Super Rugby

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 […]

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 […]

It was not solely the much-criticized throat-cutting act from the suspended Ardie Savea that contributed to his citing. The judgement included an on-field sanction handed to him when the Hurricanes played the Melbourne Rebels on Saturday, March 4. Sanzaar’s judiciary committee did not deem the throat-cutting gesture met the threshold for a red card, Savea […]

With days only until the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific competition commences its second season, the anticipation is building. Squads have been assembled, with the starting teams named for the opening clash between the Crusaders v Chiefs in Christchurch. Quickly followed by the New South Wales (NSW) Waratahs v ACT Brumbies. A good opening trial for […]

An announcement that the Richie Mo’unga Japanese contract post-RWC is a lifestyle change, as much as an opportunity to maximize earning potential now, is a valuable revelation. It means that the conclusion of the Crusaders Super Rugby Pacific season is likely his last for the red and blacks. Completing 2023, Richie Mo’unga will have accrued […]

Wrapping up the presents, it’s appropriate to consider the Best and Worst list of Rugby 2022. From the teams and competitions across the globe, this is a small selection to end the calendar year on a positive note. For all the positives in the sport, it is competitive, there must be a winning and a […]

Not all rugby is boring. It’s northern hemisphere rugby, as exemplified by the inaugural Autumn Nations Cup, that has the issue. So what? Kiwis and Ozzies have been pointing that out for decades. But it’s objectively bad when English rugby royalty are complaining about the state of rugby after their team has just won both […]

Released the day after the final Rugby Championship clash at Eden Park, the 2023 Super Rugby Pacific draw will be unique in the natural evolution to include fixtures in both Fiji and Samoa. The best way to recognize the importance of the Fijian Drau and Moana Pasifika, was to schedule matches at their own home […]

With the results marked down, two semi-finals were played in New Zealand, where determined tackling sees the Crusaders reach the 2022 Super Rugby Pacific final. There, they will travel to Auckland to meet the competition premiers, the Blues. The Blues defeated the ACT Brumbies 20-19 on a wet evening, surviving a torrid final quarter after […]

Over two hemispheres, final round playoff hopes hang in the balance for leading Tier One nation leagues of Premiership Rugby, French Top14, and Super Rugby Pacific. With the leading sides all but set, it is now up to those still in the fight to make the semi-finals of the 2021/22 Premiership and French Top14, and […]

At LWOS, we have previously covered which countries have the most registered players. This got us thinking about other aspects of rugby’s popularity. At the very least, it can indicate how and where rugby flourishes. Using social media statistics, this list ranks the world’s most popular rugby clubs.Of course, social media won’t tell the whole […]

Celebrating our game, Last Word On Rugby have combined the wealth of knowledge from all our staff and writers, to come up with the MC50 Most Influential Player Series. A list that profiles the many and growing number of players in World Rugby who are either the MVP of their country, competition or code: we […]

There have been a number of changes announced in South African Rugby recently. We take a look at a few of the most important changes.

On Sunday 9 April, SANZAAR announced that three Super Rugby franchises would be culled from the Super Rugby competition in 2018.

The South African PRO14 teams sounds like a good idea to some, but is SARU only treading water while trying to work out what their future direction is?