It has been interesting to see some of the discourse after the Springboks win in the recent Castle Lager Rugby Championship, especially the downplaying of what a magnificent achievement it was to win back-to-back tournaments.

Add to that the poor start, the loss at Ellis Park and mediocre Cape Town performance against the Wallabies and the disappointment of a missed chance at Eden Park and it is understandable that some people don’t want to get ahead of themselves.

But there clearly was a shift in momentum, a shift in the balance of power in world rugby and a clear shift in the age-old rivalry between the Springboks and All Blacks.

The two sides may have ended up on the same points on the log, with the Springboks winning on points difference, but the gulf between the two sides at the moment is as wide as it can be.

Of course there are caveats, New Zealand will raise their game when playing the Boks and they are still the next best side in world rugby at the moment. But on the evidence of Wellington alone, and Durban the next week, the Boks are a few streets ahead at this stage.

ALL BLACKS WILL IMPROVE

This isn’t saying the All Blacks won’t or can’t improve in the time they next meet the Boks, but what we saw in Wellington was an earth-shaking moment. The All Blacks lost by a record score at home. To think life just goes on after that is absurd, to say the least.

The Boks were there after the 57-0. The team moves on but the scars are real and if Durban was anything to go by, there is a lot more left in this Springbok team than people realise.

The momentum shift that has happened hasn’t quite been realised yet, and the Bok youngsters are only getting better.

Anyone thinking a points difference win in the Rugby Championship was a fair reflection of the tournament itself is kidding themselves.

Even the stats prove that as a fallacy.

Sanzaar has a wonderful website that compares the stats of two teams - it's worth taking a look at, and pitting the All Blacks - those masters of the attacking game - or so we are always told, against the current Springboks in this Rugby Championship gives some interesting stats.

Let’s start with tries. New Zealand scores 21 tries in the Rugby Championship across six games - that’s around 3.5 tries a game.

MASSIVE TRY STATS

The Springboks? Well, there were a massive 27 tries in their six games - almost a try a game more than the All Blacks.

That’s good, but it can be explained by the Wellington win, can’t it?

Well, it’s more than that.The Boks scored 209 points across their six games, the All Blacks 159.

And you would normally not associate the Boks with better attacking stats, but thanks to Totalball, they are there.

Both sides made similar carries - 684 for the Boks to 646 for the All Blacks, but the difference comes in quite starkly with metres made.

The Boks have a massive 2787 metres made as opposed to the All Blacks' 1900. That’s a difference of more than 120 metres per game extra made by the Boks.

And there is more.

The average metres gained per carry - an important stat for any team - is a remarkable 4.07 metres for the Boks, as opposed to the 2.94 metres for the All Blacks.

Clean Breaks? The Boks made a massive 48 in their six games - the All Blacks just 25. And that is after both sides had the same amount of defenders beaten (160-161).

The one part the Boks are absolutely bossing, which would normally be an All Black strength, is offloads. The Boks made an astounding 48 to the 33 from the All Blacks.

DISCIPLINE ALSO GOOD

Discipline was also a key factor in the Rugby Championship win, with the Boks conceding 56 penalties - less than 10 a game, while the All Blacks conceded a respectable 63.

The Boks did concede more turnovers, and that is an element they will need to tighten up on, as they are still a way away from the finished article. 102 conceded turnovers isn’t a great stat when the All Blacks conceded just 76.

The log may not say it, but South African rugby fans know it. The evolution for the Boks has more than begun. The flashes - 20 minutes at Ellis Park and the second half in Wellington and Durban shows where this Bok team is headed.

The Totalball approach is working, and while the log may not say it, the Boks were streets ahead by the time the Rugby Championship ended.

Wallabies skipper Harry Wilson is adamant there is "light at the end of the tunnel" after another crushing defeat to the All Blacks ahead of a critical European tour.

Australia showed glimpses of their best at a sodden Perth on Saturday, but ill-discipline and sloppy errors again proved their nemesis in a 28-14 defeat.

It drew the curtain on a frustrating Rugby Championship campaign won by South Africa. New Zealand came second ahead of Australia and Argentina.

"It was competitive, but we're not out there to be competitive. We're out there to win and the last two test matches we've had opportunities, which we haven't taken," said Wilson.

"But there is definitely light at the end of the tunnel.

"We've got to be better with those little margins. All those fine margins in the last couple of tests, we've definitely lost those."

Defeat was a record 11th in a row against New Zealand, with a strong Northern Hemisphere tour needed to avoid a nightmare 2027 World Cup draw in December.

Only the top six-ranked teams, come December, will head each of the World Cup groups.

Australia are currently seventh, meaning they could meet one of the big guns in the pool stages of a tournament they host unless their ranking improves.

They face Eddie Jones' Japan in Tokyo on October 25 before tests against England, Italy, Ireland and France in November.

"It's all about regeneration now," said coach Joe Schmidt, whose team has had a grueling year hosting the British and Irish Lions ahead of the Rugby Championship, where they won two and lost four.

"They (players) just need to get a bit of time and space. I can't imagine how it could be a lot tougher than having three massive Lions tests, then going straight up and playing at Ellis Park (in South Africa).

"Since that Ellis Park win, we've probably collected injuries at each point. Hopefully, if we can get that regeneration period right, we'll get a few players back."

The Wallabies have already lost scrum-half Tate McDermott and wing Tom Wright to long-term injures, while flanker Fraser McReight hurt his ankle against the All Blacks which Schmidt said "doesn't look too good".

They also no longer have the services of veterans James Slipper and Nic White, who have both retired.

"We've got to go after some results in the Northern Tour," stressed Schmidt. "The best way to get them is to win away from home and that starts with what will be a tough game against Japan."

Argentina’s hopes of causing a similar upset to the one they pulled off in Durban in 2015 got a welcome boost with the news this week that flyhalf Tomas Albornoz has joined the squad and is likely to start in Durban against the Boks.

Albanoz - nicknamed “El Mago Nuevo” (the new wizard) - has been a massive part of why Felipe Contepomi’s side is so highly regarded and the Benetton flyhalf is no stranger to SA teams.

His ability to keep the points ticking over with his boot is one thing, but his ability to get his backline going and threading holes into the opposition is something that makes him exceptionally good.

He was the catalyst when Los Pumas shocked the British and Irish Lions in Dublin earlier this year and was the man of the match in the one-point win over the Boks last year in Argentina. While many only remember Manie Libbok’s missed penalty at the end, a crucial penalty 11 minutes from time from Albornoz gave Argentina the lead when they needed it.

Even in Nelspruit last season, when the Boks romped to the Rugby Championship title, it was Albornoz who was the best player on a losing side, and is always dangerous.

The flyhalf was having a good season thus far, but then dislocated a finger 11 minutes into the game against New Zealand in Buenos Aires and hasn’t played since. His return to the side is a massive boost, as Contepomi can now field two attacking options - with Santiago Carreras also a threat and will be in the 23.

On Monday the Boks said they expected Albornoz to start the game and are very wary of the threat that he poses.

Asked about Argentina’s flyhalves, attack coach Tony Brown was full of praise.

“They're both very good players, both attacking, mindset. Albornoz was probably the breakthrough player of the year last year, especially in the Rugby Championship. I think he's got a huge future,” Brown said.

“For Argentina, just his quality of decision-making has been pretty impressive for a young guy. I know he's huge for Argentina and I know that they'll rush him back if he's available.

“So we're expecting him to play.”

Praise from the opposition is often regarded rather highly and it is clear the Springboks see him as a threat.

With both sides on equal points and all four sides in the Championship still with a chance of claiming the title, a bonus point would help either side, but for Brown, the object is to get the win first or nothing else matters.

“Obviously, a bonus point would be good, but we're obviously focusing on how we beat Argentina. We've got to perform really well to get the result. If things go exceptionally well, yeah, you might sneak a bonus point,” Brown added.

“Our focus is just getting across the line, making sure we perform well so we get a win against Argentina.”

The Boks will name their side on Tuesday and Argentina will name their side on Thursday.

The final fortnight of the most exciting ever Castle Lager Rugby Championship has arrived, and as a measure of how unpredictable it all is, those Springbok supporters who hope that the Wallabies win in Auckland on Saturday might well be backing the wrong horse in their assumption of what their team needs.

In normal years an Australian win would help the Boks. The All Blacks have dominated the competition down the years, while it is now well over two decades since the Wallabies have had a hand on the Bledisloe Cup, which is played for by the two Trans-Tasman rivals.

But a glance at the Championship standings with two games to play, with all teams having won two and lost two of the games played so far, shows the potential folly of thinking a win for Australia to break a 31-year Kiwi sequence of success at Eden Park will help the Boks. It could do the exact opposite, for it is only the Wallabies who can force a situation where the South African fate is not in their own hands.

