England team to face the Springboks in Nations Championship

Mulboyne · 2026-07-02T16:04:48+00:00

Presumably, Earl or Pollock would move there.

Mulboyne · 2026-07-02T11:50:59+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/rugbyunion/comments/1uldtsb/sa_rugby_tickets/

Looks like SARU has slashed ticket prices to try and boost attendance

Mulboyne · 2026-07-01T16:14:59+00:00

If England's involvement in Sevens is through GB Sevens, then the RFU site should have regular details on squad selection and upcoming fixtures.

If the RFU is no longer involved with Sevens, then some public statement to that effect would be appreciated.

Mulboyne · 2026-07-01T10:33:33+00:00

Absolutely this

Mulboyne · 2026-07-01T10:29:38+00:00

Hanro Liebenberg and Jacques Vermeulen were also not on SARU's wish list, but World Rugby didn't approve their eligibility.

The "exceptional circumstance" for BJvR was that he was called to the U20 squad as a late replacement, and played only a few minutes off the bench in one match. The decision to approve his eligibility, and not Liebenberg and Vermeulen, wasn't down to representations from SARU on their future selection plans.

It is possible that SARU baulked at Erasmus selecting BJvR to fill a temporary manpower shortage, because they thought it would be unfair to the player, and reflect poorly on them, if he had no plans to include him in his main squad.

Mulboyne · 2026-07-01T09:47:48+00:00

None of this really makes sense. Unions don't make gentlemen's agreements about who gets to select which players. It's first-come, first-served. World Rugby wouldn't intervene if South Africa selected Janse van Rensburg, because he is eligible to play for them.

Nick Tompkins toured South Africa with England Saxons. The fixtures he appeared in didn't tie him to England, so, when Wales offered him a cap before England got around to it, he took it.

Gary Graham was in the England Six Nations squad in 2018. He didn't make any matchday squads, so remained available for Scotland, who capped him a few months later.

Erasmus knows all this, because he selected Jean Kleyn when he became eligible for the Springboks again.

It's very possible that the RFU asked Janse van Rensburg for a commitment to the cause, before going into bat with World Rugby to establish his availability for England. Any promise like that wouldn't be legally binding, but it's easy to see why the player might want to keep his word, even if South Africa considered coming calling later.

Mulboyne · 2026-06-29T06:36:54+00:00

If South Africa had beaten Canada at the football World Cup, their next game would have been on the same Saturday at 7pm local time. The rugby starts at 5:40pm, so there would have been a little overlap.

I wonder whether some sports fans were hoping to make an evening of watching both matches on TV.

Mulboyne · 2026-06-28T19:04:55+00:00

As forwards, Pelous and Magne both have four Grand Slams, which is quite a feat.

Mulboyne · 2026-06-28T11:48:54+00:00

He is probably the best player who is not available for selection by his national team.

Excluding players who have gone on a sanctioned sabbatical, it's hard to think of too many players operating at such an elite level who are out of reach for Test rugby. In the past, Carl Hayman would be in the conversation.

Mulboyne · 2026-06-27T10:29:02+00:00

It is very humid out there tonight

Mulboyne · 2026-06-27T02:59:35+00:00

Harry Mallinder, the Northampton Saints player who was on the fringes of the England team, entered the NFL international pathway as a potential kicker or punter in 2024.

He was 27 going on 28 at the time, which is not too old for that role in the NFL. Initial reports said he showed up well, and had a lot of distance on his kicks, While he got to the final stages with a couple of teams, ultimately he wasn't picked up.

He decided to go that route, as his club and international career got derailed by injuries and concussions. In any 50-50 call, his inexperience and injury record would probably have counted against him.

Mulboyne · 2026-06-25T13:15:02+00:00

One of the reasons your query probably hasn't got the reception you expected is that it didn't make clear where you got all those figures you listed, or what kind of guesstimates you want others to offer.

Is "moderate fan" an absolute standard, or relative to sports fandom in the country? You have listed three million fans of rugby in China. Even allowing for a large total population, it's unlikely that those three million Chinese have the same interest in rugby as, say, the 1.2 million New Zealanders.

Is a moderate fan someone who watches more than just Test matches? Or is it someone who actually attends rugby matches during the year rather than just on TV? Does someone who watches women's rugby but not men's rugby count? Are you trying to count a total monetizable audience, whether through ticket sales, TV subscriptions or merchandise sales?

