Springboks show champion qualities as Cheslin Kolbe scores twice to beat England and pile more pressure on Steve Borthwick

The Springboks showed their world champion qualities to withstand a competitive England performance and take a 29-20 victory at Allianz Stadium on Saturday.

It increases the pressure on Red Rose head coach Steve Borthwick, who once again saw his side produce some good things but ultimately fall short in a fifth successive loss.

After narrow defeats to the All Blacks and Wallabies, they succumbed to the number one team in the world as tries from Grant Williams, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Cheslin Kolbe (twice) secured the win for South Africa.

The Red Rose were 20-19 in front at one stage after converted tries from Ollie Sleightholme and Sam Underhill, allied by 10 points from the boot of Marcus Smith, but once again they faltered in the latter stages of the match.

England ― and their head coach ― remain under pressure after yet another reversal, but one player who doesn’t appear to be feeling that is Marcus Smith.

Their best player against both the All Blacks and the Wallabies, the fly-half was once again the hosts’ main creator at Twickenham and set up their opening score on Saturday.

The Red Rose had started well and their playmaker shaped up for a drop-goal but, when Eben Etzebeth flew out of the line to close him down, Smith dummied, sped towards the left-hand side and found Henry Slade, who fed Sleightholme to score.

It was an excellent opening for Borthwick but the world champions soon responded to level thanks to a brilliant individual try from Williams, who beat Ellis Genge and Freddie Steward to touch down.

England regained their lead through the boot of Smith but South Africa began to force errors.  Etzebeth was key to that and, after the lock charged down Jack van Poortvliet, Du Toit followed up to do the same to Smith before collecting and scoring.

The Springboks then made it a nine-point buffer after Libbok’s cross-field kick was finished by Kolbe.

At that point, the visitors had the momentum and could have taken control but, to the home side’s credit, they hit back and gave themselves hope via Underhill’s close-range effort.

That kept them in the game at the break and they managed to edge in front in the third quarter.  Both sides had tries ruled out ― Springboks for a forward pass and England for a croc roll ― before Smith was successful with a penalty.

The second period certainly did not have the pace and tempo of the first half but it was no less intriguing with the physicality and intensity off the charts.

It was all about the small wins and the Boks began to get an edge in the contact area with Handre Pollard kicking a three-pointer after an English infringement to take the tourists back in front.

Then came the decisive moment as Damian de Allende’s power did for Slade and Ben Earl as he charged through and passed to Kolbe, who once again showed his incredible balance and footwork to finish.

That was ultimately enough to claim the victory, despite some needless penalties from the Boks which led to Gerhard Steenekamp’s yellow card.

There was no lack of effort from England but their execution was severely lacking, while Rassie Erasmus’ men defended superbly in the final quarter to secure the win.

The teams

England:  15 Freddie Steward, 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Henry Slade, 11 Ollie Sleightholme, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Sam Underhill, 6 Chandler Cunningham-South, 5 George Martin, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Jamie George, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements:  16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Alex Dombrandt, 21 Harry Randall, 22 George Ford, 23 Tom Roebuck

South Africa:  15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 RG Snyman, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements:  16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Elrigh Louw, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Handre Pollard, 23 Lukhanyo Am

Referee:  Andrew Brace (Ireland)
Assistant Referees:  Chris Busby (Ireland), Eoghan Cross (Ireland)
TMO:  Ben Whitehouse (Wales)

Second string Scots put 50 past Os Lobos as Darcy Graham equals all-time try-scoring record

Hot-stepping wing Darcy Graham equalled Duhan van der Merwe’s all-time try-scoring record for Scotland as they triumphed over Portugal 59-21 on Saturday.

The much-changed Scottish side had a strong afternoon, running in eight tries through Will Hurd, Stafford McDowall, Graham, Josh Bayliss, Jamie Bhatti, Arron Reed (2), Jamie Dobie and a penalty try while Adam Hastings kicked five conversions and Tom Jordan one.

Portugal may have been on the wrong end of the result but still scored the most points against a home nation in their history through three tries from Luka Begic, Raffaele Storti and Samuel Marques, who also kicked both conversions.

It did not take long for the scoreboard to be active with Hurd opening the scoring with an unconverted try in the third minute.

Momentum stayed firmly with the hosts as McDowall snapped up a loose ball to score a try on his first game captaining his country.  Hastings was on hand to kick the extras on this occasion.

The hosts continued to play with swagger and, although Portugal’s defence grew into the game, Scotland were handed a penalty try for an illegally collapsed maul on Os Lobos’ line in the 27th minute.

The misery continued as sustained Scottish pressure resulted in Graham skipping through for his record-equalling try six minutes later with Hastings adding the extras, as he did for Bayliss’ try just four minutes after that.  However, Portugal had the final say with Begic’s converted score.

Scotland started the second period as they did the first with an early try, this time through Bhatti ― his first in Test rugby.  Hastings would miss the kick and next on the scoreboard was Portuguese talisman Marques who scampered over for a try he converted himself in the 54th minute.

Reed then suddenly decided to announce himself in the game with a three-minute double around the hour mark, both of which were converted by Hastings.

Portugal scored their last points of the game through a converted Storti try, but it was Scotland who had the final word with Dobie scoring his try, with man of the match Jordan kicking the conversion.

Teams

Scotland:  15 Tom Jordan, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Rory Hutchinson, 12 Stafford McDowall (c), 11 Arron Reed, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 George Horne, 8 Josh Bayliss, 7 Ben Muncaster, 6 Luke Crosbie, 5 Alex Samuel, 4 Alex Craig, 3 Will Hurd, 2 Patrick Harrison, 1 Jamie Bhatti
Replacements:  16 Johnny Matthews, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Elliot Millar Mills, 19 Ewan Johnson, 20 Freddy Douglas, 21 Jamie Dobie, 22 Matt Currie, 23 Kyle Rowe

Portugal:  15 Simao Bento, 14 Raffaele Storti, 13 Jose Lima, 12 Tomas Appleton, 11 Lucas Martins, 10 Domingos Cabral, 9 Samuel Marques, 8 Frederico Couto, 7 Nicolas Martins, 6 Andre da Cunha, 5 Duarte Torgal, 4 Jose Madeira, 3 Diogo Hasse Ferreira, 2 Luka Begic, 1 David Costa
Replacements:  16 Abel da Cunha, 17 Pedro Vicente, 18 Antonio Prim, 19 Antonio Rebelo de Andrade, 20 Vasco Baptista, 21 Antonio Campos, 22 Hugo Aubry, 23 Manuel Cardoso Pinto

Referee:  Takehito Namekawa (JRFU)
Assistant Referees:  Luke Pearce (RFU), Anthony Woodthorpe (RFU)
TMO:  Brian MacNeice (IRFU)

Ireland unconvincingly edge Argentina to bounce back from All Blacks defeat claiming a hard-fought three-point victory

Ireland bounced back from their second home loss under Andy Farrell to defeat Argentina 22-19 at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Friday evening.

Jack Crowley led the charge for the hosts in the Autumn Nations Series encounter scoring 12 points including a try, a drop goal and two conversions while Mack Hansen and man of the match Joe McCarthy also crossed the whitewash.

For Argentina, Tomas Albornoz continued his stunning form in 2024 nailing all five of his shots at goal ― four penalties and a conversion ― while Juan Cruz Mallia scored Los Pumas’ only try of the match.

After losing their opening November international to the All Blacks, Farrell’s charges bounced back with a hard-fought and unconvincing victory over the Pumas who produced an inspired performance.

Ireland looked to apply pressure early on after a charge down following the restart but Argentina forced a turnover and cantered upfield with Argentina winger Bautista Delguy beating several defenders before Matias Moroni crossed the whitewash.  However, the try was chalked off after Moroni was judged to have tackled fly-half Crowley high and was sent to the sin bin with his tackle also being reviewed.

Andy Farrell’s charges quickly pounced and made the most of the man advantage as they struck from the resulting lineout with Rónan Kelleher powering off the back of a slick lineout move and moments later it was Crowley who forced his way over for his first-ever Test try which he duly converted.

Ireland scored their second try in just six minutes when Garry Ringrose tore through the defence after a spilt ball and raced into the Argentina 22.  Jamison Gibson-Park whipped a wide pass to Tadhg Beirne who unselfishly passed in side to Hansen to score his first try of the year after making his return from injury against New Zealand a week ago.

Moroni breathed a sigh of relief as his yellow card was not upgraded to a red one by the Foul Play Review Officer as they judged that it was a low level of danger allowing the centre to return to the action with Argentina down 12-3 after Albornoz converted a penalty moments before he returned.

Ireland looked to have gone even further ahead as Robbie Henshaw manufactured a stunning try-scoring opportunity only for the ever-impressive Beirne to spill the ball over the line with Moroni again involved with the Irish forward losing his control of the ball on the centre’s upper body.

