Author: Daniel Gallan

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Sandpaper made Australia the story in 2018 while South Africa’s achievement faded into irrelevance

The hosts’ stunning Test victory was overshadowed by the scale of national angst felt in Australia after the team’s ball tampering

For South African cricketers, administrators and supporters, the most surprising aspect of the Sandpaper scandal was not that it happened. After all, the ball had been suspiciously reverse-swinging during the first two Tests of that ill-fated series in 2018. The atmosphere had turned febrile after a stairwell bust-up between Quinton de Kock and David Warner in Durban and after supporters directed misogynistic abuse at Warner and his family in Gqeberha. Nathan Lyon had promised before the tour to “head-butt the line” of what was acceptable. Darren Lehmann, then Australia’s coach, came from an old school where bullying was sugar-coated with the phrase “mental disintegration”.

No, what surprised South Africans most was the scale of the fallout, and how one tiny piece of sandpaper could cause so much national angst.

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The Spin | England’s troubles with spinners is leaving a generation behind

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.

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Empty seats and faded aura show how Springboks outgrew the All Blacks | Daniel Gallan

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.

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Schmidt leaves repaired Wallabies with gifts of Canham and Lonergan for Kiss | Daniel Gallan

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.

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Wallabies’ pop-gun revival under Joe Schmidt blown apart as France unload heavy artillery | Daniel Gallan

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.

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Wallabies were brave and brilliant against Ireland but still miss some key ingredients | Daniel Gallan

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.

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