Springboks and France on collision course for Twickenham rugby final but challenges await

LONDON (AP) — South Africa and France lead their respective hemispheres and are on track to meet in the inaugural Nations Championship rugby final at Twickenham this month.

Or maybe not.

There's enough potential challenges over the next three weekends — including a match between the Springboks and Tricolores in Paris next week — to give the championship a twist or two, culminating in six playoff matches.

After the south hosted the first legs in July, it is the north's turn this month. The Six Nations sides have restocked with the likes of Antoine Dupont, Sione Tuipulotu, Maro Itoje and Andrew Porter but are vulnerable to rust this weekend having not played for three months.

Meanwhile, the southern sides arrive battle-hardened from a pile of test matches but bruised and depleted of stars such as Ardie Savea, Cheslin Kolbe, and Santiago Carreras.

Six Nations holder France tops the north and remains the favorite to reach the Nov. 29 final but right on its heels are Scotland, England and Ireland. They all have 2-1 win-loss records.

The world champion Springboks and New Zealand are the only unbeaten teams. But as both are in the southern pool only one can make the final. South Africa lead on points difference.

The backdrop to the championship is the Rugby World Cup in Australia in 11 months, and teams' determination to also lay down markers for that.

Here's where each team is at:

On paper, the Boks have a harder road to the final than the All Blacks. But they won't be concerned, not after playing New Zealand on four consecutive weekends and winning 3-1 in the Greatest Rivalry series. Also, a year ago, the Boks beat France in Paris with 14 men and humiliated Ireland’s pack of Lions in Dublin. This month is about reminding who is No. 1.

The same fixtures were a minefield a year ago: The All Blacks needed a wonder try by Damian McKenzie to beat Scotland and lost to England from 12-0 up. Coach Scott Robertson was sacked. Replacement Dave Rennie has energized the players and supporters and is looking for more progress. McKenzie's second coming at flyhalf has meant the injured Ruben Love hasn't been missed.

Conceding 93 points too easily to New Zealand in the Bledisloe Cup last month brought the Wallabies back to earth and painted a bigger bull's-eye on the World Cup host. The good news is the return of 10s Carter Gordon and Ben Donaldson. Kurtley Beale, out of the blue, is tagged as a backup to star inside center Len Ikitau. Beale's 95th and last test was in 2021.

The Pumas have won just one test in six this year, unable to pick their best and plagued by ill-discipline. But a squad much closer to full strength with Juan Cruz Mallía and Juan Martín González back will benefit from a five-week camp with new assistants Shaun Edwards (defense) and Mario Ledesma (scrum), both issues for Argentina. Their schedule starts in Dublin, where they have never beaten Ireland.

After beating Italy in July, Japan topped Fiji to win the Pacific Nations Cup for the first time since 2019 but then lost to Fiji in the centenary match two weeks ago. The flyhalf depth is being tested: Lee Seung-sin remains injured and Ryunosuke Ito has been recalled to university leaving uncapped Riku Kitahara to dictate proceedings against Wales on Saturday with backup from three-cap Shinya Komura.

Jake White, South Africa's 2007 World Cup-winning coach, beat 30 other applicants for the Fiji job last month. He plans to relocate to Fiji. He won his first match against Japan in Tokyo. White is focused on keeping things simple and building trust. His net has caught former England No. 8 Nathan Hughes, who last played a test in 2019. As always, Fiji's talent overflows; its getting it to gel.

The French have been brilliant but with a brittle defense. Injuries have robbed them of key men Thomas Ramos, Julien Marchand, Thibaud Flament and Emmanuel Meafou but the biggest hole is at tighthead prop, where Sipili Falatea, the uncle of midfielder Yoram Moefana, is the sixth pick this year. Falatea was recalled in July for the first time since the 2023 World Cup. After Fiji this weekend come the Springboks, whom France have not beaten in Paris in 25 years.

Based on near-misses against New Zealand a year ago and South Africa in July, Scotland has high hopes of ending its 121-year wait for a first win over the All Blacks. But, as always, the Scots have to improve their staying power and hold their nerve. A good start would also help after letting New Zealand get away to 14-0 in 2022 and 17-0 last year.

Embattled coach Steve Borthwick has received full backing from his bosses that he'll stay even if results continue to roller coaster. England has won three out of eight this year. Borthwick's biggest work on is discipline; England has been the worst this year with 14 yellow cards, twice as many as next-worst Wales. Borthwick needs a fit Fin Smith to run the show that would look different if George Ford or Marcus Smith have the reins.

If results follow history, Ireland could be playing for a place in the final when the Springboks roll into town. But so, too, will the Boks be, to spike a rivalry that has turned tetchy. Coach Andy Farrell gave good reasons for benching Jamison Gibson-Park and Josh van der Flier for the Argentina match on Friday, and he’ll be happy that flyhalf Sam Prendergast has been turning heads after a wrist injury.

There's guarded optimism in Wales that it is moving in the right direction, though in no shape to challenge the All Blacks or Wallabies yet. The English-based forwards plus Tomos Williams are in form and Max Llewellyn and Eddie James have been paired to overpower Japan in midfield on Saturday. Former referee Ben Whitehouse has been hired to address discipline issues, but that's a byproduct of the pressure Wales comes under.

Italy has been affected by injuries to centers Tommaso Menoncello and Juan Ignacio Brex plus key loose forwards Sebastian Negri and captain Michele Lamaro. In explaining why regulars Danilo Fischetti, Ross Vintcent and Manuel Zuliani are in the reserves, coach Gonzalo Quesada says they considered workload, recent injuries and the need to pick players they believe can go 80 minutes. Quesada says flyhalf Domingo Miotti, who last played for Argentina in 2022 and was eligible for Italy on heritage, was unavailable for at least the first two matches.

