International and Regional Matches
South Africa's coach, Rassie Erasmus, has made a lot of changes to the team for the second test against Australia. They lost the first match in Johannesburg, and it was a tough one to take. Captain Siya Kolisi is out with a knee injury, and Pieter-Steph du Toit is also missing. Jesse Kriel will be the captain instead.
Some familiar faces are back, like Handré Pollard and Damian de Allende. Cheslin Kolbe returns too, which is good news after his injury. Only five players from the last game are starting again. Erasmus mentioned that injuries played a big part in the shake-up. They’re hoping this new lineup can fix what went wrong last week.
Wallabies winger Andrew Kellaway had some good things to say about the team’s progress after that comeback win. He mentioned how a lot of the guys have racked up 30 or 40 caps now, which really helps when things get tight. That experience seems to be paying off, especially with back-to-back wins against the Lions and South Africa. Still, he made it clear the team isn’t quite where it needs to be yet—they’ve got to string more wins together to really prove themselves. They’ve got another shot at South Africa this weekend, so we’ll see how it goes.
The All Blacks pulled off a solid 41–24 win against Argentina in Córdoba, though it wasn’t all smooth sailing. Samisoni Taukei’aho came through with a couple of late tries that really sealed the deal, and Sevu Reece also had a great day with two tries of his own. Beauden Barrett was steady as ever, running things from fly-half.
The win pushed New Zealand back to number one in the world, which is a big deal after slipping behind South Africa. But it came at a cost—Patrick Tuipulotu fractured his face and is probably done for the rest of the Championship. Anton Lienert-Brown also took a knock and failed his head-injury check, so he’s out for the next test. Tough break for the team.
Tournament News
The Women’s Rugby World Cup is coming up in England, and it’s already making some serious noise. Ticket sales are through the roof—way more than anyone expected. They’ve sold around 375,000 tickets so far, which is almost triple what they sold for the last World Cup in New Zealand.
The final’s at Twickenham, and it looks like it’s going to be packed. We’re talking a full house—82,000 people—which would be a huge deal for women’s rugby. It’d break the attendance record, no question.
England kicks things off against the USA on August 22nd. The folks running the show sound pretty sure the final’s going to be the biggest women’s rugby match ever. It’s cool to see this kind of momentum building.
There’s talk that the United Rugby Championship might be adding a couple of North American teams to the mix. It would mean stretching beyond the five countries already involved, which is a pretty big deal. Some people think it’s a way to make up for possible cuts to Welsh teams and also to get more fans in the US, especially with the Rugby World Cup heading there in 2031 and 2033. The URC’s CEO, Martin Anayi, pointed out that the league has expanded before, but he also mentioned that flying teams across the ocean could get complicated. Player welfare and travel logistics are definitely on his mind.
Club Rugby and Transfers
Newcastle Falcons, who are set to become Newcastle Red Bulls soon, have brought in Australian forward Fergus Lee-Warner on a one-year deal for the 2025/26 season. He’s 31 and can play lock or back row, and he’s also English-qualified, which is a nice bonus. He’s coming over from the NSW Waratahs.
Steve Diamond, the director of rugby, mentioned that Lee-Warner should bring some extra physical presence and experience to the squad’s forward pack. That’s about it for major Premiership moves in the last few hours—nothing else really stood out.
Injuries and Personnel Updates
The Springboks are going to be without Siya Kolisi and Pieter-Steph du Toit for the Cape Town match, which is a tough break. Kolisi is out with a knee issue, and du Toit is dealing with concussion symptoms. On top of that, wings Kurt-Lee Arendse and Edwill van der Merwe won’t be available either.
New Zealand’s got their own problems—Tuipulotu has a facial fracture, and Lienert-Brown is also out with a concussion. As for Australia, we already heard about their injuries over the weekend.