two in this season's Tri Nations by defeating Australia 30-14 at Auckland's Eden Park.

The reigning Tri Nations champions clinched victory thanks to tries from Ma'a Nonu, Keven Mealamu, and Sitiveni Sivivatu while fly-half Dan Carter kicked 15 points.
Australia, who trailed 17-0 at half-time, hit back in the second half with converted tries from Digby Ioane and Rocky Elsom, but it was not enough to deny the All Blacks, who followed up their 40-7 victory over South Africa with another home triumph.
Played in perfect conditions, in front of a crowd of 54,500, New Zealand showed a clarity of execution in attack that the Australians were not able to emulate.
The constant support play of the New Zealanders in the first half made them potent in the Australia half while the visitors ran the ball often, but without the conviction achieved by the home team and the sizeable half-time lead proved a bridge too far for the visitors.
Typical of this was a burst by All Blacks centre Conrad Smith to set up a chance for half-back Piri Weepu to race down the touchline and link up with wing Hosea Gear.
The ruck formed and the ball was moved back to the right, where wing Sivivatu made ground to get close to the line.
Flanker Jerome Kaino kept the ball alive and it was centre Nonu who picked up the ball to drive through the legs to score in the seventh minute, with Carter, who had earlier opened the scoring with a penalty, adding the conversion to make it 10-0.
After Australia enjoyed a period of attack midway through the half, New Zealand grabbed their second try in the 26th minute when number eight Kieran Read and Richie McCaw worked the ball toward the line from midfield before hooker Mealamu got low and had the strength to put the ball on the line for the score.
Carter converted both those tries and seven minutes into the second half he landed a drop goal to take the All Blacks out to a 20-0 lead.
That looked to be the end for Australia but the Wallabies reduced the deficit in the 51st minute through Ioane's try.
The ball was robbed from Brad Thorn after a succession of All Blacks drives and Australia scrum-half Will Genia burst down the blindside before passing to flying full-back Kurtley Beale, who in turn fed wing Ioane to score after beating full-back Mils Muliaina's tackle attempt.
Quade Cooper, finally entrusted with the kicking after wing James O'Connor had missed three penalties in the first 42 minutes, added the conversion to give Australia a glimmer of hope.
However, from the restart the Wallabies failed to control the ball and All Blacks centre Smith was in in a flash to hare down the sideline and feed inside to Sivivatu who scored. Carter's conversion took New Zealand out to a 27-7 lead.
Carter added a penalty goal before Wallabies captain Elsom claimed a late consolation try for the visitors, who were unable to follow up their victory over South Africa last month.

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Rugby: All Blacks make changes

New Zealand have made seven changes to their starting line-up for Saturday's Tri-Nations clash against Australia at Eden Park in Auckland.

Despite hammering South Africa 40-7 last week, the All Blacks coaches have given their side a new look for first Bledisloe Cup clash of 2011 with four forwards playing their first Tests of the year.
Owen Franks replaces brother Ben at tighthead prop; Keven Mealamu is back at hooker; Brad Thorn is at lock alongside Ali Williams; and Kieran Read is at number eight.
In the backs, Piri Weepu has been picked at scrum-half, making his first Test start since last year's 23-22 victory in Sydney.
Hosea Gear returns from his recent hamstring injury to start his first Test of the year on the left wing, while Sitiveni Sivivatu is on the right wing.
Head coach Graham Henry said the All Blacks would be expecting a completely different level of intensity on Saturday compared to that posed by the Springboks last weekend.
"There is no doubt that the intensity levels will rise for this Test," he said.
"It's game one in a two-match Bledisloe Cup series involving the teams ranked number one and two in the world. It's a hugely important Test and is going to be a massive challenge, but we are looking forward to that."
All Blacks midfielders Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith will set a new milestone this weekend - they will play their 29th Test together, becoming the most experienced midfield partnership in All Blacks history - while Daniel Carter will play his 82nd Test and joins the 'top five' list of most capped All Blacks ever, behind McCaw (96), Muliaina (96), Sean Fitzpatrick (92) and Mealamu (83).
Injured prop John Afoa (cheekbone) was unavailable for selection while several other All Blacks who have had recent injuries are continuing their return to rugby.
The All Blacks and Wallabies have played each other 140 times, with 95 wins to the All Blacks, 40 to Australia and five draws. The last Test between the two sides was in Hong Kong last October which Australia won 26-24.

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Rugby: Rocky set for rusty return

Australia captain Rocky Elsom is hoping he can go the distance against Samoa on Sunday.

