New Zealand win the Rugby Championship with a 19-17 win over world champions South Africa in Queensland.

Rugby Championship: Australia 27-8 ArgentinaConfident Wallabies make it three wins in a rowAustralia rode an early two-try burst to record a comfortable 27-8 victory over Argentina in the Rugby Championship in Townsville, winning three successive Tests for the first time in four years.If the match lacked the quality of the New Zealand-South Africa game that preceded it at North Queensland Stadium, the Wallabies will be satisfied with a win to back up two victories over the Springboks. Continue reading…

Australia 27-8 ArgentinaNew Zealand 19-17 South AfricaOn the Australian TV broadcast there are regular advertorials promoting Townsville, and I’m not going to lie, they make me want to run to Melbourne airport and fly there immediately. By the looks of those socks, I reckon Argentina are going to be in the darker of their two uniforms, which means we’re at risk of a bit of a messy kit clash with Australia in First Nations green. Continue reading…

The 100th collision of a relationship stretching back 100 years transcends the pitch in ways very few in any sport can matchThe match began with Kapa o Pango, an iteration of the haka first performed in 2005 for the Tri-Nations encounter between South Africa and New Zealand. It sparked mild controversy at the time for the closing gesture in the sequence which sees All Black players rake their thumb across their neck. The official line is that this symbolises the drawing of energy into the heart and lungs but it unmistakably resembles the intimidatory act of throat-slitting.Rugby union has long been guilty of self-aggrandisement. Devotees of the oval ball still speak of the game as if it exists in the bygone era of the amateur gentleman, conveniently ignoring the swathes of advertisements littering players’ jerseys or their eye-watering salaries. Romantics still believe referees are afforded more respect than officials in other sports or that ingrained values place this pastime on a moral pedestal. Continue reading…

New Zealand 19-17 South AfricaAll Blacks unbeaten after five rounds of Rugby ChampionshipNew Zealand narrowly justified their No 1 world ranking with a hard-fought 19-17 win over world champions South Africa in Townsville on Saturday to secure the Rugby Championship title with a match to spare.The 100th Test between union’s two most successful nations did not disappoint and it was not until full-back Jordie Barrett kicked his fourth penalty two minutes from time that the All Blacks took the lead for the final time. Continue reading…