RUGBY WRAP: Boks vanquish Dragons; Ireland create history in NZ; Wallabies whacked and more!

Boks wrap up Wales series

A full-strength Springbok side honoured Eben Etzebeth on his 100^th Test match by producing an outstanding physical showing in the third game against Wales to win 30-14 at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday. Etzebeth, who was named Man of the Match on the day, was at the forefront of a dominant display by the hosts, who pounded their Celtic foes into submission to claim the series 2-1.

The Boks didn’t hold back in this one, and Wales, while typically resilient, were ultimately unable to live with intensity of the Bok pack. Still, they’ll leave the Republic with their heads held high, having made history as the first ever Dragons side to have won an international on SA shores. For the Boks, their attention will now turn to their back-to-back clashes with New Zealand in August as they look to reclaim the No 1 world ranking.

Ireland utterly outclass All Blacks  

Andy Farrell’s Ireland produced a mesmeric performance to claim a comprehensive 32-22 victory over New Zealand in Wellington on Saturday and an historic series win. The tourists, who now sit at the very summit of the World Rugby rankings, were phenomenal at Sky Stadium, with their innovative attacking game totally overwhelming the Kiwis. Ian Foster’s boys were completely one-dimensional with ball in hand, again relying on individual skill rather than a cohesive game plan to break down their opponents, while their lineout was messy and cost them dearly in the end.

The result means this Ireland team becomes just the third side in the history of Test rugby to win a three-match series in New Zealand, following on from the Phillip Nel’s Springboks of 1937 and the Wallabies of 1986. The great ’71 Lions won a four-match series there, while France beat the All Blacks twice in 1994.

England see off the Aussies; wins for Argentina, Chile

England defeated Australia 21-17 at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday to win their Test series 2-1. Eddie Jones was under fire heading Down Under, but the series result will ease the pressure on the 62-year-old amid the calls for his head by many British pundits. For the Wallabies, they’ll look to regroup fast ahead of their opening two Rugby Championship fixtures against Los Pumas.

Elsewhere, Scotland were thwarted 34-31 by Argentina in Santiago del Estero as the hosts took the series by another margin of 2-1. Chile shocked the USA in a famous 31-29 win in Denver to secure World Cup qualification for the first time.