10+ min ago (579+ words) Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus and young fly-half Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, who has starred this year. Springboks boss Rassie Erasmus hints that there may be even more rotation next year as they ramp up their preparations ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup. Since winning the global tournament in 2023, South Africa have continued to impress, losing just four games over the past two campaigns. They have claimed back-to-back Rugby Championship titles and are the undisputed number one side in the world. The Boks very much proved that during their northern hemisphere tour as they claimed five successive wins, including away triumphs over France and Ireland. Erasmus understands the need to bring through the younger players with most of their double World Cup winners the wrong side of 30, but he believes that they have done that pretty well so far. Asked following their…...

28+ min ago (602+ words) Bath playmakers Ben Spencer and Finn Russell. Following a 36-29 victory over Saracens in the Gallagher Prem at the StoneX Stadium on Sunday, here are the player ratings for Bath. 15 Tom de Glanville: Some excellent moments on the counter-attack while his boot was useful on occasion. Wasn't tested too much under the high ball with Saracens targeting Henry Arundell's wing. 7 14 Joe Cokanasiga: Wasn't given a huge amount of space in the opening 50 minutes but, when he did get the ball, Cokanasiga tended to make ground. However, was more of a factor later on and made some useful contributions. 7 13 Chris Harris: A very useful signing for Bath. Not quite the player which made him indispensable to Scotland a few years ago, but he remains a centre that does everything very efficiently. 5 12 Will Butt: Very much grew into the game after Saracens started…...

4+ hour, 24+ min ago (617+ words) Cobus Reinach celebrates his 50th cap for the Springboks. Springboks scrum-half Cobus Reinach described claiming his 50th cap for his country as "unreal" after the team brought down the curtain on a special 2025 in style. Reinach came off the bench to mark his milestone game as South Africa cruised to an impressive 73-0 victory over Wales at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday. That secured an unbeaten Autumn Nations Series for the Springboks, which followed the team retaining the Rugby Championship title in a year that they made a statement. Speaking after his landmark outing in the Green and Gold jersey, Reinach was beaming with pride and reflected on his overriding emotions after reaching the half-century. "It"s always special just to put on the Springbok jersey," he said. "If it"s cap one or cap 140 odd like Eben (Etzebeth), it"s…...

4+ hour, 43+ min ago (557+ words) Eben Etzebeth after being red carded against Wales and Springboks legend Bryan Habana. Springboks legend Bryan Habana believes Eben Etzebeth is set for a "lengthy" spell on the sidelines after his red card against Wales. South Africa ended another impressive season in fine style by thrashing the Welshmen 73-0 at the Principality Stadium, but it was marred by a shocking incident at the end of the game. Etzebeth scored the last of the Boks" 11 tries but he was then sent-off for an eye-gouge on opposition flanker Alex Mann after they got involved in a scuffle. Even if it was not intentional, Habana felt there was no excuse for his actions with a ban no doubt coming for the Sharks second-row. How long that will be shall be determined by an independent disciplinary panel, who have a range of sanctions available to…...

5+ hour, 46+ min ago (687+ words) Max Malins was among the Saracens try scorers. Following a 36-29 loss to Bath in their PREM Rugby clash at the StoneX Stadium on Sunday, here's our player ratings for Mark McCall's men. 15 Elliot Daly: Playing in just his first PREM game of the season, Daly looked full of beans early on and performed strongly in the full-back jersey. He was busy in possession while providing a handy kicking option and set up Max Malins well for his second try with a quick draw and give. However, his threat fizzled out as the game wore on and a long-range penalty miss proved costly late on. 6 14 Noah Caluori: The youngster is a special talent in the air but Bath certainly did their homework in that department as Henry Arundell did well to negate that threat and ultimately keep the Saracens wing quiet....

10+ hour, 37+ min ago (806+ words) 14-capped All Black Hoskins Sotutu (left) looks set to make a move to England, with Steve Borthwick (right) able to call him into his Test squad England qualified number eight Hoskins Sotutu is nearing a move to PREM outfit Newcastle Red Bulls, according to reports." The 14-capped All Blacks forward has been linked with a PREM move for a good while now, with Gloucester and Saracens reported to be in the mix for his signature; however, according to reports from the"Telegraph, Kingston Park will be his landing point after opting to join the newly taken over Red Bulls. News of Sotutu heading to the PREM will come as welcome news to England boss Steve Borthwick, with the Blues man qualifying for the national side via his mother. But, just where does he sit in the pecking order among the…...

10+ hour, 57+ min ago (791+ words) Former referee Nigel Owens with an inset of Pierre Brousset during England v Argentina. Nigel Owens says that the protocol's around the clock management needs to be looked at by World Rugby. As it stands, almost a minute of action can be lost because of a TMO review that takes place after a try is scored and while the conversion attempt is being taken. If a TMO and referee rule out a try, the clock is not wound back to exclude the conversion. This flaw in the protocol was exposed in the latter stages of the clash between England and Argentina at the Allianz Stadium during the final full weekend of the Quilter Nations Series. Los Pumas loose forward Joaquin Oviedo was awarded a try in the dying embers of the game, and Santiago Carreras lined up and converted the…...

11+ hour ago (888+ words) Springboks lock Eben Etzebeth. Eben Etzebeth will almost surely be banned following his red card against Wales, but it's unlikely to be as hefty a decision as most predict. South Africa thrashed Wales by a record 73-0 margin on Saturday, handing Steve Tandy's charges their biggest-ever home defeat. Rassie Erasmus' men ran in 11 tries in total, the last of which Etzebeth scored himself with the previous 10 tries scored by Ethan Hooker, Jasper Wiese, Morne van den Berg, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (2), Wilco Louw, Canan Moodie, Andre Esterhuizen, and Ruan Nortje. However, the victory was spoiled by Etzebeth's actions with a handful of minutes left on the clock. The incident unfolded when Ben Carter and Taine Plumtree attempted to hold Feinberg-Mngomezulu up after the Springboks fly-half carried the ball into the Welsh defence. Etzebeth realised the threat and thundered into the maul and ended…...

11+ hour, 14+ min ago (402+ words) Antoine Dupont made his return for his Toulouse on Saturday. Antoine Dupont made his return to action for Toulouse as a replacement in their comfortable 48-24 win over Racing 92, but the game was marred by a shocking red card. Star scrum-half Dupont had been on the sidelines since the Six Nations following a ruptured ACL while on duty for France in March and has worked his way back to full fitness. Rumours of a potential rugby comeback were sparked when he was pictured training with Les Bleus and he was later included in Toulouse's squad for Saturday's home match. However, the drama came before he even entered the fray as Racing 92 hooker Janick Tarrit was shown a red card for a flying head-butt on Toulouse back-rower Efrain Elias. This incident occurred on the stroke of half-time with the scoreline at 8-3 as…...

11+ hour, 14+ min ago (605+ words) Ireland lock James Ryan and Springboks hooker Malcolm Marx. The full judgement of James Ryan's suspension has been released after the Ireland lock was red carded in their defeat to the Springboks last weekend. South Africa claimed a 24-13 triumph at the Aviva Stadium where the hosts were given four yellow cards and one red. Ryan was dismissed after making contact with the head of Boks hooker Malcolm Marx early in the match. In a desperate attempt to stop Marx from competing over the ball at the breakdown, the Ireland and Leinster star tucked his arm and connected with the front-rower. It was a nasty-looking incident but, despite the severity of the hit, it was revealed that Ryan did not apologise to the Springboks hooker. "At no stage on the field, after the game, in the changing rooms, or at the…...