It was a balmy evening at Donnybrook as Leinster took on Bath on Friday night. How civilized can you get, great small venue, mild weather and an entertaining game to watch. Bath came out on top, but then it was nearly their A team, while Leinster had a good mix of levels, just about no internationals, and right down to the academy. Their lineout was pretty awful, and their defense was pretty iffy, but there was so many unfamiliar combinations it's not surprising. Where they did look good was on attack, with Adam Byrne looking awesome, and Jamison Gibson Park could prove to be a smart smart signing, his passing is deadly accurate, and he's brilliant at picking our someone in space. Cian Healy looks really formidable, and great to see Josh Van Der Flier back.
In the Rugby Championship, there was a lot more graft from Australia, and some progress - they're getting smashed by a decreasing margin. The best thing you can say for them right now is that at least they have the All Blacks out the way, let's face it Argentina and South Africa aren't going to fare any better. But Australia aren't in a good place, they're not really shining anywhere, and continue to ship injuries at a serious rate. The All Blacks where just cruising, in control, and taking their points when they came.
Argentina came out on top in Salta, in a match littered with mistakes. The Pumas should have won this pretty easily, butchering a few try scoring opportunities, and letting a 10 point lead slip away twice. Both teams look good going forward, and fairly dodgy in defense, but Argentina value possession a lot more, and took just enough advantage of that to win. I thought MartÃn Landajo was brilliant for Argentina. No outstanding performances for the Boks, but Teboho Mohoje seemed intent on bringing back a head as a souvenir.
Argentina 26 - 24 South Africa
New Zealand 29 - 9 Australia
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