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Jobb's hunger still burning despite four consecutive titles
After being dropped for Dubai and Cape Town and carrying the baggage of two red cards, Sebastiaan Jobb overhauled his lifestyle and clawed his way into the Blitzboks' most successful squad in history — and he's not done yet.
Jobb's hunger drives Blitzboks into European finale
Jobb reflects on the mindset shifts and lifestyle changes that turned a frustrating Blitzboks career into four consecutive trophy lifts — and why he's not easing up heading into the European World Championship finale.
Stormers stunned at Cardiff as Feinberg-Mgomezulu struggles and Welsh underdogs gate-crash the play-offs
Cardiff's fully-deserved win over the Stormers books their URC play-off spot, with Feinberg-Mgomezulu's error-filled night emblematic of a Stormers side who were outpaced and outworked throughout — and whose second-place seeding now hinges on Leinster's result.
Jake White: Henry's All Blacks return is a 'masterстroke' — and he's no ordinary selector
White calls Henry's return a masterstroke — not because of his selector credentials, but because of the psychological and cultural weight he brings to a rebuilding All Blacks camp. White also makes a pointed broader argument about the game's failure to learn from history, using his own 2007 World Cup experience as a case study.
Du Toit backs England's young tightheads — but says patience is non-negotiable
Du Toit rates Fasogbon and Sela as future Test props but defends Borthwick's patience, explaining why tightheads need careful handling early in their careers — and still backs Stuart as England's best for years to come.
Du Toit opens up on battling through rugby's toughest prop depth chart
Du Toit reflects on a stop-start Bok career he attributes to playing in South Africa's deepest-ever prop generation, and details how Erasmus's staff use targeted, low-frequency contact to keep overseas-based players aligned with Springbok systems.
Du Toit: Scrummaging against Ox Nche in training is harder than Test rugby
Du Toit says Bok scrum training — going up against Nche, Steenekamp and Venter — is harder than Test rugby, and breaks down the technical and physical differences between loosehead and tighthead that explain why South Africa's scrum is built the way it is.
TMOs are killing the game — and school rugby proves it
A sharp column using the disallowed Mahashe try as the centrepiece of a broader argument that TMOs have abandoned their 'clear and obvious' brief — applied forensic scrutiny to one try while waving through questionable scores elsewhere in the same game. Also covers New Zealand's overseas eligibility self-sabotage and the URC final-round permutations.
TMO overreach is killing the game — and the Lions paid the price
The Mahashe disallowed try becomes a flashpoint for a wider argument that TMOs have abandoned the 'clear and obvious' mandate in favour of forensic overreach — with the Lions and the spectacle of the game paying the price. The column also takes aim at the All Blacks' overseas-player policy and previews the URC playoff picture.
De Villiers and Burger expect Mo'unga 'injury' workaround as NZ Rugby holds firm
De Villiers and Burger expect a creative injury workaround to get Mo'unga into the All Blacks squad for the August-September Springbok series, with both slamming NZ Rugby's rigid eligibility stance as needlessly self-defeating.
400 games, still proving himself: Why Willie le Roux deserves his flowers
As Le Roux hits 400 first-class appearances, Brenden Nel makes the overdue case for recognising a generational career that was built the hard way — and argues the South African public still hasn't given him his proper due.
400 games and still proving doubters wrong — the Willie le Roux story deserves more respect
Nel profiles Willie le Roux on the eve of his 400th first-class game, arguing that a career built on club rugby grit, self-funded academy fees, and a chip-on-the-shoulder mentality deserves far greater recognition than it typically receives. Le Roux's own quotes — on still feeling like he has to prove himself at 101 caps — are the centrepiece.
Junior Boks take World Cup confidence from NZ dogfight
Foote and Norton reflect on what a grinding draw against New Zealand reveals about where the Junior Boks are — and what still needs fixing — ahead of their World Cup title defence in Georgia.
Croc-rolls are back — and the URC needs to act decisively
Two croc-roll red cards in one weekend — including the nasty Henderson-on-Fourie incident — have the author calling for the URC to come down hard and make an example, arguing the 'unintentional' defence doesn't hold and that consistent sanctions are the only way to coach the move out of the game permanently.
Two croc-rolls in one weekend is two too many — and the URC must act
Two URC croc-roll red cards in one weekend — including the attack on Deon Fourie — has the author arguing that 'unintentional' defences don't hold water two years into the ban, and that the URC's disciplinary response will reveal whether it takes player safety seriously.
Willie le Roux reaches 400 first-class appearances — a career built on vision, not validation
Willie le Roux's 400th first-class appearance is the occasion for a warm but pointed reassessment — De Koning argues the criticism has always missed what coaches and teammates have long understood about his spatial intelligence and leadership value.
Stuart Barnes: SFM is the next Dan Carter — 'quicker, maybe better'
Stuart Barnes makes the case in The Times that SFM's attacking gifts — the vision, acceleration, and physicality on display in the Ulster draw — already outweigh his technical rough edges, and that the 2027 World Cup will confirm him as the next Dan Carter.
Junior Boks crowned, Fourie croc-rolled, and a Lions try that wasn't
The Junior Boks' U20 title, Henderson's croc roll on Fourie, a standout refereeing display in Belfast, and the TMO call that killed the Lions' best moment against Leinster — Louw's column covers the weekend's highs and lows with some pointed observations on officiating and the 20-minute red card rule.
Junior Boks crowned, Fourie croc-rolled, and a Lions try that wasn't
The Junior Boks' U20 Rugby Championship title, Iain Henderson's croc roll on Deon Fourie, and the TMO call that killed the Lions' best moment against Leinster — Louw's column covers the weekend's sharpest talking points.
Hanekom's return to form headlines Bulls' 54-19 demolition of Zebre
Hanekom's 9/10 is the headline from Planet Rugby's Bulls ratings after the Zebre win, with Moodie's inconsistency, Le Roux's composed display at 10, and Gans's impact off the bench among the other talking points.