[Coolhand]

Phuket _ Thailand scored an emphatic victory in their second game of the inaugural 80-80 Rugby World Championships when they overwhelmed Japan 67-8 at the Surakul Stadium on Tuesday night.

It was an excellent performance by the Thai team after suffering a 70-0 loss against the powerful New South Wales side in the opening match.

Against Japan the fast-moving Thai side went on the attack right from the start and outplayed their opponents with their swift moves as they moved into a 36-3 at half time..

Thailand continued to dominate in the second half as they completed their 67-8 triumph. Kitti Wangkanai scored four tries while Nantawat Wongwanichsilp also played very well.

In Tuesday's other match, New South Wales ''Trim-Tahs'' clinched a place in next Sunday's final with an upset 19-15 victory over pre-tournament favourite Auckland who had beaten Japan 86-0 in their opener.

In a game dominated by the forwards, Auckland took an early lead with a try but New South Wales fought back with tries by Andrew Wiles and fly-half Jake Havebond to give the Australian side a 13-10 lead by half-time.

The second half was a very tight affair but a field goal by Havebond and a second penalty by David Kehoe was enough to see New South Wales home by a four-point margin despite heavy Auckland pressure at the end.

Today New South Wales play Japan at 5 pm and Thailand take on Auckland at 7pm.

Next Monday the New South Wales squad will visit Kao Lak to give assistance to the Tsunami Relief Organisation.