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...Jordan double stuns South Africa as New Zealand clinch statement victory
First Test: South Africa 16-33 New Zealand
All Blacks score five tries against world champions
As first courses go, this was a delicious appetiser to a series that looks on course to live up to its billing. First blood goes to New Zealand, who withstood a barrage of South Africa scrum pressure and demonstrated a slickness that the double world champions could not live with, clinching a first win at Ellis Park since 2022.
By the end, South Africa had two men in the sin-bin and, given their status as the world’s leading side, this must goe down as a disintegration. There will be a backlash – it is hard to remember a time when South Africa were so inaccurate with the ball in hand – but credit New Zealand for producing a masterclass at weathering the storm and taking their chances.
Continue reading...Smoke and mirrors fill the vacuum as Springboks and All Blacks brace for battle
South Africa welcome New Zealand for their Greatest Rivalry series with the suspicion that they plan on beating the tourists at their own game
The problem with Test weeks is that they can feel long. Cricketers can play for days on end, footballers every few nights but rugby players step on to the international stage for just 80 minutes per week. The result is a drawn-out vacuum in the buildup and if it’s not a “war of words” unfolding, it tends to be head coaches ramming home their points to the referee.
We lap it up, of course we do as we wait for Saturday to come, and though the pre-match sparring between South Africa and New Zealand is tedious to some, it is all part of the fun to others. This week in Johannesburg has been lively without crossing the line into poisonous. Suffice it to say that the referee Matt Carley is in for one hell of an afternoon in Saturday’s series opener at Ellis Park but the very fact that both Rassie Erasmus and Dave Rennie have stepped on to the offensive demonstrates the magnitude of the coming four-Test series. It promises to be a barn-burner.
Continue reading...Rugby brain injury case brought back from brink of collapse after high court ruling
Governing bodies had asked for ruling to end cases
Judge says claimants ‘blameless’ for missing documents
The legal action over brain injuries in rugby has been brought back from the brink of collapse after the high court ruled to give a reprieve to hundreds of claimants who had been struck out from the case.
More than 500 claimants had breached a court order by failing to disclose necessary neurological testing information to the defendants. The players’ representative, Susan Rodway KC, had said they were “staring into the precipice” at the most recent hearing, but the judge, Senior Master Cook, has now decided, with “some hesitation”, to allow all the affected claims to continue.
Continue reading...Former Wallabies coach’s new role revealed in big NRL twist
Michael Cheika is set to return to rugby union following reports he’ll be announced as the new coach of the NSW Waratahs this week.
Australia 56-17 Japan: rugby union international – as it happened
The Wallabies kicked clear to make it two-from-two against the Brave Blossoms with a commanding victory in Townsville
The low key atmosphere isn’t helped by two of the less upbeat national anthems and the sky becoming blanketed in cloud. Hopefully the players can spark the occasion into life.
And here come the two sides out into the Townsville afternoon. It’s all a bit muted in a stadium far from full.
Continue reading...Fairytale try for Wallaby No.1000 as Aussies demolish Japan in stunning second-half surge
The Wallabies have completed a 2-0 series sweep over Japan, producing a devastating second-half performance to run away with a 56-17 victory in Townsville.
Running dry: drought-hit UK sporting venues and parched pitches – in pictures
With the UK experiencing the driest summer on record, we look at how the weather is affecting the pitches and courses across the country
Continue reading...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.
Continue reading...Lawrence and Daly lose England central contracts as Borthwick looks to World Cup
Duo are notable omissions from England’s 25-man list
Alex Coles and Asher Opoku-Fordjour both included
Ollie Lawrence and Elliot Daly have both lost their central contracts, with Steve Borthwick omitting the pair from his 25-man squad a year before England’s World Cup campaign begins.
Neither Lawrence nor Daly – who was nursing an arm injury – featured in the three Nations Championship matches this summer but both played during the Six Nations and are the standout exclusions from Borthwick’s selections which point towards his thinking for the World Cup squad next year.
Continue reading...All Blacks great Ma’a Nonu performs solo haka against New Zealand in South Africa tour match
Nonu on Sharks bench after signing for South African side last week
‘I thought it was the right thing to do,’ says 104-cap former All Black
South African rugby teams love facing the haka. None have ever replied to New Zealand’s traditional pre-match challenge with another haka until Tuesday.
Ma’a Nonu stepped in front of his new Sharks teammates and performed a solo haka in what will probably be the lasting memory of a tour match the New Zealanders won 54-0 in soggy Durban.
Continue reading...‘Very dangerous’: New Wallabies coach’s winning start despite ‘ugly’ red card
Australia got new coach Les Kiss off to a winning start on Saturday with a nail-biting 35-32 victory over Japan that was full of twists and turns in sweltering Osaka.
Japan 32-35 Australia: rugby union international – as it happened
Wallabies win first match under new coach Les Kiss
Amatosero red carded in the first half
“Deep care,” is the message from Les Kiss ahead of his first match in charge of Australia. He wants his team to care about every second, on and off the pitch, when they’re on national team duty.
The 2026 Test calendar is a patchwork quilt of matches scattered around the world as the the All Blacks and Springboks flex their financial muscles and teams begin preparations for next year’s World Cup.
Continue reading...Springboks and All Blacks flex financial muscles with ‘Greatest Rivalry’ tour
The throwback series rekindles memories of the past, but the focus is very much on realities of the modern game
Just in case you were unaware that the forthcoming series between South Africa and New Zealand, dubbed Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry (RGR), is a “tour like no other”, the Springboks have just unveiled a jersey to prove it. “A jersey like no other” to be worn four times and then consigned to history. Meanwhile, RGR kicks off amid a looming legal battle in South Africa over the series’ commercial identity and the unauthorised use of its branding. And you thought sporting romance was dead.
Enough of the cynicism though. The series promises to be a blockbuster. It is a throwback, with New Zealand’s men facing four matches against provincial sides, starting with the Stormers in Cape Town on Friday, as well as four Tests against the Springboks. The countries’ women’s sides also face each other in a one-off Test. The series has further allure in just how rare tours such as this are these days. Add in the fact that the rugby calendar is pretty much barren at the moment and a series between the two best sides on the planet is enough to quicken the pulse.
Continue reading...Argentina’s Albornoz given four-match ban for intimidating referee after England defeat
Incident occurred after Pumas were denied a late try
Albornoz’s ban begins against South Africa on Saturday
Tomás Albornoz, the Argentina fly-half, has been banned for four matches for intimidating the referee after the full-time whistle of England’s controversial victory against the Pumas last month.
Albornoz accepted allegations of misconduct at a disciplinary hearing, and that his behaviour was intimidatory. He will miss Argentina’s Test against South Africa on Saturday as well as their forthcoming double header with Australia and a Toulon fixture.
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