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134 items · General
Laurie Mains backs Rennie's direction but warns All Blacks are heading for a burnout crisis
Mains backs Rennie's style and selections but warns the 2026 schedule is piling too much onto New Zealand's top players — with the Springbok series arriving at the back end of a punishing year.
Neutral venues a structural necessity at Nations Championship, says SANZAAR CEO
SANZAAR CEO Brendan Morris says neutral-venue hosting is a structural necessity in the Nations Championship, with Fiji playing all their 'home' July matches in Britain and Japan hosting Ireland in Australia.
Rennie rules out Mo'unga for South Africa tour, confirms squad planning well advanced
Dave Rennie has ruled Richie Mo'unga out of the All Blacks' 44-man squad for the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series in South Africa, citing NZR eligibility rules, while confirming the tour squad and match-day planning is already well advanced.
Rees-Zammit admits rugby comeback has fallen short of expectations ahead of Springbok clash
Louis Rees-Zammit starts for Wales against the Springboks in Durban on Saturday, admitting his return from the NFL has not gone as smoothly as he had hoped after a season disrupted by positional changes and a slow readjustment to Test rugby.
Rennie rules out Mo'unga for Springboks series despite eligibility push
All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie has confirmed Richie Mo'unga will not feature in New Zealand's four-test series against the Springboks in August. The 32-year-old fly-half remains ineligible under national union rules until October, having returned from three seasons in Japan. Mo'unga could only join the tour as an injury replacement.
Rennie rules out Mo'unga for Springboks series, confirms squad planning well advanced
Dave Rennie has ruled out Richie Mo'unga for the All Blacks' four-test series against the Springboks, confirming the fly-half's NZR eligibility won't be met until October. Rennie says provisional selections are already in place for all four tests, with the series opening in Johannesburg on August 22.
Mo'unga ruled out of Springboks series as Rennie confirms NZ Rugby stance holds
Dave Rennie has confirmed Richie Mo'unga will not tour South Africa in August, with NZ Rugby's eligibility policy remaining unchanged. Mo'unga can only join the squad as an injury replacement once his NPC commitments make him eligible.
Rennie plans Bomb Squad trial in South Africa as All Blacks target 6-2 bench split
Dave Rennie confirms the All Blacks will trial a 6-2 bench split during their South African tour, with provincial squads for the first four games already picked. Tupou Vaa'i's shift to blindside flanker for the Ireland Nations Championship fixture has also drawn attention as a potential Springbok-specific tactical move.
Marshall warns All Blacks: Jordan at 14 is a luxury the Boks series might expose
Marshall argues Jordan at 14 is a depth-chart workaround, not a true positional solution — and that the Springboks' aerial kicking game will expose whether McKenzie can hold the 15 jersey under genuine pressure.
Barrett-Theron steps away from refereeing after breast cancer diagnosis
World record-holder Aimee Barrett-Theron, the most capped female referee in history with 52 tests, has stepped away from officiating after being diagnosed with treatable breast cancer, with the 39-year-old targeting a return to the field within months.
Drug watchdog defends SA rugby after latest positive test
SAIDS CEO Khalid Galan pushes back against suggestions that the latest positive doping test in SA rugby points to a wider systemic issue.
Argentina dismantle Wales 35-21 in San Juan to stay in Nations Championship hunt
Argentina beat Wales 35-21 in San Juan, crossing five times and securing a bonus point before half-time to bounce back from their opening-round loss to Scotland. South Africa and New Zealand remain the only unbeaten sides in the Southern Hemisphere table after two rounds.
Rennie weighing Savea workload ahead of Springbok Tests
Dave Rennie says Ardie Savea may not start New Zealand's provincial warm-up matches in South Africa in August, with the All Blacks managing their captain's workload ahead of four Tests against the Springboks.
Rankings permutations: How Scotland could reach a new high and what South Africa must avoid
World Rugby's Round Two ranking permutations show South Africa's top spot is safe barring a 15-point loss to Scotland, while a Springbok defeat combined with an All Blacks win over Italy would hand New Zealand first place. Scotland could reach a new high of fourth with a win in Pretoria and a France loss in Brisbane.
Hansen questions whether Borthwick actually knows how England want to play
Hansen and McKenzie argue England's core problem isn't talent — it's a coaching framework built for a different kind of English team, leaving a skilled, athletic squad caught between styles and never fully committing to either.
Tindall and Haskell: England's defensive carousel is the root of the problem — and Shaun Edwards is the obvious fix
Tindall and Haskell dissect England's defensive collapse — four coaches in two years, ballooning points conceded, and a clear fix being ignored in Shaun Edwards. The broader argument is about world-class pedigree vs. potential, and whether Borthwick's setup has enough of the former.
Marshall and Read: All Blacks must hit the ground running before South Africa tour
Marshall and Read argue Rennie must use the Italy and Ireland Tests to lock in combinations and build genuine belief — warning that South African provincial sides will target the All Blacks physically in the midweek games, and that the Boks' squad depth puts them in the same elite tier as Ireland and France.
England look to Fiji for bounce-back after Johannesburg mauling
England's Nations Championship camp eyes a Fiji bounce-back after the Johannesburg hammering, with uncapped back Janse van Rensburg set to come into the frame.
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.