A 2024 podcast interview with Benhard Janse van Rensburg has resurfaced at an awkward moment, just as his inclusion in Borthwick's Nations Championship training squad was already splitting opinion. On the Maul or Nothing podcast, he was candid: playing for the Boks would mean far more to him personally, his kids are "proper Afrikaans" and would demand an explanation if he wore the Red Rose, and he'd ultimately have to tell them he simply wasn't good enough for South Africa. The full picture is slightly more nuanced — he also said he'd never turn England down if the Boks weren't calling — but the optics are uncomfortable, and the resurfaced quotes are fuelling the debate around eligibility, loyalty, and what England's chronic centre problem now requires Borthwick to do.
Janse van Rensburg's own words complicate his England call-up
A resurfaced podcast interview shows Janse van Rensburg admitting his kids would question an England decision and that the Boks would mean "so much more" — complicating his already divisive Nations Championship call-up.
Mitchell hamstring blow leaves England short at scrumhalf ahead of Springbok test
Alex Mitchell is doubtful for England's Nations Championship campaign, including the Springbok test in Johannesburg, after pulling a hamstring in a squad training camp.
Janse van Rensburg at the top of England's centre pecking order — and what it means for the Boks
Borthwick's centre headache has a new frontrunner: Janse van Rensburg is rated the likely starter at 12 for England's Tests against Fiji and Argentina, though he's ineligible for the opener against the Springboks. The piece ranks all options at 12 and 13, with Freeman locked in outside and Slade unlucky to be on the fringes.
Springboks Through Irish Eyes: Gráinne Seoige on Loftus, Rassie, and Why SA Rugby Is Unlike Anything Else
Irish TV personality Gráinne Seoige tells the Lekker Rugby Pod that walking into Loftus for the 2024 Ireland test was the most intimidating rugby atmosphere she has ever experienced, and argues that Rassie Erasmus's cultural transformation of Springbok rugby is a bigger achievement than the World Cup wins.
Scrumhalf injury crises hit both Boks and England ahead of Nations Cup opener
With the Boks potentially without Reinach, Williams, Hendrikse and Van den Bergh, and England sweating on Mitchell, Rich examines the scrumhalf crises facing both sides ahead of the 4 July Nations Cup opener — and who might fill the void for the Boks if the depth chart keeps thinning.
SA's Champions Cup future, England's residency debate, and the Prem's scoring inflation problem
A wide-ranging column examining whether South Africa's Champions Cup involvement is financially and logistically sustainable, the ethics of residency qualification in England's squad selection, and whether the Prem's recent scoring avalanche signals a jeopardy deficit rather than a quality surge.