Elsom has managed just one Super Rugby appearance since his side's last Test against France in November.
Elsom was plagued by a hamstring complaint for the first 13 weeks of the provincial season and suffered an ankle injury in his comeback match against the Western Force seven weeks ago.
"I'm pretty happy to be back," he said.
"Obviously I've had a couple of long breaks there and I'm just really enjoying training with the team rather than by myself.
"I've always been progressing well. In my head I think I've prepared pretty well considering the injury."
The 28-year-old reckons he has recovered fully from both ailments and is looking forward to a full 80-minute run-out.
"My hamstring was fine when I went back to play for the Brumbies so I can only imagine that it's stronger since then," he said.
"It's funny. Sometimes you're in the middle of a long season and you feel fresh as a daisy and sometimes you don't - it's just the way it goes but I'm pretty excited about getting back into it."
Coach Robbie Deans was more conservative when asked if Elsom was back to full fitness.
"Well he's fit and available, so you can call it 100% if you like but from a rugby perspective obviously it's not (100%)," Deans said.
"He doesn't have rugby conditioning but it's good that he's able to get started and we'll just respond to what we see in terms of within the game and go from there."
The imposing flanker will lead an under-strength line-up missing nine regular starters at ANZ Stadium.
Deans has opted to rest Reds skipper James Horwill and star playmaker Quade Cooper, while Will Genia, Beau Robinson and Scott Higginbotham will start the match off the bench.
Winger Digby Ioane is the only member of the Super 15 champion Reds side who will start the game.
Reigning John Eales medallist David Pocock will miss with a minor foot injury allowing his Force team-mate Matt Hodgson to make his run-on debut.
Melbourne Rebels half-back Nick Phipps and Waratahs lock Sitaleki Timani will both play their maiden Test match, while veteran full-back Mark Gerrard will make his first international start in four years.
Elsom backed the debutants to handle the step up to the Test arena.
"It is good that guys get their opportunity. There's a lot of excited blokes out there," he said.
"And I remember when I had my first Test. It was against Samoa in similar circumstances and it was a pretty good feeling and I imagine they'll enjoy it."
The skipper insists the Wallabies are not looking past this weekend's opponents ahead of next Saturday's Tri Nations opener against South Africa.
"With the preparation time we have being so limited, you've got to take advantage of every moment you have," he said.
"We're fortunate to have a game this weekend and we've got to get the most out of it otherwise we'll be letting ourselves down."
Prop Benn Robinson will miss the Wallabies' Tri Nations and World Cup campaigns after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during training on Tuesday.

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John Smit heads to Saracens

South Africa captain John Smit is to join Aviva Premiership champions Saracens after retiring from international rugby following the World Cup.

Smit has spent the last five seasons with Sharks but, as expected, he has now agreed a move to England.
He confirmed his new destination via Twitter, writing: "It's official, I proudly announce today [Wednesday] that I'll be joining Saracens once this season is over for two seasons and look forward to a new chapter."
Smit, 33, also spoke about his decision to end an eleven-year Springbok career after next year's tournament in an interview with the Daily Telegraph.
He said: "I am hoping to make it to the World Cup and have a pretty good shout there and that will be me," said Smit.
"I have had eleven years with the Boks so I think I have had my fair share and that will allow me to concentrate fully with Saracens, when I link up with them two weeks after my last game [for South Africa], which will hopefully be early part of November.
"My intention is to go to Saracens and make a big impact. My body is strong and that is why I have signed for another two seasons.
"I have been lucky that my body has held up pretty well and I do feel I can make a difference and fulfil my role within a team.
"My job is to fit in as fast as possible, earn the respect of the players and immerse myself in the culture."
Hooker Smit is likely to fall behind compatriot Schalk Brits in the Sarries pecking order, despite the latter missing out on selection for South Africa recently.
Smit is aware of the competition he faces at his new club and sympathises with Brit's World Cup disappointment.
"Schalk Brits is one of their best players and my role there will be probably to relieve the pressure on him a bit and hopefully bring through some of the younger players," Smit said.
"It is probably a little frustrating for him [to be overlooked by the Springboks] but his cause probably hasn't been helped by the fact that we had to pick overseas players like Ruan Pienaar and Francois Steyn as most teams don't like to pick too many players abroad."

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Horwill good to go

Reds captain James Horwill has urged Australia coach Robbie Deans not to rest him for Sunday's one-off Test match against Samoa at ANZ Stadium.

