Category: Australia Rugby

• 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.

Continue reading...

• 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...

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...

• 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...

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...

• 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...

Nic White bows out in style to help Wallabies tame Lions while Bundee Aki flounders in torrential Sydney rain

Tom Wright Another confident outing from a quality operator throughout the series. Joined the attack well and his kicks from hand regularly created territorial advantage. 7

Continue reading...

The Lions’ quest to complete an unbeaten tour failed at the final hurdle as the hosts registered a stormy victory

The match is underway after Nic White boots it deep into Lions territory.

The teams are out, slightly behind schedule, we await the Australia anthem and then a ball will be kicked to commence proceedings.

Continue reading...

Tom Curry’s recovery tackling was crucial while Will Skelton demonstrated what Australia missed in first Test

Tom Wright A performance of swaggering confidence featuring a try, dynamic running to set up attacks and a punishing 50:22. Set the tone for his side from the back. 8

Continue reading...

A gripping second test and series was won by the last play of the match in Melbourne

The officials for this match:

Referee: Andrea Piardi (Italy)

Assistant Referees: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia) & Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)

Television Match Official (TMO): Eric Gauzins (France

Continue reading...

It may open the Lions to accusations of parochialism, but there is a compelling case for staying in Europe

It may be too early to start asking existential questions about the British & Irish Lions but, sitting in Melbourne’s Southbank, slap bang in the middle of Aussie rules territory, where union makes barely a ripple, you begin to wonder. The sea of red will roll in at the weekend but, for now, Melbourne is pretty much oblivious. “Some kind of carnival on I think,” was one taxi driver’s assessment.

None of this is to criticise Australia. It is a wonderful country, sports mad and as the loosehead prop James Slipper says of the locals: “They’re still Australian, so they’ll be there. I know they’ll be there. It’s one thing about this country, regardless of the sport, they’ll get behind the national colours.”

Continue reading...

• Veteran calls for history to repeat after being part of fightback in 2013

• Australia boosted by return of Rob Valetini and Will Skelton from injury

Steely Wallabies veteran James Slipper is urging his battered troops to block out the “noise” as they look to stop the Lions juggernaut in their do-or-die second Test in Melbourne.

The series is on the line at the MCG on Saturday night with Slipper offering a unique perspective in the current Australian line-up as the only player to have taken part in two series.

Continue reading...

Joe McCarthy was a revelation alongside Tadhg Beirne and Tom Curry for the Lions, while Tom Lynagh had a brave debut for the Wallabies

Tom Wright Kicked well from hand and covered the myriad Lions attacks as best he could. Not at fault in any way for the scores conceded. 6

Continue reading...

Andy Farrell’s Lions eased to victory in the first Test, leading 24-5 before Australia rallied to make the score respectable

The crowd count us down and Finn Russell boots the test series under way.

Officials for this match:

Referee: Ben O’Keeffe (New Zealand)

Assistant Referees: Nika Amashukeli (Georgia) & Andrea Piardi (Italy)

Television Match Official (TMO): Richard Kelly (New Zealand)

Continue reading...