‘Boks came through with flying colours’

Nick Mallett says a Bok win on Saturday was never in doubt, the only question was the margin against an All Blacks side that has shown it is no match for South Africa physically. betsport.cv

The former Springbok boss was speaking on the Talking Boks podcast after the Boks’ 43-28 victory in Baltimore secured the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series 3-1.

“The most dominant performance,” Mallet said. “They’ve done it this whole series; we’ve had periods of dominance but haven’t managed to take our opportunities.

“I was more comfortable in this game than in any other one I was watching. I felt that for the Boks, it was just a question of how much we were going to win by.

“We would’ve been happy with 3-1 at the beginning of the series. All the people who said 4-0, they’re dreaming.”

EX-ALL BLACKS: Boks a step ahead of everyone

Mallett noted that Rassie Erasmus had answered doubts about whether his senior players could hold up over four punishing weeks against the All Blacks.

“When you consider, unusually for Rassie, he kept the body of that squad together and only moved players in and out because of injuries or because of weather conditions … It was a group of 23 to 30 players that he didn’t move away from, which is unlike the Nations Championship selection.

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“We learned that the older players – which was a big question mark before this series, whether players in their mid-30s would be able to last – coming through four Tests against the All Blacks over four weekends is harder, in my opinion, than the last four games in a World Cup.

“The guys came through with flying colours. Pieter-Steph [du Toit] always plays his 50-odd minutes. Siya Kolisi was playing really well. The two centres [Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel], just the backbone of that defensive backline.

“Rassie’s been involved for 100 Test matches. He understands what is required to win Test matches, and he’s got a massive support base from not only the players but also from the country.”

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Mallett was careful to credit Dave Rennie’s progress in charge of the All Blacks, as he felt the Kiwi hadn’t yet grasped out-thinking the Boks tactically.

“Rennie’s come in, he’s had 13 games now, he’s lost three away from home. He’s still got a lot of time to bed down this All Black team, and he will have learned.

“[But] I don’t think you’re going to beat South Africa just by playing movement rugby. They’re going to have to front up physically, which I didn’t think they did.”

Photo: Michael Franken/Michael Franken Photography

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MADRID, Spain, September 13, 2026 – Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli won the Spanish Grand Prix after McLaren’s Lando Norris lost out because of the timing of a virtual safety car.

Norris was leading comfortably from pole position when the VSC was called on lap 15. The timing was terrible for the world champion – he had already passed the pit entry when the VSC was called.

That meant Antonelli and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen were able to pit under the VSC, saving time, while the caution period ended before Norris could make it around to the pits again.

He did then come in but, to make matters worse, the stop was slow and he rejoined in fifth place.

Norris was able to recover only to third around the new Madring track in Madrid where overtaking is next to impossible.

Antonelli’s eighth win in 14 races this year puts an even tighter stranglehold on the championship for the Italian.

He is now 81 points ahead of team-mate George Russell, who finished fifth after a difficult race on a confusing strategy, and 101 clear of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, who retired early on with brake failure.

“It’s good to win but it doesn’t feel as good because Lando deserved to win,” Antonelli said.

Norris said: “We’ll take it on the chin. There could be more wins this year.”

The key stories of the maiden Madring race were:

• Norris’ terrible luck with the VSC depriving him of a likely third victory this year after a brilliant pole on Saturday
• Antonelli’s fortune in a season that is surrendering to him, as well as him grabbing it by the throat with his performances
• The difficulty of overtaking on a new track designed from a clean sheet of paper, yet without obvious passing places

How the title race is developing

Norris knew that holding on to the lead would be tough from pole but he robustly defended from Antonelli into the first corner.

The Mercedes driver cut the chicanes at Turns One and Two, and again at Turns Five and Six, each time getting into the lead, each time having to give it back.

After that, Norris looked to be in control of the race as he extended his advantage progressively, moving 5.6 seconds clear 10 laps in, and 6.2 when Lance Stroll’s Aston Martin stopped at Turn 20 with brake failure.

The VSC was called, but Norris had already reached the pit straight, while Antonelli and Verstappen had not and could come in.