Deans last month revealed he would consider sitting out several Reds stars in this weekend's season opener if Queensland made it all the way to the Super 15 decider.
But Horwill, who missed the entire 2010 international season with a knee injury suffered against the Crusaders last February, is desperate to resume his 24-Test career against Samoa.
"I'd love to play. I'm good to go," Horwill said from the Wallabies' camp this morning.
"After last year missing out - I haven't played a Test match for nearly 18 months - so I'd relish any opportunity to get back out there.
"I'm fit and putting my hand up and saying 'I'm good to go'.
"Obviously selection will determine that - but I want to play."
Horwill, who will resume his second-row partnership with Nathan Sharpe if selected this weekend, is one of five Reds players who would be guaranteed a spot in a full-strength Australia starting XV.
Will Genia, Quade Cooper, Digby Ioane and injured tighthead prop James Slipper are the other first stringers.
While admitting it has been a hectic 48 hours since Saturday's 18-13 victory over the Crusaders, Horwill says his Reds comrades are all eager to turn out for their country.
"Most of the guys I've spoken to are pretty keen to play," he said. "Obviously Robbie and the coaching staff have a plan of what they're thinking about so we'll have a discussion about that over the next little bit.
"But all the blokes I've spoken to are keen to play if selected."
The 26-year-old believes the inclusion of 15 Reds players in the 40-man Wallabies squad is a fitting reward for his team-mates.
But, while he reckons the Reds' win has given Australian rugby a healthy dose of self-belief, he stressed the importance of looking forward with the World Cup opener less than two months away.
"It's good reward for a number of guys that have had great and very consistent seasons Super Rugby-wise and now it's (time) to put the Super Rugby season behind us," he said.
"While we do have 15 Reds players here we're a squad of 40... so it's about building momentum as this group now.
"Hopefully we can take little things that we've done with the Reds forward, but this group's got an opportunity on Sunday to start the season off on the right foot and then take that momentum into the game against South Africa next weekend and then onwards from there.

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Rugby: Thomas quits as RFA chairman

Martyn Thomas has stepped down as chairman of the Rugby Football Union.

The move followed a four-hour meeting of the RFU Council, which broke up at Twickenham around midday after discussing a review panel's 52-page verdict on the organisation's hiring and firing of its former chief executive John Steele.
Thomas, though, will continue as acting chief executive at Twickenham, chairman of Rugby World Cup 2015 - which will be staged in England - and as an RFU representative on the International Rugby Board.
The 58-man council have decided that Oxfordshire RFU council member Paul Murphy will serve as interim chairman, pending a Special General Meeting when Thomas' permanent replacement will be decided.
Thomas said: "This was a difficult day for the Union but at the end of the day this does now mean we can finally move on. I would like to thank Council for their support both in terms of me continuing as acting CEO and in my other roles.
"The most important thing was that we maintained stability for staff and our other partners and in the coming weeks I will be ensuring that we navigate to calmer waters and that we can get on with our core purpose of rugby.
"With RWC2011 upon us we have something to look forward to and I will ensure Martin (Johnson) and his team have all the support they need to be successful in New Zealand."
Murphy, who will hold his role until a Special General Meeting can be arranged to appoint a new chairman, praised Blackett's panel for the manner in which they had handled their review.
He said "We were concerned that the reputation of the RFU had been damaged by the recent events which were played out so vividly in the media.
"We wanted to ensure that we put in place an independent panel capable of undertaking a comprehensive and expert review of what took place so we could learn lessons for the future and take the first step forward towards rebuilding that reputation.
"I would commend the members of the panel because that is exactly what we received. Their report was based on detailed evidence, was thorough and gave clear recommendations.
"In the end after lengthy discussion we have taken what we believe are the right decisions for the future of the game and the Union itself.
"These were difficult decisions and there was a lot at stake for us all but in the end we felt that we had to ensure our members, players, supporters and all other stakeholders could see we had taken firm action to address the issues and move forward."
It now means that less than nine weeks before the 2011 World Cup kicks off in New Zealand, the RFU has no permanent chairman, no permanent chief executive and are still searching for their first performance director.
The performance director job, a role created by Steele's review of the organisation earlier this year, had been thought to be tailor-made for England's 2003 World Cup-winning mastermind Sir Clive Woodward.
But during the course of a bungled RFU process, Woodward reaffirmed commitment to his current employers, the British Olympic Association.
Judge Jeff Blackett - the RFU's disciplinary officer - headed a five-man panel's detailed investigation surrounding the arrival and departure of Steele at Twickenham. Blackett's 52-page report is expected to be made public later.
The review panel also comprised RFU council members Geraint Ashton Jones and Malcolm Wharton, plus Andy Reed, chairman-elect of the Sport and Recreation Alliance, and Vic Luck, formerly general manager of IBM UK.
They were due to probe everything from Steele's recruitment to the board's loss of confidence in his leadership and the process leading to the termination of his contract.
The botched recruitment process for the performance director position, which played such a key part in Steele's downfall, was also due for scrutiny, in addition to the board's governance.
It is thought the panel interviewed more than 65 key figures and took on board the conclusions of an earlier review of the performance director recruitment process, conducted by RFU chairman of governance Peter Baines.
The management board ousted Steele from his post at an emergency meeting last month after deciding his position had become untenable.
According to Thomas at the time, Steele had lost the confidence of the board and key stakeholders in the game.
Thomas was elected chairman of the RFU board of directors in April 2005. He had been elected to the RFU council four years earlier, representing Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Derbyshire.
In 2007 he became one of two RFU representatives on the IRB and Six Nations Committee.

