Australia beat South Africa 27-15 to stay well in the hunt for this year’s Tri-Nations rugby title.
The visitors scored three tries to the hosts’ two for their first victory in South Africa since 2000. Australia led 10-0 at the break.
The Wallabies now move to Johannesburg for the second of their back-to-back Tests against the world champions and a victory on the highveld will see them go top of the points table, with a match against New Zealand, in Brisbane, still to come.
PHOTO: EPA
Australia coach Robbie Deans called the victory a “significant” result.
“Considering the circumstances the ’Boks were in ... they were quite desperate after last week ... this is a significant win,” he said.
His skipper Stirling Mortlock was just as pleased.
“We’ve had a tough time of it in the last few years, not winning here since 2000 and the fact it’s always difficult, so we’re very satisfied,” he said.
While the ’Boks were the better team in the opening exchanges, using the high kick to good effect, they failed to make the most of the ball that came their way. Schalk Burger led the charge and he was followed by Tendai Mtawarira, CJ van der Linde and Juan Smith who all showed plenty of aggression in the rucks.
There was certainly an increase in the ’Boks intensity from the week before when they appeared somewhat lethargic against New Zealand. But no matter what the ’Boks threw at the visitors there was simply no way through a very solid defense.
And, as was the case in Perth over a month ago and last weekend in Cape Town, the ’Boks coughed up plenty of ball in the rucks and in the points of contact.
On this occasion, it was Rocky Elsom and George Smith who had the beating of Burger and his team-mates.
The Wallabies got on to the scoreboard in the ninth minute thanks to a penalty by Matt Giteau and while it would take nearly another 20 minutes for the scorers to be troubled, the visitors enjoyed the better of the action.
They again dominated the ’Boks at the breakdowns, while some clever kicking by Giteau ensured the ’Bok backs regularly had to turn around to defend. And it was on one such occasion in the 27th minute when the visitors were rewarded with a try after a good passage of build-up play.
Benn Robinson forced his way over the line, with Giteau adding the extras. While the ’Boks got back into the contest straight after the restart with a Butch James penalty the Wallabies regained their 10-point advantage on the 50 minute mark with a second Giteau penalty.
Wallabies winger Lote Tuqiri then took full advantage of a disorganized ’Bok backline and busted through a weak tackle by Fourie du Preez to score.
The ’Boks though hit back almost immediately through center Adrian Jacobs, who picked up a loose ball and dived over the tryline after his center partner Jean de Villiers had made the initial break in midfield.
But the ’Boks would again be found wanting in defense as Stirling Mortlock powered his way past — and through — at least three defenders to score his team’s third try. Giteau’s conversion made it 27-10 to the visitors.
Jacobs scored his second try late on for the ’Boks, but it would have done nothing for a team that is battling to stay on an even footing with Australia and New Zealand.
The qualifying round of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) is to be held at the Taipei Dome between Feb. 21 and 25, Major League Baseball (MLB) announced today. Taiwan’s group also includes Spain, Nicaragua and South Africa, with two of the four teams advancing onto the 2026 WBC. Taiwan, currently ranked second in the world in the World Baseball Softball Confederation rankings, are favorites to come out of the group, the MLB said in an article announcing the matchups. Last year, Taiwan finished in a five-way tie in their group with two wins and two losses, but finished last on tiebreakers after giving
Taiwan suffered its first defeat of the 2024 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12, losing to defending champion Japan 3-1 at the Taipei Dome last night. Japan’s victory put Taiwan’s score at two wins and one loss in WBSC Premier12 championship Group B play. In the top of the first inning, a sacrifice fly from Japanese batter Shota Morishita allowed Masayuki Kuwahara to score a run on Taiwan’s starter Chen Po-ching (陳柏清). Taiwan’s attempt to catch up in the bottom of the first ended to no avail and an uneventful second inning saw the score
A debate over the soul of soccer is raging in FIFA World Cup holders Argentina, pitting defenders of the social role of the beautiful game against the government of libertarian Argentine President Javier Milei, who wants to turn clubs into for-profit companies. Argentina, which gave the world Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi, is home to some of the world’s most devoted soccer fans — a fact attributed by supporters like Gabriel Nicosia to the clubs’ community outreach. Nicosia is a lifelong supporter of San Lorenzo, a more than 100-year-old first division club based in the working-class Buenos Aires neighborhood of Boedo where
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a penalty and an overhead kick on Friday as Portugal beat Poland 5-1 to guarantee a place in the UEFA Nations League quarter-finals. Ronaldo turned in a man-of-the-match performance in a blistering second half. Rafael Leao broke the deadlock with a fine header 14 minutes into the second half and then Ronaldo got his 134th international goal from the penalty spot 13 minutes later. Bruno Fernandes scored a stunning third from almost 30m out and three minutes later Ronaldo’s pass gave Pedro Neto the space to lash home a fourth from a tight angle. Ronaldo made it five — and 135
RSS