Pressure back on All Blacks as Springboks target third Test win

For the first time in the Dave Rennie era the All Blacks will be under pressure, after they suffered their first loss since he took over earlier this year, a 33-26 defeat to the Springboks in the second Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Test in Cape Town on Saturday. ipltable.lol

The All Blacks won the opener at Ellis Park 33-16, but the Boks bounced back and produced a much more clinical performance to down the visitors thanks to a strong first half showing, and now take momentum into the third Test at the FNB Stadium in Soweto this coming Saturday.

It sets up a very tasty final clash in South Africa at the FNB Stadium in Soweto, with the fourth and final Test to be played in Baltimore USA, and both teams will be desperate to come out on top in the three matches in the country.

Tight margins

Bok coach Rassie Erasmus admitted how close things are between the two sides, with the world number one ranking swinging between the two like a pendulum depending on who wins, and said the Boks would not get ahead of themselves after managing to bounce back.

“You lose and you go to number two in the world, and then next weekend you play against the number one team in the world,” explained Erasmus after the match.

“I 100% understand the pressure and why people were upset (about the Ellis Park loss), because who wants to support a losing team? Nobody in South Africa is supporting anything that’s not working. Of course I felt the pressure (ahead of the second Test). The players will tell you I felt the pressure. I was nervous.

“Dave’s experienced, he will get the team calm and he’ll do it now with his first loss. They’ll be under pressure. He’ll feel what we felt last week.

“We must make sure we’re not comfortable after this win and think we’re all good again, because there’s a lot of shit things that we did.”

Dangerous All Blacks

Erasmus agreed that his team put in a much-improved performance from the first Test, but admitted that the All Blacks were a completely different and more dangerous outfit than last year, and they are very aware of that.

“I thought we started this game really well, but we agreed afterwards in the change-room that this is a very good New Zealand team,” said Erasmus.

“We did lots of things better this week than we did last week and they also did a lot of things better. They are not the same as last year’s team, they are very well coached and they have athletes who can beat you on the grass. They are on a different level to where they were last year.”

In unfortunate news Erasmus claimed that fullback Damian Willemse would miss the third Test after being forced off at halftime with an injury.

“Damian Willemse? Ya, he injured his hamstring, he’s out for next week,” said Erasmus.

It would be great if the on-field performances of the Springboks and All Blacks took centre stage for the remainder of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series, according to Nick Mallett.

The scrum has become a flashpoint, with Dave Rennie calling out the Boks’ tactics before last week’s Test in Cape Town, then again afterwards. Rassie Erasmus fired back post-match, denying his pack walks around at scrum time and accusing New Zealand of shaping the narrative through the media.

Speaking on the Talking Boks podcast, Mallett weighed in on the to and fro hogging the headlines, and not what’s going on the white lines.

MORE: Ox not happy about wasted scrum time

“It would be a disappointment if the sort of off-the-cuff [comments overshadow the series],” the former Bok coach said. “Every coach is trying to get a little advantage somewhere. That’s just part and parcel of coaching.

“You see a strength in the opposition and you try to negate it. You try and use everything, not only through coaching but also through chatting about, ‘Is it legal? How do they manage to get [that advantage]?’ Every coach does it.”

He believes there’s admiration between the teams but wants the rugby to dominate the conversation, with the four-Test series 1-1 ahead of Saturday’s clash at FNB Stadium.

“I would like to hope that this series will continue to have a lot of respect between both coaching staffs and also the teams,” Mallett said.

“There have been a few flare-ups, but they’re quickly doused. There’s huge physicality, but I do believe there’s respect. I think there’s a lot of respect between Rassie and Dave Rennie as well.

“One wouldn’t like to think that these media conferences could take centre stage in this wonderful series. What I would like is that the players themselves take centre stage in their performances and the differing styles of play,” he added.

“Let’s hope in the next two weeks we’re not talking about the referees, we’re talking about the performances of the players.”

MALLETT: All Blacks ‘lucky’ at scrum time

The ex-Boland Cavaliers, Stade Français and Italy boss also pointed to where the fuss began.

“It started right at the beginning of the tour, where they [New Zealand] said that South African teams like to walk from set-piece to set-piece. We slow the game down to our pace,” Mallett said.

“[All Blacks assistant coach] Tana Umaga mentioned it, as well as Dave Rennie. It didn’t start with South Africa.”

ALSO: Rassie’s not in my head – All Blacks forwards coach

Photo: Esa Alexander/Reuters

The post Rassie, Rennie ‘off-the-cuff’ jibes a distraction appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.

Ils étaient plus de 30 à lui fermer la porte. Aujourd’hui, ils sont nombreux à vouloir le regarder jouer. L’histoire de Gessime Yassine devrait interpeller profondément le football français. Elle devrait même provoquer une véritable remise en question dans les centres de formation et chez tous ceux qui ont la responsabilité de détecter les talents […]

L’article GESSIME YASSINE : LE SCANDALE D’UNE DÉTECTION FRANÇAISE QUI PASSE À CÔTÉ DE SES PÉPITES est apparu en premier sur Shoot Africa.

Novak Djokovic suffered his earliest Grand Slam exit in 20 years on Sunday and said he doesn’t know the solution to the physical problems he’s battled in “pretty much every match” this year.

Argentine Mariano Navone’s 7-6 (7/5), 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory ended Djokovic’s latest bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title.