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Tri-Nations: De Villers picks weakened SA

South Africa coach Peter de Villiers has named a severely weakened 27-man squad for the away leg of their Tri Nations campaign due to injuries suffered by a host of key players.

The Springboks had earlier this week released a list of 21 players unavailable for selection for the games against Australia and New Zealand on July 23 and July 30, and Australian Rugby Union chief executive John O'Neill has already called for there to be an investigation into the announcement, fearing that South Africa are saving their best players for their World Cup defence later this year.
Among those absent are locks Victor Matfield (calf and neck) and Bakkies Botha (knee), back-rowers Schalk Burger (thumb) and Juan Smith (Achilles), wing Bryan Habana (shoulder), scrum-half Fourie du Preez (knee) and centre Jaque Fourie (groin).
Captain John Smit is selected, as are fly-half Morne Steyn and flanker Heinrich Brussow, although the trio are the only genuine first-choice players in the party.

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Rugby: Japan's Hiwasa clinches award

The HSBC Asian 5 Nations Emerging Player of the Year award Japan was awarded to scrumhalf Atsushi Hiwasa.

The award continues a stellar season for Hiwasa after being named the Rookie of the Year in the Japanese professional league for the 2010/11 season where he plays for Suntory Sungoliath, the current All-Japan champions. Hiwasa earned his first two caps for Japan in this year's HSBC Asian 5 Nations (HSBC A5N) campaign, sharing time with fellow scrumhalf Fumiaki Tanaka.
The award is designed to recognise new or emerging players in Asian rugby, with a focus on the elite HSBC Asian 5 Nations Top Five competition.
Commenting on the award, Peter Wong Tung-shun, Chief Executive, HSBC Asia-Pacific, said: "We congratulate Atsushi Hiwasa of Japan for winning the HSBC Asian 5 Nations Emerging Player of the Year award, following his excellent performances in the 2011 tournament. Recognising potential is a key focus of our business and, through the award, we are delighted to identify and celebrate players that will inspire the next generation of rugby players. We believe in the grass-roots development of the great game of rugby and look to support its growth around the world."
After being informed of receiving the award, Hiwasa said, "It is a great honour for me to receive the HSBC Asian 5 Nations Emerging Player of the Year award. I would like to take this occasion to thank HSBC for their support of Asian rugby and of course to thank my team-mates and coaches and everyone else who has supported me in my rugby development.
"I have a strong determination to maintain my good performances, and in doing so I hope to contribute to the development of Japanese rugby and Asian rugby as a whole. As the winner of this award and a representative of the Asian rugby family, I will continue to do my best to be selected to the Japan squad for Rugby World Cup 2011," he added.
Japan coach and HSBC Ambassador John Kirwan was pleased at the recognition for his talented scrumhalf, saying, "Hiwasa is one of the most outstanding and promising young players in the national team squad. In the recent HSBC A5N tour and domestic training camps, he has dramatically improved his performance level. I look forward to his continued hard work and higher performance to be selected for the Rugby World Cup squad."
The 24-year old Hiwasa was born in Kobe, Japan and played his university rugby at Hosei University. Hiwasa took up the game at the age of five and was the captain of his high school rugby club and vice-captain of the Hosei University team.
Rich Freeman, Rugby Correspondent for the Japanese newspaper Daily Yomiuri and a member of the voting panel, said, "A year ago, few expected Hiwasa to get much playing time at Suntory Sungoliath given the presence of George Gregan and other veteran scrumhalves. But his coach Eddie Jones believed in him and said from the start of the season he had a No. 9 who could go far. Hiwasa not only kept Gregan out of the starting line-up but played a major role in Suntory reaching the Top League final and winning the All-Japan Championship.
"His form caught the eye of the national selectors who said he was too good to be omitted. And with Japan wanting to play a high-pace game, Hiwasa's style of play is ideally suited to the Brave Blossoms, as he showed in the HSBC Asian Five Nations," Freeman added.
Sponsored by HSBC, the winner was selected by a panel of adjudicators comprised of HSBC ARFU coach Frank Hadden, ARFU Honorary Secretary General Ross Mitchell, HSBC Asian Five Nations commentator Mike Rehu, IRB Regional General Manager for Asia Jarrad Gallagher as well as select rugby media from around Asia.

