Serena Williams' former coach Rick Macci does not foresee a dream US Open triumph for the retiring legend, but believes the Flushing Meadows crowd could help her enjoy a strong run.

Williams, who announced she was "evolving away" from tennis earlier this month, will begin her final US Open campaign against Danka Kovinic on Monday.

While the 40-year-old's tally of 23 grand slam titles is the most of any player in the Open Era (since 1968), she remains one victory short of Margaret Court's all-time record of 24. 

But Macci, who coached both Williams and older sister Venus at the beginning of their trophy-laden careers, struggles to see her adding one final title before signing off.

"They asked me can Serena Williams win the US Open and I said she already has, six times," Macci told Stats Perform. 

"Can she? It's highly unlikely simply because people aren't afraid of her, the movement and confidence aren't like it was because she hasn't played, she hasn't played that much in the last year and you need to play to get your footwork and stamina. 

"The fighting spirit, the Compton street fight and the heart is there. If she gets a good draw, she could beat some people. I like how she played against [Emma] Raducanu [a 6-4 6-0 loss in Cincinnati earlier in August], I like that she's more aggressive, but this takes time. 

"If she can win a few matches who knows what could happen? That crowd in New York is going to take her down memory lane and make her even more competitive, who knows what's going to happen to the person on the other side of the net?

"That's why I was so impressed with Raducanu, the way she handled that moment, she played the best match she had in a year. 

"It cuts both ways but it's highly unlikely she can win the Open. 

"She's not even looking at it like that, she's letting everyone savour the moment and going out on her terms and it's going to be must-see tv."

Asked who he thought would emerge victorious at Flushing Meadows, Macci tipped another American to win on home soil, adding: "I'd love to see Coco Gauff because I know the family and I think she has wonderful potential.

"Iga [Swiatek] is vulnerable now because when you win 35 in a row, you feel like you just show up you're going to win. 

"Now that she's lost a few there's a little doubt there. It's wide open, I'm going to go out on a limb and I'm taking Coco Gauff."

As for the men's draw, which appears balanced after Novak Djokovic's non-vaccinated status prevented him from travelling to New York, Macci thinks third seed Carlos Alcaraz could be set for a maiden grand slam win.

"I've already gone out there and talked about this, Carlos Alcaraz is a generational player, he's going to transcend the game," Macci added.

"I've already had people blow back on me like, 'why isn't he winning?' Trust me, he just turned 19 and is [number] four or five in the world, I think he'll win multiple grand slams and he's the next real deal and he's my favourite to win the US Open on the men's side."

Djokovic is not alone in missing the US Open, with Roger Federer also absent as he continues his recovery from knee surgery, while Rafael Nadal is making his first appearance at the slam since triumphing in 2019.

Four different men have tasted success at Flushing Meadows in the last four years, while each of the last three editions have featured different women's singles champions, and Macci believes the issues endured by several ageing greats have made tennis more competitive.

"I think a lot of people are heading toward exit stage left and they're not quite at the top, [such as] Federer, or maybe there's the vaccination and maybe Nadal you're not quite where you were and [Andy] Murray," he added.

"Then you've got Serena, you've got these people who are household names that are out of the equation, more people are coming in and it changes everything when you don't have those roadblocks at the round of 16. 

"You're looking at the semis when before, Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Murray just dominated. There was a time when those four were always in the semis. The women's you could almost predict, now you can't.

"It has nothing to do with the US Open because the young lady that won Wimbledon [Elena Rybakina], you never heard of her. It's just wide open and it's going to take a while to stabilise everything." 

Serena Williams begins her final US Open singles mission on Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday night – with opponent Danka Kovinic describing her own opportunity as "a privilege and an honour".

Kovinic, the world number 80 from Montenegro, essentially serves as the support act to headliner Williams, who will draw a full house to Arthur Ashe Stadium for the opening match of the evening session.

If Kovinic has her way, she will be the player who ends Williams' singles career, and the 27-year-old has reached the third round of both the Australian Open and French Open this year.

However, Kovinic is on a five-match losing streak that began with a loss to eventual champion Iga Swiatek in round three of the French Open.

Such a dismal run has prompted some, including American tennis great Chris Evert, to suggest Williams has been handed a favourable draw. Williams has scored just one win in four matches since launching a tour comeback at Wimbledon, however.

