Rugby in south africa

OPINION: “I’ve been living without you. I used to adore you I thought you were special I thought you should know”. The 1998 song Special by Garbage perfectly reflects my association with rugby. Sadly. The song’s lyrics continue with the lines, “But I’ve run out of patience. I couldn’t care less”. Falling out of love with our national game didn’t happen overnight. But now I couldn’t care less and these are the reasons. I grew up wanting to be an All Black. I filled a scrapbook with cuttings of the 1970 All Black tour to South Africa . If pressed, I could name the 30 players who made up the original squad. READ MORE: 'Being a rugby player is not going to define me': Dan Carter's new obsessions Proposed global rugby tournament could lift NZ Rugby out of financial gloom United States set to host men's and women's Rugby World Cups Springboks enforcer Eben Etzebeth reveals All Black who hit him the hardest The next year, the British and Irish Lions toured … [Read more...] about Why I’ve fallen out of love with rugby

World Rugby predicts the first billion dollar Rugby World Cup will unfold within the next decade as it mapped out the host nations for all its global events until 2033. In a historic moment for the sport, its showpiece was awarded to United States for the first time, with the men’s tournament being held in 2031 before the women’s event takes place two years later. A council meeting in Dublin on Thursday morning also approved Australia to stage the 2027 men’s and 2029 women’s competitions, while England will take the 2025 women’s World Cup. World Rugby has announced the next five tournaments to provide “hosting certainty” after the race to land the 2023 men’s World Cup was won by France ahead of South Africa in contentious circumstances. It is hoped, by taking the game to a new territory in America, as well as giving clarity over the women’s events, it will experience a growth spurt that could provide the greatest financial rewards yet. Recommended … [Read more...] about First billion dollar World Cup on the horizon, says World Rugby chief

The chance of winning a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games was not uppermost in the minds of rugby union players when they turned professional. It is now. England's sevens squad assemble at Mottram Hall in Cheshire tomorrow to begin the final preparation for a competition that promises to be as exacting as anything in track and field. Only the fittest and the fastest will survive and, with performance-related financial rewards as well as prospecting for gold, England have belatedly taken a long-term interest in the abbreviated game. "This is a unique opportunity in what should be a special tournament,'' said Joe Lydon, England's coach. Since succeeding the unfortunate Adrian Thompson, who was forced to compete last season on foreign fields with seriously weakened squads, Lydon has enjoyed greater co-operation from the Premiership clubs, and with it some success. The launch of the International Rugby Board's world sevens series was not met with unqualified support from … [Read more...] about Rugby Union: Lydon so eager to rewrite the short story

Over recent years, international teams have been rewarded for concerning themselves with ceilings rather than flaws when it comes to the selection of their wings. Cheslin Kolbe, whose size was questioned throughout his formative years in South Africa, became a hot-stepping star of the Springboks’ glorious World Cup victory in 2019 . Gabin Villière of France, another diminutive dynamo , was a stand-out of the Grand Slam campaign. Both have a grounding in sevens, which hones breakdown skills as well as footwork, passing and composure in open space. They are now Toulon teammates and, though Kolbe is sidelined with a fractured thumb, Villière defied three would-be tacklers to finish a remarkable, match-winning try against Toulouse at the weekend: Mack Hansen only needed half a season with Connacht – albeit one spent compiling a blockbuster highlight reel – to convince Andy Farrell that he was worth a punt in Ireland’s starting line-up for the Six Nations . That trust … [Read more...] about Adam Radwan proves why England need to focus on what players can do – not what they cannot

Bath face further upheaval in the wake of the club's disastrous 64-0 West Country derby defeat by Gloucester after the Gallagher Premiership's bottom club suffered their worst loss in a dismal season. Bath are already set to welcome a new head coach next season in Johann van Graan , who joins from Munster along with new defence coach JP Ferreira. But Telegraph Sport understands that the futures of Stuart Hooper, the club's director of rugby, and chief executive Tarquin McDonald are unclear with the club on course for their worst season in the Premiership since 2002-03. “Changes have to and will happen to get us back to where we should be. Bath will get back to the top," a source told Telegraph Sport on Sunday, after the chastening defeat at Kingsholm piled further pressure on club staff off the field. Bath, the dominant force of English rugby in the 1990s , are currently bottom of the Premiership after four wins from 22 matches this season, having endured a dramatic … [Read more...] about Bath face big changes after horror season hits rock bottom with Gloucester thrashing

Premiership Rugby chief executive Simon Massie-Taylor insists a loss of star power and a weaker English challenge in Europe are a necessary price to pay to make the league more sustainable. Leicester Tigers and Sale Sharks are the Premiership’s remaining representatives in the Champions Cup and both are listed as underdogs for their respective quarter-finals against Leinster and Racing 92 this weekend. English clubs have won four of the past six tournaments but with the salary cap coming down to £5 million this season they now figure among the poorer relations in Europe. A leading agent told Telegraph Sport that even Italian outfit Treviso possess a bigger playing budget than the Premiership’s top spenders. With clubs being forced to make substantial savings with the cap coming down by £1.4m , a host of big names including Taulupe Faletau, Faf de Klerk and Lood de Jager are leaving the Premiership this summer. However, with Premiership clubs collectively losing an estimated … [Read more...] about Exclusive: Premiership chief admits salary cap could damage English hopes in Europe

1 NEWS Needless to say, there's plenty of excitement - and questions - about the former Black Caps captain's new role. Mark Reason is a sports columnist for Stuff OPINION: Once upon a time in the weird and wacky world of football lived a man called Claude Anelka. Young Claude had a starry brother called Nicolas who played for Arsenal and France. Claude loved his brother and at times had been his agent. But there were days, of course, when Claude wanted to be famous too. He spun some records as a DJ but being French was not enough to turn Claude from pumpkin into Daft Punk. Then one day he had an idea. Claude offered up £300,000 to any club that would put him in charge of their football team. Claude was turned down by one or two, but then Raith Rovers came along and said, “What a good idea.” Suddenly Claude could make his dreams come true. So he got rid of a lot of players and brought in all sorts of young men from Paris, some of whom were rumoured to only play … [Read more...] about Mark Reason: Brendon McCullum is surely the most bizarre coaching appointment in cricket

Mike “Lofty” Carr, who has died aged 101, was one of the top navigators in the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG); he worked with the SAS on navigation and took part in many raids in North Africa deep behind enemy lines. On the night of September 15 1942 Carr, equipped with a Vickers K machine gun, navigated a mixed force of LRDG and a detachment of the Sudan Defence Force (SDF) towards the Italian-held fort at Jalo. Jalo was a desert oasis about 250 miles south of the Mediterranean port of Benghazi on the Libyan coast. In the build-up to General Montgomery’s major offensive at El Alamein, capture of the fort would provide the SAS with a strategic base from which to launch hit-and-run raids on the enemy lines of communication. Four miles from the village, the force dismounted from their vehicles and formed three columns. Carr led them forward for more than an hour in pitch darkness. They had just skirted a minefield when they were challenged by an Italian sentry. Carr grabbed his … [Read more...] about Lofty Carr, brilliant navigator who had a string of adventures with the celebrated Long Range Desert Group – obituary