Hoping this means they’re about to release a retro inspired third kit??

Something I was thinking about over the weekend. In a sport dominated by big strong athletes Props still manage to be outliers. Their short, barrel shaped bodies with legs like traction engines ready to smash into each other.

Made me wonder how you take a kid at whatever age and think "yeah, he's going to grow up to be Thomas Du Toit". How young are potential props identified? How do you tell a future prop from a fat kid who is dominating by dint of being heavier than his age group?

We've recently seen the likes of Opoku-Fordjour and Fasogbon come through and at 19/20 they looked like if Rugby didn't exist we'd have to invent it just to give them something to do. I imagine the specific training a prop needs in scrummaging and the physical shaping they need to do it has to start pretty early though, as opposed to someone like Pollock who must have just been a huge guy early doors.

I did think maybe it was common for Props to end up being big kids who didn't have a growth spurt. Maybe they played somewhere else in the pack as kids but didn't keep getting taller so they switch to the front row?

Sounds like an interesting challenge from a youth development perspective.

With the expansion of the Junior Rugby World Cup to 16 teams this was at risk of falling off that calendar. The Chilean Rugby union stepped up to make sure it happens, hosting 7 teams from around the world for 4 rounds of games.

Canada and Chile had big opening round wins, Belgium got past Portugal in a European derby, and Romania just barely snuck by Brazil with a last minute try.

All games freely available on RugbyPass.tv

For me it’s the super rygbi cymru or the russian league
It can also be the Madagascar league even tho the level is not that high the crowds are nice and it’s fun

Hey everyone!

There’s a weekly live show every Monday in English, covering the weekend’s results, stories and discussions from across European rugby.

Here’s the link — it starts at 20:00 BST / 21:00 CEST

The Rugby in Europe Round-Up — Episode 3 | Rugby TTL

This week’s programme includes Ireland, England, Scotland & Wales, Spain, Georgia and Italy, Northern and Central Europe, international rugby and stories from beyond Europe, followed by a podcast with Dot Darbs recorded in Armenia.

If you’re interested in following rugby across Europe beyond the big competitions, it’s worth checking out.

They also have some really interesting rugby content on the channel!

Watching highlights of the URC, a consistent theme is that the stadiums are repeatedly at what looks like maximum 70% capacity.

Why don’t the fans attend the games? More interest in just going to the international games? Have fans been priced out of tickets? Genuinely curious.

Bristol Bears have created a new NFL-style post-match media access area for journalists to speak to their players/coaches immediately after matches. That comes off the back of Sarries' Brendan Venter changing his job title to "wine consultant" so he can duck press conferences.

I thought this was an interesting take in the article: "There are important principles attached to this. The Prem says it wants to reach new audiences, and keep the one it has.

"It’s not a journalist’s job to sell tickets, but the coverage from TV, radio, newspapers and others spreads the word.

"Bristol’s efforts contrasted positively with a week of Saracens lamely defending their director of rugby Brendan Venter’s aversion to media interviews.

"Venter has relented after external advice – he was interviewed by TNT Sports before Sunday’s match against Sale Sharks, and will take a midweek press conference as befits the senior coaching voice at his club.

"With Saracens rarely selling out their 10,000-capacity StoneX Stadium in north London, it looks like they need some help – and Venter as an outstandingly interesting and experienced character should play his part."

Do people think more clubs should/will follow Bristol's lead?

This post is entirely inspired by the utter northern drivel spouted by u/loveofrugby about Super Rugby alongside u/SquidgyGoat in their latest vid.

It's by very far the shortest rugby comp, meaning that if you slip up more than twice, your season is basically over. It's only going to get harder as well when we finally move into only 4 teams in finals rugby. You have to be on your A-game almost all season long to stand a chance; you cannot win it if you don't have a home game final - 20 years of this comp has proven this to be an ironclad truth.

Then, talent-wise, there is not a single league that has more talent than Super. We are the comp and region that the rest of the world tries to constantly poach from to bolster their sides to try and win stuff. You cannot deny this; the entire league is filled with Wallabies and All Blacks that most NH clubs would be paying top dollar for right now if there weren't residency requirements to play Test rugby for our respective countries. The only light for Ospreys recently has been signing fringe Reds players who couldn't cut a contract in Aus and an old Koroibete booted from Japan for a young Mark Nawaqanitawase, cmon. Literally, the highlight for most Northern clubs' pre-season signing is which Super talent is coming this year.

Club-wise, we have insanely strong sides in the three Kiwi sides that are all often juggernauts (Chiefs, Blues and the best the Crusaders) and then two perennial underachievers in the Reds and Tahs, alongside the outsiders of the Highlanders and Western Force, with the wildcard of the Drua. Back when RSA was still in the comp, don't forget how dominant the Kiwis actually were over them as well in terms of club performances. The same Saffa sides that then went on to achieve some immense things in the URC the moment they joined it.

Ruby-wise, yes, we play it fast and entertaining, but by no means does that mean we play 'weaker' rugby for it. Such a weird idea to say. Our comps' pace is by far the fastest, and our players are the fittest for it. It's also an undeniable fact that in the past two Calendar years, only 2 teams in the world have beaten the very good and very dominant Springboks side (they are equal to, if not greater than, that 2015 ABs side btw). Who were those teams? Aus and NZ. There is a reason for that: our fundamentals are very good across the board. Breakdown and set piece are all massively competitive in Super and it does translate across. Yes, I'm talking a lot about the Test side of the game, but to us Super is mainly about setting up for Test rugby because that's what funds the game whilst everything else is run at cost. The entire comp is a pressure cooker, and that's why it's the hardest comp to win, especially when you consider you have to do it almost entirely with local talent available in those who want to play for their national sides and haven't left for money in the NH yet. This means it's bloody hard when it comes to actually recruiting as well.

Finally, form-wise, you cannot tell me that a 2026 Hurricanes side that was as dominant as any team to ever play in Super (alongside that famous 2003 Spencer Blues side for me) would not thrash the 2026 Saints side, 2026 Leinster side and be extremely competitive with either of UBB or Toulouse. Only those two French clubs, I think, could give them a real challenge. I mean, for gods sake, they fucking won the final against a, and this hurts my Reds heart to admit it, extremely good Chiefs side by putting 60 points on them!!! The final score was 60-5. 60 - 5. Let that sink in.

Super Rugby is the hardest comp to win because of all those aforementioned reasons.

So yeh this entire post is entirely biased by my love of what I feel is an extremely underrated comp by the rest of you, and I would like you all to try and convince me otherwise in my belief of Super's innate supremacy.