South Africa scored six tries and held their nerve against a Scottish onslaught to claim a 42-28 victory in their Nations Championship clash in Pretoria on Saturday, with the visitors left to rue several missed opportunities.
The Springboks made 10 changes to the team that had defeated England the week before and, with a relatively inexperienced side, were there for the taking.
But a wasteful Scotland could not capitalise and remain winless in South Africa after eight attempts.
It will be hugely frustrating for coach Gregor Townsend, whose side were on top for large parts of the contest but were let down by errors in crucial moments.
“I am a little bit gutted to be honest,” Scotland captain Sione Tuipulotu said. “They [South Africa] came out really hot but we were able to battle back.
“I thought the period after halftime hurt us. We had a lot of possession in their 22 and didn’t capitalise.
“I am very disappointed at the moment but also proud of the group. We played a positive brand of rugby but it wasn’t good enough today.”
South Africa made it a full haul of 10 points from their opening two games and will be delighted with the victory having rested so many of their regulars.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus took charge of a team-record 55th international fixture.
“All credit to Scotland, they came out and played unbelievably well. But I am proud of the guys, we stuck to our systems and finished well at the end,” stand-in Springbok captain Pieter-Steph du Toit said.
“The system is so well prepared in this team, each player comes into the side and knows exactly what to do.
“We made some mistakes and they saw some weaknesses in our defence. We need to improve on that.”
With the score level at 14-14 at halftime, South Africa lost replacement lock Ben-Jason Dixon to a yellow card for head contact at the ruck early in the second period, but Scotland did not manage a point in that period.
It took the Springboks almost 20 minutes to get into the visitors’ 22 in the second half and when they did, replacement loose forward Elrigh Louw crossed to score.
That signalled a momentum shift in the match and centre Damien Willemse and replacement prop Zac Porthen crossed for tries to open up a 21-point lead.
But the visitors gave themselves hope when Josh Bayliss ran in unopposed under the posts and scrumhalf Ben White crossed shortly afterwards.
Centre Jesse Kriel sealed Scotland’s fate when he collected outhalf Handre Pollard’s grubber kick to score a sixth try.
Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang is tackled by Australia’s Harry Wilson. Photograph: Billy Stickland/Inpho
Winger Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang scored a brace of tries on test debut as France came from behind to crush Australia 42-26 in their Nations Championship match in Brisbane on Saturday.
Among eight changes to France’s starting 15, Olympic sevens gold medallist Grandidier-Nkanang touched down in both halves to help Les Bleus rebound from their 34-32 loss to New Zealand last week with a bonus-point victory.
The Six Nations champions trailed 21-12 at half-time at Suncorp Stadium after two early tries from Wallabies flanker Fraser McReight, but they rallied superbly, scoring 30 unanswered points in a four-try burst to dismantle the hosts.
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“It was a very, very tough first half,” said outhalf Romain Ntamack. “We knew we had to keep pushing, and we’re really happy about that second half.”
New Zealand-born lock Emmanuel Meafou crashed over in the third minute to open the scoring for the French but Australia hit back almost immediately with a try to hooker Brandon Paenga-Amosa.
Grandidier-Nkanang nudged France ahead with his first try in the 18th minute but the match turned again when Meafou was given a yellow card for a high tackle on Rob Valetini.
McReight burrowed over the line to snatch the lead back for the Wallabies and grabbed a second five-pointer from the back of a maul after a well-executed lineout drive before the interval.
Maxime Lucu trimmed the lead to six points with a long-range penalty after the break, and from there France were unstoppable.
Yoram Moefana made a terrific line-break before being brought down a metre from the line.
Lucu shifted the ball wide to fullback Matthieu Jalibert who chipped over to the left corner where Grandidier-Nkanang collected the ball off the bounce and planted it over the line.
With Wallabies fullback Tom Wright given a yellow card for not rolling away from a ruck near the try-line, France stormed ahead with a showcase of pace, power and precision.
Ntamack danced through defenders Ryan Lonergan and James Slipper to cross at the left corner in the 53rd minute before lock Florian Verhaeghe dived under the posts.
With Australia’s defence tiring, Kalvin Gourgues made another line-break on the right flank, setting up winger Theo Attissogbe for another try seven minutes from time.
Jeremy Williams grabbed a late try to improve the scoreboard for the Wallabies but it was scant consolation for the Lang Park crowd little more than a year out from Australia hosting the World Cup.
Schmidt’s tenure, which began with a winless European tour to close 2025, is ending on a sour note, with Italy his final match before Les Kiss takes over.
