![South Africa always had Australia at arm's length](/https/www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/rugby-union/2024/08/17/TELEMMGLPICT000390301152_17238971443070_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqA7N2CxnJWnYI3tCbVBgu9T0aesusvN1TE7a0ddd_esI.jpeg?imwidth=350)
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Ireland down to bare bones for South Africa showdown as Craig Casey joins walking wounded
Having lost his scrum-half to concussion in Pretoria, Andy Farrell also has worries about Dan Sheehan and Robbie Henshaw for second Test
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‘They disrespected us’: How South Africa create siege mentality to stay on top
Damian de Allende claims Irish media ‘disrespected’ South Africa after 2017 Dublin defeat as world champions deploy familiar mental tactics
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Untold details about most brutal Test match in Lions history
With Ireland travelling to Loftus Versfeld this weekend, the mind cannot help but be drawn back the Lions’ visit there in 2009
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Five-point plan to reinvigorate Warren Gatland’s Wales
Taking on world champions South Africa on Saturday may be a daunting task but a young side has a chance to regain momentum this summer
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Courtenay Meredith, last survivor of the last Welsh rugby union team to have beaten New Zealand – obituary
Nicknamed ‘The Iron Man’, he helped Wales to defeat the All Blacks at Cardiff in 1953. Since then, New Zealand have won every single match
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Leinster coach Jacques Nienaber exploits loophole to be a water boy in Champions Cup final
South African brings Springboks’ dark arts to his side’s match against Toulouse thanks to gap in the rules
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Jasper Wiese banned for six South Africa Tests after red card in Leicester farewell
Plus, why this six-game ban for Springbok No 8 is an overly-harsh punishment for moment of low-intensity clumsiness
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Rugby law changes mark insidious depowering of the scrum
At its best the scrum is one of union’s greatest spectacles – World Rugby should be trying to enhance it, not relegate it
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Rugby introduces three new laws, and trials six more
Fan-focused changes will reduce kick-tennis, outlaw the crocodile roll and remove option of taking a scrum from a free-kick
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The F-word rant that stunned South Africa to silence and sparked World Cup comeback over England
Rassie Erasmus tore a strip off the world champions after their ragged first half against Steve Borthwick’s side, a new documentary reveals
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Harlequins centre Andre Esterhuizen to return to South Africa for family reasons
Esterhuizen was part of South Africa’s Rugby World Cup-winning squad and is now widely expected to sign for the Sharks
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Springboks’ blitz defence showed England how to contain Finn Russell
South Africa restricted Scotland to just three points at the World Cup with a masterclass of defensive strategy
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Felix Jones – the defence coach forged in Munster, South Africa and ancient Greece
A succession of injuries derailed Jones's playing career with Munster and Ireland, allowing him to find his true calling as a coach
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Harlequins’ Jerry Flannery joins Rassie Erasmus in South Africa overhaul
Former Ireland hooker will become part of new-look coaching team this month as Springboks prepare for Rugby Championship
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South Africa line up Harlequins coach Jerry Flannery in post-World Cup rebuild
Springbok rugby director Rassie Erasmus is targeting former Ireland hooker to join new backroom team
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Rassie Erasmus requires hospital treatment after ‘freak accident’
South Africa’s director of rugby suffered chemical burns after using a ‘powerful detergent’
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Harlequins copying Springboks with new physical gameplan
In a bid to force turnovers more regularly – club have embraced confrontation and tenacity over structure
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Elton Jantjies: South African World Cup winner given four-year doping ban
Fly-half has previously denied knowingly taking the banned substance and vowed to prove his innocence