logo
Scott Barrett returns to lead All Blacks against Argentina

Scott Barrett returns to lead All Blacks against Argentina

Yahooa day ago
Captain Scott Barrett returns from injury to lead a strong All Blacks side against Argentina in their opening Rugby Championship clash on Saturday in Cordoba.
The 31-year-old lock has recovered from a calf injury and is one of nine changes to the team that finished the series against France in Hamilton in July.
New Zealand will be favoured to beat Argentina, but the days when an All Blacks victory over the Pumas was taken for granted are over.
Coach Scott Robertson has gone with experience, with Barrett starting alongside Netherlands-born Fabian Holland in the second row.
Ardie Savea was picked at No.8 for what will be his 98th Test for the All Blacks and 100th match.
Tupou Vaa'i returns after missing the Hamilton win through injury to slot in at blindside flanker and Du'Plessis Kirifi was selected at openside.
Cortez Ratima starts at scrumhalf with the returning Beauden Barrett at flyhalf.
The bench is also packed with experience, with backs Finlay Christie, Anton Lienert-Brown and Damian McKenzie boasting 172 Test caps between them.
"We've had a great week of training in Buenos Aires and the group is ready to go out and perform," Robertson said.
"We know the Pumas identity is a fast and physical game and we've selected a team that will embrace the occasion.
"It's been 30 years since the All Blacks played in Cordoba and we are looking forward to the passion and energy of the home crowd."
Three-time World Cup winners New Zealand won 28 of the first 29 Tests against the South Americans, with the other drawn.
But the unpredictable Pumas have won three of 10 internationals between the countries since, two of which came in Christchurch and Wellington.
New Zealand warmed up for the Rugby Championship with a hat-trick of home victories over a France side lacking many resting stars, including scrum-half Antoine Dupont.
Team v Argentina: Will Jordan; Sevu Reece, Billy Proctor, Jordie Barrett, Rieko Ioane; Beauden Barrett, Cortez Ratima; Ardie Savea, Du'Plessis Kirifi, Tupou Vaa'i; Fabian Holland, Scott Barrett (capt); Fletcher Newell, Codie Taylor, Ethan de Groot
Replacements: Samisoni Taukei'aho, Ollie Norris, Pasilio Tosi, Patrick Tuipulotu, Samipeni Finau, Finlay Christie, Anton Lienert-Brown, Damian McKenzie
bur-pst/fox
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

NRL world erupts over Dragons obstruction drama as fans make point about Panthers
NRL world erupts over Dragons obstruction drama as fans make point about Panthers

Yahoo

time6 hours ago

  • Yahoo

NRL world erupts over Dragons obstruction drama as fans make point about Panthers

NRL fans have echoed the outrage from Dragons coach Shane Flanagan after a controversial obstruction incident in Friday night's 14-10 loss to the Warriors. In a moment that had more than a few similarities to the Panthers drama from the previous night, Adam Pompey was awarded a crucial second half try despite claims of obstruction from the Dragons that fell on deaf ears. Penrith's Nathan Cleary accused Harry Grant of 'playing' for the penalty that cost him a winning goal field goal on Thursday night, before the Storm captain snatched victory with a try in golden point. Many fans suggested Grant took a dive when he ran towards Penrith's Moses Leota, who was pinged for blocking the Storm skipper when he tried to put pressure on Cleary's kick. On Friday night, Dragons playmaker Lyhkan King-Togia was similarly accused of play-acting by fans after appealing for an obstruction penalty for contact with Marata Niukore. The Dragons five-eighth was knocked down in the defensive line and Pompey pounced to race through and score a contentious try to help level the scores. The Bunker took a long time to make a judgement on the incident, before awarding the try to the Warriors. And the Dragons frustrations were compounded when Pompey crossed for what turned out to be the match-winning try for the Warriors ten minutes later, prompting Dragons coach Shane Flanagan to hit out over the obstruction call in his post-match press conference and questioning the double standards of decisions from officials. Shane Flanagan and fans lash officials over obstruction drama "I know you haven't asked the question but I am going to give an answer," a clearly irritated Flanagan said after the match. "It was really tough for us that what was an obstruction last week is not an obstruction this week. "The boys asked out on the field numerous times and they just got shooed away, so that is frustrating. I started playing footy when I was four years old... I don't know the rules anymore, I dead set do not know the rules. "It is tough, but we are a tough club and this is a really connected unit. We will fight really hard for the next three weeks." Many fans also pointed to the Panthers incident the night before, and questioned why Grant was awarded a penalty on a blocker call, but Lyhkan King-Togia was denied an obstruction penalty in two seperate incident that had many similarities. Been a no try all year but given a try to hand the Warriors the game… I feel for Shane Flanagan. #nrlwarriorsdragons — Rugby League News (@RugbyLeagueNews) August 15, 2025 Last night milking was ok if the player shouldn't be there anyway. Tonight against the Dragons it's play on?It's not about the obstructed defender making the tackle, it's about his centre having to leave his man. NRL officiating is a mess#nrlwarriorsdragons — Alex Carter (@abbacarter) August 15, 2025 That has been called a no try 100 times this shoulder - made contact.I do not understandooooo #nrlwarriorsdragons — Jack Holdsworth (@jholdsworth93) August 15, 2025 How many more times is this club going to get screwed over by the nrl match officials and especially the bunker? These boys are busting their arses every week and the players are not allowed to decide who proud of the effort tonight #nrlwarriorsdragons #redv — Joe REDV YNWA (@dragons2194) August 15, 2025 So the guy in The Bunker (Klein) who ruled that as ok, was the on-field referee last night who ruled that Leota took out Grant.#NRL #NRLWarriorsDragons — Aaron Eugol (@a_eugol) August 15, 2025 Warriors reclaim top-four spot in drama-filled victory The win for the Warriors saw them leapfrog Penrith into fourth on the ladder and reignite their hopes of securing a crucial top-four finish for the finals series, with three games to play. But the Dragons' slim finals hopes are all but over, despite a gutsy display that saw them jump out to a 10-0 lead after losing three players to concussion in the first half. The Dragons had to activate 18th man Tyrell Sloan after back-rowers Hamish Stewart and Jack De Belin clashed heads and were ruled out of the contest. Both players were ruled as category-one concussions after clashing heads trying to bring down Warriors enforcer James Fisher-Harris, before the Dragons lost a third player when interchange forward Hame Sele failed an HIA following a 29th-minute head knock. The injury-hit Warriors could have slumped to as low as seventh by the end of the round but instead, they extinguished the Dragons' slim finals hopes. Warriors coach Andrew Webster admitted it wasn't a pretty win but was delighted his side secured a crucial two competition points. "Far from perfect. That's pretty clear," Webster said. "But an amazing amount of effort and scramble and working hard for each other and finding a way. When you're not playing the best football, I don't think your first win (after a losing streak) is going to be a 20-point victory. It's going to be a win. That's what we come up with tonight." with AAP

