England expect more niggle vs Australia, Ireland’s ‘chance of a lifetime’ vs All Blacks, Wales to ‘leave it all out there’, Scotland tour success rests on win | Rugby Union News

We hear from the England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland camps ahead of the weekend’s pivotal third Test deciders vs Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina, live on Sky Sports.

Jones, Cockerill: England expecting plenty more niggle in Wallabies clash | Hooper: Nothing to choose between the top sides

The Sydney Cricket Ground will host a rugby Test for the first time since 1986 when England visit on Saturday, live on Sky Sports, for their series-decider vs the Wallabies.

Two entertaining Tests played to date have proven narky and niggly affairs.

England lock Jonny Hill instigated a running feud with opposite number Darcy Swain in the series opener, eventually inducing – after a shove to the face and hairpulling – a headbutt from the rookie Australia lock that resulted in a red card.

A week later Ellis Genge roughed up Australia scrum-half Nic White on the floor and triumphantly shoved Michael Hooper in the chest after England had scored a try. White publicly expressed his upset by Genge’s actions afterwards, adding he was surprised by England’s baiting tactics.

England head coach Eddie Jones and forwards coach Richard Cockerill both hit back at the claims this week, and fully envisage more of the same.

“I hardly think he’s [White] entitled to make that comment. He’s the biggest niggler of all time, isn’t he?” Jones said.

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England head coach Eddie Jones says the players’ mindset will be the key factor in their series Test decider with Australia on Saturday

“That does make me laugh – the boy who niggles everyone, complaining about niggle. That’s a bit like the pot calling the kettle black.”

Cockerill added: “I didn’t see one of our blokes getting sent off for a headbutt.

“I keep hearing about the niggle that England have brought. I don’t know how Aussie rugby is but I don’t see that as niggle. It’s been pretty tame so far.

“So we just have to get on our with our game with a good set piece, tackle hard, clean rucks, be as physical and abrasive as we can, within the laws of the game. I don’t think it has been a particularly dirty series so far at all.

“You want rivalry don’t you? You want spikiness to games. The first 15-20 minutes on Saturday…let’s bring it on because that’s what it’s all about.

“We have got two teams who are playing for the Test series so we are both going to be going at it.”

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Highlights of the second Test between Australia and England, in Brisbane

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Danny Care will start in the series decider against Australia and was surprised when told by England coach Eddie Jones

England’s pack overwhelmed the hosts for the first half hour in Brisbane in a powerful opening that laid the foundations for their series-levelling 25-17 victory.

Cockerill will demand one final push in the climax to the season, insisting England’s success in outmuscling the Wallabies for a second successive match will be decided by their attitude.

“Mentally we’re in a really good spot and if the brain is willing the body will follow. We’ve got no qualms that we’ll be able to bring the same physicality – and more,” Cockerill said.

“I expect Australia to come hard physically at us. They lost the physical battle early in the game last weekend and they’ll want to put that right.

“They’ll have a reaction because in that first 30 minutes or so we beat them physically. So they’re going to come with more physicality – well no surprise so are we.

“We’ve got physicality in different ways all over the field. We’ll bring it as a collective. The sum of our parts is going to be our strength.

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England captain Courtney Lawes looks ahead to the third and deciding Test against Australia and says the squad has strength in depth to cover the loss of Maro Itoje and Sam Underhill

“It’s all on the line. We lost the first Test and everyone wrote us off and we were under pressure.

“Under pressure English teams come back really well and the boys were unbelievably good in Brisbane – a place where Australia don’t lose unless they are playing England. We are looking forward to it.”

Wallabies captain Quade Hooper said this week he believes the gap between the leading rugby nations is now paper-thin.

“It’s definitely been the story over the last few years, there are no easy games,” he said on Friday.

“Every game, it is super competitive, it’s going down to the wire. I think it’s great for rugby, great for the fans. I know in our series, it’s been two great tussles and I expect tomorrow to be no different.”

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Eddie Jones explains the three changes to his line-up in the series decider against Australia

England: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Guy Porter, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Tommy Freeman, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Danny Care; 1 Ellis Genge, 2 Jamie George, 3 Will Stuart, 4 Ollie Chessum 5 Jonny Hill, 6 Courtney Lawes (c), 7 Lewis Ludlam, 8 Billy Vunipola.

