Rugby Championship

A crucial Bledisloe Cup match at Marvel Stadium sees the All Blacks and Wallabies square off.

He is cut down and forced to hold on - New Zealand kick for touch. New Zealand’s maul leaves the station at speed and there is plenty of coal in the engine, Jake Gordon unintentionally knocking it off the tracks as he is rather buffeted backward by it. Jordan falls awkwardly over Marika Koroibete - a penalty coming, but New Zealand might just make the most of the advantage... The conversion extends New Zealand’s advantage. With three playmakers on the pitch there are options aplenty for the New Zealand attack. Mathieu Raynal penalises the New Zealand prop, but decides there is no more sanction needed with Lomax just about managing to ensure Fainga’a came down on his back. A third yellow for Australia! The All Blacks look to be making a mess of clearing their lines but switch into attacking mode in an instant, Jordie Barrett spotting Caleb Clarke all alone with chalk on his heels on the left. A much-needed Australia try! Beauden Barrett steps up into the line with Will Jordan in the sidecar, the replacement lifting a dainty little chip for Jordan to rush on to and take. The lineout goes awry! Australia will be back to 15 in about a minute.

Australia will host cross-Tasman neighbours New Zealand in a Round 5 Rugby Championship clash on Thursday, 15 September, 2022.

For the All Blacks, Caleb Clarke will be looking to become their first player of 2022 to score tries in three consecutive matches. Australia will host cross-Tasman neighbours New Zealand in a Round 5 Rugby Championship clash on Thursday, 15 September, 2022.

Like much of this year's Rugby Championship, at times it hasn't been that pretty, but it has been captivating and chaotic.

After heavy wins for New Zealand and South Africa in the last round - against Argentina and Australia respectively - the All Blacks sit atop the standings by a point. Yes, it has not been a vintage tournament in terms of standard, but what a turnaround that would be for Ian Foster and his coaching team, who were on the verge of sackings a month ago. Detailed team news will follow, but one selection that caught the eye was that of Bernard Foley at fly-half for Australia. After a weekend off, the Rugby Championship comes back with a bang. Australia fought back to all square on the scoreboard but then lost two players to the bin at the end of the half. Foley spills a bomb and the All Blacks ignite an attack. Penalty New Zealand at the scrum. Other than Ardie Savea - whom Sotutu replaces today due to paternity leave - New Zealand can lack explosiveness in the ball-carry. Imagine a back row of Frizzell (when fit), Savea at openside and Sotutu at No 8. There are too many Premiership matches on a Saturday afternoon, which means that no amateur or semi-pro player can go and watch their local professional team in person. The All Blacks attack from inside their own half and Ioane finds a half-gap and explodes through it. The depleted Wallabies try to scramble across but there are too many numbers out wide.

One game per URC round featuring an Italian club to air on the Eurosport pay-TV network with all fixtures carried on Discovery+.

“We are optimistic about the Italian market in the coming years particularly as we hope to see the ambitions of the clubs come to life on the pitch.” Martin Anayi, URC chief executive, added: “We have seen the attraction of the BKT United Rugby Championship in Italy over the past year and fans will have access to all 151 games via Discovery+ and Eurosport, who will be terrific partners as we help build the market in Italy and improve the positioning of rugby. “With so many national heroes of the Italian national team playing for Benetton and Zebre Parma it promises to be a spectacular season that will be experienced live in full on Discovery+ and Eurosport 2.”