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Robinson calls time on career

World Cup winner and former British Lion Jason Robinson has officially announced his retirement from the game.

Robinson played his last game in the Premiership for Sale Sharks four years ago but spent last season with National Two (North) side Fylde.
Now 36, the former rugby league star switched to the 15-man code in 2000 and played for England at two World Cups, featuring in all seven of their matches in 2003 and scoring a try in the final victory over Australia.
On the domestic front he helped the Sharks win the Premiership title for the first time in their history in 2005/06, completing a memorable double having also won the Super League with Wigan Warriors.
Robinson said: "I need a knee operation and I have been thinking about retiring once and for all over the past couple of months.
"I am very busy now with my role as an Ambassador for Proskins and after 541 games of competitive rugby, I think the time is right for me to stop."
Former Sharks team-mate Steve Hanley paid a glowing tribute, saying: "Jason is the best player to have ever played rugby."
Having confirmed his retirement, Robinson will now be part of an elite team of military personnel running and cycling the distance between Camp Bastion in Afghanistan and Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham in aid of its official charity, which is sponsored by Proskins.
The team will complete the 3,580-mile challenge in the hospital, which is where the UK's military patients are treated, using five static treadmills and five exercise bikes.
The Bastion2Birmingham Charity Endurance event will begin on Saturday July 23 and the aim is to finish in under 48 hours.
Robinson said: "I am fully committed to the event and am spending time preparing so that I can help the charity raise as much money as possible."

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Queensland clinch series

Queensland secured an unprecedented sixth straight State of Origin series triumph thanks to a 34-24 victory in Brisbane.

Their win provided a fitting farewell for Darren Lockyer, the 34-year-old stand-off was hugely influential on his 36th and final Origin appearance at the Suncorp Stadium, where centre Greg Inglis was back to his best with two of the Maroons' six tries.
New South Wales had gone into Wednesday's decider on a high after drawing level in the series with an impressive win in Sydney but they were blown away in the first half, where the home side cruised into a 24-0 lead after 32 minutes.
The Blues rallied briefly but Queensland were generally dominant and not even the loss of scrum-half Johnathan Thurston with a potential season-ending knee injury could take the gloss off their win.
"It's fantastic," Lockyer told the crowd at the end. "I've never been so nervous. It's such a great feeling.
"It is a relief. These guys have been fantastic and it's a great way to finish. It has been a great journey."
Blues coach Ricky Stuart was forced into making late changes, with Jarryd Hayne moving to centre for the injured Michael Jennings and forward Keith Galloway coming in for his debut in the absence of Beau Scott and it took them almost half the game to find their feet.
Lockyer's men were almost perfect as they forced five goal-line drop-outs in the first 23 minutes, although they were indebted to full-back Billy Slater for a try-saving tackle on Morris during a rare break out of defence
The deadlock was broken after 15 minutes when Inglis won the race to Thurston's perfectly-placed kick to the corner to claim his 11th try in 15 Origin appearances.
Thurston curled over the touchline conversion for the first of four successful goal kicks and Queensland doubled their lead after 24 minutes when the impressive Sam Thaiday ran at pace onto Slater's pass to crash over.
It got even better for the Maroons on the half-hour when Lockyer's 40-metre break set up the position for hooker Cameron Smith to burrow his way over from acting half-back and Thurston's third goal made it 18-0.
Two minutes later New South Wales full-back Anthony Minichiello failed to deal with Locker's grubber kick and winger Jharal Yow Yeh hacked the ball on to touch down.
Thurston's fourth goal made it 24-0 but the visitors grabbed themselves a lifeline with two tries in the last three minutes of the first half.
Minichiello made amends for his blunder after the Queensland defence failed to clear a speculative kick from Jamie Soward, who added the conversion before combining with centre Mark Gasnier to carve out a try for winger Akuila Uate.
Queensland suffered a body blow after 56 minutes when Thurston badly damaged his left knee in a collision with team-mate Ashley Harrison but they shrugged off the disappointment when Lockyer combined with Thaiday to get Slater over for his 12th Origin try.
Inglis then powered his way over for his second and Smith kicked the conversion to make it 34-10 before New South Wales restored some pride with a late flourish.
Hayne went over for what turned out to be an eight-point try after Smith was judged to have fouled him in the act of scoring and Greg Bird completed the scoring with his side's fourth try two minutes from the end.

