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Six-try All Blacks see off Ireland at Eden Park fortress
New Zealand unfurled a commanding first-half performance to beat Ireland 40-21 in a bruising Test on Saturday and extend their remarkable unbeaten streak at Eden Park to 53 matches. catcrossgame.com
The All Blacks scored four of their six tries in the first spell to lead 28-7 at the interval, setting up a third win from three matches in the inaugural Nations Championship.
Playing their final game of the season, Ireland failed to mount a sustained assault on the home side’s 32-year-old record in Auckland,
They paid for an error-riddled start in which they missed too many tackles and made fundamental handling mistakes
The visitors improved as the match progressed but couldn’t add to this month’s Nations Championship wins over the Wallabies and Japan in Australia.
New All Blacks coach Dave Rennie completed an encouraging start to his tenure, with his side producing an improved display following home wins against France and Italy.
Next up is a tour of South Africa, where they will play four Tests against the world champions.
“Very proud of the men turning up here tonight and putting in a performance like that,” said New Zealand captain Ardie Savea.
“I think it’s all been in the mindset. We talked about throwing the first punch, and you know we got a lead in the first five minutes, so that was a start.
“You’ve got to give credit to the Irish — they’re real quality. But we’re stoked to get the win.”
‘The Irish are tough’
Patrick Tuipulotu scored New Zealand’s opening try, bursting onto a short pass from fellow lock Josh Lord.
Captain Ardie Savea doubled New Zealand’s lead to 14-0 when he stormed straight across from the back of a scrum, carrying two defenders with him.
The hosts were reduced to 14 men for 10 minutes when flanker Luke Jacobson was shown a yellow card after a dangerous ruck cleanout made contact with the head of Josh van der Flier.
Ireland capitalised when back-row forward Jack Conan powered over from close range.
Any threat of a fightback was extinguished minutes later when Will Jordan swooped on a spilled pass, giving the All Blacks wing his sixth try in three Tests.
Replacement hooker Asafo Aumua’s try on the stroke of half-time all-but consigned Ireland to a fourth straight loss to New Zealand.
“We were pumped up to be here and get the opportunity to play at Eden Park,” said Ireland captain Dan Sheehan.
“The All Blacks are a classy outfit, and they’ll punish you if you’re not on your A game. And at times we weren’t.
“We wanted to test ourselves against the best, we know where we are now and we know the work we have to do because it’s a big, big year coming up leading up to the World Cup.”
Impressive Ireland lock Joe McCarthy opened the scoring in a more even second half before New Zealand fullback Damian McKenzie responded to maintain a 21-point advantage.
“It was a tough Test match, right from the get-go, Ireland coming out of the gate strong and we knew we had to start well,” said player-of-the-match McKenzie.
“The Irish boys are a tough side. We had to work really hard for our points in that second half, but awesome to come away with a tough Test won.”
Hugo Keenan crossed in the corner with nearly 20 minutes still to play but Ireland struggled to create more attacking chances.
New Zealand replacement back Anton Lienert-Brown had the final say with a try in the corner.
Argentine – Espagne : Lionel Scaloni redoute le talent de Lamine Yamal avant la finale
L’Argentine affronte l’Espagne ce dimanche en finale de la Coupe du Monde 2026 dans un choc très attendu. Avant cette affiche, Lionel Scaloni a couvert d’éloges Lamine Yamal, tout en espérant que le prodige espagnol ne brillera pas au moment décisif.
Scaloni impressionné par le phénomène Lamine Yamal
À quelques heures de la finale de la Coupe du Monde 2026, Lionel Scaloni n’a pas caché son admiration pour Lamine Yamal. Le sélectionneur de l’Argentine considère le jeune ailier espagnol comme l’un des plus grands talents de sa génération et reconnaît qu’il sera l’un des principaux dangers pour l’Albiceleste.
