Springboks leave it late to down All Blacks in epic Ellis Park clash

The Springboks launched a stunning second half fightback to clinch a thrilling 31-27 victory over the All Blacks in Saturday’s Rugby Championship clash in Johannesburg.

As expected, this encounter was a real humdinger characterised by numerous brutal collisions throughout but in the end the hosts got the rub of the green although New Zealand outscored them by four tries to three.

For South Africa, Bongi Mbonambi, Grant Williams and Kwagga Smith scored tries while Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu finished with a 16-point contribution after slotting four penalties and two conversions.

Caleb Clarke led the way with a brace of tries for New Zealand while Jordie Barrett and Codie Taylor also crossed for five-pointers and Damian McKenzie added two conversions and a penalty.

The All Blacks dominated the early exchanges and spent most of the opening 10 minutes camped inside the Springboks’ half.  In the sixth minute, the home side were reduced to 14 men when Aphelele Fassi was yellow carded for a cynical defensive foul deep inside his 22.

The visitors put the resulting penalty into touch on the Boks’ five-metre line and launched a lineout drive from which Taylor crashed over for the opening try.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, the Boks were slowly getting into the game and in the 16th minute Mbonambi opened their account when he broke away from a maul close to New Zealand’s try-line before barging over for his five-pointer.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s goal-kick was disallowed after the shot clock had expired and the next 10 minutes was an arm wrestle as the sides went at each other hammer and tongs in a bid to gain the ascendancy.

On the half hour-mark, Feinberg-Mngomezulu showed his class when he stepped up and coolly slotted a monster penalty from 61 metres out and that kick gave South Africa the lead for the first time.

Despite that score, the All Blacks did not panic and three minutes later they struck back courtesy of Clarke’s first five-pointer after the Boks conceded a turnover in the build-up.  The visitors launched a brilliant counter attack and the ball was shifted wide to Clarke whose searing pace took him past Damian de Allende on his way over the try-line.

McKenzie was off target with his shot at goal before Feinberg-Mngomezulu slotted his second penalty in the latter stages of the half which meant the match was evenly poised at the interval with New Zealand holding a slender 12-11 lead.

A nail-biter, but the Boks have done it 🥳#Springboks #ForeverGreenForeverGold #RSAvNZL pic.twitter.com/osGoEyGKMI

― Springboks (@Springboks) August 31, 2024

Just like the opening half, the All Blacks were fastest out of the blocks in the second stanza and soon after the restart Jordie Barrett intercepted a wayward pass from De Allende close to the halfway line and and showed great composure to outsprint the cover defence before crossing the whitewash.

The hosts responded by sending on their much-vaunted ’Bomb Squad’ and although Feinberg-Mngomezulu narrowed the gap with another three-pointer off the kicking tee soon after, that effort was canceled out by a McKenzie penalty which meant the visitors were holding a deserved 22-14 lead by the 49th minute.

Shortly afterwards Feinberg-Mngomezulu succeeded with his third penalty before the All Blacks struck back in style when Clarke found himself in space out wide and he showed the defence a clean pair of heels before dotting down again.

That meant New Zealand held a 10-point lead which meant South Africa needed a response if they wanted to win the game.  They emptied their bench while the All Blacks suffered a setback in the 67th minute when Ofa Tu’ungafasi received a yellow card after entering a ruck illegally deep inside his own territory.

The Boks did not take long to make their numerical advantage count as Smith crashed over from close quarters in the 69th minute and when Feinberg-Mngomezulu added the extras, we were set for a thrilling finish.

Momentum was now with the home side as they spent long periods inside New Zealand’s half and in the 74th minute Williams made a sniping break from a ruck before diving over for his five-pointer which was converted by Feinberg-Mngomezulu.

That gave the Boks the lead for only the second time in the game and although Feinberg-Mngomezulu missed a late penalty they held on to clinch a deserved victory.

