Northampton Saint is embracing a friendly rivalry with his headline-grabbing teammate when they take on the Pumas

It has been a long road for several of the players who went on the British & Irish Lions tour to Australia last year. They are putting on a professionally brave face, but for some the final weekend of the season cannot come soon enough. Factor in the travel, the training and associated other stresses and strains and the 2025-26 campaign has been relentless from a physical and a mental perspective.

Crunch the numbers before the last hurrah against Argentina on Saturday and it is a wonder many are still standing. Of the English Lions, Henry Pollock is about to participate in his 32nd competitive game while his Northampton teammate Tommy Freeman is poised to play his 29th. Ben Earl and Ellis Genge, assuming their involvement against the Pumas, will be in the same situation with Ollie Chessum one behind.

Emerging stars need a leg up from media and marketing teams to ensure they get the recognition they deserve

By any measure it is a remarkable achievement. While many have fantasised about how it might feel to score a try for the All Blacks, no one in history has now lived that dream more frequently than Will Jordan. At the weekend the New Zealand wing took his tally to 50 tries in only 56 appearances, overhauling Doug Howlett’s all-time national men’s record of 49 in 62 Tests.

Perhaps the biggest compliment to pay Jordan is how relatively easy he makes it all look. Where others blow hot and cold, the 28-year-old glides around like a smooth, top-of-the-range sports car. A devastating little surge of electric acceleration here, exquisite running lines, world-class anticipation, deceptive pace … by the time defenders finally work out what he is doing it is usually too late.

If Steve Borthwick is to emulate Thomas Tuchel he must fully embrace the attacking talent which tore Fiji apart

Next year Steve Borthwick would love to be where Thomas Tuchel is now. A World Cup semi‑final in prospect, an entire nation transfixed and a team with another gear in it. Swap Atlanta for Sydney and Jude Bellingham for Henry Pollock and the same essentials will be required: big-match players, smart man management and the absolute belief that decades of disappointment can be overcome.

Tuchel and his staff even paid a visit to their rugby counterparts in March, albeit in the week the latter lost against Italy in the Six Nations for the first time. Borthwick has long been interested in how England‑based coaches deal with the sheer weight of expectation and has spoken to a number of Premier League managers on the subject.

Plucky defeats decorated with patches of excellence will not cut it for Australia with a home World Cup now looming large

The camera found Joe Schmidt shortly after France had completed a 22-point swing. Australia’s coach had seen a 21-12 half-time lead obliterated in 16 brutal minutes. Schmidt, one of rugby’s sharpest minds, looked short of answers. The trouble was that the questions confronting him had obvious answers but almost impossible solutions.

Why had Australia’s discipline deteriorated? Because they were under pressure. Why had their tackle intensity and ruck speed fallen away? Because France had introduced fresh power from the bench. Why had the Wallabies gone from a nine-point half-time lead to a 13-point deficit in barely a quarter of an hour? Because one team had more large, skilful, Test-quality rugby players than the other.

• Fiji 8-73 England

• Scrum-half Simione Kuruvoli sent off before break

To say England needed to shine in sub-tropical Liverpool is the understatement of this protracted season. Had they slipped to a sixth straight Test defeat it would probably have been the end of Steve Borthwick’s tenure as head coach. Instead a one-sided romp, their first win since February, has given the management a little respite as they prepare to head to Argentina for the last leg of their continent-hopping summer itinerary.

In all honesty, though, Fiji were so disjointed and ill-disciplined for lengthy periods that the game resembled something close to a training run. A litany of botched offloads, silly penalties and back-pedalling mauls had long since allowed England to cruise away over the horizon even before Simione Kuruvoli was sent off just before half-time with his side already 35-3 behind.

• South Africa 42-28 Scotland

• Scots run in four tries to earn bonus point

A breathless match, all the more so given the thin air of Pretoria, but the upshot is, for all Scotland’s wit and energy, South Africa march on with another full house of points. The visitors were brilliant in scoring their four tries, their pace and skill regularly making mugs of their hosts, but power remains the thing the Springboks do better than anyone. At this altitude, it is very hard to stop.

