Find players, teams, stories.
Full-text search across every published story plus direct lookup on all seeded players, teams and competitions.
Kirwan certain Mo'unga tours SA — and expects a Pollard-style workaround
Kirwan predicts Mo'unga tours South Africa via a staged injury workaround — Matfield's Pollard comparison makes the template explicit — while the crowded All Blacks 10 jersey adds another layer to the selection intrigue.
Biggar calls out SA's 'half-pregnant' Champions Cup stance — but who actually holds the power?
Biggar argues SA holds real leverage in Champions Cup negotiations given their commercial dominance, but calls out the franchises — particularly the Sharks — for undermining that position with weakened lineups. The full panel debate digs into whether SA's options are as powerful as they look, with Goode making the case that the structural mismatch between hemispheres leaves them in a genuine bind.
Biggar: SA Rugby holds the aces, but 'half-pregnant' Champions Cup approach undermines their hand
Biggar argues SA Rugby hold real leverage in Champions Cup negotiations thanks to the Springbok brand's global dominance, but calls out the 'half-pregnant' commitment from franchises like the Sharks as self-defeating. Goode counters that the structural options — stay, leave, or go it alone — each carry significant commercial downsides, leaving SA Rugby with more constraints than their power suggests.
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.
Who leads England if Itoje sits out the Springbok Tests?
With Itoje's availability for the Springbok Tests in doubt, Planet Rugby ranks England's captaincy options — Chessum emerges as the front-runner ahead of George, Genge, and a cluster of outside bets.
Borthwick weighs Itoje rest ahead of July Tests against Springboks
Steve Borthwick may rest Maro Itoje and other England seniors for the summer Nations Championship, with Ollie Chessum set to captain at least one Test — opening against South Africa in Johannesburg on 4 July.
Kirwan backs Mo'unga loophole — and Matfield sees a Pollard precedent
Kirwan is certain Mo'unga tours South Africa via an injury loophole, with Matfield citing the Rassie/Pollard RWC precedent — and NZR's CEO publicly holding the line changes nothing in Kirwan's view.
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.
Borthwick may rest Itoje and other senior players for July Tests against Springboks
Steve Borthwick may rest Maro Itoje and other senior England players for the Nations Championship, with Ollie Chessum expected to lead the side in at least one July Test — including the Johannesburg fixture against the Springboks on 4 July.
How a vague headline ignited a Champions Cup storm that wasn't really there
Brenden Nel argues the Champions Cup exit story was built on almost nothing — a paraphrased aside in one Afrikaans piece — and that SA Rugby's deep financial and structural investment in the EPCR makes any such exit illogical, while pointing out that the most vocal critics conveniently ignore the structural inequities within the competition itself.
Giteau Law debate flares as Mo'unga eligibility row divides All Black voices
Parsons draws a line between backing a Giteau Law and supporting a narrow eligibility carve-out for Mo'unga specifically — the distinction matters as NZ Rugby wrestles with whether their contracted fly-half can face the Springboks this August.
Former Junior Bok Janse van Rensburg called into England training squad
Former Junior Springbok centre Benhard Janse van Rensburg has been called into England's 42-man training squad, with residency eligibility kicking in on 8 July — ruling him out of the Springbok Test but freeing him for the Fiji match the following weekend.
Rennie's word for his All Blacks reset: 'Brutality'
Martin Devlin reports that Dave Rennie has told New Zealand media his All Blacks reset centres on 'brutality' over flair — and that Rennie privately selected Richie Mwanga for the tour opener despite NZR eligibility rules blocking him, a conflict Devlin says NZ rugby has yet to resolve.
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.
Henry joins Rennie's selection panel as All Blacks build toward four-test Springbok series
Dave Rennie has appointed Graham Henry as an All Blacks selector, with the 2011 World Cup-winning coach joining a three-man panel alongside Rennie and Neil Barnes as New Zealand prepare for a four-test Rugby Championship series against the Springboks.
Henry joins All Blacks selection panel as Rennie builds for Springbok tour
Dave Rennie has added Graham Henry to the All Blacks selection panel ahead of a home test series and an eight-match South Africa tour, while confirming Richie Mo'unga is unlikely to be available for the Springbok tests due to his failure to commit to a new NZR contract.
Morgan leads key returns as Wales name 48-man squad for Nations Championship campaign including Bok Test
Steve Tandy has named a 48-man Wales squad for their Nations Championship campaign, with Jac Morgan, Max Llewellyn and Teddy Williams returning from injury ahead of Tests against Fiji, Argentina and South Africa, while Tomas Francis is rested with the 2027 World Cup in mind.
NZR holds firm on Mo'unga eligibility ahead of Springboks series
NZR CEO Steve Lancaster confirms the governing body will not relax its overseas player policy for Richie Mo'unga, ruling him out of the All Blacks' tour to South Africa. New coach Dave Rennie wants Mo'unga available but Lancaster says the tension between coach and administrator is healthy, with the policy protecting the domestic competition.
SA Rugby renews multi-year broadcast deal with SuperSport
SA Rugby has renewed its multi-year domestic broadcast rights deal with Canal+ Group, retaining SuperSport as the exclusive broadcaster of SARU competitions and Springbok Women's and junior rugby in Sub-Saharan Africa.
SA Rugby and Canal+ renew multi-year domestic broadcast rights deal
SA Rugby and Canal+ Group have renewed their multi-year domestic broadcast rights agreement, with SuperSport retaining exclusive rights to all SARU domestic competitions and Springbok Women's and junior age-group matches across Sub-Saharan Africa — the first such deal concluded with a major South African sports federation since Canal+ took ownership of MultiChoice last September.