Find players, teams, stories.
Full-text search across every published story plus direct lookup on all seeded players, teams and competitions.
Eight candidates to fill Tony Brown's boots as Springbok attack coach
Planet Rugby profiles eight realistic candidates to succeed Tony Brown, arguing Erasmus has strong options but faces the usual tension between raiding local coaching stocks and competing for in-demand foreign names — with Franco Smith, Nick Evans, and a potential Nienaber return the most compelling threads.
The Barbarians hit-out is a key cog in Rassie's World Cup machine
Nel makes the case that the Barbarians fixture is less about the result and more about Erasmus stress-testing depth, blooding uncapped talent, and keeping the World Cup-winning core fresh — all with 2027 firmly in mind.
Brown's 2028 All Blacks switch: IP theft, open comms, and why Kirwan isn't losing sleep
Matfield and Kirwan dissect Tony Brown's 2028 All Blacks move — Kirwan is unbothered by the IP risk given how similar modern systems are, while Matfield pinpoints Brown's real Bok contribution as decision-making under pressure rather than any proprietary game plan.
Matfield and Kirwan weigh in on Tony Brown's 2028 All Blacks move
Matfield and Kirwan debate how much Tony Brown's 2028 switch to the All Blacks actually matters — tactically and psychologically — with Matfield identifying decision-making under pressure as the area where Brown has left his biggest mark on the Boks.
Brown's All Black move was an open secret — now it's official
Brown's confirmed departure to NZ Rugby post-2027 was an open secret inside the Bok camp — Nel argues the timing is clean, the loyalty intact, and the real story is what Erasmus does with his backline coaching setup once the World Cup is done.
Dobson expects a tight final — and his post-match comments may have already told the Bulls what they need to fix
Dobson's post-match comments double as a scouting report on where the Bulls must improve defensively before facing Leinster, while Rich argues the weekend quietly confirmed SA rugby's growth on the road in knockout rugby.
Evan Roos shines but Stormers' bench costs them in Leinster loss
Evan Roos earns top marks for his battle with Doris, but a catastrophic two minutes from the Stormers' replacements — featuring Ackermann's red card and a needless Moerat infringement — ultimately ended their semi-final hopes against Leinster.
Papier and Hanekom shine, but Pollard's costly night almost derails Bulls' URC final march
Papier and Hanekom earn 8s as the standouts in a Bulls comeback win that nearly unravelled thanks to Pollard's sin-bin and a string of missed penalties — Planet Rugby's player ratings break down who delivered and who didn't in a tense semi-final.
Dobson defends Nienaber: 'He's had enough'
Dobson backs Nienaber after his explosive press conference, arguing the criticism has been relentless since day one and that Leinster risk squandering one of the best coaches around if the noise wins out.
Klopper earns Louw's shirt while Grobbelaar's 150th caps a Marx-shaped opportunity
Ackermann explains why Klopper keeps the starting tighthead spot over a fit Louw, and makes a compelling case for Grobbelaar to fill the Marx void in the upcoming Nations Championship window.
Klopper earns his start, Grobbelaar earns his stripes — Ackermann explains the big Bulls calls
Ackermann explains Klopper's start over a fit-again Louw as a straightforward reward for form, while Grobbelaar's 150th Bulls cap lands at exactly the right moment — with Marx injured and the Bok hooker spot up for grabs ahead of the Nations Championship.
Alexander's blunt warning: align the calendar or lose the game
Mark Alexander is warning that the Dublin World Rugby meetings must deliver calendar alignment — concurrent Rugby Championship and Six Nations windows, dedicated club and rest periods — or the sport risks losing players to rebel competitions. New Zealand's resistance to shifting Super Rugby Pacific is the key sticking point.
Moerat, Nortje and Van Heerden: Three Bok locks playing for more than a final spot
Rich profiles three departing Bok locks — Moerat, Van Heerden and Nortje — whose franchise careers end with a semifinal defeat, drawing out their shared history and assessing their Bok trajectories heading into a busy Rugby Championship build-up.
Moerat, Van Heerden and Nortje face potential farewell weekends in URC semis
Three departing Bok locks — Moerat, Van Heerden and Nortje — could be playing their final games for the Stormers and Bulls respectively this weekend. Rich profiles their intertwined careers and argues the semifinal stakes carry an extra personal dimension for all three.
Defence coaches are the IPL's bowlers — and Sacha's injury is a reminder of rugby's brutal attrition
Rich argues that Nienaber and Edwards are collateral damage from rugby's structural shift toward high-scoring attack — not personal failures — and draws the IPL bowler analogy to explain why defence coaches are being unfairly measured. He also unpacks Sacha's injury in the context of rugby's brutal attrition rate, and makes a case that the Bulls have the easier semifinal path to a potential Cape Town final.
Kriel unbothered by year-round rugby grind — but the calendar debate rages on
Kriel shrugs off the 11-months-a-year grind while SA Rugby battles New Zealand's resistance to a global calendar overhaul — the piece maps both the player reality and the political impasse.
150 caps, one goal: Grobbelaar wants a Murrayfield final
Grobbelaar reaches 150 Bulls caps in the URC semifinal against Glasgow — the piece looks at what he brings, how he's processed the pain of previous finals, and why the Bulls scrum could be the difference at Murrayfield.
Nienaber questions his Leinster future ahead of Stormers semi
Nienaber publicly questioned his future at Leinster ahead of the URC semifinal against the Stormers, saying sustained media hostility has left him unsure whether he'll see out his contract — adding a charged backdrop to what is already a high-stakes clash for the Cape side.
Grobbelaar's 150th Cap Means Nothing Without the Win
With 150 Bulls caps on the line in the URC semi-final, Grobbelaar is focused entirely on the result — the feature traces his career, his role in the Bulls' set-piece game plan, and why he's treating Murrayfield as opportunity rather than revenge.
Who steps up at hooker if Marx is seriously hurt?
Marx's playoff injury has exposed South Africa's unresolved hooker depth problem. The piece assesses the full candidate pool — Wessels, Grobbelaar, Van Staden, Venter, Dweba and teenage prospect Mnebelele — and what 2026 might look like as the last real development window before the World Cup.