"I was warming up for practice [on Thursday] and my coach told me, 'You play Serena', and I was like, 'That's great', because honestly I felt that," Kovinic said of her draw.

"It's such a privilege and honour. It is a special moment for me as well. I never had an opportunity to practice with Serena. Hopefully I won't feel too much pressure on Ashe Stadium."

Kovinic, who beat reigning US Open champion Emma Raducanu in round two of the Australian Open, said she and her coaching team would devise a plan to take on 23-time grand slam singles winner Williams.

She said she also intended to sound out former world number one Jelena Jankovic, a personal friend, for advice on how to tackle a player many regard as the greatest of all time.

"Hopefully she will have some good tips to give me," Kovinic told ESPN.

Jankovic won four of her 14 matches against a prime era Williams.

Williams, who turns 41 next month, is assured of passionate support from the New York crowd. She is a six-time US Open singles winner, first taking the title as a 17-year-old in 1999, when she beat Martina Hingis.

"I had some experience on the big stages this year, with Swiatek and with Emma Raducanu," said Kovinic, "but I think this is something special."

She said she had not given particular thought to the prospect of beating Williams, and it could be an overwhelming experience, given the heightened sense of occasion.

"I think maybe 30 minutes before the match I will have nerves because I couldn't wait to step on court," Kovinic said. "Hopefully I can show a great game."

If Williams is beaten in round one at Flushing Meadows, her career will not quite be over. She would still have a doubles assignment to come after she and sister Venus decided to have one last dash at glory together.

Max Verstappen produced a scintillating drive to surge from 14th on the grid to win the Belgian Grand Prix and further extend his huge championship lead.

The reigning Formula One champion was fastest in Saturday's qualifying session but was one of several drivers to take a grid penalty for a power unit change, leading to him starting on the seventh row.

Yet, just as in the Hungarian Grand Prix before the mid-season break, when he started in 10th, Verstappen expertly worked his way through the field to prevail and claim a second successive win at Spa-Francorchamps.

The raw pace of the Red Bull allowed Verstappen to easily make his way to the front after a chaotic start and a second lap safety car, and he was never threatened after overtaking Carlos Sainz for the lead on lap 18. His team-mate Sergio Perez made it a Red Bull one-two, with the Ferraris of Sainz and Charles Leclerc sandwiched by Mercedes driver George Russell on a day that saw Verstappen's lead stretched to 96 points.

Fernando Alonso got a lightning start to put his Alpine ahead of Perez into the first corner, with the Red Bull man also overtaken by the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton.

Yet the good work of the two former McLaren team-mates was soon undone when they collided going into the Les Combes chicane, sending Hamilton airbone as he suffered damage that ended his race.

The next lap then saw the Williams of Nicholas Latifi spin into Valtteri Bottas' Alfa Romeo, prompting a safety car as the latter ended up beached in the gravel.

Sainz locked up at the bus stop chicane at the restart but was still able to stay ahead of Perez and retain the lead.

Yet he soon began losing time to the Red Bulls and had both in his mirrors by the time he pitted on lap 12, Verstappen's spectacular charge through the field rewarded with the lead as he passed Perez while Sainz was in the pit lane.

Sainz was back ahead when Verstappen pitted for medium tyres four laps later, but Ferrari's lack of pace was encapsulated as Leclerc was unable to get past Perez on warmer tyres following the Mexican's pit stop and Verstappen succeeded in breezing past Sainz for the lead.

That set the stage for a serene second half of the race for Verstappen, whose title battle with Leclerc is turning into a procession for the Dutchman.

Celtic made history as they thrashed struggling Dundee United 9-0 in the Scottish Premiership.

Kyogo Furuhashi and Liel Abada both helped themselves to hat-tricks in what was Celtic's largest competitive win on the road in their history.

United had taken just one point from their first four matches, though Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou had warned his team against complacency before kick-off.

"We always go in and expect that they'll be at their best, but what we know is if we're at our best, we're difficult to stop, and that's the things we can control and that's what we’ll be trying to do," he told Sky Sports.

It proved to be the case as the Hoops swept aside their opponents to move back above Rangers at the summit of the league, maintaining their 100 per cent start to the season in the process.

All of Kyogo's goals came in the first half and Celtic went into the interval 4-0 up thanks to Jota.