They were unanswerable in the middle of each half, scoring five of their six tries around then, but Scotland scored two apiece in the second and fourth quarters. They were within sight of a losing bonus point with 10 minutes to go. They even looked as if they might score again. But Jesse Kriel’s late score meant they had to settle for one.

• Australia soundly beaten after leading at half-time in Brisbane

• Second-half blitz sees Les Bleus run out 42-26 winners

The Wallabies crashed to defeat to France in Brisbane to extend their losing streak to six – their worst losing run in a decade – and continue their winless start to the Nations Championship. As they had last week against Ireland, Australia squandered a half-time lead to be blown away by a scintillating France, leaving Joe Schmidt facing a terrible fade to black for his final Test next week as national coach.

Both teams were stinging from narrow losses last week and their desperation told in a frantic early tempo. Despite an early jackal and what appeared to be a 50-22 kick from Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, the referee scrubbed it all for a high tackle. France took the gift, kicking deep and rolling into Australia’s red zone before unleashing the 145kg Brisbane-born wrecking ball Emmanuel Meafou from point blank. France 7-0.

• Wallabies unable to defend 21-12 half-time lead

• France run in four tries in dominate second half

Australia in gold, France in blue, round two of the Nations Championship is under way…

Anthem time in Brisbane, which means an always welcome rendition of La Marseillaise. Advance Australia Fair pales by comparison, but the duration of the song allows plenty of close-ups of the Wallabies’ excellent First Nations jersey, worn to coincide with NAIDOC Week here in Australia.

• South Africa 45-21 England

• Springboks run in seven tries in one-sided contest

What a fabulous occasion this was, a thunderous way to kick off the new-look Nations Championship. Anyone stumbling across the sport for the first time would have been truly staggered by the commitment of both teams, not to mention the spine-tingling pre-match rendition of Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika. This was top-drawer sporting theatre in the spiritual home of South African rugby.

But when the smoke finally cleared on a cool, still Highveld evening there was a clear winner. Even though the world champion Springboks were missing a clutch of influential forwards they were still way too strong for gallant but outgunned opponents. From 17-0 down after just 12 minutes England showed huge resolve to battle their way back to 17-14 at half-time but, having been reduced to 13 men late on, the upstart visitors had been put firmly back in their place.

• Australia 31-33 Ireland in rugby international in Sydney

• Ireland hang on as Ben Donaldson misses last-gasp kick

After the Socceroos’ deflating loss to Egypt earlier in the day, Australian sport needed a shot in the arm. And the underdog Wallabies, who had lost seven of their past eight Tests, almost delivered it in style at Allianz Stadium in Sydney, going within a few centimetres of upsetting the world’s third-ranked side. Instead, despite scoring five tries with exhilarating attack, the Wallabies fell to a cruel 33-31 defeat to Ireland right at the death.

Ireland had not played a Test since March and Australia November, but both teams shucked off the rust quickly, trading a flurry of tries in the opening quarter. Australia drew first blood, snaffling a loose lineout and hammering the Ireland line before Carter Gordon speared a long ball to Jock Campbell who caught it on his boot laces and passed to flying Wiradjuri winger Dylan Pietsch who dived into the corner.

• New Zealand 34-32 France in rugby international in Christchurch

• Hosts begin new era under head coach Dave Rennie with a win

Cam Roigard and Will Jordan scored two tries each as New Zealand held on to edge an under-strength France 34-32 in a thriller in Christchurch on Saturday to open the inaugural Nations Championship.

It was the All Blacks’ first Test under their new coach, Dave Rennie, and he saw France run his team close despite fielding a lineup without any players from top clubs Toulouse and Montpellier.

• Fiji 24-39 Wales

• Wales score six tries to secure second straight Test win

A rare away win for Wales. In Cardiff maybe, but the “visitors” claimed a classic smash-and-grab victory against hosts who, at times, played as if they came from a different hemisphere indeed, possibly even planet. How Fiji found themselves level at the break, let alone 15 down come the end, defies analysis, but Jac Morgan is one answer or at least the aptest representative of it.

