Australia still harbors hopes of winning the Tri Nations rugby title and wants to get its campaign back on track with another win over South Africa.
The Wallabies had a 49-0 win over the Springboks in Brisbane last month, but bookended that with home and away losses to New Zealand and surrendered the Bledisloe Cup -- the symbol of trans-Tasman rugby supremacy -- for a fourth straight season.
New Zealand leads the expanded Tri Nations -- this season it includes three rounds instead of two -- with a perfect three wins, including last weekend's 13-9 defeat of Australia.
The Wallabies have one win and two bonus points and the South Africans are yet to register a competition point after two comprehensive losses.
But the South Africans are desperate to avenge the heavy July 14 defeat -- its worst to Australia -- on Saturday in Sydney and take confidence into its home section of the series.
And Australia coach John Connolly expects the Springboks to be more potent.
"I definitely don't expect what we walked into in Brisbane. They'll be a lot more confrontational, a lot more physical," Connolly said yesterday.
A win would increase Australia's prospects of challenging New Zealand for the Tri Nations title, despite having to travel for their last two matches.
"If we get away with maximum points here, there's a belief that we can run New Zealand very close [at Auckland on Aug. 19] and New Zealand have got to play South Africa twice at altitude," Connolly said. "History shows they've found that difficult over the years, so it's still all to play for."
Connolly made two changes to his lineup, giving loose forward Wycliff Palu and hooker Tai McIsaac starting roles at the expense of No. 8 Scott Fava and Jeremy Paul.
Springbok coach Jake White also made two changes to his first XV following the last-start 35-17 loss to New Zealand, with winger Akona Ndungane returning from injury for Breyton Paulse and Johann Muller earning a second-row spot at Albert van den Berg's expense.
South Africa was heavy penalized for its rushing defense in its last match against Australia.
This time, recalled flyhalf Butch James has been tasked with closing down Australian playmaker Steve Larkham.
Inter on Sunday were given a letoff when they snatched a late 1-1 derby draw with AC Milan, while league leaders SSC Napoli were held by a late goal at AS Roma. Reigning champions Inter remain three points behind Napoli, who looked to be heading five clear as they led in Rome until Angelino volleyed in a stunning leveler in the first minute of stoppage-time. Angelino’s strike gave even more significance to Stefan de Vrij’s last-gasp equalizer at the San Siro. The defender forced home Nicola Zalewski’s knockdown just as it looked like Tijjani Reijnders’ opener would be enough for Milan. “I can
Santiago Castro on Tuesday had an immediate impact off the bench as he scored the goal to send Bologna into the Coppa Italia semi-finals for the first time in 26 years. Bologna won 1-0 against last year’s runners-up, Atalanta BC, and are to play either holders Juventus or Empoli in the final four. Juventus are to host Empoli in their quarter-final on Feb. 26. The last time Bologna reached the semi-finals was in 1999, when they lost 4-2 to ACF Fiorentina. There were chances for both sides in a high-tempo match in Bergamo, but it was Bologna who broke the deadlock 10 minutes from
After nearly six years away from the NBA, New Taipei Kings player Jeremy Lin (林書豪) is set to participate in the 2025 NBA All-Star Weekend’s Rising Stars mini-tournament as the coach of Team G League. The NBA announced Monday (U.S. time) that the Taiwanese-American player will join a trio of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famers – Tim Hardaway Sr., Chris Mullin, and Mitch Richmond – as honorary coaches for four teams featuring 28 rising talents. "See you soon in the Bay," Lin wrote in an Instagram story sharing the news. As the All-Star Weekend will take place at
The former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani on Thursday was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for bank and tax fraud after he stole nearly US$17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers player’s bank account. Ippei Mizuhara, who was supposed to bridge the gap between the Japanese athlete and his English-speaking teammates and fans, was sentenced in federal court in Santa Ana to four years and nine months after pleading guilty last year. He was ordered to pay US$18 million in restitution, with nearly US$17 million going to Ohtani and the remainder to the US Internal Revenue Service. He was
RSS