Springbok win, but… Hele leads Springbok women to historic World Cup win, Los Pumas sink All Blacks

Kooks, Shaun and Thala break down Week 2 of the Rugby Championship and the first weekend of the women’s Rugby World Cup.

We go long on the Springbok men’s 30-22 victory over Australia, a win that left us with more questions than answers. While Handré Pollard brought his trustworthy kicking and Cheslin Kolbe was excellent in the air - the boys debate what should the team’s approach be going forward, why does this team remind Kooks of the 2017 All Blacks and who should play against the All Blacks in Eden Park next week. Looking at the Wallabies, Shaun thinks they’re in the perfect place to build a strong team from here after another impressive performance in South Africa, we discuss Will Skelton’s shithousery and excellence from Rob Valetini and Corey Toole.

We then move to Buenos Aires where Argentina defeated New Zealand in Argentina for the first time. Pablo Matera and Santi Chocobares especially impressed as Argentina dominated the game and probably should’ve scored more points. Kooks and Thala wonder what’s happened to the All Black backline factory and wonder about some of the problems Razor Robertson needs to solve before the Boks come to town.

Finally we review the opening weekend of the Rugby World Cup where the Springbok Women beat Brazil 66-6 for their first World Cup win since 2010. We discuss the destructive carrying of Aseza Hele and Nadine Roos’ transformation at scrumhalf and whether they have what it takes to beat Italy next week. We go crazy about Ellie Kildunne’s performance against the USA, Fran McGhie’s hat trick against Wales and review the other results from the weekend.