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Hansen points the finger at one coaching departure for England's slide
Hansen pins England's five-game losing skid squarely on the departure of Andrew Strawbridge, arguing the Kiwi's specialist skill coaching was the engine behind their 12-game winning streak — and that without him, England have regressed technically and tactically.
Willemse shines, De Villiers impresses, but England's Borthwick problem deepens
Willemse's 50th Test standout, De Villiers and Hanekom's impressive emergency cameos, and the growing Borthwick crisis headline Planet Rugby's Nations Championship round-one wrap — with Fiji's jaw-dropping offload numbers and Roigard's world-class form also in focus.
England's Blackett-designed backline gets its biggest test yet against the Boks' blitz
Borthwick's team selection is dissected as a full commitment to Blackett's attack system, with each backline choice serving a specific structural purpose — and this weekend's clash with the Boks' blitz is framed as the system's defining early test.
Nations Championship: what Bok fans need to know
The Nations Championship launches 4 July with South Africa vs England as one of the marquee openers — the linked piece covers the format and structure of this new cross-hemisphere competition.
Tandy's warning is music to Springbok ears
Tandy's post-match honesty after Wales' narrow Barbarians win — nearly blowing a 16-point lead — sets the context for their Nations Championship block ending against the Boks in Durban on 18 July.
Marshall warns Rennie: don't put McKenzie or Beauden at 15 again
Marshall is fuming at the prospect of Rennie again deploying McKenzie or Beauden Barrett at full-back, calling it a failed experiment and proposing Jordie Barrett as the safer option — with Jordan's injury potentially lingering into the first Springbok Test, it's a spine problem that could define the series.
Zimbabwe's World Cup preparation runs through South Africa
Zimbabwe's Piet Benade explains how structured exposure to South African opposition — from club level up to SA 'A' — is central to the Sables' World Cup preparation, and why he hopes the relationship deepens.
Van der Merwe eyes Scotland recall after Townsend lifeline
Van der Merwe opens up on a brutal season of injury and form loss, and how a Townsend phone call — offering him the Barbarians gig against the Boks — has him targeting a Scotland recall for the Nations Championship.
The real migration threat to the Boks isn't north — it's east
A data-driven audit of 3,427 professionals across six global leagues finds rugby is overwhelmingly domestic, clears the URC of the 'bought by the Boks' charge, and identifies Japan — not Europe — as the real structural threat to Springbok and All Black rugby depth.
Kirwan wants Rennie to channel Erasmus — even if it means copying what he hates
Kirwan is using Erasmus's selection courage — Bomb Squad and all — as the yardstick for what Rennie must deliver, arguing Robertson's conservatism cost the All Blacks and that genuine boldness in selection is now the minimum standard post-Bok dominance.
Borthwick plans to rest Itoje for England's summer Tests — but it hinges on second-row fitness
Borthwick wants Itoje rested for the summer Tests — South Africa included — but England's second-row depth is so brittle that one injury to Martin or Coles this weekend could force a rethink.
South Africa isn't the raider — the real migration story is Wales draining out and France hoovering up the Pacific
The squad data across the Prem, Top 14, and URC shows South Africa and New Zealand are not the great raiders — the real story is Wales bleeding players to England and France systematically drawing from Pacific and Georgian rugby while those unions see no financial return.
Matfield unbothered by Brown's All Blacks switch
Matfield isn't losing sleep over Tony Brown taking Bok IP to New Zealand — but the piece interrogates whether that relaxed stance is justified.
Kirwan's fix for the All Blacks' overseas drain: bring SA clubs back into the fold
Kirwan argues NZR's closed eligibility model is costing the All Blacks a generation of maturing talent — and holds up SA Rugby's overseas-player policy as the model to follow, while pushing for a new southern hemisphere club competition as the structural fix.
England's forward depth chart for the Nations Championship — and what it means for the Boks
Planet Rugby maps England's full forward depth chart ahead of the Nations Championship, with injury-forced selection calls and a specific Chessum-to-blindside tactical shift flagged as the key decision for the Springbok Test.
England's backline depth chart for the July Springbok Tests — who starts, who's the bolter
Planet Rugby ranks England's full backline depth chart ahead of July's Tests against the Springboks, Fiji and Argentina — with Blackett's expansive new attack system driving selection logic and Benhard Janse van Rensburg's fast-tracking the headline call.
England's backline depth chart for the Nations Championship — and what it means for the Boks
Planet Rugby ranks England's full backline depth chart ahead of the Nations Championship Tests against South Africa, Fiji and Argentina, with Blackett's new expansive system the central selection filter. Key for Bok fans: Janse van Rensburg misses the SA opener, Atkinson starts at 12, and Spencer likely wears 9 with Mitchell injured.
Alexander kills Champions Cup exit talk — but the load problem hasn't gone away
Alexander has dismissed Champions Cup exit talk as 'hogwash', but the load-management crisis driving the speculation is very much unresolved — the piece maps the competing pressures on SA Rugby heading into the July workshop.
Jackman: Nienaber was right, coherent — but the coaching structure raises bigger questions
Jackman rates Nienaber's press conference as coherent and factually grounded, but his breakdown of Nienaber's described role — coordinating logistics rather than owning the game plan — raises pointed questions about where strategic accountability actually sits in the Leinster coaching structure.
Jackman backs Nienaber: 'He had his facts' — and the press conference revealed something bigger
Jackman validates Nienaber's press conference as coherent and largely correct, then offers a pointed structural critique: based on Nienaber's own description of his role, nobody at Leinster appears to be co-ordinating the overall game plan — which, Jackman argues, shows on the pitch.