The DHL Stormers, Vodacom Bulls and Lions finished the first block of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in the top eight on the log, while the Hollywoodbets Sharks finally won their first game of the season as the competition takes a break for the November Tests. The Capetonians are still at the top of the standings after a hard-fought 31-16 victory over Benetton in Italy on Saturday, with Jurie Matthee scoring 21 points for the visitors. Earlier in the day, the KwaZulu-N

On Sunday the Toyota Cheetahs and Black Lion will face each other again in the second Toyota Challenge match from 3pm at Toyota Stadium. While Free State Rugby still celebrates 130 years of existence, fans can look forward to an action-packed day starting at 12.30pm with the Cheetah Legends against the Blue Bull Rugby Union Legends. Gates open at 11.30am and both games will be live on SuperSport 211. Each match between the Cheetahs and Black Lion comes with a R250 000 prize f

There are seven changes to the DHL Stormers starting line-up for the Vodacom United Rugby Championship encounter with Benetton in Treviso on Saturday. There is an all-new tight five and a new halfback pairing for the match against the Italian outfit, which kicks off at 6.30pm on Saturday at Stadio Monigo. The Stormers will be looking to end their tour on a high as they target their first-ever win in Treviso, to make it five consecutive victories at the start of the season. Sa

The Lions welcome the high-flying Irish side Ulster this Saturday for Round 5 of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship hosted at Ellis Park. The home side will take momentum into Saturday’s fixture after securing a bonus point victory against Scarlets at the same venue last weekend thus securing their first win of the season. Last week’s hard-fought success however came with one casualty in the form of star poacher JC Pretorius who sustained a knee injury which sees him out o

All club roads lead to the Mother City on Saturday for the biggest match on the South African club rugby calendar, when Villager FC host Naka Bulls in the Pick n Pay Gold Cup Final. This year’s tournament, which signals a bold new era for club rugby on the back of significant post-pandemic and RWC 2023-inspired growth in the community game, is also supported by Northam Platinum, whose commitment to community aligns with the grassroots spirit of the Pick n Pay Gold Cup. Pick n

Brodie Coghlan. www.inpho.ie When Brodie Coghlan answered his phone one evening earlier this week, he initially thought it might be a wind-up. But then, after a few seconds, the penny dropped. It really was Steve Tandy on the other end of the line, telling him he was in the Wales squad. Since then, the uncapped Dragons hooker has been on cloud nine as he prepares for Saturday evening’s United Rugby Championship derby against the Ospreys at Rodney Parade. “I am absolutely buzz

The SA Under-19 Academy squad moved straight into high-intensity training when they kicked off their camp on Wednesday for their three-game European tour, which starts in a week’s time. The 36-man squad assembled in Stellenbosch on Wednesday and completed their first day of training in sweltering conditions, with Junior Bok head coach Kevin Foote and his coaching staff putting the young men through their paces in a high-intensity session. Thursday's cloud cover created cooler

Franco Smith. www.inpho.ie Glasgow Warriors coach Franco Smith says his players are “hitting their straps” as they head into Friday night’s big United Rugby Championship clash with the Vodacom Bulls. Smith’s team have scored 13 tries in their last two matches while recording bonus point victories at home to Dragons RFC (49-0) and away to the Ospreys (42-17). That has taken the 2024 champions up to third in the table, just three points off the top. Now comes the Scotstoun show

The Vodacom Bulls have made eight changes to their line-up for Friday’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship fixture against Glasgow in Scotland. This follows last week’s one-point win against Connacht. Among the most significant changes are the inclusion of seasoned players like Marcell Coetzee and Ruan Nortje, which adds muscle and leadership with the latter appointed captain. There has been a front row overhaul with Gerhard Steenekamp, Johan Grobbelaar and Mornay Smith steppi

Alex Mann. www.inpho.ie One of Alex Mann’s goals for this season is to try and smile a bit more and he certainly has good reason to do so at the minute. The Cardiff Rugby flanker has just been named in the Wales squad for the autumn internationals on the back of a Player of the Match display in last weekend’s United Rugby Championship victory over Dragons RFC at Rodney Parade. So plenty of cause for celebration. Yet, as he readily acknowledges, that doesn’t always come easily

