Joe van Niekerk

Top 14 Wrap: Round Ten

Toulouse needed a 79th minute penalty to beat Toulon by single point and remain at the summit of the Top 14 table on Saturday in a weekend of close results. Last season's trend setters, Clermont, went down to their fifth defeat...

Stern test awaits De Villiers

World Champions they may be, but South Africa play Six Nations champions Wales on Saturday desperate to make up for a poor Tri-Nations that saw them win only two of their six games. Almost thirteen months on from their 15-6...

The Ross Skeate Diaries

So finally i have arrived, after much decision making, in depth thought, gut checking and finding the balls to make a choice, i sit here in a wintery Toulon (wintery in a comfortable south of France kinda way)...writing to you...

Springboks' Smit to start at prop

Venue: Millennium Stadium Date: Saturday, 8 November Kick-off: 1430 GMT Coverage: Live on BBC One, Radio Wales & online. Highlights on Scrum V, BBC Two (Sunday, 1800 GMT). Live text commentary on BBC Sport website South Africa...

Peter Bills: Talking rugby

The sad decline of Jerry Collins Tuesday, 4 November 2008 Jerry Collins is 28 years old today. But to see Collins, a great All Black, looking ponderous and plodding his way through a French Top 14 Championship match at...

Montauban go crashing on

Friday 31st October 2008 Not one week after stunning Clermont 30-25 in Clermont, Montauban are at it once again, this time running in six tries in a 42-20 destruction of beleaguered Toulon at Sapiac on Friday. They led 42-3...

Boks tourists take aim at Lions

Marinos says the Sprinboks will bring some exciting new talents to Britain Andy Marinos says South Africa will still be strong despite leaving out senior players for November's tour Tests with Wales, Scotland and England. The...

Watson pullout: Lukewarm play or red-hot row

So did Luke Watson quit the Boks, or did they 'quit' him? You have to ask, after local rugby's most controversial player issued a statement, saying he was withdrawing from a team many felt he should not have been a part of in...

Boks pick home stars for GB tour

Bath's Butch James is one of the overseas players omitted South Africa coach Peter de Villiers has chosen not to pick any of the Springboks' overseas-based players for his squad to tour Britain in November. De Villiers has...

Enough talent for Bok surprises

By Jacques van der Westhuyzen There could have been only one sticking point when Peter de Villiers and his co-selectors first debated the make-up of the Springbok squad for next month's tour to Europe - do they pick Luke Watson...