Round four of the 2024 Rugby Championship is almost upon us, taking us past the halfway stage of a competition so far dominated by South Africa.

The Springboks made it three wins from three games against New Zealand last time out, though they left it late as tries from Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Grant Williams handed them a dramatic 31-27 victory at Ellis Park.

Heading from Johannesburg to Cape Town on Saturday, they know another victory would all but wrap up their first triumph in the competition since 2019, ending the All Blacks' five-year reign.

The world champions enter round four with an eight-point lead over New Zealand in the standings, with Argentina one point further back ahead of their second Test against Australia.

Here, we dive into the Opta data to preview this weekend's action, bringing you the best facts and figures from each game.

SOUTH AFRICA V NEW ZEALAND 

At various points last week, it looked as though New Zealand were set to breathe fresh life into this year's Rugby Championship race.

The All Blacks held a 27-17 lead at one stage, but Ofa Tu'ungafasi's 69th-minute sin-bin put South Africa in the ascendancy and two late tries helped them claim victory in a re-run of last year's World Cup final.

It will now take an almighty collapse to stop the Springboks from getting their hands on the trophy. They are chasing a fourth straight Test win over New Zealand, last recording more successive victories against them between September 1937 and September 1949 (six).

The All Blacks, meanwhile, have lost two of their last three Test matches (one win) after only losing one of their previous nine (eight victories). 

Last week's defeat was a particularly demoralising one for Scott Robertson's team, as even scoring four tries was not enough for victory. Prior to that game, the last time the All Blacks were beaten when scoring four or more tries was in August 2019 (47-26 v Australia).

The visitors will now be acutely aware of South Africa's resilience, and the Springboks have actually won their last three Tests in Cape Town despite trailing at half-time in two of them, having lost four such matches in a row prior to the start of this run.

South Africa face a nervous wait on the fitness of Siya Kolisi after he took a heavy blow to the cheek from Sam Cane last time out, delaying their team news announcement by two days to give their captain every chance of making it.

But regardless of who starts, they will bring plenty of physicality. The Springboks have crossed the gain line on 64% of their carries in this year's Rugby Championship – at least 6% more than any other team. Their tackles success rate of 89%, meanwhile, is also the highest in the tournament.

New Zealand will have to make the most of their opportunities, but they can take encouragement from their efficiency in the 2024 tournament to date. Their 22 line breaks are at least four more than any team, while their average of 3.6 points scored per attacking 22m entry is also the best in the competition. 

PLAYERS TO WATCH

South Africa – Elrigh Louw

Louw has crossed the gain line from 73% of his 26 carries so far in the 2024 Rugby Championship. That is the highest rate of any player with 20 or more carries in the competition this year.

New Zealand – Caleb Clark

While the All Blacks were unable to get over the line against South Africa last week, Clark impressed with two tries, having failed to score versus the Springboks in three previous career appearances against them.

Overall, he has six tries in his last six Tests, scoring at least once in each of his last three.

ARGENTINA V AUSTRALIA 

Australia finally got up and running in this year's tournament in round three, overcoming Argentina in another dramatic finale in La Plata. 

Ben Donaldson kicked a last-gasp penalty as the Wallabies triumphed 20-19, and though a fifth Tri-Nations/Rugby Championship title is now surely beyond them, they could restore further pride this week by claiming back-to-back wins in the competition for the first time since 2022.

Australia have now won four of their last six Test matches against Los Pumas (two defeats), though they have typically had to do things the hard way, not leading at half-time in any of the teams' last four meetings (two wins, two defeats).

Indeed, Argentina should be expected to keep things competitive again, having seen four of their last five Rugby Championship matches decided by margins of no more than eight points (two wins, three losses).

This will be the first time they have welcomed Australia to Sante Fe, where they will be desperate to improve on their underwhelming record. They have lost their last two games in the city, going down 30-12 to Wales in 2018 and 35-25 to England in 2017.

The hosts will again be looking to make the most of kick returns, having gained 423 metres from such situations in the Rugby Championship this year – 170 more than Australia, who rank second with 253m.  

Australia, meanwhile, lead the tournament charts for turnovers won, with 16. The Wallabies have also registered 44 successful exits from their defensive 22m zone, with only New Zealand (47) recording more.

