Rugby World

Springbok Manie Libbok wows the crowd. With Handré Pollard out, the Stormer will be the Boks’ starting No 10 at the World Cup. SOME RUGBY World Cup squad breakdowns feel like they magicked into existence. England’s ‘Dad’s Army’? They felt like they h

Maggie Alphonsi, the World Cup winner turned TV pundit, charts her rise to become one of the best women’s players in the world in her autobiography Winning the Fight. By overcoming sexism and racism, Alphonsi beat the odds – this new book reveals how

FRI 8 SEPT France v New Zealand (Pool A, 8.15pm, Paris) SAT 9 SEPT Italy v Namibia (Pool A, noon, Saint-Étienne) Ireland v Romania (Pool B, 2.30pm, Bordeaux) Australia v Georgia (Pool C, 5pm, Paris) England v Argentina (Pool D, 8pm, Marseille) SUN 10

WHAT’S THE funniest thing you’ve seen or heard on the pitch? I was playing in the second row with Bradley Davies. He was renowned as a bit of a joker and Jack the Lad. We were going backwards in one scrum and he was making ‘beep-beep’ noises like a c

Scotland men’s sevens took gold at the Youth Commonwealth Games in Trinidad & Tobago – so becoming the first Scottish team ever to win a medal at a Commonwealth Games. They beat Fiji 25-20 in extra-time, with Ross Birnie scoring the vital try. The Sc

THE RECENT South Africa v Argentina match in Johannesburg was less than ten seconds old when an attempted charge-down by Pumas full-back Juan Cruz Mallía left Springboks scrum-half Grant Williams unconscious on the turf. Fielding the kick-off on his

Age 19 (24 June 2004) Born Edinburgh Position Back-row Club Edinburgh Country Scotland When did you first play rugby? When I was about seven or eight years old. I’ve got two older brothers who both started before me and my dad played for a Borders te

WARREN GATLAND coached Ireland at RWC 1999 and his first game in charge came the previous year in Paris – a match in which France were massive favourites. He takes up the story… ‘I had to convince the players that if they believed deep down in their

WHEN HE was set to make his first bow for Samoa, Christian Leali’ifano took to Instagram to celebrate. Holding his new jersey in front of him, the 35-year-old Moana Pasifika fly-half posted: What a journey it has been. All the glory to God. JEREMIAH

IT’S BEEN quite the tumultuous year for men’s rugby union. From worrying about the financial viability of professional rugby to contentious law changes and reports of unacceptable behaviour and gross mismanagement, there haven’t been a huge number of

SNEAKINESS IS a vital part of any scrum-half’s arsenal, like a box kick or a bark. The very best, well, they’ll find a way to clown you. And Portugal nine Samuel Marques is more than happy to find you a red nose. “Sam is an extremely intelligent play

DURING GRUELLING camps, any side worth its salt will mix the hard work with team-building. Because you have to bond if you are to take on a colossal challenge like a World Cup and thrive. There are some more traditional ways of doing so. Italy, for e

“I RETIRED when I wanted to in 2019 when Saracens won the double. Apart from the World Cup, I had won pretty much everything you can. You get to the age when your contracts are getting shorter and I thought the time was right. “I started a property b

BY VIRTUE of being a successful England international, Kyle Sinckler is no stranger to performing on TV. However, when his rugby career eventually does come to an end, that element of his life may still persist. “I really enjoy drama,” explains the t

Italy have played at every World Cup but have yet to reach the knockout stage. It hasn’t helped being drawn in the same pool as New Zealand on six occasions – and that has become seven as they face the All Blacks in Lyon next month. By far their best

Namibia played their first Rugby World Cup match in France, a defeat to Fiji at the Stade de la Méditerranée in Béziers. This was at the 1999 tournament, when it was played across five countries. Namibia have never won a World Cup match but they did

New Zealand’s opening game of France 2023 could see them record their 50th World Cup victory. They are the only nation to have won every pool match (31 of them), though officially they also ‘drew’ 0-0 with Italy in 2019 after the game was cancelled b

The player with the most tries for Ireland in World Cups is Keith Earls, with eight. The Munster wing scored five in 2011 and three in 2015 – but finished empty-handed in 2019. In 2011, Ireland bushwhacked the Wallabies at Eden Park, upsetting the th

Romania had a powerful side in the amateur era and in 1981 they lost only 14-6 to the All Blacks in Bucharest. The Oaks have played at every World Cup bar one and booked their spot at France 2023 after Spain were disqualified for fielding an ineligib

Scotland have lost exactly twice at every World Cup – apart from 1987 when they lost only once, to New Zealand in the quarter-finals. Only Jonny Wilkinson (277) has scored more RWC points than Gavin Hastings, whose haul of 227 includes 44 against Ivo

Just two of the 21 players to have won the World Cup twice are South African – Os du Randt (1995 and 2007) and Francois Steyn (2007 and 2019). Steyn was 20 when he helped the Boks beat England in the 2007 final, making him the youngest-ever World Cup

Centre Epi Taione caused controversy the last time the World Cup was staged in France in 2007. He changed his name by deed poll to ‘Paddy Power’ and dyed his hair green after striking a sponsorship deal with the Irish bookies. The 19-14 win over even

