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The All Blacks were proud to front up every Test, so it was a matter of what their mindset would be, as a group, and what their motivation would be.

Robertson said, “That’s our challenge.

“The second Test was for the Dave Gallaher Trophy and our narrative for the third one will be to keep performing at the highest level and show how much we care about our jersey.”

Robertson said the side’s second-half performance would be an area of focus during the week’s preparation.

“We’ve played some great footy, and a couple of errors put a little bit of pressure back on us. We’re still creating, but we weren’t quite finishing in that second half, so we’re aware of it.

“We’re excited about what we’re creating but we can be a little more classy in our finishing.”

With Tupou Vaa’i having to go through HIA protocols, which will see him miss the Hamilton game, Samipeni Finau shapes as a prospective replacement for him. They have also called in some local players to assist.

But the team would be announced on Thursday, and fans and media would have to wait until then.

Some players have played several Tests among those in the squad who haven’t had a chance, so there is potential for them to be named for Saturday.

“And also, there are some young fellows that have come in and stepped up to play their first Test and performed well with a mixture of experienced All Blacks around them, and Fabian Holland is one of them.

“We’re pleased he’s stepped right up to Test footy. We set him up, and we’ve had a couple of weeks to set the others up to have a crack too.

“We want to create depth. We picked 33 players with the ability for mid-field back Anton Lienert-Brown to be selectable once he’d been cleared. And now he is in the money and taking his opportunity.

“There’s competition all over which is exactly what we want.”

Robertson said the innovations, especially at the lineout, that saw a try around the front of the line for halfback Cam Roigard, were part of wanting to find ways to innovate, get one-on-ones, and catch the opposition by surprise.

“Something you haven’t seen is the hardest thing to defend. So what’s that little moment you can catch them?

“You can spend a lot of time, and sometimes you focus on that, and it doesn’t quite turn out how you want it. Sometimes it comes off. A lot has to go right for those little moments if you make it too complicated. 

“We’ve got some creative juices in our group, and they’re always suggesting. We’re available for all the options out there in New Zealand.”

Find out where to watch All Blacks v France around the world HERE. 

Mitchell Starc has produced one of the all-time great bowling spells and Scott Boland taken a hat-trick as Australia bowled West Indies out for 27 to win the third Test.

On a historic day in Jamaica, Australia’s quicks ran riot to wrap up a 176-run victory and claim a 3-0 series sweep of the Frank Worrell Trophy.

Chasing 204 for victory, West Indies’ fourth innings lasted just 14.3 overs and only marginally eclipsed the lowest-ever Test total of 26 by New Zealand in 1955.

The score marked Australia’s best-ever bowling display in a Test, while West Indies’ 27 was the lowest total of any team in the past 70 years.

Boland became just the 10th Australian to claim a Test hat-trick, but it was Starc who ripped the heart out of the hosts with figures of 6 for 9.

The left-arm pacer took three wickets in the first over of West Indies’ second innings and claimed five in 15 balls to, at one stage, have the hosts 7 for 5.

Playing in his 100th Test, Starc also became the fourth Australian to reach the 400-wicket milestone, joining greats Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Nathan Lyon.

“When you talk about 100 Tests you talk about resilience, skill and fitness,” captain Pat Cummins said. “But today he showed the real Mitchell Starc, what he can bring to a team which is out of nowhere tearing an opposition apart and can win a game for you.

“He does it consistently in any format and I feel very lucky he is on our team.”

Starc’s 15-ball five-wicket haul marked the fastest by any bowler in Test history, eclipsing the previous record of 19 from Ernie Toshack, Stuart Broad and Boland.

The 35-year-old also became the second man to take three wickets in the opening over of an innings, striking when he had John Campbell caught behind first ball.

He then trapped Kevlon Anderson when the right hander left a ball that tailed in at him, before bowling Brandon King with the last delivery of the over.