The losing bonus point that the Wallabies grabbed with their late try in the defeat against Argentina in Sydney puts them one point ahead of the Boks and All Blacks, with the Boks holding down second because of superior points difference.

That means that technically the Wallabies are the one team in the competition who have their fate in their hands - in the sense that if they win their two remaining matches the other teams are going to have to pick up at least one bonus point victory to match them.

The return Bledisloe Cup game is in Perth a week later and a win in Auckland would ratchet up the Wallaby confidence levels for that final day of the competition - and they will have plenty to play for because they could well have an even bigger emotional connection with the Bledisloe as they have for the Championship. If not more.

PLAYING SECOND IS TO BOK ADVANTAGE

To win the one will mean winning the other unless the Boks can win both games against Argentina, starting with the one in Durban on Saturday, plus pick up a try scoring bonus point either there or in London a week later.

Argentina ceding their home ground advantage by playing their home game at Twickenham does help the Boks, who will also have the advantage in both games of knowing what they need to do as the games will be played after the ones in Australasia.

This week for instance they might know that it is critical to both win and score three more tries than the Pumas if either:

a) the Wallabies win in Auckland and then open a five or six point lead at the top or

b) the Wallabies suffer a blow out, as they have done at Eden Park in the past, and the All Blacks win with a bonus point.

In both those scenarios, the bonus point will become critical to the Boks in the Hollywoodbets Kings Park game, all of which adds to the tension and excitement of this final fortnight. It is not just about winning, it is also about what log points each team can get out of their games.

No team is out of it. Argentina have beaten both New Zealand and Australia once, and if they replicate that against the Boks, they will be right in the mix even though they start this last sequence of games in last place.

It is not beyond the realms of possibility, given the Wallaby improvement this year, that all teams could even end with the same number of wins - three. In which case the bonus points will decide it.

Given the Boks don’t have to travel to Argentina, and also taking into account the impressive momentum and confidence they would have gained from their 43-10 win over the All Blacks in Wellington, they are marginal favourites heading into the last two rounds.

They have the capability of winning with bonus points in both their remaining games, although the Pumas have grown too so don’t bet your house on it.

Much will depend on how the All Blacks recover from their record savaging at the hands of the Boks. The reaction in New Zealand to that defeat has been predictable - in the sense that the criticism has rained down on coach Scott ‘Razor’ Robertson and his charges.

It’s nothing new, as the All Blacks have lost more since 2019 than they tended to do before that, and the All Blacks have responded well before - such as when they recovered from their 26-10 mauling at the hands of the Boks in Nelspruit in 2022 to win in Johannesburg a week later.

If they respond with the kind of vehemence they are capable of and pick up a bonus point win over Australia that will not be a good result for the Boks. But then neither would a Wallaby win be good for the Boks for the reasons stated already.

So it is really up to the Boks to do what is in their hands, which is to chase maximum points in both their remaining games. A riveting 320 minutes of rugby remains in this Championship season.

FIFTH ROUND CASTLE LAGER RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHES

New Zealand v Australia (Eden Park, Auckland, Saturday 7:05am)

South Africa v Argentina (Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban, Saturday 5:10pm)

Rugby Championship standings (after four games)

Australia 11, South Africa 10, New Zealand 10, Argentina 9

Australia's dismal record at Eden Park has proved a millstone for visiting Wallabies teams but flyhalf Tane Edmed regards the All Blacks' fortress as "just another footy field".

A year on from a stint with Auckland-based club North Harbour, Edmed has returned to the city with the Wallabies squad for a crunch Rugby Championship test against the New Zealanders.

The Wallabies have not won at Eden Park since 1986 and no team has beaten the hosts there since France in 1994.

But Australian fans have renewed hope that this could be the Wallabies' year as the All Blacks appear vulnerable after their record 43-10 hiding by South Africa in Wellington.

Edmed shares that optimism, even if the Wallabies are coming off a 28-26 defeat by Argentina in Sydney and are missing one of their most important players following an injury to loose forward Rob Valetini.

"They've got a great record, but it's still just another footy field," Edmed told reporters in Auckland on Monday.

"We'll prepare accordingly. The All Blacks are a great side, no denying it, but we'll focus on what we can control and work hard this week to give ourselves the best chance."

Edmed has never played a test at Eden Park nor won a Super Rugby match there as part of visiting New South Wales Waratahs teams playing the Blues.

In preparing for Saturday, the 25-year-old may get little out of watching recent Wallabies matches at the stadium.

It has been the site of furious smack-downs by the home side, with an aggregate score of 130-61 against Australia in the last three Rugby Championship tests.

The last visit in 2022 saw the Wallabies humiliated 40-14.

No matter their form, the All Blacks tend to lift at Eden Park, where they beat the Springboks 24-17 three weeks ago after suffering their first defeat in Argentina against the Pumas.

History aside, Edmed has better memories of playing in New Zealand than most of his teammates.

He credits last year's stint in the National Provincial Championship for paving his way into the Wallabies' setup under Joe Schmidt when he was called up for last year's Northern Hemisphere tour.

"I went to Auckland to get better as a rugby player and it delivered – good coaching, good players, a new way of playing," he said.

"My four months with North Harbour were great and enjoyable, and that experience helped springboard me to this moment."

Australia lead the Rugby Championship table on 11 points, one ahead of second-placed South Africa and third-placed New Zealand.

A bonus-point victory at Eden Park could knock the All Blacks out of the title race with a round to spare.

Wallabies prop Allan Alaalatoa said he was not reading much into the standings, though.

"Not really. As players we look more at why we’re there – the performance and preparation," he said.

"There's plenty of belief in our game; our aim is to impose it on the opposition."

Flyhalf Tom Lynagh and centre Len Ikitau have been ruled out of Australia's Rugby Championship test against Argentina in Sydney on Saturday in a blow for the Wallabies.

Lynagh is nursing a hamstring strain following the last-gasp 28-24 win over the Pumas in Townsville, while Ikitau has a laceration on his knee that had failed to heal enough to take the field on Saturday, Rugby Australia said in a media release on Thursday.

Tane Edmed will wear the number 10 jersey for the first time in place of the luckless Lynagh, who missed the South Africa tour with concussion.

With bullocking midfielder Ikitau sidelined, Hunter Paisami will play his first Wallabies test of the season at inside centre.

Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt has made four changes to the starting 15 but only one unforced, with veteran prop James Slipper restored to the front row for his 149th test cap in place of Tom Robertson.

Jeremy Williams returns to the starting second row alongside Tom Hooper, with Nick Frost being managed due to a tight back.

 

Your Wallabies to take on Argentina at a SOLD OUT Allianz Stadium 🦘

Read more - https://t.co/APXgjBvwwd pic.twitter.com/mkwjnnl6cw

— Wallabies (@wallabies) September 11, 2025

 

Australia are second on the Rugby Championship table, a point behind New Zealand, who meet third-placed South Africa in Wellington on Saturday.

Argentina, who beat New Zealand at home in Buenos Aires, are fourth but level with South Africa on five points, four behind the Australians.

“While managing injuries is always a challenge, we’re excited to have some fresh bodies who have been training hard with the group for a number of weeks and are keen to contribute," Schmidt said in a statement.

"Argentina led for the whole game in Townsville until the very end and we’re very aware of the threat they’ll pose on Saturday afternoon.

"We’ll need to be better than we were last week."

 

🗞️ Medical update on Tom Lynagh.#Wallabies pic.twitter.com/aVCLvfbNPG

— Wallabies (@wallabies) September 8, 2025

 

Team: 15-Andrew Kellaway, 14-Max Jorgensen, 13-Joseph Suaalii, 12-Hunter Paisami, 11-Corey Toole, 10-Tane Edmed, 9-Nic White, 8-Harry Wilson (captain), 7-Fraser McReight, 6-Rob Valetini, 5-Tom Hooper, 4-Jeremy Williams, 3-Taniela Tupou, 2-Billy Pollard, 1-James Slipper

Replacements: 16-Josh Nasser, 17-Angus Bell, 18-Zane Nonggorr, 19-Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 20-Carlo Tizzano, 21-Tate McDermott, 22-James O’Connor, 23-Filipo Daugunu.

Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt said Thursday only a "start-to-finish" performance will be good enough to beat a wounded Argentina this weekend and his team should be nervous at what was coming.

The Pumas, captained by Julian Montoya for a 50th time, are smarting from an agonising 28-24 defeat at the death last week in Townsville.

They were leading 21-7 at halftime, but lost focus as the Wallabies came roaring back to clinch victory with an 86th-minute try.

"I'd like to think that (my players) are feeling a little bit nervous, because that edge is something we're going to need again," said Schmidt ahead of the clash in Sydney on Saturday.

