Lions flyhalf Chris Smith is relishing the opportunity to help his side secure their place in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship playoffs.
Junior Springbok coach Kevin Foote left the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium a satisfied man after the South Africans kicked off their U20 Rugby Championship campaign with a statement victory over Argentina on Monday.
The DHL Stormers, Fidelity Securedrive Lions, and Vodacom Bulls kept the South African flag flying high in the third-last round of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship as they registered vital victories to improve their positions on the log, but it was a weekend of bitter disappointment for the Hollywoodbets Sharks, whose campaign will officially conclude at the end of the pool stages.
Riley Norton will lead the Junior Springboks in their 2026 Under-20 Rugby Championship opener against Argentina’s Los Pumitas on Monday, as they aim to make an immediate impact in front of their home crowd in Gqeberha.
Siya Kolisi will make a welcome return to action following a calf injury in what will be his 50th appearance for the Hollywoodbets Sharks when they take on Edinburgh in Friday night’s final away match of the regular season in this year’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship.
There will be no room for error for the four South African teams in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in the third-last round of pool matches this weekend, with every result set to have notable implications in their playoff hopes.
The back story of their first victory in Hong Kong was written daily at the Springbok Sevens team’s training base in Stellenbosch, the place they will return to as they start their next mission, the HSBC SVNS World Championship Valladolid in Spain next month.
Rugby fever is rising in Gqeberha with just 60 days until the Springboks kick off their 2026 season against former All Blacks’ coach Scott Robertson’s star-studded Barbarians team.
The Junior Boks made an injury-forced change to their squad for the 2026 Under-20 Rugby Championship, with Siphosethu Mnebelele replaced by Mahle Sithole for the tournament, which kicks off at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Monday, 27 April.
The Springbok Women’s Sevens enjoyed the highs of winning an important pool match but also experienced the lows of finding the intensity of top teams such as Australia and Canada too hot to handle at this weekend’s Cathay / HSBC SVNS Hong Kong. (more…)