Argentina see off South Africa to end losing streak

Argentina ended an eleven-match losing streak in the Rugby Championship when they claimed a deserved 32-19 win over South Africa in Mendoza on Saturday.

The home side were full value for their win as they dominated for large periods and eventually outscored the Springboks by four tries to three with Nicolas Sanchez leading the way with a 17-point haul courtesy of a try, three conversions, a penalty and a drop goal.

Apart from a brief period during the first half, when they held the upper-hand, the Springboks found the going tough and they seemed shell-shocked by the intensity with which los Pumas approached this match.

The hosts' forwards deserve plenty of credit for matching the Boks' physicality and this allowed their backs to play with freedom and Sanchez to dictate proceedings.

South Africa made the brighter start but despite doing most of the early attacking, it was Argentina who opened the scoring courtesy of a Sanchez penalty in the fifth minute, after Frans Malherbe was blown up for not releasing the ball on the ground.

The Boks had an opportunity to draw level in the 12th minute, after Pablo Matera strayed offside on defence on the edge of his 22, but Handré Pollard pushed an easy shot at goal wide of the uprights.

Shortly afterwards, the visitors took the lead courtesy of a well-taken try from their captain, Siya Kolisi.  This, after he slipped out of a tackle from Sanchez close to Argentina's 10-metre line and although he still had plenty of work to do, he did well to sell the cover defence a dummy before diving over.

Pollard added the extras but Argentina put that setback behind them and soon took the game by the scruff of the neck as they would score three tries during a 10 minute blitz.

First, Bautista Delguy rounded off in the right-hand corner in the 20th minute after Emiliano Boffelli tore the Bok defence to shreds with a superb line break just inside the visitors' half.  Boffelli then drew in a defender before offloading to Bautista Ezcurra, who got a pass out to Delguy and he went over the whitewash despite a desperate cover tackle from Willie le Roux.

Three minutes later, the Pumas forwards did well to get the better of their counterparts at a scrum close to the halfway line before Javier Ortega Desio gathered and made a telling break before the ball was shifted to Delguy, who beat Le Roux with ease before crossing for his second try.

The home side had their tails up and things went from bad to worse for the Springboks in the 26th minute when Eben Etzebeth was yellow carded for slowing the ball down cynically close to his try-line.

And two minutes later, Argentina went further ahead when Sanchez rounded Malcolm Marx down the left-hand touchline before diving over for his side's third try.  He made no mistake with the conversion attempt which gave his side a 24-7 lead.

Argentina were now brimming with confidence and in the 36th minute, Sanchez hammered home their advantage when he landed a drop goal from 35 metres out which meant los Pumas held a commanding 27-7 lead at half-time.

They continued to dominate after the restart and six minutes into the second half Matias Moroni did well to get a pass out to Ramiro Moyano, who had an easy run-in for his side's fourth try.

Sanchez failed to convert with his side holding a 32-7 lead, which meant the visitors had a mountain to climb if they wanted to wanted to win this Test.  And although the Boks showed more urgency on attack, they committed far too many unforced errors which cost them dearly in the end.

Two minutes after Moyano's try, Warren Whiteley, Aphiwe Dyantyi and Le Roux combined brilliantly to create space for Lionel Mapoe, who went over for his first Test try.

That try seemed to reinvigorate the Boks and they held a slight advantage for the next 15 minutes.  On the hour-mark, they thought they had narrowed the gap when Dyantyi crossed the whitewash, but his effort was disallowed when the final pass from Lukhanyo Am went forward.

South Africa continued to chase the game and were rewarded in the 65th minute when Mapoe crossed for his second try after good work from his forwards in the build-up.

The rest of the match was a topsy-turvy affair with both sides running the ball from all areas of the field and although the Boks spent large periods camped inside los Pumas' half, the home side finished stronger and held on for the win.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Tries:  Delguy 2, Sanchez, Moyano
Cons:  Sanchez 3
Pen:  Sanchez
Drop goal:  Sanchez

For South Africa:
Tries:  Kolisi, Mapoe 2
Cons:  Pollard 2
Yellow Card:  Etzebeth

Argentina:  15 Emiliano Boffelli, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Bautista Ezcurra, 11 Ramiro Moyano, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Javier Ortega Desio, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Agustin Creevy (c), 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro
Replacements:  16 Facundo Bosch, 17 Santiago Garcia Botta, 18 Santiago Medrano, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Tomas Lezana, 21 Tomas Cubelli, 22 Jeronimo de la Fuente, 23 Juan Cruz Mallia

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Makazole Mapimpi, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 André Esterhuizen, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Siya Kolisi (c), 6 Francois Louw, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements:  16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Lionel Mapoe, 23 Damian Willemse

Referee:  Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant referees:  Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand), Andrew Brace (Ireland)
TMO:  Simon McDowell (Ireland)

Beauden Barrett brilliance downs the Wallabies

Beauden Barrett scored a remarkable four tries as New Zealand secured another Bledisloe Cup following a 40-12 triumph over Australia at Eden Park.