The teams

Springboks:  15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements:  16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Elrigh Louw, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Handre Pollard

All Blacks:  15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Ethan Blackadder, 5 Tupou Vaa’i, 4 Scott Barrett (c), 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Tamaiti Williams
Replacements:  16 Asafo Aumua, 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Sam Darry, 20 Samipeni Finau, 21 Cortez Ratima, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Mark Tele’a

Referee:  Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant Referees:  Matthew Carley (England), Jordan Way (Australia)
TMO:  Brian MacNeice (Ireland)

Rassie Erasmus’ brave call rewarded as second-string Springboks maul their way to dominant victory over Wallabies

The Springboks once again proved to be far too strong for the Wallabies as they sealed a comfortable 30-12 bonus-point triumph in Perth.

Like at Eden Park earlier, conditions were atrocious and it certainly had an impact on the tempo of the contest, but it ultimately did not play a part in the end result.

Despite an improved display from the Wallabies, especially in the first half, the visitors eventually got on top and claimed a second Rugby Championship triumph in 2024.

Australia’s Noah Lolesio kicked an early penalty to give the hosts a 3-0 lead before the world champions responded through Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s boot.

After Aphelele Fassi’s unconverted try and another Feinberg-Mngomezulu penalty, the Springboks were 11-9 in front by the interval, despite two more Lolesio three-pointers.

Joe Schmidt’s side were in the match but they could not maintain their intensity and physicality, and South Africa scored three maul tries in the second period through Marco van Staden and Malcolm Marx, who went over twice, to seal the win.

After last week’s annihilation at the hands of the Boks, the Wallabies were given hope when Rassie Erasmus made 10 changes for the Perth encounter.

That almost inevitable lack of continuity was evident in the early stages as Erasmus’ men made some uncharacteristic mistakes, particularly off kick-offs and restarts, and conceded some needless penalties.

One such infringement enabled Lolesio to convert an early three-point attempt, which moved the Wallabies into a 3-0 lead, but Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Fassi responded for South Africa.

It was certainly not perfect from the visitors but this Boks squad are developing all the time and the only try of the first period was very well constructed.

Off a turnover, they quickly moved the ball and Fassi raced onto Makazole Mapimpi’s inch-perfect kick to cross the whitewash and move the Boks in front.

Although Lolesio’s second successful effort off the tee kept Australia in the contest, the Springboks had shown what they could do and took control via Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who moved them 11-6 in front.

That was briefly reduced to two points at the break via the boot of the Australian fly-half, but the four-time Rugby World Cup winners got back on the front foot at the start of the second period.

They earned a penalty and set up a maul five metres out from the opposition line, and the result was almost inevitable as Van Staden crossed the whitewash.

Lolesio did keep the Wallabies in contention with a fourth penalty, but another dominant drive, which ended in Marx touching down, effectively ended the match as a contest.

That double act was then repeated with the maul and Marx once again proving to be the Wallabies’ downfall as the visitors sealed a second successive Rugby Championship win in 2024.

The teams

Australia:  15 Tom Wright, 14 Andrew Kellaway, 13 Len Ikitau, 12 Hunter Paisami, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Noah Lolesio, 9 Nic White, 8 Harry Wilson, 7 Carlo Tizzano, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 4 Angus Blyth, 3 Allan Alaalatoa (c), 2 Josh Nasser, 1 Angus Bell
Replacements:  16 Billy Pollard, 17 James Slipper, 18 Zane Nonggorr, 19 Tom Hooper, 20 Seru Uru, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Ben Donaldson, 23 Max Jorgensen

Springboks:  15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Lukhanyo Am, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Morne van den Berg, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels
Replacements:  16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Ox Nche, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Handré Pollard

Referee:  Paul Williams (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees:  Luke Pearce (England), Hollie Davidson (Scotland)
TMO:  Richard Kelly (New Zealand)

All Blacks silence critics with dominant victory over Argentina to stretch unbeaten run at Eden Park to 50 games

The All Blacks got their Rugby Championship campaign back on track when they clinched an emphatic 42-10 victory against Argentina at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday.

As the scoreline suggests, this match was quite different from last week’s corresponding one in Wellington as the hosts answered their critics with a superb all-round performance in which they dominated most facets of play.