Back on Wales’s flank, having missed most of the season through injury, Morgan scored two tries in the first half, but his defensive work was heroic throughout. Boy, it had to be.

Live updates from Ellis Park, kick-off at 4.40pm BST
Australia 31-33 Ireland | NZ 34-32 France | Email Daniel

‘The final countdown’ blasts around Ellis Park.

Decent crowd in as James Doleman blows his whistle and we’re under way with Libbok kicking us off!

Six matches from Cardiff to Córdoba are bound to be intriguing – but player welfare is taking a back seat

Welcome to rugby’s latest controversial ruse. The next time World Rugby spouts that thing about player welfare being their No 1 priority, just say “Nations Championship” back at them. The next time the governing body goes on about the sanctity of the World Cup, do the same.

The Nations Championship begins this weekend, a coming together of six teams from the north against six from the “south” – well, five plus Japan (it’s just not working, is it).

The son of two vicars, the smart-cookie Saints forward is eager to front up to South Africa after a chat with their captain

The general view in South Africa is that England do not fully understand what they are up against. To be a Springbok is to represent the hopes and dreams of millions and feel a uniquely powerful force. Siya Kolisi must have been taken aback, consequently, to be approached after a Test at Twickenham by a young English opponent seeking to arrange a chat on the subject of racial unity.

The curious Englishman was the Northampton forward Alex Coles, a player far removed from the average rugby jock. The son of two Church of England vicars – his mum, Olivia, writes her sermons on a Friday so she can attend his Saturday matches – he is a similarly firm believer in having a purpose in life beyond the weekend result.

Springboks coach has named a starting XV with more than 900 caps for their first Nations Championship game against England

The Nations Championship does not start until Saturday, but for Rassie Erasmus the fun and games have already begun. Sometimes the simplest messages can be the most effective and Erasmus’s decision to kickstart the week with an early bang by naming a strong Springbok lineup to face England was another artful initiative by a head coach who loves to be one jump ahead.

Not only has the heavy thud of a properly stacked Bok team sheet instantly set the narrative for the week, it has left England to try to play catch‑up if they can. Virtually all South Africa’s heaviest hitters – Siya Kolisi, Pieter‑Steph du Toit and Malcolm Marx – will be there to roll out the welcome mat at Ellis Park, banishing any idle notion that Erasmus might tinker slightly for the opening fixture.

For better or worse, the inaugural edition of the inter-hemisphere tournament launches with even more long-haul flights in a drive to attract greater interest

Brave is one word for it. Let’s launch a must-see global rugby tournament in direct opposition to the football World Cup, Wimbledon, the Open and Formula One. Necessitating even more long-haul flights and an enlarged carbon footprint in an era of soaring jet-fuel prices and climate-change concerns. And with some of the world’s most box-office players unavailable. Right-ho.

Welcome, for better or worse, to the inaugural Nations Championship, which kicks off in Christchurch, Tokyo, Sydney, Cardiff, Johannesburg and Córdoba next weekend. Spot the odd ones out, by the way. Yes, contrary to the atlas, Cardiff and Tokyo are now southern hemisphere venues. For various reasons Fiji are “hosting” Wales beside the swaying palms of Tiger Bay while Japan, for the sake of numerical convenience, are in with the traditional southern powerhouses.

• Middle East war uncertainty leads to delay for £80m deal

• November leg of new rugby tournament could feature branding

Qatar Airways has put its £80m sponsorship of rugby union’s new Nations Championship on hold due to the fallout from the war in the Middle East.

The Guardian has learned that while the state-owned airline remains committed to the deal, contracts have not been signed, and the inaugural edition of the new competition will kick off next week without a title sponsor.

• Spectators will not know finalists but can ‘swap’ tickets

• Cheapest standard tickets for day of the final are £125

Top-end tickets for the inaugural Nations Championship final at Twickenham will cost £280 as part of a weekend billed as the “Glastonbury of Rugby”, the Guardian can reveal.

The climax of the new 12-team competition, which will be held every two years and replaces traditional tours, will be held at Twickenham at the end of November with two matches on Friday, two on Saturday and two on Sunday.