Stormers coach John Dobson was disappointed with his side’s second-half despite winning the South African Shield in their narrow 29-23 victory against the Sharks in Cape Town.

The win means that the Capetonians have completed a clean sweep against their South African counterparts this season and claim the Shield with three rounds of the regular season to play.

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Dobson’s men started well in front of an electric crowd of 30,000 odd fans, building a 26-6 lead at a point in the game.

Let the Sharks back in the game

However, the defending champions left the door open in the second period, and the Sharks obliged, bringing the game very close as the Stormers were reduced to 13 men after two yellow cards.

Dobson was frustrated with some aspects but praised the team’s character to get over the line at home.

“There were some disappointing elements in our game like that, but then the character of our team came through again (at the death),” he said.

“But with 13 players we looked comfortable in defence. It was a bit odd. In the end, I felt we were in control of the game. But jeepers, how many tries did we throw away in the second half?

“I thought we were going to give up the clean sweep and that would’ve been sad. I was very disappointed with our discipline in the second half, it was poor.”

Scrum domination

The Stormers pack was brilliant and dominated the Sharks, particularly in the scrum, something which delighted Dobson.

“The scrumming was superb and we have some big personnel coming back, but to have that dominance (in the game) today. I think we could’ve gotten some more reward from it,” he added.

“We’ve worked incredibly hard on the shape and depth of the group. Everyone here feels a sense of belonging, it doesn’t matter who they are.”

The Stormers have a two-week break whilst they gear up for a blockbuster URC clash against the league leaders, Leinster, in Dublin.

It will be first playing second as the Capetonians look to end the Dubliners’ 15-game win streak.

Bristol Bears easily produced their best performance of the season to stun title challengers Northampton Saints with an incredible 62-8 victory on Friday.

Pat Lam’s men were magnificent throughout and, despite a slow start, had the bonus-point wrapped up by the break.

Charles Piutau was in particularly outstanding form, and his two assists – for Harry Randall and Ioan Lloyd – enabled them to go 27-3 in front at the break.

Randall scored another while Harry Thacker also went over, leaving the Saints with plenty to do after the interval.

They ultimately had no answer as Bristol continued to dominate, with Lloyd completing his brace and Chris Vui also touching down.

George Hendy’s try did give Northampton some consolation, but the Bears did not relent, and George Kloska, Fitz Harding and Jake Heenan completed their biggest-ever Premiership triumph.

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Northampton were without a number of players due to injuries and England training commitments, but their capitulation was startling on a night that saw them outplayed in every key department on the way to a club-record Premiership loss.

But Bristol, despite suffering a run of eight league games without a win earlier this term, now find themselves chasing a play-off spot.

A five-game run-in begins at home to Harlequins next weekend and, with confidence levels soaring, a concerted semi-final push looks likely.

Saints were immediately on the front foot, with wing Tom Collins sparking a thrilling counter-attack that stretched Bristol’s defence before Smith opened Northampton’s account through an eighth-minute penalty.

Even though AJ MacGinty kicked an equalising three-pointer four minutes later, Bristol found themselves dominated in terms of territory and possession.

But just when they required a flash of inspiration, it arrived in the form of England international Randall, who sprinted over from 20 metres out after wrong-footing Saints’ defence.

Bristol thought they had scored again from the restart when number eight Magnus Bradbury sent Thacker clear, only for him to find the unmarked Siva Naulago with a forward pass.

Northampton were in reverse gear, though, and Bristol punished them again through a close-range Thacker try that MacGinty converted, opening up a 17-3 lead.

Bristol’s attacking game had found full throttle, which was underlined seven minutes before half-time when Northampton had no answer to the brilliance of full-back Piutau.

Piutau spun his way out of a tackle just inside Bristol’s half, then tormented Northampton defenders on a weaving run before kicking towards the corner, and Randall gathered a kind bounce to collect a second try.

Charles Piutau, that is INCREDIBLE! 🤯pic.twitter.com/htqKdms1qJ

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) March 3, 2023

Piutau was well and truly in the mood to cause havoc, and Bristol collected a bonus-point try following another destructive break that ended with a one-handed pass to Lloyd, whose strong finish made it 27-3 at the break.

Bristol had no intention of sitting on their sizeable lead, and Northampton’s defence was opened up again five minutes into the second period when Randall and Piutau combined to create a second try for Lloyd.