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Easter relishing tough group

Nick Easter is satisfied England's pool at the World Cup will leave the team sufficiently battle hardened for the knockout stages.

The Six Nations champions open the tournament against Argentina on September 10 and also face Georgia, Romania and Scotland.
In 2007, Australia and New Zealand paid the price for their romp through the group stages by falling apart during pressure-cooker quarter-finals, with the Wallabies losing to England.
"Absolutely you want a challenging pool. You don't want it too tough obviously because you could end up giving everything just to get out of it," said Easter.
"You definitely want some tough games or matches where not everything goes according to plan so you have to work out different situations.
"In quarter and semi-finals things don't go according to plan and the opposition is as desperate as you to win it.
"If you haven't had that match practice or played under that pressure or intensity in previous matches, you can get caught on the hop.
"That's certainly what happened to New Zealand the last time around."
Easter believes the southern hemisphere giants could encounter completely the opposite type of problem heading into the knockout stages thanks to the staging of the Tri-Nations.
New Zealand, Australia and South Africa will play each other in the annual tournament beginning on July 23.
Even in its reduced format, adjusted to account for the World Cup, they will stay play four matches that Easter claims could leave them "over-cooked".
"This time the northern hemisphere teams might have a little bit of an advantage over the southern hemisphere teams in terms of the scheduling because we've had a break," he added to Press Association Sport.
"We don't have any rugby match now until the first warm-up game in August, so we have a good window to train hard and get prepared properly.
"But in the southern hemisphere their Super 15 season is longer than usual and has gone on an extra month. Then they have the Tri-Nations.
"They might be a little over-cooked, while for us it's just like heading into a normal season.
"At our clubs we'd be doing pre-season at this time and start playing in September."

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Hooper named as Bath skipper

Bath have confirmed that lock Stuart Hooper will captain the club during the forthcoming season.

The 29-year-old moved to The Rec from Leeds three years ago and has made a huge impression with his effective line-out work and mobility around the field.
He takes over the role from Luke Watson, with the former South Africa back-rower having decided to return to his homeland.
Hooper said: "It was a huge honour to be asked to be captain, and I didn't hesitate in accepting.
"I am very excited for the coming season, and with the squad we have here everything is pointing towards a successful future for Bath Rugby.
"We know that there is a lot of hard work to be done first though, and I am looking forward to getting on with training hard, fighting for my place in a very competitive squad, and leading the boys into the new season."
Director of rugby Sir Ian McGeechan added: "Hoops is a natural leader, both on and off the field.
"He has very strong leadership qualities, which have been and will continue to be a huge asset to the club.
"He is a very strong communicator, a hugely dedicated professional and, most importantly, has the total respect of all the players."

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Super League XVI Saturday Review

Former Bradford favourite Steve Menzies, the oldest player in Super League, returned to Odsal to destroy his former club.

