The Vodacom Bulls squad travelling to Dublin for next Friday’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship final reflects a carefully balanced blend of experience, youth and versatility, positioning the team strongly for the demands of a high-pressure occasion. At its core is a heavy Springbok influence - 17 in all - with seasoned internationals such as Willie le Roux, Handré Pollard, Marcell Coetzee and Kurt-Lee Arendse bringing invaluable big-match experience and leadership. This is

The Junior Springboks squad to represent South Africa at the 2026 World Rugby Junior World Championship in Georgia was announced by SA U20 head coach Kevin Foote on Friday, with seven players from last year’s successful campaign in Italy included in the group. South Africa will defend their title at the global showpiece, which takes place in Georgia from 27 June to 18 July. Captain Riley Norton (lock), Oliver Reid, Rambo Kubheka (props), Siphosethu Mnebelele (hooker), Vusi Mo

The Griffons will kick off the defence of their Carling Currie Cup First Division crown with a tricky trip to East London to face the Border Bulldogs when the competition kicks off with three clashes on Saturday. The race to the title this season promises to be hotly contested after a number of the teams in action showed what they can do in the recently completed SA Cup. The two other matches this weekend are taking place in Potchefstroom, where the Leopards host the Dotsure

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus said on Thursday the matches between the Boks and Barbarians and the SA ‘A’ team versus Zimbabwe were vital to set the tone for the season as the team prepare for the Nations Championship and Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series in the coming months. The Boks’ match against the BaaBaas (3pm) will be preceded by a clash between the SA ‘A’ team and Zimbabwe (12pm) at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on 20 June. A large Springbok contingent as

Handré Pollard. Johan Rynners/Vodacom Bulls Handré Pollard believes the pure character of a Vodacom Bulls team that has been against the ropes several times this season and fought their way back will be their greatest asset as they chase a first Vodacom United Rugby Championship title in Dublin on Friday 19 June. “We’ve come out of so many holes as a group this season and then even though we were down 21-3 in the semi-final against the Glasgow Warriors, we looked at each othe

Vodacom Bulls’ Willie le Roux (left) and Leinster’s James Lowe (right). Inpho Photography This is no ordinary rematch. Leinster and the Vodacom Bulls meet in the first back-to-back Grand Final pairing in league history, with the Bulls leading the overall series but Leinster owning the one result that delivered silverware. This is the fourth knock-out clash between these giants of North and South since 2022 with Bulls winning two semi-finals and Leinster winning the 2025 Grand

After an exciting semi-final weekend of the United Rugby Championship, URC StatMaster has identified the top players from the semi-finals along with the overall top team and player performances from the entire season. Click Below To View URC Player Stats Click Below To View URC Team Stats Top Players From Semi-Finals Carries: 22 Caelan Doris (Leinster Rugby) Defenders Beaten: 7 Cameron Hanekom (Vodacom Bulls) Line-outs Won: 8 Alex Samiel (Glasgow Warriors) Metres: 123 Kyle R

International stars from across the world, including Duhan van der Merwe, TJ Perenara and Andrew Kellaway have been named in the Barbarians squad to face the Springboks at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Saturday, 20 June, as part of an international season-opening double-header which will also feature the South African ‘A’ team taking on Zimbabwe. Van der Merwe, a former Junior Springbok wing who has played for Scotland and the British & Irish Lions, will wear

Tickets go on sale at 4pm Irish time (5pm SAST) on Tuesday on www.ticketmaster.ie for the first-ever Friday Night Grand Final (7.30pm/8.30pm kick-off) as Leinster and the Vodacom Bulls meet in Dublin’s Croke Park to decide who will win the 2026 United Rugby Championship. Grand Final Friday promises to be the most accessible major sports event in Ireland with incredible value and options available to every type of fan. Kids tickets are priced at €10 while entry to Croke Park’s

New Zealand teams will contest DHL Super Rugby Pacific’s semi-finals next week after making it 23 play-off games in which Australian sides have failed to win on this side of the Tasman. The Reds went closest to gaining a berth in the closest contest of the weekend before going down 46-24 to the Chiefs in Hamilton. The Brumbies suffered a record play-off loss, 66-12, to the Hurricanes. As a result, the Hurricanes will host the highest-placed losing side, the Blues, in Wellingt

