Sports
Argy – Bargy meets BLACK WALL!

by Rajitha Ratwatte
The much anticipated ‘payback’ match for New Zealand’s All Blacks against the Argentinian Pumas had finally arrived. In one of the hottest days recorded in decades, in Newcastle Sydney, the Pumas fielded a different team to their last game, with over ten changes. Probably looking for fresh legs as this was their third international in three weeks. Joe Moody the All Black number one, loose head prop was playing his 50th game in the black jersey. Akira Ioane was back in the starting XV in the number six jersey.
The Pumas’ were mourning the death of their football legend Diego Maradona and the All Blacks made a wonderful gesture before they started their Haka, in honour of their opponents. Sam Cane the skipper walked up to the Argentinian team who were facing up to the haka and laid down a black jersey with the name Maradona and the no10 on it. A very impressive move by the All Blacks and very much in keeping with the standards and behaviour that New Zealanders expect from the All Blacks! A very suitable honour for El Pibe de Ora – The Golden Boy.
The first scrum happened in the second minute and it was the All Blacks who dominated. The resulting scrum penalty was around 45 meters out and rather surprisingly, Jodie Barret was given the ball to take a shot at goal. He missed!
In the ninth minute, the All Blacks playing under a penalty advantage, well inside Puma territory saw Beauden Barret chip kick over the defence and center Lennert-Brown knocked on when collecting the ball. Usually referees play a much longer advantage but, on this occasion, and few others as the game progressed, the advantage for All Blacks was forgotten and a defensive scrum awarded to the blue and white team.
In the 12th minute a great long pass by Ritchie Muanga to Dan Coles the hooker, who has a penchant for lurking on the wing, saw him go over and score far right. Muanga converted and the Kiwis were into a 7 – 0 lead.
Aaron Smith who had a pretty average game showed some good clear, incisive thinking on this occasion, as he spotted a gap behind the Argentine line and kicked ahead gaining a lot of territory. A very kickable penalty was awarded to the All Blacks right in front of the posts and the three points were a mere formality. 10 – 0 to the New Zealand All Blacks.
The ABs were starting to dominate both in loose play and in the set pieces, particularly the scrums. However, the Argentine defence seemed impregnable and the Kiwis may even have been accused of trying too hard. Aaron Smith didn’t see a couple of opportunities to run with the ball and possibly score from five meters out and kept passing to heavily marked team members.
There were a few “pedantic” high tackle penalties awarded to the Pumas and some rough play from Argentina duly overlooked by the ref. A penalty advantage for the Blacks was also terminated rather quickly, again, but they kept their cool and refused to succumb to the mental games. There were a few uncharacteristic handling errors by the Pumas, possibly due to the high humidity levels and a greasy ball. In the 38th minute a penalty was awarded to the NZ team after many phases of dominating forward play. It was around 25 meters out and mid right, should have been an easy kick for Muanga but he struck the left upright and missed! So, the All Blacks went into half time with a 10 – 0 lead after having 76% of the possession and 77% of the territory! A tribute to the Argentinian defence. The All Blacks also missed two penalties, was this to prove costly?
The second half started with two All Blacks players crashing into each other when trying to collect the kick off from Argentina. Scott Barret and Caleb Clark both went for the ball and Clark came up with it, from what looked like a nasty clash. However, Scotty Barret sprang to his feet, but it left the spectators wondering what was going on. Akira Ioane who the referee had pinged a few times for largely imaginary offences, (one wonders if the officials earmark certain players who have reputations to watch closely during the game!) ripped the ball away for a turnover, from the Pumas during a possibly dangerous phase of loose play.
This was further emphasis of the dominance that the All Blacks had in loose play and one of the main reasons for their victory.
The Argentinian skipper was caught offside from kickable range, but the All Blacks chose to go for territory. The Argentinian defence was rock solid and it finally took a back peel from a line out, in the 52nd minute of the game, with Aardie Savea who stood at number two even though he was wearing the number eight jersey, charging through the defence to score mid left. Muanga managed the balance two points and 17 – 0 to the New Zealanders.
