So the Welsh Rugby Union just announced that Tandy's gonna be leading Wales into the 2027 World Cup down in Australia. He starts September 1st. The guy's 45 and was part of Gatland's crew during that Lions tour a few years back. Now he's got his work cut out for him trying to turn things around after Wales finally snapped that brutal 18-game losing streak.
The WRU boss, Abi Tierney, said Tandy was the clear choice after they went through all the candidates. She called it a big deal for their long-term plans. Tandy seems pretty stoked about it too, saying it's a huge honor and all that. He's especially pumped about working with some of the younger guys coming up through the system. Sounds like they're hoping he can bring some fresh energy to the team.
Big news in Super Rugby Pacific - the Chiefs just named Jono Gibbes as their new head coach starting in 2026. The guy's got serious rugby cred, having played for the All Blacks and then coaching all over Europe with teams like Leinster and Clermont. He's been working as an assistant with the Chiefs already, so he knows the squad pretty well.
He's taking over from Clayton McMillan, who's heading off to coach Munster in Ireland. Gibbes is 48 and brings a ton of experience to the table. You can tell he's hungry to win a championship with the Chiefs, something they couldn't quite pull off under McMillan's watch.
It's one of those moves that makes sense - promoting from within, getting a guy who knows the system but also has fresh ideas from his time overseas. Should be interesting to see how it plays out over the next couple seasons.
Lions Tour Heats Up as Farrell Takes Captaincy
The British and Irish Lions tour in Australia is still buzzing, and now Owen Farrell’s been named captain for the next game against the First Nations and Pasifika XV. It’s a big deal for Farrell—first time ever leading the Lions, and he’ll be starting at inside center. Coach Andy Farrell said this match is another shot for guys to prove they deserve a spot in the last two Tests against the Wallabies. Speaking of the Wallabies, they might get a boost with Will Skelton and Rob Valetini possibly coming back from injury before the second Test.
Oh, and World Rugby just called out some racist abuse that’s been going around. Not cool at all.
So here's the deal - World Rugby just backed up England's complaint about some fans hurling racist abuse at their players during that Argentina game in San Juan. They didn't hold back either, calling it out as completely unacceptable.
This all went down back on July 12th, and England filed the official complaint a few days later. They looked into it hard - checked videos, talked to people - and yeah, it definitely happened. Problem is, they couldn't pin down exactly who did it.
The Argentine rugby folks say they're on it though. They're rolling out some new plans to step up security and educate fans so this doesn't happen again. Their president, Gabriel Travaglini, mentioned they really tried to track down the people responsible, but it was just a handful of jerks in the crowd making trouble.
Junior Springboks Crowned World Champions
Big news in rugby - the Junior Springboks just took home the World Rugby U20 Championship title after a seriously tough 23-15 win against New Zealand over in Italy. It's been 13 years since South Africa last won this thing, and get this - they beat New Zealand back then too. The whole game came down to that classic South African defense that just wouldn't quit, even when New Zealand kept coming at them hard. Coach Kevin Foote couldn't stop talking about how proud he was of the guys for sticking it out and making history.
Meanwhile, there's some player movement shaking things up. Cassiem's heading to Oyonnax, and a bunch of Reds players are making the jump to Italy. Always interesting to see where these guys land next.
So Uzair Cassiem, that South African number eight, just landed a one-year contract with Oyonnax over in France's Pro D2. Funny thing is, they first said he was signing with Nice in the Nationale league, but I guess that didn't stick. Meanwhile, there's this wild swap happening between Benetton in the URC and Queensland Reds from Super Rugby - four Aussie players are heading to Italy for short stints. Josh Flook's the big name in that bunch, packing his bags for three months in Treviso. Kinda random how these deals come together sometimes.
Injury Woes and Season Honours
The All Blacks are holding their breath right now, waiting to see how bad the injuries are for some of their star players. Over in Australia's NRL, things aren't looking great for the Rabbitohs—Keaon Koloamatangi is done for the season after tearing up his ankle bad enough that he needs surgery.
Meanwhile, in England's Premiership, Leicester's Adam Radwan just bagged the Try of the Season for that insane play against Sale Sharks. The guy somehow managed to haul in a cross-field kick while sprinting full tilt, and out of 729 tries this season, his was the one that stood out.
And over in the States, the New England Free Jacks' Paula Balekana just got named MLR Player of the Year. The dude was unstoppable—15 tries in 14 games and a huge part of why the Free Jacks took home the title. Not bad for a season's work.