In a helter-skelter 16 minutes, it was Ireland’s turn to go down a man as tighthead prop Finlay Bealham was sent to the sidelines for a croc roll on his opposite number Joel Sclavi ― and Albornoz added another penalty ― with his card also remaining yellow after an off-field review.  Ireland’s response came through Crowley again as the pivot nailed a drop goal to cancel out Los Pumas’ penalty on 21 minutes.  Kelleher ran an obstruction line four minutes later, allowing Albornoz another shot at reducing the lead and he duly took it.

McCarthy barged over for Ireland’s third when they were back to 15 men as James Lowe snuck through the smallest of holes after a lineout and the second rower crashed over as Ireland went 22-9 up after 32 minutes.

Argentina applied the pressure in the final moments of the half twice coming close to scoring a late try but were denied once by the bounce of the ball and another time by Beirne holding up the ball carrier, a turnover with the clocking going red denied the visitors as Ireland held a 13 point advantage at the break.

Argentina come out firing

After the break, it was the Pumas who drew first blood as Mallia scathed through the initial defence before racing into the Ireland 22 and skinned Hansen with a superb step to score the South American side’s first try of the game and cut the lead to six points.  Ireland were put under the pump in the early knockings of the second half and McCarthy paid the price after he was caught offside and was sent to the bin.  From the resulting penalty, Albornoz made it a three-point game.

There was no change to the score line for the next 20 minutes, with both sides enjoying long passages of play with the ball in hand, particularly Ireland with Farrell’s men notably turning down a shot at goal in order to run a set move from a tap and go ― they set a rolling maul from the tap but Argentina stalled them and turned the ball over a few phases later.

Momentum looked to have swung in Los Pumas’ favour after that turnover and a later pilfer at a breakdown but that was undone by a horrid Francisco Gomez Kodela clearout that resulted in the replacement prop being yellow-carded.  While the prop was off for the remainder of the match, his actions were deemed not to warrant a red card.

Ireland again went on the offensive but were denied by another breakdown pilfer giving the Pumas another shot at a famous victory, but Contepomi’s charges came up short despite working their way deep into the host’s 22 but they were shut out as the clock went into the red.

The teams

Ireland:  15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Robbie Henshaw, 11 James Lowe, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (c), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements:  16 Rob Herring, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Thomas Clarkson, 19 Ryan Baird, 20 Peter O’Mahony, 21 Craig Casey, 22 Sam Prendergast, 23 Jamie Osborne

Argentina:  15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Rodrigo Isgro, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Matias Moroni, 11 Bautista Delguy, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Joaquin Oviedo, 7 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Guido Petti, 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Julián Montoya, 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements:  16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Ignacio Calles, 18 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Santiago Grondona, 21 Gonzalo Garcia, 22 Santiago Carreras, 23 Justo Piccardo

Referee:  Paul Williams (NZR)
Assistant Referees:  Craig Evans (WRU), Angus Mabey (NZR)
TMO:  Richard Kelly (NZR)

Springboks blow Scotland away to kickstart their November tour with flattering win

The Springboks got the job done but were made to work hard for their 32-15 Autumn Nations Series victory against Scotland at Murrayfield on Sunday.

Although the world champions outscored Scotland by four tries to none, the home side were competitive for long periods and delivered a spirited performance throughout.

However, the Springboks’ proved too strong in the end with Makazole Mapimpi (2), Thomas du Toit and Jasper Wiese crossing the whitewash while Handre Pollard succeeded with three conversions and a couple of penalties.

Scotland’s points came courtesy of five penalties from Finn Russell.

South Africa made a terrific start as they opened the scoring as early as the fourth minute when Mapimpi crossed for the opening try.  This, after Pollard caught Scotland’s defence napping with a perfectly weighted cross-field kick which Mapimpi gathered before diving over in the left-hand corner.

Pollard was off target with his conversion attempt but the home side suffered another setback in the 10th minute when Scott Cummings was yellow-carded for a dangerous cleanout on Franco Mostert which was later upgraded to a 20-minute red card by the TMO Bunker after a review.

Despite losing Cummings, Scotland did not panic and they held a 6-5 lead midway through the opening half after Russell slotted two penalties in quick succession.

However, the visitors struck back when Thomas du Toit crossed for their second five-pointer on the half-hour-mark.  This after Mostert failed to gather a lineout on Scotland’s five-metre line.  Du Toit was quickest to react and gathered the ball at the back of the set-piece before crossing for his first Test try.

Pollard added the extras but Scotland reduced the deficit in the 33rd minute when he succeeded with his third three-pointer off the kicking tee.

The Boks still held an edge, however, and shortly afterwards Mapimpi was rewarded with his second try, after gathering a delightful chip kick from Willie le Roux inside the home side’s 22.

Scotland responded when their captain Sione Tuipulotu put Tom Jordan in the clear with a deft offload and the full-back offloaded to Ben White, who dotted down.

However, the score was disallowed due to a knock-on from Huw Jones in the build-up which meant the teams changed sides at half-time with the world champions holding a 19-9 lead.

Four tries without reply as the #Springboks kick off the Castle Lager Outgoing Tour with a big win in Edinburgh 👏#ForeverGreenForeverGold #SCOvRSA pic.twitter.com/fVlU4jpVO1

― Springboks (@Springboks) November 10, 2024

Scotland drew first blood after the restart courtesy of a Russell penalty in the 44th minute and shortly afterwards Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus unloaded his much-vaunted Bomb Squad with six of his forward replacements ― Malcolm Marx, Gerhard Steenekamp, Vincent Koch, Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Jasper Wiese ― joining the fray at the same time after the seventh one ― RG Snyman ― had come at the start of the half.

Those changes did not have the desired effect as Scotland held the upper hand during the next 10 minutes and the Springboks suffered a setback when Mapimpi was yellow carded for a professional foul on defence in the 58th minute.

Soon after, Russell added his fifth penalty which meant the Boks were holding a slender four-point lead but that was the only points they would concede during Mapimpi’s stint in the sin bin.

Pollard slotted two more penalties, which gave the Boks some breathing space, and in the game’s dying moments Wiese secured the result for the visitors when he crossed for his five-pointer after a powerful run off the back of a scrum on Scotland’s five-metre line.

The teams

Scotland:  15 Tom Jordan, 14 Blair Kinghorn, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu (c), 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben White, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements:  16 Dylan Richardson, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 Elliot Millar Mills, 19 Max Williamson, 20 Josh Bayliss, 21 Jamie Ritchie, 22 Jamie Dobie, 23 Stafford McDowall

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Jaden Hendrikse, 8 Kwagga Smith, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth (c), 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements:  16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Siya Kolisi, 21 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 22 Jasper Wiese, 23 Grant Williams

Referee:  Christophe Ridley (England)
Assistant Referees:  Luke Pearce (England), Craig Evans (Wales)
TMO:  Ian Tempest (England)

Fiji claim famous Cardiff victory as miserable Wales fall to 10th successive Test defeat

Fiji created history on Sunday as they claimed their first-ever victory over Wales in Cardiff and, in doing so, they also handed their opponents their 10th successive international defeat.

As predicted in our preview, this was a tightly contested affair with the game’s outcome in the balance for long periods but Fiji were deserved winners in the end as they eventually sealed a 24-19 victory.

Despite losing the services of backline star Semi Radradra, who was red carded for foul play in the opening half, Fiji held the upper hand for most of the match and Caleb Muntz was their hero as he finished with a 19-point haul courtesy of a try, a conversion and four penalties while Josua Tuisova also dotted down.

For Wales, Blair Murray and Ellis Bevan scored tries while they were also awarded a penalty try and Gareth Anscombe added a conversion.

The opening exchanges were evenly contested but Wales held an edge during that period and opened the scoring in the eighth minute when Test debutant Murray rounded off out wide, after Ben Thomas and Cameron Winnett laid the groundwork with slick handling in the build-up.

Despite that five-pointer, the visitors were competitive and five minutes later Muntz succeeded with his first penalty after Wales captain Dewi Lake infringed at a ruck.

In the 15th minute, Wales crossed the whitewash again when Winnett dotted down but the score was disallowed when television replays revealed a dangerous clean out from Tommy Reffell on Radrada in the build-up and the Wales flanker was also yellow carded for his offence.

Midway through the half, Wales were awarded a penalty try when Elia Canakaivata was blown up for illegally entering a driving maul from the hosts close to his try-line and preventing a try from being scored.  Like Reffell, the visitors’ number eight was also forced to spend 10 minutes in the sin bin for his indiscretion.

Things went from bad to worse for the Pacific Islanders shortly afterwards when Radradra also received his marching orders for a dangerous hit on Winnett.  Radradra’s challenge was reviewed by the TMO Bunker and it was upgraded eventually to a 20-minute red card.

Despite being reduced to 13 men, Fiji did not panic and in the 24th minute Muntz left his stamp on this match when he crossed for an outstanding five-pointer.

This, after the Fiji fly-half gathered the ball just outside Wales’ 10-metre line and showed his class as he beat five defenders with deft footwork before crossing the whitewash.