The result is a significant one for the All Blacks as it stretches their unbeaten run at Eden Park to 50 matches and they last tasted defeat at the spiritual home of New Zealand rugby in 1994.

In the end, the All Blacks ran in six tries with Will Jordan leading the way with a brace while Damian McKenzie, Ardie Savea, Caleb Clarke and Beauden Barrett also crossed the whitewash.

McKenzie finished with a 17-point haul as he also succeeded with six conversions, while Juan Cruz Mallía scored Los Pumas’ only try, which was converted by Tomas Albornoz, and Santiago Carreras added a penalty.

The match started at a frenetic pace with the All Blacks taking the ball though several phases with captain Savea leading the way with a barnstorming run during the opening exchanges.

And the hosts’ early dominance was rewarded in the sixth minute when Jordie Barrett stabbed a perfectly weighted grubber kick through deep inside Argentina’s half and McKenzie dotted down behind the try-line.

Five minutes later, Los Pumas reduced the deficit courtesy of a three-pointer off the kicking tee from Santiago Carreras but the home side continued to dominate as the half progressed and were soon camped inside their opponents’ 22 again.

Soon after, Savea got his name onto the scoresheet when he barged over from close quarters before the All Blacks went further ahead in the 24th minute after Clarke crossed for his five-pointer.

That meant the home side were holding a 21-3 lead and they continued to dominate as the half progressed.  On the half hour-mark, Jordan crossed for his first five-pointer after gathering a pass from TJ Perenara, who did brilliantly to draw in three defenders in the build up.

In the 37th minute McKenzie and Beauden Barrett combined brilliantly before the latter sliced through the visitors’ defence on his way over the try-line and with the score 35-3 in their favour, the All Blacks had their tails up at half-time.

50 undefeated at Eden Park 🔥#AllBlacks #NZLvARG pic.twitter.com/mR9r418eTb

― All Blacks (@AllBlacks) August 17, 2024

It was more of the same in the second half when Jordan crossed for his second try, after running on to a deft offload from Jordie Barrett before wriggling over the whitewash despite the attentions of two defenders.

McKenzie added the extras to give his side a deserved 42-3 lead but despite trailing by a big margin on the scoreboard, Los Pumas did not surrender and were more competitive during the rest of the match.

They did well to prevent their hosts from adding to their tally and in the 72nd minute Mallia crossed for their only try to add some respectability to the score.

Although the All Blacks would not score further points, they finished the game with 14 players after replacement hooker Asafo Aumua was yellow carded for an illegal hit on Mateo Carreras in the game’s closing stages.

The incident was reviewed by the TMO Bunker but the yellow card was not upgraded to red and despite finishing with a numerical disadvantage, the All Blacks were deserved winners in the end.

The teams

All Blacks:  15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Ardie Savea (c), 7 Dalton Papali’i, 6 Ethan Blackadder, 5 Sam Darry, 4 Tupou Vaa’i, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Tamaiti Williams
Replacements:  16 Asafo Aumua, 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Josh Lord, 20 Sam Cane, 21 Cortez Ratima, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Mark Tele’a

Argentina:  15 Juan Cruz Mallía, 14 Matias Moroni, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Joaquin Oviedo, 7 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Marcos Kremer, 3 Lucio Sordoni, 2 Julian Montoya (c), 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements:  16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Joel Sclavi, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Tomás Lavanini, 21 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22 Tomas Albornoz, 23 Bautista Delguy

Referee:  Andrea Piardi (Italy)
Assistant Referees:  Angus Gardner (Australia), Nic Berry (Australia)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Argentina claim shock victory over All Blacks as Scott Robertson left with plenty to ponder

Argentina got their Rugby Championship campaign off to a superb start when they clinched a shock 38-30 victory over New Zealand in Wellington on Saturday.

In a fast paced and entertaining encounter, momentum between the two sides ebbed and flowed throughout but Los Pumas eventually got the rub of the green and outscored their hosts by four tries to three.

