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Contepomi wants to rewrite the Barbarians script against the Boks
Contepomi talks up the June 20 Baa-baas fixture as a genuine contest, not a lap of honour — he wants to reverse last year's 54-7 result and sees Erasmus's serious approach to the game as validation that his side should prepare accordingly.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Hanekom returns to form as Bulls demolish Zebre — full player ratings
Hanekom's 9/10 performance signals a timely return to form, while Moodie's mixed outing encapsulates his inconsistent season — Planet Rugby's full ratings from the Bulls' big Loftus win break down who's pushing for Bok relevance and who still has work to do.
Landsberg keeping Bok door open as Zimbabwe circle ahead of RWC27
Landsberg has again turned down Zimbabwe, holding out for a Springbok call-up while refusing to accept the door is closed until Erasmus says otherwise — with a RWC27 deadline quietly ticking in the background.
SFM finds form, Roos overhyped, Fourie's future in doubt — Stormers rated after Ulster draw
Planet Rugby rates the Stormers after their 38-all draw in Belfast, pushing back on Ferris's harsh Roos verdict while highlighting Mchunu, Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Van Heerden — and raising genuine concern over Deon Fourie's injury.
McCloskey: 'South Africans just hate the Irish'
Stuart McCloskey says South Africans 'just hate the Irish' more than it goes the other way, pointing to the URC, the 2023 World Cup clash, and even a stolen anthem as fuel for a rivalry he sees as increasingly replacing England and New Zealand as Ireland's defining one.
From No 8 to 'New Beast': How Everitt's persistence and the 2019 Boks converted Mchunu to loosehead
Gavin Rich profiles Mchunu's conversion from loose-forward to loosehead, tracing how Everitt's persistence and the 2019 Bok World Cup triumph convinced him the front row was where his future lay — and why he now has one eye on adding to his three Bok caps.
Woodward: RFU's drawn-out review has kneecapped Borthwick's Bok prep
Woodward argues the RFU's drawn-out review left Borthwick distracted at the worst possible time, and that England's chances in Johannesburg have been needlessly compromised — even if he believes the talent is there to beat the Boks.
Bok legends want no part of a kicking shootout to settle the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series
Three Bok legends have voiced their discomfort at the idea of a kicking competition deciding the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series if it ends level at 2-2 — the full piece details their preferred alternatives.