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South Africa 43-28 New Zealand: Boks complete series victory in Baltimore

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Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry – Fourth Test

South Africa (17) 43

Tries: de Allende (2), van den Berg, PS du Toit, Arendse, Hanekom Cons: Feinberg-Mngomezulu (2), van den Berg, Libbok (2) Pens: Feinberg-Mngomezulu

New Zealand (14) 28

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Tries: Taylor, Jordan, Blackadder, B Barrett Cons: McKenzie (4)

South Africa completed a 3-1 series win over New Zealand as the world champions’ consistency, power and cohesion once again proved too much in the fourth Test in Baltimore.

After victory in the series opener in Johannesburg last month, the All Blacks jumped to the top of the world rankings and threatened to shake up rugby’s world order.

However, South Africa clawed their way back to triumph – just as their director of rugby Rassie Erasmus had predicted.

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While New Zealand were spirited and skilful in pursuit of a win to square the series, the Springboks’ go-forward up front and the depth of their bench kept the All Blacks at bay.

The match played out in front of a near-capacity crowd of 68,173 at the M&T Bank Stadium, the largest-ever crowd to watch a rugby match in the USA.

A successful stateside excursion completes a series that has been compelling viewing and stress-tested both sides’ aspirations of lifting the Rugby World Cup next year – the two nations have won the past five editions of the tournament.

It was New Zealand who started fastest in Maryland on Saturday.

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Eight minutes in, their breathtakingly quick tiki-taka catch-pass, with the backline holding their depth, outflanked South Africa’s blitz defence to set up the first try of the match for hooker Codie Taylor.

However, the Springboks’ brute strength in the close quarters meant they could collect points without needing to resort to such high-risk passages of play.

With their forward pack on top in the scrum and winning collisions, Damian de Allende burrowed over from short range, before scrum-half Morne van den Berg flashed a dummy and darted past Sam Darry for a similar score.

Those tries opened up a 17-7 lead for the Springboks. With Eben Etzebeth crunching returning New Zealand fly-half Richie Mo’unga in the tackle and Jasper Wiese stampeding around in the loose, the Boks seemed poised to stretch away and out of sight.

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Fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who had pushed a long-range penalty to the right of the uprights early on, missed a drop-goal shot. An overcooked attempt to find the corner also cost his team.

New Zealand’s combination of hard toil and sparkling hands then bought them a way back into the game just before half-time.

Will Jordan, his nation’s all-time leading try-scorer, streaked off his wing on a superb line to dunk down over the line at the end of 32 draining phases.

Four points down at the break, Dave Rennie’s side had hopes of taking home half of a specially-designed series trophy, which, held together by magnets, can be shared between the two sides.

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But South Africa ensured that innovation went unused.

Malcolm Marx trundled over at the back of a rolling maul after the interval and, three minutes later, Pieter-Steph du Toit barged over after a sharp blindside break by the impressive Van den Berg.

Ethan Blackadder’s score in the final quarter cut the Boks’ lead to eight points, but South Africa hit the accelerator once again as the toll taken by a high-paced match and a long tour caught up on both teams and space opened up.

Kurt-Lee Arendse sliced through open field after Damian McKenzie had broken through in the opposite direction, but Josh Moorby failed to gather his pass.

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Four minutes later, Cameron Hanekom scooped up scrappy ball to put the result beyond doubt and render replacement Beauden Barrett’s late try only a footnote.

South Africa: Willemse; Arendse, Kriel, de Allende, Hooker; Feinberg-Mngomezulu, van den Berg; Nche, Marx, Louw, Etzebeth, Nortje, Kolisi, du Toit, Wiese

Replacements: Fourie, Steenekamp, du Toit, de Jager, Esterhuizen, Hanekom, Reinach, Libbok

New Zealand: McKenzie; Jordan, Lienert-Brown, Barrett, Moorby; Mo’unga, Roigard; de Groot, Taylor, Newell, Tuipulotu, Darry, Vaa’i, Blackadder, Lakai

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Aumua, Numia, Lomax, Lord, Sititi, Preston, Ioane, Barrett

Referee: Karl Dickson (England)

Assistant referees: Matthew Carley (England), Christophe Ridley (England)

TMO: Andrew Jackson (England)

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Irish Champions Festival – Leopardstown on Saturday

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4 minutes ago

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13 September 2026

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The two-day Irish Champions Festival begins at Leopardstown on Saturday, with action the following day at The Curragh.

