Captain and No 8 Harry Wilson scored two tries as Australia staged a remarkable comeback to stun South Africa 38-22 in the 2025 Rugby Championship opener in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Wilson double sparks remarkable Australia comeback win to stun South Africa
South Africa 22-38 Australia
Wallabies recover from 22-0 down to sink Springboks
Australia rallied from 22-0 down as Harry Wilson, their captain, scored two tries in a stunning 38-22 bonus-point victory over South Africa in their Rugby Championship opener on Saturday, the Wallabies’ first victory at Ellis Park in Johannesburg since 1963.
South Africa raced into a seemingly commanding lead through tries by the wing Kurt-Lee Arendse, the centre André Esterhuizen and the No 8 Siya Kolisi, but their achilles heel has been the breakdown and it was there that Australia began to take control.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...Salford crisis deepens with Wakefield match cancelled over welfare concerns
Red Devils have only two senior players available
COO Claire Bradbury accused ownership of misogyny
The crisis at Salford Red Devils has deepened on and off the field in the past 24 hours. On Thursday, their chief operating officer claimed she had resigned after the club’s ownership suggested she “sleep with someone at the RFL” to alleviate their financial issues and on Friday the club’s Super League game against Wakefield on Sunday was cancelled.
The Red Devils have been embroiled in controversy for most of 2025, following a takeover by a consortium led by Dario Berta. Players and staff have repeatedly been paid late, most of their first-team squad have left and the club is in court next month over an unpaid tax bill of almost £700,000.
Continue reading...Sports quiz of the week: winners, world records, history and lots of love
Have you been following the big stories in football, rugby union, tennis, boxing, surfing, athletics and baseball?
Continue reading...Great blasts ‘clueless’ Wallabies coach as forgotten man handed recall for Springboks opener
Veteran fly-half James O’Connor has been recalled by Australia for a 2025 Rugby Championship opener against title-holders South Africa in Johannesburg on Saturday.
Louis Rees-Zammit signs for Bristol to complete return to rugby from NFL
Winger left sport to go to US in January 2024
Player says Bristol was ‘the obvious choice’
Louis Rees-Zammit has sealed his return to rugby from American football after signing for Bristol. The 24-year-old, who has been capped 32 times by Wales, announced in January 2024 that he was quitting rugby to join the NFL’s international player pathway program. He signed for the Kansas City Chiefs and then the Jacksonville Jaguars, but failed to make a breakthrough and has opted to return to his roots.
Rees-Zammit said on the club website: “Bristol Bears was the obvious choice for me. I want to get fans out of their seats, create exciting moments and help people fall in love with the game. I’m excited to return to rugby at a club that demands those values.”
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...Wallabies recall veteran James O’Connor at No 10 for South Africa showdown
Return for 35-year-old after three-year absence
Blow as Ben Donaldson ruled out of Johannesburg clash
Veteran James O’Connor has been called on to take on the playmaking duties as the Wallabies seek to build on the impetus of their third Test win over the Lions with a rare victory in South Africa at the start of the Rugby Championship.
But a plan for the 35-year-old O’Connor, back in the green and gold after three years, to share the No 10 role has had to be shelved after Ben Donaldson went down injured in training on Thursday.
Continue reading...Injured Sevens star Charlotte Caslick replaced in Australia’s Women’s Rugby World Cup squad
Sevens queen Charlotte Caslick’s Women’s Rugby World Cup dream is over after she was replaced in the Wallaroos squad by Manu’a Moleka.
Sports quiz of the week: heroes, villains, outcasts, legends and local rivals
Have you been paying attention to the football, cricket, cycling, rugby, golf, baseball and basketball?
Continue reading...Expanding Super League to 14 teams is unpopular. But it might just work
No one seems to want a bigger league – other than the clubs that will benefit – but it’s not an entirely bad idea
Do you know anyone who thinks expanding Super League to 14 clubs next season is a good idea, beyond the people who voted for it and the Championship clubs with hopes of promotion? Me neither. When almost no one thinks something is the right thing to do, it almost certainly isn’t. But why have nine successful businessmen made such a controversial decision? Let’s analyse the widespread objections to the idea and play devil’s advocate to see if there are valid reasons for making a change.
Continue reading...‘The dog ate my passport’: All Blacks rookie sorts pet’s mess to rescue debut
Leroy Carter sorts shock call-up for Rugby Championship
Canine chewed passport he needed for Argentina trip
Leroy Carter was still coming to terms with his inclusion in the All Blacks squad to play in Argentina in the opening rounds of the Rugby Championship when he made the shocking discovery. “The dog ate my passport.”
The utility back with the Hamilton-based Chiefs was one of four uncapped players included in Scott Robertson’s Championship squad. The phone call from Robertson informing him of his selection had come as a massive surprise.
Continue reading...Star answers SOS in rapid retirement backflip as Wallabies make big call on O’Connor
Veteran scrumhalf Nic White’s international rugby retirement has been short-lived after answering an SOS to join an injury-hit Wallabies squad for the upcoming tour of South Africa after playmaker Jake Gordon was made unavailable.
‘Utter rubbish’: Lions coach bristles at journo’s question after phone act caught on camera
British and Irish Lions coach Andy Farrell has rubbished accusations of complacency following Saturday’s rain-affected series finale against the Wallabies in Sydney.