Irish club Munster arrived in South Africa on Tuesday with a familiar face whose return to rugby could be a boost for his country at the World Cup later in the year.
The quest to improve in every match will still dominate the mindset of the Springbok Women when they take on Kenya in their second match of the Rugby Africa Women’s Cup at Maki Stadium in Antananarivo, Madagascar on Wednesday.
The Mastercard Golden Lions Women fought back against Boland Dames to secure a narrow win – their first since joining the Women’s Premier Division – while the Bulls Daisies and Border Ladies claimed bonus-point victories in the third round of the competition staged over the weekend.
The Springbok Sevens team shrugged off the disappointment of not making the quarter-finals at the HSBC London Sevens with two big wins on Sunday to claim ninth spot at Twickenham as the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series drew to a close.
The Springboks made the big switch to Test mode on Wednesday as they returned to the training field in Durban at the first of two preparation camps this month to kick into gear for the international season.
Their quest for automatic qualification for the 2024 Olympic Games may be out of their hands, but the Springbok Sevens team will leave no stone unturned at the HSBC London Sevens this weekend as they give it one final push to book their tickets to Paris next year.
It was during the Captain’s Practice ahead of their Vodacom United Rugby Championship semi-final against Connacht that DHL Stormers flyhalf Manie Libbok turned around to see a fan walking across the field towards him.
Eben Etzebeth is a man mountain and a key enforcer in the Springbok pack heading to the Rugby World Cup. He could just be reaching his peak, writes Jon Cardinelli.
All it takes is a few moments with Rugby World Cup-winning coach Jake White to fully appreciate the value of Vodacom Bulls star Johan Goosen and the reason he has been rated as the most accurate place-kicker in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship this season.
Five referees who have been included on the Rugby World Cup 2023 match official panel have been appointed to take charge of the Springboks’ Castle Lager Rugby Championship and RWC warm-up Tests in the build-up to the international extravaganza in France in September and October.