Author: Daniel Gallan

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The Spin | Cricket and a custom-made diplomatic row over missing handshake

#Handshakegate between India and Pakistan reflects a sporting history dotted with moments when the clasp of palms stood for something

It is seen on village greens and in Test arenas alike. It is there at the start of the game, just after the coin toss, and it is there at the end when the final run is struck or wicket falls. According to research from the University of Dundee it should last between one-and-a-half and three seconds, just long enough to reassure both participants, but not so long as to feel overbearing.

In the tapestry of the sport it is less consequential than the colour of the captain’s socks or what the home team has laid out for tea. And yet its absence is instantly conspicuous, sometimes enough to spark controversy, fines or even diplomatic fallout.

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Handré Pollard scowls at the uprights as if he owns them. Australia could do with a ruthless winner like him

It would be simplistic to say South Africa won this slugfest solely because of Pollard. But he did kick all six of his shots at goal

Handré Pollard doesn’t simply point to the poles. The South African metronome, his face stuck in a perpetual scowl, thrusts a meaty finger towards the uprights as if he owns them. “You’re mine,” he growls, with the promise that in just a few short seconds an oval ball will be spiralling through them courtesy of his swinging right boot.

If there’s such a thing as a Test match animal then it is Pollard, the only fly-half present at the final whistle of two victorious World Cup campaigns. And Test match animals win Test matches. Whatever transpires across 80 minutes is almost immaterial. All that matters is the result.

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Wallabies break South Africa’s aura of invincibility in win that asks: is Australian rugby back?

Joe Schmidt’s side turned a 22-point deficit into a first win at Ellis Park since 1963. If this is a redrafting of the story, then the sport will be better off

For 18 minutes, everything was going according to script. The double world champions were running riot at Ellis Park, stomping over the gain line with every carry, shrugging off tacklers and hammering anyone unlucky enough to be wearing a gold jersey.

Australia had touched the ball twice before Kurt-Lee Arendse scored the opening try; once when James O’Connor kicked off, then again when Tom Wright spilled a contestable kick. Twelve minutes later André Esterhuizen sliced through the right before Siya Kolisi bulldozed over under the posts. Manie Libbok kicked seven extra points to nudge the score to 22-0 in South Africa’s favour. We’d not yet reached the quarter mark of this one-sided contest.

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South Africa 22-38 Australia: Rugby Championship Test – as it happened

A Harry Wilson double inspires an Australian comeback with 38 unanswered points from 0-22 down to win in Johannesburg for the first time since 1963 .

What a start for the Springboks! It started with Wright fumbling a Williams box kick and then it was all momentum. Just about every player was involved. Du Toit, Kolisi and more had strong carries until the cracks opened. Fassie joined from fullback to play the final pass to his left where Arendse had a simple run in. That move went several phases and 70 metres.

Libbok nails the conversion from the left.

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Wallabies and Springboks in identity swap for clash amid thin air of Highveld | Daniel Gallan

The frenemies meet in this year’s Rugby Championship opener at Ellis Park where they are expected to rip pages out of the other’s playbook

One team boasts some of the most menacing forwards found anywhere in the world. The other is developing a scintillating backline capable of tearing apart any defence. Business as usual, then, for a Wallabies versus Springboks clash. Except this time, like the characters of Freaky Friday, the two sides have switched identities ahead of the first round of the Rugby Championship.

Australia might have lost the British & Irish Lions series but they were one referee’s decision at the breakdown away from causing a seismic upset. That the margin was so small was thanks largely to the thundering cameos of Will Skelton, Rob Valetini, Taniela Tupou and a handful of other meaty men who provided the front-foot grunt that was absent in the first Test in Brisbane.

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Heartache turns to hope as South Africa seek to shake ‘chokers’ tag in WTC final | Daniel Gallan

The Proteas choking when it matters most is a tale as old as the country itself as history again weighs heavy on their World Test Championship hopes

A South African cricket fan’s standout World Cup catastrophe will depend on when they were born. Baby boomers cite the time, back in 1992, when Brian McMillan was left needing 22 runs off one ball after rain in Sydney washed away any hope of a chase. Millennials are forever haunted by Alan Donald’s dropped bat in that tied semi-final in 1999. Gen Zs must still be wondering how Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller failed to get over the line with 30 needed off as many balls in last year’s T20 final.

The Proteas choking when it matters most is a tale as old as the country itself. Longer, in fact, if you consider that Nelson Mandela was elected president two years after this story began. And throughout it all, one antagonist has loomed largest.

