Five players who retired from rugby in their 20s

SA Rugby magazine looks at five players who retired in the prime of their careers, and the paths they have taken subsequently.

Venter: Lions will need to up their game to beat Boks

Highly respected coach Brendan Venter believes the British & Irish Lions lacked some intensity in their tour opener and that the pendulum may have swung back in favour of the Boks ahead of the Test series.

Bulls vs B&I Lions likely to be rescheduled

The match between the British & Irish Lions and the Bulls could be rescheduled following a number of positive Covid-19 cases in the Bulls camp, writes CRAIG LEWIS.

Nienaber: Willemse can be a valuable utility option

Jacques Nienaber has hinted that Damian Willemse could be a successor of sorts to Frans Steyn as a player capable of covering multiple positions in the backline.

Argentina overcome dogged Romania for scrappy victory

Argentina did enough to withstand a second-half surge from Romania and register a scrappy victory in their first Test of 2021.

Van Rooyen: We were beaten by a better team

Sigma Lions coach Ivan van Rooyen has rued his side’s errors in going down 14-56 to the British & Irish Lions in the tour opener in Johannesburg.

Ireland hold off spirited Japan in nine-try thriller

An Ireland side missing many of their first-choice players did enough to hold out against Japan and get revenge for their World Cup defeat.

Lions coach: Don’t write Alun Wyn Jones off

Lions kicking coach Neil Jenkins says Alun Wyn Jones should never be written off amid reports that the veteran second rower may yet still appear for the Lions.

Lawes: B&I Lions will look to impose themselves physically

British & Irish Lions flanker Courtney Lawes has stated that his side will look to lay down a marker in their first game on tour and impose themselves physically upon the Sigma Lions.

Boks brace for Test-match intensity, physicality

Captain Siya Kolisi and his World Cup-winning Springboks will return to the international stage in Pretoria on Friday against Georgia in conditions far removed from what they would have wished for.