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England eventually found a way through a determined but under-par Japanese outfit on Sunday evening. England won ugly yet momentum is growing, with two wins over the pool’s two toughest opponents, Argentina and Japan. It was not pretty but, successful World Cup campaigns rarely are, and England ultimately might have one foot in the quarter-finals. […]
The Springboks cruised past Wales in Cardiff to earn a historic 16-52 win, on the ‘road to RWC2023’ for the World Champions. The Boks are currently on a three-match winning streak and will hope to continue with this trend in their final pre-World Cup match against a formidable All Blacks side this Friday night. Embed […]
The RWC 2023 is taking shape as Pool D is the first of the four pools to have released their squads for the competition. This year’s World cup features four pools A,B,C and D. With less than 25 days until the Rugby World cup in France teams have selected their best squads to represent their […]
England’s World Cup preparations are in tatters after a forgettable match in Dublin on Saturday. Paul Williams the referee did not help matters by being ever present with the whistle but England were awful again. Ireland who weren’t great either, had to do very little for their convincing win. Most England fans will be asking […]
Eddie Jones’ RWC squad includes a large number of young, inexperienced Wallabies who have been charged by the Director of Rugby to compete in France. The squad, which has 25 players with zero Rugby World Cup experience, heads to France in the wake of four straight losses, and will be hoping to prove teams wrong […]
Ian Foster named his best 33-man, 2023 RWC All Blacks squad to wear the silver fern badge aiming for the 4th Rugby World Cup (RWC) title at the tournament in France fast approaching in the coming month. The squad announcement; which was made in Napier by former captain Richie McCaw, features 18 forwards and 15 […]
Confrontational, aggressive behaviour now sees a three-week Johnny Sexton suspension imposed by European Rugby powers, and is costing the 38-year-old an inglorious delay to his ambition to drive Ireland towards a first-ever Rugby World Cup goal. It comes after the [then] injured Leinster club player Sexton was investigated by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR) at […]
All of the major domestic rugby titles have been decided over the month of June, with the Crusaders seventh title in Super Rugby supporting their status as the Premier rugby franchise across the globe. The Currie Cup grand final was also played on Saturday, with the Free State Cheetahs claiming the reward in South Africa’s […]
The Toronto Arrows remain winless at home this year as they lost another game, this time at York Lions Stadium. Even with getting two recent draws at home, the Arrows are still struggling to get results at York Lions Stadium. Credit though to Houston, who saw this as a must-win game to keep their MLR […]
Most fans might be thinking “how long until the Rugby World Cup?”. Not long, yet before we get to that special moment of the oval ball calendar, there is still time for a big event designed specifically for the fans – a World XV vs Barbarians. From the European Professional Rugby Club (May 19-20) fixtures, […]
John Plumtree: The Second Coming Earlier this morning the Sharks announced the second coming of John Plumtree as Head Coach. Dave Williams joins him as an assistant coach, also for his second stint at the KwaZulu-Natal based team. Familiar Territory The Sharks made the announcement earlier today in a move that will be widely […]
Nine wins from nine fixtures have the Chiefs Super Rugby Pacific season on target for a home playoff match, including two victories against the Crusaders. This 34-24 win continues the Hamilton side’s dominance of the Southern Hemisphere competition. This home match was another stern challenge, however, the hosts held the Crusaders back, scoring a marvelous […]
Exeter Chiefs are on their way to the Heineken Champions Cup semi-finals, yet a few months ago even the most passionate fans wouldn’t have predicted this. So what has changed for the Chiefs at Sandy Park? Look back a couple of weeks, the Chiefs had been humiliated in Bath. And before that, were put to […]
We are closing in on the halfway point of the Super Rugby Pacific season with Super Rugby Round 6 and a season that promised so much has failed to live up to expectations. It’s been a case of deja vu as the New Zealand sides continue to dominate the competition, with the Chiefs sitting undefeated […]
With a beaming smile, Scott ‘Razor’ Robertson has done enough to secure the All Blacks head coach role from 2024 on. Secure in his four-year upcoming role, he has impressed the majority of decision-makers. Impressed the New Zealand Rugby (NZR) board, the selection panel and a large number of All Blacks supporters. Many are buoyant […]
France was brilliant. It was an awesome France masterclass exhibition from Fabien Galthie’s men and as for England…. they are truly at rock bottom. Or maybe not, as the old adage goes, ‘we did not realize that rock bottom had a basement’ – as they head to Dublin next week. England were awful in all […]
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Saturday’s fixture Ireland v South Africa is a moc-Cup Final. It sees Johnny Sexton drive Irish hopes of a pinnacle World Title while defending title-holders the Springboks utilize their advanced 7-1 bench strategy. Ideally, fans could view this match-up later in the draw – your number one versus numbered teams two, three, or four should […]
The 2023 MLR draft Toronto Arrows game happened a week ago. Canada’s only professional rugby union team as usual selected players from Canadian universities. However, this time, they drafted players from Quebec universities. These players will likely play in the new Arrows gear including the refreshed logo that was revealed on Tuesday, September 12, 2023. […]
It’s been 20 years since England were crowned 2003 Rugby World Cup champions, and Last Word on Rugby caught up with one of the successful squad members Simon Shaw. 2003 Rugby World Cup Anniversary: Simon Shaw Simon Shaw shared with Larissa Falls his favourite moments and memories from the 2003 triumph, and looked ahead to […]
The Paris Olympics 2024 qualification for Africa concluded in Harare, Zimbabwe with Kenya 7s beating South Africa 17-12 in the Africa men’s 7s to earn a direct ticket to next year’s showpiece. The Africa 7s tournament couples up with the Paris Olympics 2024 qualification. The two African rugby powerhouses found themselves in this tournament after […]
The Rugby World Cup 2023 round two matches saw most teams solidify their position in their respective pools. The pools have teams that have the upper hand of featuring in the quarterfinals. Teams leading the pools have so far had two out of two wins in their respective pools. RWC 2023 round two matches overview […]
Hard to fathom that this year’s Rugby World Cup brings up the 20-year anniversary since the 2003 RWC tournament in Australia. A contest where Wallabies playmaker Matt Giteau would be involved in one of the more epic finales in all RWC folklore. The 40-year-old was then in his early career with the Australian national team, […]
The first round of Rugby World Cup 2023 fixtures felt like ‘Christmas come early’ for rugby fans. It was a celebration across the French host nation, and this weekend looks to be just as action-packed. That first weekend certainly delivered some shiny gifts. Attacking flair from Wales v Fiji, a brilliant no-look cross-field kick from […]
“Being Louis Rees-Zammit” is a BBC One Wales documentary, edited and directed by Huw Crowley, with Steffan Morgan executive producing. A previous BBC One Wales documentary, “Slammed” is reviewed here. This writer was prepared for a cringe-fest, and although there are some cringe moments, Rees-Zammit comes across relatively unscathed. This is typical. We just can't […]
About Author
Charlie Inglefield
Charlie has been writing rugby features for the last 20 years and has covered World Cups, Six Nations, and Lions' tours. My aim has always been to provide opinion and analysis which hopefully adds to the conversations that we all enjoy over a pint or two in the pub.