RugbyBits

Shaun and Thala review round 2 of the United Rugby Championship where the South African teams won 2 out of 4 games.We start with the Sharks beating Leinster through a strong defensive performance, Thomas du Toit putting the screws of Thomas Clarkson and Siphosethu Mnebelele impressing. The Lions maul and scrum secured their victory over Ospreys, with Francke Horn leading the charge and Erich Cronje maintaining his insane form.In Europe, the Stormers lineout faltered in their loss to Edinburgh, but they are looking forward to a host of Springboks rejoining them. The Bulls lost to Munster with young Charlie O’Shea impressing on debut.The Springbok Women continued their winning run with a 20-0 victory in Spain.Finally in other news, we review the crazy last 10 minutes of the Ulster and Glasgow draw, Louis Rees-Zammit trolling Northampton in Bristol’s win over Bath, the Force winning the (fraud) Super Rugby AU, Shaun hating on Paul Costes and Brendan Venter’s new role as a wine consultant for Saracens (maybe he should help with their attack).

Kooks and Thala review a crazy weekend of rugby with great weekends for the Springbok Women and the South African URC teams, but a loss for the Springboks in Perth.We first look at the Springbok loss an discuss what the Wallabies did so well to get a 42-17 lead, and the craziness of the last 15 minutes with TMO drama and the Boks making a furious comeback. While the likes of Ryan Lonergan and Max Jorgensen shone, there is no reason to panic for Springbok fans as some second string players got valuable experience.We then review a good weekend for the South African URC teams as they won 4 out of 4. Impressive performances from the likes of Luan Giliomee, Jonathan Roche and Erich Cronje stood out.Finally another chaotic weekend in the WXV, which saw South Africa make amends for their loss to Wales with a great win against Italy and England winning against New Zealand in the very last minute.

Kooks and Thala preview a busy weekend in the world of rugby, with South Africa facing Australia in Perth, the opening weekend of the URC and the continuation of WXV happening this weekend.We start with a much-changed Springboks gearing up to face Les Kiss' Wallabies. We discuss why this is a massive game for Johan Grobbelaar in his bid to become the backup Bok hooker and why Franco Mostert needs to remind us all of his place on the lock depth chart. For the Wallabies, we discuss why Joseph Sua'ali'i's move to wing makes sense and what Les Kiss will be looking to get out of this game. Kooks is also not happy about the Springboks being made to play on a Sunday.Onto the URC and we preview the hopes for the South African URC sides. We discuss the Galactico signings the Stormers have made and why Riley Norton could be a key player for them; for the Lions we discuss if a settled squad with Boan Venter added can repeat the run into the playoffs they had last season; for the Sharks its about getting the rebuild going and seeing how youngsters like Vusi Moyo come through and we debate if the Bulls signings can take them the next step forward and what Curwin Bosch adds as a backup flyhalf.We wrap up with celebrating Canada for ending the Red Roses' streak, the lessons for the Springbok Women in Wales, a chaotic game between France and Australia and Henry Pollock's contract extension.

Thala and Shaun take a brief look at the fourth test and dive into the nuts and bolts from the tour, the Springbok MVP and some questions from the Dirt Trackers. Thala talks in depth about what we need to be doing at Hooker and Shaun yet again highlights the power of our midfield and still can not understand how people feel Kriel is a liability#Springboks #AllBlacks #RGR2026 #SiyaKolisi #JasperWiese #JEsseKriel #DamiandeAllende #SachaFeinbergMngomezulu

Shaun and Thala preview the fourth test of Rugby's Greatest Rivalry in Baltimore. As the Springboks take a 2-1 lead to the US they welcome back Damian Willemse to the team and we see Morne van den Berg get a great opportunity to start this weekend. We discuss how van den Berg can back up his performance last week and whether Ethan Hooker is the first choice left winger.The All Blacks have made a raft of changes, including starting Richie Mo'unga. We discuss how New Zealand may play differently with Mo'unga at 10, how he combines with Cam Roigard and the other changes to the All Blacks team.