It was now nothing more than a damage-limitation exercise for Northampton, yet Vui’s opportunist try, converted by MacGinty, took Bristol past 40 points with almost 30 minutes remaining.

Hendy grabbed a Northampton consolation score, but Bristol continued to pick Saints off with ease as Kloska rounded off a concerted spell of pressure with try number seven, and then Harding and Heenan completed the rout.

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Your French Football news and talk show in English. LIVE on YouTube every Monday evening at 22:00 GMT/23:00 CET.

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The Journal du Dimanche reports today that PSG missed out on signing Naby Keita in 2016, despite sending a team of negotiators at the time to Austria to negotiate with the player’s club Red Bull Salzburg.

The 22-year-old will join Liverpool next summer for a record fee for the Premier League side, but the former Ligue 2 player, who was at Istres just three years ago, was made available by the French second division side for €500k to Bordeaux, Montpellier, Guingamp and Monaco, who all turned down the chance to sign the player.

Gérard Houllier, now Lyon adviser, was in charge of Red Bull’s transfers, and eventually facilitated Keita’s move to RB Salzburg for a total agreement of around €1.5m. Keita performed well in Austria, and PSG even sent a negotiating team in 2016 to try to sign the player, but were informed that Keita had already been promised to franchisee RB Leipzig for €15m, which was where the story ended.

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Wales head coach Warren Gatland has made six changes to his XV that will face Italy in a crucial Six Nations clash at the Stadio Olimpico.

Rhys Webb has been brought in at scrum-half ahead of a benched Tomos Williams, while Owen Williams continues in the number 10 jersey for the Rome match.

Rio Dyer and Josh Adams are picked on the wings with Liam Williams returning at full-back, with Louis Rees-Zammit in jersey 23 and Leigh Halfpenny injured.

Midfield is unchanged

Mason Grady, who won his first senior international cap against England at the Principality Stadium in Round Three, and Joe Hawkins continue in Wales’ midfield.

Up front, Wyn Jones returns at loosehead prop to join captain Ken Owens (hooker) and Tomas Francis (tighthead prop) in the front-row for Saturday’s fixture.

Exeter Chiefs’ Dafydd Jenkins makes his second start for Wales this week, partnering Adam Beard in the second-row, with Alun Wyn Jones left out of the 23.

The Wales forward pack is completed with a back-row of Jac Morgan at blindside flanker, Justin Tipuric at openside and Taulupe Faletau as the number eight.

Among the Wales replacements, Scott Baldwin, Gareth Thomas and Dillon Lewis provide the front-row cover. Rhys Davies, who made his senior Wales debut against Scotland at Murrayfield in Round Two of the Championship, and Tommy Reffell are the other forwards selected in the matchday 23 by head coach Gatland.

Joining Williams and Rees-Zammit as the backline options off the bench will be George North, with no specialist fly-half in reserve should injury hit at 10.

Gatland said: “We feel that having watched Italy and how they’ll tend to play from everywhere, including their own 22, getting guys on the ball is going to be pretty important.

“Rhys Webb gets an opportunity at nine having been training well. He’s been great in the squad, he brings that experience and a voice to that nine position.

“Liam Williams comes in at full-back. We did discuss whether we put Louis Rees-Zammit to full back and how that would have looked. But he still hasn’t played a lot of rugby in terms of coming back from a relatively long injury with his ankle and we just felt with the way the game’s going to be and the pace of the game that him coming off the bench and the impact he can have could be pretty important.

Disappointing start

“We’ve been disappointed with the results so far and for me it’s hard to take as it’s the first time I’ve lost three games in the Six Nations with Wales. We’ve had a lot of things going on off the field as well but there are no excuses.

“The message to the players has been that we have to be smart in terms of the way we play but we’ve also got to be brave and make sure that when the opportunities are on we shift the ball. We have to keep scanning and looking at options and if there’s a chance to move the ball then be brave and do that.”