Abada's trio of strikes came between the 50th and 77th minutes – Josip Juranovic got on the scoresheet in that time, too – with Carl Starfelt applying the finishing touch late on.

"The boys were great, disciplined and focused," Postecoglou said in his post-match interview with Sky Sports.

"It was important we set our stall early and really put them under pressure. In the end, we kind of wore them down, our goals were really good."

Kyogo also provided an assist to go with his hat-trick, and Postecoglou said of the forward: "He's great, he's been great all along, he's such an important part of what we do.

"It's not just his goals, it's the way he harasses the opponents, it's his overall work rate. All our strikers work really hard, but they get the rewards."

The Buffalo Bills have released punter Matt Araiza after he was accused of rape in a civil lawsuit.

The 22-year-old was drafted in the sixth round by the Bills and caught attention in pre-season with an 82-yard punt against the Denver Broncos.

A civil lawsuit against Araiza and two of his former San Diego State teammates was filed on Friday, accusing the trio of rape, gender violence and false imprisonment against a 17-year-old in October last year – which is below the age of consent in California.

On Saturday, Bills general manager Brandon Beane confirmed the decision to release the punter.

"This is bigger than football. Let's just step back and [let Araiza] go handle this. That's what we thought was most important," he said.

"With the serious nature and allegations, and we just can't, we don't have the means to put all the facts together.

"There's multiple versions of what happened, and [Sean McDermott's] a football coach, I'm a GM. We don't have access to everything, and so that's more important than playing football. And so, we want Matt to focus on that."

Araiza released a statement on Friday denying the allegations, saying: "The facts of the incident are not what they are portrayed in the lawsuit or in the press. I look forward to quickly setting the record straight."

The departure of Araiza leaves the Bills without a punter in the squad, having released Matt Haack earlier in the week, while quarterback Matt Barkley punted on four occasions in this weekend's 21-0 defeat against the Carolina Panthers.

Erling Haaland has vowed to become "even better" once he has fully settled in at Manchester City after scoring his first Premier League hat-trick.

The 22-year-old scored a couple of poacher's finishes before clinically completing his treble as City recovered from two goals down to beat Crystal Palace 4-2 on Saturday.

Haaland scored three Bundesliga hat-tricks for Borussia Dortmund before joining City last month and wasted no time in securing his first for the Premier League champions.

He is the fourth player to net at least six goals in his first four Premier League games, and the first to do so since Diego Costa netted seven for Chelsea in the 2014-15 season.

While Haaland has hit the ground running at the Etihad Stadium, the Norway international ominously warned there is more to come in a stark warning to defenders.

"Of course it takes time but I know it will come and get even better. It's not easy to come to a new club, a new country so it has been a good start," he said.

"It was a really good feeling to turn the game around. We had the mentality to trust each other and keep going.

"It's about trying to continue what we are doing. It was about small adjustments and we did that and got results. We had to listen to the manager."

The win over Palace marked the first time City have recovered from two goals down at half-time in a Premier League game at the 54th attempt.

A John Stones own goal and a Joachim Andersen header had put Palace in control.

But Bernardo Silva instigated City's latest comeback in the 53rd minute and Haaland took over with his 19-minute treble in just his second home outing for the club.

Now on six goals for the season, Haaland joked his next target is chasing down father Alfie's tally of 18 - scored with Nottingham Forest, Leeds United and City.

"It’s a proud moment for me and my family," Haaland said. "But my dad will probably say he had more goals in the Premier League than me so I will chase that."

Newcastle United were without club-record signing Alexander Isak and key man Bruno Guimaraes for Sunday's clash with Wolves.

Isak joined Newcastle in a £59million (€70m) deal from LaLiga side Real Sociedad on Friday.

However, the striker is not eligible to play for Eddie Howe's side against Wolves as he has not yet received a work permit, meaning he will have to wait for his Premier League debut.

Howe instead selected Chris Wood, who scored twice for Newcastle last season after signing from Burnley in January, to lead the line in the absence of Callum Wilson, who is out with a hamstring injury.

Newcastle are also without influential midfielder Guimaraes after the Brazil international sustained an injury in Wednesday's EFL Cup tie with Tranmere Rovers.

Guimaraes only came on as an 85th-minute substitute in that 2-1 comeback win.

The Belgian Grand Prix will be part of the Formula One calendar in 2023.