The Dragons were clinging to a 12-10 lead when Ferriol was sent off on 46 minutes for a high tackle on James Donaldson and they looked certain to pay the price when Bulls prop Tom Burgess scored his first Super League try to put the home side into an 18-12 lead.
However, the Catalans played their best rugby while down to 12 men, scoring four tries in the last 25 minutes to secure a crucial win that kept alive their top-four hopes and dealt a severe blow to Bradford's play-off aspirations.
Gareth Raynor, Tom Burgess, Ben Jeffries and Olivier Elima all claimed tries for the home side, with Patrick Ah Van kicking six goals.
But it was not enough as the Dragons cross the whitewash thanks to Sebastien Raguin, Ian Henderson, Clint Greenshields (2), Damien Blanch (2) and Scott Dureau, who also landed three goals.
Matt King claimed a clinical hat-trick as leaders Warrington underlined their Super League title credentials with another thumping 48-18 win over Castleford on Friday night.
The Wolves destroyed Terry Matterson's side 62-0 on home soil two months ago and again had far too much quality, despite missing skipper Adrian Morley and playmaker Lee Briers.
Tony Smith's men led 24-0 at the break after tries from Brett Hodgson, Richie Myler, Matty Blythe and King.
King added two more scores to complete his treble and with Joel Monaghan, Hodgson and Ryan Atkins adding further scores, Castleford's spirited second-half rally ultimately meant little.
The Tigers crossed through Ryan Hudson, Brett Ferres, Rangi Chase and Greg Eden but the damage had long since been done.
Wigan remain on the heels of Warrington thanks to a third successive win 26-24 but they were pushed all the way by a Leeds side that defied their recent poor form with a battling display.
The Rhinos led 18-12 at half-time and thought they had snatched a famous victory four minutes from the end when Danny McGuire touched down only for video referee Steve Ganson to disallow the try for a knock-on.
The champions fell below the high standards they set in their big wins over St Helens and Huddersfield but credit must go to Leeds, who inspired by skipper Kevin Sinfield and veteran full-back Brent Webb, were the best team for long periods of the match.
The defeat leaves Leeds in sixth place and still looking for a first win of the season over the teams above them but coach Brian McDermott will be delighted with their fighting spirit.
Francis Meli grabbed a brace of tries as St Helens claimed their first win in four matches with a 28-14 defeat of Hull to consolidate their top-four spot.
Chris Flannery, Jonny Lomax and Tommy Makinson also crossed over for Saints while Jordan Turner and Tom Briscoe (2) got on the scoresheet for the visitors.
Ashley Gibson's double saw Salford come from behind to claim a hard-fought 26-18 win over Harlequins.
Teenager Dan Sarginson scored in each half on his debut for struggling Quins and they scented just a second win in 15 when they led 18-14 with seven minutes left.
But Mark Henry and Gibson crossed in the closing stages to give Salford their fourth win in five and keep alive their hopes of snatching a play-off spot.

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Reds seal spot in Super 15 final

The Reds qualified for their first Super Rugby final since 1995 with an entertaining win over the Blues in their semi-final clash at Suncorp Stadium.

Rod Davies became the first player in the franchise's history to score a hat-trick in Super Rugby, dazzling the crowd of 44,490 with an intercept try in the first half before sealing the result with two in quick succession in the second.
The win guarantees the Reds hosting rights for the grand final next Saturday against the winner of the Crusaders-Stormers match.
Quade Cooper arguably kept the scoreline closer than it should have been with a wayward three from seven with the boot but his playmaking at five-eighth was consistently sensational and he looked a serious danger every time he touched the ball.
The match had been advertised as a clash between the competition's two most expansive sides and both teams gave their utmost to fulfil the billing.
The Reds proved the better side on the night as they executed with far greater consistency and Cooper led his men to a clear victory in the high-powered backline battle.
Queensland looked the better outfit for the majority but the visitors had their moments and at one point looked to have seized the impetus after scoring a try right on half-time and closing to within three points with a penalty immediately after the break.
Rugged Reds flanker Beau Robinson made a brilliant return from a long-term elbow injury having a massive influence with typical strength and hunger at the breakdown.
Backs Digby Ioane and Anthony Faingaa were also strong in their first games back from injury.
Both sides had chances in the opening exchanges, but it was Davies who registered first points, springing from his own to intercept a Lachie Munro pass and flying the length of the field.
Jake Schatz was given an earlier than expected start for the Reds, as veteran number eight Radike Samo was forced from the field with a neck injury midway through the first half.
Blues and Reds went blow for blow at an incredible pace before magic man Cooper sparked Queensland's second on the half-hour mark.
Collecting the ball in his own half, Cooper looked trapped against the sideline, but he fended off Munro with contempt, bamboozled Stephen Kenny and ran 30 metres before sending Ben Tapuai in to score with a brilliant offload.
Leading by 15 after Cooper's first successful penalty, the Reds saw a mountain of good work undone when Blues second-rower Chris Lowrey registered his side's first points with a soft try after the half-time hooter.
The visitors started the second with all the momentum, and they quickly reduced the margin to five when Luke McAlister struck true with a penalty taken right on halfway.
The Reds were desperate for some ball and when they had a lineout in attacking territory it was Davies and Cooper linking up for more points.
Cooper's long cut-out landed straight on Davies' chest, and the winger sped through a broken Blues line to score.
A reckless short kick from Jared Payne fell to Digby Ioane and put the Reds back into attacking territory, and after great build-up from the forwards, they shuffled the ball wide for Davies to dive over for his third.
Surprising almost all in attendance, Cooper slotted the sideline conversion attempt, taking the score to 27-13.
Trailing by two converted tries, the Blues were full of desperation and looked certain to take the game to the wire, but after creating an overlap in the left-hand corner with 10 minutes to play, full-back Payne spilled the final pass, essentially killing off any chance of a fightback.
Cooper put the final nail in the coffin with a field goal five minutes from full time.

