Springboks

Rian Olivier Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images South African rugby continues to bleed talent, at a younger age, although most big-name Springboks chose to remain in South Africa.SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux hopes the five-year naturalisation period dissuades some youngsters from playing for rival countries.19-year-old, 115kg lock Rian Olivier among the many talented school leavers who found…

Jacques Nienaber should have been gradually assembling his preferred Bok XV in his mind by now.Filling the likely Pieter-Steph du Toit gap at blindside flank would have been a critical issue.Sale-based Jean-Luc du Preez might have been in line for a recall after a two-year absenceThis week, new Springbok head coach Jacques Nienaber should have…

Jonathan Kaplan believes the 2021 British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa will see a tough series that is too close to call.Kaplan has refereed in four Lions series' to date.That includes the tour by the Lions to South Africa in 1997 and 2009 in which he refereed warm-up matches as well as two…

South Arica's Faf de Klerk is tackled by Japan’s Yutaka Nagare during the 2019 Rugby World Cup quarter-final match at Tokyo Stadium on 20 October 2019 (Photo by Pablo Morano/MB Media/Getty Images) The Springboks and Japan could join the Six Nations sides in an eight-team event.The event, if it takes shape, will be called the…

The 2017 team that earned bronze at the Under-20 World Champs are arguably the men that needs to keep the domestic game aliveFor many years, Junior Springboks could still rely on apprenticeships at senior level, but the player drain is squeezing them ripe earlierDisconcertingly, the recent 'opt-out' clause showed SA rugby could easily lose experienced…