South Africa vs Australia LIVE: Rugby Championship result and reaction as Springboks thrash Wallabies
Australia seek a first win at Loftus Versfeld as Eddie Jones begins his second stint in charge of the Wallabies
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Your support makes all the difference.South Africa put Australia to the sword as Eddie Jones’s second stint in charge of the Wallabies got off to a disastrous start.
Kurt-Lee Arendse’s hat-trick powered the Springboks to a seven-try 43-12 victory in Pretoria as the hosts flexed their strength.
Jacques Nienaber had named a side short of several regular first-choice stars for the Rugby Championship opener, but it mattered not as Australia were blown away.
Showing early attacking ambition and then taking full control with their power game, South Africa produced a statement performance in their first fixture of this World Cup year.
Australia twice had players sent to the sin bin after conceding penalty tries, Dave Porecki shown a yellow card after hauling down a ball before Suliasi Vunivalu’s deliberate knock on denied Arendse a walk-in fourth score.
It leaves Jones with plenty of thinking to do as Australia prepare to host Argentina in Sydney next weekend.
Argentina welcome New Zealand to Mendoza later on Saturday in round one’s other fixture.
Follow all the live updates from the Rugby Championship below:
HT: Argentina 0-31 New Zealand
That first half score was Rieko Ioane’s 34th for the All Blacks. One more and he’ll be into the top ten all-time, level with John Kirwan - how high can he climb? The centre is only 26 and has developed an all-round game to suggest he’ll outlast many of New Zealand’s past scoring phenoms. Doug Howlett’s tally of 49 tries could well be in danger.
Ioane’s partnership with Jordie Barrett just looks better and better. You’d have to think those two are now very much inked in for the World Cup.
Second half...
Argentina take an age to re-emerge, leaving the All Blacks waiting for a good couple of minutes as Michael Cheika and Julian Montoya lay down some last instructions. Can they produce something better after the interval? Damian McKenzie gets proceedings restarted.
Argentina 0-31 New Zealand, 41 minutes
The All Blacks begin to threaten almost immediately. Scott Barrett pulls back blindly at the line, a trademark of his, to find Damian McKenzie, before Sam Cane wriggles out of a tackle.
Beauden Barrett tries to copy his brother, seeking a looping McKenzie, but their connection is less clean. Knocked on.
Argentina 0-31 New Zealand, 43 minutes
Matias Moroni is thrown into the Argentina back row, the centre stepping in with Rodrigo Bruni off the field. Pablo Matera shifts over to number eight and has to plough a lone furrow as the rest of his packmates are forced into reverse gear, Matera doing quite superbly to bash his way out of danger.
There’s momentary excitement from the Mendoza crowd as Argentina hurry after a fly-hack, but there was a knock-on in the tackle to force the ball free, and back we will come.
Argentina 0-31 New Zealand, 44 minutes
The All Blacks scrum has been in top working order today. Ethan de Groot makes marmalade out of Lucio Sordoni as the Argentina tighthead continues to struggle on his test return after three years out of the international fray.
Argentina 0-31 New Zealand, 46 minutes
A score seems certain to come as New Zealand build the phases inside the Argentina 22, Damian McKenzie playing flat to the line and pulling the strings expertly.
But a sharp blast of Angus Gardner’s whistle brings things to a half - Scott Barrett had removed an Argentina jackaler by the neck and is rightly pinged.
Dane Coles takes leave; Codie Taylor offers similar experience at hooker off the bench.
Argentina 0-31 New Zealand, 47 minutes
Back-to-back Barrett blunders, changing bind as he swims up the side of an Argentina maul. The hosts kick down to the New Zealand 22.
Argentina 0-31 New Zealand, 49 minutes
Outstanding from Ardie Savea. He’s just so, so strong over the ball, in with pinching paws as two clearers try to shift him unsuccessfully. Jordie Barrett hacks a kick out off an Argentina body, before the All Blacks make a better job of clearing their lines after Taylor hits the mark with his first throw.
Rodrigo Bruni returns from the sin bin.
Argentina 0-31 New Zealand, 50 minutes
Off goes Thomas Gallo! He’s got a habit of this sort of thing, the mobile loosehead, busting out of a tackle and making a break, combining with the returing Bruni. Argentina five metres short.
Rieko Ioane kills the momentum with an astute defensive read, but Josh Lord is soon whistled.
TRY! ARGENTINA 5-31 New Zealand (Lucio Sordoni try, 52 minutes)
He’s had a tough time at the set-piece but Lucio Sordoni marks his international return with a try!
Argentina have come out fighting in this second 40, energy, effort, intensity and animosity as they bid to right a few first half wrongs. Thomas Gallo, who got that all started up on halfway, takes the tap off the floor and almost scores himself, Matias Alemanno moving it half-a-foot closer before laying it back for Sordoni.
The tighthead squashes it down between New Zealand limbs and Argentina are on the board.
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