Rugby News

An ankle injury that changed everything Jack van Poortvliet was wearing England’s No. 9 shirt in the summer of 2023. One twisted ankle in a warm-up game against Wales was enough to blow his path off course. Alex Mitchell stepped in, kept the jersey, and England finished third at the World Cup without him. Three…

Fifty nights instead of 170 The number jumps out. With the Springboks, Jacques Nienaber used to spend between 150 and 170 nights a year away from home. South Africa do not have a fixed base, so the team is always on the move. At Leinster, he is down to around 50. That is the first…

Nicho Hynes failed a head injury assessment inside two minutes and Cronulla never recovered. The Roosters are now eighty minutes from their first grand final in seven years.

One year out, and the Boks have picked a difficult night in Gosford 18 September 2027. Polytec Stadium, Gosford, on the Central Coast north of Sydney, 6:00pm local. That is where South Africa will play their last match before defending the World Cup. The opponent is Fiji. Both unions confirmed the fixture on Friday, exactly…

Twelve years after lifting the trophy together, back in the same building 2014. Super Rugby final. Waratahs over the Crusaders, and both Stephen Hoiles and Wycliff Palu in the starting XV. They have walked back in, this time with clipboards. Michael Cheika has given the pair assistant coaching roles on two-year deals, the first hires…

Michael Cheika’s first two hires as Waratahs head coach both started the 2014 final. Twelve years on, Stephen Hoiles and Wycliff Palu come back wearing headsets.

Eight clips before, eight after Test rugby has gone the other way. A coach who wants a word with the referee before an international now has to do it with the opposition head coach sitting in the room, and if the other side declines, the meeting never happens. The United Rugby Championship has decided it…

Third final in a row, two beatings already banked Twice Eddie Jones has taken Japan to this final. Twice Fiji have sent him home with nothing. They meet again in Tokyo on Saturday. Hanazono, 2024: Fiji 41, Japan 17. Salt Lake City, 2025: Fiji 33, Japan 27. Closer the second time, but the result was…

Vannes have rented a football stadium for this one La Rabine was never going to be big enough. For round three of the Top 14, RC Vannes shift Saturday 19 September to Roazhon Park, home of Stade Rennais, with kick-off at 9pm. Close to 30,000 turned up at the same ground last season for the…