The FNB Varsity Shield 2026 began in dramatic fashion with the FNB UKZN Impi crushing Sol Plaatje University in Durban while FNB CPUT stunned last year's runner's up Madibaz 30-20 in a thrilling encounter in Bellville. FNB UWC got off to a flying start defeating FNB UFH 38-12 in the opening match on Friday. Meanwhile, a hard-fought clash at Sisa Dukashe Stadium ended in a 27-27 draw after FNB Wits came back from 24-5 down at the break. FNB UFH 12-38 FNB UWC The Varsity Shield

The Springbok Women's Sevens team had a mixed bag of results in Nairobi on Saturday, winning two of their three HSBC SVNS 2 matches at Nyayo National Stadium. An opening 14-12 win over Spain was followed by a 12-0 defeat to Brazil, before they finished the day with a 12-10 win over Kenya, resulting in South Africa finishing the day second on the log behind Argentina, who will be one of their two opponents on Sunday, with China being the other. The tournament did not start wel

Hacjivah Dayimani is back in Cape Town and will rejoin the DHL Stormers squad on a short-term deal which runs until the end of the current season. The dynamic loose forward was a key player in the team that won the inaugural Vodacom URC title in 2022 and will be available to add to his 57 caps with immediate effect. Having spent the last two season playing in the French Top 14, Dayimani returns to place of his birth with valuable experience added to his undeniable natural tal

SA Rugby has revamped its professional junior rugby pathways with the creation of a new Under-23 competition, to ensure emerging players are optimally prepared for senior rugby. The change was approved at a Special General Council meeting of SA Rugby on Wednesday, following a thorough review of the playing calendar, to provide additional opportunities for game time at an important developmental stage of playing careers. The new SA Rugby Under-23 Cup competition will kick off

Rested and ready to go again after their heroics in Dubai last month, HSBC SVNS 3 qualifiers South Africa, Canada, Argentina and Belgium join eight established sevens nations in Kenyan capital Nairobi this weekend at the start of a six-week, three-tournament continent and ocean-crossing quest to reach the HSBC SVNS Championship. South Africa, Spain and Argentina’s women are bidding to join their male counterparts later this year, while Canada and USA’s men are aiming to follo

World Rugby has launched the Women in Rugby Careers Programme, reinforcing its ongoing commitment to strengthening leadership and career pathways for women across the global game. Building on the successful 2025 pilot delivered under the Impact Beyond 2025 legacy initiative, the programme has already supported more than 100 women from 56 countries to upskill and progress within rugby. The evolved programme will continue to offer targeted career development, skills training, a

The Springbok Women’s Sevens have a real belief and desire to reclaim their seat at the main table of HSBC SVNS and that commitment will be on display at Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi on Saturday and Sunday. That is the view of Liske Lategan, one of the stalwarts who has experienced all the ups and downs the team had gone through since her debut in 2019, when the world series combined the men and women’s circuit for the first time. On debut, at DHL Stadium in Cape Town, Lategan sc

The countdown to the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season is finally over as the clubs kick-off celebrations of 30 years of Super Rugby this weekend. With retro jerseys being unveiled, club legends coming together and a remarkable 22 players named to make their Super Rugby Pacific debuts, there are no shortage of storylines and an abundance of reasons for fans to get to a game or tune in. Kids under the age of 13 receive free entry as the Highlanders open the season with a showdow

World Rugby, in partnership with USA Rugby and TEG Rugby Live, has officially announced the full schedule for the Pacific Four Series 2026, the sixth edition of the annual intercontinental elite women’s rugby competition featuring Australia, Canada, New Zealand and USA. Five of the six matches in the 2026 edition will be hosted in the United States, with Sacramento (Heart Health Park), Kansas City (CPKC Stadium) and Chicago (SeatGeek Stadium) set to welcome fans across three

Boland Rugby officially unveiled Umbro, AfriSam and Mama’s Pies as new sponsors at the Sanlam Boland Kavaliers and Sanlam Boland Dames' 2026 season launch, marking an important addition to the union’s growing commercial portfolio. The portfolio has grown substantially over the last three seasons, with existing sponsors continuing their backing of this proud union. Headline sponsor Sanlam, along with Santam, Vumatel, Rainbow Chicken and Heineken Beverages, have committed to ba

