International rugby union round-up as England and Ireland both seal series wins

New Zealand 22-32 Ireland

Ireland battled to a landmark series win in New Zealand after holding off a second-half fightback to secure a stunning 32-22 success from an epic encounter in Wellington.

Andy Farrell’s men led by 19 points at the break courtesy of a spellbinding first-half display which brought tries for Josh Van Der Flier, Hugo Keenan and Robbie Henshaw.

But the All Blacks moved to within three points in a breathless second period thanks to scores from Ardie Savea, Akira Ioane and Will Jordan, before Rob Herring crossed to help the tourists home on a historic evening.

Members of Ireland’s triumphant squad were pictured in tears at full-time as they savoured arguably the greatest result in their nation’s history, which also moved them top of the world rankings.

Captain Johnny Sexton, who celebrated his 37th birthday on Monday, chipped in with 12 points, becoming the second man to surpass 1,000 in the green jersey.

Ireland only won away to New Zealand for the first time last weekend by bouncing back from a 42-19 drubbing in the Auckland opener to triumph 23-12 in Dunedin and set up the decider.

Head coach Farrell had expressed hope that his side had saved their best performance for the final Test.

The Englishman duly had his wish granted during a phenomenal opening 40 minutes packed with power and intensity before the Irish weathered a second-half storm intensified by the loss of Andrew Porter to a yellow card to take the series 2-1.

The outclassed All Blacks deserved credit for not rolling over but the sensational result piles further pressure on under-fire head coach Ian Foster.

Australia 17-21 England

England dug deep to complete a series victory over Australia with a 21-17 victory in the third Test at Sydney Cricket Ground that saw towering rookies Freddie Steward and Tommy Freeman play starring roles.

Eddie Jones’ tourists built a 21-10 lead through tries from Steward and Marcus Smith and the kicking of Owen Farrell, but it began to crumble when Folau Fainga’a crossed in the 66th minute.

But instead of folding as they did in the first Test, on this occasion England showed the resolve to keep the Wallabies out despite sustained late pressure, with Luke Cowan-Dickie and Courtney Lawes combining to secure a critical late turnover.

Until play became tighter in the closing stages, full-back Steward and wing Freeman operated as England’s most dangerous players, using their pace, size and clever running lines to good effect.

There were shades of 2016 when veteran scrum-half Danny Care was hooked in the 37th minute as the price for an error-ridden display that included a charged-down kick, knock-on and missed tackle.

Jones had seen enough and removed Care in the same way he had withdrawn Luther Burrell and Teimana Harrison in the first and third Tests six years ago. On this occasion the change was rewarded with another solid shift from Jack van Poortvliet.

It could be the last time Care is seen in an England jersey given he has only just returned following nearly four years in international exile, and the same fate could face Guy Porter after his defensive shortcomings were exposed.

Otherwise it was a pleasing day for England, whose scruffy end-of-season performance failed to take the shine off a significant achievement that takes the newly created Ella-Mobbs Cup to Twickenham.

South Africa 30-14 Wales

World champions South Africa reserved their best for last as they ended Wales’ dream of a Test series triumph by winning the decider 30-14 in Cape Town.

Springboks head coach Jacques Nienaber recalled eight of South Africa’s 2019 World Cup-winning team after Wales levelled the series seven days ago.

And it worked a treat as South Africa took the series 2-1 through tries from Handre Pollard, Bongi Mbonambi and Siya Kolisi, with Pollard kicking three conversions and three penalties for a 20-point haul.

Wales battled hard throughout and their defensive resistance often proved heroic, but they could only muster a Tommy Reffell try and three penalties from captain Dan Biggar as they missed out on matching series success for Ireland in New Zealand and England in Australia.

Just four months after losing at home to Italy in the Guinness Six Nations, Wales will rightly view the tour as being successful in so many ways, particularly with one eye on next year’s World Cup.

And they also made history through their victory in Bloemfontein that saw them become the first Wales team to beat the Springboks on South African soil.

Ultimately, though, South Africa had too much in the tank for a Wales team that gave it everything and generated plenty of optimism for Pivac as the World Cup countdown continues.

Argentina 34-31 Scotland

Edinburgh winger Emiliano Boffelli crossed after the 80-minute mark to deny Scotland a tour series victory in Argentina.

Scotland were 15 points ahead with half an hour left following try doubles from Duhan van der Merwe and Ewan Ashman but the hosts fought back to seal a 34-31 victory in front of 30,000 fans in Santiago del Estero.

The pulsating decider ended in dramatic fashion when Argentina worked the ball out wide for Boffelli – who finished with 17 points – to go over following some sustained late pressure.