Saturday’s bumper 9-race card at the South County Dublin venue includes three Group 1 races, with the highlight, the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes, the weekend’s feature, going to post at 5.00pm. The three Group 1s are backed up by a Group 2, a Group 3 and a Listed race, while there are also three Premier Handicaps down for decision.

The Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes is usually one of the season’s highlights. The 1m 2 furlong contest for three-year-olds and upwards has seen Aidan O’Brien win six of the last seven editions of the race, with Delacroix (2025), Auguste Rodin (2023), Luxembourg (2022), St Mark’s Basilica (2021), Magical (2019 & 2020).

First three in Juddmonte International re-oppose

On Saturday, the Ballydoyle handler’s main hope will be the Coral-Eclipse winner at Sandown, Constitution River – beaten on his last outing in the Juddmonte International at York last month.

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Item, the winner of the Juddmonte International, and Almaqam, the runner-up, will represent Andrew Balding and Ed Walker respectively. There was only a head between the two English-trained runners at York last time, with three lengths back to Constitution River – though Aidan O’Brien did later blame poor race tactics for the defeat of the son of Wootton Bassett.

The 2025 Betfred Derby and Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby winner, Lambourn, has also been declared by the Coolmore partners, as has Hawk Mountain, with both likely to set the pace at different stages of the race.

Jessica Harrington’s recent German Group 1 winner Hotazhell is also among the field, as is A Boy Names Susie, who finished behind Constitution River in both the Prix du Jockey Club at Chantilly, and the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown.

Interestingly, English handler George Scott supplemented his Deauville Group 3 winner Wimbledon Hawkeye at a cost of €75,000, and will be hoping to get some return for the outlay.

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Coolmore America ‘Justify’ Matron Stakes

The Group 1 Coolmore America ‘Justify’ Matron Stakes at 3.55pm is for fillies and mares over a mile. Eight different trainers have won this prize since 2018, and twice it has gone for export – to Karl Burke – with Fallen Angel last season, and Laurens in 2018. Both Donnacha O’Brien (2024, Porta Fortuna) and his brother Joseph (2019, Iridessa) have claimed this contest in recent years, though their father, Aidan, hasn’t won since Hydrangea in 2017.

The race has been good for favourites in recent times, with the past three winning, namely Fallen Angel (9/4), Porta Fortuna (5/4) and Tahiyra (5/6).

English trainers hold strong hand in Matron Stakes

English trainers, Andrew Balding and Karl Burke, hold a strong hand in this year’s renewal. Balding’s Blue Bolt goes in search of a third Group 1, and has had the upper hand this season on four-time Group 1 winner Precise, who re-opposes on Saturday.

Last season’s winner of this race, Fallen Angel, returns to defend her crown, but has only raced twice this season – something which might be seen as a disadvantage to her. Karl Burke, however, has an excellent success rate in Ireland, and should never be discounted.

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Paddy Twomey, who trained the winner in 2022, Pearls Galore, will be represented by City Of Memphis, a filly he nominated for this race earlier this year. The Betfred 1000 Guineas winner, True Love, will join her stable companion, Precise, in the 9-runner Group 1.

Ireland’s Newest Group 1

The HKJC World Pool Golden Fleece Stakes for two-year-olds over one mile and one furlong is Ireland’s newest Group 1.

Aidan O’Brien, who had a good record in the race when it was a Group 2 contest, took three of the last four renewals of the juvenile event. Having won with Benvenuto Cellini (2025), Diego Velazquez (2023) and Auguste Rodin (2022), the Wexford-born trainer is responsible for four of the 10 runners this year. The Coolmore-Ballydoyle team will be represented by Aix La Chapelle, Shakespeare, Victory Speech and Darkness Falls – the latter the mount of Ryan Moore.