"The very fine margins that fell our way, and we pushed them our way, we'll have to try to make sure that that's delivered from start to finish and that's always a challenge for any team.

"On the back of those four tries last week, we've got to try to make sure that we galvanise any of those opportunities to exert that pressure and then finish it off," he added.

Playmaker Tane Edmed will make his starting debut, thrust into the cauldron ahead of veteran fly-half James O'Connor as the replacement for Tom Lynagh, who has a hamstring injury.

O'Connor was instrumental in helping rally the side when he came on last week, and will again be on the bench before departing to his new English club Leicester.

INJURIES 'A CHALLENGE'

Edmed is one of two changes in the backs. Centre Hunter Paisami will play his first test of the year, in for Len Ikitau who has a knee gash, and will partner last week's two-try hero Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii.

James Slipper returns for his 149th test after missing the past two with concussion, combining with hooker Billy Pollard and tighthead prop Taniela Tupou in the front row.

Jeremy Williams is recalled to starting second row alongside Tom Hooper, with Nick Frost rested, while Rob Valetini, Fraser McReight and skipper Harry Wilson continue in an unchanged back row.

Nic White is again at scrum-half, Andrew Kellaway at fullback with Max Jorgensen and Corey Toole on the wings.

"While managing injuries is always a challenge, we're excited to have some fresh bodies who have been training hard with the group for a number of weeks and are keen to contribute," added Schmidt.

 

¡Los 23 para la revancha en Sydney! 🏉🇦🇷#SomosLosPumas pic.twitter.com/O2JT48Lbik

— Los Pumas (@lospumas) September 11, 2025

 

Australia are looking to win their first Rugby Championship since 2015.

They currently sit one point behind New Zealand with three games remaining, two of them are against the All Blacks which makes victory on Saturday all the more important.

Argentina need a win to keep their title hopes alive and made three changes with Joaquin Oviedo elevated to the starting pack at the expense of flanker Pablo Matera while lock Guido Petti replaces Franco Molina.

Rodrigo Isgro rounds out the starting changes, in for Townsville try-scoring winger Bautista Delguy.

Australia (15-1): Andrew Kellaway; Max Jorgensen, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Hunter Paisami, Corey Toole; Tane Edmed, Nic White; Harry Wilson (capt), Fraser McReight, Rob Valetini; Tom Hooper, Jeremy Williams; Taniela Tupou, Billy Pollard, James Slipper

Replacements: Josh Nasser, Angus Bell, Zane Nonggorr, Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, Carlo Tizzano, Tate McDermott, James O'Connor, Filipo Daugunu

Argentina (15-1): Juan Cruz Mallia; Rodrigo Isgro, Lucio Cinti, Santiago Chocobares, Mateo Carreras; Santiago Carreras, Gonzalo Garcia; Joaquin Oviedo, Marcos Kremer, Juan Martin Gonzalez; Pedro Rubiolo, Guido Petti; Joel Sclavi, Julian Montoya (capt), Mayco Vivas

Replacements: Ignacio Ruiz, Boris Wenger, Franciso Coria Marchetti, Franco Molina, Pablo Matera, Agustin Moyano, Justo Piccardo, Ignacio Mendy

When the Hollywoodbets Sharks host Saracens in what should be their Investec Champions Cup home game of the season in December they will more than likely have come off a one-sided defeat to Toulouse in France the week before.

That is not being negative about where the Sharks stand when it comes to their prospects of competing in the competition they would ultimately like to win one day, but just the reality.

The spacing between the two games, one in France and one in South Africa, is just six days.

And given the logistical challenges and vast distances that need to be covered, expecting the Sharks to go full muster in both games is simply unrealistic.

“The Champions Cup can be very challenging for South African teams and our game against them in December is a perfect example of that,” said Bryans.

“We play Toulouse away on the Sunday before we play Saracens in Durban the following Saturday. As it turns out, Saracens will actually be in Durban before we are.”

There was a move this year to improve the quality of the South African participation in the European competition by ensuring that the fixture list would allow the local sides to play their two home group games at home on consecutive weekends and the away games on consecutive weekends.

The benefits to the SA sides of being able to play both games as part of a mini-tour should be obvious. But it is understood that proposal was vetoed, perhaps by French clubs who felt that it would lead to an advantage for South African teams.

STRAIN PLACED ON CLUB GAME IS A GLOBAL PROBLEM

While it sometimes appears that SA clubs/franchises lead the way when it comes to complaining about the challenges faced by that level of the sport, and they do have legitimate grievances given the 12-month season this country is on currently, Beall reminded us in a supersport.com interview that the strain being placed on the club game by an imbalance with the demands of the international teams is a global problem.

There is a debate central to the rugby conversation that I believe needs to be made more of a focus,” said Beall.

“It is about the conflict between club and country. Mike Tindall (former England centre) has gone on record as saying that international rugby is propping up the game, that the cash cow is there, but my view is slightly different.

“There is also a credible counter-argument that says that the club game is supporting the international game by developing the players. By making them available to the international teams in windows that we would ordinarily like to have them. What there needs to be is some balance, and the question is over whether the compensation we (the clubs) get is fair and just,” he added.

His Sharks counterpart is in complete agreement with Beall. The Sharks, like the other SA franchises, pay a comfortable majority of the players' salaries, and yet there are long periods of the year where those players are unavailable because either they are playing international matches outside of the window or are being rested as per protocols that are entirely necessary given the year round demand.

“At the Sharks we have a lot of Boks, 15 of them in fact, and at management level we have stopped referring to them as Boks as they are all created differently,” said Bryans.

“By that I mean there is a world of difference between a Siya (Kolisi) or Eben (Etzebeth) and a breakthrough Bok like Aphelele Fassi or Ethan Hooker. Siya, whether he is wearing the Bok jersey or Sharks jersey, always gives 120 percent, and our data stats from last season showed he was our most valuable player. But at some point there needs to be better compensation around the balance of what is in the interests of the Springboks and what is good for the club game.

“Currently it is balanced a little too heavily towards the Boks and what they want. Regulation 9 doesn’t appear to come into it with us in SA, the Boks are playing 14 matches in a year.”

BECOMING VICTIMS OF THEIR OWN SUCCESS

The Sharks have started to shift their contracting model, with more emphasis being placed on developing young players and feeding the senior team from the bottom, but that doesn’t completely solve the problem.

At least not if the Sharks are successful in developing their young talent to the point they too get to graduate into the Springbok ranks.
“

You can almost become a victim of your own success. Ethan Hooker (who is starting against New Zealand on Saturday) wouldn’t be a Bok now if we did not blood him young and develop him. We have a couple of big-name Boks, but we are now developing from within the ranks and if we are successful at that we get penalised (by losing the players to international duty).

GLOBAL SEASON OR REALIGNMENT WOULD BE SOLUTION

Of course, the primary problem is the scheduling calendar South African rugby is on.

The Sharks CEO agrees that being aligned to the southern season internationally and the northern season at club level is the big stumbling block.

“Clearly the best thing to happen to rugby in this country would be to align the Springbok schedule with the global calendar,” says Bryans.

“Moving the Bok schedule from now where it is as Rugby Championship into the Six Nations window would be the best thing. It would automatically resolve the level playing field issue in European competitions as for us we would have our internationals as available as theirs are. Until that happens things like the Investec Champions Cup are going to be very challenging for the SA teams.”

Beall though was careful to stress that he didn’t believe the clubs should rule, which to an extent is the case in France and in the round ball game in England.

“We just want the balance to be slightly fairer. In the English Premier League (soccer) it goes the other way and the clubs are too much in control. It's sometimes too much of a case of club over country there. I am a big fan of international rugby, but we need to have more acknowledgement of where the talent that lights up the international game comes from.”

The Wallaby squad announcement ahead of their two match tour of South Africa that will kick off the Castle Lager Rugby Championship campaigns for the respective nations was exactly what was needed to drive up global interest in this initial phase of the competition.

That the biggest international clash of the year is set for the third round of the Championship at the beginning of next month is not something anyone needs reminding about.

The Springboks will be in Auckland that day and while they did lose in that city in the buildup to the last World Cup, that game was at Mt Smart. Meaning not Eden Park, which is the real fortress of the All Blacks, as signified by them not having lost there since 1994.

The Boks actually drew there that year, in the last game of the three game series that was won 2-0 by Laurie Mains’ All Blacks against a team coached by the late Ian McIntosh, but that is the closest they have ever come post-isolation.

The game before that was the infamous but incredibly close ‘Flour Bomb’ test on the controversial 1981 tour, where New Zealand clinched the series with a last-gasp Alan Hewson penalty. The players involved with the Boks in that series still haven’t forgiven the Welsh referee Clive Norling for that call.