Sam Cane the skipper and hard-working wing forward of the All Blacks was impeccable in attack and defence. It was a treat to watch and a real lesson for an aspiring young player. He ensured the dominance in loose play and at the breakdown. From the 55th minute onwards both teams started resorting to their bench players. A couple of remarkable changes that made an impact on the score line was Sam Whitelock going off for Patrick Tuapoletu in the second row and Caleb Clark being replaced by Will Jordan in the wing.
In retrospect it was rather obvious that these players, particularly Jordan had been sent on to look for attacking opportunities as it was essential to win this game with a bonus point to have a better chance of securing the silverware at the end of the tournament.
Sure enough Will Jordan picked up a wild pass to nowhere by the Pumas, scythed his way through the defence and scored under the posts in the 68th minute, 24 – 0 to the All Blacks. This in the view of all New Zealanders was more like it.
In the 69th minute Jordan again intercepted an Argentine pass and ran around 35 meters to score far left. The replay showed Jordan out of position for defence as the Pumas were attacking, he was looking for the intercept! Muanga was back in kicking form and slotted it brilliantly, 31 – 0, bonus point under control and a fine clinical and professional performance from the New Zealanders.
In the 80th minute, after the hooter had gone, Ricco Ioane went over the line, but the try was disallowed as Lomax was pinged by the TV referee for a foul and yellow carded. I wonder when he will serve his time in the sin bin? As the rugby season is over. Maybe by eating his Christmas dinner 10 minutes late!!
The Pumas could have ended the match at this stage, but they chose to continue in a desperate attempt to cross their opponents line at least once. There was a penalty awarded when Sam Cane was cleaned out in what could even be deemed as a spear tackle. Cane got up bleeding from a gash on his right eye and this was too much for some of his team mates who went for the Argies. The penalty was promptly reversed in the mindless interpretation of the rules which has begun to characterise and degrade this game we love. However, the All Blacks were having none of this and found enough in the engine room to set replacement number four Patrick Tuapoletu off on a 20-meter run to score mid right. Insult to Injury for the Pumas with the final score 38 – 0 to the All Blacks.
All in all, a very ‘satisfying’ (in the words of Sam Cane) assertion of the quality of All Black rugby. Full kudos for sending Will Jordan on with the brief he had and the ability to ‘pick up the plums’ (in the words of the Coach). Respect your opponents by all means but beat them convincingly by playing professional rugby football. That is what this great game is all about.
Sports
South Africa receive heroes’ welcome home

Everyone loves a winner, as was clear at Johannesburg’s Tambo International Airport where South Africa returned as World Test Champions on Wednesday morning.
The squad were received by the country’s sports minister, Gayton McKenzie, and swathes of people from across South African society. In attendance were groups of children from the KFC’s Mini Cricket programme – the largest grassroots development initiative in the country – students from some of the players’ former schools, such as Aiden Markram’s Pretoria Boys High School, and family members like Wiaan Mulder’s brother.
The players signed autographs, received flowers and hugs and strutted around in custom made “champions” t-shirts before making their way to Cricket South Africa’s offices in the north of the city where they were welcomed with a brass band and a red carpet. Almost 96 hours after their five-wicket triumph over Australia in the WTC final, the magnitude of what they have achieved is starting to sink in.
“It is quite overwhelming. We haven’t seen people like that at the airport before,” Temba Bavuma , South Africa’s captain said at a press conference afterwards. “As players, you don’t really realise what you’ve done but when you start to interact with people and see the emotion, it gives you a proper insight into what we’ve done. We are proud as a team but we are even more happy and proud that we’ve made our people proud. If you look at this team and the guys at the helm, we have done it the proper South African way. That’s unique to this group. We have embraced everything that it means to be South African.”
With a home grown coach in Shukri Conrad and a largely unheralded group of players, Bavuma’s words spoke to the way the South African team pulled together throughout the cycle and in the final. They had nine different Players of the Match in 2023-25 and 15 different players either scored a century or took a five-for in what has been hailed as a true team effort and a unified showing after years of underperformance. For Bavuma, it showed that there is always a way, not just for sportspeople but for everyone.
