Towering lock RG Snyman will join the select group of players to earn 50 Test caps for South Africa when the Springboks run out at the Aviva Stadium against Ireland on Saturday, in a matchday squad that reflects only two personnel changes to the team that defeated France 32-17 two weeks ago. With most of the players being rested last week against Italy to ensure that Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus could field a fresh team to match the hosts’ energy, he reverted to his tried a

Wing Dylan Maart has signed a loan agreement that will see him join the DHL Stormers squad until the end of the year. The 29-year-old outside back joins as cover for the injured Seabelo Senatla, as part of the development agreement between Stormers Rugby and Griquas Rugby, which will also see Sako Makata and Keagan Blanckenberg join the Kimberley side on loan. Maart featured prominently for the Suzuki Griquas as they claimed the Carling Currie Cup title earlier this year and

World Rugby and USA Rugby, in partnership with TEG Rugby Live, have announced New York as the host of the HSBC SVNS series leg in the United States. From 14-15 March, 2026, the world’s premier sevens competition will take centre stage at Sports Illustrated Stadium. The announcement comes as anticipation builds ahead of the new-look HSBC SVNS 2026 series kicking off in Dubai on 29-30 November. With star power, gender equity and global representation to the fore, across the sea

Springbok wing Cheslin Kolbe emphasised the importance of capitalising on their point-scoring opportunities when the Boks line up against Ireland in Dublin on Saturday, if they want to break their 13-year losing run against the Irish at the Aviva Stadium. Matches between the teams have been very close in the last few years and Kolbe admitted that the Boks’ inability to make the most of their chance in the last outing between the teams in Dublin in 2022 came at a high price –

Men’s Rugby World Cup Australia 2027 (RWC 2027) has confirmed a star-studded talent line-up who will lead fans through the RWC 2027 Draw, an eagerly awaited milestone following the announcement of all 24 teams now qualified for the tournament. World Rugby Chair and former Australian international Brett Robinson, All Blacks legend and two-time RWC winner Dan Carter, former Wallabies captain and Australia’s most-capped player James Slipper and Olympic gold medallist and former

Samoa have secured qualification for Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027 after drawing with Belgium 13-13 in the last match of the Final Qualification Tournament in Dubai, UAE, on Tuesday. After two opening wins against Brazil and Namibia, Samoa needed a draw against Belgium to win the tournament and clinch the last qualification place available and complete the line-up of the next expanded edition. Samoa’s triumph in the competition sees them become the 24th and final team to book th

Springbok prop Thomas du Toit and scrumhalf Grant Williams shot down talk by the local media that the Boks could approach Saturday’s Test against Ireland at the Aviva Stadium as a grudge match. The last time the two teams clashed, last July in Durban, Ireland beat the Boks by 25-24 but the Bok duo said on Tuesday previous results between the teams were history. The Test – the penultimate in the Castle Lager Outgoing Tour – kicks off at 7.40pm (SAST) on Saturday and will be br

It took him nine tournaments and two seasons – during which he was part of two HSBC SVNS tournament wins – to finally come to terms with rugby sevens and his Blitzbok role and now, David Brits cannot wait for the new season to start for him to give it his best shot. The 29-year-old joined the Blitzboks at the end of the 2023 season and made his debut in Perth in 2024 but injuries limited his appearances to only three for the season. Last season Brits – who won the Carling Cur

The nominees have been unveiled for the World Rugby Awards 2025, recognising the players and moments that have defined the sport over the past calendar year. With the women’s categories already awarded at the end of Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 in September, this year’s men’s shortlist spans three headline categories: International Rugby Players Association Try of the Year, World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year, and Player of the Year. Each nominee has been voted by the

Springbok lock Eben Etzebeth, who increased his Test cap tally to 139 against France two weeks ago, said the Boks are looking forward to Saturday’s Castle Lager Outgoing Tour showdown against Ireland at the Aviva Stadium and added that it would be a “nice opportunity” to try to change their fortunes in Dublin, where they last won a Test in 2012. The teams last met in South Africa in the Castle Lager Incoming Series in July 2024, with each side winning one game but Etzebeth sa

