馃嚦馃嚘NamibiaSouthern Africa
South Africa defeats 13-man England in Nations Championship opener
via The Namibian5 min read
South Africa secured a 45-21 victory over England in the first round of the Nations Championship at Ellis Park in Johannesburg. The Springboks scored seven tries to England's three. England, after narrowing the deficit to 10 points, was reduced to 13 men in the final 11 minutes when centre Tommy Freeman and replacement forward Guy Pepper received yellow cards. South African try scorers included Thomas du Toit, Cheslin Kolbe, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Grant Williams, Jesse Kriel, Malcolm Marx, and Ben-Jason Dixon. Kolbe also converted five tries, contributing 15 points. England's tries came from Ellis Genge, George Martin, and Alex Coles, with Fin Smith kicking three conversions. The win gives South Africa a provisional lead in the southern hemisphere table, ahead of New Zealand on points difference. Pieter-Steph du Toit captained the Springboks in the absence of Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth. Jamie George led England as Maro Itoje rested. South Africa initially led 17-0, but England fought back to 17-14 by halftime. After two more Springbok tries, England scored again to make it 31-21 before the yellow cards led to two more South African tries.
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This summary was AI-generated from a story originally published by The Namibian.
Scotland, led by captain Sione Tuipulotu, achieved a record 47-38 victory over Argentina in the Nations Championship in Cordoba. Tuipulotu scored one try and assisted another during a dominant first half. This win marks Scotland's best-ever result in Argentina, surpassing their 2018 performance. Despite a late try from Lucio Cinti, Argentina secured a bonus point. Scotland's head coach Gregor Townsend started Tom Jordan at fly-half due to Finn Russell's injury. Argentina's head coach Felipe Contepomi celebrated Matias Alemanno's 100th cap. Scotland established an early lead, with tries from Tuipulotu and Pierre Schoeman, and maintained control throughout the match. Rory Hutchinson, Fraser Brown, Scott Cummings, Gregor Hiddleston, and Kyle Rowe also contributed tries for Scotland. Argentina's efforts to close the gap included a try from Tomas Rapetti and a penalty from Tomas Albornoz, but Scotland ultimately secured the win.
Morocco secured a 3-0 victory over Canada in Houston, eliminating Canada from the World Cup and advancing to the quarter-finals. Midfielder Azzedine Ounahi scored the opening goal on 50 minutes and added a second later in the match. Substitute Soufiane Rahimi sealed the win with a third goal in the final moments. Morocco will now face either France or Paraguay. Despite Canada's strong start and being the better side in the first half, they were unable to convert their opportunities. The match saw a physical first half with six yellow cards issued, four to Morocco players, including captain Achraf Hakimi. Morocco, who had previously beaten Canada in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup, showed a transformed performance in the second half to secure their place in the next round.
Jonas Vingegaard secured the first yellow jersey of the 113th Tour de France after his Visma-Lease a Bike team won Saturday's opening team time-trial in Barcelona. Vingegaard, who last won the Grand Boucle in 2023, expressed satisfaction with the "perfect start" to the race, crediting his teammates for their strong performance. His team completed the 19.6km course eight seconds faster than Netcompany Ineos, with Filippo Ganna, and 12 seconds ahead of UAE Team Emirates, featuring reigning champion Tadej Pogacar. Vingegaard highlighted the significance of the team victory, noting that his seven teammates sacrificed for him. This win marks his 13th World Tour level victory of the season, a personal record. Pogacar finished third, snatching the position from Juan Ayuso of Lidl-Trek, who will wear the white jersey as the young rider standings leader. World and Olympic time-trial champion Remco Evenepoel of Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe finished fifth. French prodigy Paul Seixas made an impressive debut, taking sixth place for Decathlon CMA CGM. Pogacar was also the fastest up the final climb, earning him the polka-dot jersey for the mountain's classification, which he will wear on Sunday's second stage.