Category: Argentina Rugby

Twickenham needs to generate more cash but governing body’s grand plans are mired in red tape – just as well the Rugby Championship finale can offer respite

A quick look at Twickenham’s upcoming events and, alas, still no Beyoncé. No Bills, Bills, Bills for Mr Sweeney just yet. In fact, the Rugby Football Union’s ambition to host more concerts and thereby pay for Twickenham’s £660m rebuild has encountered a bit of a delay. It is understood that in July, Richmond council expressed its concern over transport links and told the union further exploratory work is needed.

A report, seen by the Guardian, reads: “Given the uncertainty regarding the ability of the rail industry to cater for the predicted increase in passengers, there [are] significant concerns about the additional demand placed on the transport and highway network by event goers and whether this demand can be satisfactorily managed. This is likely to result in a significant nuisance for Twickenham residents.”

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• South Africa 67-30 Argentina

• Feinberg-Mngomezulu bags record 37 points

Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu scored 37 points in a stunning individual fly-half display as South Africa moved to the top of the Rugby Championship table with a 67-30 bonus-point victory over Argentina at Kings Park.

Feinberg-Mngomezulu scored a hat-trick of tries as he beat Percy Montgomery’s Springboks record for most points in a single Test, to go with scores for the hooker Malcolm Marx, the wing Cheslin Kolbe, the scrum-half Morné van den Berg, the flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit (two) and the replacement back Manie Libbok.

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South Africa and New Zealand’s selfish decision to go it alone will lead to competition hiatus and looks foolish

Enjoy it while it lasts. The current edition of the Rugby Championship has been captivating, the most open in living memory and with two rounds remaining all four nations are firmly in contention for the title. Last weekend witnessed another thriller between Australia and Argentina – the Pumas edging home 28-26 – while the Springboks produced their most dominant display since the 2023 World Cup with a record victory against the All Blacks.

There had been suggestions that South Africa were beginning to decline after a plateau since their triumph in Paris but Saturday’s performance was some riposte. Australia were agonisingly close to another successful comeback at the soldout Allianz Stadium, meanwhile, and there remains a good deal of optimism around the Wallabies. Not least because they sit top of the table and believe they can get their hands back on the Bledisloe Cup in the coming weeks after New Zealand won it back in 2003 and never let it go.

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• Wallabies lose second Test to Los Pumas 28-26 in Sydney

• Australia outscore Argentina four tries to one

After turning out last week top to toe in navy blue, Argentina revert to their traditional albiceleste (white and sky blue).

It is one of my favourite uniforms in international sport, and here’s why. The colours are beautiful, soft, and complementary. Le Coq Sportif is uber cool and carries association with shaggy haired French soccer players of the 1980s. The golden Puma is unfussy. The sponsor is top-tier and occupies the correct amount of real estate. My only criticism is the absence of a collar, recent iterations of this jersey were elevated further by a crisp white fold.

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• Injured pair ruled out of Saturday’s Rugby Championship Test

• Tane Edmed will wear No 10 jersey for first time

Flyhalf Tom Lynagh and centre Len Ikitau have been ruled out of Australia’s Rugby Championship Test against Argentina in Sydney on Saturday in a blow for the Wallabies.

Lynagh is nursing a hamstring strain following the last-gasp 28-24 win over the Pumas in Townsville, while Ikitau has a laceration on his knee that had failed to heal enough to take the field on Saturday.

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• Angus Bell scores winning try six minutes after final hooter

• Wallabies rewarded for eschewing chance to secure a draw

Now we see them, striding out past the delightfully kitsch Puma Trophy.

Ten minutes after the advertised start time, still no sign of either team on the Townsville turf.

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• Australia edge Pumas 28-24 after thrilling finale to game in Townsville

• Hosts rewarded for pushing for victory when draw was on table

The Wallabies have turned down three opportunities to kick a match-tying penalty and instead scored an 86th-minute winner in their latest Houdini Test act.

Australia beat Argentina 28-24 in Townsville on Saturday afternoon, with Angus Bell’s barging try coming after the Wallabies trailed by three points with 90 seconds to go.

