Nations Championship sees dominant wins across weekend fixtures
France secures decisive victory in Tokyo
France began a weekend of significant wins in the Nations Championship, defeating Japan 42-15 in Tokyo. The Six Nations champions scored six tries, with hooker Maxime Lamothe and fullback Matthieu Jalibert each contributing two tries. Other try-scorers for France included number 8 Alexandre Roumat and scrumhalf Maxime Lucu. Lucu and Romain Ntamack successfully converted all of France’s scores.
This result followed France’s narrow loss to New Zealand and a subsequent win against Australia. Captain Lucu noted the high level of play, intensity, and ball-in-play time in these matches. The combination of Lucu, Ntamack, and Jalibert was highlighted for its effectiveness in guiding France to victory, supported by the pack led by Lamothe, Emmanuel Meafou, and Lenni Nouchi.
Individual performances for France included Lamothe, who managed the lineout and driving maul, making seven tackles and scoring a brace of tries. Regis Montagne also had a strong showing, securing two scrum penalties and making ten successful tackles. Meafou was noted for his carries and defensive presence, while Roumat was a driving force for the team, contributing a try.
Lucu delivered another strong performance, converting five scores and directing the team’s play. Ntamack effectively built plays and maintained tactical positioning, working well with Jalibert. Jalibert, despite receiving a yellow card, was instrumental in attacking Japan’s defensive line and scored two tries.
Australia, Scotland, and South Africa also claim big wins
In Perth, Australia achieved a 57-10 victory over Italy, with lock Josh Canham scoring three tries. This win marked the end of a six-match losing streak for Australia, which included their initial two matches in the new competition against Ireland and France. Additional tries for Australia came from Tom Wright, Brandon Paenga-Amosa, Angus Bell, Len Ikitau, Billy Pollard, and Ben Donaldson. Ryan Lonergan added five conversions, and Donaldson contributed one. For Italy, captain Michele Lamaro and Australia-born Monty Ioane scored tries. The match also served as a farewell for retiring coach Joe Schmidt.
Scotland secured a bonus-point win against Fiji, outscoring them five tries to three. Fiji had initially led 17-7 at halftime. Jamie Dobie scored two tries for Scotland, while Jonny Gray, Pierre Schoeman, and Scott Cummings each added one. Fergus Burke converted three tries, and George Horne converted one. This performance by Scotland highlighted an inconsistency, following an away win against Argentina and a close contest with South Africa in Pretoria.
South Africa continued their strong start to the competition by defeating Wales 43-0 in Durban, scoring seven tries. Number 8 Jasper Wiese, scrumhalves Cobus Reinach and Herschel Jantjies, centre Jesse Kriel, flanker Paul de Villiers, and wingers Jaco Williams and Kurt-Lee Arendse all scored tries. Wales was held scoreless for the second consecutive game.
England triumphs in a close contest
England secured their second consecutive win by beating Argentina 31-24 in the weekend’s closest match. Ben Earl scored two tries for England in a game marked by yellow cards, penalties, and player altercations. Other try-scorers for England included Tommy Freeman, Marcus Smith, and Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, with Fin Smith kicking three conversions.
Argentina’s points came from tries by Mateo Carreras and Justin Piccardo, a penalty try, a penalty from Tomas Albornoz, and two conversions. The Nations Championship will now pause for four months, with matches set to resume in November in the northern hemisphere.
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Source: rnz.co.nz
