Irish ace ruled out of Six Nations

Ireland were dealt a blow on Thursday when one of their star players was ruled out of the remainder of the Six Nations due to injury. Livewire wing James Lowe will play no further part owing to the groin injury he suffered early on in last weekend’s 42-21 thrashing of...

Lions brace for Stormers set-piece onslaught

The Lions are predicting that Saturday’s Vodacom URC derby against the Stormers at Ellis Park will be decided up front. Scrum coach Julian Redelinghuys expects nothing less than a full-blooded arm wrestle. “Another local derby and it’s against the Stormers who are a...

Boks bolster Sharks for Bulls’ battle

The Sharks welcome back several Springboks for Saturday’s Vodacom URC match against the Bulls at Loftus Versfeld. Props Ox Nché and Vincent Koch, No 8 Phepsi Buthelezi, flyhalf Jordan Hendrikse, centre André Esterhuizen and winger Makazole Mapimpi will all start...

Bloem to welcome back Boks

Free State Stadium is eligible to host Springbok Test matches again. The Bloemfontein venue has been officially recognised as a Tier 2 stadium in South Africa, confirming that it now meets the required national standards to stage Bok Tests and other top-tier...

‘Nations Championship more than a tournament’

SA Rugby president Mark Alexander says the Nations Championship is the “biggest step forward” for rugby since the advent of professionalism 30 years ago. The venues for the 42 matches in the 12-nation series – which culminates with a showdown between the best of the...