Speculation has persisted over the future of the event, held at the historic and much-loved Spa-Francorchamps circuit in Stavelot, as F1 continues its expansion into non-traditional markets.

There will be a third race in the United States, held in Las Vegas, on the schedule next year, while F1 bosses had been in talks about a return to South Africa.

However, those discussions have reportedly collapsed, paving the way for Spa to keep its spot.

"Formula 1 can confirm that the Belgian Grand Prix will be on the 2023 calendar following an agreement to extend our partnership together. Further details on the 2023 calendar will be announced in due course," an F1 statement read.

Speaking to Sky Sports, F1 president Stefano Domenicali said: "We have to congratulate the job [the race organisers] did. You've seen the investment they did. You see the number of people that are coming here. Incredible crowd, incredible attention to the people, and this is great for the sport.

"We always said that the race is a part of our tradition, and it has a very important space in our calendar, and this is a fact that we wanted to share in this moment."

Spa's long-term future as a fixture of the F1 season remains in question.

There have been suggestions it could become a biennial grand prix, though such a change would raise doubts over the circuit's ability to raise the finances to maintain the standards F1 requires while only racing once every two years.

The Belgian Grand Prix was first held in 1925. Since the inaugural F1 world drivers' championship in 1950, it has only been absent from the calendar on six occasions.

Repair work at Spa meant the race was not held in 2006; the last time the Belgian Grand Prix was not included on the calendar.

Sunday's race will be the 55th edition of the race to be held at Spa, with Ferrari's Carlos Sainz starting first on the grid following a raft of penalties, including for title rivals Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.

Scott McTominay has urged his Manchester United team-mates to "keep the fire burning" by building on their first back-to-back victories under Erik ten Hag.

United tasted defeat in their opening two league matches – the first time that has happened since the 1992-93 season – before beating Liverpool 2-1 and Southampton 1-0.

Saturday's slender victory at St Mary's, secured through Bruno Fernandes' second-half strike, ended a run of seven straight away league games without a win for United.

Having secured successive top-flight wins for the first time since February, McTominay is hoping to push on with games against Leicester City and Arsenal to come next week.

"Now was the time to get everyone together and bounce back from two tough games," said McTominay, who has played the sixth-most minutes of any United outfielder this term.

"We need that fire inside of us and as soon as the fire goes out, we are in trouble. 

"But we have to keep the fire burning together. We need to keep everyone together, and we might do well."

Asked how United go about keeping the fire burning, McTominay added: "Team spirit is the most important thing. 

"If we have good team spirit in the group then we will go far. If we don’t and people go easy on each other, then we won't go far."

United claimed the win at Southampton despite being slightly edged in terms of the expected goals (xG) return – 1.4 compared to 1.5 for the Saints, who also had more shots.

And with two more important matches to come over the next week, before United's Europa League campaign gets under way, McTominay acknowledged improvement is needed.

"We need to be calm because we have big games coming up," he said. "We didn't play as well as we could have done against Southampton and they had a lot of the ball.

"But we need to make sure that whatever we do coming up to the next games we are dominating and scoring the goals."

Tom Brady is "ready to go" for the new NFL season following an 11-day absence from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers training camp.

Brady had time away unusually close to the regular season to deal with what have been labelled as "personal matters".

He ended his absence, for which he received prior approval from the team, this week and played one series for the Bucs against the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday.

Brady completed six of eight passes for 44 yards, including a 20-yard connection to new Bucs receiver Julio Jones.

Asked to explain his absence in a post-game media conference, Brady - who announced his retirement this offseason only to return after 40 days - said: "It's all personal.

"Everyone's got different situations they're dealing with. We all have really unique challenges to our life.

"I'm 45 years old, man. There's a lot of s*** going on. Just gotta try to figure out life the best you can. It's a continuous process."

Pressed on whether the issues he referred to had been resolved, Brady replied: "I'm ready to go."

UFC president Dana White recently said Brady was poised to sign for the Las Vegas Raiders back in 2020 before he made the move to Tampa Bay. White claimed then Raiders coach Jon Gruden put a stop to the deal.

Brady was the also the subject of what the NFL deemed "impermissible contact" from the Miami Dolphins in 2019 and 2021. Dolphins owner Stephen Ross was fined $1.5million for reaching out to Brady and his agent Don Yee.