Fierce cross hemisphere rivalries will be put on the global stage when the Nations Championship debuts in July 2026. A landmark joint venture agreed between Six Nations Rugby and SANZAAR, to create the new biennial tournament, signals a watershed moment for rugby union, years in the making. The Nations Championship creates a competitive tournament format, injecting jeopardy and context into every fixture, on the way to crowning a tournament Champion and deciding the dominant

The Springbok Women’s Sevens confirmed their standing as the best team on the continent after they outplayed hosts and main contenders, Kenya, in the Rugby Africa Women’s Sevens Cup final in Nairobi on Sunday, and according to coach Cecil Afrika, it was a great team effort that brought them success. After the final, won 22-0 by South Africa, Afrika said the attitude of the players during the tournament, a strong desire to play for the team and each other, and a good team spir

Experienced utility back Damian Willemse said the Springboks must be dialled in and ready for anything Ireland throw at them when the teams cross paths at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday in the penultimate Test of the Castle Lager Outgoing Tour. Fresh off his Player of the Match performance in the Boks’ 32-14 victory against Italy in Turin on Saturday, when they had to show true character to overcome a red and yellow card in the match, Willemse said they expected anot

Bongi Mbonambi (hooker) and Ntuthuko Mchunu (prop) will join the Springboks in Ireland on Sunday as national coach Rassie Erasmus and his coaching team prepare for their final two clashes of the Castle Lager Outgoing Tour, against Ireland and Wales. Mbonambi, who was a member of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship squad, was one of the players named on Erasmus’ standby list for the tour, while Mchunu earned the last of his three Test caps against Portugal in Bloemfontein in t

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi and coach Rassie Erasmus praised the team’s fighting spirit to beat Italy in their Castle Lager Outgoing Tour Test at the Allianz Stadium in Turin on Saturday, despite receiving an early red card for the second week in a row and said they are doing everything they can to avoid losing players on the field due to mistakes. The Boks were reduced to 14 men in the 12th minute when utility forward Franco Mostert received a red card for a dangerous tack

A much-changed Springbok team, playing with 14 men for almost 70 minutes, delivered a performance for the ages in extreme adversity with a brilliant 32-14 (half-time 10-3) Castle Lager Outgoing Tour victory over Italy in Turin. For the second successive week the Boks lost their No 5 in Franco Mostert (for a tackle to the head of Italian flyhalf Paolo Garbisi) as the second man entering the tackle – except this time it was in the 12th minute. That left an experimental side wit

The Springbok Women's Sevens team scored 17 tries and conceded none on day one of the Rugby Africa Women's Sevens Cup in Nairobi on Saturday, easing past Mauritius (68-0) and Zimbabwe (47-0) to secure a quarter-final berth against Ghana at 8am (SA time) on Sunday. The South African attack was impressive all afternoon but some solid defence also aided the team as they outclassed their opponents at the RFUEA Grounds in Kenya's capital. Two tries by wing Maria Tshiremba in the o

Junior Springbok coach Kevin Foote and captain Riley Norton both lauded the fighting spirit of the SA U19 Academy team, who beat Ireland in their last tour match in Cork on Friday evening. The team's character was truly tested in their final match tour match in Ireland, where they played in freezing cold, wet and windy conditions marked by sweeping rain. Despite the atrocious weather, the SA U19s demonstrated remarkable grit and executed a strong, forward-dominated performanc

With their forwards setting the tone, the South African Under-19 Academy side defeated Ireland U20 by 32-22 in their international match at Musgrave Park in Cork on Friday night to finish their short European tour on a positive note. After going down to their French counterparts last week in Chateauroux, the SA U19s delivered a strong performance to defeat Ireland, outscoring the hosts by four tries to three in freezing cold, wet and windy conditions. The SA pack was splendid

Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick made it clear on Friday that the Boks would not underestimate Italy going into Saturday’s Castle Lager Outgoing Tour match, and said the hosts pose immense dangers within their pack and backline. The teams will cross paths at the Allianz Stadium in Torino at 2.40pm (SAST) and the match will be broadcast live and exclusively on SuperSport. “It’s a tough week because we are facing a team that comes off a good game against Australia, whi