PLAYERS TO WATCH 

Argentina – Juan Martin Gonzalez

Gonzalez, alongside Australia's Carlo Tizzano, has made dominant contact on more tackles than any other player in the Rugby Championship 2024 (seven each).

Gonzalez has also crossed the line for a try in each of his last four Test matches against Australia, including for Argentina's sole score last week. He has gained 4.1 metres per carry in the Rugby Championship 2024, the best average among all forwards (minimum 10 carries attempted).

Australia – Rob Valentini 

Valentini has been directly involved in four tries in his last four Test matches (three tries, one try assist), including going over Argentina last time out.

That is more involvements than he logged across his previous 27 Tests for the Wallabies prior to this span (three – two tries, one try assist).

Aaron Rodgers admits he is "on the last couple holes" of his glittering NFL career, but the 40-year-old fancies his chances of winning his second Super Bowl ring with the New York Jets this season.

Rodgers joined the Jets last year after 18 seasons with the Green Bay Packers, who he inspired to victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Super Bowl XLV in 2011.

However, the four-time league MVP suffered a ruptured Achilles against the Buffalo Bills in Week 1 and missed the remainder of the 2023 season as the Jets went 7-10.

Now fully fit ahead of the Jets' 2024 opener against the San Francisco 49ers on Monday, Rodgers is keen to make his 20th campaign in the NFL count as he approaches the end of his career.

"I'm on the last couple holes," Rodgers told Sky Sports. "I said back nine, it's strange because I don't wake up and think I'm 40. I just think I'm still playing football. 

"This keeps you young. I feel like I'm going to work with the 20-year-olds. I'm twice their age. Some of these people might have parents that are my age. 

"But I don't feel old mentally, physically. I feel differently than I did when I was messing around. You have to have a little different approach to your health and wellness, the older you get, to be able to stay as young as you possibly can.

"I'm not going to run really fast but I feel like I can still throw it anywhere I want."

The Jets have not reached the postseason since going to the AFC Championship game in the 2010 season, and have endured eight losing seasons in a row.

However, the presence of Rodgers, star receiver Garrett Wilson and running back Breece Hall, among others, has fans dreaming of a run to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans.

Rodgers is confident the team will be there or thereabouts, saying: "In the end, it's usually the best teams that are there, and there's usually eight to 12 of those teams. 

"Whether you want to admit it or not, in camp, everybody knows in the back of their minds whether or not they're one of those eight to 12 teams.

"We are one of those eight to 12 teams. Everybody knows it. Our defense is going to be a top-10 defense, for sure. Offensively, we have the ability and the talent to be a top-10 offense, so we're going to be there come December.

"I love our chances and know it's going to be a successful season for us. We're praying for some good health, but we have the talent and ability to be one of the last two teams standing."

Ian Maatsen is disappointed not to have made the cut for the Netherlands' Nations League squad, but is willing to wait it out.

Maatsen, who was initially a surprise omission from the Dutch Euro 2024 squad before he was called up as a late replacement for the injured Frenkie de Jong, was not included by Ronald Koeman in the squad for the fixtures against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Germany.

The left-back, who helped Borussia Dortmund to the Champions League final last season before joining Aston Villa from Chelsea, is yet to feature in a senior game for his nation.

Instead, he is a standout name in the Netherlands' Under-21 squad.

And while he is frustrated not to have made the cut for Koeman's selection, the 22-year-old will bide his time. 

"Of course this is a disappointment. I expected to have to report to the [senior] side," he said.

"I could have withdrawn, but that's not who I am. Sometimes you have to accept things and not worry too much. I have to show here that I am the best and can play for the Dutch national team.

"I tried to enjoy myself to the fullest. I was always raring to go. Even if it was just for a minute. I wanted a cap but it hasn’t come yet."

The Dutch Under-21s face North Macedonia Under-21s on Friday.

England will hand a debut to bowler Josh Hull for their third Test against Sri Lanka.

Hull, who was in the squad for the second Test at Lord's, has been included in the team for the final match at The Oval.

The 20-year-old left-arm seamer has replaced Matthew Potts.

England are 2-0 up in the series, having won by five wickets at Old Trafford before triumphing by 190 runs at Lord's.

