Rugby World Cup
Quadrennial world rugby championship.
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Super Rugby Pacific unveils 2027 schedule with pre-Anzac Day blockbuster headlining expanded season
Super Rugby Pacific has released its full 2027 fixture list across an expanded 17-round, 80-game regular season. A standout scheduling move places a Queensland Reds vs Blues clash in Brisbane on 24 April, the day before the historic Anzac Day Bledisloe Cup Test.
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France name 33 protected players under new nine-Test cap ahead of 2027 World Cup
The FFR and LNR have unveiled a 33-man list of French internationals who will be shielded from overuse under a new workload-management programme, capping their Test appearances at nine per season as France builds toward the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
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Japan name 30-player squad for WXV European tour with 16 World Cup veterans
New Sakura Fifteen head coach Toshizumi Kitagawa has selected a 30-player squad for Japan's WXV Global Series European leg, featuring 16 players from Women's Rugby World Cup 2025 and scrum-half Moe Tsukui on the verge of 50 caps.
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Matfield names Marx player of the series and singles out Kolbe in Rugby's Greatest Rivalry
Former Springbok captain Victor Matfield has praised Malcolm Marx and Cheslin Kolbe as 'head and shoulders above everyone' in the Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series, naming the World Rugby Player of the Year his standout performer across the four Tests.
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Petaia ends two-year Wallabies exile as Kiss reshuffles squad to face Springboks
Jordan Petaia has been recalled to the Wallabies squad for the first time since the 2023 Rugby World Cup, joining Force fly-half Harry McLaughlin-Phillips and prop Zane Nonggorr as Les Kiss makes three changes ahead of the Springboks clash in Perth on 27 September.
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Barnes hails 'world-class' Mo'unga after first All Blacks start since 2023 World Cup Final
All Blacks assistant coach Neil Barnes praised Richie Mo'unga following his first Test start since the 2023 Rugby World Cup Final defeat to South Africa, saying the returning fly-half did nothing wrong and adds crucial depth ahead of the 2027 World Cup.
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Mo'unga hails 'complete' Springboks as better than 2023 World Cup winners after series defeat
Richie Mo'unga returned from a 1,050-day Test absence only to watch South Africa seal a 3-1 Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series win with a 43-28 victory in Baltimore, prompting the All Blacks playmaker to declare the 2026 Springboks an even stronger side than the team that beat New Zealand in the World Cup final.
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Mo Hunt eyes inaugural Women's Lions tour after returning from knee injury at 37
England scrum-half Natasha 'Mo' Hunt is set to return from knee ligament damage in England's WXV Global Series opener against Australia, with the 89-cap veteran already targeting a place on the inaugural British & Irish Lions Women's tour to New Zealand in 2027.
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Finn Russell vows to avoid past mistakes as he weighs Scotland future beyond 2027 World Cup
Finn Russell has refused to set a retirement timeline, saying he will play as long as he is enjoying the game. The Scotland fly-half has two seasons remaining on his £1m-a-year Bath contract and will be 35 by the time the 2027 World Cup in Australia concludes.
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Brazil's Yaras target WXV Global Challenger debut with ambition and renewed squad depth
One year after their maiden Women's Rugby World Cup appearance, Brazil's Yaras enter the WXV Global Challenger Series in Hong Kong facing Hong Kong China, the Netherlands and Spain — with ACL comeback star Milena Mariano and veteran fly-half Raquel Kochhann leading their charge.
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Springbok Women name WXV squad with 2029 World Cup build in mind as Mpupha ruled out
South Africa co-coaches Franzel September and Laurian Johannes-Haupt have selected their squad for the European leg of the WXV Global Series, with captain Babalwa Latsha leading a group shaped around long-term World Cup planning. Zintle Mpupha misses out through injury, replaced by 20-year-old Naima Hlatshwayo.
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All Blacks can reclaim top ranking with series-levelling win over Springboks in Baltimore
The fourth and final Test between New Zealand and South Africa in Baltimore will determine who sits atop the World Rugby Rankings. A 2-2 series draw would see the All Blacks leapfrog the Springboks, who currently lead by 2.43 points.
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Lawrence eyes 2027 World Cup edge as USA face Japan in Pacific Nations Cup semi-final
USA head coach Scott Lawrence has named a 23-man squad for Saturday's Pacific Nations Cup semi-final against Japan in Osaka, a fixture that doubles as an early look at a guaranteed 2027 Rugby World Cup group-stage opponent less than 400 days away.
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Canada frame WXV Global Series as World Cup rehearsal ahead of Scotland opener
Canada head coach Kévin Rouet has instructed his squad to treat their five-match WXV Global Series run — against Scotland, England and France — as a Women's Rugby World Cup simulation, with three debutants set to feature in Edinburgh on Saturday.
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Andy Ellis begins coaching career against Ian Foster's Toyota Verblitz as Japan Rugby League One opens
World Cup winner Andy Ellis takes charge of Kobelco Kobe Steelers for the first time when Japan Rugby League One's sixth season kicks off on December 12, with his opener coming against former All Blacks head coach Ian Foster's Toyota Verblitz.
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Hamstring injury rules World Cup winner Clifford out of England's WXV home series
Saracens loosehead prop Kelsey Clifford, who scored five tries at Women's Rugby World Cup 2025 as England ended an 11-year wait for the title, will miss all three WXV Global Series home Tests in September with a hamstring injury.
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SA Rugby hail De Bruin as 'leading coach' after surprise Springbok Women resignation
SA Rugby President Mark Alexander has praised outgoing Springbok Women head coach Swys de Bruin following his unexpected resignation, crediting the 66-year-old with guiding South Africa to a Women's Rugby World Cup quarter-final and a first top-10 world ranking.
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Taufete'e ends three-year USA exile as Eagles open Pacific Nations Cup against Japan
Joe Taufete'e, once nominated for World Rugby Player of the Year after the 2019 Rugby World Cup, returns to the USA Eagles squad for the first time since August 2023, coming off the bench in Saturday's Pacific Nations Cup opener against Japan in Osaka.
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Jones fields dozen low-cap players as Japan target World Cup depth in PNC semi-final
Eddie Jones has named 12 players with fewer than 10 caps in Japan's squad for their Pacific Nations Cup semi-final against the USA, with the Brave Blossoms deliberately building experience ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
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Wales props Francis and Smith reunite at Sale with one eye on the 2027 World Cup
Tomas Francis and Nicky Smith have both joined Sale Sharks this summer, reuniting after two seasons together at the Ospreys. The Wales props see the Premiership club as the ideal platform to push for World Cup selection in 2027.
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