Lucio Cinti, Mateo Carreras, Franco Molina and Agustin Creevy scored Argentina’s tries while Santiago Carreras finished with an 18-point contribution after kicking four penalties and three conversions.

For New Zealand Sam Darry, Anton Lienert-Brown and Mark Tele’a dotted down while Damian McKenzie added three conversions and three penalties.

The result means the All Blacks’ winless run in Wellington continues and they have now won there only once in the past seven Tests and are winless in that city in their last five encounters.

Argentina had the better of the early exchanges and spent most of the opening 10 minutes camped inside New Zealand’s half but they had no reward for their efforts.

The All Blacks eventually opened the scoring courtesy of a McKenzie penalty in the 11th minute before Darry crossed for the first try shortly afterwards.

This, after McKenzie chipped ahead and regathered before offloading to Barrett who raced up field and soon found himself inside Los Pumas’ half.  He was confronted by the cover defence but kicked ahead before Darry gathered to score his first Test try.

Despite trailing 10-0, Argentina did not panic and midway through the half they opened their account when Cinti crossed the whitewash after Pablo Matera and Santiago Chocobares combined brilliantly in the build-up.

The next 10 minutes was an arm-wrestle as the sides battled to gain the ascendancy but the home side increased their lead in the 28th minute when McKenzie succeeded with his second penalty.

In the 35th minute, the All Blacks increased their lead when Lienert-Brown ran onto a pass from McKenzie close to Argentina’s try-line and swivelled through a tackle before dotting down.

McKenzie’s successful conversion meant New Zealand were leading 20-8 but this game’s topsy-turvy nature continued when Pumas flyer Mateo Carreras pounced on a loose ball and displayed deft footwork to beat the All Blacks fly-half on his way over the whitewash.

That meant the match was evenly poised at half-time with the hosts holding a 20-15 lead but Argentina were fastest out of the blocks after the break.

🇦🇷 ARGENTINA STUN THE ALL BLACKS IN WELLINGTON! WOW!#NZLvARG #RugbyChampionship pic.twitter.com/eTSGSlGe0Y

― Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) August 10, 2024

In the 43rd minute, the visitors caught the men in black by surprise with a clever lineout variation in which a dummy jumper went up but the ball was thrown to Molina at the front of the set-piece, and the second-row powered over the try-line after a strong shove from his team-mates.

His effort was converted by Santiago Carreras which meant the visitors moved in front for the first time and the lead changed hands twice in five minutes when McKenzie and the Pumas fly-half traded penalties.

However, New Zealand struck back when Tele’a crossed for his try in the 52nd minute after gathering a well-timed pass from TJ Perenara close to the visitors’ try-line.

McKenzie’s conversion meant the All Blacks were leading 30-25 but that would be the last time they would score points as Los Pumas came to the fore with an outstanding performance in the final quarter.

Santiago Carreras narrowed gap when he added a penalty in the 56th minute before replacement hooker Creevy barged over from close quarters which restored his side’s lead.  The pivot then added the final nail in the All Blacks coffin when he slotted his fourth three-pointer off the kicking tee in the game’s closing stages.

The teams

New Zealand:  15 Beauden Barrett, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Mark Tele’a, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Ardie Savea (c), 7 Dalton Papali’i, 6 Ethan Blackadder, 5 Sam Darry, 4 Tupou Vaa’i, 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan De Groot
Replacements:  16 Asafo Aumua, 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Josh Lord, 20 Wallace Sititi, 21 Cortez Ratima, 22 Rieko Ioane, 23 Will Jordan

Argentina:  15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Matias Moroni, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera (c), 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Franco Molina, 3 Eduardo Bello, 2 Ignacio Ruiz, 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements:  16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Joel Sclavi, 19 Efrain Elias, 20 Tomas Lavanini, 21 Joaquin Oviedo, 22 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 23 Tomas Albornoz

Referee:  Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  Nic Berry (Australia), Andrea Piardi (Italy)
TMO:  Brett Cronan (Australia)

Springboks wallop woeful Wallabies in Rugby Championship opener to claim just their second Brisbane victory

The Springboks made a superb start to their Rugby Championship campaign as they cruised to a deserved 33-7 bonus point victory over the Wallabies in Brisbane on Saturday.