Replacements: 16 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Nick Isiekwe, 20 Jack Willis, 21 Jack van Poortvliet, 22 Will Joseph, 23 Henry Arundell.

Australia: 15 Reece Hodge, 14 Tom Wright, 13 Hunter Paisami, 12 Samu Kerevi, 11 Marika Koroibete, 10 Noah Lolesio, 9 Nic White; 1 James Slipper 2 David Porecki, 3 Taniela Tupou 4 Nick Frost, 5 Matt Philip, 6 Harry Wilson, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 8 Rob Valetini.

Replacements: 16 Folau Faingaa, 17 Angus Bell, 18 Allan Alaalatoa, 19 Rob Leota, 20 Pete Samu, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Len Ikitau, 23 Suliasi Vunivalu.

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Ahead of the four series deciders on Saturday, we take a look back at the best tries from the summer international tours so far

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Ireland, England, Wales and Scotland’s Summer Tour series will be all be decided in the final games – and you can watch all the drama unfold live on Sky Sports

Farrell: Chance of a lifetime for Ireland; Lowe: An amazing opportunity we probably will never get again

Ireland, a week on from creating history with a first victory over the All Blacks in New Zealand, now look to hand New Zealand straight home losses for the first time in 24 years, and with it claim an unprecedented series victory.

The All Blacks are known for their backlash in response to defeats, but Andy Farrell says he holds no qualms over the challenge that awaits his players, instead choosing to focus on what he terms the “chance of a lifetime”.

“We are making sure that everyone realises this is it,” Farrell said. “This is the game that we all want. We want this, I have to emphasise that.

“To have them in the last game before we break for the season, for them to be fired up, wanting to prove a point to them and to us, it really does not get any better.

“It’s the chance of a lifetime, a massive occasion that we want to be able to deal with.

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Highlights of the second Test between New Zealand and Ireland, in Dunedin

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Ireland head coach Andy Farrell describes his side’s second Test victory over the All Blacks as special and courageous

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Andrew Porter expresses his pride after Ireland’s historic victory over New Zealand but says the task is now to win the Third Test and clinch the series

“It doesn’t get any tougher than this. New Zealand are at their best after a defeat. It’s where we want to be, the series on the line. It’s exactly where we want to be.”

Native New Zealander James Lowe admits he never envisaged returning for a shot at tour success over the All Blacks when he left his homeland for Ireland.

Wing Lowe, who previously represented the Maori All Blacks, switched international allegiance under residency rules in 2020, three years after joining Leinster from Hamilton-based club the Chiefs.

The 30-year-old is part of an Irish squad on the verge of making history against the Kiwis going into Saturday’s decisive Test in Wellington.

Lowe, who was among the try scorers when the All Blacks were defeated 29-20 in Dublin last November, has been selected to start all three Tests and is eager to once again “knock over” the All Blacks.

“I don’t think you would be able to script that, for sure,” Lowe said of his career path.

“It was always a dream to play international rugby. To be given the opportunity in Ireland has been amazing and then to tour in New Zealand with the potential of a game-three decider, it’s an amazing opportunity and something that we’ll probably never get again.

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Highlights of the Summer International between the Maori All Blacks and Ireland, in Wellington

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Ireland captain Keith Earls says his team have learned from past mistakes and got the job done against the Maori All Blacks

“You don’t get to come to New Zealand very often, you don’t get to knock over New Zealand very often either, so if we can go into the summer having beaten New Zealand twice in a row then that’s huge.

“If you could tell us that at the start of the tour, we would have bitten your hand off for it.

“What needs to improve? Everything really – our shape in attack, our speed to get set, our defence, our kicking game needs to be on the money again.

“We need to put them under as much pressure as we can. Kick pressure, high ball, ruck, back entry into the ruck, they’re all the things that go a long way to winning a rugby game.

“Obviously we created a bit of history last week but there’s also that feeling that the job’s not done so hopefully tomorrow we can put out a performance we’re proud of and walk off heads held high.

“Tomorrow’s going to be hugely exciting and I can’t wait for it.”

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Johnny Sexton was delighted with his side’s performance after they beat New Zealand in the Second Test

All Blacks head coach Ian Foster is a man under pressure ahead of Saturday’s decisive Test in Wellington.

