Daily Digest: All Blacks stars return to face Springboks

Sport360 staff 10:02 13/09/2018
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  • Good morning!

    The Sport360 team are here bringing you our top stories on Thursday.

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    TOP STORY

    Steve Hansen has made 10 changes to the run-on side and five on the bench in a strong All Blacks combination looking to extend their unbeaten record in the fourth-round Rugby Championship match against the Springboks on Saturday (11.35 UAE time).

    Ryan Crotty, Sam Cane and Rieko Ioane all made the starting line-up after missing last week’s Test against Argentina because of injury.

    Meanwhile, David Pocock and Israel Folau were declared fit enough to be included in the starting line-up in a big boost for the Wallabies ahead of their clash with Argentina (14:00).

    Folau injured his ankle in the opening Bledisloe Cup match against New Zealand on August 18, while Pocock has been struggling with a neck issue after being targeted by the All Blacks in Auckland three weeks ago.

    While Folau returns, he will be on the wing with coach Michael Cheika opting to keep Dane Haylett-Petty in the No.15 jersey after two standout displays at fullback.

    Check out the All Blacks and Wallabies teams here.

    FOOTBALL

    The UEFA Nations League is officially up and running following the first set of matches during the September international break.

    With a competitive edge much more apparent than in international friendlies, there were a host of standout performances across the week, from Marco Asensio and Saul of Spain, to Danel Sinani, who was excellent for Luxembourg in their two wins.

    Read our team of the week and our good and bad performers from the opening two games.

    In other news, France’s World Cup winning captain Hugo Lloris avoided jail but received a 20-month driving ban and £50,000 fine for drink driving in central London.

    Elsewhere, Europe’s big five leagues spent a record $4.21 billion in the summer transfer window, according to a study published by FIFA.

    The total amount of money spent by the clubs in England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France was up 6.6. per cent on the $3.95bn spent in the same window last year.

    CRICKET

    Six weeks of high-quality Test cricket has come to an end with England claiming a 4-1 victory over India in the five-match series.

    With a magnificent English summer now coming to a close, we look at the biggest surprises from the series – both good and bad. 

    FEATURE OF THE DAY

    Our man Matt Monaghan analyses Luis Enrique’s promising early ‘evolution’ with Spain

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