But the veteran moved to reject any talk of him wanting to play anywhere else other than Tampa upon leaving the New England Patriots.

He added: "I think since I came to this organisation, it's been amazing. It's just been an amazing experience for me to come to this place and be as supported as I have for a long period of time.

"I read all these stories about all these different places I was supposed to go or could have gone. And I was like, 'I only was gonna go to one place, which was here.' I think this whole organisation knows that.

"All the conversations we've had over a period of time, I chose the right place for me. And I'm very proud of the effort that everyone's put in to make the relationship work. [Owner/co-chairman] Joel [Glazer] has been amazing.

"[General manager] Jason [Licht's] a great friend of mine. Bruce [Arians],Todd [Bowles], all the coaches. It's been an amazing relationship and I'm very grateful to everybody for allowing me to come down here and experience this part of my football life which, [if] I looked back, it would probably be incomplete had I not had it. I'm happy I've had it."

Jordan. Ali. Woods. Williams. That's it, that's the company.

Serena Williams is about to draw the curtain on one of the great sporting careers.

A brilliant black sports star excelling on a global stage, she has shifted and shaped opinions over the past 25 years.

Her life has been touched by tragedy as well as great joy, and she has just about lived to tell the tale.

As she prepares for her final US Open, Stats Perform looks back at the obstacles that have been put in front of the 23-time grand slam champion. 

Racism since her early days

After learning the game in Compton, Williams and sister Venus endured plenty of outrageous treatment before a notorious incident in 2001 at Indian Wells.

Russian Elena Dementieva reacted to a quarter-final defeat to Venus by saying the semi-final between the sisters would be determined by their father, Richard. That baseless allegation of manipulation was followed by an injured Venus withdrawing from the match against Serena shortly before its start time.

Serena met Kim Clijsters in the final, and there were grim jeers for Venus and Richard when both took their grandstand seats. They and Serena copped brutal treatment from spectators, with Richard stating he was racially abused.

Serena beat Clijsters but did not play at Indian Wells again until 2015, recalling her memories of 2001 in an article for Time, explaining it had "haunted" the family, particularly her father.

She wrote: "He dedicated his whole life to prepping us for this incredible journey, and there he had to sit and watch his daughter being taunted, sparking cold memories of his experiences growing up in the South."

Williams told Sirius XM in February 2021: "I had to make people realise that it's okay to be black and to play tennis."

Sexism never far away

Williams considered causing a scene at Wimbledon in 2011 after being sent out to the distant Court Two to play a second-round match.

It seemed a bizarre move – probably just ignorant – to put the defending women's champion anywhere but Centre or Court One, and while she was reluctant to fully vent her frustration, it was obvious enough.

Seemingly pointing a finger at those in power, Williams said: "They're not going to change."

An angry Williams accused chair umpire Carlos Ramos of sexism in a stormy 2018 US Open final, when she lost to Naomi Osaka.

Williams was warned for receiving coaching on court, which she denied, then penalised a point for racket abuse, before being docked a game after accusing Ramos of being "a thief".

"I'm here fighting for women's rights and for women's equality and for all kinds of stuff," Williams said afterwards. "For me to say 'thief' and for him to take a game, it made me feel like it was a sexist remark. He's never taken a game from a man because they said 'thief'."

Williams was fined $17,000 by tournament chiefs but backed by the WTA, which runs the women's tour outside the slams.

Perilous childbirth

In February 2018, Williams wrote an article for CNN that began with the line: "I almost died after giving birth to my daughter, Olympia."

She wrote of having had "a pretty easy pregnancy" and a routine C-section in August 2017, only for that to be followed by a pulmonary embolism and "a slew of health complications" she was "lucky to have survived", including a large hematoma in her abdomen. Her first six weeks as a mother were spent in bed.

Sister's death

It was September 2003, shortly after Williams underwent knee surgery that forced her out of the US Open, that her sister Yetunde Price was shot and killed in Compton.

Price was 31, with a local gangster sentenced to 15 years for voluntary manslaughter.

Williams addressed court after the April 2006 sentencing of Price's killer, saying she had "wanted to let you know that this was unfair to our family, and our family has always been positive and we always try to help people".

In 2018, Williams was trounced 6-1 6-0 by British player Johanna Konta at the Silicon Valley Classic. She came onto court moments after learning the man who shot her sister dead had been freed from prison, and later told Time: "I couldn't shake it out of my mind."