Fiji continued to dominate as the half progressed and just before half-time referee Luc Ramos awarded a penalty try to them after Wales collapsed a rolling maul from their opponents close to their try-line.

The visitors’ joy was short-lived, however, as the score was ruled out due to an indiscretion from Fiji’s forwards before, meaning the home side held a slender 14-10 lead.

SGÔR TERFYNOL

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿19-24🇫🇯
#AutumnNationsSeries | #WALvFIJ pic.twitter.com/tQKLl5Fru0

― Welsh Rugby Union 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 (@WelshRugbyUnion) November 10, 2024

Fiji were fastest out of the blocks after the interval and Muntz narrowed the gap to one point in the 44th minute thanks to a successful penalty and five minutes later he added another three-pointer off the kicking tee which gave his side the lead for the first time in the match.

On the hour-mark, Fiji took control of proceedings when Tuisova crashed over for their second try after powering through two defenders in the build-up and Muntz added the extras which gave his side a 21-14 lead.

Wales desperately needed a response and that came in the 65th minute when Bevan crossed for a well-taken try out wide after the ball went through several pairs of hands in the build-up.

Sam Costelow was off target with the resulting conversion attempt and that meant the visitors were holding a 21-19 lead with time running out on the clock.

Although Wales were piling on the pressure, Fiji continued to launch attacks and in the 75th minute Muntz slotted his fourth penalty which clinched a famous victory for the visitors.

The teams

Wales:  15 Cameron Winnett, 14 Mason Grady, 13 Max Llewellyn, 12 Ben Thomas, 11 Blair Murray, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Aaron Wainwright, 7 Tommy Reffell, 6 Taine Plumtree, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 Archie Griffin, 2 Dewi Lake (c), 1 Gareth Thomas
Replacements:  16 Ryan Elias, 17 Nicky Smith, 18 Keiron Assiratti, 19 Christ Tshiunza, 20 James Botham, 21 Jac Morgan, 22 Ellis Bevan, 23 Sam Costelow

Fiji:  15 Vuate Karawalevu, 14 Jiuta Wainiqolo, 13 Waisea Nayacalevu (cc), 12 Josua Tuisova, 11 Semi Radradra, 10 Caleb Muntz, 9 Frank Lomani, 8 Elia Canakaivata, 7 Kitione Salawa, 6 Ratu Meli Derenalagi, 5 Temo Mayanavanua, 4 Isoa Nasilasila, 3 Samuela Tawake, 2 Tevita Ikanivere (cc), 1 Eroni Mawi
Replacements:  16 Sam Matavesi, 17 Haereiti Hetet, 18 Jone Koroiduadua, 19 Mesake Vocevoce, 20 Albert Tuisue, 21 Simi Kuruvoli, 22 Isaiah Ravula, 23 Sireli Maqala

Referee:  Luc Ramos (FFR)
Assistant Referees:  Pierre Brousset (FFR), Hollie Davidson (SRU)
TMO:  Eric Gauzins (FFR)

Antoine Dupont shines on return, Les Bleus a class apart

France captain Antoine Dupont bagged two try assists in his return for Les Bleus, who dismantled Eddie Jones’ Japan 52-12 on Saturday.

The hosts scored eight tries through Louis Bielle-Biarrey (2), Emilien Gailleton, Alexandre Roumat, Peato Mauvaka, Jean-Baptiste Gros and a double from Paul Boudehent.  Fly-half Thomas Ramos added six conversions from the tee.

Japan could only manage two tries via Harumichi Tatekawa and Tevita Tatafu with Naoto Saito kicking a conversion.

The hosts shot out of the blocks with Bielle-Biarrey the first to score a try after just three minutes.  Ramos did not get the kick on this occasion.

The full-back turned fly-half would not make that mistake again as he had the chance to convert Gailleton’s try which came six minutes later after a lovely cross-kick.

Momentum was well and truly with France despite a few flashy moments from Jones’ Japan.  Les Bleus scored a converted try through Roumat after 18 minutes before Mauvaka rounded out the scoring in the first half with his try in the 33rd minute.

The second period followed the first with Gros scoring after a minute.  However, this time Japan would strike back with their first crossing as Tatekawa scored a converted try in the 49th minute.

As expected France responded a minute later as Boudehent scored two tries, one either side of Japan’s final Tatafu score on the hour mark.

The teams

France:  15 Leo Barre, 14 Théo Attissogbe, 13 Émilien Gailleton, 12 Yoram Morgana, 11 Louis Bielle-Biarrey, 10 Thomas Ramos, 9 Antoine Dupont (c), 8 Grégory Alldritt, 7 Alexandre Roumat, 6 François Cros, 5 Emmanuel Meafou, 4 Thibaud Flament, 3 Tevita Tatafu, 2 Peato Mauvaka, 1 Jean-Baptiste Gros
Replacements:  16 Julien Marchand, 17 Reda Wardi, 18 Georges-Henri Colombe, 19 Mickaël Guillard, 20 Paul Boudehent, 21 Maxime Lucu, 22 Matthieu Jalibert, 23 Gaël Fickou

Japan:  15 Malo Tuitama, 14 Jone Nakiabula, 13 Dylan Riley, 12 Siosaia Fifita, 11 Tomoki Osada, 10 Harumichi Tatekawa (c), 9 Naoto Saito, 8 Faula Makisi, 7 Kazuki Himeno, 6 Kanji Shimokawa, 5 Warner Deans, 4 Epineri Uluiviti, 3 Shuhei Takeuchi, 2 Mamoru Harada, 1 Takato Okabe
Replacements:  16 Kenta Masuoka, 17 Yukio Morikawa, 18 Keijiro Tamefusa, 19 Amato Fakatava, 20 Tevita Tatafu, 21 Shinobu Fujiwara, 22 Yusuke Kajimura, 23 Takuro Matsunaga

Referee:  Damian Schneider (Argentina)
Assistant Referees:  Angus Gardner (Australia), James Doleman (New Zealand)
TMO:  Richard Kelly (New Zealand)

Tomas Albornoz delivers another masterclass as Los Pumas put 50 on the Azzurri

Fly-half Tomas Albornoz scored 20 points for Argentina in their commanding 50-18 win over Italy in the Autumn Nations Series on Saturday.

Argentina scored seven tries on the day with Albornoz bagging a score while Juan Cruz Mallia, Gonzalo Bertranou, Joel Sclavi, Santiago Cordero, Matias Alemanno and Bautista Delguy also crossed.

From the tee Albornoz kicked six conversions and a penalty.

The hosts had less luck with only two tries, one from Giacomo Nicotera and another penalty try, with Tomasso Allan kicking two penalties.

It was Los Pumas out of the gates first as Albornoz kicked his first penalty before he slotted a conversion for Mallia’s breakout try on 11 minutes.

Momentum stayed with the blue and white as Bertranou scored close to the half-hour mark which was quickly followed by a maul penalty try just minutes later.  That would be it for the first period before it turned to chaos in the second.

Allan kicked a penalty to start before Sclavi crashed over just eight minutes into the second half.  Albornoz kicked the conversion then found himself over the whitewash in the 56th minute.

Next over in the line was Cordero before Italy scored their final try through Nicotera with 13 minutes left.

That did not stop Los Pumas from scoring two quick tries through Alemanno and Delguy.  Albornoz kicked the conversion to notch up 50 points for Argentina.

The teams

Italy:  15 Ange Capuozzo, 14 Louis Lynagh, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Tommaso Menoncello, 11 Monty Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Martin Page-Relo, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Michele Lamaro (c), 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolò Cannone, 3 Marco Riccioni, 2 Gianmarco Lucchesi, 1 Mirco Spagnolo
Replacements:  16 Giacomo Nicotera, 17 Danilo Fischetti, 18 Simone Ferrari, 19 Dino Lamb, 20 Manuel Zuliani, 21 Alessandro Garbisi, 22 Tommaso Allan, 23 Marco Zanon

Argentina:  15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Rodrigo Isgro, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Matias Orlando, 11 Bautista Delguy, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Joaquin Oviedo, 7 Santiago Grondona, 6 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Franco Molina, 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Julian Montoya (c), 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements:  16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Ignacio Calles, 18 Francisco Gomez Kodela, 19 Matias Alemmano, 20 Bautista Pedemonte, 21 Gonzalo Garcia, 22 Matias Moroni, 23 Santiago Cordero

Referee:  Matthew Carley (England)
Assistant Referees:  Andrew Brace (Ireland), Adam Leal (England)
TMO:  Mike Adamson (Scotland)

England stunned by the Wallabies as dramatic late try from rookie piles the pressure on Steve Borthwick

Joseph Suaalii made a fine first impression on his professional rugby union debut as Max Jorgensen’s late try secured a stunning 42-37 victory over England in another Twickenham thriller.

After a slow start, which saw England go 15-3 ahead through a pair of Chandler Cunningham-South tries, the Australians hit back superbly.

Suaalii came to the fore, setting up Tom Wright’s score, before Harry Wilson went over to move the visitors 20-18 ahead at the interval.

