Rugby News, Analysis, History, Schedule, Rumours
For many, the vintage of rugby 2021 will probably raise a lot of discussion and differing opinions. That shouldn’t be a bad thing, with less than two years away from the Rugby World Cup 2023 in France. Here, our Last Word on Sports rugby department selected a few articles that represented the year in rugby […] READ MORE
Springbok rugby 2021 presented fans with a real fruit cocktail of results, controversies and a multitude of talking points. With the soundtrack playing in the background, Ryan Jordan highlights the good, the bad and the ugly of Springbok rugby in 2021. The good side of Springbok rugby 2021 There can’t be any complaint about where […] READ MORE
Leicester Tigers and Wasps have both made serious statements this week, signing the Springbok star duo Handre Pollard and Vincent Koch. Pollard, one of the best fly halves in world rugby, will join the Tigers to fill the void left by George Ford’s departure at the end of the season. Koch will leave Saracens to […] READ MORE
England v South Africa on Saturday will go down as one of the great Test matches of recent times. England’s 27-26 win over the Rugby World Cup Champions South Africa at Twickenham was a statement of intent that they are back. What made this game even more special for Eddie Jones was that England were […] READ MORE
A strong second-half display saw the Springboks defeat Scotland 30 points to 15 at a packed Murrayfield on Saturday. Scorers Scotland : 15 Tries: Stuart Hogg (2). Conversion: Finn Russell. Penalty: Russell. South Africa: 30 Makazole Mapimpi(2). Conversions: Elton Jantjies. Penalties: Janties (3), Handre Pollard (2), Frans Steyn. Springboks defeat Scotland Tight first half The […] READ MORE
Should Wales embrace the plucky loser tag? Everyone respects a trier, do they not? Before we look at what this tag means and whether it applies to Wales or not, let’s examine some of the talking points from Saturday’s early evening game. Should Wales embrace the plucky loser tag? Wales were much improved on their […] READ MORE
A rusty Springboks defeat Wales at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. The final scoreline was 23 to 18. This was a hard-fought encounter, with the Springboks only taking the lead for the first time after 70 minutes. This was the Springboks first victory in Wales since 2013. Springboks defeat Wales Although this match was very […] READ MORE
The Springbok end of year tour kicks off on Saturday against Scotland. Much has been said of the conservative selection, but Jacques Neinaber has opted for continuity. Which regular Springboks were not selected? The omissions from Nienaber’s squad were all injury-enforced. Faf de Klerk (hip flexor), Cheslin Kolbe (knee), Frans Malherbe (neck), Pieter-Steph du Toit […] READ MORE
After historic wins at Twickenham and Paris in the Six Nations, Scotland will want to be more consistent just two years out from the Rugby World Cup. Can this start in the upcoming Scotland Autumn Internationals? With two of the three best teams in the world lined up as their opponents, the nation’s fate is […] READ MORE
The Springboks Rugby Championship campaign was disappointing. They finished third in the four-nation competition, which was won by the All Blacks. The highlight of the Springboks Rugby Championship 2021 was proving their many detractors wrong by staging a fightback from a 9 point deficit to defeat the All Blacks 31-29 in the Gold Coast. Boxing […] READ MORE
Ryan is the Managing Editor at Last Word on Rugby and resides in Johannesburg, South Africa. He specializes in opinion pieces relating to International rugby, Super Rugby and domestic rugby in South Africa.
His career highlights include being granted media accreditation for the Rugby World Cup tournament.