Starc’s assault carried into his third over, claiming his 400th Test scalp with another ball that swung into Mikyle Louis’ back pad. Shai Hope followed two balls later, again trapped lbw.

At that point Starc had figures of 5 for 2, with the only runs off him coming via the outside edge of Hope’s bat and through the slips.

Starc could have had a sixth victim, had Sam Konstas not grassed two chances at third slip to remove Alzarri Joseph either side of tea. But that opened the door for Boland’s hat-trick.

Called in for Nathan Lyon, the Victorian edged off Justin Greaves, had Shamar Joseph lbw and bowled Jomel Warrican in consecutive balls.

The hat-trick marked Australia’s first in a Test since Peter Siddle in the 2010-11 Ashes.

“I was a bit nervous bowling that last ball,” Boland admitted. “It’s an amazing feeling. Starcy set us up there, and I have never been involved in a game where we bowled a team out for 27.”

In all, four of West Indies’ top five were dismissed for ducks, while they only avoided being all out for 26 via a misfield from Konstas at the end.

Australia’s record showing came after they appeared in danger of dropping the Test, when bowled out for 121 in their second innings courtesy of 5-27 from Alzarri Joseph.

“It’s heartbreaking to be in a position like that, where we could have won the game and come out and have that poor batting display,” West Indies captain Roston Chase said.

Paris Saint-Germain games often have a Groundhog Day feel: they start with a rugby punt into the corner, fall into a pattern of PSG domination and, invariably, end in victory for Luis Enrique’s side. Be it in Ligue 1, the Champions League or at the Club World Cup, their opponents tend to deploy unambitious low blocks to break the inevitable pattern. But the tactic rarely stifles PSG’s forwards.

PSG have lost just three games in 2025; two of those defeats came in the league, after the title was already secured and attention had shifted towards a maiden European title. A low block against a side so fluid, liberated and technically gifted is submission masquerading as resistance.

Chelsea subverted the trend. So used to exerting territorial and possessional dominance, PSG were immediately put on the back foot. “We won the game in the first 10 minutes. It set the tone,” Enzo Maresca said after his London side lifted the trophy in New Jersey.

Chelsea’s aggressive, man-to-man, high-pressing approach produced a 3-0 win, but they did not dominate all phases of play. The new “world champions” were limited to 33% possession, conceded eight shots and were reliant on Robert Sánchez to produce brilliant saves, notably from Ousmane Dembélé early in the second half.

Chelsea lacked the in-possession structure to fully stifle Luis Enrique’s side, but they kept the dangermen – Dembélé, Désiré Doué, and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia – out of the game. By pushing so many players deep into the PSG half, Chelsea managed to stifle the influence of the swashbuckling Vitinha and sever the production lines. Chelsea’s persistent, intense and organised pressing did not limit PSG’s possessional dominance, but it did prevent them from establishing territorial dominance.

“It was difficult for us from the opening minutes,” Luis Enrique said. “I said that Chelsea are a good team. They showed it.” Chelsea unsettled PSG, giving them a taste of their own medicine. And for once, it was the Champions League winners who could not match that energy without the ball.

Kvaratskhelia’s lethargy in pressing and reluctance to recover down his flank was the source of Chelsea’s third goal, a lovely dinked finish from João Pedro. Sánchez, sometimes shaky when pressed, had the time to sweep the ball out to Malo Gusto, who set up Cole Palmer for his first goal. Levi Colwill too had ample time to set up Palmer to get his second, a mirror-image of his opener as he switched the play out to his right. Luis Enrique’s side lacked their characteristic verve and they were punished for it on three occasions as their chances of completing a clean sweep of trophies evaporated inside the first half.

Weaknesses not previously perceived or recognised as such were exploited. Nuno Mendes has been the best left-back in Europe this season. As well as bombing forward, he has also stifled players such as Mohamed Salah and Bukayo Saka in the Champions League. Against Chelsea he provided a reminder of his defensive fallibility and vulnerability to long balls played into his zone.