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England beat West Indies by four wickets: second men’s T20 – as it happened

The hosts took a decisive 2-0 lead in the T20 series by chasing down the West Indies total of 196

He’s got him first ball! A snorter of a yorker beats Lewis for pace and bangs him right in front. The batter reviews but it’s more in hope than anything. Maybe he thought he made contact with the ball as he attempted to dig it out, but there’s a gap between leather and willow. A stunning start for Wood and England.

The players are now geared up and ready to roll.

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The Spin | Why neutrals should back South Africa against Australia in WTC final

Wealth of Big Three is skewing Test cricket and a big win for Australia at Lord’s would only emphasise this gulf

On a recent episode of The Grade Cricketer podcast, the hosts, Sam Perry and Ian Higgins, tore lumps out of South Africa in a foul-mouthed tirade about the World Test Championship final against Australia. Perry predicted a finish “inside three days” and Higgins, practically thumping the table, said: “If I don’t look at a scorecard and South Africa are three for spit my TV is going through the window.” Cue big alpha chuckles and main-character knee slaps.

I know they were joking, skewering Australian arrogance as much as South African frailty, and that they have built a formidable brand that runs on side-mouthed jibes and hyperbolic bluster. Still, the lizard part of my brain lit up in protest. How dare they dismiss my countrymen? I wasn’t alone in taking offence.

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The Spin | We should love this India team but Champions Trophy felt a hollow triumph

Rohit Sharma’s side are all-time greats but Indian dominance has created imbalance and over-dependence

They can tear you apart with a thousand incisive cuts or systematically grind you down to a fine powder. They have a bottomless well of talent with multiple world class options in every position. Winning is not only expected but demanded, both from within the camp and throughout their legions of loyal supporters that have turned them into a commercial behemoth.

No, not India, who eased past New Zealand to claim the Champions Trophy this weekend. We’re talking about Ricky Ponting’s Australia. Actually, it’s Clive Lloyd’s West Indians. Or should that be Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls, Richie McCaw’s All Blacks, or the Americans under Christie Rampone, Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe?

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Antoine Dupont faces long spell out with ruptured cruciate knee ligaments

  • France captain likely to miss at least six months
  • Dupont was injured during win over Ireland in Dublin

Antoine Dupont, France’s talismanic captain and the player widely considered to be the best on the planet, has said that he ruptured cruciate ligaments in his right knee during his team’s win against Ireland in the Six Nations on Saturday.

“The heart hurts even more than the knee when you have to leave your friends before the last step,” Dupont posted on Sunday on Instagram. “I am proud of what we accomplished yesterday and with all my strength with you, you will do it. Rupture of the cruciate ligaments. This is the beginning of a new challenge, I’ll see you in a few months on the field.”

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England 47-24 Italy: Six Nations 2025 – as it happened

Ollie Sleightholme scored twice as England got a bonus-point victory to boost their slim hopes of snatching the Six Nations title

They’ve gone 60 metres in a flash! After Varney was isolated and spilled in contact, England were up the field in no time. First Daly with a strong counter down the left. Then Freeman down the right wing after another break. Then it was about continuity and Willis steamed onto a short pass. He was short of the line but reached out a meaty arm to dot down. Smith with the extras and England are up and running.

2 min: England go short with the kick-off but Italy are wise to it. A bit of kick tennis ends with an English line-out back in their own half. A decent strike off the back of it makes yards with Lawrence busting over the gainline, but the Italians swarm and win a penalty on the ground. They’ll have the line-out in English territory.

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Antoine Dupont to the fore as France run riot with 11-try thrashing of Italy

  • Italy 24-73 France
  • Visitors earn second-highest tally in Six Nations history

If there were questions over France’s ability to finish teams off after coughing up numerous chances against England a fortnight ago, they have been thoroughly put to bed. A ruthless 11-try demolition of a handy Italy side on their own patch served as a reminder that, on their day, there are few better outfits in rugby than a French team in full flow.

Fabien Galthié, the head coach, made some bold selection decisions, dropping his ace wing Damian Penaud and fly-half Matthieu Jalibert from the match-day 23. A seven-one bench split was a sign of the plan and France’s power game duly delivered. They stomped over the gainline with just about every carry, unloaded six heavies off the bench in one go on 48 minutes and pulverised the Italians, who sparkled on rare occasions but were totally outgunned.

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