But while the seismic Eden Park clash is not one that needs extra building up or marketing, the South African/Australia games may do given how far the Wallabies have dropped on the World Rugby rankings at a time when the Boks have been so ascendant.

For the record, the Wallabies have been to South Africa twice in the last six years - they lost 35-17 at Emirates Airlines Park in 2019 and were thumped by an even bigger margin at Loftus two years ago.

The two games played in Australia last year were both won by the Boks, both by a quite comfortable margin. And on both occasions the Boks were fielding experimental teams.

AUSSIES WON A LOT OF ADMIRERS

However, something has changed since then - while the jury will remain out on how good the most recent edition of the British and Irish Lions touring squad was, the Wallabies won a lot of admirers for how tigerishly they fought and how close they came to achieving a series win. But for the call against them in the last move of the middle test, they could have won the rubber.

They were outplayed in the first game even though the margin of defeat was only eight points, so the much improved efforts in Melbourne and then in the win in Sydney can be attributed to one thing - the beefing up of the pack that came with the selection of Will Skelton, a giant of a man who has achieved great success playing in Europe, and in the last test Taniela Tupou, probably Australia’s best prop forward and responsible in a big shift in the balance of power in the scrums.

It was thought that Tupou might not make this tour as he is continuing his career at Racing 92 from the start of the northern hemisphere season, and the Australians do have strict guidelines in place on how many games you have had to play for the national team before you can be eligible to play for the Wallabies while based overseas.


The so-called Giteau Law has changed that a bit, but current Wallaby coach Joe Schmidt was not noted for selecting overseas based players, although an exception was made in the case of Skelton. And now Tupou, although perhaps the argument is that he’s not in France yet.

Whatever the case, the presence of Skelton and Tupou, plus the return of the equally physical Rob Valentini, considerably boosts the Australian chances of being competitive at an Emirates Airlines Park venue they have struggled at since they last won there way back in 1963.

It also brings extra relevance in the sense that many rugby pundits around the world are using the two games the Wallabies will play in South Africa - the second is in Cape Town a week later - as a measurement or indicator of how good the Lions were. If the Wallabies go well here then the Lions’ series win will be seen as more of an achievement.

PUMAS HAVE EARNED RESPECT

Talking of the Lions, there is another team of Lions slayers in the Championship - Argentina. The Los Pumas beat the Lions in Dublin on the eve of their tour and while they slipped a bit against England subsequent to that, the context there is that they rested several of their star players in preparation for the Championship.

The Pumas beat every other team once during last year’s competition and have made a bit of a habit now of shocking the All Blacks so they will be both respected and feared. The barrier they need to go through this year is to back up wins against big teams, something they have failed to do in the past.

For instance last year they edged the Boks in Argentina but then were comprehensively thrashed in Nelspruit, a sequence that tends to be their lot against the All Blacks too.

There is a variation this year when it comes to the Bok games against Argentina - the home game will be in Durban at the end of September but the theatre of conflict then switches to London and South Africa’s home from home, the Allianz Stadium (Twickenham), which is where this year’s edition of the Championship will be concluded on 4 October.

The Boks won the Championship last year and will be eager to emerge as victors again ahead of a tough end of year tour that will include games against Ireland in Dublin and France in Paris.

SPRINGBOK CASTLE LAGER RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

August 16: Australia, Johannesburg 5:10pm

August 23: Australia, Cape Town 5:10pm

6 September: New Zealand, Auckland 9:05am

13 September: New Zealand, Wellington 9:05am

27 September: Argentina, Durban 5:10pm

04 October: Argentina, London 3pm

Whoever is in charge of the Vodacom Bulls in the post-Jake White era is going to have a tough start to his career in the Investec Champions Cup as his team will open their 2025/2026 campaign against the tournament champions and then the losing finalists.

Bordeaux-Begles won the prestigious European trophy, regarded as the top title in world club rugby, by beating Northampton Saints in last year’s final.

And guess what? After hosting Bordeaux at Loftus on the opening Saturday of competition, 6 December, the Bulls then travel to England to play the team Bordeaux beat to win the trophy.

Northampton won at Loftus at the corresponding stage of last year’s competition, and with Henry Pollock, Fin Smith and other England and now British and Irish Lions stars in tow for the hosts, it will be a tough ask for the Bulls - as will the opener against Bordeaux.

🚨 2025/26 FIXTURES 🚨

Get your weekends booked in, here are the #InvestecChampionsCup fixtures ➡️ https://t.co/layRL1fLRb 🙌

Which match are you going to? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/3RCP5wRNIG

— Investec Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) July 15, 2025

The Hollywoodbets Sharks also have a Herculean task awaiting them at the start of the Pool phase of a competition they are desperate to start doing well in as winning it has long been a mission statement at that franchise.

The Durbanites are travelling to Toulouse to play the six-time winners, Toulouse, on Sunday 7 December.

Toulouse, who may have Antoine Dupont back from injury by then, won 20-8 against the Sharks in Durban in January.

The Sharks’ first home game will be against English club Saracens, who interestingly have the same owners, a week later.

Former England captain Owen Farrell, who is now with the British and Irish Lions in Australia, will be returning to Saracens next season, and of course they also have Lions and England skipper Maro Itoje leading them.

Which fixture are you most looking forward to? 👇#InvestecChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/45DmB6OXTs

— The Sharks (@SharksRugby) July 15, 2025

BAYONNE FIRST UP FOR STORMERS 

Like last season, the DHL Stormers start out against a French team, although last year they hosted Toulon in Gqeberha.

This time around they are travelling to France to play Bayonne in one of two opening games to be played on the Friday night, 5 December.

Sale Sharks will be kicking off their campaign at exactly the same time by hosting Glasgow Warriors.

The Stormers then return home to host La Rochelle on Saturday, 13 December - a game which will be eagerly awaited by Cape Town rugby fans who remember the two titanic battles played between the sides the season before last, with the Stormers beating the then reigning champions at DHL Stadium in the Pool phase before losing narrowly at the same venue in the Round of 16 game.

However, it is not known yet whether the game will be played at the Stormers’ regular home ground as the words TBD (meaning to be determined) appear next to the fixture.

Last season the Stormers played in Gqeberha because of a clash with the Cape Town Sevens but that was a week earlier.

With Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium a much bigger venue than Stellenbosch’s Danie Craven, or for that matter the potential other alternative, Athlone Stadium, it would make sense to take the game to the rugby starved Eastern Cape.

The Stormers’ other home game is also a plum one, with Leicester Tiger visiting in the final round in January.

🔒 Our 25/26 Investec @ChampionsCup Pool fixtures are locked in.

✈️ v @avironrugbypro
🏡 v @staderochelais
✈️ v @Harlequins
🏡 v @LeicesterTigers #iamastormer pic.twitter.com/xYkOTRvpfF

— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) July 15, 2025

Among the other big games on the opening weekend, Bath with their South African coach Johann van Graan will be starting their campaign in which they hope to take the next step after winning the treble in England last year by hosting Van Graan’s old club, Munster.

Van Graan will feel like proving a point against a club that maybe didn’t treat him as well as they should have.

INVESTIC CHAMPIONS CUP FIXTURES FOR SOUTH AFRICAN TEAMS

HOLLYWOODBETS SHARKS (Pool 1)

Sunday 7 December 2025: Toulouse (Toulouse, 17.15)

Sunday 13 December 2025; Saracens (Durban, 17.15)

Saturday 10 January 2026: Sale Sharks (Sale, 19.30)

Saturday 17 January 2026: ASM Clermont Auvergne (Durban, 15.00)

DHL STORMERS (Pool 3)

Friday 5 December 2026: Bayonne (Bayonne, 22.00)

Saturday 13 December 2026: LaRochelle (Venue to be determined, 15.00)

Sunday 11 January 2026: Harlequins (London, 15.00)

Saturday 17 January 2026: Leicester Tigers (Cape Town, 17.15)

VODACOM BULLS (Pool 4)

Saturday Dec 6 2025: Bordeaux Begles (Pretoria, 17.15)

Sunday Dec 14 2025: Northampton Saints (Northampton, 17.15)

Saturday 10 January 2026: Bristol Bears (Pretoria, 15.00)

Friday 16 January 2026: Pau (Pau, 22.00)

The Vodacom Bulls have arguably the toughest fixture list of the local teams for the group phase of the 2025/2026 Investec Champions Cup as they have been drawn in the same Pool as the two finalists from this past season, the winners Bordeaux-Begles and Northampton Saints.

The Bulls haven’t played Bordeaux in the Champions Cup before but they were upset by Saints at Loftus last season and were also outplayed by the same team in the 2023/2024 quarterfinal at Franklin Gardens.

So regardless of where the game is to be played, with that to be decided later, the Bulls will feel they owe their opponents one.

