The Stormers fell a single point short against Toulon this weekend, and while the result will be filed away as a narrow loss, the real takeaway for Springbok supporters lies in what didn’t happen rather than what did. This wasn’t a game defined by dominance or lack thereof, but by a critical moment in Toulon’s 22 where the Stormers had everything they needed to win, and let it slip through their fingers. In that moment, the equation was simple. No need to chase a try, no need to force a...

In a move that will surprise absolutely no one who has followed the financial tightrope act of Northern hemisphere rugby, the Welsh Rugby Union is reportedly preparing to trim one, possibly two, sides from the United Rugby Championship. The official wording is expected to include phrases like “sustainability”, “long-term vision”, and “difficult but necessary decisions”, which loosely translates to: something had to give, and unfortunately it was… Welsh rugby. Naturally, South Africa has...

There’s something almost poetic about how often we hear the phrase “grow the game” in rugby. It gets rolled out at press conferences, stitched into strategy documents, and delivered with the kind of polished conviction that makes you think we’re on the brink of some great global awakening. And then reality taps you on the shoulder. Over the past week, Rian Oberholzer has effectively admitted what many suspected: South Africa and New Zealand are unlikely to host a Rugby World Cup again under...