Akin to last week, it was a mistake-ridden first-half but two pieces of quality saw the All Blacks go into the break 14-7 ahead thanks to a brace of Barrett tries.

Will Genia had levelled matters for the Wallabies but they fell away in the early stages of the final 40 minutes when Joe Moody and Liam Squire touched down in quick succession.

Although Reece Hodge crossed the whitewash to reduce the arrears to 16 points, successive Barrett efforts eased the hosts clear as they claimed a second victory over their trans-Tasman rivals in 2018.

After this loss, further questions will be asked of Wallaby boss Michael Cheika in a defeat which resembled the previous match between the two.

New Zealand started slowly in their opening Rugby Championship encounter and were similarly slack at Eden Park, but their quality eventually told.  Mistakes were prevalent in the first 10 minutes and Australia had a couple of chances to put the hosts under duress but, without their primary attacking threat Israel Folau, Steve Hansen’s charges were relatively comfortable.

The All Blacks were struggling to find their fluency but one moment of brilliance appeared to change all that.  Shorn of Folau, who was the visitors’ biggest aerial threat, the Wallabies were exposed as Ben Smith brilliantly collected Aaron Smith’s box kick.  Play was shifted wide and Jordie Barrett broke through before his brother, Beauden, took a superb line off Aaron Smith’s pass to touch down under the posts.

It was a classic example of what the world champions can do on the front foot but, to Australia’s credit, they continued to pressurise the home side’s attack.  As a result, Cheika’s men were gaining plenty of possession through their opponents’ errors and they eventually benefited.

Kurtley Beale was the instigator, kicking through to Marika Koroibete, and the two combined to send them to within inches of the line.  Although the initial attack was halted, Genia spotted a small gap following a five-metre scrum to scamper over from close range.

Cheika’s charges were back in the contest but, unperturbed, New Zealand created another outstanding score.  This time it came from turnover ball and once again their wing played a crucial part after Smith went on a mazy run down the right.  He found Jack Goodhue and, despite seeing the centre hauled down just short, fly-half Barrett was on hand to cross the whitewash for a 14-7 lead at the interval.

That try proved to be a hammer blow for Australia with New Zealand raising the intensity in the second period and increasing their buffer minutes into the half.  When Jordie Barrett was needlessly taken off the ball, play was taken inside the opposition 22 and Moody barrelled his way over.

Following what was effectively the game-clinching try, the All Blacks put the result beyond doubt minutes later when Brodie Retallick showed his range of skills by deftly sending Squire through a hole to score.

Hodge responded almost immediately for the visitors but Barrett’s scything break resulted in the fly-half touching down for his hat-trick.

The pivot wasn’t done there and, after Damian McKenzie had broken through, good hands on the outside gave the two-time World Player of the Year a fourth for a 30-point haul.

The scorers:

For New Zealand:
Tries:  B Barrett 4, Moody, Squire
Cons:  B Barrett 5

For Australia:
Tries:  Genia, Hodge
Con:  Foley

New Zealand:  15 Jordie Barrett, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Jack Goodhue, 12 Ngani Laumape, 11 Waisake Naholo, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Sam Cane, 6 Liam Squire, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements:  16 Nathan Harris, 17 Karl Tu’inukuafe, 18 Ofa Tuungafasi, 19 Scott Barrett, 20 Ardie Savea, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Damian McKenzie, 23 Anton Lienert-Brown

Australia:  15 Dane Haylett-Petty, 14 Jack Maddocks, 13 Reece Hodge, 12 Kurtley Beale, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Will Genia, 8 David Pocock, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Lukhan Tui, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Izack Rodda, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Scott Sio
Replacements:  16 Folau Faingaa, 17 Tom Robertson, 18 Sekope Kepu, 19 Rob Simmons, 20 Pete Samu, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Matt Toomua, 23 Tom Banks

Referee:  Wayne Barnes (England)
Assistant referees:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Luke Pearce (England)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Springboks’ second-half blitz downs Argentina

The Springboks opened their Rugby Championship account with a 34-21 come-from-behind victory over Argentina at Kings Park in Durban on Saturday.