It also ended his run of 78 Grand Slam first-round victories, a streak stretching all the way back to Djokovic’s 2006 loss to Paul Goldstein at the 2006 Australian Open.

Djokovic vomited on court and struggled with late-match cramps and back pain – an “awful feeling” that he’s becoming used to.

“It’s something that I’ve been carrying, unfortunately, pretty much every match this year. Vomiting, throwing up … Then my whole body starts to collapse, basically cramping and pain.”

Struggling to make progress

Although he reached the final of the Australian Open this year and the semi-finals at Wimbledon, Djokovic said he’s not equipped right now to go deep in tournaments – and he’s not sure what the fix is.

“I’m just trying to address really what’s going on and how far I can go this way,” he said.

Despite his struggles, Djokovic appeared to have finally taken control when he broke Navone for a 2-1 lead in the fourth set with a vintage backhand winner down the line.

But Navone won the next five games, raising his arms in celebration after fighting off two break points for a 5-2 lead and breaking Djokovic again to force the fifth set.

Djokovic took a medical timeout before the final set, receiving massage on his spine and another delivery of medication.

‘Unbelievable’

But Navone jumped to a 3-0 lead in the decisive set and despite the urging of fans there was no road back for the Serb as his opponent dropped just one point on his own serve as he sprinted to the finish line.

“It’s unbelievable,” an ecstatic Navone said after triumphing in his first meeting with his longtime idol after four hours and 36 minutes.

“It was a tough match, a battle. Playing against Novak the first time in the biggest stage we have in the world of tennis right now .. Like, until 20 years he never lose in the first round, so I mean, it’s crazy.”

Navone, ranked 48th, was most pleased with his mental game.

“I was two sets to one down, and then break down also in the fourth, but in that moment I felt it,” he said.

Navone gains confidence

Djokovic broke Navone in the second game of the match as he rolled to a 3-1 first-set lead.

But he was clearly struggling and with Navone gaining confidence Djokovic had to claw out of 0-40 hole to hold for 4-1, looking weary as Navone began to extend the rallies.

Djokovic’s double fault on break point allowed Navone to cut the deficit to 4-3, and after a brief pause to close the roof when showers struck, Navone held at love to knot the set at 4-4.

Neither blinked until the tiebreaker, but pills delivered by the trainer didn’t solve Djokovic’s sluggishness.

He fell behind 4-2 in the tiebreaker and after a cleverly angled forehand winner to make it 5-5 Djokovic hit a forehand long and another weakly into the net to give the set to Navone.

In a tense second set Djokovic missed break chances in the third and fifth games before breaking Navone at love for a 6-5 lead and holding at love to level the match at one set apiece.

‘So grateful’

The third set was more of the same, with Djokovic looking spent after every long rally.

He let a precious break chance go begging in the fifth game of the third and after Navone held for 3-2 Djokovic all but collapsed into his courtside chair and buried his face in a towel.

The Serb pressed on and was rewarded with a crucial break for a 5-4 lead. He held for a two sets to one lead but couldn’t make the advantage stand.

After breaking Navone for a 2-1 lead in the fourth Djokovic lost the next eight games.

When it was all over, Djokovic embraced Navone, then departed blowing kisses to the crowd that had tried to will him to victory.

“So grateful to experience this,” he said of the crowd support. “They were trying to lift me up in important moments … the love and appreciation they gave me in the end really touched my heart.”

Harris reaches second round

Meanwhile, South African player Lloyd Harris opened his campaign with a win, beating American teenager Jack Kennedy 6-4 6-2 6-2.

Harris, a former US Open quarter-finalist, was competing in the main draw of a Grand Slam for the first time this season.

He was set to face either French player Arthur Fils, the No 10 seed, or Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, a two-time former Grand Slam finalist, in the second round.

What a great pity this weekend’s third Test between the Springboks and All Blacks at FNB Stadium isn’t the series decider.

It’s been said in this space before, but it is worth saying again, it is sad and disappointing that this highly enjoyable, entertaining and closely fought Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series will conclude with a fourth Test in Baltimore, USA, of all places, next weekend.

It was, and still is, so unnecessary.

Of course, it’s all about money and politics. Sure, both the Boks and All Blacks have played in the USA before, but to conclude this major tour, including a series between the national teams of South Africa and New Zealand, in America is quite astonishing.

But, World Rugby want to market the game to the American audience, ahead of that country hosting the 2031 World Cup. They will also host the women’s World Cup in 2033.

And so, next Sunday, after the FNB Stadium Test, both the Boks and All Black squads will likely board the same plane and head west to the USA.

Barring a draw at FNB, one team will be 2-1 up and the series won’t be done … it will only be decided in front of neutrals who haven’t poured their hearts into this series, which has given so much to the hosts, the South African fans, and New Zealanders from afar.

Thrilling tour

There has been exciting rugby, and plenty of off-field stuff too, with both coaches and camps having lots to say during press conferences.

The Boks first moaned about the All Blacks playing dangerously at the breakdowns, with the visitors hitting back about the home team using illegal tactics at the scrums.

There have been injuries to players, mainly All Blacks men, and late team changes, mainly by the Boks. There has been a lot going on.

But, as things stand it’s 1-1 in the series and there’s very little between the teams. It’s a closely fought series, as we knew it would be.

It should have reached a climax in Joburg this weekend, which would have been fitting. What a pity it will end “millions of miles away” in the USA.