Not that the Bulls are alone in having to face tough opponents in the early phases of the competition.

Indeed, all three South African teams participating in next season’s edition of the Champions Cup will have matches against teams who have won the competition within the last three seasons on their schedule.

🚨 Your 2025/26 #InvestecChampionsCup Pools 🚨

Some big clashes to come in the opening rounds of the competition 💪

Which game are you looking forward to? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/ObBg3hGs4v

— Investec Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) July 1, 2025

Whether or not the local sides will see it as an intimidating prospect or a chance to measure themselves against the best, they will be up against a stiff challenge as current champions Bordeaux, the previous season’s winners Toulouse and the side that won it the for two consecutive years before that, feature among their pool phase opponents.

The Hollywoodbets Sharks hosted Toulouse in Durban this year and as they are in the same pool as the French heavyweights again it looks likely they may have to travel to France this time around if they want to avenge the 20-8 defeat they suffered in January.

The Sharks lost the 2022/2023 quarterfinal in Toulouse.

There are four pools of six teams each, with each team having to play the four sides that don’t feature in their domestic competitions.

So for instance the Sharks are included in the same group as Glasgow Warriors, the Vodacom United Rugby Champions of the 2024 term, but won’t get to play them.

Apart from Toulouse, they will play the other Sharks, Sale Sharks from England, plus Saracens and Clermont Auvergne.

They beat the latter in a tight semifinal on route to winning the 2023/2024 EPCR Challenge Cup.

Investec Champions Cup 2025/26
🚨 POOL 1 🚨

The competition kicks off the weekend of December 5–7.#InvestecChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/pBTrNN6J9L

— The Sharks (@SharksRugby) July 1, 2025

SISTER CLUBS TO CLASH

The Sharks’ match against Saracens could be interesting from the viewpoint that the two clubs have the same companies featuring in their ownership.

In soccer teams are disqualified from playing in the same European competitions as teams that are linked to them through ownership.

If Saracens come to Durban for their Champions Cup pool game it will be their second visit in a couple of months as it is understood Saracens are slated to play a pre-season warmup game at Hollywoodbets Kings Park.

The Stormers find themselves back in the same pool (Pool 3) as La Rochelle, who they beat in a memorable pool game in Cape Town in December 2023 before narrowly losing out to the same team in the round of 16 knockout game at the same venue three months later.

The Stormers are in the same pool as Leinster, who of course they won’t play against, but they will be playing two teams they have played in the pool phase of the competition before - Leicester Tigers (lost away in 2023/2024) and Harlequins (lost away last season but beat them in round of 16 in Cape Town in 2022/2023).

The other side the Stormers will face is the French club Bayonne, who they have not played before.

We'll be facing Leicester Tigers, Stade Rochelais, Harlequins and Bayonne in Pool Three of the 25/26 Investec Champions Cup. Dates, times and venues to be confirmed. #iamastormer #InvestecChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/ab0qjz10fK

— DHL Stormers (@THESTORMERS) July 1, 2025

The Bulls are in the same pool (Pool 4) as Scarlets and will fancy their chances of finishing higher on the log than the Welsh team, who are back in the Champions Cup for the first time in several years, but they won’t play them.

Their other games aside from the games against last season’s finalists will be against Bristol Bears and Pau.

Tier 1 clubs – including defending champions Union Bordeaux Bègles, TOP 14 title-winners Stade Toulousain, Gallagher Premiership champions Bath Rugby, and URC winners Leinster Rugby – were each drawn first into separate pools, ensuring high-stakes matchups from the outset.

The EPCR finals weekend next season will be hosted by the vibrant Basque city of Bilbao on 22 and 23 May.

INVESTEC CHAMPIONS CUP POOLS FOR 2025/2026

Pool 1: Toulouse, Hollywoodbets Sharks, Sale Sharks, Clermont Auvergne, Saracens, Glasgow Warriors.

Pool 2: Bath, Toulon, Munster, Castres, Edinburgh, Gloucester.

Pool 3: La Rochelle, Leinster, Leicester Tigers, DHL Stormers, Harlequins, Bayonne.

Pool 4: Bordeaux-Begles, Northampton Saints, Vodacom Bulls, Scarlets, Bristol Bears, Pau.

2025/26 EPCR CHALLENGE CUP POOLS

Pool 1: Ospreys, Zebre Parma, Montpellier Hérault Rugby, US Montauban, Black Lion, Connacht Rugby.

Pool 2: Lyon Olympique Universitaire, Newcastle Falcons, Dragons RFC, Benetton Rugby, Lions, USAP.

Pool 3: Toyota Cheetahs, Cardiff Rugby, Exeter Chiefs, Racing 92, Stade Français Paris, Ulster Rugby

As the stars aligned for French club Bordeaux-Begles to celebrate their first Investec Champions’ Cup on Saturday night, a new challenge was also revealed that will excite South African rugby fans hungry for trophies.

EPCR Chairman Dominic McKay announced plans for a World Club Cup in 2028 that is likely to include the top eight sides in the Champions’ Cup, testing their strength against eight sides made up from Super Rugby Pacific and the Japanese league.

Now if it was played this season, there wouldn’t be any South African involvement given the performance of local sides in this year’s tournament, but the news of a bigger cup competition with more bragging rights will certainly alter the approach to the Investec Champions’ Cup for South African teams in the near future.

The prospect of not only competing against the best in the world, but also the nostalgia of Super Rugby rivalries being reignited would have brought smiles to the faces of many coaches across the country as the age-old debate about which hemisphere’s competition is stronger can be settled for a while.

“It’s great to be in Cardiff celebrating the 30th season of the Investec Champions Cup and the EPCR Challenge Cup,” McKay said.

“We’ve had some great discussions over the course of the weekend talking about the future of our sport and particularly some exciting projects that relate to EPCR.

“One of those projects is the Rugby World Club Cup. This is something we’ve spoken about at EPCR for the last two or three years – we’ve been trying to work our way through this project to see if we can deliver it.

“And over the last few days we’ve had great meetings with our Board, great meetings with our General Assembly, who represent the three leagues and stakeholders from seven unions, and everyone is unanimous about wanting to deliver a World Club Cup – through EPCR.”

EPIC FINAL MATCH

The announcement came against the backdrop of an epic final match for the season, as Bordeaux-Begles’ stars came together to stave off a brave fight by Northampton Saints, and while the French side threatened several times to break away and settle the final, the Saints’ fightback was so good that the game wasn’t settled until the last few minutes, providing the perfect backdrop for the occasion.

Bordeaux coach Yannick Bru, who was at the Hollywoodbets Sharks two seasons ago, was a proud man afterwards, even though he had already won the title three times with Toulouse before.

“These are really special moments. The feeling is tenfold compared to winning as a player”, he explained after the 28-20 victory.

“This title represents a whole team effort for the last decade. UBB are heading in a really good direction.”

Northampton coach Phil Dowson was disappointed, but still proud, especially after his side had recorded firsts in defeating Leinster in Dublin and earlier the season the Vodacom Bulls at Loftus Versfeld.

"There were loads of fight, and that sums us up this year", Dingwall said. "We missed a lot of opportunities, there are a lot of learnings. This'll motivate us for next year".

"I want to credit UBB. The performance they had - they were deserved winners. But I’m immensely proud of our boys. There are elements we could’ve done better, but that comes with time.

"UBB defended very well, their kicking game made us work really hard.”

PENAUD SEALED THE DEAL

Two tries from Player of the tournament Damien Penaud sealed the deal for Bordeaux, and between him and his potent strike partner Louis Bielle-Biarrey they crossed the line 22 times in the season.

On Friday night former Springbok assistant coach Johann van Graan’s Bath side provided a ruthless performance to win their second trophy of the season as they demolished Olympique Lyon 37-12.

Van Graan’s team - which also won the Premiership Cup earlier in the season and finished top of the Premiership standings, now have the chance to have a perfect season if they can win the Premiership as well in the next few weeks.

Considering Bath were last in the Premiership when he arrived, the hard-working coach has transformed them incredibly well and has emerged as a potential future Springbok coach with his results so far.

It provided a fitting end to their EPCR season after the disappointment of losing out in the Champions’ Cup pool rounds earlier in the competition.

Afterwards man of the match Ben Spencer believed something special is brewing in the group of players under Van Graan.

“I don’t want to speak about individual stuff, I want to talk about the group and what we’ve been through”, he started.

“Tonight’s performance is a long time coming. It was unbelievable to see the fight, the hunger… I couldn’t be prouder to lead this group tonight”.

But as the EPCR season finished, the announcement of the Club World Cup provided some early incentive in planning for next season. And for the coaches involved, another trophy to aim for.

Bordeaux Begles were crowned kings of Europe for the first time on Saturday when they combined rapier finishing with relentless forward power to beat Northampton 28-20 in a tense and often chaotic Champions Cup final at the Principality Stadium.

Top seeds, beat the defending champs, first final 👊@UBBrugby really earned this title 🏆#InvestecChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/uk1RXCXuEL

— Investec Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) May 24, 2025

Two tries for Damian Penaud and one for Adam Coleman had the French side ahead, but Alex Coles followed his third-minute score with another in the 40th to make it 20-20 at halftime.

Bordeaux, appearing in the final for the first time, tightened the screw in the second half and their forward power and driving mauls allowed them to forge eight points clear after a Cyril Cazeaux try and a penalty for man of the match scrumhalf Maxime Lucu.

Northampton showed admirable spirit to stay in the game but were unable to conjure the attacking backline moves that swept them to the final and instead the title went to France for the fifth year in a row.

"I am very proud of this team. This competition is very difficult. This is so emotional," Penaud told Premier Sports after being crowned the competition's player of the season.

Your @Investec Player of the Year - Damian Penaud 🔥

With a record FOURTEEN tries this season including two in the Final, the @UBBrugby winger lifts the Anthony Foley Memorial trophy 🏆#InvestecChampionsCup pic.twitter.com/sPXU1b9Z0d

— Investec Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) May 24, 2025

Northampton captain Fraser Dingwall said the day's setbacks summed up the club's season.

"We were never going to go away but we gave them too many opportunities," he said.

"It's frustrating when it comes down to small margins. We stayed in there and forced turnovers but against good teams you can't keep giving them chances."

Northampton, struggling in eighth place in the Premiership in a disappointing defence of their title, overcame an injury-hit build-up to fly out of the blocks as Coles forced himself over for the opening try.

They then suffered a double setback as winger James Ramm and fullback George Furbank went off injured in the first five minutes.

After a lengthy delay, Bordeaux struck back through Penaud as he stretched his own record for tries in the tournament in one season to 13.

He then combined with his wing partner Louis Bielle-Biarrey for a brilliant try only for it to be scrubbed off for a forward pass, but a superb jinking run by Matthieu Jalibert then sent lock Coleman over.

Bordeaux lost flanker Mahamadou Diaby to the sin bin for a high hit but the referee soon levelled things up with a yellow card for Tommy Freeman for a tackle in the air.

Penaud got an opportunistic second after a turnover almost on the Northampton line, but the English team finally showed the crisp handling that swept them past Leinster in the semis to send Coles over for his second.

Smith converted brilliantly from the touchline to make it 20-20 at the end of a half full of mayhem.

DREAMING OF A DOUBLE

Henry Pollock, who had a first-half try ruled out for offside, crossed at the start of the second but the 20-year-old’s joy was again short-lived after Coles was penalised for obstruction.

Northampton then suffered another head contact yellow card for Ed Prowse, briefly reducing them to 13 and gifting a penalty. Scrumhalf and captain Lucu took over the kicking duties and duly nailed it.

Northampton defended their line with huge spirit but Bordeaux’s pressure eventually paid off as Cazeaux drove over for a 28-20 lead.

Northampton continued to give everything but struggled to get out of their own half.

For their fans who remembered the 2011 final when they blew a 22-6 halftime lead to lose 33-22 to Leinster, it was a horribly familiar feeling as Bordeaux doubled down on their reputation as the strongest finishers in France.

It earned them a first major trophy since the club were founded in 2006 via the merger of Stade Bordelais and Begles and promoted to France’s top 14 in 2011.

They currently sit second in the league, now dreaming of a double.

Bordeaux's victory also levelled the score in Anglo-French finals this weekend after Bath beat Lyon in the Challenge Cup final on Friday.

Bath cruised past Lyon 37-12 on Friday to win the Challenge Cup in Cardiff to keep their hopes of a treble alive.

They lifted the Premiership Cup in March and have a league semifinal at home on June 6 in their hunt for three trophies in one season.

The English Premiership leaders played with 13-men during the first half at Cardiff's Millenium Stadium as England flanker Sam Underhill and centre Will Muir were sin-binned but Johann van Graan's side managed to hold on to lift another continental title after success in 2008.

South African van Graan started Scotland's Finn Russell at fly-half, weeks after he was included in the British and Irish Lions squad for this summer's tour of Australia.

Russell's opposite number 10 was Lyon's Leo Berdeu, one of seven survivors from their 2022 Challenge Cup success alongside half-back partner and club captain Baptiste Couilloud.

The two-time French champions had the better of the opening exchanges and deservedly opened the scoring after four minutes.

France winger Ethan Dumortier dived over in the corner to make it 5-0 following a good support line from full-back Davit Niniashvili.

By the 26-minute mark, the English club, champions in 2014 at the adjacent Cardiff Arms Park, turned the game on its head to lead 17-5 as hooker Tom Dunn's and centre Max Ojomoh crossing with Russell added seven points from the tee.

Just before the half-hour, Underhill was shown his yellow card for a high tackle on Georgia livewire Niniashvili after referral with the television match official.

With five minutes left of the half, Muir was given his marching orders for taking out Dumortier in the air, in a busy spell for referee Holly Davidson, the first women to officiate a continental final.

Lyon were unable to make the most of the numerical superiority as van Graan's side weathered the storm and were 12 points up at the break.

With half an hour left the lead was just eight points as Lyon's South African No 8 Arno Botha crashed over after a Russell penalty, with the score at 20-12.

Bath then took full control of the game as prop Beno Obano powered his way to the line and captain Ben Spencer strolled over to the joy of the majority English crowd, who had made the one-hour journey across the Severn Bridge.

Russell's extras made it 34-12 with barely 15 minutes to go before the influential Spencer was given a standing ovation as he was replaced and was later named player of the match.

The Scotland playmaker kept his 100 per cent record from the tee with a 72-minute penalty to make sure of Bath's first Challenge Cup title since 2008.

Bordeaux-Begles captain Maxime Lucu said on Friday the French club are planning to "neutralise" Northampton's in-form back-rower Henry Pollock.

Youngster Pollock was named in the British and Irish Lions squad for this summer's tour after some superb performances for club and country.

The 20-year-old crossed twice on his England debut in March before scoring an impressive solo try in the Champions Cup semi-final win at four-time winners Leinster earlier this month.

"He's a very classy player. He has incredible qualities," scrum-half Lucu said before Saturday's game in Cardiff.

"When you talk about big players like that it's important to neutralise them.

"He's a threat to us," the 32-year-old added.

In the build-up to the game, France half-back Lucu has sent photos of Pollock to his Bordeaux-Begles back-row team-mates, including 20-year-old Marko Gazotti and Pierre Bochaton, to remind them of the task at hand this weekend.

"They’re little jokes we've shared this week," Lucu said

"They were mainly for Marco Gazzotti, because they (Pollock) are part of the same generation.

"They’ll have a battle," he added.

Some 10 000 empty seats are expected at the Millenium Stadium for the game, Bordeaux-Begles' first Champions Cup final.

Up to 15 000 Northampton fans will make the journey from the East Midlands, England while at least 2 500 fans will travel from south-west France.

The low number of French fans is down to a lack of travel connections and a meagre number of hotel rooms in the Welsh capital, inflating prices on match weekends.

However, tens of thousands are set to flood the streets of Bordeaux to watch the final on big screens.

"We know it's not easy to come here to Cardiff, because it's costly too," Lucu said.

"We're proud to have between 3 000-5 000 people from Bordeaux in Cardiff to support us because it's a historic moment for the club, a first European final.

"We have to give something back to them and also the supporters who have stayed in Bordeaux to watch the match," he added.

After what happened in the semifinal in Dublin you’d hesitate to write off Northampton Saints but nonetheless the English club face a massive uphill task when they clash with Bordeaux-Begles in the showpiece final of the Investec Champions Cup in Cardiff on Saturday.

To refresh memories, the Saints got through to the decider by beating Leinster at the Aviva Stadium, a game that most pundits, including this one, said it was impossible for them to win.

Leinster were at home, they had been finalists albeit narrow losing ones three years in a row, and they had come across massive whitewash wins of Harlequins and Glasgow Warriors.

Most importantly, and this is why most neutrals will surely be supporting Northampton in a final that could well be the most one-sided in quite a few years, Leinster have been the only team in recent seasons that has looked capable of challenging the French hegemony.

Since Exeter Chiefs beat Racing 92 by four points in the 2019/2020 final, and that result seems so long ago given how the Chiefs have struggled in recent times, only French teams have won it.

Toulouse, who lead in number of overall wins in the European competition, have won it twice in that period, in 2020/2021 and last season, with consecutive wins for La Rochelle sandwiched in between. Toulouse beat La Rochelle to win it that first year and Leinster have been losing finalists ever since.