Norris came in the next time around, but the VSC ended a couple of corners before he reached the entry to the pits, allowing the cars still on track to get back up to racing speed – a stop under a safety car saves a driver about 10 seconds over one under green-flag conditions.

To make matters worse, McLaren’s mechanics had trouble with both the right-hand side wheels, and the stop took seven seconds rather than the usual two.

Norris came out in fifth place, 6.3secs behind Russell, and his hopes of winning were gone.

At the front, Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who had been running fourth before the VSC, stayed out, having started the race on hard tyres rather than the mediums chosen by Antonelli and Norris and the softs Verstappen had.

Leclerc stayed out, and led the race with Antonelli close behind but the gap fluctuated as the Mercedes driver managed his tyres.

Ferrari kept Leclerc out as long as possible, hoping for a second safety car to enable him to make his own cheap stop.

But one never came, and Leclerc had to pit eventually, on lap 48 with nine to go. He resumed in fourth behind Antonelli, Verstappen and Norris.

Norris had closed all his deficit to Verstappen by the final stages and was running right on the Dutchman’s tail in the closing laps, but was unable to pass.

The closest he came was with two laps to go as Verstappen stumbled over some lapped cars, but despite a mistake at Turn Five, the Dutchman was able to hold on.

Officials briefly looked at an incident with two laps to go when he cut a chicane while fighting to stay ahead of Norris, who complained Verstappen should give the place up. But no action was taken.

Overtaking proves to be almost impossible

Russell ended up a lonely fifth after starting on the hard tyres and then moving on to a strategy that saw him switch to medium tyres at the VSC, and then have to stop again for hards at about half distance.

He spent much of the race debating strategy with his team before being told to be quiet and they would debate it afterwards.

Red Bull’s Liam Lawson took sixth, ahead of Alpine’s Franco Colapinto and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, delayed by a front wing issue after colliding with Russell on the first lap.

Racing Bulls’ Arvid Lindblad took ninth place from Audi’s Nico Hulkenberg with two laps to go.

The drivers had warned that overtaking would be almost impossible, and so it proved.

The pressure that was already there to rethink the layout for next year and provide a longer straight and big braking zone to allow overtaking will be significant.

Rethinking the fractured and overly extensive breadth of the paddock and pits complex – which covers a vastly greater distance than anywhere else – would also be a good idea.

Top 10

1. Kimi Antonelli (Mercedes)

2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

3. Lando Norris (McLaren)

4. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

5. George Russell (Mercedes)

6. Liam Lawson (Red Bull)

7. Franco Colapinto (Alpine)

8. Oscar Piastri (Mclaren)

9. Arvid Lindblad (Racing Bulls)

10. Nico Hulkenberg (Audi)

What’s next?

Formula 1 says goodbye to Europe and heads to Azerbaijan for the first of a triple header, from 24-26 September. The race in Baku takes place on a Saturday to avoid a clash with an Azerbaijani national day on the Sunday.

The Griquas managed to right the wrongs and banish the ghosts of 2022 when they clinched a 23-16 Currie Cup final win over their fierce rivals, the Pumas, at Griqua Park in Kimberley on Saturday.

The victory clinched back-to-back titles for the Griquas, after they stunned the Lions in the final in Johannesburg last year, but this win is all the sweeter as they did it in front of their home fans, and gained some revenge for four years ago.

Back in 2022 the Griquas and Pumas finished third and fourth on the log respectively, but stunned the Bulls and Cheetahs in the semis to set up a blockbuster final in Kimberly, and despite being slight favourites the Griquas were upset 26-19 by the Pumas, who won their first and only title.

Better team

This time around the Griquas were clearly the better team, losing just one pool game, their first of the season against the Stormers, before winning everything else, and they deservedly lifted the trophy in front of their home fans.

“This is all I dreamt of. After 2022 this is all I wanted for Kimberley. A home final, in a stadium like this, to see the people come out and support us, this is all I dreamt of,” said an emotional Griquas coach Pieter Bergh after the match.

“This is amazing. They (the supporters) don’t always see what the players do in training, off the field, how hard they work and the sacrifices they make. They (the players) absolutely deserve this.

