Here we go again.
Because the South Africa second string failed to wrap up the Rugby Championship title last weekend in Argentina, the first string has been summoned to finish the job on Saturday in Mbombela.
Despite losing 29-28 in Santiago del Estero, the Springboks remain formidable favorites to take their first title since 2019. What the Pumas need to do to win their first ever title is staggering: Win in South Africa for only the second time, score three tries more than the Boks, and deny the Boks a competition point.
Back in harness for the Springboks are the likes of Cheslin Kolbe, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Eben Etzebeth, captain Siya Kolisi, Damian de Allende, all of whom are two-time world champions ... and Manie Libbok.
Libbok, the mercurial flyhalf, could have won everything for the Springboks last Saturday. The replacement missed a relatively easy 79th-minute penalty kick. The Pumas' first win over the Springboks in six years set the stage for this final-round title decider in cosy Mbombela Stadium.
Of course, Libbok was publicly criticized, but not by the Springboks. Coach Rassie Erasmus reacted with 10 changes as expected, restocking the lineup with World Cup winners he rested while surprisingly choosing to start Libbok in a first-time halves pairing with Jaden Hendrikse.
Handre Pollard, the Springboks' second-highest point-scorer, was available to come off the bench to make any late goalkicks.
But the Springboks don't want to rely on another late goalkick, but pursue a dominant win to cap a championship they have led since day one, Aug. 10.
Erasmus believed Libbok's ability to kick off both feet, counterpunch and snipe made him the perfect playmaker for the game they want to play against the Pumas. For Libbok's sake, the coach said, the flyhalf needed to get back on the horse. It'll be a test of Libbok's fortitude. This isn't France, where he was somewhat cocooned from criticism during the Rugby World Cup. But he'll have the weight of a 43,000-strong home crowd on him.
“Manie has never lost a cup for us,” Erasmus said.
As for goalkicking, the Boks appear to have made options of Kolbe and Hendrikse, who briefly kicked for them in 2022 when Damian Willemse was the flyhalf.
The Springboks also want to honor Etzebeth, whose 128th test will eclipse Victor Matfield for their all-time caps record.
Etzebeth debuted in mid-2012 against England at age 20. Former Boks coach Nick Mallett praised Etzebeth for combining the qualities of Matfield and another great lock, Bakkies Botha.
“He has the physicality of a Bakkies Botha and the athleticism of a Victor Matfield,” Mallett told the Keo & Zels podcast. “His ability to get around the field, he's as fast as any loose forward, if not a back. His ability in the lineouts to put pressure on the opposition throws. His physicality at the breakdown. His ball carries. His longevity. He's done an absolutely immense job for South Africa.”
Argentina has also freshened its lineup with seven changes after the wear and tear of a priceless victory in Santiago del Estero.
Santiago Grondona and Juan Martin Gonzalez are the flankers — Pablo Matera is on the bench — Santiago Carreras starts at fullback for the first time, and sevens star Rodrigo Isgro is on the wing for his first test of the year.
The Pumas have proven they are mentally strong, and have the wherewithal to mess up reputations. They have beaten the Springboks, All Blacks and Wallabies for the first time in a single year. In 12 years they have never been this close to the title. Can they switch on mentally and physically again?
“We have to convince ourselves we can do it,” center Santiago Chocobares told ESPN. “Each player is convinced that they will be champions. We have a real chance to be champions of the Rugby Championship.”
AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
FILE - South Africa's Manie Libbok passes the ball during a training session in Domont, near Paris, Oct. 17, 2023. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock indexes are drifting around their records Friday as hopes hold that the economy can pull off the rare feat of getting painfully high inflation under control without a recession.
The S&P 500 was 0.2% higher in morning trading a day after setting an all-time high for the 42nd time this year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 316 points, or 0.8%, and on track to set its own record. The Nasdaq composite was basically flat, as of 10:45 a.m. Eastern time.
Treasury yields eased in the bond market after a report showed inflation slowed in August by a touch more than economists expected. It echoed similar numbers reported earlier in the month about inflation in August, but Friday’s report has resonance because it’s the measure of inflation that officials at the Federal Reserve prefer to use.
The Fed had long been keeping its main interest rate at a two-decade high in hopes of slowing the economy enough to stifle inflation. Now that inflation has eased substantially from its peak two summers ago, it’s begun cutting rates to ease the brakes off a slowing job market and prevent a recession.
If the Fed can pull off a perfect landing for the economy where it chokes off high inflation without suffocating the economy, all while lowering interest rates, it would be a form of nirvana for financial markets. And it’s a large reason why U.S. stocks have rallied to records.
Of course, that path is not certain. U.S. employers have slowed their hiring, and the inflation report on Friday also showed growth in U.S. consumer spending in August fell short of economists’ expectations. That’s important because consumer spending is the main engine of the economy.
Part of the shortfall may have been because incomes for Americans grew less in August than economists expected. As the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates, starting with its bigger-than-usual cut last week, Americans will see lower interest payments on their savings accounts and other similar investments.
The boost that lower interest rates can give through cheaper loans to buy homes, cars and things on credit cards, meanwhile, can take longer to come to fruition, “so consumption spending will likely get squeezed,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economist at Annex Wealth Management.
More encouraging data arrived later in the morning, when a report said sentiment among U.S. consumers is stronger than economists expected.
On Wall Street, Bristol Myers Squibb rose 2.6% after receiving U.S. federal approval for its new approach to treat schizophrenia in adults.
Costco Wholesale fell 1.6% after delivering weaker revenue in the latest quarter than analysts expected. That was even though its profit topped expectations.
Another company that depends on people spending money, ski-resort operator Vail Resorts, sank 4.4% after reporting a larger loss for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Scant snowfalls at its Australian resorts hurt its results, and it gave a forecast for profit in its upcoming fiscal year that fell short of forecasts.
Trump Media & Technology Group swung from an early loss to jump 8.2% following the first disclosure of a major investor selling its shares now that a restriction for insiders has lifted.
A Florida firm owned by former contestants on “The Apprentice” has dumped nearly all of its 5.5% ownership stake in TMTG, which owns former president Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform, according to a filing made with U.S. regulators on Thursday.
Trump has said he does not plan to sell any of his shares, and he owns more than half of the company, but the stock has been shaky amid speculation about whether he may.
Markets overseas again made big moves, as stocks in Shanghai rallied 2.9% to close their best week since 2008. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 3.6% to cap its best week since 1998.
They soared following a barrage of announcements through the week from China’s central bank and government in hopes of propping up the world’s second-largest economy. Investors aren’t convinced all the stimulus will ultimately succeed, but they say they’re impressed by the size of it all following earlier piecemeal efforts.
Besides Chinese stocks, prices for copper, stocks of some luxury retailers and other companies seen as benefiting from a stronger Chinese economy also rose over the week.
In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury eased to 3.77% from 3.80% late Thursday.
The two-year Treasury yield, which moves more closely with expectations for what the Fed will do with short-term interest rates, fell to 3.59% from 3.63%.
Traders are betting on a roughly coin flip's chance the Fed will cut the federal funds rate by another half of a percentage point at its next meeting in November, according to data from CME Group. It usually moves rates by just a quarter of a percentage point.
AP Writers Matt Ott and Zimo Zhong contributed.
The New York Stock Exchange, center, is shown on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)
FILE - The New York Stock Exchange, at rear, is shown on Sept. 24, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
FILE - People walk in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
FILE - A person looks at an electronic stock board showing Japan's stock prices, at a securities firm Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)
