Rugby

The Naka Bulle will start the defence of their African Rainbow Community Gold Cup crown against Sishen when the exciting club competition kicks off on Saturday, 21 September, with matches scheduled at 16 club grounds across South Africa and at venues as far afield as Louis Trichardt, Kimberley, Groot-Brakrivier and Strand. The opening round will …

Ask Munster Rugby coach Graham Rowntree what he is aiming for in the BKT URC this time around and he delivers a swift response. “I would like to go a week further than last season, that would be a good start,” he replies. Munster’s defence of their league crown ended at the penultimate hurdle back …

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has made 10 changes to his starting team for their penultimate Castle Lager Rugby Championship clash against Los Pumas in Santiago del Estero on Saturday. Salmaan Moerat (lock) leads a new-look team in a match which would see the Boks claim the Championship title for the first time since 2019, should …

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 DHL Stormers home and away jerseys for the upcoming 2024/25 season have been revealed and are on sale now from the official online stores. The new home and away replica jerseys are on sale now from stormersshop.co.za and blksport.co.za and will be available at all major retailers from Tuesday. The 2024/25 home jersey features …

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, …

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 …

[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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …