Compiled by Ranjika Perera

[caption id="attachment_162400" align="alignleft" width="455"] Wallabies centre Len Ikitau (centre) celebrates his first try against Springboks on Saturday (18) in Brisbane in their Rugby Championship match[/caption]

A top-notch performance from the Wallabies saw them beat reigning World Champions Springboks 30-17 in their Rugby Championship match at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, Australia on Saturday (18).

It was a disappointing start for the visitors when Faf De Klerk was sent to the bin for disrupting play. Wallabies took the advantage and struck twice through Len Ikitau. The Wallabies defended well against the Springboks’ forward line.

However, few penalties helped Boks come back into the game before lemons. Wallabies were down to 14 when Lachlan Swinton was sin-binned for a dangerous tackle, with eight minutes remaining in the half. Apart for a few penalties, they managed to stay in the lead by 15-12 before the break.

The second half started off with a try from the Boks. De Klerk’s grubber kick found Lukhanyo Am, who went over for their first. Unfortunately that was all they got. A few moments later, Quade Cooper put Wallabies in the lead once again with a penalty.

With the addition of Tate McDermotte, Wallabies showed some urgency and they found two back-to-back tries to seal the win. The first one came after Taniela Tupou broke through and sent Marika Koroibete over. The second came after a big break from Samu Kerevi which opened up space for Koroibete to go over for his second.

All Blacks record ninth straight win

The All Blacks maintained their winning streak as they beat the Los Pumas by 36-13 in their Rugby Championship match, held at the same venue in Brisbane.

All Blacks made a few changes as they fielded a young side against Los Pumas.

However, it didn’t have a big impact in the results as they dominated the first half. Their first try came after a break from Hoskins Sotutu which was followed by a bulldozing run by Patrick Tuipuloto. Emiliano Boffelli managed to cut down the deficit with a three-pointer.

But, All Blacks were relentless in the last ten minutes of the first half. T.J. Perenara scored their second try from a five-metre scrum. Seconds before the break, Tupou Vaa’i scored their third after Ardie Savea’s chip-kick was chased down in the wings.

All Blacks started off the second half with the bonus-point try. Samisoni Taukiaho was benefitted from a few silky hands by the All Blacks’ line.

Los Pumas’ best phase of the game came before the hour mark when they scored the first try of the game. Fly-half Carreras’ perfectly-weighted cross-kick found Boffelli in the wings and he jumped over for their first try in over 200 minutes of game-time against All Blacks.

Following the try, the Los Pumas failed to capitalise on some sloppy play from their opponents. Ultimately, they ended up conceding another try through Vaa’i to seal yet another big win for the All Blacks.