Jeremy Williams crossed to extend that buffer but England responded as an Ollie Sleightholme brace regained the hosts’ lead.

Andrew Kellaway and Maro Itoje traded scores before Jorgensen was the hero when he sped down the left for the Wallabies’ match-winning try to increase the pressure on Steve Borthwick.

The end was a far cry from England’s blistering start.  Frustrated by their defeat to the All Blacks last weekend, the hosts began quickly and manufactured a superb early try.

Marcus Smith was the instigator, dabbing a grubber through for Ollie Lawrence to collect.  The ball was then shifted right and good hands from Tom Curry, Jamie George and Ellis Genge sent Cunningham-South across the whitewash.

Although the visitors responded through a Noah Lolesio penalty, the big blindside scored his second try minutes later.  Former rugby league superstar Suaalii was partially at fault as he bit in to allow Cunningham-South a one-on-one which enabled the back-rower to barge over.

However, the 21-year-old soon got himself into the game and would show what he can do.  The centre was excellent at the restarts while he was constantly getting his hands free and off-loading, with one such effort leading to try.

The Red Rose had gone 15-3 ahead through a Smith three-pointer when Suaalii announced himself to rugby union when he basketball-style flicked the ball over the top of the England defence to give Wright a run to the line.

It was the boost the Wallabies needed as they began to find their fluency.  Although ill-discipline allowed England’s fly-half to add another off the tee, the tourists were putting their opponents under significant pressure.

Their big ball-carriers ― Angus Bell, Taniela Tupou and Rob Valetini ― were making ground at closer quarters and that opened the space for Tate McDermott to snipe around the fringes.  The scrum-half duly broke through the English rearguard and found Wilson to touch down.

Lolesio converted and then added a penalty on the stroke of half-time to hand Australia a surprise lead at the interval.

England had been stunned and needed a response, but it did not materialise.  Instead, it was Joe Schmidt’s men who took their momentum into the second period and dominated a Red Rose side that simply could not defend.

Australia played some outstanding rugby and deserved the try given to them by Williams’ finish in the left-hand corner.

A minute later and they could have scored another one when Wright broke from his own 22 as the hosts were once again cut open.  England were thankful that it yielded just a penalty for the Aussies as it kept them in the contest.

That belief then grew when Smith created a try for Sleightholme as his grubber through was collected and scored by the replacement.

All of a sudden the momentum switched and it was England who began to create opportunities as the Wallabies failed to control field position and possession.

The hosts duly took advantage of being on the front foot and a neat delay of the pass from Alex Dombrandt enabled Sleightholme to go over.

Smith then slotted the conversion as England regained their advantage, but back came Australia as a mix-up from George Ford and Lawrence allowed Kellaway to break away and cross the whitewash.

Borthwick’s men thought they had rescued it but once again they got it wrong in the latter stages and 20-year-old Jorgensen touched down following Len Ikitau’s superb off-load to leave Twickenham shocked.

The teams

England:  15 George Furbank, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Ollie Lawrence, 12 Henry Slade, 11 Tommy Freeman, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Chandler Cunningham-South, 5 George Martin, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Jamie George (c), 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements:  16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Alex Dombrandt, 21 Harry Randall, 22 George Ford, 23 Ollie Sleightholme

Australia:  15 Tom Wright, 14 Andrew Kellaway, 13 Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, 12 Len Ikitau, 11 Dylan Pietsch, 10 Noah Lolesio, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Harry Wilson (c), 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Jeremy Williams, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Matt Faessler, 1 Angus Bell
Replacements:  16 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 17 James Slipper, 18 Allan Alaalatoa, 19 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 20 Langi Gleeson, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Ben Donaldson, 23 Max Jorgensen

Referee:  Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees:  Nika Amashukeli (Georgia), Paul Williams (New Zealand)
TMO:  Glenn Newman (New Zealand)

All Blacks put lacklustre Ireland to the sword to bring 19-game home winning streak to a swift end

A try from Will Jordan and 18 points from the boot of Damian McKenzie helped New Zealand defeat Ireland 23-13 in the Autumn Nations Series in Dublin on Friday.

The workmanlike result means it’s now back-to-back wins for the All Blacks over the Irish after their Rugby World Cup quarter-final victory in Paris last year.

Jordan scored New Zealand’s only try of the match while McKenzie dominated with the boot, landing six penalty goals as Scott Robertson’s team celebrated.

Ireland crossed through Josh van der Flier while Jack Crowley kicked a conversion and two penalties as their Autumn Nations Series starts with a dismal loss.

Indeed, Ireland were out of sorts in their first hit-out of the end-of-year campaign, with a high error and penalty count hampering their performance.

Much of the pre-game talk had centred on the spat between Rieko Ioane and Johnny Sexton following the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-final.  It was therefore perhaps fitting that the centre led the haka and was the recipient of a chorus of boos when his name was read out.

Unfortunately the extra spice before kick off did not result in a Test match full of quality and entertainment as it was a cagey affair littered with mistakes and penalty offences.

Ireland took an early lead on seven minutes when an escort running line from soon-to-be Leinster centre Jordie Barrett was spotted by referee Nic Berry and Crowley made no mistake off the tee.

McKenzie would level soon after though as a break from scrum-half Cortez Ratima led to Ronan Kelleher infringing at the resulting ruck.

That would spark a period of dominance for the All Blacks but there was little to show for it on the scoreboard, with a crooked lineout in the Ireland 22 frustrating those in black.

McKenzie did eventually manage to put points on the board with penalties in the 28th and 37th minute, the latter coming after Ireland second-row James Ryan was pinged for not rolling away.

However, the hosts were given a shot in the arm just before the break when the aforementioned Barrett was yellow-carded for making contact with the head of the oncoming Garry Ringrose.  Crowley obliged off the tee to make it 9-6 to the All Blacks at half-time.

Ireland came out from the dressing room with their ears ringing and it showed as they pressed early on and were rewarded for their efforts when Van der Flier barged over from close range for a try converted by Crowley.

At 13-9 in front, the hosts were in a promising position but Asafo Aumua’s excellent work at the breakdown allowed McKenzie to step up and reduce the gap to one point, this despite having to put the ball back on the tee after it fell off.

The All Blacks fly-half struck the post soon after from long distance but made no mistake on the hour mark following a scrum offence, sending over the three points that put his side back in front at 15-13.

McKenzie was looking increasingly assured off the tee and made Iain Henderson pay on 64 minutes after the Ireland replacement offended at a breakdown.

But the best was still to come for the All Blacks as a slick passage of play saw the ball given plenty of width and eventually Aumua found Jordan for the key score on the left wing, wrapping up a famous victory that sees Ireland lose in Dublin for the first time in three-and-a-half years.

The teams

Ireland:  15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Garry Ringrose, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Jack Crowley, 9 Jamison Gibson-Park, 8 Caelan Doris (c), 7 Josh van der Flier, 6 Tadhg Beirne, 5 James Ryan, 4 Joe McCarthy, 3 Finlay Bealham, 2 Rónan Kelleher, 1 Andrew Porter
Replacements:  16 Rob Herring, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Tom O’Toole, 19 Iain Henderson, 20 Peter O’Mahony, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Ciaran Frawley, 23 Jamie Osborne

All Blacks:  15 Will Jordan, 14 Mark Tele’a, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 Cortez Ratima, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Wallace Sititi, 5 Tupou Vaa’i, 4 Scott Barrett (c), 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Asafo Aumua, 1 Tamaiti Williams
Replacements:  16 George Bell, 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Pasilio Tosi, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Samipeni Finau, 21 Cam Roigard, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Stephen Perofeta

Referee:  Nic Berry (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  Karl Dickson (England), Andrea Piardi (Italy)
TMO:  Brett Cronan (Australia)

Darcy Graham scores FOUR as Scotland seal dominant victory over Fiji

Darcy Graham shone on his return to Scotland duty as they opened their Autumn Nations Series campaign with a 57-17 thrashing of Fiji at Murrayfield.

Gregor Townsend’s men were rampant early on, with Graham starring in his first Test since last year’s Rugby World Cup.  Kyle Rowe might have opened the scoring but it was his back three partner’s brace which was the first-half highlight.

Huw Jones also crossed the whitewash as the Scots went 26-0 up at the end of the first quarter before the visitors finally woke up.

The Flying Fijians hit back through Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula and Meli Derenalagi to give them hope before they further ate into the lead when Tevita Ikanivere touched down early in the second period.

But any concerns were eased via Graham, who brilliantly finished twice more to go level with Duhan van der Merwe on 28 at the top of the try-scoring chart.  However, he was then surpassed once more as Van der Merwe crossed the whitewash to take his record back.

With the match taking place outside the international window, Fiji were without their overseas stars and it showed, especially early on, as Scotland dominated.

Townsend’s slick team were impressive in the opening quarter while the Pacific Islanders were ill-disciplined.

Frank Lomani was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on and the hosts took advantage when Rowe crossed the whitewash from close range.

