Latest news with #TestWin
France 24
a day ago
- Sport
- France 24
Last-gasp Van Poortvliet try edges England to Argentina victory
Replacement Van Poortvliet, 24, crossed with less than two minutes to go as Steve Borthwick's tourists followed up last weekend's win in La Plata with another victory before they finish the season by facing the USA in Washington next Saturday. Centre Seb Atkinson and full-back Freddie Steward also crossed as fly-half George Ford kicked seven points for the visitors, who claimed their sixth straight Test win -- their best run in five years. "We found a way in the end," captain Ford told Sky Sports. "I like our fight, our togetherness, showing how much we care. "There was some great stuff, we should have scored more tries but the attitude of the group is great," the 32-year-old added. The Pumas led by three points at the interval thanks to tries from centre Lucio Cinti and winger Ignacio Mendy, but were unable to claim a first home success over England since 2009. They host Uruguay in Salta next Saturday before opening their Rugby Championship campaign against New Zealand on August 16. Argentina coach Felipe Contepomi handed flanker Pablo Matera his 111th appearance as the former skipper became the country's most-capped player, taking over from Agustin Creevy. England were forced into a late change as co-captain Jamie George withdrew from the game hours before kick-off after being called up to the British and Irish Lions squad. Theo Dan started at hooker instead of George with centre Luke Northmore set for his England debut, replacing the injured Henry Slade. Northmore started his international career in superb fashion, providing the assist for midfielder partner Atkinson to open the scoring after just four minutes. Ford, who was England's only captain with George watching from the stands, added the extras to make it 7-0, having set up the try with a delicate cross-kick. Despite England controlling the first half, Contepomi's side led 17-14 at the break as Cinti and Mendy crossed either side of Steward's effort. Ford, who played his 100th Test last weekend, brought the sides level 17-17 to set up a tense closing 25 minutes with the visitors on top. Argentina displayed ill-discipline throughout, and Matera was shown a yellow card with a quarter of the match to play before Van Poortvliet replaced Ben Spencer at half-back. Despite their dominance, England were finding it difficult to breach Argentina's defence with the first draw in 44 years between the sides looking likely.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Matt Sherratt wants Wales' win against Japan ‘to be the start of something'
Matt Sherratt hopes Wales' 31-22 victory over Japan can 'be the start of something' after they snapped an 18-match losing Test run. A hard-fought performance saw Kieran Hardy score two tries along with efforts from Josh Adams and Dan Edwards as Wales held off a second-half Japan comeback to clinch the win at the Noevir Stadium. It earned Wales their first Test win since beating Georgia at the 2023 World Cup. Sherratt took over as interim head coach following the departure of Warren Gatland during the Six Nations Championship in February and he hopes Saturday's win can help his successor start with a clean slate. 'A very passionate group of players and staff. There's some real talent as well,' Sherratt told a post-match press conference. 'Today is the end of a long season, but for Welsh rugby it's got to be the start of something. 'The next guy coming in – the big motivation for the group was to let whoever that is start on a level playing field without the burden of the 18 in a row around his neck. 'That was a big motivation for me coming in. The work's got to be done now with the national coaches in the regions, lets get into the regions and help develop a good young group of players.' Sherratt had overseen four of those 18 defeats coming into Saturday's contest and expressed his delight for Wales' players and staff to finally earn a win as emotions ran high at full-time. He added: 'For me, it's about the people. As I said before, I've genuinely never wanted to win a game of rugby so much. 'I'm not around it being win or loss. I'm more around I know what the group has put in – I've been around for four games, but I see what it means to them, what it means to the staff. 'I was so pleased for this group, there's not been a more deserving group that I've worked with, so it was pretty emotional. 'I had to get Gethin Jenkins to give me a slap around the face to get in check because as you'd seen, I could have easily embarrassed myself on TV.' Wales took a 21-10 lead into half-time thanks to efforts from Adams and Hardy, before Shuhei Takeuchi scored before the break. Edwards' penalty extended the visitors' advantage, but they suddenly found themselves in trouble when converted tries from Warner Dearns and Dylan Riley closed the gap to two points. However, Wales were able to see the game out after a brilliant piece of individual skill from Taine Plumtree saw him fire a reverse pass into Edwards and the fly-half dived over the line to wrap up the win. Reflecting on the game, skipper Dewi Lake added: 'I'm over the moon, it's been a long time coming. 'I look back at tough results we've had over the last 18 months, couple of one-pointers, couple of two-pointers. We were probably in the driving seat last week and let it slip. 'To dig in and get the job done today is an amazing feeling.'