Indeed, some Kiwi press are already calling for the head coach to be removed. A hugely unexpected series loss to Ireland would put him in a near-untenable position.

“Individually you go through the same emotions as the team,” Foster said this week.

“When we don’t win there’s a lot of internal reflection on what we’re doing, then you get into gear and start nailing the next week. That’s where I’m at. I can’t wait to play Ireland in Wellington.

“Everyone else is learning this is a high-quality team we’re playing against. This is a great examination for us. We’ve got to show we’re smart and learning as well.”

Ireland: 15 Hugo Keenan, 14 Mack Hansen, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Bundee Aki, 11 James Lowe, 10 Johnny Sexton (c), 9 Jamison Gibson Park; 1 Andrew Porter, 2 Dan Sheehan, 3 Tadhg Furlong, 4 Tadhg Beirne, 5 James Ryan, 6 Peter O’Mahony, 7 Josh van der Flier, 8 Caelan Doris.

Replacements: 16 Rob Herring, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Finlay Bealham, 19 Kieran Treadwell, 20 Jack Conan, 21 Conor Murray, 22 Joey Carbery, 23 Keith Earls.

New Zealand: 15 Jordie Barrett, 14 Will Jordan, 13 Rieko Ioane, 12 David Havili, 11 Sevu Reece, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Aaron Smith, 1 George Bower, 2 Codie Taylor, 3 Nepo Laulala, 4 Brodie Retallick, 5 Samuel Whitelock, 6 Scott Barrett, 7 Sam Cane (c), 8 Ardie Savea

Replacements: 16 Dane Coles, 17 Aidan Ross, 18 Ofa Tu’ungafasi, 19 Akira Ioane, 20 Dalton Papalii, 21 Folau Fakatava, 22 Richie Mo’unga, 23 Roger Tuivasa-Sheck

Biggar: Wales must leave it all out there; Pivac: Series win would mean the world | Kitshoff: Springboks must have set-piece dominance

Wales skipper Dan Biggar shrugged off a shoulder injury to start for Wales in their series-decider vs the Springboks in Cape Town.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to win a series here, which if I said this four or five weeks ago, before we flew out, I’d probably have been laughed out of town,” Biggar said.

“So it’s definitely not one to miss. We’re really looking forward to it as a group, we’ve put a huge amount into this tour in terms of the training we’ve done, the amount of sacrifices we’ve made, and we’ve worked our absolute socks off. So it’d be brilliant to get full reward at the end of Saturday.

“We know this is our last week of the season, so we can go out and give absolutely everything, leave it all out there.

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Highlights of the second Test between South Africa and Wales in Bloemfontein

“I managed to get through training this morning, which was the last little hurdle.

“I have been managed well all week and the medics have been brilliant. I feel pretty good and confident in taking to the field on Saturday.

“There has been a lot of time spent in the physio room, a lot of time recovering, and I think just taking a couple of days to switch off from a tough game and enjoying time to relax, physically and mentally.”

Head coach Wayne Pivac has led a Wales side which lost four games in an abysmal 2022 Six Nations showing into two games vs South Africa where they have gone toe-to-toe with the Boks.

A last-gasp defeat in the first Test was followed by late victory in the second, and now Pivac and co have sights set on what would be a remarkable series victory.

“It (series win) would mean the world to the team. They have worked very hard to get into this position,” Pivac said.

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Wales head coach Wayne Pivac says his squad is in a great position to win the series against South Africa on Saturday

“For us, it is about getting it right mentally now. It is a massive Test match, we know that, but to be in the race is very pleasing.

“I think there will be pressure on the home team, there is no doubt about that, because going in they were red-hot favourites, weren’t they?

“To take it to the last game, I think that adds a little bit of spice and a little bit of pressure.

“It is going to be a fair old challenge for us, but one that I think all the soreness and the tiredness of the tour goes out of the window when you get that adrenaline and kick-off comes.

“If we can stay in it and be there at the end, our fitness levels are good, we have got a lot to play for and we would fancy ourselves in the closing stages if the game is tight.

“Nothing has changed in terms of the Springboks having a very powerful scrum, a very good driven lineout, so for us what has to happen is that we have to have a disciplined display, making sure we don’t give away the silly penalties we did in the first Test.