Alexander Zverev had "no answers" as he lamented a dismal display in his US Open loss to Taylor Fritz.

Fritz downed Zverev 7-6 (7-2) 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7-3) in the last eight on Wednesday.

In the process, Fritz reached his maiden grand slam semi-final, and will face fellow American Frances Tiafoe for a place in the showpiece match at Flushing Meadows.

World number four Zverev, meanwhile, had to lick his wounds after what he labelled a "terrible" performance.

“I played terrible," said Zverev.

"I just have no answers right now. He played quite a good match. I did nothing to deserve to win."

Matters could have not been more different for 12th seed Fritz, however.

"I feel amazing," he said. "I've had a lot of looks at quarter-finals in the past couple of years, and today just felt different.

"I really feel that it was my time to take a step further and it;s only fitting I'm doing it here on this court at the [US] Open in front of this crowd.

"Today just felt different. I really felt like it was my time to go a step further. It's only fitting I'm doing it here on this court, at the Open, in front of this crowd."

With Tiafoe also progressing to the last four, it will be the first time two Americans have played each other in the US Open semi-finals since 2005.

The last time an American man reached the final at Flushing Meadows was in 2006, when Andy Roddick lost to Roger Federer in 2006.

Jack Grealish can expect a frosty reception should he feature for England against the Republic of Ireland on Saturday, so says Callum Robinson.

Grealish, who was omitted from England's Euro 2024 squad, has returned to the Three Lions fold under interim manager Lee Carsley.

And with Manchester City team-mate Phil Foden having withdrawn from the squad due to illness, it seems likely Grealish could start on the left for England against Ireland in Saturday's Nations League clash in Dublin.

Grealish, who has Irish grandparents, represented Ireland at underage level before switching allegiance to England in 2015.

And Ireland striker Robinson, who played alongside Grealish at Aston Villa, would not be surprised if jeers from the Irish crowd were directed at the 28-year-old.

"I'd be surprised if he doesn't because I think he gets booed anywhere he goes anyway – even in England," said Robinson, who himself switched allegiance from England to Ireland.

"I think he'll be getting ready for a bit of abuse but that's part of it, it's part of the game. He's old enough and with being a senior player now, that stuff's going to come.

"As I said, he gets it in English games [in the Premier League], I don't think there will be any change on Saturday, I think he will be getting it."

Ireland are set to host England for the first time since a goalless draw in a friendly in June 2015.

In a competitive match, this is the first time England have played in Ireland since a November 1990 Euros qualifier, which finished 1-1.

England won their last meeting with Ireland in November 2020 – the Three Lions have not won consecutive games against them since doing so with wins in 1980 and 1985.

Frances Tiafoe will face Taylor Fritz in the semi-final of the US Open, where there will be an American in the men's final for the first time in 18 years.

After Fritz overcame Alexander Zverev, Tiafoe faced Grigor Dimitrov in a bid to tee-up an all-American semi-final in New York.

And Tiafoe was 2-1 up in sets and 4-1 up in the fourth when Dimitrov was forced to retire due to injury.

That means there is guaranteed to be an American in the final at Flushing Meadows for the first time since Andy Roddick faced Roger Federer in 2006.

"I didn't want to end it like that, for me or the crowd. But Friday is going to be one hell of a day," said Tiafoe.

"It's the biggest match of mine and Taylor's life.

"Obviously, it's not the way I wanted to get through but being in another semi-final here is incredible."

Data Debrief: Fortunate sons

This is the first time two Americans have reached, and will face each other, in the last four of a grand slam since Andre Agassi went up against Robby Ginepri in 2005, at Flushing Meadows.

Indeed, the United States has not had a men's singles major champion since Roddick triumphed at the US Open in 2003.

Aryna Sabalenka quipped the drinks would be on her to get the Flushing Meadows crowd onside for her US Open semi-final against Emma Navarro.

Home favourite Navarro will go up against a player in form in the last four, after last year's runner-up Sabalenka put on a show of force against Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng in the quarters.

Sabalenka claimed a statement 6-1 6-2 victory on Tuesday, in what was a rematch of this year's Australian Open final, which the Belarusian also won.

