The international rugby window opened and the view was very familiar: South Africa crushed French hearts with 14 men and New Zealand thwarted a Scotland fightback despite three yellow cards.

The Springboks won 32-17 after Lood de Jager was red-carded on halftime at the atmospheric Stade de France, and the All Blacks stunned Scotland 25-17 with a late charge at Murrayfield.

England outlasted a rousing Fiji 38-18, Italy sunk Australia 26-19 in Udine for a second straight time, Ireland stumbled past Japan 41-10, and Argentina racked up a record 52-28 win over Wales in Cardiff.

Here’s the AP’s take on the weekend.

Kolisi sacrificed

South Africa coach Rassie Erasmus was asked last week what made the difference between a good and great Springbok. To Erasmus, it was a player who p

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