As the scoreline suggests, this was a tough day at the office for the home side whose game was littered with numerous unforced errors and they conceded a plethora of penalties.

In the end, the Springboks crossed for five tries with Kurt-Lee Arendse leading the way with a brace while captain Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Kwagga Smith scored their other five-pointers and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu slotted four conversions.

For the Wallabies Hunter Paisami grabbed a consolation try which was converted by Tom Lynagh.

The result was a momentous one for the visitors as it was only their second victory in Brisbane and the first one since 2013.

The Springboks held the upper hand during the opening exchanges and despite a wayward penalty attempt from Feinberg-Mngomezulu, they continued to dominate and were soon rewarded when Kolisi crossed for the opening try in the 10th minute.

This, after they caught the home side napping with a smart lineout move deep inside Wallabies territory.  The ball was initially gathered by Ben-Jason Dixon at the back of the set-piece and he then passed the ball, while being in the air, to Eben Etzebeth, who was also airborne at the front of the lineout.

The Boks set up the driving maul from which Kolisi crashed over for the game’s opening points.

That score boosted South Africa’s confidence as they were completely dominant for the rest of the half while the Wallabies had to be satisfied with scraps of possession.

It was all South Africa for the rest of the half and in the 24th minute, Du Toit glided through a gaping hole in the Wallabies’ defence before crossing for his team’s second try.

The Wallabies needed a response but that did not come as they battled to cope with the sheer intensity of the world champions’ onslaught.

And on the half-hour mark things went from bad to worse for the home side when Andrew Kellaway was yellow carded for a dangerous lifting tackle on Cobus Reinach.  The incident was reviewed by the TMO Bunker and luckily for Australia, the yellow card was not upgraded to red.

With a numerical advantage, the Boks went in search of their third try and that came five minutes later when Arendse gathered a loose ball midway between Australia’s try-line and their 22 and stepped past five players before dotting down.

That meant South Africa had their tails up as they held a deserved 21-0 lead when the teams changed sides at half-time.

An emphatic start to the #Springboks’ Castle Lager Rugby Championship campaign in Brisbane.  See you again next week @Wallabies 🙌#ForeverGreenForeverGold #AUSvRSA pic.twitter.com/lttggUdVX4

― Springboks (@Springboks) August 10, 2024

The Wallabies were more competitive after the interval and spent some time in the Boks’ 22 during the third quarter but it was only a matter of time before the visitors regained the initiative.

Head coach Rassie Erasmus had made some changes and in the 62nd minute replacement scrum-half Grant Williams offloaded to reserve back-row Smith, who went over for the bonus-point try.

Five minutes later, Arendse was rewarded with his second five-pointer after Jesse Kriel laid the groundwork with a superb line break and with the score 33-0 in their favour, the Boks took their foot off the pedal in the game’s closing stages.

They were then reduced to 13 men when Malcolm Marx and Marco van Staden were yellow-carded in quick succession before Paisami crossed for Australia’s try in the 76th minute.

South Africa finished the match with 12 men on the field when Kriel also received a yellow card in the 79th minute but despite their sloppy finish, the Boks were deserved winners.

The teams

Australia:  15 Tom Wright, 14 Andrew Kellaway, 13 Len Ikitau, 12 Hunter Paisami, 11 Filipo Daugunu, 10 Noah Lolesio, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Harry Wilson, 7 Carlo Tizzano, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Allan Alaalatoa (c), 2 Matt Faessler, 1 Isaac Kailea
Replacements:  16 Josh Nasser, 17 James Slipper, 18 Zane Nonggorr, 19 Jeremy Williams, 20 Luke Reimer, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Tom Lynagh, 23 Dylan Pietsch

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Elrigh Louw, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements:  16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Handré Pollard

Referee:  Luke Pearce (RFU)
Assistant Referees:  Paul Williams (NZR), Hollie Davidson (SRU)
TMO:  Ben Whitehouse (WRU)