Fiji got back to 15 men only to see Apisalome Vota yellow carded and, from the resultant opportunity, Graham combined with Ewan Ashman to score his first of the evening.

It wasn’t long before the speedster was over for his second as he latched on to Adam Hastings’ cross-field kick to finish in the right-hand corner.

The Flying Fijians were imploding and another mistake allowed Jones to intercept to take Scotland 26-0 in front.

To the tourists’ credit, they showed some spirit and put some pressure on the Scottish rearguard.  As a result, the hosts began to infringe and it eventually resulted in Ashman being yellow carded for a series of penalties on their own line.

With the hooker off the field, Armstrong-Ravula went over before Derenalagi followed him after Ashman had returned from the naughty step.

And when Ikanivere crossed the whitewash at the start of the second period, Murrayfield started to get nervous.

Graham was on hand to ease their tension, though, and after the flyer had completed his hat-trick, the hosts relaxed.

The 27-year-old crossed the whitewash for a fourth time to equal Van der Merwe’s try-scoring record before his back three partner once again took it outright when he benefited from Hastings’ genius.

Fiji’s spirit had well and truly been broken and Scotland rounded off the win when Jones touched down.

The teams

Scotland:  15 Kyle Rowe, 14 Darcy Graham, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu (c), 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Adam Hastings, 9 Ali Price, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Rory Darge, 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Scott Cummings, 4 Grant Gilchrist, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 Ewan Ashman, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements:  16 Dylan Richardson, 17 Rory Sutherland, 18 D’Arcy Rae, 19 Max Williamson, 20 Gregor Brown, 21 Jamie Dobie, 22 Tom Jordan, 23 Stafford McDowall

Fiji:  15 Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula, 14 Vuate Karawalevu, 13 Apisalome Vota, 12 Inia Tabuavou, 11 Ponipate Loganimasi, 10 Caleb Muntz, 9 Frank Lomani, 8 Elia Canakaivata, 7 Kitione Salawa, 6 Ratu Meli Derenalagi, 5 Ratu Leone Rotuisolia, 4 Isoa Nasilasila, 3 Samuela Tawake, 2 Tevita Ikanivere (c), 1 Haereiti Hetet
Replacements:  16 Mesulame Dolokoto, 17 Livai Natave, 18 Jone Koroiduadua, 19 Mesake Vocevoce, 20 Vilive Miramira, 21 Simi Kuruvoli, 22 Kemueli Valetini, 23 Waqa Nalaga

Referee:  Craig Evans (WRU)
Assistant Referees:  Christophe Ridley (RFU), Luc Ramos (FFR)
TMO:  Brett Cronan (RA)

All Blacks snatch late win as George Ford’s errors prove costly for England

It was a case of deja vu for the All Blacks and England as the tourists edged to yet another narrow victory, earning a 24-22 win at Allianz Stadium.

In July, New Zealand came back in the final quarter to snatch a 2-0 series triumph over Steve Borthwick’s men and they did the same on Saturday.

It was a thrilling if mistake-ridden contest which saw the All Blacks go 14-12 ahead at the break through Mark Tele’a and Will Jordan tries.

Marcus Smith kicked four penalties to keep the Red Rose in the game before the fly-half set up Immanuel Feyi-Waboso’s score in the second period.

Smith then added another three-pointer and it looked as though the hosts would finally beat the All Blacks, but a late response, which saw Damian McKenzie land a penalty and Tele’a cross the whitewash, resulted in New Zealand’s third consecutive win over England.

It was George Ford, who had come on for the brilliant Smith, that missed the tackle for Tele’a’s try while he was also awry with two late kicks that would have won the game for Borthwick’s outfit.

England have taken a much more adventurous approach under Borthwick in 2024 and they signalled their intent from the kick-off when Smith’s cross-field kick to Feyi-Waboso almost worked out.

That bold decision was indicative of a bright start from the hosts, who moved in front via the boot of their fly-half.

However, the All Blacks’ kicking game was also dangerous, with Cortez Ratima and the two backline Barretts testing the English aerial game.

Equally, they looked to move the ball through the hands when the opportunity presented itself and that variety proved too difficult for the Red Rose to handle on eight minutes.

Wallace Sititi, who was brilliant once again, was the creator as the back-rower’s brilliant off-load found Tele’a out wide.  The wing still had plenty to do but he rounded Ellis Genge and finished in the corner.

That wasn’t the only chance New Zealand created but at times they were profligate, while their ill-discipline was allowing England to remain close.

Three off-the-ball hits were called by the television match official and on each occasion Smith was able to punish them off the tee.

England’s fly-half was keeping his side in the game as their defence struggled to stay connected against the All Blacks’ smart attack.

More often than not Beauden Barrett was taking the right option and he spotted a gaping hole to send Jordan scampering through for another try.

Robertson’s men threatened to break free at that point, but the penalty count hurt them and a fourth Smith three-pointer reduced the arrears to two points at the interval.

That ability to stay in the contest proved crucial for the hosts and they benefited from another error by New Zealand at the start of the second period.

The All Blacks got themselves in a tangle with ball in hand and Ratima’s pass, who otherwise had a mistake-free match, was intercepted by Smith.

He still had plenty to do, especially with Jordan bearing down on him, but the playmaker dummied and found his support in George Furbank, who shipped it on to Feyi-Waboso to touch down.

England grew in confidence following that score while the All Blacks began to make a few too many mistakes and the home side controlled territory.

However, New Zealand are always dangerous, particularly off turnover ball, and they appeared to have scored when Caleb Clarke broke down the left and fed Beauden Barrett, but it was correctly called back for a deliberate knock-on.

From the resultant penalty, Smith was once again on target and England held a 22-14 advantage with a quarter of the game remaining.

The All Blacks struggled in the final 20 minutes of matches in the Rugby Championship, but they got back to within a score through McKenzie’s three-pointer.

And as New Zealand did in July, they began to ramp up the intensity and, under pressure, the Red Rose folded as Tele’a crossed the whitewash for a second time, McKenzie converting for the lead.

Ford missed the tackle on the wing to allow him to score but the replacement fly-half ― and his team ― still had an opportunity to snatch the win in the final few minutes.

The pivot was twice handed the chance to atone for that error but he was awry on both occasions as the All Blacks held on.

The teams

England:  15 George Furbank, 14 Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, 13 Henry Slade, 12 Ollie Lawrence, 11 Tommy Freeman, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Ben Spencer, 8 Ben Earl, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Chandler Cunningham-South, 5 George Martin, 4 Maro Itoje, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Jamie George (c), 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements:  16 Theo Dan, 17 Fin Baxter, 18 Dan Cole, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Ben Curry, 21 Alex Dombrandt, 22 Harry Randall, 23 George Ford

All Blacks:  15 Will Jordan, 14 Mark Tele’a, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Cortez Ratima, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Wallace Sititi, 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 Pasilio Tosi, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Samipeni Finau, 21 Cam Roigard, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Damian McKenzie

Referee:  Angus Gardner (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  Pierre Brousset (France), Jordan Way (Australia)
TMO:  Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)

All Blacks overcome slow start to seal easy win over Eddie Jones’ Japan

New Zealand overcame a slow start to produce a dominant display against Japan as they sealed a comfortable 64-19 victory in Yokohama.

The Brave Blossoms were impressive in the opening quarter and were only 14-12 in arrears after 20 minutes thanks to Jone Naikabula and Faulua Makisi tries.

However, the All Blacks ultimately proved too strong and were in control at the break as Billy Proctor, Sam Cane, Samipeni Finau, Pasilio Tosi and Tamaiti Williams touched down to add to earlier scores from Mark Tele’a and Patrick Tuipulotu.

Cam Roigard then went over at the start of the second period as they continued to go at a point a minute, but New Zealand were unable to maintain that intensity.

It would be a stretch to say their second-half issues had returned but coaches and players alike would have been disappointed that they only went over twice more in the final 37 minutes, via a brace from debutant Ruben Love.

Scott Robertson named a makeshift outfit for this encounter and it very much showed in the opening quarter as they struggled on both sides of the ball.

Japan have been fast starters under Eddie Jones and they once again put their opponents under significant pressure by playing at a high tempo.

New Zealand did not help themselves with Asafo Aumua’s errant throw and Roigard’s poor box-kick allowing the hosts to get into the game.

The Brave Blossoms duly took advantage and stunned the visitors when Naikabula took a neat inside ball and sprinted away to score.

Robertson’s men hit back, however, and 10 minutes later were ahead.  Firstly, Tele’a touched down on his return to the side before Tuipulotu powered over with an impressive finish as the lock shrugged off the attentions of several would-be tacklers to score.

Despite that response, there were still some structural issues for New Zealand, especially defensively, and they were breached once again when Makisi sauntered across the whitewash unopposed.

The All Blacks’ frustrations were almost compounded as Warner Dearns latched onto a loose ball following a huge hit on Damian McKenzie and showed his athleticism to outpace Sevu Reece and go over.  However, it was ruled out and it was the type of fortune the visitors needed to finally hit their stride.

