Rugby

South Africa head coach Rassie Erasmus does not believe that his knowledge of the Ireland players will give his side any advantage should they meet in a World Cup quarter-final.  New Zealand were handed the advantage in Pool B today following their thrilling 23-13 win over the Springboks in Yokohama with tries from George Bridge and Scott Barrett. The result …

On Saturday, France survived a remarkable Argentine comeback to record a 23-21 win in their opening game of the Rugby World Cup. France found themselves very much on the front foot in the first half and went into the break with a seemingly unsurmountable 20-3 lead over Los Pumas. They have however been known to be a tad complacent over …

World Rugby have come under fire for their initiative to clamp down on high tackles after an incident involving Reece Hodge went unpunished during Australia’s World Cup encounter with Fiji. The Australian winger’s shoulder made contact with Peceli Yato’s head in the 26th minute of the game while he also failed to use his arms in the tackle. The Fijian …

New Zealand 23 South Africa 13 _____ It was touted as the biggest and best fixture of the group stages of the Rugby World Cup and the meeting of New Zealand and South Africa didn’t disappoint. Rassie Erasmus’ side brought their ferocious intensity from the Rugby Championship straight into this game in Yokohama and put the All Blacks to the …

People have been trying to expose a hidden doping culture in Irish rugby for years and there is a reason they have come up empty-handed. Don’t get me wrong, there is the odd anti-inflammatory or painkiller issued by the team doctor before a game, but to class that as a ‘performance-enhancing drug’ is absolute nonsense. Throughout my thirteen-year career as …

Wales captain Alun Wyn Jones is set to make his 129th appearance for the country when he takes to the pitch for their World Cup opener against Georgia on Monday.  The game will see him equalise his country’s cap record previously set by Gethin Jenkins. Jones will break Jenkins’s record for most Rugby World Cup starts when he increases his …

Sean McMahon reporting from Yokohama. Peter O’Mahony believes that Johnny Sexton or any other member of the Irish team are well able to look after themselves if they encounter any special treatment from the Scotland players on Sunday.  In recent years, we have seen an extra-bite to Ireland v Scotland fixtures and this applies to provincial level too with Munster …

I love the game of rugby and I owe it a lot, but if I thought that a problem existed, I would not be one to defend it blindly. I should start by saying I do not know the full extent of what has occurred with Rob Howley and his much-publicised dismissal from the Welsh Rugby camp, and I know …

Sean McMahon reporting from Yokohama.  Japan are up and running in Pool A after stuttering to a bonus-point 30-10 win over Russia at the Tokyo Stadium.  Both Joe Schmidt and Gregor Townsend would have watched on from the comfort of their respective team hotels and based on what they saw over the 80 minutes, they won’t be too concerned about …

Hosts Japan scored their first try of the 2019 Rugby World Cup in style as a beautiful offload from Timothy Lafaele set up Kotaro Matsushima to cross the line. Japan had found themselves behind against Russia early in the game when their full-back William Tupuo failed to take a high ball and Kirill Golosnitskiy followed in to score the tournament’s …

October 12th, 2018: Capetown –  The South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport (SAIDS), in their annual report, announces that six schoolboys at the 2018 Craven Week tested positive for steroids. SAIDS CEO, Khalid Galant, dubbed the findings “alarming”. August 13th, 2019: Capetown – SAIDS inform 25-year-old South African winger, Aphiwe Dyanti, that he has tested positive for anabolic steroids and …

Sean McMahon reporting from Yokohama.  Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt has said that the main reason for the omission of Keith Earls and Rob Kearney from Sunday’s matchday 23 for Scotland was due to a lack of time in building continuity.  Earls and Kearney have not been able to train fully this week as they recover from respective knee and …

Sean McMahon reporting from Yokohama.  Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt has announced his Ireland team to take on Scotland at the International Stadium Yokohama on Sunday.  As expected, Rob Kearney and Keith Earls have not been selected due to the injuries which they are carrying and this sees Jordan Larmour take up a spot at fullback while Andrew Conway starts …

England head coach Eddie Jones has named his team for Sunday’s clash with Tonga in Sapporo (KO 19:45 local time, 11:45 UK & IRE time).  Owen Farrell will captain the side at inside centre which sees George Ford get the nod at out-half. Ben Youngs will start at scrum-half where he will win his 90th cap for his country. Manu …

Sean McMahon reporting from Yokohama. It’s finally here.  The 2019 Rugby World Cup has arrived. It’s been 1,419 days since Richie McCaw lifted the Webb Ellis trophy at Twickenham and the journey to see who lifts it on November 2 begins tomorrow as Japan host Russia in the tournament’s opening game in Tokyo. Since I arrived in Japan last Sunday …

Captain Michael Hooper and stalwart David Pocock have both been named to start in the back row for Australia in their World Cup opener against Fiji on Saturday. The duo, along with Scott Sio, are the only surviving starters from their game against the Fijians at the World Cup in London in 2015, as well as the final from the …

Scotland centre Sam Johnson believes that his side will have to put as much pressure as possible on the Irish half-back line and disrupt their rhythm if they are to cause an upset in their Pool A opener on Sunday. Ireland go into the game as the number 1 ranked team in the world, claiming that title after victory in …

New Zealand head coach Steven Hansen has accused his South African counterpart Rassie Erasmus of trying to influence referee Jerome Garces ahead of their titanic World Cup battle this weekend.  During a press conference on Wednesday, Erasmus commented that the era in which the All-Blacks benefit from marginal calls because they are the best in the world has ended. The …