Amidst the hype of all the recent tour games, we forget that based on form, Wales and the All Blacks are effectively the two best teams in the world. Of course, aspects such as recent results and actual world rankings dispute this.

Robbie Deans has challenged his high-flying Wallabies to prove they’re no flash in the pan in Saturday’s showdown with the unpredictable French in Paris.

Coming towards the end of their first year as World Champions, question marks continue to exist over the Springboks team and coach Peter De Villiers.

Attacking ace Matt Giteau admits Australian training sessions have risen to ferocious heights this week as the Wallabies strive desperately to mend their battered reputation in England.

Wallabies coach Robbie Deans has warned England against living on past glories as Australia seized the psychological ascendancy in an intriguing build-up to Saturday’s much-hyped Cook Cup clash at Twickenham.

South Africa captain John Smit will equal Os Du Randt’s record of 80 Test caps as a Springbok forward after being named in an unchanged line-up for Saturday’s clash with Scotland at Murrayfield.

One game played, and the floodgates open against the Northern Hemisphere invaders. It’s a usual tirade, with the British press incredibly uncompromising on any antagonists that dare invade their hallowed shores.

Gavin Henson has withdrawn from the Wales team for the rugby international against South Africa on Saturday due to a nagging ankle injury.

World champions they may be, but South Africa play Six Nations champions Wales here on Saturday desperate to make up for a poor Tri-Nations that saw them win only two of their six games.

Without a hint of insincerity or gamesmanship, Italy coach Nick Mallett has all but written off his side’s chances of beating the Wallabies in Saturday’s Test in Padova.

A glorious beginning to a scintillating tour program sees no less than six full internationals being played this weekend. So here’s a preview of the upcoming games.

A Pacific Island bash will test a new looking England before hosting the three giants of Southern Hemisphere rugby power. However, Johnson’s first selection has made the multi-million agreement between the Rugby Football Union and the Premiership clubs look flawed.

A full-strength Springbok squad departed South Africa today seeking to make it three wins out of three in Wales, Scotland and England in the coming weeks.

Angry ARU boss John O’Neill has threatened retaliatory strikes against northern hemisphere nations who send second-string teams to Australia for winter Tests against the Wallabies.

Australian Rugby Union boss John O’Neill has called for an open player market between the southern hemisphere powerhouses to help curb an alarming talent drain to Europe.

The weekend’s two provincial rugby finals, with scorelines from the old days of rugby, were played within hours of each other, in wet, cold Wellington, New Zealand, and in overcast, blustery Durban.

With rugby union being in a near cyclic rotation around the World Cup, it is imperative that it is added back to the Summer Olympic Games so that there are other focuses for international teams.

On Wednesday, the powers that run our game in the South – the SANZAR ‘alliance’ – failed to agree on how the official changes that see six teams qualify for the finals will be contested. There is also confusion as to whether next year’s series will be run under the hybrid ELVs or the global [...]

The recent controversy over the Springbok emblem has dragged South African rugby back into the ever-present political mire.

The other day, the head of the South African sports portfolio, Butana Komphela, called for the Springbok to be culled as the emblem of the national rugby team. He argued that, among other things, “the Springbok divides us”, and that there can be “no negotiation” on its future.