“What we’ve achieved speaks to all budding cricketers out there, and individuals within South Africa,” he said. “As a team, we’ve got a story. It hasn’t been a simple or easy one. We’ve come through a lot but we managed to get to where we are. So similarly for them (ordinary people) on their quest and journey, for what they want to achieve: as long as they keep having that passion and keep pushing they can also achieve what people think is unachievable.”
For 27 years, South Africa have been without an ICC trophy and in that time regularly slipped at the semi-final hurdle. The 1999 ODI World Cup, where South Africa tied the game but could not advance to the final because Australia finished higher on the Super Six points table, has long been a sore point but the 2015 and 2023 ODI World Cup semis and 2024 T20 World Cup final also stung. It’s because of those failures that the WTC win is magnified, as one of South Africa’s greatest sporting achievements. “This is huge for South African cricket,” Enoch Nkwe, Director of National Teams and High Performance said. “This is huge for South African cricket and the impact it will have for generations to come. We’ve taken a lot of punches but we’ve never bent our backs. We stayed strong.”
Nkwe, who was appointed in July 2022, put in place the coaching structure which included Conrad, who in turn appointed Bavuma as captain. Conrad will now also take over the white-ball sides until the end of the ODI World Cup in 2027. There is particular expectation around that tournament, not least because of the history documented above, but also because the event will be hosted in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. Bavuma is also South Africa’s ODI captain and has already spoken of his hope for the event to come.
“We want to carry on with the momentum we’ve gained,” he said. “We are quietly optimistic as to what can happen in the white-ball space. We see no reason as to why we can’t emulate what we’ve done here. We are more optimistic than anything. We had a little conversation about it. Shukri’s mind is always ticking. He lets you know that there’s always some sort of work you need to do.”
That tournament is more than two years away, in which time there will be an entire WTC cycle and a T20 World Cup. Eyes will be on South Africa for all of them, especially as their next Tests include matches in Pakistan and India and home series against England and Australia in 2026. They believe they’ve laid the foundation to be successful in these contests but no-one can begrudge them celebrating the first world title for a little bit longer, as Bavuma suggested they would.
“For now, it’s for us to embrace what we’ve done, to take it all in, understand what led us to this point and live in that moment for a little bit longer,” Bavuma said. “Then, I think the beauty of international cricket is that there’s always something else waiting. Once we get over our emotions, it will be what is the next thing? There’s the Zimbabwe tour, and the start of the new Test cycle. We will be setting our eyes on what we want to achieve over there. There is always something we are working towards. It’s a legacy we want to put together as a team. It’s not done now, but for now it’s for us to enjoy what the moment has brought us.”
South Africa will have several fan engagements in the next few days before a two-Test series against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo, which starts on June 28. The series is not part of the WTC.
Latest News
Nissanka leads SL’s strong start in response to Bangladesh’s 495

Sri Lanka took a shade under 15 minutes to wrap up the Bamgladesh innings on the third morning in Galle, and then made a brisk start in running down the visitors’ total of 495. Sri Lanka did that by keeping a run rate of touch under four.
Pathum Nissanka (46) and Dinesh Chandimal (22) had put on unbeaten stand of 53 by the lunch break, while the deficit had been trimmed down to 395. The only blip for the hosts was the loss of Lahiru Udara for a 34-ball 29, after he had chipped a leading edge back to Taijul Islam. The 31-year-old had impressed on his debut up until that point, scoring six boundaries in his brief stay.
Sri Lanka set the tone for their innings from the off, with neither pacer safe in the early exchanges. Both Hasan Mahmud and express Nahid Rana – his pace was consistently in the low to mid 140s – being punished for any errors in line and length. Udara’s drives on the up were a particular highlight, and he will be kicking himself at not making more of this opportunity.
Nissanka, who had taken a back seat during the early exchanges, became more proactive following Udara’s dismissal, though Bangladesh will feel like they gave a few too many loose deliveries.
For instance, Nissanka’s three boundaries off Taijul all came against ones that had been dropped shorter. It served as a pressure release valve, one Sri Lanka would have been grateful for with Taijul otherwise doing well in varying his pace on a surface that had begun to show starting signs of assistance for spin.