Which Série A side faces the toughest run-in? 👀
Which Série A side faces the toughest run-in? 👀

Yahoo

time9 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Which Série A side faces the toughest run-in? 👀

More than half of the season has already passed for the clubs in the Brazilian Serie A. Two of them have already reached FIFTY games played. And they are among the four that are alive in THREE simultaneous competitions. Nine teams already have only the Brazilian Championship ahead - and only one is not close to the Z-4. See below how many games each one has already played and what's to come. Number of games played in 2025 🔢 Bahia - 54 Fluminense - 51 Corinthians, Flamengo and Palmeiras - 49 Vitória - 48 Botafogo - 46 Vasco, Fortaleza, Atlético and São Paulo - 44 Grêmio - 43 Internacional - 41 Sport - 40 Cruzeiro and Ceará - 39 Red Bull Bragantino - 38 Santos - 34 Mirassol - 30 Juventude - 28 📊 Classification of BR + disputed tournaments: 1st - Flamengo - 40 points in 18 games - Brazilian Championship and Libertadores 2nd - Cruzeiro - 37 points in 19 games - Brazilian Championship and Copa do Brasil 3rd - Palmeiras - 36 points in 17 games - Brazilian Championship and Libertadores 4th - Bahia - 30 points in 17 games - Brazilian Championship, Copa do Brasil and Copa do Nordeste 5th - Botafogo - 29 points in 17 games - Brazilian Championship, Libertadores and Copa do Brasil 6th - Mirassol - 28 points in 17 games - Brazilian Championship 7th - São Paulo - 28 points in 19 games - Brazilian Championship and Libertadores 8th - RB Bragantino - 27 points in 19 games - Brasileirão 9th - Fluminense - 24 points in 17 games - Brazilian Championship, Sul-Americana and Copa do Brasil 10th - Atlético-MG - 24 points in 17 games - Brazilian Championship, Sul-Americana and Copa do Brasil 11th - Internacional - 24 points in 18 games - Brazilian Championship and Libertadores 12th - Ceará - 22 points in 18 games - Brazilian Championship and Copa do Nordeste 13th - Corinthians - 22 points in 18 games - Brazilian Championship and Copa do Brasil 14th - Santos - 21 points in 18 games - Brazilian Championship 15th - Grêmio - 20 points in 18 games - Brazilian Championship 16th - Vitória - 18 points in 19 games - Brazilian Championship 17th - Vasco - 16 points in 17 games - Brazilian Championship and Copa do Brasil 18th - Fortaleza - 15 points in 18 games - Brazilian Championship and Libertadores 19th - Juventude - 11 points in 16 games - Brazilian Championship 20th - Sport - 9 points in 17 games - Brazilian Championship Teams with three competitions: Bahia - Brazilian Championship, Copa do Brasil (quarterfinals) and Copa do Nordeste (semifinals) Botafogo - Brazilian Championship, Libertadores (round of 16) and Copa do Brasil (quarterfinals) Fluminense - Brazilian Championship, Sul-Americana (round of 16) and Copa do Brasil (quarterfinals) Atlético - Brazilian Championship, Sul-Americana (round of 16) and Copa do Brasil (quarterfinals) Teams with two competitions: Flamengo - Brazilian Championship and Libertadores (round of 16) Palmeiras - Brazilian Championship and Libertadores (round of 16) Cruzeiro - Brazilian Championship and Copa do Brasil (quarterfinals) São Paulo - Brazilian Championship and Libertadores (round of 16) Internacional - Brazilian Championship and Libertadores (round of 16) Ceará - Brazilian Championship and Copa do Nordeste (semifinals) Corinthians - Brazilian Championship and Copa do Brasil (quarterfinals) Vasco - Brazilian Championship and Copa do Brasil (quarterfinals) Fortaleza - Brazilian Championship and Libertadores (round of 16) Teams with only the Brazilian Championship: Mirassol Red Bull Bragantino Santos Grêmio Vitória Juventude Sport Errata: Fortaleza had been placed as a team that only disputes the Brazilian Championship, but Leão is also in the round of 16 of the Libertadores. This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here. 📸 Pedro Vilela - 2025 Getty Images

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store