Interrogé sur la manière de neutraliser le joueur du FC Barcelone, Scaloni a répondu avec humour : « Ce serait bien qu’on nous enferme tous les deux dans une pièce ! Que pouvons-nous faire ? » Avant de poursuivre en soulignant les immenses qualités de l’Espagnol : « Il joue très bien, vraiment très bien. Ce garçon est un véritable patrimoine du football. »
L’Argentine espère s’imposer face à l’Espagne
Lionel Scaloni estime que Lamine Yamal possède un immense avenir et qu’il continuera à faire le bonheur de la Roja pendant de longues années. Toutefois, le technicien argentin espère que ce talent exceptionnel restera discret lors de cette finale mondiale.
« Espérons simplement que ce ne soit pas dimanche », a-t-il lancé avec le sourire, avant d’ajouter que Lamine Yamal et Lionel Messi sont « deux joueurs très difficiles à marquer ». Un avertissement qui résume parfaitement l’enjeu de cette finale, où chaque geste des deux génies pourrait faire basculer le destin du trophée mondial.
The post Argentine – Espagne : Lionel Scaloni redoute le talent de Lamine Yamal avant la finale appeared first on AfricaFootUnited.
Wales remain dangerous side, says Stick: ‘If you’re not at your best they’ll punish you’
Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick says he has a good idea of the struggle Wales find themselves in as a team and has cautioned his players that they’ll be up against a hungry and determined side when the teams clash in Durban on Saturday.
It is the final round match of the new Nations Championship this July before the competition resumes in November in the Northern Hemisphere.
Going into this match, the Boks have beaten England and Scotland, while Wales have beaten Fiji and lost to Argentina.
The last time the Boks and Wales met, in November in Cardiff last year, the world champions of Rassie Erasmus won 73-0.
Wales have found the going tough in recent times, losing more than they’ve been winning. They also suffered five straight defeats in the Six Nations earlier this year.
‘One or two results might change everything’
“They’re not far from turning things around,” said Stick Friday.
“But, I’ve been there … in 2016, 2017 [under the coaching of Allister Coetzee and the Boks suffering several defeats] … into 2018 when we were in transition. We had challenges in 2018 [under a new coaching set-up under Rassie Erasmus]. We only had a 50% winning ratio, so we’ve also been through tough times.
“They’re in that space now … but, one or two good results might change everything for them.”
Because of this desperation, Stick said the Boks would not underestimate Steve Tandy’s side at Kings Park.
“It’s always tough against them. They’re [moving] in the right direction, are in a good space,” said Stick.
“I think they’ll give us a similar challenge as Scotland did. At the breakdown they’ll challenge us, in the backline they’ve got a couple of guys who’ve been around, and set-piece-wise they’re well-organised and they take pride in how they operate there.
“If you don’t play well against them you’ll be on the wrong side … on a good day, if you’re not at your best they will punish you.”
Areas for improvement
Stick said the Boks were looking to improve in a few areas where things didn’t go quite right in last weekend’s match against Scotland at Loftus.
“Our kicking game with defence … we weren’t at our best last week,” said the Bok assistant coach.
“Scotland had a lot of control, and they had a lot of line breaks, so there’s a lot of room for improvement.
“Yes, there’s been lots of rotation [in our side] and that doesn’t make it easier, but everyone has bought in … this week there will be a lot of focus on our kicking game and how we defend.”
Libye: la CPI confirme la tenue d'un procès visant un ex-directeur de prison, accusé de torture et meurtres
La Cour pénale internationale (CPI) confirme la tenue future d'un procès très attendu sur les crimes commis dans les prisons libyennes, après la chute de Mouammar Kadhafi. Les juges ont confirmé jeudi 16 juillet les charges contre Khaled Mohamed Ali el-Hishri, un ancien directeur de la prison de Mitiga, près de Tripoli, accusé de crimes contre l'humanité et de crimes de guerre. Surnommé « l'Ange de la mort » par d'anciens détenus, il devra répondre de 17 chefs d'accusation.