World Rugby gets plenty of stick yet deserves praise for its decisions over the last 12 months with the freshly appointed Rugby World Cup hosts being one of them. Other policies and decisions include; the change in eligibility laws will that allow Pacific Island teams to compete and encourage their qualified national representatives to continue […]

Last weekend, a Saracens side depleted by injury beat Gloucester-Hartpury to secure their position at the top of the 2021/22 Allianz Premier 15s table, with two rounds still to play. So, with the title race heating up (once sides return from Six Nations representation), Last Word on Rugby considers ‘who are the title contenders?’ and […]

As the training intensifies, the Women’s 2022 Super W competition in Australia has been boosted with the addition of a Fijiana Drua side. This adds a fresh women’s component to match the incoming men’s Fijian Drua teams’ debut season. They are due to be a new part of the full 2022 Super Rugby Pacific draw […]

In the calendar year, reports and analysis are due and with consideration of the NZ Rugby 2021 season, you would be correct in classifying it as ‘some good, some bad’. Unsettled yes. Disastrous, No. That isn’t accurate. Three losses for the national team yes – both men’s and the women’s Black Ferns disappointed. Each had […]

Twin victories; and powerful wins over their Rugby World Cup rivals, mean that this latest Red Roses win has sealed the England women’s favouritism for RWC2021 above their rivals, New Zealand. Record wins at that. 56-15. Another record-winning margin over the current World Champions. And following on from the previous week’s record Red Roses win […]

Accomplishing three digits in sport is something to be celebrated. That means for Beauden Barrett 100 test caps makes him the 11th All Black to achieve that statistic, as the New Zealand Black Ferns women’s XV celebrate their 100th Test against the England Red Roses on Sunday. Two distinct moments for an individual and for […]

As well as confirming the men’s calendar, the Women’s Autumn Test window is ‘ready to open’ in 2021. Many of the world’s leading nations are descending on Europe for a series of tests that are significant for their immediate outcomes, as well as the long-term goals for each country. Bringing teams north are New Zealand […]

At a time when women’s rugby needs to be counted, England and France will host the World Champion Black Ferns in the 2021 International Autumn Series. Announced by both the New Zealand Rugby and England Rugby Union(s) with an eye toward the 2022 schedule for the postponed Rugby World Cup tournament. That, as well as […]

Coming one week after victory over France, quite rightly, the International Women’s rugby rankings have rewarded England. The 10-6 win over France gave the Roses a third successive Women’s Six Nations title. World Rugby released data on the rugby rankings permutations, after last weekend’s result. It has reinforced the existing number one ranked side, while […]

The Red Roses England women’s rugby team secured their first win in the 2021 Women’s Six Nations Championship on Saturday afternoon. Simon Middleton’s side beat Scotland 52-10, scoring eight tries to one. The current Six Nations title holders – who go into the tournament as clear favourites – got their campaign off to the perfect […]

After years of devotion to projecting the women’s game as being an area of growth, World Rugby has bravely chosen to announce the new WXV global strategy that will begin in 2023. In the unease of choosing to formally postpone the 2021 Rugby World Cup tournament until 2022, a fresh World Rugby women’s rugby fund […]

There’s nothing else that you can say about it. It will be bad news for Women’s rugby fans if the Rugby World Cup 2021 is postponed. That is across the board, women or men because any Rugby World Cup postponed is disappointing. That is from the athlete’s point of view. From stakeholders to the organizer’s […]

The last weekend of February saw the Madrid 7s 2021 finale and despite setbacks, it was a worthy sendoff. As well, as predicted in February by this writer, the Spanish women were crowned as the 2020 Rugby Europe Women’s Champions – yet again. And with this continued success, how is it that one of the […]

On February 28, the crown was firmly positioned with Spain Rugby Europe Women’s Champions for 2020. With their win over the Netherlands, they also secure a spot in the European qualifying tournament for the RWC 2021. 🏆 | Introducing the 2020 Women's Rugby Europe Champions and now taking their place in the @rugbyworldcup European Qualifier….@ferugby! […]

Madrid 7’s 2021 Week 1 With the successful hosting of the first week of the Madrid 7’s 2021, plus a win for the Spanish Women’s team in their pursuit of Rugby Union World Cup Qualification, it has been a week of success for Spanish Rugby. On the field, the Argentinan 7’s Men’s team triumphed over […]

It is rare to see one side so utterly dominant in a rugby match. But that is what happened today when Spain hosted Russia. Spain savaged Russia in that penultimate match of the 2020 Rugby Europe Women’s Championship. The scoring opened with a short-range drop goal by Spain, after which Russia ran in their single […]

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

This weekend sees the biggest game in the European club rugby calendar. The Champions Cup final is finally here. Last year’s beaten finalists, La Rochelle, are back for another shot at glory. Opponents Leinster are looking to add yet another star to their jersey. In a game of such magnitude every collision could prove crucial […]

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 […]

The Toronto Arrows ended the New England Free Jacks’ 10-game-winning streak after the latest round of the Major League Rugby season. It was only the Free Jacks’ second loss of the season. The win at York Lions Stadium also put Toronto back in the MLR playoff race with only two games to go. Toronto Arrows […]

The visual evidence is damming yet, the recent stalling tactics in the recent England v Argentina 7s match at the Toulouse leg of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series has tarnished each nation’s team’s strategic desires to ‘win at all costs’. Yet for all the social media beat-up, it clearly is an aberration in the […]

Indigo Group Premiership transfer season is now underway as club’s start announcing retained staff before moving on to those who they are bringing in. Robert Rees brings you the destination of either incoming or outgoing Prem players. Kieran Meek The 28-year-old Pontypool centre is on the move to Newport after a strong recruitment drive from […]

In what feels like a lifetime ago, LWOS began to feature Rugby Europe Qualification coverage. Team’s right across Europe had high hopes, and Spanish Rugby RWC hopes were high – that was until what can be described as self-immolation that has all but spoiled those ambitions. It cannot be overstated just how important qualifying for […]

Australia has been awarded the 2027 men’s Rugby World Cup and the women’s tournament two years later. This has kickstarted talk about whether Rugby Australia will look to a few NRL converts to boost their chances? In the past, NRL converts have had mixed success. For every Sonny Bill Williams, there is a Sam Burgess. […]