Australia secure series win in Argentina for first time in history after an eight-try slugfest ends in a draw
It’s not a packed house unfortunately.
Perhaps its economic reasons, perhaps it’s a sign of the sport’s popularity, or perhaps it’s because Australia aren’t a major draw.
Continue reading...South Africa produce epic second-half performance in comeback win to take a 2-1 series lead over the All Blacks
Anthems done.
A great rendition of Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika. But does every second person in the stands need to film themselves singing it? Am I just old? A hater? Just live in the moment guys!
Continue reading...Tom Hooper scores decisive try in a messy game as Les Kiss earns biggest scalp of his early tenure
Gordon gets us underway!
After Australia’s anthem it’s Argentina’s retort.
Continue reading...Springboks respond to adversity and withstand All Blacks fight back to level the series 1-1 after a hard fought victory in Cape Town.
Pieter-Steph du Toit walks out with his wife and children on the occasion of his 100th Test.
I got to chat with him back in 2021. He has quite the story:
Continue reading...Dom Bess is one of many in a long line of England spinners to struggle for a sustained run in Test cricket. Why is there no lasting solution?
It is the eighth over of South Africa’s first innings in Gqeberha in January 2020 when Joe Root tosses the ball to 22-year-old Dom Bess. Three overs later, the decision pays off.
With the final ball before drinks, Bess takes a return catch to dismiss Pieter Malan. In the final over before the close, he has Zubayr Hamza caught at short leg. The next morning, Bess removes Dean Elgar, Faf du Plessis and Rassie van der Dussen to become the first English spinner to take the first five wickets of an innings since Derek Underwood in 1975.
Continue reading...All Blacks withstand scrum onslaught then tear South Africa apart to take a 1-0 series lead in Johannesburg.
Here come the All Blacks!
Led by Ardie Savea.
Continue reading...Back-to-back world champions can use Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry to establish themselves as one of the greatest teams of all time
South Africans are supposed to care about the All Blacks more than this. On Tuesday night 14,759 people dotted the 52,000-seat Kings Park Stadium to watch New Zealand dismantle the Sharks 54-0. Durban was cold and soaked, with snow falling elsewhere in KwaZulu-Natal, but even allowing for the weather it made for an awkward advertisement for a grand new project.
Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry – the eight-match tour by New Zealand, culminating in four Tests, including one in the US – is an attempt to turn more than a century of history into a modern commercial property. The unions have formed a 50-50 venture, sharing commercial income, while taking the final Test to Baltimore is expected to generate $4m-$6m more than another game in South Africa. Both unions need the money and professional sport is supposed to generate revenue. But a rivalry cannot live on branding alone.
Continue reading...Australia’s lack of forwards remains a problem, but the departing coach raised the ceiling and left a deeper and more experienced group.
Australia ended the Joe Schmidt era like a struggling restaurant producing one of its finest meals on the night the head chef handed back his keys. Everything came together: the service was sharp, the ingredients were handled with care, but loyal patrons left wondering why the place could not function like this every week.
Italy were swept aside 57-10 in Perth on Saturday. Josh Canham completed a hat-trick as the home side produced the sort of precise, powerful performance that offered a tribute to their departing coach and a reminder of why his spell has been so difficult to judge.
Continue reading...Plucky defeats decorated with patches of excellence will not cut it for Australia with a home World Cup now looming large
The camera found Joe Schmidt shortly after France had completed a 22-point swing. Australia’s coach had seen a 21-12 half-time lead obliterated in 16 brutal minutes. Schmidt, one of rugby’s sharpest minds, looked short of answers. The trouble was that the questions confronting him had obvious answers but almost impossible solutions.
Why had Australia’s discipline deteriorated? Because they were under pressure. Why had their tackle intensity and ruck speed fallen away? Because France had introduced fresh power from the bench. Why had the Wallabies gone from a nine-point half-time lead to a 13-point deficit in barely a quarter of an hour? Because one team had more large, skilful, Test-quality rugby players than the other.
Continue reading...If Australia can keep playing with the same amount of ambition, skill and speed they showed in Sydney, they will trouble anyone in the Nations Championship
Did anyone inside the sold-out Allianz Stadium, or watching around the world, really expect Ben Donaldson to slot the game-winning kick at the death? A few minutes earlier, when his team still held a slender five-point lead, he had the ball on a tee a little closer to the poles and a little further away from the right touchline. That effort curled across the face of goal and never threatened to sneak inside the upright.
This one was more of a challenge. Just about the toughest challenge a right-footed kicker can encounter. He struck it better but started it too far to the right without the requisite bend. And as the ball sailed wide, it seemed to carry with it the story of Australia’s afternoon. Brave and brilliant, frenetic and entertaining, but ultimately still missing some crucial ingredients as they went down 31-33.
Continue reading...England blown away in the second half as South Africa underline their status as the world’s leading team.
‘The final countdown’ blasts around Ellis Park.
Decent crowd in as James Doleman blows his whistle and we’re under way with Libbok kicking us off!
Continue reading...Ireland score late and Australia miss a penalty as the visitors snatch victory in 10-try thriller.
Really keen to see how the midfield battle plays out.
Len Ikitau is one of the elite ballers in the game and Stuart McClosky was the best centre of the Six Nations (imo).
Continue reading...Bruno Fernandes wins PL Player of the Season as teams across the continent gear up for massive games.
I enjoyed this piece from Barry yesterday.
It’s all noise and bluster and guff, innit? I mean, not for the guys who missed our or were selected, but the outrage and hot takes really are a lot.
Continue reading...South Africa v New Zealand T20 series highlights schedule that is increasingly hard to keep up with
Clinical guidance suggests recovery from emotional trauma can take weeks or months. In some cases, the lingering pain can last for years. Elite cricketers, though, are expected to compress that timeline into days.
Take Mitchell Santner. The New Zealand captain oversaw his team’s crushing 96-run loss by India in the T20 World Cup final on 8 March. It was the Black Caps’ fourth defeat in an ICC final since 2019 and, having swatted aside South Africa in the semi-final, would have stung. Well, Santner had to do his contemplating on the flight back home as seven days later he was suited and booted for a T20 international against the Proteas at Mount Maunganui.
Continue reading...Italy beat England for the first time with a late try as Steve Borthwick’s men reach a new low in Rome.
Does regular contributor Guy Hornsby speak for all England fans?
“I am not full of confidence today, Daniel. We are coming to this in semi-disarray, falling apart off the back of our 12 match run, now a distant memory. Against a team on the up full of excellent players, there are so many big battles, no more so than their centre partnership. You feel Brex and Menoncello v Atkinson and Freeman could decide it. Atkinson is a huge talent but what a way to come back into the team. Freeman is arguably one of our best players, but a work in progress at 13. If their defence falters, we could get torn open. You feel the battle up front will go a long way to deciding it, but make no mistake: on form, Italy winning will be no shock. England have a mountain to climb. A gritty win today will be just fine with many England fans.”
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