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Wales head coach Wayne Pivac hopes his team will be able to repeat today’s win against South Africa next week and capture an historic series win

“Yellow cards have plagued us (Wales had five across the first two Tests), and we want to make sure we can tighten that up.”

From a Boks perspective, loosehead prop Steven Kitshoff is under no illusions how important victory on Saturday is, saying the hosts absolutely had to dominant at scrum and lineout.

“We have to get dominance in the set-pieces, so we have to be solid in the scrums, lineouts and mauls, and hopefully this will create space for guys like Cheslin (Kolbe) and the backs to get opportunities out wide,” Kitshoff said.

“We have put in the same preparation this week and we now have to ensure that we perform. We understand as a team how important it is to beat Wales.”

Wales: 15 Liam Williams, 14 Louis Rees-Zammit, 13 George North, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Josh Adams, 10 Dan Biggar (c), 9 Kieran Hardy; 1 Gareth Thomas, 2 Ryan Elias, 3 Dillon Lewis, 4 Will Rowlands, 5 Adam Beard, 6 Dan Lydiate, 7 Tommy Reffell, 8 Taulupe Faletau

Replacements: 16 Dewi Lake, 17 Wyn Jones, 18 Sam Wainwright, 19 Alun Wyn Jones, 20 Josh Navidi, 21 Tomos Williams, 22 Gareth Anscombe, 23 Owen Watkin.

South Africa: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Jaden Hendrikse; 1 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 3 Frans Malherbe, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 5 Lood de Jager, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 8 Jasper Wiese/

Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Elrigh Louw, 22 Faf de Klerk, 23 Willie le Roux.

Townsend: Scotland tour success ‘probably’ rests on third-Test and series victory vs Pumas

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend has admitted the success of their tour in Argentina will “probably” be defined by the outcome of Saturday’s series-decider while stressing there had already been major benefits.

“There’s a lot of success on how we have seen players develop, players who got that opportunity against Chile, players who have had opportunities in the last two weeks and who are going to have opportunities this weekend,” he said.

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Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend says a Test series win against Argentina would be a huge achievement for his team

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Scotland’s Rory Darge says there is more to tome from the side as they look to clinch the test series against Argentina and adds that to win the series would be a career highlight

“From how well they have learned and trained during this period.

“The success off the field, this group coming together, leaders emerging. Hamish (Watson) has gone from someone who hadn’t been in a leadership group before to vice-captain and now captain.

“But ultimately we are here to win games and finding a way to win is what we are tasked with doing this week and during the 80 minutes.”

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Highlights of the second Test between Argentina and Scotland in Salta

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Hamish Watson says playing for Scotland is the biggest ‘honour’ as he marked his 50th appearance with a try in a dominant performance over Argentina

Scotland: 15 Ollie Smith, 14 Rufus McLean, 13 Mark Bennett, 12 Sione Tuipulotu, 11 Duhan van der Merwe, 10 Blair Kinghorn, 9 Ali Price; 1 Rory Sutherland, 2 Ewan Ashman, 3 Zander Fagerson, 4 Scott Cummings, 5 Jonny Gray, 6 Rory Darge, 7 Hamish Watson (c), 8 Matt Fagerson.

Replacements: 16 Dave Cherry, 17 Pierre Schoeman, 18 Javan Sebastian, 19 Glen Young, 20 Andy Christie, 21 George Horne, 22 Ross Thompson, 23 Sam Johnson.

Argentina: 15 Juan Cruz Mallía, 14 Bautista Delguy, 13 Matías Orlando, 12 Matías Moroni, 11 Emiliano Boffelli, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Lautaro Bazán Vélez; 1 Thomas Gallo, 2 Agustín Creevy, 3 Joel Sclavi, 4 Guido Petti, 5 Tomás Lavanini, 6 Pablo Matera (c), 7 Santiago Grondona, 8 Facundo Isa.

Replacements: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 18 Francisco Gómez Kodela,19 Marcos Kremer, 20 Juan Martín González Samso, 21 Gonzalo Bertranou, 22 Tomás Albornoz, 23 Lucio Cinti.

How to follow Summer Tour deciders on Sky Sports

Watch all of the action from the Summer Tours on Saturday, with coverage live on Sky Sports Action from 7.30am.