Springboks break Cardiff curse: International rugby weekend wrap
The Bok game had it all: a pitch invader, rain for 80 minutes, a try in the dying minutes of the game and a vintage Frans Steyn performance.
Frans Steyn (R). Picture: @springboks/Twitter.
CAPE TOWN – Over the weekend, the Springboks broke their Cardiff curse with a gritty 23-18 win over Wales on a rainy evening at the Principality Stadium. While England, New Zealand, France, Ireland, and Scotland also walked away with wins.
The Bok game had it all: a pitch invader, rain for 80 minutes, a try in the dying minutes of the game and a vintage Frans Steyn performance. South Africa managed to come out on top and kick off their end of year tour with a victory, making it two wins on the trot coming from the Rugby Championships.
Steyn was named ‘player of the match’ and in a now viral post-match interview, the springbok stalwart said “I’m just happy we won. I’ve never lost here.”
Im just happy we won. Ive never lost here.
An elated Frans Steyn reflects on a challenging and gruelling encounter in the #AutumnNationsSeries against Wales in Cardiff.
SuperSport (@SuperSportTV) November 6, 2021
Captain Siya Kolisi also put in a massive shift for the green and gold, as well as former Blitzbok Kwagga Smith; they will have to be on point once again as they head into preparations for their second clash of the Autumn internationals this week, which will be against Scotland.
The Scottish side edged Australia 15-13 for a memorable win at Murrayfield on Sunday – it’s their third successive win over the Wallabies and it further confirms the physical challenge that awaits South Africa.
“I loved it,” said Stuart Hogg, Scotland’s captain. “We’re chuffed to bits with that. Australia are a very, very good side. The exciting thing for us is we can get better as well. We’ve taken another step forward. There’s still a lot to work on and the world champions are coming next Saturday. So, it’s exciting times.”
The rest of the internationals were a one-sided affair with England, New Zealand, Ireland, and France bagging convincing victories over Tonga, Italy, Japan and Argentina. Although the French had a harder task than the rest against Los Pumas, wining 29-20.
For Ireland, it was a significant game despite an easy 60-5 win over Japan, as captain Johnny Sexton became only the seventh Irishman to reach 100 caps for his country. He celebrated by scoring one of Ireland’s nine tries and kicked 11 points. The Irish captain was presented with a Samurai sword by his opponents before the game.
How good? Johnny Sexton gets a Samurai sword at full-time. #IREvJPNpic.twitter.com/1XzwnaRYFh
Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) November 6, 2021
Meanwhile, New Zealand set the world records for the most test points and tries scored in a calendar year as they crossed the line seven times in a 47-9 win over the Italians in Rome.
Today we set a new World Record for the most amount of points scored in a calendar year pic.twitter.com/ofuQbIhwrb
All Blacks (@AllBlacks) November 6, 2021
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