Walking on broken glass

It's an idiom, and an Annie Lennox song, but walking on broken glass was almost the moment that ended Williams' career.

It could have been a case of unlucky 13 for Williams in July 2010 when within days of winning her 13th grand slam title she suffered a foot injury, and later revealed it had been caused by stepping on glass while leaving a Munich restaurant.

She told USA Today: "I was standing, recovering, thinking I got a little cut and telling my nephew, who was with us, to be careful. Then my practice partner put a cellphone down to the floor so we could see, and there was a huge puddle of blood. I said, 'OMG, I don't think this is good'."

She needed both feet stitching up and underwent surgery to fix a drooping big toe, missing almost a full year on tour. Early in 2011 she underwent treatment for a pulmonary embolism and blood clot in her lungs, after checks were carried out during her recovery.

Chasing Court

Margaret Court has been the figure Williams has chased but looks destined to fall short of, with the Australian set to remain tantalisingly out of reach.

Four final losses for Williams since landing her 23rd major have been increasingly agonising, and it has been clear that her primary motivation for playing on all this time has been to surpass Court.

Court's controversial views on the LGBTQ community have upset many in tennis. Williams, however, just wanted to finish top of the pile, regardless of who was presently leading the way in the grand slam race.

Barring a sporting near-miracle over the US Open fortnight, she will remain second in that race, albeit the grand slam leader in the Open Era – winner of the most titles since the majors embraced professionalism in 1968.

Brendan Rodgers has suggested wantaway Leicester City defender Wesley Fofana is on the verge of completing a move to Chelsea.

Leicester rejected three bids from their Premier League rivals for Fofana, but they have reportedly agreed to sell the centre-back for a fee of £75million.

The 21-year-old Frenchman was not included in the Foxes squad for a 2-1 defeat at Chelsea on Saturday, as Rodgers says he was not in the right frame of mind to play any part.

Fofana has been training with Leicester's under-23 squad after making it clear he wants to join the London club before the transfer window closes on Sunday.

Rodgers has given a strong indication Fofana is close to getting his wish.

The Foxes boss said following the loss to 10-man Chelsea at Stamford Bridge: "It's the same with any player. For me if they decide they want to move and see their future elsewhere it is better to have it done as quickly as you possibly can.

"You have to prepare a team and a group of players and you have to maybe replace that player. Every coach will tell you the same. It doesn't benefit anyone if it drags on. So we will see what happens over the weekend."

Rodgers added: "No doubt that when the window shuts everything calms down.

"We have been unable to add [to the squad] and there has been a lot of speculation about our top players so there is no doubt it has been difficult. But it will stop on Thursday and then we can move on but until then we have to keep fighting."

Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel was tight-lipped over a move for Fofana, stating: "No, I can't tell you nothing about that."

Ian Foster backed captain Sam Cane but knows New Zealand are "under the spotlight" after they suffered a historic Rugby Championship defeat to Argentina on Saturday.

The Pumas moved to the top of the standings with their first away victory over the All Blacks, winning 25-18 in Christchurch.

While Michael Cheika's side were on cloud nine, the All Blacks crashed back down to earth after lifting the gloom with a win over South Africa at Ellis Park.

New Zealand head coach Foster was informed he would keep his job through to the Rugby World Cup in France next year following the win over the Springboks, but questions are being asked about his future again.

Cane has also come under fire and Foster hauled him off after he showed indiscipline to gift Argentina a penalty by tackling Pablo Matera without the ball 14 minutes from time, with Emiliano Boffelli punishing him by extending the lead to seven points.

Foster said: "Clearly he [Cane] is under the spotlight. We are all under the spotlight when things don't go well. But behind the scenes, [Cane is] strong.

"I thought a lot of his tackle and work around the breakdown was a big shift up in the last two games, and we are pleased with that.'"

Foster said he would be speaking to Cane about his hit on Matera.

He added: "Yeah, no doubt about that. We will work through all that. It's probably reflective of a team that's trying really, really hard and is close and not quite there."

There was good news for the All Blacks on Sunday, when Brodie Retallick was cleared to join the squad in Hamilton after recovering from a broken cheekbone.

Defeat for holders New Zealand was their fourth in six Tests this year and left them third in the table behind the Pumas and Australia.