Wales: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Josh Adams, 13 Mason Grady, 12 Joe Hawkins, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Owen Williams, 9 Rhys Webb, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Justin Tipuric, 6 Jac Morgan, 5 Dafydd Jenkins, 4 Adam Beard, 3 Tomas Francis, 2 Ken Owens (c), 1 Wyn Jones
Replacements: 16 Scott Baldwin, 17 Gareth Thomas, 18 Dillon Lewis, 19 Rhys Davies, 20 Tommy Reffell, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 George North, 23 Louis Rees-Zammit

Date: Saturday, March 11
Venue: Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Kick-off: 15:15 local (14:15 GMT)
Referee: Damon Murphy (Australia)
Assistant Referees: Karl Dickson (England), Chris Busby (Ireland)
TMO: Joy Neville (Ireland)

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Scotland full-back Stuart Hogg will make his 100th appearance for his country when they face Ireland in the Six Nations at Murrayfield on Sunday.

Hogg, who made his debut in 2012, has gone on to become their record try-scorer and is set to be the fourth Scotland men’s player to reach the landmark.

Head coach Gregor Townsend has made two changes to his side that lost to France, with Jonny Gray and Jack Dempsey being named in the starting XV.

Gray, who will enter Scotland’s top 10 most capped players in running out for his 76th Test game, joins his brother Richie in an experienced second-row with Grant Gilchrist unavailable through suspension following his red card against Les Bleus last time out.

First Six Nations start for Dempsey

Number eight Dempsey earns a first start of the Six Nations as part of a back-row reshuffle, with captain Jamie Ritchie moving to openside flanker and Matt Fagerson selected on the blindside. Hamish Watson has been moved to bench duty for this weekend.

Scotland’s front-row again comprises hooker George Turner, Pierre Schoeman and Zander Fagerson, the same trio who lined up against Wales and France in the previous Six Nations matches.

For a fourth straight game, the starting back division remains unchanged, with Hogg at full-back and Kyle Steyn and Duhan van der Merwe on the wings.

Sione Tuipulotu and Huw Jones – the 2023 Championship’s current leading try scorer – continue their centre partnership and will hope to shine again.

Elsewhere, the half-back combination of Ben White and Finn Russell is retained and Ireland will no doubt be paying close attention to the number 10.

Amongst the replacements, Scott Cummings is in line for his first involvement of this year’s Six Nations, with fellow forwards Fraser Brown, Simon Berghan, Jamie Bhatti and Watson also part of coach Townsend’s matchday squad for the Murrayfield fixture.

Triple Crown on the line on Sunday

Ali Price, Blair Kinghorn and Chris Harris complete the 23-player line-up as Scotland go in search of what would be a first Triple Crown win in 33 years.

The Scots are currently in second place on the standings on 10 points heading into Round Four, five points behind pace-setters Ireland, in a huge game.

Scotland: 15 Stuart Hogg, 14 Kyle Steyn, 13 Huw Jones, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Finn Russell, 9 Ben White, 8 Jack Dempsey, 7 Jamie Ritchie, 6 Matt Fagerson, 5 Jonny Gray, 4 Richie Gray, 3 Zander Fagerson, 2 George Turner, 1 Pierre Schoeman
Replacements: 16 Fraser Brown, 17 Jamie Bhatti, 18 Simon Berghan, 19 Scott Cummings, 20 Hamish Watson, 21 Ali Price, 22 Blair Kinghorn, 23 Chris Harris

Date: Sunday, March 12
Venue: BT Murrayfield
Kick-off: 15:00 GMT
Referee: Luke Pearce (England)
Assistant Referees: Wayne Barnes (England), Christophe Ridley (England)
TMO: Stuart Terheege (England)

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Speaking to L’Équipe, French central defender Aymeric Laporte turned up the heat on Didier Deschamps and France, threatening to accept a proposal to join the Spanish side as the international team he will represent.

“One plays at Chelsea, the other at PSG. I am at Bilbao, a club that is maybe not thought of highly enough in France. Here, being at this club does not stop certain others from making it to the national team… It is as if Marseille is superior to Athletic Bilbao. Each to their own. If it is worse, it is not worse by much.”

“If I am honest, I think that sometimes there have been injuries, changes and opportunities that have been given to others but not to me. A part of me is Spanish because I have loved there for 8 years. But if I do [choose the Spanish national team] it will be because of how much interest they are showing in me. More than France are.”

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Adam White is joined by Rich Allen, Peter Rutzler and special guest Julien Laurens for the 100th episode of the GFFN Show that has an explosive Le Classique to pour over, and much more.

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The Blues started their 2023 Super Rugby Pacific campaign with a convincing 60-20 victory over the Highlanders in Dunedin on Saturday, with Mark Telea starting the rout with a clinical finish.

