New Zealand yesterday snapped a two-game losing streak with a nail-biting 31-28 win over Australia, holding off a second-half charge to retain the Bledisloe Cup.
Both sides scored four tries on a warm Sydney afternoon as the All Blacks rebounded from consecutive Rugby Championship defeats against world champions South Africa.
New Zealand took a commanding 28-14 lead into the break and, despite Australia storming back into contention, held on to retain a trophy they have owned since 2003, dominating possession, set plays and the breakdown.
Photo: AFP
The writing was on the wall with New Zealand winning their past seven Tests against Australia, heaping more pressure on Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt, whose side were humiliated 67-27 in Argentina two weeks ago.
Despite the fightback, it proved a disappointing way for prop James Slipper to celebrate becoming the most capped Wallaby with his 140th appearance, surpassing former captain George Gregan.
The victory elevated New Zealand above Los Pumas into second on the Rugby Championship ladder, with one game left against Australia, who prop up the table, in Wellington next week.
Photo: AFP
Argentina were to host the table-topping Springboks after press time last night.
New Zealand coach Scott Robertson made a handful of changes after their nerve-racking 18-12 loss in Cape Town two weeks ago, but veteran Beauden Barrett was ruled out with illness an hour before kick-off.
It meant Will Jordan moved to fullback and Sevu Reece came in on the wing.
Photo: AFP
Australia also switched things up, with Nic White and Noah Lolesio thrust in as the halves pairing, while center Hunter Paisami and fullback Tom Wright returned from injury.
It made little difference with the hosts exposed inside two minutes when Jordan sliced open the defense to dot down between the posts, with Damian McKenzie adding the extras. The All Blacks kept their foot to the floor and raced 14-0 clear after nine minutes with center Reiko Ioane collecting their second try in a move stemming from a break by Caleb Clarke.
Australia were bereft of ideas and Clarke powered over in the corner for the visitors’ third.
New Zealand momentarily went to sleep and Nic White exploded into a hole before offloading for Fraser McReight to dive over and finally give the 68,061-strong at Sydney Olympic Stadium something to cheer about, but All Blacks skipper Ardie Savea sprinted over for another try in the 24th minute after a sloppy Australian spoon pass was picked up by Reece, who drew the defender to leave his teammate in plenty of space.
With McKenzie nailing a fourth straight conversion, they moved into an ominous 28-7 lead.
The Wallabies, though, kept plugging away and were rewarded when hooker Matt Faessler charged over after some good work in the maul ahead of the halftime hooter to give them a glimmer of hope.
An early second-half penalty stretched New Zealand’s lead, but it was a much better Australia who fronted up.
New Zealand had a try disallowed for a forward pass and Australia capitalized with a try of their own through Paisami after a break from Lukhan Salakaia-Loto to narrow the gap to 10 points with 15 minutes left.
It lit a fuse under the home side, who scored another try through Tom Wright with a minute left to set up a grandstand finish, only for the All Blacks to cling on.
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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