The six-foot off spinner Nayeem Hasan, meanwhile, was the most expensive of the bowlers going for 16 in his three overs, though his extra height – and the bounce he derived from that – had caused some issues to the batters.
Off just his third delivery he got one to spit back past Nissanka’s inside edge on to his back pad, and then later on had Chandimal edging a drive past slip. But chances like that were few and far between, as Sri Lanka’s batters had it mostly their own way.
Earlier in the day, Asitha had got Rana to glove a loose ball down leg side as Bangladesh’s innings was brought to a swift close. The visitors had added 11 runs to their overnight total. Asitha finished with innings best figures of 4 for 86.
Brief scores: Day 3 Lunch
Sri Lanka 100 for 1 (Pathum Nissanka 46*, Lahiru Udra 29, Dinesh Chandimal 22*, Taijul Islam 1-34) trail Bangladesh 495 in 153.4 overs (Monimul Haque 29, Mushfiqur Rahim 163, Najmul Hossain Shanto 148, Litton Das 90, Asitha Fernando 4-86, Milan Rathnayake 3-39, Tharindu Rathnayake 3-196) by 395 runs
[Cricinfo]
Sports
Sri Lanka strike back after tea in first Test

Mushfiqur Rahim and Najmul Hossain Shanto hammered authoritative centuries as Bangladesh piled on the runs in the first Test against Sri Lanka, finishing day two on a commanding 484 for nine, despite a few late breakthroughs by the hosts at the Galle International Stadium yesterday.
The tourists resumed on their overnight score of 292 for three and turned the screws on a wilting Sri Lankan attack on a docile surface tailor-made for batting, with their fourth-wicket pair grinding the bowlers into submission in a record stand.
Shanto, elegant and unflustered, reached a majestic 148 before falling against the run of play – deceived in the air and driving early, only to be spectacularly plucked out of thin air by Angelo Mathews diving full-stretch at mid-off. That dismissal broke a monumental 264-run partnership with Mushfiqur, a stand that turned the tide after Bangladesh had slumped to 45 for three in the opening session on Tuesday.
While Shanto drove fluently and pierced the infield with precision – his innings peppered with 15 boundaries and a six – Mushfiqur dropped anchor with a masterclass in attritional batting. Stonewalled for nearly nine hours, the veteran soaked up 350 balls for his 163, nudging and nurdling his way while keeping the scoreboard ticking and the bowlers gasping for breath.
His dismissal – adjudged leg-before to Asitha Fernando – was reviewed in vain, a marginal call that stayed with the on-field umpire. Asitha, who recovered after being down with viral fever just before the Test, was low on pace, but gave his best bowling his bouncers and yorkers with precision.
Wicketkeeper Litton Das added further gloss to the Bangladesh innings with a brisk 90 off 123 deliveries, cashing in on tired bowlers and some charitable fielding. He was particularly severe on the spinners, using his feet to good effect and lifting the ball cleanly over the infield.
But Das survived some anxious moments. On 14, Pathum Nissanka grassed a catch at short mid-wicket. Moments earlier, a mix-up left both batters stranded at the striker’s end – only for Sri Lanka to botch the run-out with the throw aimed at the wrong end and Kusal Mendis fumbling the take.
Das eventually perished attempting an audacious reverse sweep off debutant Tharindu Ratnayake, gloving it to Mendis behind the stumps.
With rain interrupting play shortly after lunch, only 61 overs were bowled on day two, as persistent drizzle forced an early tea and fading light ended proceedings prematurely. Play will resume 15 minutes early on Thursday to compensate for the lost time.
Rex Clementine in Galle
-
Features7 days ago
They came, they won, they returned to Jaffna isles
-
Features5 days ago
As I remember, from 50 years ago: the 75-80 Katubedda Engineering Batch
-
News7 days ago
ITAK candidate elected B’caloa Mayor as NPP seeks alliance with Pillayan
-
Opinion7 days ago
When life becomes more painful than death
-
Features5 days ago
Writing History on Paris Clay – French Open 2025
-
Life style5 days ago
Miss World from Thailand!
-
Features4 days ago
When the water rises: Climate change and the future of Yala’s Mugger Crocodiles
-
Editorial7 days ago
‘Abaran goes to prison’