The Boks have not lost consecutive matches on home soil since a three-match losing run between 2015 and 2016.  And after that 25-10 defeat to England in the final Test of the June internationals, they looked as if they just might repeat the feat when trailing 14-10 at the interval after a scrappy first-half performance.

However, Rassie Erasmus' men clicked into gear in the second-half, scoring 17 unanswered points to complete a thrilling comeback and continue their impressive record under their charismatic new mentor.  The former Munster boss will be delighted with his wing duo and inexperienced centre pairing (playing together for the first time) as well as handing Damian Willemse and Marco van Staden their debuts.

The Springboks opened the scoring in the eighth minute when Lukhanyo Am powered his way over after superb interplay between backs and forwards, with Andre Esterhuizen, Frans Malherbe and Faf de Klerk instrumental in the build-up.

Argentina responded seven minutes later.  A Nicolas Sanchez up and under was spilled by Willie le Roux as the visitors pounced on the loose ball.  Possession was recycled and with the Bok defence scrambling that allowed Sanchez to run in under the posts and convert his own try for a 7-5 lead.

Soon afterwards, los Pumas had the lead.  Bok captain Siya Kolisi found himself isolated after a mini break down the right flank, with the Argentine counter-ruck proving successful as wing Ramiro Moyano effected the turnover before running 20 metres and timing the final pass expertly for flank Pablo Matera to dot down for his fourth international try.

However, moments later and ten minutes before the interval, Le Roux saw the space on the outside and produced a pinpoint cross-field kick to find Aphiwe Dyantyi out on the left wing for his second try in a Bok jersey as the hosts to cut the deficit to four at 14-10 at the half-time break.

Two minutes after the resumption, Handre Pollard and Esterhuizen combined to make the mini-break to get the Springboks on the front foot before De Klerk's kick over the top was gobbled up by Dyantyi, who produced a brilliant one-handed finish to grab his brace.  Pollard made no mistake with the conversion this time to give the hosts a 17-14 lead.

The Springboks' third came six minutes later.  It came when Beast Mtawarira got under his opposite number at scrum-time and drove him backwards, thus winning the penalty for the home side.  They were rewarded for going for the attacking line-out when De Klerk found Makazole Mapimpi with an over-the-top pass, the winger having all the time in the world to complete the finish.

Moments later, both Bok wings had doubles when Mapimpi finished off a flowing move from the home side that involved slick interplay between backs and forwards once again.  Malcolm Marx made a particularly telling carry in the build-up to get his side over the advantage line.  Pollard's conversion made it a 27-14 lead after 53 minutes.

After Eben Etzebeth, who had an impressive return, made a bullocking run downfield, replacement debutant fly-half Willemse threw a wayward pass which eluded fellow debutant Van Staden, with Matias Moroni intercepting and crossing untouched under the posts.  Sanchez converted to cut the deficit to six.

But with ten minutes to go, scrum-half De Klerk would put the game beyond doubt when he showed good presence of mind to snipe over after Steven Kitshoff was halted inches short.  Pollard added the extras, which would prove to be the final points scored of the game, as the Boks ran out 34-21 winners.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Am, Dyantyi 2, Mapimpi 2, De Klerk
Cons:  Pollard 2

For Argentina:
Tries:  Sanchez, Matera, Moroni
Cons:  Sanchez 3

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Makazole Mapimpi, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 André Esterhuizen, 11 Aphiwe Dyantyi, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Warren Whiteley, 7 Siya Kolisi (c), 6 Francois Louw, 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replacements:  16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Thomas du Toit, 19 Marvin Orie, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Lionel Mapoe, 23 Damian Willemse

Argentina:  15 Emiliano Boffelli, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Bautista Ezcurra, 11 Ramiro Moyano, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Javier Ortega Desio, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Matias Alemanno, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Agustin Creevy (c), 1 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro
Replacements:  16 Diego Fortuny, 17 Santiago Garcia Botta, 18 Santiago Medrano, 19 Tomas Lavanini, 20 Tomas Lezana, 21 Martin Landajo, 22 Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias, 23 Juan Cruz Mallia

Referee:  Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant referees:  Angus Gardner (Australia), Andrew Brace (Ireland)
TMO:  Simon McDowell (Ireland)

Impressive All Blacks fight back to see off Wallabies

A superb all-round performance by New Zealand saw them claim a deserved 38-13 win over Australia in Saturday's Rugby Championship opener in Sydney.