In Round 2 of the Toyota Challenge on Wednesday, the Suzuki Griquas face Black Lion at 1.30pm, followed by the match between the Airlink Pumas and Romania A at 3.30pm. The Toyota Cheetahs face Romania A at 6pm. Gates open at 12.30pm and all games will be live on SuperSport. The first leg of the Toyota Challenge will take place at Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein on 5, 10 and 14 June, before the second leg moves to Tbilisi, Georgia, in October. Every match day will feature excit

Winning the HSBC SVNS World Championship back to back – on top of the HSBC SVNS Series title – were goals that the Springbok Sevens set for themselves, so Tristan Leyds was already emotional when they achieved that on Saturday evening but when the Blitzbok playmaker was told he was voted the world's best sevens player, more tears of relief and unexpected joy rolled down his face. Leyds said he was overwhelmed when SA coach Philip Snyman broke the news to him in a private mome

Springbok assistant coach Tony Brown will conclude his tenure with SA Rugby and the Springboks at the end of the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia, when he will return home to take up a coaching position with the New Zealand Rugby Union in 2028. The former All Black flyhalf joined the Springbok coaching team in 2024 and has been an influential figure in shaping the team’s attacking game. True to his word, Brown has honoured his contract in full, remaining committed to the Spr

Australia claimed victory in Bordeaux to crown a vintage World Championship-winning year, as France's men's side claimed a home tournament crown and South Africa's Blitzboks lifted the overall title. Australia celebrated not one but two titles at Stade Atlantique, as they added the Bordeaux HSBC SVNS World Championship series crown to their Valladolid title – and claimed the overall world title with a dominant victory over great rivals New Zealand in an all-action final. Co-c

Springbok Sevens head coach Philip Snyman congratulated all involved with the Blitzbok system after they secured a unique double in the 2026 season when they followed up their HSBC SVNS Series triumph by successfully defending their World Championship title. “I am so very, very proud on this team, and to win both the World Series and the World Championship is a special feat indeed,” said Snyman. “The fact that we won the Hong Kong tournament for the first time ever was probab

The Springbok Women’s Sevens’ HSBC SVNS World Championship campaign came to a disappointing end in Bordeaux on Sunday but they showed good progress and believe that they can get back to the top tier of sevens rugby. That is the view of SA head coach Cecil Afrika after his team finished in 12th place in the final tournament of the season and failed in their efforts to return to the HSBC SVNS Series for 2027. “We did falter a bit as the weekend progressed,” said Afrika on Sunda

Junior Springbok head coach Kevin Foote has named an extended training squad of 38 players, with the majority set to assemble in Stellenbosch from Monday as preparations intensify ahead of the forthcoming Junior World Championship in Georgia. Ten members of the extended squad have been called up to the senior Springbok group for the clash against the Barbarians and the SA ‘A’ fixture against Zimbabwe in Gqeberha on 20 June, while Cheswill Jooste is still with the Vodacom Bull

The Vodacom Bulls will return to Dublin for a second successive Vodacom United Rugby Championship Grand Final against Leinster after the two teams won their respective semi-finals in an enthralling weekend of rugby. The URC has confirmed that the fifth Grand Final will take place on Friday, 19 June at Croke Park in Dublin, where Leinster and the Bulls will face each other in a rematch of last year’s decider. Kick-off is scheduled for 8.30pm (SAST) and the encounter will be br

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus named an exciting 51-man squad – featuring 21 uncapped players – on Saturday evening for the team’s first training camp of the season, starting in Johannesburg on Monday, with an eye on the double-header between the Boks and the Barbarians, as well as the clash between the SA ‘A’ team against Zimbabwe, in Gqeberha on Saturday, 20 June. With the Vodacom Bulls players unavailable for selection after booking their place in the Vodacom United Rugby

The Springbok Women's Sevens suffered two losses on Day Two of the HSBC SVNS Bordeaux on Saturday and will be in a battle for the 11th place with Brazil. Brave performances against France and New Zealand on Day One was followed by a defeat to Argentina in their final pool match. South Africa came up short 17-5 with the result handing the wooden spoon to Zintle Mpupha and her squad, confirming that they will not play in the top tier in the 2027 season. They again lost to Argen