馃嚦馃嚘NamibiaSouthern Africa
New Zealand secures 34-32 victory over France in Nations Championship opener
via The Namibian2 min read
New Zealand defeated an under-strength France 34-32 in Christchurch to open the inaugural Nations Championship. Cam Roigard and Will Jordan each scored two tries for New Zealand, who secured five tries in total. France, despite not fielding players from top clubs Toulouse and Montpellier, scored four tries and challenged the All Blacks throughout the match. New Zealand captain Ardie Savea acknowledged the French team's quality, stating they put his side under pressure. France's Damian Penaud scored in the second minute, followed by a yellow card for New Zealand's Ruben Love. New Zealand recovered, with Jordan scoring in the eighth minute and Peter Lakai giving them a lead in the 21st minute. Roigard's try before halftime extended New Zealand's lead to 19-13. France started the second half strongly with a try from Antoine Hastoy. Roigard scored his second, and Jordan's try gave New Zealand a 34-25 lead with nine minutes left. Matthieu Jalibert scored for France with two minutes remaining, but New Zealand held on for the win.
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This summary was AI-generated from a story originally published by The Namibian.
Melissa Jefferson-Wooden secured a victory in the women's 100m at the Eugene Diamond League athletics meeting, finishing in 10.78 seconds, just ahead of Sha'Carri Richardson's 10.79 seconds. Jefferson-Wooden has remained unbeaten in the 100m since 2024. The event also featured several upsets, including US 18-year-old Tate Taylor's win over Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo in the men's 200m with a personal best of 19.75 seconds. Nigerian Kayinsola Ajayi, 21, set a national record of 9.84 seconds in his Diamond League debut, defeating world champion Oblique Seville in the men's 100m. Additionally, American Nikki Hiltz caused an upset by winning the women's mile, marking Kenyan Faith Kipyegon's first Diamond League defeat in four years. Jamal Britt also lowered his personal best to win the 110m hurdles, becoming the fifth-fastest performer all-time and spoiling Ja'Kobe Tharp's professional debut. In other results, Kenyan world champion Lilian Odira won the women's 800m, and Olympic champion Tara Davis-Woodhall secured victory in the women's long jump. Olympic champion Masai Russell won the women's 100m hurdles with a time of 12.24 seconds, beating world record-holder Tobi Amusan.
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