Three-time champions New Zealand on Saturday inflicted more Rugby World Cup heartbreak on Ireland, beating them 28-24 in a tense quarter-final to bring a bitterly disappointing end to Irish captain Johnny Sexton’s stellar career, while Argentina defeated Wales to advance.
The All Blacks avenged a historic home series defeat at the hands of Ireland last year, taking their chances when they had them in clinical fashion at the Stade de France to reach a semi-final against Argentina.
The defeat ended Ireland’s run of 17 successive Test victories and denied Andy Farrell’s team the chance of reaching the last four for the first time in their history.
Photo: AFP
“You’ve got to work hard for fairytale endings and we didn’t get it, but that’s life,” 38-year-old Sexton said. “We left no stone unturned, we ticked every box, trained the house down, and played pretty well tonight, but fair play to the All Blacks.”
The All Blacks came into the eagerly awaited clash in what for them was the unaccustomed position of underdogs.
However, the New Zealanders roared into a 13-0 lead, and although Ireland hit back again and again, the All Blacks kept their noses in front and showed their pedigree to reach the semi-finals.
Ireland did pierce the New Zealand defense on a couple of occasions, but their discipline let them down and it was their opponents who turned their chances into points.
“We all knew it was going to be a monster game. It was a real arm wrestle,” New Zealand coach Ian Foster said. “They’re a proud team, Ireland, they really hung in there. I thought we had them a couple of times, but they kept making the game really tight.”
“Sometimes the sweetest victories are when your opposition plays very well and tests you to the limit,” he said.
In Marseille, Emiliano Boffelli kicked 19 points to help Argentina to a dramatic 29-17 victory over Wales.
Los Pumas came into the quarter-final at the Stade Velodrome as underdogs, having finished Pool D runners-up to England, while Wales booked their place in the quarters with a perfect four wins from four in Pool C.
However, Argentina played the territorial game, and while not shining in attack, proved to be solid in defense, disruptive at the line-out and disciplined enough to contain a fancied Welsh side seeking to make the semi-final for the third time in four tournaments.
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
RSS