It may be Valentine’s Day on Saturday but there will be no love lost when South Africa’s top eight women’s provincial teams return to action as the wait is finally over for fans of this fast-growing sport, with the Pick n Pay Women’s Super League 1 kicking off a new era for women’s rugby. The competition – now in a new guise thanks to the title sponsorship of Pick n Pay and associate partnership of Vodacom – will see the eight leading teams in the country face each other in a

Nine former Springbok Women’s players were included on a list of 24 elite coaches who will form part of SA Rugby’s new Women Coaches’ Transitioning Workshop, a critical initiative designed to bridge the gender gap in elite coaching. The workshop, which aligns with SA Rugby’s “Destination 2027” strategy, is scheduled to take place at Delsma Sports Farm in Riebeeck West later this month. It will serve as a formal prerequisite for nomination to the prestigious World Rugby Level

Junior Springbok head coach Kevin Foote has named an exciting 31-man squad to travel to Tbilisi for a three-match tour of Georgia later this month, with four members from last year’s Junior Springbok squad selected for the trip. The SA Rugby U20 squad are scheduled to leave for Georgia on Sunday and will return home on 28 February following the completion of three matches, two of which will be internationals against the hosts. The selection follows an intensive three-week pre

The time has come for fans to begin selecting the inaugural Super Rugby Legends XV – a celebration of the legendary players who helped define the first 30 years of Super Rugby. The first phase of voting has now wrapped up, with fans from each of the 11 Super Rugby Pacific clubs selecting the best-ever XV to have pulled on their respective club colours. From today, the second phase of voting begins as these club legends go head-to-head, one position every week, to earn a place

Shannon-Lee Windvogel is in line to make her international debut for the Springbok Women’s Sevens this weekend after the former SWD Eagirls speedster was named in the South African squad for HSBC SVNS 2 in Nairobi but for the rest, Cecil Afrika has retained the tried and tested core of players that will depart for Kenya on Tuesday evening. Ten players were part of the victorious squad last month in Dubai, where South Africa’s victory in HSBC SVNS 3 saw them progress to the ne

The 2025/26 Uefa Women's Champions League resumes with the first-ever knockout phase play-offs, to decide who will join Barcelona, OL Lyonnes, Chelsea and Bayern München in the quarter-finals. here we preview the four two-legged ties between the teams that finished fifth and 12th in the league phase table, with both seasoned European competitors and teams making their debuts at this stage of the competition in the mix. Wednesday OH Leuven v Arsenal (6.45pm CET) Fresh from win

The FNB Varsity Cup and FNB Varsity Shield 2026 season was officially launched with a vibrant event at a packed V&A Waterfront amphitheatre, setting the tone for another epic year of student rugby and what promises to be another unforgettable season. Fans gathered in large numbers as the iconic Cape Town venue transformed into a celebration of rugby, entertainment and campus culture. The launch brought together the captains of all three tournaments, who were formally introduc

Ryan Oosthuizen has lifted HSBC SVNS trophies across the globe but the first one in Australia certainly ranks amongst the best, not because of his Player of the Final performance in Perth on Sunday but because the Springbok Sevens held themselves accountable to play according to their standards. The experienced Blitzbok forward delivered an outstanding performance in the final in Perth, where South Africa edged Fiji 21-19 to win their second tournament in the 2026 series, fol

Philip Snyman praised the Springbok Sevens squad for their effort and belief as they claimed the HSBC SVNS Perth title on Sunday, with a close, but well-deserved victory over Fiji at HBF Park. The 21-19 win in the final was a convincing rebound after last weekend’s fourth place in Singapore and kept the Blitzboks’ HSBC SVNS title dreams alive, as they will travel to the last leg of the series – next month in Vancouver and Los Angeles – only four log points behind Fiji, who ar

The Springbok Sevens took sweet revenge on Fiji in Perth on Sunday, beating the HSBC SVNS log leaders by 21-19 in a pulsating final at HBF Park to claim their first title on Australian soil since 2017, when they won in Sydney. The Blitzboks were up 14-12 at the break but conceded the lead to Fiji early in the second half, with last weekend’s Singapore champions leading by five points with four minutes to play. The second stanza belonged to the Blitzboks though. They tackled l