Fiji are the reigning World Cup Sevens champions after triumphing in 2022. It was the third time Fiji had won the competition after 1997 and 2005. Fiji are also the two-time men’s Olympic gold medallists after victory at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 ahead

In winning 35-12 against France in 1999, the Wallabies achieved the biggest margin of victory ever seen in a final. Staying in 1999, how’s this for a reign of dominance. On the way to lifting the cup for the second time, Australia conceded only one t

Georgia have won 15 European Nations Cups/Rugby Europe Championships since the start of this century, asserting themselves as the top dog in the continent behind the Six Nations teams. Their greatest day was beating Wales 13-12 in Cardiff last autumn

This will be Portugal’s second World Cup – and they have reached both by the slimmest of margins. In 2007 they pipped Morocco (26-20) and Uruguay (24-23) in a nail-biting repêchage. Then last year a 16-16 draw with USA in Dubai, achieved via Samuel M

Josh Adams was top try-scorer at the 2019 World Cup – the first Welshman to achieve that feat. His haul of seven included a hat-trick against Fiji in Oita. Shane Williams is Wales’ top try-scorer in World Cup history, with ten (2003-11). Three-time s

Chile will become the 26th country to appear in a World Cup Finals – the last debutant was Russia in 2011. Inches from a win against Uruguay, los Cóndores beat Canada and the USA Eagles on their road to France 2023. Nothing can touch that extraordina

In 1999, 16 of the 20 teams had to qualify for the World Cup. On the way England beat Italy and the Netherlands, the latter crushed 110-0 at Huddersfield. For England fans the highs get no higher than watching the ball soar into the Sydney night, as

Japan’s nickname ‘Brave Blossoms’ was coined by long-time Rugby World contributor Rich Freeman, while he was reporting on the team from 2003. Can we have two here? Because the moment Karne Hesketh scored to secure victory over the Springboks in Brigh

Rugby’s most outspoken and influential journalist HERE IS the abysmal record of northern hemisphere nations at the Rugby World Cup. There have been nine World Cups to date, eight of which were won by southern hemisphere teams – an absolutely miserabl

DUANE VERMEULEN was ready to hang up his boots in 2021. The Boks No 8 had targeted the Lions series as his swansong, before an ankle injury crushed a childhood dream to face the famous tourists. Apart from that one regret, he was ready to say goodbye

AT SOME point in a World Cup schedule that pits them against France and New Zealand, the Italy players are bound to feel that their lungs are on the verge of exploding. Sure to look around them and see team-mates struggling to withstand the physical,

WE COULD begin by talking about how he’s surged past the opposition to become Scotland’s first-choice scrum-half or discuss how the World Cup is getting his juices flowing. But given the “trauma” of what he went through with London Irish, it’s only r

1 She will become the first woman to officiate at a men’s World Cup (3,7) 8 - - - Horrox, World Rugby’s director of women’s rugby (5) 9 “He can play, run, kick – he’s an all - - -,” Manu Tuilagi said of Henry Slade at RWC 2019 (7) 10 The - - -, chari

NEW ZEALAND are on an 11-match unbeaten streak and scoring some scintillating tries. It’s no coincidence it’s happening on the watch of ex-Ireland boss Joe Schmidt, now getting his teeth into his job as All Blacks attack coach. I remember Steve Hanse

PRE-WORLD CUP camps are gruelling. Famously so. But the very best in the sport embrace that. Running up the notorious Sigatoka sand dunes is almost seen as a spiritual event for any Fijian sides working on their conditioning. And one of the highlight

FOUR YEARS is a long time in the rugby life cycle. But sometimes things repeat when it comes round again. For example, remember when Ireland were top of the rankings in 2019? Conor Murray does. “Just in terms of what we’ve been through in the last fo

WHEN IT comes to the cream of the crop – when we’re talking about the very best of the Rugby World Cup – it fundamentally comes down to the luck of having the very best players in the world fit and ready to make a difference. Cast your mind back to t

Email your letters to rugbyworldletters@futurenet.com or write to our editorial address I read your article on ‘tanking’ (trading people of value) in Welsh rugby. The issues affecting the WRU and national team over the last 12 months have been addres

CATCH, PASS, step, run, score. Everything on a rugby field appears effortless for Will Jordan. His rapid, gliding running style. His attacking potency that’s seen him claim 23 tries in the same number of Tests for the All Blacks. His anticipation and

THOSE FOREARMS and all his other ink. Ask Beka Gigashvili what it all means and he’ll tell you about family, team bonding, and the desire to keep moving forward and upwards. But etching such motivators onto his skin took some time. Actually, that’s n

IT WAS fitting that hooker Agustín Creevy was the first Puma to reach 100 caps when facing the Springboks in Buenos Aires. The rousing ovation he received in his final home match was a deserved accolade for this magnificent servant to Argentine rugby

A proposal is put to the International Rugby Football Board (IRFB) at a meeting in Paris. Driven by Australia’s Nicholas Shehadie and NZ’s Richard Littlejohn, it passes 10-6 The first Rugby World Cup, comprising 16 teams and hosted by New Zealand and