There was little let up for Zheng, as Sabalenka conceded fewer than five games against a WTA top-10 opponent for only the third time in her career, after wins over Coco Gauff in Indian Wells and Maria Sakkari at the WTA Finals last year.

Though Sabalenka knows that American Navarro, who followed up her win over defending champion Gauff by beating Paula Badosa, will have the crowd on her side.

"OK guys, drinks on me - and please give me some support in the next match," she laughed.

"She [Navarro] is a really good player. We had two battles, they were really close."

Sabalenka had more than just nerves to deal with against Zheng, given the great Roger Federer was watching on from the stands,

"I saw him there, saw him on the big screen," Sabalenka said regarding Federer, a five-time US Open champion.

"I was like, OK, I have to play my best tennis so he enjoys it. I have to show my skills, you know, slice skills, come to the net and all that stuff."

Data Debrief: Four on the spin for Sabalenka

Sabalenka has now reached four successive US Open semi-finals, as she takes her tally of last four appearances at grand slams to nine.

At the age of 26, she is the youngest woman to reach four straight semi-finals at Flushing Meadows since 2002.

She is the also first player to reach the women's singles semis at both the Australian Open and US Open in back-to-back years since Serena Williams (2015-16).

Kyle Schwarber’s third home run of the game was a go-ahead, three-run shot in the ninth inning and the Philadelphia Phillies rallied from a five-run deficit for a 10-9 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Tuesday night.

Schwarber hit his 12th leadoff homer of the season and went deep again in the fourth before his blast with no outs in the ninth on the ninth pitch he saw from Chad Green, a 96 mph fastball. Right fielder George Springer barely moved in reaction to Schwarber's 426-foot line drive that reached the second deck for his 31st homer of the season.

Schwarber became the first Phillies player to have two three-homer games in a season and has three such games in his career. He finished 5 for 6 with six RBIs and came within a triple of the cycle, adding a double in the third and an RBI single in the seventh.

Vladimir Guerrero went 4 for 5 with a two-run homer for Toronto, which led 6-1 after one and knocked Phillies starter Tyler Phillips out of the game after two-thirds of an inning. Phillips gave up six runs on eight hits, including two-run homers by Daulton Varsho and Addison Barger.

Matt Strahm, the seventh Phillies pitcher, gave up Leo Jiménez's homer in the ninth but closed it out for his second save.

NL East-leading Philadelphia matched a season high with 18 hits and won its third straight.

Green blew a save for the second straight game after doing so on Sunday at Minnesota. He converted 16 consecutive save opportunities to begin the season.

Peterson powers streaking Mets        

David Peterson struck out a career-high 11 on his 29th birthday and was backed by home runs from Francisco Lindor, Mark Vientos and Pete Alonso as the New York Mets won their sixth straight, 7-2 over the slumping Boston Red Sox.

Peterson won his fourth straight decision, allowing one run and six hits – all singles - with one walk.

Early in the game, he threw a career-best 16 consecutive strikes as the first four innings zipped by in 59 minutes. New York improved to 14-3 in Peterson's starts since he made his season debut May 29 after recovering from hip surgery.

Lindor launched his 30th homer in the third inning and added an RBI double to spark a four-run eighth, drawing another chorus of “MVP! MVP!” chants from the Citi Field crowd. New York, which has won 13 of 18, remained a half-game behind Atlanta for the final NL wild card.

Vientos greeted Justin Slaten with a leadoff homer in the seventh after Lindor's blast was the lone Mets hit off starter Kutter Crawford, who fanned eight in six innings.

Nick Sogard had an RBI single for the Red Sox, who have dropped four in a row and five of six. They totalled five runs in those defeats.

Sale wins 16th, hits milestone

Chris Sale tied for the major league lead with his 16th win and reached 200 strikeouts for the first time since 2019 to lead the Atlanta Braves to a 3-0 victory over the Colorado Rockies.

Sale (16-3) earned his sixth straight win and has gone 15 straight starts allowing no more than three earned runs.

He gave up six hits and fanned nine to push his season total to 206, his most since he had 219 with the Red Sox before a series of injuries derailed his career. He became the first left-hander in Braves franchise history to post 200 strikeouts.

Sale tied Detroit’s Tarik Skubal for the major league lead in wins.