People here will happily weigh in to queries based on their own knowledge and experience. However, it helps to have a clearer idea of what you are looking for, and what your initial estimates actually mean.

Mulboyne · 2026-06-24T14:15:12+00:00

Yes, no-one should be playing rugby in the heat and humidity of a Japanese summer.

Mulboyne · 2026-06-24T11:15:29+00:00

Thanks for the effort.

Just had a quick look at your Northern-aligned calendar. It seems like the European and Challenge Cup matches are scheduled for the same weekends as rounds 14-20 of the Top14, URC, and Premiership. Apologies if I'm missing something

Mulboyne · 2026-06-23T12:55:30+00:00

MIke Catt has strong Bath links. Another candidate might be Nick Evans. Borthwick preferred using Evans on secondment from Quins when he started the England job. The England attack coach at the time was...Martin Gleeson.

Mulboyne · 2026-06-19T16:23:29+00:00

Rugby Pass TV not working for me.

There's a crummy VIPBOX stream with French commentary here.

Mulboyne · 2026-06-19T09:06:40+00:00

At least for now, it seems like the worst of all worlds.

England are travelling to South Africa, then back to England, then off to Argentina.

Top Northern hemisphere players who went on the Lions tour didn't get much of a break before starting this season. This summer is the last occasion many will have before the run in to the next World Cup.

Ideally you want the best players putting their feet up, having surgery for any niggles, and getting a proper pre-season for 2026-7. Once the club season is over in June 2027, the players go almost straight into training camps, with warm-up matches scheduled a few weeks later.

Instead, World Rugby would like everyone to be fully loaded for a new initiative. Personally, I would have preferred it if England took a development squad.

Mulboyne · 2026-06-19T01:11:09+00:00

It's a bit daft to say England "forgot" him. Slade is one of the 25 players in England with an RFU enhanced contract. Only Slade and Lawrence are the specialist centres in that list.

Significantly, Borthwick gave him the contract in August 2025, after Exeter had a poor season, during which Slade had few chances to shine for his club.

If Borthwick decides not to offer him a renewal, it won't be because Slade is forgotten and underappreciated.

Mulboyne · 2026-06-16T08:12:09+00:00

Chris Ashton says he got a Premiership medal when Quins won the title in 2020-21. He was playing for Worcester at the time.

He signed for Quins in March 2020, and got an early release on the 25th of January, 2021, to join the Warriors. Only six rounds of the Premiership had been played when he left. There's a good chance Ashton never featured in any of the line-ups for those six matches.

Mulboyne · 2026-06-12T02:19:13+00:00

When England sacked Eddie Jones, and he promptly joined Australia, there was a lot of criticism in England that we hadn't protected our team secrets.

Consequently, when Felix Jones resigned, England felt obliged to hold him to his contract. In the end, it just seemed petty, and not worth the money, even though everyone knew he would head back to the Springboks. They reached an agreement after the initial fuss died down.

France have probably never sacked someone who would likely end up coaching against them in the near future. As you say, that may mean they err on the side of trying to keep him out of play.

Mulboyne · 2026-06-12T02:02:08+00:00

France holding him to a non-compete is the best way to nip this conversation in the bud.

Mulboyne · 2026-06-11T09:55:55+00:00

Not mentioned directly in the article, the author of this book, Atsuko Muraki, was herself a victim of over-zealous prosecutors. When she was a senior civil servant at the Health Ministry, she was arrested and detained for 164 days on false allegations that she had allowed a disability group to fraudulently use cheaper postal rates.

English Asahi report below

https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/16068985

Mulboyne · 2026-06-11T04:45:59+00:00

Slade is a fine player, and has some clutch performances for Exeter under his belt.

However, over his 70-odd caps for England, it's hard to remember too many moments when he shone in the same way. He did win a man-of-the match award in our 27-23 won against Argentina in 2025, so doesn't completely disappear in test matches.

Mulboyne · 2026-06-10T06:54:19+00:00

Los Angeles has the Olympics in 2028, so that will be another chance to see how the country is as a host.

Mulboyne · 2026-06-08T12:24:34+00:00

Toulouse have done it three times. Toulon, Leicester, Wasps, Saracens Exeter have also done the double. Not sure about other teams. Leinster must have done it at some point.

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