7 November 2026
The heavyweight contenders laid down an emphatic marker in the Nations Championship, unleashing clinical, high-scoring onslaughts. Representing the North, Ireland shrugged off an early scare to dismantle Argentina 42-12 in Dublin on Friday night. Meanwhile, the South's pacesetters, the Springboks, delivered a ruthless ten-try masterclass to annihilate Italy 66-07 in Turin on Saturday afternoon. Both camps clinically weaponised their set-piece dominance to secure crucial bonus-point wins, firmly establishing themselves as the standard-bearers for their respective hemispheres.
Italy 07-59 Springboks
The Springboks delivered a clinical first-half masterclass to overpower Italy 66-07 in Turin. Rassie Erasmus’s men produced a flawless opening 40 minutes, weaponising their set-piece and capitalising on Italian errors to cross the whitewash seven times. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu orchestrated the attack beautifully, opening the scoring with a 6th-minute penalty before slicing through the defense for a brilliant 40-metre solo try just four minutes later.
The world champions ruthlessly secured their four-try bonus point within the opening 23 minutes of the encounter. Morné van den Berg sniped from the base of a ruck for South Africa's second major, followed quickly by rolling-maul tries from hooker Malcolm Marx and captain Siya Kolisi. Damian Willemse and a second five-pointer from Marx capped off a zero-mistake first-half performance, sending the visitors into the tunnel with a commanding 45-0 lead.
Wholesale changes by the Springbok management at the 45-minute mark triggered an error-ridden second period, allowing Italy to fight back with a well-worked 65th-minute try by Federico Ruzza. However, tighthead prop Wilco Louw had already extended the lead by bulldozing over from close range earlier in the half. The Boks reasserted their physical dominance in the closing stages, with Paul de Villiers scoring off a driving maul and rookie Ethan Hooker crashing through multiple defenders off a powerful scrum to seal the 10-try rout.
Scorers:
Italy: Try: Federico Ruzza. Conversion: Tommaso Allan.
Springboks: Tries: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Morne van den Berg, Malcolm Marx (2), Siya Kolisi, Damian Willemse, Wilco Louw, Paul de Villiers, Ethan Hooker. Conversions: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (8). Penalty: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu
Ireland 42-12 Argentina
Ireland secured a comprehensive 42-12 bonus-point victory over Argentina at the Aviva Stadium on Friday night. The six-try performance moves Andy Farrell's side to 15 points at the summit of the Northern Hemisphere standings.
Despite conceding an early try to Pumas winger Mateo Carreras, the hosts quickly found their rhythm. Fullback Hugo Keenan spearheaded the response, scoring a clinical hat-trick to earn player-of-the-match honours. The Irish set-piece functioned exceptionally well, allowing the backline to play with speed and precision.
Hookers Dan Sheehan and Ronan Kelleher both crossed the line from powerful forward mauls. Flyhalf Sam Prendergast also scored during the dominant opening half, helping build a 21-5 lead at the interval. Argentina struggled to cope with the relentless pressure and were further hampered by discipline issues, including a yellow card for replacement Sam Illo.
Argentina found themselves completely outplayed in the second half as the Irish pack controlled territory and possession. Despite the heavy win, head coach Andy Farrell noted that Ireland missed an opportunity to be truly ruthless against a dangerous Pumas side.
Scorers:
Ireland: Tries: Hugo Keenan (3), Dan Sheehan, Sam Prendergast, Rónan Kelleher. Conversions: Prendergast (5), Ciaran Frawley.
Argentina: Tries: Matteo Carreras (2). Conversion: Tomás Albornoz.