“We lost our first game of the Currie Cup against the Stormers and we came back, regrouped and the guys didn’t lose a game from there. So all credit to the players.

“We have had a lot of injuries over the season, but the guys bounced back, kept on going and believed that they could do it. The goal was to win it at home and I am just so happy.”

Proud captain

Griquas captain Albert Liebenberg was a proud man after the match, and praised how his team were able to lift their game after a successful campaign last year.

“It’s goosebump stuff. It was a great season for us. We pulled it through and the guys really performed. Going back-to-back was great. We wanted to go from good to great, which meant we had to keep winning. We wanted to win the final again and that is what we did,” explained Liebenberg.

Pumas captain Willie Engelbrecht was proud of his team’s efforts, after they fought their way into the final against all odds, and then pushed the Griquas to the brink before falling just short.

“It’s disappointing. Well done to the Griquas, they played well at the end. All credit to them. It was unlucky for us, but I am glad with how the season ended except for not winning the trophy,” said Englebrecht.

“I felt we had the game until about 65 minutes in. We lost our lineouts and in finals your set piece is crucial. Our defence was on point, but we were just lacking at the set piece.”

Battu 1-0 à l’aller en Algérie, le Horoya AC reçoit ce dimanche 13 septembre 2026 la JS Saoura au stade du 28-Septembre de Conakry, à partir de 16h00 GMT, pour le match retour du premier tour préliminaire de la Ligue des champions de la CAF. Devant leur public, les Rouge et Blanc de Matam doivent inverser la tendance pour poursuivre leur aventure continentale.

Le Horoya retrouve son terrain

Cette rencontre aura une dimension particulière pour le club guinéen. Après plusieurs années loin de son enceinte habituelle lors de ses matches africains, le Horoya retrouve enfin le stade du 28-Septembre et son public. La CAF a récemment accordé une homologation temporaire à cette enceinte, permettant au club de Matam d’y disputer cette rencontre retour.

Sur le terrain, le défi reste également important. Battu à Oran sur un but de Bentaleb à la 43e minute, le Horoya devra prendre l’initiative pour combler son retard.

Un but à rattraper

Les hommes de Nouhoum Diané connaissent la mission qui les attend : s’imposer pour renverser la situation. Une victoire par deux buts d’écart ou plus qualifierait directement le Horoya, tandis qu’un succès 1-0 remettrait les deux équipes à égalité et pourrait conduire à une prolongation.

L’entraîneur guinéen pourra compter sur l’appui de son public pour pousser ses joueurs. Après une première manche où le Horoya n’a pas réussi à concrétiser ses occasions, les Matamkas devront se montrer plus tranchants dans le dernier geste, tout en évitant de laisser des espaces à une équipe algérienne qui possède désormais un avantage précieux.

Une qualification en jeu

Cette rencontre représente une étape importante pour le Horoya, qui souhaite poursuivre son parcours en Ligue des champions. Le retour au stade du 28-Septembre offre également aux Rouge et Blanc l’occasion de retrouver leur public pour une soirée africaine à fort enjeu.

De son côté, la JS Saoura tentera de défendre son avantage obtenu à l’aller. Un match nul suffirait aux Algériens pour accéder au deuxième tour. Le Horoya devra donc imposer son rythme dès les premières minutes et profiter au maximum du soutien de ses supporters.

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CONAKRY- Ils l’ont fait. Après sa défaite 1-0 en Algérie au match Aller, le Horoya Horoya AC recevait ce dimanche 13 septembre à Conakry les Algériens de la JS Saoura en match retour du tour préliminaire de la Ligue des champions.

Et le champion de Guinée a assuré sa qualification après sa victoire acquise dans le temps additionnel (3-1). Yakhouba Gnagna Barry (penalty), Morlaye Sylla et Salif Coulibaly sont les trois buteurs du Horoya. Ce score qualifie directement les guinéens au deuxième tour, eux qui vont affronter les Soudanais d’Al Merreikh en octobre prochain pour tenter de se qualifier pour la phase de groupes.

Mohamed LAMINE TOURÉ

L’article Préliminaire Ligue des champions CAF : Horoya renverse JS Saoura à Conakry est apparu en premier sur Guineefoot.