Rugby Championship 2023: New Zealand Survive Fightback To Win Over South Africa In Auckland

• New Zealand see off South Africa 35-20 in Auckland.

New Zealand survived a fightback from South Africa to win their Rugby Championship match 35-20 in Auckland.

The All Blacks made a strong start, with tries from Aaron Smith and Shannon Frizell helping them into a 17-0 lead.

A Faf de Klerk penalty got the Springboks off the mark and tries from Malcolm Marx and Cheslin Kolbe reduced the deficit to 23-15.

New Zealand responded with Will Jordan and Richie Mo’unga scores before a late try from South Africa’s Kwagga Smith.

“It’s always physical and an awesome Test match – ones you look forward to,” said All Blacks captain Sam Cane, whose side beat Argentina in their opening Rugby Championship game.

“They are the reigning World Cup champions so we knew it would be a good test to see where we were at as a team.

“We’re pleased to see improvement from last week. We know we’ve still got a way to go to get to where we want to but it was a good Test match.”

Cane did not return after half-time because of injury, while De Klerk had to be replaced because of injury during the second half.

The All Blacks’ blistering start was aided by a poor performance from the world champions in the opening stages, in which they made too many unforced errors, according to Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber.

“The start was not idea for us, the first 20 minutes we struggled to get into the game because of poor discipline. I think we gave away four consecutive penalties,” Nienaber said.

“We made a lot of mistakes and those errors put us under pressure. The quality side that New Zealand are, they were able to capitalise and we had to play catch-up rugby for the rest of the game.”

The two teams will next face each other at Twickenham on 25 August in a friendly prior to the Rugby World Cup in France.

Argentina make history against Wallabies
Juan Martin Gonzalez’s last-minute try in Sydney saw Argentina snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in a thrilling 34-31 win against Australia in the later Rugby Championship game.

It meant a second consecutive win for the Pumas against the Wallabies for the first time ever.

Australia led 10-0 after Len Ikitau’s opening try and Quade Cooper’s penalty before Argentina scored the next 17 points.

Jeronimo de la Fuente finished off a try which followed a nine-phase build-up, and Julian Montoya smashed his way to the line as the Pumas took control.

In an end-to-end Test match, Nic White darted over to draw the Wallabies level but Mateo Carreras edged the visitors in front once more.

Samu Kerevi then hit back for Australia to set up a tense finale before the hosts thought they had clinched victory when Mark Nawaqanitawase intercepted a loose Argentinean pass to cross with five minutes remaining.

But Argentina were not finished and Gonzalez grounded the ball from a rolling maul for the bonus-point win to put more pressure on Wallabies coach Eddie Jones.

Jones has now lost both games of his second spell in charge of Australia following a thumping defeat by South Africa on his return last weekend.

The 63-year-old, who was sacked by England last year, said his side can challenge the All Blacks in their next game despite “not quite gelling” against the Pumas.

“In 10 days we can be a completely different team, and that’s the aim,” he said.

“We tried to play a bit freer which involved a bit more decision making, but at the moment it’s not quite gelling.

“But we’ve got to accept there is going to be a little bit of pain.

“If you look at our squad at the moment, there are a number of guys coming back from long-term injuries, so we’re not where we should be.

“But that’s no excuse for today’s performance.

“It’s more about how can the team just be better decision makers around the ball and our ability to get off the line a bit harder.

“Again, we didn’t put enough pressure on them with our defence.”