Are we going to see the French prevail again in Saturday’s sold out game at the Principality Stadium? The smart money would say so. The Saints played the game of their lives against Leinster, with their pack standing up to and even at times shading a unit loaded with players who were subsequently named in the British and Irish Lions touring squad.

More significantly, their attacking game tore apart a defensive system mentored by former Springbok World Cup winning coach Jacques Nienaber, scoring four first half tries, with England wing Tommy Freeman completing a hattrick, before halftime had even arrived.

IF POLLOCK CAN DO LEINSTER AND BULLS HE CAN DO AUSSIES

The other first half try was a brilliant solo effort from the sensational 20-year-old flanker Henry Pollock, a precocious talent who will have a big say in Saturday’s decider if there is going to be another upset. Pollock is enough reason to watch the game all on his own.

He divides opinion even in England, mainly because of his cocky, confident nature for someone so young, but South Africans will remember the role he played in a statement win for Northampton against the Bulls at Loftus back in December.

There’s a theory he will be sorted out in Australia on the Lions tour, but for goodness sake, if the Bulls couldn’t sort him out it is unlikely any Aussies will. And if he manages to boss a game against crack French opposition it will be a huge statement to those who doubt him.

Saints had to hang on towards the end and had to survive two yellow cards against a Leinster team that came back strongly in the final part of the game, but their 37-34 win was well merited against a team that had won 62-0 against Harlequins and 52-0 against Vodacom United Rugby Championship title holders Glasgow.

One fancies they may have to hang on though for a longer period against a Bordeaux outfit that has scored the most tries and most points in the competition and were impressive in breaking a bit of a hoodoo for them against Toulouse in playoff games in their semifinal.

They had beaten Toulouse twice in league play, but their most recent playoff games against their fellow French giants had always been won by Toulouse.


WILL HAVE WORK CUT OUT CONTAINING FRENCH WINGS

What Northampton will cling to is that the 35-18 win was recorded at Bordeaux’s romanesque home ground of Stade Chaban-Delmas, a tough and inhospitable venue for any visiting team, whereas Saturday’s game is at a neutral venue. Winning in Cardiff has to be an easier task from that viewpoint than in front of a Leinster supporting full house at the Aviva.

But there’s also no denying Bordeaux’s red hot form and while halfbacks Maxime Lucu and Matthieu Jalibert effectively won the semi with their game management and the pinpoint kicking that kept Toulouse on the back foot, it is their pacy and slippery French international wings Louis Bielle-Barry and Damian Penaud.

Sharks fans in particular will remember, or want to forget, what Penaud did to them when the teams met in Bordeaux in January in a pool game.

However, that’s where Saturday’s clash could be interesting - aside from the flying Freeman, who scored for England in every game of the recent Six Nations, there is a chance that Northampton could have two other England internationals as part of their back three.

George Furbank, the club captain who has been out since he was injured against the Bulls, is back in training and a decision was to be made on him late in the week, while there is also a slight chance that Ollie Sleightholme, who had ankle surgery after the Six Nations, could be ready to play.

Those bits of good news though are counter-balanced by an injury crisis at hooker, while the pressure on Furbank to return is fuelled by injuries to the Saints’ other fullbacks.

Juarno Augustus, the former Stormers player who was recently called up by Rassie Erasmus to a national alignment camp, is also out of the final and that is a big loss considering how good he was in the semifinal.

Regardless who plays though, the bustling and talented French team should be too good across the park for Northampton, though that’s exactly what we said before they faced up to Leinster….

INVESTEC CHAMPIONS CUP FINAL

Bordeaux-Begles v Northampton Saints (Cardiff, Saturday 3:45pm)

Prediction: Bordeaux to win by 15

When Northampton flanker Henry Pollock scored a barnstorming double against Stade Francais in the Champions Cup pool stages in January, he was not close to being involved in England's upcoming Six Nations squad.

Five months later, he has made his test debut, has been named in the British and Irish Lions tour squad for this summer and crossed a further six times for his club.

The 20-year-old's form has been a crucial part in the Saints' run to Saturday's Champions Cup final against Bordeaux-Begles in Cardiff.

"The journey has been mad," former England under-20s captain Pollock told reporters on Tuesday.

"It's every rugby kid's dream to play in these European finals and these big stages.

"I can't wait to get it started."

Pollock, a UFC and golf fan, shot to fame at international level exactly seven weeks after his 20th birthday, dotting down for another double on his England bow against Wales at the Millennium Stadium in March.

One of his six touchdowns since then came in the emphatic Champions Cup semi-final win at four-time winners Leinster, which came days before the Lions squad was announced.

"It was only really in the last six weeks leading up to the Lions that his place was being considered," ex-England back-rower Lewis Moody told AFP on Tuesday.

"All of a sudden, he went from being considered to being an absolute, in my opinion, an absolute nailed on."

POLLOCK-MANIA

Pollock has now become a poster boy for not just Northampton but English rugby on the whole.

Fans wear black headbands in his honour, children have 'Pollock' on the back of shirts and his energetic personality makes him popular on social media.

"I love his rise, it's awesome to see," Northampton's England winger Tommy Freeman told The Good, The Bad & The Rugby podcast last week.

"It's painful though when he comes up to you and says 'Mate you have 20 caps for England I've got one, and you've got 50,000 followers and I've got 111,000," Freeman jokingly added.

Pollock and Freeman, as well as fellow Lions squad inclusions Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith, are members of the current Saints generation, combining attractive rugby on the field with impressive results.

"The fact that you have a few guys that come through at the same age able to support each other," Moody said.

"I think that's massive," he added.

This weekend Pollock is set to start for Saints as they eye a first Champions Cup title since 2000.

It also marks his first return to the Welsh capital since his sensational Test debut two months ago.

"Those memories are very fond," Pollock said.

"I look back on that day, it was quite a blur.

"It will be cool to go back and see the stadium again in 'real life' and hopefully relive those good memories."

The Kings are dead. And the unthinkable happened.

The exit of the heavyweights of European club rugby - defending champions Stade Toulousain and Irish juggernaut Leinster in this weekend’s Investec Champions’ Cup semifinals were not only seismic in their results, but also underlined the pure passion that the world’s best club competition is played in.

There is a massive lesson for South African fans and teams in Europe. This is the standard you will need to live up to if you are to be successful in this massive tribal competition that dominates the European rugby mindset.

It wasn’t hard to see. Two heavyweight teams - who between them have dominated the tournament over the past few years to such an extent that it was unthinkable they wouldn’t meet again in the final - are out. Beaten by passion and pride, by some beautiful rugby, and by some rising stars in the game.

Stars, after all, are what it is about in the Champions’ Cup. The winner adds a permanent star on their jersey. Leinster have four - the last one won back in the 2017/18 season while Toulouse have six. Both are packed to the brim with internationals and have a bench a mile long, and both unexpectedly lost.

But this weekend the stars aligned for new ones to emerge. The underrated wing talent of Tommy Freeman, who contributed three beautiful tries, while the upstart Henry Pollock, who must have cemented a place on the British and Irish Lions tour, were the Kings of Dublin. A powerful performance by Juarno Augustus, the forgotten South African No 8, was also poetic in the victory.

Virtually everybody with a rugby brain had Leinster to win and win comfortably. After all they had demolished Glasgow and Leicester by 52 and 62 points respectively without conceding a point.

They had beaten Northampton comfortably last season at the same stage, and yet, things didn’t go to plan from the start.

The 37-34 loss was seismic because it hit home so hard on so many levels. How did a defence coached by Jacques Nienaber - miss 41 (or 30 per cent) of their tackles? But Northampton were simply sensational, they took the attack to Leinster and once again found holes when it mattered most.

The fact that Leinster have failed in the last four seasons to win a Champions Cup or Vodacom United Rugby Championship title will be all the focus this week. And while the URC is still an option, the Irish juggernaut is creaking under the weight of its own expectation.

Northampton were superb. And belief in their own abilities - that romanticism that drives all of sport - showed the underdog can win.

"We learned a lot from the two knock-out games coming into this, in terms of Glasgow and Quins and how to attack that defence," Northampton’s Director of Rugby Phil Dowson said afterwards.

"We've been working on our own game all season long and the belief inside was very strong. We talked about the belief we had in ourselves, regardless of what was said on the other side.

"I thought we finished the first half very well and started the second half very poorly, which gave them a huge amount of momentum and it was a rear guard effort after that.

"There's obviously things we can do better but the effort and intent that we had to work hard for each other was incredible."

On Sunday Bordeaux took a step closer to confirming themselves as the Kings of France in waiting, even though Toulouse are still likely to walk to the Top 14 title.

