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News, Directory, Events and Other Stuff
Owen Watkin is relishing his new found responsibility for club and country as he sets his sights on a major career milestone. The Ospreys centre started both Tests on Wales’ summer tour of Australia to take his tally of caps up to 41 as he took on a key role for Warren Gatland’s team. He …
The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 will be the first ICC event where women will receive the same prize money as their male counterparts, marking a significant milestone in the sport’s history. The decision was taken at the ICC Annual Conference in July 2023, when the ICC Board took the step of reaching its …
The top Under-20 women’s players in South Africa will converge in Johannesburg from Saturday for their second annual provincial week, with 12 unions sending teams to the tournament, after which a Junior Springbok Women’s team will be selected for the inaugural U20 Women’s Africa Series in Stellenbosch. The Junior Springbok Women will pit themselves play …
Grant Gilchrist and Ben Vellacott will continue as Edinburgh Rugby co-captains for the upcoming 2024/25 season. The duo will once again share the captain’s armband, starting with Friday night’s unmissable URC opener against Leinster. Double-centurion Gilchrist is one of Edinburgh Rugby’s most experienced players, having already co-captained the club in five separate seasons (16/17, 20/21, …
Head coach Ioan Cunningham has named the 30-strong squad to represent Wales at WXV2 in South Africa in September and October. Wales will face Australia, Italy and Japan in three Test matches across three weekends in Cape Town. Centre Hannah Jones will captain the squad based around the side that beat Spain 52-20 in Cardiff …
A ground-breaking new pilot National Academy programme has been launched today to support the development of promising young Scottish male players. Spearheaded by the men’s national team head coach Gregor Townsend and assistant coaches, a group of young players have been identified to take part in the new pilot programme. It will initially run across …
Franco Smith insists Glasgow Warriors are embracing the challenge of having a target on their back as Vodacom URC champions. Smith’s team won the title in thrilling fashion at the end of last season, beating the Vodacom Bulls 21-16 in the final at Pretoria’s Loftus Versfeld after overcoming the DHL Stormers and Munster Rugby in …
Springbok Women performance coach Swys de Bruin has made two changes to the starting team that will face Spain at DHL Stadium in Cape Town on Thursday, and three tweaks to the bench from their comprehensive victory over the Barbarians just over a week ago. Libbie Janse van Rensburg and Azisa Mkiva have been promoted …
The line between organised worship and cult like behaviour can oftentimes be blurred. One finds well meaning supporters of one religion acting in a very un-christian (un-religious?) manner by accusing a rival church of being a cult. Sometimes I think that that behaviour just adds petrol to the fire of religious intolerance and divides us …
The International Cricket Council (ICC) today launched ‘Whatever It Takes’, a campaign designed to build excitement and anticipation for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 taking place in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from 3 to 20 October. Showcasing the dedication, focus, and relentless pursuit of excellence that defines the world’s best cricketers, the …
[Interview with Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus commenting on tour to Argentina]. The Springboks departed for Argentina on Saturday afternoon ready for a battle of epic proportions next weekend against their Castle Lager Rugby Championship title opponents, Argentina, in Santiago del Estero, where victory would secure the title for the double Rugby World Champions. The Boks …
The Fidelity ADT Lions will host the Hollywoodbets Sharks XV in the 2024 Carling Currie Cup Premier Division Final in Johannesburg next weekend after the two teams won their drama-filled semi-finals in Gauteng on Saturday. Hosts Fidelity ADT Lions had to come from behind to secure a memorable 43-34 triumph over the defending champions, the …
World Rugby has confirmed the appointment of Nicky Ponsford as the international federation’s Director of High Performance following a global process. Since joining the international federation in 2021 as Women’s High Performance Manager, Ponsford has been instrumental in resetting the sport’s global high performance structures, creating a targeted approach to high-performance gains in line with …
Edna Cintron is a name that resonates with poignant memories of the tragic events of September 11, 2001. Known as the ‘Waving Woman’, Edna became an enduring symbol of hope and resilience during one of the darkest days in American history. Her story continues to inspire many, and she is trending today due to recent …
Morne van den Berg has been called up as an injury replacement for Grant Williams for the Springboks’ penultimate Castle Lager Rugby Championship match against Argentina at Estadio Unico Madre Ciudades in Santiago on Saturday 21 September. Williams, who started at scrumhalf for the Boks against the All Blacks in Cape Town last weekend, was …
Scotland Women Head Coach Bryan Easson has named eight personnel and one positional change to the starting XV ahead of Scotland’s final match of the Vodafone Series against Fiji on Saturday 14 September at Hive Stadium, kick-off 4.45pm. Anne Young and Elliann Clarke both earn their first Scotland starts at loosehead and tighthead prop respectively, …
Sean Everitt has selected two sides to face Gloucester tomorrow evening. Ross Thompson will get his first minutes since his capital homecoming at stand-off in tomorrow night’s Scottish Building Society Pre-Season clash against Gloucester at Hive Stadium (Friday 13 September, kick-off 7.30pm). The stand-off is one of five summer signings set to feature at Hive …
On current form, the Fidelity ADT Lions should be considered firm favourites against defending champions, the Toyota Cheetahs, when the two sides meet in the first of two Carling Currie Cup Premier Division semi-finals on Saturday, with the Johannesburg clash starting at 14h30. The second semi-final is scheduled for 17h00 in Pretoria between the Vodacom …
Former Springbok Sevens captain Phillip Snyman has been appointed as head coach of the Blitzboks after taking care of the team in an acting capacity for the last six months, SA Rugby confirmed on Thursday. Snyman took over as interim coach in March, following a series of poor results in HSBC SVNS, and under his …
Just because a certain type of vehicle propulsion appears all over Social Media as being a ‘fire risk’, doesn’t mean that that vehicle type is the most prone to fires. Are we familiar with the term ‘outlier’? Don’t be lazy – look it up! In recent years, the safety of vehicles has become a significant …
Head Coach Kenny Murray has named the Combined Academies team to play Ulster Development at Scotstoun Stadium on Friday (4pm kick off). Johnny Ventisei captains the side from outside centre, while hooker Joe Roberts is listed as vice-captain. Roberts is joined in the front row by props Tom Banatvala (loosehead) and Ollie Blyth-Lafferty, while the …
Scottish Rugby has appointed Alex Williamson as its new Chief Executive. Alex, who previously ran the Goodwood Estate and is a former CEO of House of Fraser, takes up his role at Scottish Gas Murrayfield early in 2025. A qualified accountant, Alex started his career with Ernst & Young followed by time in music and …
Hot on the heels of a spectacular weekend of international rugby in Cape Town, local rugby fans have another Test coming their way next week when the Springbok Women take on Spain on Thursday 19 September. Kick-off for the Bok Women’s first Test at DHL Stadium is at 17h00. The Springbok Women outplayed the Barbarians …
Emma Wassell has been withdrawn from Scotland Women’s 30-player squad ahead of WXV 2 on medical grounds. Louise McMillan, who was previously was called into the squad for the Vodafone Series, has now been added to the roster and will travel to Cape Town for the World Rugby competition. Wassell, who was 67 international caps …