A brutal 10-minute period, in which the away side’s off-loads all seemed to stick, proved to be the Brave Blossoms’ undoing.

McKenzie controlled the game nicely from fly-half while Proctor and Wallace Sititi made some significant contributions to help take the game away from their opponents.

The centre was rewarded for his efforts with a try and he was followed over the line by Cane, Finau and Tosi in that devastating spell.

They completed an ultimately positive half with another score from Williams before they began the second period in the same fashion.

This time it was Roigard who proved too strong for the Japanese defence as the scrum-half fended off some weak tackles to cross the whitewash.

However, the match became scrappy and the All Blacks struggled to find the same fluency, allowing the hosts to score for a third time through Opeti Helu.

But Robertson’s team did finish with a flourish as Love touched down twice to complete a comfortable win for the All Blacks.

The teams

Japan:  15 Yoshitaka Yazaki, 14 Jone Naikabula, 13 Dylan Riley, 12 Nicholas McCurran, 11 Malo Tuitama, 10 Harumichi Tatekawa (c), 9 Shinobu Fujiwara, 8 Faulua Makisi, 7 Kazuki Himeno, 6 Amato Fakatava, 5 Warner Dearns, 4 Sanaila Waqa, 3 Shuhei Takeuchi, 2 Atsushi Sakate, 1 Takato Okabe
Replacements:  16 Mamoru Harada, 17 Takayoshi Mohara, 18 Opeti Helu, 19 Epineri Uluiviti, 20 Kanji Shimokawa, 21 Taiki Koyama, 22 Tomoki Osada, 23 Takuro Matsunaga

New Zealand:  15 Stephen Perofeta, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Billy Proctor, 12 Anton Lienert-Brown, 11 Mark Tele’a, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 Cam Roigard, 8 Wallace Sititi, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Samipeni Finau, 5 Patrick Tuipulotu (c), 4 Sam Darry, 3 Pasilio Tosi, 2 Asafo Aumua, 1 Tamaiti Williams
Replacements:  16 George Bell, 17 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 18 Fletcher Newell, 19 Josh Lord, 20 Peter Lakai, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 David Havili, 23 Ruben Love

Referee:  Jordan Way (Australia)
Assistant Referees:  Nic Berry (Australia), Reuben Keane (Australia)
TMO:  Damon Murphy (Australia)

Springboks exact revenge over Argentina in thumping victory to seal Rugby Championship title in style

The Springboks claimed their first Rugby Championship title since 2019 after they comfortably overcame Argentina 48-7 at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday evening.

Victory helps exact revenge over Los Pumas following the shock 29-28 reversal at Santiago del Estero last weekend and it was a determined and well-deserved result.

Tries from Aphelele Fassi (2), Pieter-Steph du Toit (2), Cheslin Kolbe, Malcolm Marx and Jesse Kriel helped the Springboks to a maximum haul in a dominant effort in Nelspruit.

The five-point success sees Rassie Erasmus’ outfit pick up the Rugby Championship silverware with an eight-point buffer from the All Blacks, who finished in second spot.

The silverware was a fitting present for Eben Etzebeth on the day he became South Africa’s most-capped player after he surpassed the great Victor Matfield’s 127 mark.

It was the perfect start from a fired-up Bok outfit as they looked to make a statement following that Round Five defeat and they more than made an impressive opening.

Sustained pressure on Los Pumas’ line that included several scrum penalties was eventually rewarded when Fassi crashed over off a smart Manie Libbok pass.  The conversion was successful from scrum-half Jaden Hendrikse, who was handed the kicking duties over his fly-half following that costly late missed penalty last week.

The advantage was doubled on 15 minutes when a quarterback-esque sneak from Du Toit saw him ground, despite the best efforts of form Pumas fly-half Tomos Albornoz.

Argentina desperately needed a response in front of the vocal home supporters and they got it on 20 minutes when Albornoz raced under the posts after a lovely set play.

However, the visitors’ joy was shortlived when an offside from a kick ahead resulted in Hendrikse knocking over a simple penalty goal that made it a 17-7 cushion for the Boks.

Felipe Contepomi’s team were also further setbacks soon after when star inside centre Santiago Chocobares was withdrawn from the action on 26 minutes following a knee injury before wing Mateo Carreras was yellow carded for taking out Fassi in the air.

South Africa would make their numerical advantage pay as tries before the break from lethal duo Fassi and Kolbe made it a 27-7 gap which was a fair reflection of the first 40.

The second period took a while to find its flow and the scoreline reflected it, with no change on the board until the 69th minute as both teams struggled to find their mojo.

Argentina’s woes were compounded 15 minutes prior to that, however, when Pablo Matera was yellow-carded for head contact at a ruck.  It was later upgraded to red.

There was worse to come too for Los Pumas as Santiago Carreras was yellow-carded for a deliberate knock-on when attempting an intercept and the Boks duly feasted.

A maul try from replacement Marx was followed up by Du Toit crashing over and the icing on the cake saw Kriel claim a late score as the celebrations could finally begin.

The teams

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

Argentina:  15 Santiago Carreras, 14 Rodrigo Isgro, 13 Matais Moroni, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Gonzalo Garcia, 8 Joaquin Oviedo, 7 Santiago Grondona, 6 Juan Martín Gonzalez, 5 Tomás Lavanini, 4 Pedro Rubiolo, 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Julian Montoya, 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements:  16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Ignacio Calles, 18 Pedro Delgado, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Pablo Matera, 21 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 22 Lucio Cinti, 23 Juan Cruz Mallia

Referee:  Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)
Assistant Referees:  James Doleman (New Zealand), Craig Evans (Wales)
TMO:  Glenn Newman (New Zealand)

All Blacks finally end winless Wellington run and ease final quarter woes with an impressive victory over Wallabies

The All Blacks finished their Rugby Championship campaign in style when they clinched a deserved 33-13 victory against the Wallabies in Wellington on Saturday.

The home side were full value for their win as they dominated for long periods and eventually outscored the Wallabies by five tries to one, with Caleb Clarke leading the way with a brace.

Sevu Reece, Will Jordan and Tamaiti Willians also crossed the whitewash while Beauden Barrett succeeded with four conversions.

For the Wallabies, Fraser McReight scored a try and Noah Lolesio added a conversion and two three-pointers off the kicking tee.

It was a momentous result for New Zealand as they ended a five-match winless run in Wellington ― stretching back to 2018 and they also scored points for the first time during the final quarter of a match in this year’s Rugby Championship.

The Wallabies made a fine start and had a great opportunity to open the scoring as early as the third minute when Andrew Kellaway caught the All Blacks’ defence napping.

He launched an attack from just inside New Zealand’s half before booting the ball ahead inside their 22.  Barrett failed to deal with the bouncing ball and Jake Gordon pounced but knocked on while trying to dot down.

Australia continued to attack inside New Zealand’s 22 and five minutes later they were rewarded when McReight barged over for the opening try from close quarters.

The All Blacks seemed shell-shocked by the intensity of the Wallabies’ onslaught as they continued to launch several attacks, but the home side did well to soak up that early pressure and soon opened their account.

In the 16th minute, Wallace Sititi launched an attack close to the halfway line and did brilliantly to draw in three defenders before offloading to Anton Lienert-Brown, who set off towards the Wallabies’ try-line.  He still had plenty of work to do and found Reece with a beautifully weighted skip pass and the wing outpaced the cover defence on his way over the try-line.

Lolesio responded with a penalty soon after, before Jordan left his stamp on the match with a moment of magic.  This, after he gathered a pass from Barrett just outside Australia’s 22 and the full-back did brilliantly to step past two defenders before racing away to score his try.

Despite that score, the Wallabies remained competitive and McReight came close to scoring his second try in the latter stages of the half but was held up while crossing the whitewash.

The visitors continued to attack inside New Zealand’s 22 and Lolesio eventually added another penalty in the 35th minute after New Zealand were blown up for offside play on defence.

Despite that score, the All Blacks had one more trick up their sleeve as just before half-time they launched a flowing attack deep inside Wallabies’ territory.  Lienert-Brown turned provider again as he found Clarke with a deft offload and the flyer sliced through the visitors’ defence before scoring his first try.

Barrett added the extras which meant the match was still evenly poised with the home side leading 19-13 at the interval.

A win in Wellington 😎#AllBlacks pic.twitter.com/ihYHlLPQ8m

― All Blacks (@AllBlacks) September 28, 2024

Both sides stayed true to their attacking roots during the rest of the match, although the home side came out firing after the restart and were soon camped inside the Wallabies’ half.

And after taking the ball through several phases off the back of a lineout close to Australia’s try-line, Williams crashed over for their fourth try to extend his side’s lead.

The All Blacks continued to dominate as the half progressed and had a try from Tupou Vaa’i disallowed, five minutes later, after a handling error in the build-up.