Coach Yannick Bru, who Sharks fans will remember was their assistant coach last season, has turned the side into the best attack in Europe, with possibly the world’s best rising star - winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey scoring another two tries as they demolished Toulouse 35-18.

Perhaps in Bordeaux’s case, there was less surprise in the result, particularly as Toulouse were missing the likes of Antoine Dupont, Blair Kinghorn, Thomas Ramos and Peatu Mauvaka to injury, but it was still massive either way.

Bielle-Barrey was undoubtedly the star of the game, but Bordeaux in every department other than the scrum seemed to have Toulouse’s number. The winger added two to his already impressive six tries in the tournament for the season, although he is still eclipsed by Damian Penaud on 12 tries. Penaud was uncharacteristically overshadowed by his teammate during the semifinal.

The key moment at the Matmut Alantique stadium was Bielle-Biarrey’s second try - a moment of beauty as he somersaulted over the line after Romain Buros had carved open the Toulouse defence.

Speaking post-match, Coach Yannick Bru explained how proud he was of his men.

"My main feeling right now is pride. Pride for what my players have done", he started.

"They really got stuck throughout the week building up to today and really believed they could do it".

Bordeaux have now qualified for their first final ever, ironically beating the side that stopped their march in their only other playoff match - their 2021 semifinal.

And so the stage has been set for Cardiff’s finale, with two sides that embrace the attacking mantra facing off in an epic clash. A clash where new stars of the game hope to become giants, and add a single star to their jersey.

In the EPCR Challenge Cup, Johann van Graan’s side were way too strong for Sean Everitt’s Edinburgh, leaving some hope for a South African hand in the victory.

Their 39-24 win was not only testament to a great performance by their forward pack, with Sam Underhill starring and Thomas du Toit playing a cameo role, but also to Finn Russell’s excellence at flyhalf.

They will face Lyon, who stopped Racing 92 29-15 in their semifinal.

RESULTS

INVESTEC CHAMPIONS CUP

Semifinals

Leinster 34 Northampton 37

Bordeaux-Begles 35 Stade Toulousain 18

EPCR CHALLENGE CUP

Semifinals

Edinburgh 24 Bath 39

Lyon Olympique 29 Racing 92 15

FINAL

Cardiff

EPCR Challenge Cup

Friday 23 May

Bath v Lyon Olympique (21h00)

INVESTEC CHAMPIONS CUP

Saturday 24 May

Northampton Saints v Bordeaux-Begles (15h45)

France star Louis Bielle-Biarrey struck twice as Bordeaux-Begles came through a monumental all-French semifinal to beat defending champions Toulouse 35-18 on Sunday and book their place in the Champions Cup final.

"We've won, it's magnificent, it's been a magnificent day, it's great to experience moments like this, the show was top quality and I'm happy for rugby," said head coach Yannick Bru, after Bordeaux-Begles reached their first final in the competition.

In Cardiff on May 24, they will face English side Northampton who upset favourites Leinster on Saturday.

A first #InvestecChampionsCup Final ⭐️@UBBRugby will go for their first star in Cardiff after they beat the defending champions Stade Toulousain by 35 points to 18 👏

Catch up with all the action as it happened with the rolling wrap ⬇️

— Investec Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) May 4, 2025

Bielle-Biarrey, who scored eight tries during the Six Nations to help France to the championship, struck either side of halftime at the Stade Matmut.

No 8 Pete Samu scored the opening try for Bordeaux with replacement lock Pierre Bochaton and prop Ben Tameifuna going over in the second half.

Dimitri Delibes and Pierre-Louis Barassi crossed for Toulouse but they were always struggling to stay with the pace.

"They're hyper-realistic," Toulouse fly half Romain Ntamack told France 2. "Every time they came into our half they scored tries or penalties. That's the difference today. They're far from being better than us today, but they were much more pragmatic than us."

Bru agreed his team had maximised their opportunities.

"We knew that everything would count," Bru said. "When you play Toulouse in the knockout rounds, everything counts: the forwards, the pack's performance, the breakaways."

It was a highly-anticipated clash between the two leading sides in France's Top 14.

Toulouse, the six-time champions, who beat Leinster in last year's final, went into the game underpowered with international quartet Antoine Dupont, Thomas Ramos, Peato Mauvaka and Blair Kinghorn all out injured.

They were soon behind when Bordeaux fly-half Matthieu Jalibert launched a counter-attack from a turnover in the fifth minute. He flew 50 metres upfield before offloading for Samu to gallop through for the score.

Jalibert converted and added a penalty before Argentinian full-back Juan Cruz Mallia put Toulouse on the board with a penalty.

After 15 minutes, wing Delibes went over in the right corner to bring Toulouse within two points. Mallia missed the conversion but popped over a penalty to put Toulouse ahead for the first, and only time, in the match.

'DIDN'T WANT TO LOSE'

It only lasted one minute before Bielle-Biarrey benefitted from some superb work by Romain Buros and Damian Penaud to skate through in the left-hand corner.

France's record try-scorer Penaud later hobbled off with an injured left ankle.

Scrum-half Maxime Lucu landed an outrageous 58-metre penalty to put Bordeaux 18-10 ahead at halftime and within moments of the restart, Bielle-Biarrey struck a second time to give the home side a firm grip on the game.

Barassi gave Toulouse a foothold with a try in the 55th minute but late efforts from close range from forwards Bochaton and Tameifuna underlined Bordeaux's dominance and sealed their place in the final.

"I'm proud of the lads," said Bru. "They didn't want to lose."

While Bordeaux-Begles head to the final, Toulouse turn to defending their domestic title. With four regular-season Top 14 matches left, they lead the standings by 10 points and are heading for a first-round playoff bye. Bordeaux-Begles are also in position for a bye as they narrowly hold second place.

"We're going to have to turn things around because the league isn't over yet," said Ntmack.

"It's always frustrating to go out in the Champions Cup semifinals," he added. "But it's part of our sport. We can't win every year. We still have a goal to reach and defend. We're going to concentrate on that now."

Brilliant Northampton stunned Leinster 37-34 in a breathless Champions Cup semifinal on Saturday with a first-half Tommy Freeman hat-trick leaving the English champions one game away from their first European crown in 25 years.

Northampton, who have only won the competition once, played a perfect first half with Freeman and a try from the brilliant young flanker Henry Pollock giving them a 27-15 lead against a side who did not concede a point in the previous two rounds.

Leinster, heavy favourites and losing finalists in the last three years, had famously recovered from an even bigger halftime deficit the last time Northampton were in a final in 2011.

A comeback looked on again this time with tries from Caelan Doris and Josh van der Flier before the hour.

But James Ramm put the fearless visitors 10 points clear two minutes later and they survived two yellow cards, a James Lowe try and Leinster's loaded bench to set up a final against either holders Toulouse or Bordeaux in Cardiff on May 24.

Cardiff is calling.

😇👉🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 pic.twitter.com/IfmWL5vQe3

— Northampton Saints 😇 (@SaintsRugby) May 3, 2025

"They said Leinster by 30 (points winning margin), but look here we are," man of the match Freeman told RTE. "We know we can do this. We know if we get our game on the pitch, we can take anyone on."

The defeat means the seven-year wait for an elusive fifth title goes on for shell-shocked Leinster, a bitter pill for a side made up of most of the Ireland team along with superstars RG Snyman and Jordie Barrett, the latter who started on the bench.

"I don't know what to say really, massive disappointment," Leinster captain Doris said.

But Northampton, who have struggled in the English premiership this season, fully deserved the win.

They unsettled the competition's second most decorated team from the off, with a brilliant line break and dink through from the excellent Fin Smith setting up Freeman for his first try after seven minutes.

It was the first time Leinster had conceded a point in over 200 minutes of Champions Cup rugby - a remarkable statistic following 62-0 and 52-0 demolitions of Harlequins and Glasgow respectively in the previous rounds.

The hosts responded quickly, first through a Tommy O'Brien try that followed waves of pressure and then van der Flier's first of the game and it looked like the Leinster juggernaut would push on in typically relentless fashion.

But they were stunned by three tries in 10 minutes, even with Northampton down to 14 men for most of that period.

First the 20-year-old Pollock took a pass perfectly on the gain line at top speed, ran half the pitch and evaded Sam Prendergast to show just why he's regarded as one of the most exciting young players in the game.

Freeman then completed his hat-trick with two tries in three minutes - his 15th in his last 10 games for club and country.

Northampton lost to Leinster at the same stage last year and it looked ominous when Doris and van der Flier made it a three-point game as Barrett, France prop Rabah Slimani and Ireland forwards Ryan Baird and Jack Conan emerged from the bench.

But Ramm's quick reply proved crucial as did Leinster opting against kicking a penalty to draw level three minutes from time. They went a whisker from touching down in the corner instead at the death but Northampton's last-gasp defence won out.