Forced to play debutant Declan Meredith as starting outhalf after injuries to Carter Gordon and Ben Donaldson, ashen-faced Schmidt said Australia owed fans a better effort in second halves.
“We can’t afford to fall away in the back half of games,” he said.
“That will be something we will certainly target next week.”
Will Jordan of the New Zealand All Blacks smiles as he runs in for a try during the Nations Championship against Italy. Photograph: Phil Walter/Getty
Will Jordan scored a record 50th try for New Zealand in a hat-trick as the All Blacks thrashed Italy 47-17 in the Nations Championship.
The prolific outside back touched down once in the first half and twice in three minutes after half-time at Wellington Regional Stadium to eclipse Doug Howlett’s record against the outclassed Italians.
“It’s hugely humbling, I guess, as a winger on the end of the chain sometimes,” said 28-year-old Jordan.
“I’ve been a part of some great teams over the last seven years and in turn I hope I’ve inspired a few kids to practise their chip-and-chase in the backyard and dream big.”
Deployed on the right wing rather than fullback under new coach Dave Rennie, Jordan has enjoyed a brilliant start to the season.
He scored a double against France in the 34-32 win in the Nations Championship opener in Christchurch last week.
Rennie now has back-to-back wins in his first matches in charge but the Italians have started the Nations Championship with a 0-2 record, after being beaten 27-10 by Japan last week.
The visitors’ cause was not helped on Saturday by a dismissal for Niccolo Cannone for headbutting Cameron Roigard at a ruck in the 52nd minute.
The referee issued a yellow card on-field but it was upgraded to red by the Television Match Official, leaving Italy undermanned while 26-10 down.
Loose forward Anton Segner became the first German-born All Black when he took the field in the second half to the delight of his parents who travelled from Frankfurt for his Test debut.
Italy started brightly and opened the scoring with a try to Tommaso Menoncello in the second minute but did not cross again until Leonardo Marin found space on the right in the 58th minute.
In between, the All Blacks set up Jordan for a memorable night.
A Jordie Barrett grubber kick behind the Italian line found Leroy Carter who dished off to Jordan for his first try on the half-hour mark.
Barrett also had assists in Jordan’s other tries, the last of them in the 54th minute – triggering a standing ovation from the crowd as he took sole ownership of the record.
Sam Darry and Roigard crossed for the hosts early in each half, while Tupou Vaa’i barged over for their seventh try after the final siren.
England’s Henry Pollock celebrates after scoring a try against Fiji. Photograph: Bruce Rollinson/PA
Second half substitute Henry Pollock scored a hat-trick as England ran in 11 tries in a 73-8 thrashing of Fiji in their Nations Championship clash on Saturday, ending a run of five successive Test defeats.
The result at the Hill Dickinson Stadium followed England’s heavy defeat by South Africa in their opening Nations Championship game and a disappointing Six Nations campaign.
England were 35-3 ahead at half-time and took advantage of Fiji being reduced to 14 men for the second half after scrumhalf Simione Kuruvoli was sent off for kicking out at England prop Ellis Genge and striking him in the chest. England’s first-half try scorers were Marcus Smith, captain Jamie George, Guy Pepper, Benhard Janse van Rensburg and Seb Atkinson. Pollock (3), Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Henry Slade and Noah Caluori added second-half tries while Fin Smith, who had a commanding game at outhalf, kicked nine conversions.
Fiji’s score came from Tevita Ikanivere’s push-over try and a penalty kicked by Caleb Muntz.
England last won a Test when they beat Wales early in the Six Nations and needed a statement victory, doing so in style with their biggest win over Fiji and were helped by the high penalty count against the islanders.
Fiji ceded home advantage for the fixture, as they did last weekend against Wales and will do next Saturday against Scotland due to financial considerations, and will have swelled their union’s coffers with a crowd of more than 50,000, but it was England who were on the money from the start of the first rugby international held at the new Everton ground.
Marcus Smith’s opening try had an element of good fortune as Finn Smith’s kick out wide to Tommy Freeman bounced over the winger’s head but hit the corner flag, bouncing back into play, and it was quick thinking from the England fullback that secured a sixth-minute lead.
They never looked back after that, with debutant Janse van Rensburg scoring with his first touch after briefly coming on as an HIA (head injury assessment) replacement for Slade in the first half. After the break, teenage winger Caluori marked his first test with a flying dive for a try, while Pollock’s impressive turn of pace outsprinted the Fijians as he came on and stole the second-half show with an impressive hat-trick.