That setback did not deter the hosts and in the 65th minute, Clarke ran onto a pass from Damian McKenzie and shrugged off two defenders before crashing over for his second five-pointer.

That score knocked the wind out of the Wallabies’ sails and secured the result for the All Blacks and, in doing so, they also ended their six-year hoodoo in Wellington.

The teams

New Zealand:  15 Will Jordan, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Anton Lienert-Brown, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9  TJ Perenara, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Wallace Sititi, 5 Tupou Vaa’i, 4 Scott Barrett (c), 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot
Replacements:  16 Asafo Aumua, 17 Tamaiti Williams, 18 Pasilio Tosi, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Luke Jacobson, 21 Cortez Ratima, 22 Damian McKenzie, 23 David Havili

Australia:  15 Tom Wright, 14 Andrew Kellaway, 13 Len Ikitau, 12 Hunter Paisami, 11 Dylan Pietsch, 10 Noah Lolesio, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Harry Wilson (c), 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Jeremy Williams, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Matt Faessler, 1 Angus Bell
Replacements:  16 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 17 Isaac Kailea, 18 Allan Alaalatoa, 19 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 20 Langi Gleeson, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Ben Donaldson, 23 Josh Flook

Referee:  Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)
Assistant Referees:  Karl Dickson (England), Damian Schneider (Argentina)
TMO:  Eric Gauzins (France)

Los Pumas down shell-shocked Springboks in Santiago thriller to set up Rugby Championship title decider

Argentina have now beaten all three Rugby Championship opponents after they triumphed over the Springboks 29-28 in Santiago.

The hosts scored four tries on the day with Mateo Carreras, Pablo Matera, Joel Sclavi and Tomas Albornoz scoring with the fly-half also kicking three conversions and a penalty in an epic shift.

Meanwhile, South Africa managed three tries in Santiago through Aphelele Fassi, Jesse Kriel and Cobus Reinach with Handre Pollard kicking two penalties and two conversions.  Manie Libbok also kicked a penalty.

The Springboks were very fast out of the gates with Fassi scoring in just the third minute thanks to a lovely Pollard pass with the fly-half adding the extras as he would four minutes after that when Kriel cantered through giving the visitors a dream start.

Looking to compound the pressure, the Springboks kicked a penalty through Pollard in the 12th minute to take a commanding lead early with the world champions expecting to pull away but that was not the case.

Los Pumas burst into life and played Carreras in down the left hand side for the first try from the hosts in the 14th minute as Albornoz got his kick.  Argentina would exploit the same side with Kurt-Lee Arendse in the sin bin seven minutes later this time Matera crossing the white whitewash for a converted try.

The onslaught did not stop there as Sclavi (26”) and Albornoz (34”) both scored tries, one of which was converted, to suddenly shoot Los Pumas into a strong position.  The Springboks needed to stop the bleeding and Reinach showed his awareness and experience to score in the corner from a quick tap taking the sides into half-time after Pollard missed the conversions.

The second-half would not follow the same rate of scoring although Pollard did kick a penalty in the 43rd minute and Libbok in the 50th minute as the Springboks looked to slow the game down and take control.

The visitor’s control of the game did improve but not enough to make further difference on the scoreboard opening the door for Albornoz to kick the decisive penalty in the 68th minute.

The last minutes were filled with nerves as Libbok had a chance to win in from the tee in the dying minutes but he pulled his kick handing Los Pumas a famous victory in Santiago.

This sets up a massive battle in Nelspruit next weekend where the same side will slug it out for the Rugby Championship title.

Teams

Argentina:  15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Joaquin Oviedo, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Franco Molina, 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Julian Montoya, 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements:  16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Ignacio Calles, 18 Pedro Delgado, 19 Gudio Petti, 20 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 21 Gonzalo Garcia, 22 Santiago Carreras, 23 Matias Moroni

South Africa:  15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Lukhanyo Am, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Ben-Jason Dixon, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Salmaan Moerat (c), 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements:  16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Elrigh Louw, 21 Kwagga Smith, 22 Jaden Hendrikse, 23 Manie Libbok

60-minute All Blacks survive second-half Wallabies scare to retain the Bledisloe Cup in Sydney thriller

The All Blacks retain the Bledisloe Cup despite a nervous last 20 minutes in their 28-31 win over the Wallabies in Sydney on Saturday.

Both sides scored four tries a piece with the hosts going over the whitewash with Fraser McReight, Matt Faessler, Hunter Paisami and Tom Wright with Noah Lolesio kicking all the conversions in a flawless day from the tee.

The All Blacks’ points came from Will Jordan, Rieko Ioane, Caleb Clarke and Ardie Savea tries as Damian McKenzie kicked four conversions and a very important penalty that proved decisive.

It was the All Blacks who flew out of the blocks early with Jordan making the most of his late switch to full-back after Beauden Barrett’s withdrawal by finding a pocket of space and showing his acceleration to score in just the second minute.  Mckenzie was on hand to kick his first conversion of the day.

The visitors did not let up as they looked to double down on their fast start finding plenty of space down the left side to set up Ioane for yet another Bledisloe Cup try in the ninth minute as fly-half McKenzie had no issue with the kick.

Unfortunately for the Wallabies two tries became three in the first 15 minutes as Clarke barged his way through two defenders to cross the whitewash for yet another converted try.  However, this time the hosts responded with a brilliant set move off a line-out that had McReight in space after a series of lovely passes.  Lolesio would add the extras.

It would always be difficult to keep the All Blacks out again who got rewarded for their defensive pressure as Sevu Reece picked a loose ball to play in Savea who ran in under the sticks for a converted score becoming the highest try-scoring forward in All Blacks history in the process.

The hosts would have the final say of the first half as hooker Faessler timed his breakaway from a maul to perfection and Lolesio kicked a difficult conversion to keep the Wallabies in the contest.

New Zealand started the second period with some good pressure leading to a penalty for McKenzie in the 45th minute taking the All Blacks crucially out of the two-converted try difference.

The contest tightened up as the Wallabies grew into the game leading to a lull in scoring with the All Blacks scoring two disallowed tries before the hosts eventually crashed over for a converted try from Paisami with 15 minutes to go.

The Wallabies continued to push and finally got their reward with a 79th-minute converted try from full-back Wright once again converted by Lolesio.  This would take the hosts within three points of the All Blacks but it was not to be as New Zealand retained the Bledisloe Cup again.

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 (c), 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Jeremy Williams, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Matt Faessler, 1 Angus Bell
Replacements:  16 Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 17 James Slipper, 18 Allan Alaalatoa, 19 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 20 Langi Gleeson, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Tom Lynagh, 23 Dylan Pietsch

New Zealand:  15 Will Jordan, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Caleb Clarke, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 Cortez Ratima, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Wallace Sititi, 5 Tupou Vaa’i, 4 Scott Barrett (c), 3 Tyrel Lomax, 2 Codie Taylor, 1 Ethan de Groot
Replacements:  16 Asafo Aumua, Tamaiti Williams, 18 Pasilio Tosi, 19 Sam Darry, 20 Luke Jacobson, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Harry Plummer

Australia butcher 17-point lead as Julian Montoya’s milestone inspires Argentina to record win

Argentina captain Julian Montoya had a dream match in his 100th appearance for his country as Los Pumas took apart Australia 67-27 in Santa Fe which is the most points a team has scored against the Wallabies and the country’s biggest defeat.

Los Pumas managed nine tries on the day through hot-stepping wing Mateo Carreras, the milestone man Montoya, Juan Martin Gonzalez, Pablo Matera Joaquin Oviedo (2), Juan Cruz Mallia (2) and Lucio Cinti all crossing the whitewash.

Fly-half Tomas Albornoz was on point with the boot, kicking six conversions and two penalties.  Substitute Santiago Carreras also added two from his boot.

The Wallabies only managed three tries in the Santa Fe heat through Carlo Tizzano, Andrew Kellaway and Tate McDermott with Ben Donaldson kicking two penalties and two conversions.  Replacement Tom Lynagh also kicked a conversion.

It did not take long for the scoreboard to tick over as Albornoz nudged over a penalty after just four minutes.  This would be the hosts’ last points for nearly 30 minutes as Donaldson cancelled out the Argentine penalty with one for Australia after six minutes.

The Wallabies looked to double down on their momentum and did just that with the tireless Tizzano being rewarded with a converted score after 15 minutes.  Donaldson would add another penalty eight minutes later before Max Jorgensen expertly played in Kellaway for his try.

Almost as if it was a flick of a switch, Argentina burst into life scoring two tries through Carreras and skipper Montoya in the last 10 minutes of the first period.  The hosts would follow suit in the second half scoring three tries through Gonzalez, Matera and Joaquin Oviedo in the first 24 minutes of the half.  Albornoz nailed all of the conversions to give Argentina a strong lead.

Australia managed to scratch together their final try of the game with some quick thinking from McDermott powering him over with 11 minutes to go.  However, it would go severely downhill for the visitors as the floodgates well and truly opened with Mallia bagging a brace, Oviedo scoring his second and Cinti strolling overall in the final 10 minutes.