Telea delivered an outstanding attacking performance and crossed the whitewash on two occasions, and he went over for the Auckland-based outfit’s first try as early as the 13th minute.

This, after running onto a pass from Ofa Tuungafasi and the All Blacks flyer, showed his class as he went past Folau Fakatava before finishing in the right-hand corner.

Mark Telea gets the Blues first for 2023 👏

↳ Highlanders v Blues, LIVE NOW. Every Match. Ad-free. Live & On Demand on the Home of Rugby, Stan Sport.#StanSportAU #SuperRugbyPacific #HIGvBLU pic.twitter.com/l7pQOnpHXc

— Stan Sport Rugby (@StanSportRugby) February 25, 2023

Beauden Barrett added the extras to give the Blues a 10-3 lead, after he had traded penalties with Sam Gilbert during the game’s early stages.

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Gilbert slotted another three-pointer off the kicking tee before the visitors took control of proceedings as they ran in three further tries – scored by Barrett, Caleb Clarke and Rieko Ioane – which were all converted by the Blues fly-half.

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That gave the visitors a 31-6 lead by the half-hour mark, but the Highlanders struck back with two converted five-pointers from Mitch Hunt and Josh Timu, which meant the Blues were up 31-20 at half-time.

The Blues continued to dominate after the interval and extended their lead in the 54th minute when Marcel Renata scored their fifth try before Dalton Papalii also got his name on the scoresheet with a five-pointer 10 minutes before full-time.

However, the visitors were not done yet as in the 73rd minute, Telea intercepted a wayward Highlanders pass close to the halfway line before racing away to score his second try and shortly before the end, Ioane also sealed his brace and a convincing victory in their Super Rugby Pacific opener.

Video credit: Super Rugby Pacific

World Rugby will hold the pool draws for future Rugby World Cups at a later date, closer to the kick-off of upcoming tournaments.

This comes after criticism that the draws were taking place far too early, with world rankings at the time of the draw playing a crucial role in the teams’ seedings.

Change in the World Rankings

The 2023 Rugby World Cup draw took place in December 2020, some 13 months after the 2019 tournament in Japan, almost a full three years before the tournament.

The rankings used to decide the 2023 World Cup pools meant that South Africa, New Zealand, England and Wales claimed band one seedings. The latter two have fallen out of the top four since with Wales now ranked 10th.

The set-up of the 2023 pools means that only two of Ireland, hosts France, New Zealand, defending champions South Africa and Scotland, can reach the semi-finals.

World Rugby will shake the pool draw up ahead of 2027, according to a report by the Mirror.

“World Rugby said it is able to make the change because of a new ‘hosting model’ that sees the international federation create collaborations with the host union,” the report read.

“The top of the men’s Test game has never been more competitive,” the spokesperson added. “There has never been so much movement over a two-year period.

“Bearing that in mind and noting the format of four pools of five teams, there is arguably no perfect time for a draw.”

The changes are set to be made ahead of the next World Cup in Australia.

How the 2023 Rugby World Cup draw worked

Due to COVID-19, the seedings for the 2023 Rugby World Cup, the RWC board decided that the World Rugby rankings as of 1 January 2020 would be used to determine the five bands.

That meant that no Test matches after the 2019 Rugby World Cup were accounted for before the next tournament draw.

12 of the 20 teams automatically qualified owing to a top-three place in their respective Rugby World Cup 2019 pools. They were: champions South Africa, England, Wales, New Zealand, Japan, France, Australia, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, Argentina and Fiji.

The bands as of 1 January 2020 were:

Band 1: South Africa, New Zealand, England, Wales
Band 2: Ireland, Australia, France, Japan
Band 3: Scotland, Argentina, Fiji, Italy
Band 4: Oceania 1, Europe 1, Americas 1, Asia / Pacific 1
Band 5: Africa 1, Europe 2, Americas 2, Final Qualifier Winner

The final pools are as follows (Qualifier winner = Portugal):

image credit: World Rugby

Had the draw taken place at the start of 2023, the top three bands would be:

Band 1: Ireland, France, New Zealand, South Africa
Band 2: England, Australia, Scotland, Argentina
Band 3: Wales, Japan, Italy, Fiji

READ MORE: All Blacks: Ian Foster confirms he will step down as head coach after World Cup

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