Wallabies legend Quade Cooper has criticised the Wallabies’ tactics during Saturday night’s Bledisloe Cup loss.
Springboks win nailbiter to seal historic back-to-back Rugby Championships
Cobus Reinach and Malcolm Marx scored two tries apiece as South Africa beat Argentina 29-27 at Twickenham to win successive Rugby Championship titles for the first time in their history.
History for All Blacks with record-breaking win after freak try in Wallabies legend’s farewell Test
Australia’s Rugby Championship dream is over after the All Blacks sealed a 28-14 victory at Perth Stadium on Saturday evening, whitewashing the two-match Bledisloe Cup.
Bledisloe Cup live: Australia Wallabies 14-28 New Zealand All Blacks – as it happened
All Blacks secure 11th straight win over Wallabies
New Zealand run in four tries in wet conditions in Perth
Conditions in Perth are damp. It’s been raining on and off throughout the day so it will be slick under lights. Temperatures are mild and there’s little wind to speak of.
“As a South African following while doing a short stint in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, I am salivating ahead of this pivotal match,” emails Craig Sayers. “Indeed, my medulla oblongata has worked overtime this entire Rugby Championship, considering the effect on my heart rate, breathing, and blood pressure.
Continue reading...Henry Arundell leads Bath to nervy win against Sale as Borthwick takes note
Bath 28-16 Sale
Hosts made to work for win by stubborn Sharks side
Almost everything is going swimmingly for Bath. At long last their long-awaited stadium redevelopment looks likely to happen and, on the field, the champions are two from two after the first couple of weekends. With Finn Russell due back in action next week to pick up the fly-half baton, it is going to take a seriously good side to steal their crown.
On a wet and windy night in Somerset, even so, they were made to work extremely hard for it by a stubborn Sale team who stuck in the fight and refused to go away. It was only with three minutes left that Max Ojomoh slid in to score his side’s bonus-point try and maintain his squad’s perfect start to the campaign.
Continue reading...No Beyoncé or K-pop so Argentina v South Africa will have to boost RFU’s bank balance
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.”
Continue reading...Sports quiz of the week: Ryder Cup, World Cup winners and Harry Kane
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Continue reading...Owen Farrell focused on forging another team identity after teeing up Donald
Fresh from a chat with the Ryder Cup captain, the Saracens stalwart is back at his old club with half an eye on an England return too
By his own admission, Owen Farrell was exhausted after the first weekend of the season. A stray boot to the face inside 10 minutes made for a bloody nose and a rude awakening on his second Saracens debut against Newcastle, 17 years after his first. Farrell soldiered on to the hour mark, helping Saracens to a bonus-point victory before an early train home on Saturday morning. It was Sunday that left him “emotionally drained”, however.
Farrell was glued to Europe’s Ryder Cup triumph, watching Luke Donald’s side so nearly snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. The 34-year-old is a keen golfer – he took the phone call from his father, Andy, to join the British & Irish Lions tour in July in a clubhouse – and played alongside Donald at last month’s PGA Championship Pro-Am at Wentworth.
Continue reading...Chessum granted special permission for early Prem return as Leicester captain
Most British & Irish Lions on mandatory 10-week break
Chessum returns despite featuring in all three Tests
Leicester’s new club captain Ollie Chessum has been cleared to return to domestic action against Harlequins ahead of schedule this weekend. The majority of British & Irish Lions squad members are not being permitted to resume playing for their clubs until next week but the Tigers forward has been given special dispensation.
The 25-year-old was injured for a large chunk of last season and ended up starting only 16 games and featuring off the bench four times. Despite being involved in all three Lions Tests against the Wallabies, the player management load group overseeing the welfare of top players has allowed him to face Harlequins at Welford Road on Saturday.
Continue reading...Will Skelton and Jake Gordon to start for Wallabies in second Bledisloe clash in Perth
Coach Joe Schmidt makes five changes to XV for final Rugby Championship Test
James Slipper to play 151st and final game after announcing retirement
Lock Will Skelton and scrumhalf Jake Gordon are among five changes to Australia’s starting 15 for the final Rugby Championship Test against New Zealand in Perth on Saturday.
Skelton replaces the dropped Lukhan Salakaia-Loto after returning from club duty in France, while coach Joe Schmidt’s preferred No 9 Gordon returns for his first test since the British & Irish Lions series after recovering from a hamstring strain.
Continue reading...Wallabies big guns back in last-ditch bid to end Bledisloe Cup drought after NZ thriller
Wallabies rookie playmaker Tane Edmed will go from onlooker to the main man, elevated from his 80-minute stint on the bench last weekend to starting No.10 for the second Bledisloe Cup clash in Perth.
‘Ultimate team man’: Wallabies legend calls time on record-setting Test career in Bledisloe farewell
Veteran prop James Slipper will call time on his record-setting Wallabies career after Australia’s Bledisloe Cup clash against New Zealand on Saturday in Perth.
Saracens’ McCall says welfare guidelines leave players unprepared for new season
Internationals must have 10 weeks off
Lions not available until third round of Prem
Saracens’ Mark McCall is the latest Prem director of rugby to question player welfare regulations that he believes have left internationals undercooked for the season’s start.
Guidelines mandated by the Professional Rugby Board – established as part of the club-country agreement – dictate that England players who took part in summer tours of Argentina and the US have 10 weeks off. They were available for the first set of Prem games last weekend, but could not take part in the two rounds of Prem Cup matches before that.
Continue reading...Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu leads South Africa to nine-try rout of Argentina
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.
Continue reading...‘Not up to the occasion’: Legend’s huge ref spray as gutsy Aussies fall short in Bledisloe heartbreak
It was a brave performance from Australia, but once again, they’ve fallen short in a Eden Park Test match against the All Blacks, going down 33-24.