South Africa, Australia draw; All Blacks ‘thrash’ Argentina
Botia leads La Rochelle thrashing of Clermont
PERTH, Australia, Sept 9, (AFP): Australia squandered a 10-point lead as South Africa stormed back to claim a 23-23 draw in their Rugby Championship Test in Perth on Saturday.
The Springboks clawed back from 20-10 down early in the second half to hit the front 23-20 before Bernard Foley kicked a levelling penalty goal for the Wallabies 10 minutes from time.
The draw left South Africa unbeaten in six internationals this year, while the Wallabies now have three points in the Rugby Championship after two defeats to New Zealand.
It was the second draw in the 84 Test matches between the two teams, and the first since a 14-14 stalemate also in Perth in 2001.
The Wallabies looked on target to push on to victory when they extended their 13-10 half-time advantage to lead 20-10 seven minutes after the resumption.
It was the Springboks set-piece that turned the game in the second half, winning key lineouts and disrupting the Wallabies scrum.
The draw meant the Springboks have not beaten the Wallabies in Australia since their 38-12 romp in Brisbane in 2013.
Asked how he felt about the draw Etzebeth said: “It’s difficult, you always want to win these games and would have loved it to be us but unfortunately (it was) a draw.”
Wallabies coach Michael Cheika said he was disappointed his team did not close out the match.
Skipper Michael Hooper added: “Missed opportunity there. Set-piece didn’t allow us to get momentum in the second half.
Elton Jantjies and Bernard Foley exchanged penalties before the Springboks struck first in the 25th minute off a turnover.
Ross Cronje pinched the ball and Jesse Kriel kicked ahead with winger Raymond Rhule and Hooper jostling for the ball.
Rhule shouldered Hooper off the ball and Kriel picked it and scored in the right corner for Jantjies to convert.
But the Wallabies hit back quickly with inside-centre Kurtley Beale spearing through a gap to score, and Foley converted to level the scores. among the leading rugby nations.
Los Pumas coach Daniel Hourcade rated it his side’s best performance of the year after back-to-back losses against South Africa.
But they lost their way when they had a one-man advantage with All Blacks fly-half Beauden Barrett in the sin-bin.
In the first half, as the All Blacks continued to suffer from the indecision and handling errors that plagued them in their last Test against Australia, Argentina were quick to cash in.
They led 16-15 at half-time and stretched the lead to 22-15 with two quick penalties at the start of the second half before Fifita’s try brought the All Blacks back into the game.
On a cold wet night, once the All Blacks had weathered Los Pumas’s initial onslaught, they put the first points on the board when Damian McKenzie scythed through the Argentine backline to put Nehe Milner-Skudder over for the try.
When Nicolas Sanchez replied with a close-range penalty, the All Blacks were immediately back on the attack with Anton Lienert-Brown winning the race for the ball to score off a Beauden Barrett chip kick.
Los Pumas picked up another three points with a long-range penalty by left wing Emiliano Boffelli from a metre inside his own half and closed within one point at 10-9 with a second Sanchez
Botia
penalty.
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Fijian flanker led La Rochelle to a stunning display of offloading brilliance that crushed defending Top 14 champions Clermont 51-20 on Saturday.
Winger scored a hat-trick as the hosts, basking in sunshine in front of a raucous sell-out Stade Marcel-Deflandre -- where they were unbeaten last year, ran in six tries in a scintillating first half against a Clermont side which had two players yellow carded. The high-octane game was effectively decided at 43-6 at half-time, with last season’s regular-season tabletoppers in flying form.
As slick as La Rochelle looked, with English fly-half pulling the strings, Clermont produced an error-ridden, flat-footed display with new Scotland scrum-half struggling to implement anything close to a gameplan.
La Rochelle bounced back from their disappointing defeat by Stade Francais last week by opening the scoring after just 42 seconds, Lacroix crossing in a hint of what was to come.
responded with two penalties for Clermont, but after that it was one-way traffic, All Black No 8
and Botia completing outclassing their opposition backrow.
Veteran Fiji lock was instrumental in opening the floodgates, slipping English winger tackle and off-loading to who found Lacroix on his outside to scamper home for his second.
An attacking line-out soon after saw a well-drilled pack peel off and crash over for La Rochelle’s third try, the ubiqitous Vito credited with the touchdown.