Australia Survive the Heat, the Red Card and Themselves to Beat Japan Les Kiss wanted a start to remember. He got one, though not in the way any coach would draw it up. Australia’s new head coach began his tenure with a 35-32 win over Japan in the Lipovitan D Challenge Cup 2026 at Hanazono…
Argentina 10-17 South Africa: Bench Muscle Breaks Brave Pumas’ Resistance in Buenos Aires For an hour at Estadio José Amalfitani, two understrength sides traded blows on level terms, and it was only South Africa’s forward reserves, introduced in a wave from the 50th minute, who eventually prised the game apart. The 17-10 scoreline flatters a…
Scotland’s Bench-Fuelled Fightback Buries Fiji’s Bold Start at Murrayfield Scotland trailed by ten points at half-time and had just watched Fiji score their third try in 33 minutes. By full-time, that scoreline had been turned inside out at 33–17. A bonus point secured, and four consecutive Fijian tries answered with an unbroken run of five….
Japan 15-42 France: Bonus-Point Win Built on a Ruthless Second Half For forty minutes at the National Stadium (MUFG Stadium), Japan gave France a genuine contest. For the forty that followed, they gave them nothing at all. That split personality defined a match France won 42-15 with a bonus point secured through six tries, a…
A Forward Pack Writes Joe Schmidt’s Farewell Story Six matches without a win had followed Australia into Round 3 of the Nations Championship, and two of those results (defeats to Ireland and France) had come in this tournament alone. Then, in Joe Schmidt’s final Test as head coach, the Wallabies scored nine tries and put…
New Zealand 40-21 Ireland: Eden Park’s fortress holds as clinical first half buries brave Irish response Ireland arrived at Eden Park with a specific piece of history in their sights. No visiting side had won a men’s Test on this ground since France managed it in 1994. They leave having discovered exactly why that record…
England Survive Their Own Discipline to Beat Argentina in Santiago del Estero For thirty-five minutes, this looked like a rout. By the final whistle, after a lengthy television review, it looked like something closer to a heist. England built the kind of first-half lead that usually settles a Test match, then spent the second half…
South Africa 43-0 Wales: Rotation, Rhythm, and a Familiar Story in Durban Round 3 of the Nations Championship did little to change the balance of power between these two sides. South Africa’s 43-0 win at Hollywoodbets Kings Park extended the Springboks’ winning run to 11 consecutive Test matches and left Wales scoreless for the second…
France’s Second-Half Storm Ends Australia’s Brisbane Hoodoo — and Exposes a Deeper Problem France overturned a nine-point half-time deficit to beat Australia 42–26 at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday, scoring 30 unanswered points after the break. It was France’s first win of the 2026 Nations Championship and their first Test victory in Brisbane since 1972. It…
Depth, Composure and a Ruthless Third Quarter: How South Africa Saw Off Scotland South Africa’s 42–28 win over Scotland at Loftus Versfeld had, at various points, the shape of a rout, a shootout and a nervy finish. Through all three phases, though, the same pattern held. However much ground Scotland made up, South Africa always…
