WORLD RANKINGS: Boks fail to break into top 3
SPOTLIGHT: Having scraped home by a point the previous week, the Springboks enjoyed a more convincing 24-13 win the second time around.
Trailing 3-10 at the break, a two-try blitzkrieg – wings by Makazole Mapimpi and Canan Moodie – inside the opening 10 minutes of the second half turned the tide and saw the Boks race clear.
However, the 11-point margin wasn’t quite big enough for them to move above France and into third place.
Instead, they remain in fourth place with Argentina seventh, a point better off than Australia.
Debut tries from Shaun Stevenson and Samipeni Finau saw the All Blacks rally from 3-17 down at half-time to win 23-20 and protect their 22-year home win streak against Australia – as well as helping them to secure second place in the rankings.
France would still have taken their place as top-ranked Ireland’s nearest rivals had they won at Murrayfield but the World Cup 2023 hosts also let slip a big advantage.
Tries from Baptiste Couilloud, 20-year-old debutant Louis Bielle-Biarrey and Cameron Woki eased Les Bleus into a 21-3 half-time lead. But Scotland mounted a stunning fightback to win 25-21 with tries from Darcy Graham and Pierre Schoeman – either side of Zander Fagerson’s red card – and substitute Dave Cherry.