Raisel Iglesias pitched a perfect ninth for his 29th save in 31 chances, extending his scoreless streak to 22 1/3 innings.

Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish was left scratching his head by the lack of interest in midfielder Eberechi Eze during the transfer window. 

Eze, who joined Crystal Palace from Queens Park Rangers in 2020, has attracted plenty of interest for his performances with the Eagles over the years.

The 26-year-old got his tally up and running for the new Premier League season on Sunday, netting the equaliser in Palace's 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. 

Last season, Eze completed more dribbles (69) and created more chances (54) than anyone else in the Eagles squad, also scoring 11 goals in 27 league appearances. 

But another one of Palace's top performers, Michael Olise, secured a move to Bayern Munich in a £50million switch, with Parish relieved they were able to keep at least one of their prized assets for the start of the current campaign.

"I was really worried from a club point of view of losing Michael and Ebbs in the same window," Parish told Sky Sports News.

"We didn't have in Ebbs the interest that I thought we would have.

"I was astounded. Genuinely astounded. I mean, the guy's just an outstanding footballer, an outstanding person."

Palace did have plenty of interest in defender Marc Guehi and rejected multiple bids from Newcastle, the latest of which reached £65m.

Guehi impressed for England at Euro 2024 in the absence of Manchester United defender Harry Maguire, starting every game on their way to the final. 

Parish was expecting Guehi to leave Selhurst Park during the transfer window, but with Joachim Andersen returning to Fulham on a permanent transfer and an injury to new arrival Chadi Riad, forced him to alter his plans.

"I don't think the window worked out exactly the same format that we thought it would," Parish added.

"Maybe we thought at the beginning it'd be more likely that Marc Guehi went and we kept Joachim Andersen.

"We accepted that bid [for Andersen] which then made it very difficult really to sell both of our starting centre-backs in one window."

The Magpies' attempts to sign Guehi rolled on for most of the window, with the Eagles standing firm on their valuation having earned sizeable fees for Olise and Andersen.

Parish was able to welcome eight new faces to Selhurst Park, including the permanent arrival of Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah and the loan transfer for Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah on the final day of the window. 

But the Eagles chairman is all too aware that he will not be able to hold on to Guehi, and his other star players, for too long amid the financial powers from the clubs in the division and across Europe.

"We're proud of the fact that Michael Olise's gone to Bayern Munich," said Parish.

"We want to be selling to the top clubs, or to clubs like Newcastle who've got great aspirations and have recently been in the Champions League.

"So we have to manage all of those things. We won't get really great young talent to come to us if they think they're going to be stuck."

"We want to be playing in the Champions League. The reality is we don't right now.

"That's what players want to achieve in their career and we respect that and we respect the fact that sometimes we're going to be a pathway to that."

Home hopeful Taylor Fritz reached his first ever grand slam semi-final at the US Open, beating world number four Alexander Zverev in four sets at Flushing Meadows. 

Fritz, who had lost his previous four grand slam quarter-finals, came through tie-breaks in the first and fourth set to emerge a 7-6 (7-2) 3-6 6-4 7-6 (7-3) victor.

Both players traded blows in the opening set, with Fritz squandering the opportunity to take the opener in the 12th game after missing three set points, only to go on and win the tie-break. 

Zverev continued to match his American opponent stride for stride, but struck the decisive blow in the second set with a break point in the eighth game to level the encounter.

But backed by a raucous crowd inside the Flushing Meadows, Fritz raced into a 3-0 lead in the third and despite Zverev finding a break of his own, he was unable to stop the world number 12 going within touching distance of victory. 

With the atmosphere intensifying, a second tie-break of the game would decide whether the ecnounter went the distance, with Zverev pulling the final ball wide to claim a famous win for Fritz at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Fritz could play fellow American Frances Tiafoe for a place in a first grand slam final, with Tiafoe squaring off against Grigor Dimitrov in Tuesday's night session.

Data Debrief: Fritz hits the heights

Defeating Zverev at the age of 26y 310d, Fritz has become the oldest American in the Open Era to reach their maiden men's singles SF at the US Open.

It was the 12th-seeded Fritz's fourth win over an ATP top-10 player in a major this season, the most by an American man in one year since Andre Agassi had five in 1999.