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Early days in a Lions camp can be nervy and everyone wants to play in Friday’s first match but Argentina provide a tough test

Every single member of the British & Irish Lions squad is in the perfect sweet spot at the moment. Blair Kinghorn aside, they all arrived into camp with a spring in their step and a smile on their face because their dreams have been realised. Speaking from experience, it is amazing how quickly you can leave national allegiances at the door.

At this stage, there is no sense of what the Test team will be, no division, or feeling that you have to make do with being a midweek dirt-tracker – the thing you are probably most nervous about is who your roommate will be. You know it will be someone from a different country and my first roommate was Keith Earls. As the youngest member of the 2009 squad, he was responsible for looking after the Lions mascot and I felt like I needed to mind him. I soon realised there are few as competitive as Keith and he did not need minding at all.

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• XV features Marcus Smith, Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith

• Tadhg Furlong also has the chance to prove his fitness

Maro Itoje will captain the British & Irish Lions for the first time in their non-cap international against Argentina in Dublin on Friday.

The England skipper Itoje leads a starting XV that features Marcus Smith at full-back and will be directed by England half-backs Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith.

This story will update

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• First three games ‘away’ but Fiji want to play in Europe

• England would host Australia, NZ and Japan in November

England are set to begin their inaugural Nations Championship campaign in just over a year’s time by playing Fiji – potentially in Europe – as well as away matches against the back-to-back world champions South Africa and Argentina, the Guardian understands.

The 12-team competition, which will be held every two years and replaces traditional tours, is set to break new ground next year in the northern hemisphere summer and while the fixture list is yet to be announced, the Guardian has learned current proposals put England in line to face the Springboks in South Africa for the first time since 2018. A return to Argentina – where Steve Borthwick’s side will face two Tests this summer – is also on the cards.

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Ireland’s defence holds firm as they get back to winning ways against a spirited Argentina.

OK, I’m going to stick my neck out.

Argentina to nick it by a score!

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The Springboks want a clean sweep but Australia, Argentina and New Zealand may have more modest November targets

Four southern hemisphere giants are preparing for combat over the horizon. With 90% of all men’s World Cups, and having contributed more than 62% of the tournament’s semi-finalists since 1995, they arrive with reputations to uphold. Are they the forces they once were, or are they there for the taking?

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After beating Argentina to seal the title, the world champions will look to sweep England, Wales and Scotland

Two World Cups, a British & Irish Lions series and now the Rugby Championship. South Africa are in possession of every major trophy available to a southern-hemisphere team. Does this put them on par with the all-conquering All Blacks of Richie McCaw and Dan Carter? It is a question best unpacked over a second pint in the pub. That it is worth asking, though, is a testament to the evolution of this team under Rassie Erasmus and the potential heights they may yet reach.

This 48-7 win over Argentina included all the familiar notes of a Springboks classic. Their scrum consumed the Pumas pack with Ox Nché – a man who famously joked that “salads don’t win scrums” – feasting in the set piece, winning a string of first-half penalties seemingly on his own. Eben Etzebeth, now with a record 128 caps for his country, began the day with tears in his eyes and was totemic throughout. Pieter-Steph du Toit, who continues to produce player-of-the-match performances with his father’s hamstring surgically implanted in his left leg, bossed the breakdown and scored two of his team’s seven tries.

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• Argentina shock South Africa in 29-28 win
• Pumas aiming for unlikely first Rugby Championship title

Flyhalf Tomas Albornoz kicked a penalty 11 minutes from the end to hand Argentina a thrilling 29-28 victory over South Africa and keep their hopes of winning the Rugby Championship alive in a blisteringly hot Santiago del Estero on Saturday.

The world champion Springboks, who had the chance to win the game with a late penalty from flyhalf Manie Libbok that was missed, lead the table with 19 points from second-placed Argentina on 14 points ahead of a final meeting between the sides in Nelspruit next Saturday where the title will be decided.

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The Wallabies surged to an early lead before conceding their most points ever in a men’s rugby Test as Los Pumas piled on the pain

Time for the anthems. As far as I can tell everyone is singing.

[If you know, you know]

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