Australia’s last-gasp victory over South Africa on Saturday was a truly compelling spectacle. A win for the Wallabies, who had been 20-7 down with half an hour to go, opened…
Rugby World Cup
Analysis – Why New Zealand still need Richie McCaw and Dan Carter
Every year, without fail, the vast Super 15 talent pool infatuates onlookers from the northern hemisphere. Bleary-eyed from a schedule of early morning alarms, they fall head over heels through…
A letter from South Africa – June
Bulls and Sharks cull mercilessly The Bulls and the Sharks did little to persuade seasoned veterans to reconsider offers from overseas clubs after both suffering mediocre Super Rugby campaigns. The…
Analysis: How Nemani Nadolo could wreck the World Cup for England and Wales
According to common consensus among early newspaper reports, the iceberg that submerged the Titanic in 1912 was between 50 and 100 feet high and 200 to 400 feet high. Now, Nemani…
Rugby statistics: Why South Africa may struggle to overlook Jaco Kriel for the World Cup
During the Springboks training camp in May, head coach Heyneke Meyer said that picking the loose forwards for the Rugby World Cup was his biggest worry. Given the limitations of…
France: Guy Noves will do things his way
To nobody’s great surprise Guy Noves was officially unveiled on Sunday as France’s next coach, with Yannick Bru as his forwards’ coach and Jeff Dubois in charge of the backs.…
Know your enemy: a look at spread betting in rugby
You think you know a thing or two about rugby, until you sit down with the guys in charge of setting the spreads in the betting industry. There are number-crunchers…
Five things we learnt in May
Beautiful rugby is back Rugby has become a rather routine affair over the past five years, with hyper-organised defences creating largely risk-averse attacking strategies led by tactical kicking. But thankfully,…
England name 50-man training squad for Rugby World Cup tilt
However you judge Stuart Lancaster in the fullness of time, you cannot deny he is a man of conviction. In the Shakespeare room deep within Twickenham, he laid out his…
PSA names preliminary 36-man France squad
Philippe Saint-Andre unveiled his World Cup squad on Tuesday morning and among the 36 names there were a few surprises. Three of the squad involved in France’s last Test match,…