What started as a positive performance for Australia fell apart into a string of forgettable records for Joe Schmidt.

Teams

Argentina:  15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Santiago Chocobares, 11 Mateo Carreras, 10 Tomas Albornoz, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Juan Martin Gonzalez, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Pablo Matera, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Gudio Petti, 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Julian Montoya, 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements:  16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Eduardo Bello, 19 Franco Molina, 20 Joaquin Oviedo, 21 Santiago Grondona, 22 Gonzalo Garcia, 23 Santiago Carreras

Australia:  15 Andrew Kellaway, 14 Max Jorgensen, 13 Len Ikitau, 12 Hamish Stewart, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Ben Donaldson, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Harry Wilson (c), 7 Carlo Tizzano, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Jeremy Williams, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Matt Faessler, 1 Angus Bell
Replacements:  16 Josh Nasser, 17 James Slipper, 18 Allan Alaalatoa, 19 Josh Canham, 20 Langi Gleeson, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Tom Lynagh, 23 Josh Flook

Referee:  Pierre Brousset (FFR)
Assistant Referees:  Ben O’Keeffe (NZR), James Doleman (NZR)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (SARU)

Springboks claim epic double over All Blacks ending 15-year wait for Freedom Cup glory

The Springboks continued with their dominance in this year’s Rugby Championship as they clinched an 18-12 victory over the All Blacks in Cape Town on Saturday.

As the scoreline suggests, this was a hard-fought battle and momentum between the sides ebbed and flowed throughout but the Boks finished stronger and eventually outscored their visitors by two tries to none.

Siya Kolisi and Malcolm Marx crossed the whitewash for the world champions with Handre Pollard adding a conversion and a penalty while Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu also succeeded with a three-pointer off the kicking tee.

Damian McKenzie scored all of the All Blacks points courtesy of four penalties.  The win is a momentous one for the Boks as they take a giant step towards winning the Rugby Championship and it also means they win the Freedom Cup for the first time in 15 years.

It is also South Africa’s second successive triumph over New Zealand in the tournament and their fourth win in a row over their arch-rivals.

The opening exchanges were cagey with the two sides feeling each other out, although the home side had their tails up when they had the All Blacks back-pedalling at successive scrums inside the opening 10 minutes.

In the 15th minute, the Springboks were reduced to 14 men when Jasper Wiese received a yellow card for a cynical defensive foul deep inside his 22 and McKenzie slotted the resulting penalty to open the scoring.

New Zealand’s numerical advantage did not last long, however, as shortly afterwards Sevu Reece was also sent to the sin bin after he took Willie le Roux out in an aerial challenge.

The next 10 minutes was a slugfest characterised by several bone-crunching collisions with neither side taking a backward step in contact.

In the 29th minute, the visitors doubled their lead courtesy of another McKenzie three-pointer off the kicking tee after Grant Williams was blown up for going off his feet a ruck.

It wasn’t long before the Boks opened their account via a Pollard penalty after Ardie Savea infringed at the breakdown.

The closing stages of the opening stanza was a tense affair as the All Blacks were camped deep inside the Boks’ 22 and just before the interval McKenzie succeeded with another penalty ― after Ruan Nortje was penalised at a ruck ― which meant the visitors held a 9-3 lead at half-time.

The Boks make it four in a row against the All Blacks … and the Freedom Cup is coming home 🏆#Springboks #ForeverGreenForeverGold #RSAvNZL pic.twitter.com/Sau0OEd4zl

― Springboks (@Springboks) September 7, 2024

Soon after the restart, McKenzie lined up a 53-metre penalty ― after Damian de Allende held onto the ball on the ground ― but his effort fell just short of the cross-bar.

The Boks were soon on the attack inside the All Blacks’ 22 and after Marx and Ox Nche were stopped close to the try-line, Eben Etzebeth crossed the whitewash but his effort was disallowed as the TMO ruled that he dotted down short of the whitewash.

The home side did not panic though and after initially setting up a driving maul on New Zealand’s five-metre line, the ball was taken through some phases before Kolisi crossed for the opening five-pointer in the 50th minute with a hulking carry.

Pollard added the extras, which gave his team the lead for the first time, but he was replaced by Feinberg-Mngomezulu shortly afterwards and the rookie playmaker was soon into the action as he slotted a 40-metre penalty in the 53rd minute.

The tense nature of this encounter continued as the match progressed and in the 59th minute McKenzie added his fourth penalty which meant the match was on a knife’s edge as it entered its final quarter.

In the 61st minute, South Africa were forced to play with 14 men again when Le Roux was yellow carded, after knocking on a pass from Beauden Barrett to Sevu Reece, and McKenzie lined up a shot at goal but his kick struck an upright.

The Boks had a chance to extend their lead in the 67th minute when Feinberg-Mngomezulu attempted a penalty from the halfway line but despite having the distance, his effort was off target.

Five minutes later, the All Blacks had a chance to regain the lead when McKenzie lined up a penalty from 40 metres out but, like Feinberg-Mngomezulu’s earlier kick, his was also wide of the mark.

Things went pear-shaped for the All Blacks in the 72nd minute when referee Matthew Carley also sent Tyrel Lomax to the sin bin, after he took Cheslin Kolbe out off the ball with a shoulder charge.

That proved costly as the Boks put the resulting penalty into touch close to the All Blacks’ try-line and set up a lineout drive from which Marx went over for the match-winning score.

The teams

Springboks:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Cheslin Kolbe, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements:  16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Kwagga Smith, 20 Elrigh Louw, 21 Jaden Hendrikse, 22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 23 Lukhanyo Am

All Blacks:  15 Will Jordan, 14 Sevu Reece, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 Jordie Barrett, 11 Mark Tele’a, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 Cortez Ratima, 8 Ardie Savea, 7 Sam Cane, 6 Wallace Sititi, 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 Luke Jacobson, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Anton Lienert-Brown, 23 Beauden Barrett

Referee:  Matthew Carley (RFU)
Assistant Referees:  Andrew Brace (IRFU), Jordan Way (RA)
TMO:  Ian Tempest (RFU)

Australia spoil Agustin Creevy’s farewell clinching a late win in La Plata arm-wrestle

Joe Schmidt’s Wallabies claimed their first win of the 2024 Rugby Championship with a narrow 19-20 triumph in La Plata.

The visitors scored two tries on the day through Jake Gordon and Rob Valetini while Noah Lolesio kicked two conversions and a penalty with Ben Donaldson kicking the winner late on.

Argentina, however, only managed one try through Juan Martin Gonzalez.  Most of their points came from Santiago Carreras’ boot with one conversion and three penalties.  The fly-half’s replacement Tomas Abornoz added a penalty of his own in the second half.

The start of the game saw the two sides looking to apply pressure and adapt to the wet conditions which saw Argentina draw first blood with Carreras’ first penalty in the 10th minute.

Los Pumas would extend their lead in a matter of a few moments with dynamic number eight Gonzalez crashing over for the team’s sole try in the 13th minute.  Carreras was on hand again to add the extras.

The Wallabies did well to keep themselves in the game and it paid off through a Gordon try in the 26th minute that was converted by Lolesio.  That would be all the points for Australia in the first half as Carreras kicked his second penalty six minutes before the break.

The second half started as the first ended with Carreras kicking a penalty, his third and final of the clash.  As they showed in the first 40 the Wallabies were not prepared to go anywhere and evergreen back-row Valetini crossed for a crucial score with Lolesio making no mistake from the tee.

The Test descended into an arm-wrestle as conditions worsened.  Lolesio would add three more points just before the hour mark which was responded to by a penalty from Albornoz.

It looked as if the hosts were going to close out the game but the Wallabies did well to get themselves upfield and secured the winning penalty from right in front through Donaldson to get off the mark in this year’s competition.

The teams

Argentina:  15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Santiago Cordero, 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, 5 Pedro Rubiolo, 4 Franco Molina, 3 Joel Sclavi, 2 Julian Montoya, 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements:  16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Mayco Vivas, 18 Eduardo Bello, 19 Guido Petti, 20 Tomas Lavanini, 21 Joaquin Oviedo, 22 Lautaro Bazan Velez, 23 Tomas Albornoz

Wallabies:  15 Tom Wright, 14 Andrew Kellaway, 13 Len Ikitau, 12 Hamish Stewart, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Noah Lolesio, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Harry Wilson (c), 7 Carlo Tizzano, 6 Rob Valetini, 5 Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Taniela Tupou, 2 Matt Faessler, 1 Angus Bell
Replacements:  16 Josh Nasser, 17 Isaac Kailea, 18 Allan Alaalatoa, 19 Jeremy Williams, 20 Langi Gleeson, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Ben Donaldson, 23 Max Jorgensen

Referee:  James Doleman (NZR)
Assistant Referees:  Ben O’Keeffe (NZR), Pierre Brousset (FFR)
TMO:  Marius Jonker (SARU)

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)