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Leinster boss Leo Cullen has revealed a pre-planned tactic that paid dividends in his side’s United Rugby Championship victory over Munster. It was rather one-sided on Friday evening in Limerick as Leinster ran in four tries to Munster’s one in a rather emphatic 28-7 Irish inter-pro derby. While Leinster opted to rest many frontline players like RG Snyman and Jordie Barrett, Cullen still had several top stars at his disposal including Ireland’s first-choice loosehead prop Andrew Porter who was named on the bench. Leinster flip replacement ploy However, the front-rower still notched up almost an hour of game time despite there being no injuries…
With help from stattos beavering away in various dark, cobweb-ridden, subterranean data storage rooms around the globe, Planet Rugby takes a look at the best – and worst – of 2024 expressed in numerical form. The year is coming to a close and what a great 12 months it has been, filled with Six Nations glory, Rugby Championship, Champions Cup, Super Rugby Pacific triumphs and much more. 2 – That represents the number of World Rugby Player of the Year awards in the possession of Springboks back-row Pieter-Steph du Toit after he was crowned the world’s best again this year. He first won…
Springboks head coach Rassie Erasmus held a Christmas Day walk in Cape Town open to anyone as he underlined his nation-building qualities. Erasmus has been widely praised in 2024 for his ability to get South Africans together through the success of the Springboks since he took over the side back in 2018. Honours received in 2024 His influence on South African people is so strong he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Coaching Science from North-West University. The institution lavished the coach with praise. “Rassie embodies the principles of resilience, determination and teamwork that we at the North-West University hold…
Two World Cups on, Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus has rarely put a foot wrong since taking the reins in 2017. The former Director of Rugby turned Head Coach had another remarkable year, winning eleven games from thirteen, edging out New Zealand to lift The Champions Cup, and defeating England, Scotland and Wales in their own back yard. Aside from missing the last Autumn Series game against Wales, newly crowned World Player of the Year Pieter-Steph du Toit was pivotal to another year of Springboks brilliance. The 32-year-old has become one of Erasmus main disciples, but it took time for the Springbok coach to…
Former Lions and Springboks winger Ruan Combrinck has revealed the worst phone call he ever got from ex-head coach Heyneke Meyer. A talented outside back, Combrinck was a star man for the Lions team that reached three consecutive Super Rugby finals between 2016 and 2018 and won the Currie Cup in 2015. Even before then, he was one of the premier wingers in South African rugby with the added bonus of being a long-range place kicker but despite his excellent form, he had to wait until 2016 to make his Test debut. Meyer’s call His debut would come in the…
Saffas dominate UK Top South African stars dominate The Telegraph’s latest list of the UK’s top 30 players. Leading the charge is second-placed Thomas du Toit, who excels on both sides of the scrum and is a forceful ball carrier for Bath. Leicester Tigers flyhalf Handre Pollard (third) is hailed for his ice-cool mentality and winning pedigree, with distribution skills adding finesse to his pragmatic game. Benhard Janse van Rensburg (5th) continues to impress for Bristol Bears, blending incisive attacking and ferocious defence to become one of the league’s standout centres. At Edinburgh, powerhouse duo Pierre Schoeman (14th) and Duhan…
Springboks: Kurt-Lee Arendse highlights the impact of legendary Bok in his road to success Unlike most of the players in the current Springboks side, Arendse’s pathway to the to the top did not come via South Africa’s traditional rugby schools as he attended the less recognised Paulus Joubert Secondary School in Paarl. After high school, he was working in a butchery in Paarl but worked hard on honing his rugby skills. “I stayed positive while I was working at the butchery,” Arendse told IOL. “I kept going to the gym after knocking off, to prepare myself to be ready when…
Former Wales international Geoff Wheel has passed away at the age of 73. Swansea RFC confirmed that Wheel died in the early hours of Boxing Day, having suffered with motor neurone disease in recent years. The former Mumbles, Swansea and Barbarians second-row won 32 caps for his country between 1974 and 1982, forming a formidable partnership with Allan Martin. During his international career, Wheel – known as ‘Ripper’ because of his ability to tear the ball free at mauls – won two Grand Slams, three Six Nations titles, three Triple Crowns and set a record for going 15 consecutive Test matches unbeaten.…
‘I would have found a way to stay’ – Jake White reveals regret after ‘naively’ resigning from Springboks job The now Bulls’ director of rugby, led South Africa to their second Rugby World Cup title in 2007 defeating England in the final in Paris. However, despite the team’s success, White would not continue as the head coach beyond 2007 after he “resigned” from the role. White’s departure from the Springboks In October of that year, SA Rugby released a statement confirming that White had -applied for his position beyond 2007, with the coach did not wanting to “make a decision…
Split image of Toulouse’s Romain Ntamack, Wales head coach Warren Gatland and Springboks flyer Cheslin Kolbe. Split image of Toulouse’s Romain Ntamack, Wales head coach Warren Gatland and Springboks flyer Cheslin Kolbe. As the year winds to a close, we take a look back at 2024 to pick out our winners and losers. It was a historic year across the rugby world with records being broken across the board with famous upsets and new clubs winners in several competitions. Without further ado, here are our winners and losers. Winners Springboks There is no better place to start than the defending…