See AP’s full rugby coverage here

FILE - South Africa's Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, left, is tackled by France's Damian Penaud during the rugby union Nations Series match between France and South Africa in Saint-Denis, outside Paris, Nov. 8, 2025 . (AP Photo/Michel Euler, File)

Florida carried out a record-tying 19th execution of the year in an unusual instance of three states administering the death penalty on the same day.

Jesse Guardado was pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m. following a three-drug injection at a state prison in Starke. He had pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing 75-year-old Jackie Malone inside her Walton County home in 2004 before stealing her jewelry box, $80 and other valuables to buy drugs. The woman had helped him get a job and housing.

Hours earlier, Indiana executed a man for killing two children in a house fire in 2010, and in Alabama, a man received the last lethal injection of the day for his conviction in the killing of an elderly man and woman in a home robbery.

The executions were taking place the same day California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced he will commute all 548 death sentences in his state, saying he believes “state-sanctioned killing is incompatible with California’s values."

That was in sharp contrast to Florida's outgoing governor, Republican Ron DeSantis, who has made aggressive use of the death penalty like few other governors. His state has carried out more than half of the 35 executions so far this year in the U.S., where capital punishment has come under renewed scrutiny following Tennessee's failed execution of Christa Pike in September.

It is the second time since August that three states had conducted executions on a single day, although it remains unusual. Prior to this year, the last time it happened was 2010.

Guardado, 64, was already strapped to a gurney with an IV in his arm when the death chamber curtain went up promptly at 6:00 p.m. Asked if he had a last statement, he replied, “I would like to once again apologize for the pain and suffering I’ve caused to the victim’s family and my own family as well.”

The drugs began flowing immediately afterward. About a minute later, Guardado began breathing heavily, followed by some sputtering and twitching. As the twitching subsided, a warden shook Guardado and shouted his name, but got no response. A medic soon after pronounced him dead.

DeSantis, who leaves office in January, has said he wants to bring justice to victims' families who have often waited decades for death sentences to be carried out. He signed the death warrants that led to a state record of 19 executions in 2025. The state will set a new record if two more executions are carried out as planned later this year.

The victim’s son, Patrick Malone, spoke briefly to media witnesses after the execution. Instead of discussing his mother or her murder, he questioned those who oppose the death penalty.

“Do such people ever think about what happened to the victim or consider the unending aftermath the victim’s family endures and relives every time that terrible event comes up?” Malone said.

In neighboring Alabama, Michael Taylor, 54, received a lethal injection and was pronounced dead at 6:10 p.m. local time.

The execution got underway shortly before 6 p.m. as Taylor replied “no sir” when asked if he had any final words. He appeared to mouth “thank you” toward his attorneys seated in the witness room. Taylor’s spiritual adviser approached and prayed with him, and he then closed his eyes, never opening them again.

In 1991, Taylor, then 19, fatally beat two people, ages 83 and 79, with a metal bar during a robbery in their Gadsden, Alabama, home. Police arrested him with the victims’ Cadillac an hour away in Birmingham.

Death penalty opponents had urged Republican Gov. Kay Ivey to reduce Taylor’s sentence to life in prison, noting his age and immaturity at the time. She declined.

Ivey issued a statement immediately afterward calling his actions “reprehensible” and saying, “35 years ago yesterday, Ivan and Lucille Moore kindly opened their home to Michael Taylor. Mr. Taylor repaid the Moores by beating them to death with a metal bar, all to rob them for money to buy clothing and jewelry.”

The state changed the execution method after a judge declared a nitrogen gas method unconstitutional. Taylor’s attorneys had objected to the last-minute switch to lethal injection since he selected nitrogen gas as his method years ago, but a judge ruled against Taylor.

In Indiana, Jeffrey Weisheit, 50, was pronounced dead at 12:45 a.m. at the state prison in Michigan City, said Noelle Russell, spokesperson at the Department of Correction. He had no final words.

Weisheit had publicly acknowledged killing his girlfriend’s two children in a house fire in the Evansville area in 2010 but had hoped Gov. Mike Braun would grant clemency and change his sentence to life in prison. Braun declined.

Lawyers failed to persuade Braun, a Republican, to allow Weisheit to undergo brain scans in an effort to reinforce their argument that he has a history of head injuries and mental health problems that should prevent execution.

Weisheit's last objection centered on the state's planned use of lethal drugs purchased from a pharmacy that is facing a disciplinary hearing next week at the Indiana Pharmacy Board. The Indiana Supreme Court declined to intervene Wednesday night, though two of the five justices wanted a 10-day stay for more information about the drugs' expiration and storage.

The execution provided “long-awaited justice for Alyssa Lynch and her brother Caleb, two innocent children whose lives were stolen in an act of unspeakable cruelty," Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita said.

Americans have long been divided over the death penalty, with nearly half of states banning capital punishment outright and just a handful of others carrying out most of the nation’s executions each year.

This story has been updated to correct that Christa Pike's failed execution was in September, not October.

Fischer reported from Starke, Florida, and Chandler from Montgomery, Alabama. Associated Press reporter Ed White contributed from Detroit.

FILE - Law enforcement vehicles sit parked outside the Florida state prison in Starke, Fla., on July 28, 2026. (AP Photo/David Fischer, File)

The entrance to W.C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Ala., is shown on Oct. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Kim Chandler) Photo taken with a smartphone.

This photo provided by the Indiana Department of Correction shows Jeffrey Weisheit. The Indiana Parole Board is recommending that the death penalty remain in place for Weisheit who killed two children in a house fire.(Indiana Department of Correction via AP)

This undated photo provided by the Alabama Department of Corrections on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, shows Michael Taylor. (Alabama Department of Corrections via AP)