The Wallabies, recovering from a record drubbing, made five team changes on Tuesday for their Tri-Nations rugby Test series decider against holders New Zealand in Brisbane on Saturday.
Center Ryan Cross, flanker George Smith, lock Nathan Sharpe, tighthead prop Al Baxter and hooker Stephen Moore return to the starting team for the Test — the season’s third Bledisloe Cup match.
Cross, Smith, Baxter and Moore were on the reserves bench during last month’s record 53-8 loss to South Africa in Johannesburg, while Sharpe was not a member of the last squad.
Coach Robbie Deans omitted inside-center Timana Tahu, flanker Phil Waugh, utility forward Hugh McMeniman, prop Matt Dunning and hooker Tatafu Polota-Nau.
Former rugby league international Tahu and Polota-Nau have missed selection altogether. Waugh, McMeniman and Dunning were named among the replacements, which features a five-two forwards-backs split.
“Last week’s gone and we’ve got a fantastic opportunity this weekend. We will be better out of necessity and I’m very excited about this week, and very excited about this group,” Deans said. “They weren’t proud of their last outing so the priority for us is to be proud of what we leave behind this Saturday.”
The All Blacks named an unchanged team for Saturday’s clash.
New Zealand will field the same starting XV against Australia as in their previous two tournament outings.
“It’s a very competitive Tri-Nations series this year,” All Blacks coach Graham Henry said. “Every match has been more important than the one before it and this Test decides the championship.”
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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