Nola Soul won the Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot in June for Fozzy Stack, and has course form. Green Dreamer, from the Joseph O’Brien yard, is another course winner, while British trainers Charlie Appleby and Charlie Johnston have Quest For Stars and Pikachu respectively in the race.

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Races and Times

1.35pm Ballylinch Stud Irish EBF Ingabelle Stakes (Listed)

2.10pm The Irish Stallion Farms EBF Sovereign Path Premier Handicap

2.45pm The HKJC World Pool Golden Fleece Stakes (Group 1)

3.15pm The Kilternan Stakes (Group 3)

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3.55pm The Coolmore America ‘Justify’ Matron Stakes (Group 1)

4.25pm The TonyBet Solonaway Stakes (Group 2)

5.00pm The Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes (Group 1)

5.35pm The Irish Stallion Farms EBF Petingo Premier Handicap

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6.10pm The HKJC WorldPool Autumn Fillies Premier Handicap

Patrons can pay at the turnstiles on both Saturday and Sunday, and ticket details and prices are available on the Irish Champions Festival website.


LiveScores Now Available at IrishScores.com

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Grow a Garden Beanstalk Finale update patch notes

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18 minutes ago

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13 September 2026

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Grow a Garden has received the Beanstalk Finale update on September 12, 2026, expanding the ongoing Beanstalk content with new features, rewards, plants, pets, cosmetics, and quality-of-life improvements. The latest part of the event adds a new Beanstalk variant, introduces the Giant’s Basket, and brings a new Mysterious Old Man who is looking for specific fruits to send up the Beanstalk to the Giant.

This article contains all the official patch notes for Grow a Garden Beanstalk Finale, including the new plants, pets, cosmetics, features, and fixes.

Official patch notes for Grow a Garden Beanstalk Finale update

Official game banner (Image via Roblox)Official game banner (Image via Roblox)
Official game banner (Image via Roblox)

The following patch notes have been derived from the game’s official Discord server. Here are the official patch notes for Beanstalk Finale in Grow a Garden.

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“Beanstalk

  • Added 1 new beanstalk variant

Giant’s Basket

  • A Mysterious Old Man has arrived beneath the Beanstalk…
  • He is looking for very specific fruits to send up the Beanstalk to the Giant
  • Submit the fruit the Mysterious Old Man is looking for to the basket to send it up to the Giant
  • Each time you successfully submit the required plant you will get to pick 1 out of 3 rewards

Mini Achievements

  • Complete all the Beanstalk themed mini achievements for a variety of rewards!
  • New seeds, pets, & more rewards to unlock!

Plants

  • Everglow Helix
  • Nebula Barb
  • Brambleberry

Pets

Cosmetics

  • Beanstalk Fence
  • Beanstalk Statue

Fixes, Changes, & QOL

  • Added the ability to shovel all your plants in a specific garden save slot. Favourited plants will not be shoveled
  • Made the Chimpanzee Pet Achievement requirement
  • Extended the season pass
  • Fixed a bug related to the Cloudhound
  • Fixed a bug related to the Angler Fish
  • Fixed a bug related to the Mistletoad
  • Fixed a bug where restocking the Friendly Giant shop with sheckles wouldn’t reset all of the time
  • Fixed various UI related bugs
  • Fixed various bugs related to plants
  • Fixed various bugs related to pets
  • Made various performance improvements
  • & lots more!”

FAQs on Grow a Garden

What is new in Grow a Garden Beanstalk Part 3?

Beanstalk Part 3 adds a new Beanstalk variant, the Giant’s Basket, Beanstalk-themed mini achievements, new plants, a pet, cosmetics, rewards, and several fixes and quality-of-life changes.

What plants were added in Beanstalk Part 3?

The three plants added in Beanstalk Part 3 are Everglow Helix, Nebula Barb, and Brambleberry.

What pet was added in Beanstalk Part 3?

Beanstalk Bear is the new pet added in the Beanstalk Part 3 update.