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Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...South Africa 30-22 Australia: 2025 Rugby Championship Test – live
Handre Pollard kicks 15 points as South Africa edge the arm wrestle in Cape Town.
Australia haven’t beaten South Africa in back-to-back games since 2015.
Tell you what, I think they’ll do it.
Pollard shines as South Africa bounce back to beat Australia in Rugby Championship
South Africa 30-22 Australia
Springboks avenge shock loss to Wallabies
Handré Pollard put in a commanding performance at fly-half as a more pragmatic South Africa beat Australia in their second Rugby Championship Test in Cape Town to reignite the defence of their title.
Australia stunned the world champions 38-22 in their competition opener in Johannesburg last Saturday as the hosts tried to play an expansive gameplan with ball in hand and were picked off. This time round they turned it into an aerial contest, marshalled superbly by Pollard, who kicked 15 points to go with tries by the wing Canan Moodie, the No 8 Kwagga Smith and the lock Eben Etzebeth.
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Continue reading...Corey Toole given debut as Wallabies try for back-to-back wins against Springboks
Winger starts as Australia bid for historic win in Cape Town
Rob Valetini and Tom Robertson also come in
Corey Toole will make his Test debut in one of three changes to the Wallabies starting side as they attempt to go back-to-back against the Springboks in South Africa for the first time since 1963.
The 25-year-old Paris Olympics sevens star will replace injured winger Dylan Pietsch for their Rugby Championship clash in Cape Town on Saturday night local time (Sunday 1.10am AEST).
Continue reading...‘People will be hurting’: WRU recognises anger at plans for two men’s regional sides
Welsh union’s plan could see two teams cease to exist
Abi Tierney: ‘Change is hard and this is hard for fans’
The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) has recognised the “hurt and anger” caused by its proposal to reduce the number of professional men’s sides in Wales from four to two, but insisted maintaining the status quo would be a mistake.
Welsh rugby’s governing body has produced a radical plan to turn around the game at club and international level, outlining its ambitions in a 90-page consultation document entitled The Future of Elite Rugby in Wales. There will be a six-week consultation period before the WRU makes a final decision on the plans, and its chief executive, Abi Tierney, has urged people to “improve on the proposals” and provide “something fit for purpose for Welsh rugby”.
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...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.
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Continue reading...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.
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