The Hollywoodbets Sharks will be looking to close out the first stage of the season on a high against Scarlets this Saturday before the Vodacom United Rugby Championship pauses for the autumn international window. Head coach John Plumtree has made minimal changes to the side for this week’s match against the Welsh team at Hollywoodbets Kings Park. Eben Etzebeth leads the team with one rotational change to the pack where Emmanuel Tshituka and Phepsi Buthelezi swap jerseys, whi

While the DHL Stormers, Vodacom Bulls and Lions will look to kick on from their victories in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship last weekend to build on their campaigns, the Hollywoodbets Sharks will be desperate to end their winless streak in round five of the cross-hemisphere competition. With the Springbok squad all set to report for duty in the UK on Monday for their five-week Castle Lager Outgoing Tour, the domestic franchises will be hoping to get the most out of the

Ahead of the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 Final, Herbert Mensah, President of Rugby Africa, the continental governing body of rugby in Africa, participated in the “Journey of Women’s Representation in Rugby Leadership” panel at the 17th World Rugby General Assembly in London, United Kingdom. Organized by World Rugby, the global governing body of rugby, the assembly brought together 134 national unions and regional associations to focus on progress, leadership, governance and

Dylan Richardson. www.inpho.ie Dylan Richardson is living something of a double life at the moment, but he’s more than happy to do so. Growing up in South Africa, he spent the formative years of his career playing on the flank, representing the land of his birth in that position at U20s level. He then converted to hooker towards the end of his time with the Hollywoodbets Sharks while working under his current Edinburgh Rugby coach Sean Everitt. Now he’s been reunited with Eve

After an exciting weekend of United Rugby Championship rugby, URC StatMaster has identified the top players from Round 4 along with the overall top team and player performances from the league so far. Top Players From R4 Carries: 21 Dave Heffernan (Connacht Rugby) Defenders Beaten: 7 JC Pretorius (Lions) Line-outs Won: 10 Ruben van Heerden (DHL Stormers) Metres: 110 Mirko Belloni (Zebre Parma) Passes: 97 Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster Rugby) Tackles: 32 Mama Xaba (Vodacom Bull

Jarrod Taylor. www.inpho.ie Jarrod Taylor’s rugby career will come full circle when he lines up against the Hollywoodbets Sharks in Durban this weekend. It was at the Hollywoodbets Sharks that he began his journey into the professional game, linking up with their Academy while still at school. That proved to be a brief stay ahead of a move to Cape Town to play for Western Province in the Currie Cup while studying at Stellenbosch University. Then, in February 2024, he took the

The Hollywoodbets Sharks claimed the SA Rugby Under-21 title on Saturday when they defeated the Fidelity ADT Lions 63-31 in a high-scoring final in Durban on Saturday, while the Vodacom Bulls edged DHL Western Province by 20-14 in the SA Rugby U19 Cup final staged in Pretoria on Friday. Playing at home in Durban, the Sharks showed their attacking pedigree as the came out tops by big margin of 32 points in the U21 decider, which delivered a total of 94 points. The Lions, who l

South Africa’s age-old north-versus-south provincial and franchise rivalry will play out at club level in Cape Town on Saturday when Western Province champions Villager host Bulls champions Naka Bulls in the Pick n Pay Gold Cup Final. This year’s tournament, which signals a bold new era for community rugby on the back of significant post-pandemic and RWC 2023-inspired growth in the club game, is also supported by Northam Platinum, whose commitment to community aligns with the

Former Junior Springbok prop and captain Zachary Porthen earned his first Springbok call-up on Monday as national coach Rassie Erasmus named a quality 36-man squad for the Castle Lager Outgoing Tour in November, which features four players who will return to the Bok set-up for the first time this season. Erasmus also placed 10 players on standby, including uncapped Ulster and former World Rugby U20 Championship Player of the Tournament, Juarno Augustus and Vodacom Bulls back

Munster Rugby. www.inpho.ie A Croke Park crowd of 51 859 saw Munster Rugby deliver a statement performance as they claimed a 31-14 bonus point victory over champions Leinster Rugby to maintain their flying start to the campaign. They outscored their arch rivals by four tries to two and backed that up with an immense defensive display to make it four wins from four in the United Rugby Championship this season. It was the first time at Croke Park for their new coach Clayton McM