In a tough and uncompromising encounter the Wallabies had the better of the early exchanges but the world champions improved as the match progressed and eventually outscored their hosts by six tries to one.

If the truth be told, the All Blacks were far from their best during the opening half as they delivered a lethargic showing which was littered with numerous unforced errors.  But they were a completely different side after half-time and totally dominated the second half.

Australia made the brighter start and opened the scoring in the 10th minute courtesy of a Reece Hodge penalty after Kieran Read infringed at a ruck.

New Zealand were dealt a further blow three minutes later when Ryan Crotty was forced off the field after a clash of heads with his centre partner Jack Goodhue, with Anton Lienert-Brown coming on to replace Crotty.

And midway through the half, Bernard Foley made it 6-0 to the Wallabies when he added a three-pointer off the kicking tee after Liam Squire slowed the ball down illegally inside his 22.

The rest of the half was an attritional affair as both sides tried to gain the ascendancy and although the Wallabies held the upper-hand over the next 15 minutes, they did not trouble the scoreboard during that period.

On the stroke of half-time, the All Blacks came alive, however, and they did this in style thanks to a superb try from Aaron Smith.  This, after Ben Smith did brilliantly to beat a couple of defenders just inside the Wallabies' half and the ball was subsequently handled by Goodhue, Waisake Naholo and Read before the captain offloaded to his scrum-half, who crossed for a deserved try.

Beauden Barrett was off target with the conversion attempt and although the Wallabies led 6-5 as the teams changed sides at the interval, the momentum had swung in the world champions' favour.

And four minutes into the second half, the All Blacks showed why they are the world's best team with a try against the run of play which seemed to catch the Wallabies by surprise.

Australia were initially on the attack inside New Zealand's 22 but Naholo did well to rip the ball from Marika Koroibete's grasp and the world champions quickly shifted ball to Rieko Ioane, who found himself in space out wide.  He still had work to do but did well to get an inside pass out to Goodhue, who outpaced the cover defence before crossing for his first Test try.

That score was a shot in the arm for the All Blacks and they received another confidence booster when Beauden Barrett pounced on a knock on from Dane Haylett-Petty just inside the Wallabies' half in the 52nd minute.  Barrett was fastest to react and booted the ball ahead before regathering and diving over the try-line.

The All Blacks were now running the ball from all areas of the field and it didn't help the Wallabies' cause when star full-back Israel Folau was forced to leave the fray with what looked like a serious ankle injury.

Shortly afterwards, Brodie Retallick found himself in space just outside Australia's 22 before selling Foley a cheeky dummy on his way over the try-line.

To their credit, the Wallabies did not surrender and five minutes later replacement Jack Maddocks crossed for a try on his Test debut after Foley and Kurtley Beale combined brilliantly in the build-up.

But the All Blacks were far from done and finished the match stronger with Naholo crossing for two tries during the game's closing stages.  First, he collected an inch-perfect cross-field from fly-half Barrett before crossing untouched in the 73rd minute.

And four minutes before the end, he gathered a loose pass before beating a couple of defenders to add the final nail in the Wallabies' coffin.

The scorers:

For Australia:
Try:  Maddocks
Con:  Foley
Pens:  Hodge, Foley

For New Zealand:
Tries:  A Smith, Goodhue, B Barrett, Retallick, Naholo 2
Cons:  B Barrett 4

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Dane Haylett-Petty, 13 Reece Hodge, 12 Kurtley Beale, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Will Genia, 8 David Pocock, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Lukhan Tui, 5 Adam Coleman, 4 Izack Rodda, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 1 Tom Robertson
Replacements:  16 Tolu Latu, 17 Allan Alaalatoa, 18 Jermaine Ainsley, 19 Rob Simmons, 20 Pete Samu, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Matt Toomua, 23 Jack Maddocks

New Zealand:  15 Ben Smith, 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Jack Goodhue, 12 Ryan Crotty, 11 Rieko Ioane, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read (c), 7 Sam Cane, 6 Liam Squire, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Joe Moody
Replacements:  16 Nathan Harris, 17 Karl Tu’inukuafe, 18 Tim Perry, 19 Scott Barrett, 20 Ardie Savea, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Damian McKenzie, 23 Anton Lienert-Brown

Referee:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Wayne Barnes (England), Luke Pearce (England)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)