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Springboks call up McLeod

South Africa have called Sharks scrum-half Charl McLeod into their preliminary World Cup squad following Ricky Januarie's decision to retire from Test rugby.

Januarie, 29, was initially named in the 49-man party but the 47-cap half-back decided to end his international career and focus on his impending move to French Top 14 newcomers Lyon.
That has seen 27-year-old McLeod called up with the squad set to begin preparations for the upcoming international campaign at an assessment camp in Cape Town from July 5-8.
A South African Rugby Union statement read: "Charl McLeod has been called in to the training squad in place of Ricky Januarie, who has retired from international rugby."
The Stormers players in the party will not attend if their side reach the Super Rugby final.
Coach Peter de Villiers will name his squad for the first game of the Tri Nations on July 9.

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Super 15: Brits named for Stormers

On-loan hooker Schalk Brits will launch a bid for a second title this season after being named on the Stormers' bench for their Super 15 semi-final against the Crusaders.

Brits, who won man-of-the-match honours as Saracens beat Leicester 22-18 in the Aviva Premiership final last month, has returned to his former club on loan, two years after making the move to England.
He will provide much needed cover at loose forward as the Stormers take on the seven-time title-winning Crusaders.
Stormers coach Allister Coetzee believes the 30-year-old can make a big difference.
"Brits is the kind of player that can make a great impact from the bench,'' he said. "Schalk has been part of this set-up before. It's like riding a bicycle, he has settled in well.''

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SRU present united front

Scottish Rugby Union chiefs have stressed the organisation is united and after a fraught period which culminated in the resignation of chief executive Gordon McKie.

At the SRU AGM at Murrayfield, bosses insisted Scottish rugby was in good health after McKie's departure on June 14.
Senior non-executive director and former international Jock Millican replaced McKie on an interim basis and said the recruitment process for a permanent chief executive has begun.
Millican, who described the last two weeks as "a steep learning curve", praised McKie for enabling a smooth transition into the role and insisted the recent departure was merely a blip.
Millican said: "We've changed the person at the top, that's all. Everyone else that's in place is still there.
"It is not a great problem. Yes, there's been a stutter but we'll be moving again very quickly.
"It is a challenging time. There are issues we've got to address and they will be addressed and taken forward, but Scottish rugby is in very good health."
Earlier this month the SRU denied reports of a power struggle within the organisation.
A board meeting was held on June 9 amid claims that McKie had been under pressure from members over the direction of Scottish rugby, particularly over the decision to freeze the playing budgets of Magners League sides Glasgow and Edinburgh.
However, the SRU had insisted there was unity among the 11 board members.
Outgoing chairman Alan Munro, who is to be succeeded by Sir Moir Lockhead, said: "The past month or so has been most regrettable.
"Despite this and despite some media comments, I would like to thank Gordon McKie, (finance director) Eamon Hegarty and the entire staff here at Murrayfield for their outstanding contribution to Scottish Rugby.
"The organisation today is transformed from the shambles that I walked into six years ago and I believe their effort should be recognised."
Munro was making reference to McKie's input during his six-year tenure, particularly when discussing financial improvements.
For the last financial year, the Scottish Rugby Union increased turnover to £35.1million and yielded £1.3million surplus.
Scotland had three home autumn internationals - the win over South Africa taking them to a high of sixth in the International Rugby Board world rankings - and three home matches in a disappointing RBS 6 Nations campaign, contributing to the financial results.
The SRU pledged to increase the funds injected into grassroots rugby from £1.7million last year to more than £1.9million next season, while announcing their intention to field a full-time sevens team in the IRB World Series.
Ian McLauchlan was re-elected unopposed as president, while Alan Lawson was elected as vice-president.
Successful motions included the restructuring of the domestic league and cup competitions and the establishment of a Scottish rugby museum at Murrayfield.

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