Lucas Beraldo, positioned next to Mendes in the PSG defence, would have been perceived as a target before the game. He was only starting in the absence of Willian Pacho, whose red card against Bayern Munich ruled him out. The Brazilian, who has now reportedly made a transfer request, has struggled when given chances, and it was no different against Chelsea. All three goals happened within his zone, even if he was not always directly responsible. “We used Cole and Malo on that side to create a little bit of an overload,” Maresca said.

End-of-season fatigue has been cited as a factor, as have the searing temperatures and the fact Chelsea had an extra day to prepare for the final. The PSG players have expended a lot of physical and mental energy over this 65-game campaign, but Chelsea’s season has lasted 64 games and they had to contend with the same conditions, described as “dangerous” by Enzo Fernández before the match.

Luis Enrique was not in search of excuses. “Over the course of the match, they deserved the win,” said the Spaniard, who recognised his opponent’s superiority on the day. “We aren’t losers. We didn’t fail. There was a champion. We fell but the loser is the one who doesn’t get up.”

The Spaniard had, nonetheless, lost his cool moments earlier, involved in what he described as an “avoidable” altercation with Pedro post-match. He, like his players – notably João Neves, who was sent off for a pull on Marc Cucurella’s hair – were all suddenly bereft of the composure that characterised their serene run to the Champions League trophy, superhumans rendered human once more.

So have Chelsea set the blueprint of how to beat PSG? Champions League-level sides may be wise to ditch the passive, defensive and submissive approach adopted by many last season. Fight quality with quality, if you can. But there is a quality imbalance in Ligue 1 and one that is only being widened. PSG are the only team truly immune to the financial problems gripping the domestic game and the €116m earned over their Club World Cup run only strengthens their financial situation.

Ligue 1 sides have spent only €160m so far this summer and more than half of that has been on signing players who were already at clubs on loan last season. PSG are yet to make their move in the transfer window, but they soon will – Nasser Al-Khelaifi has confirmed as much.

Ligue 1 sides cannot fight quality with quality; low blocks, the likes of which Les Parisiens face week-in week-out, will still be seen as the way to attempt to level an uneven playing field. While their French rivals may not lick their lips at the flaws laid bare in New Jersey, their European rivals will.

This is an article by Get French Football News

Philadelphia 76ers star Paul George underwent an arthroscopic procedure on his left knee on Monday, the Sixers announced.

The injury was reportedly sustained during a recent workout. No exact timetable for the procedure, performed by team doctor Dr. Jonathan L. Glashow, was provided, just that George will be re-evaluated before Sixers training camp.

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The development is a grim omen for George’s second season in Philadelphia, which his team needs to be better than his first. The knee is the same one George sustained multiple injuries to during the 2024-25 season.

George joined the Sixers last offseason on a four-year, $212 million max contract, ending a five-year tenure with the Los Angeles Clippers under somewhat contentious circumstances. Oddsmakers loved what the move did for Philly’s title chances, but George wound up being one of the season’s biggest disappointments.

Paul George’s contract hasn’t worked out for the Sixers so far

When he was on the court, the 35-year-old George averaged his fewest points (16.2) since the 2014-15 season, when he returned from his infamous knee blowout. Lingering injuries likely slowed him down, and also limited him to only 41 games played, his fewest since 2021-22 when he tore the UCL in his right elbow.

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The Sixers ruled George out for the rest of the season in mid-March.

George’s woes were part of a team-wide cavalcade of injuries. He was supposed to be part of a big 3 alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, but Embiid ended up playing only 19 games while Maxey was limited to 52. The trio ended up playing only 15 games together, barely coming out as a positive when on the court.

Nearly every key contributor for the Sixers missed part of the season with an injury or even more, such as early Rookie of the Year candidate Jared McCain, who was knocked for the season in January with a torn meniscus. The team struggled to a 24-58 record, well short of even a spot in the NBA play-in tournament.

George being out indefinitely is not going to help hopes for a bounceback year in 2025-26.