The Fiji Times

Ex-Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd accused of mind games by rival after ‘weird comment’

Former Hurricanes coach Chris Boyd has been accused of playing “mind games” by another rival coach in England ahead of the European Champions Cup quarterfinals this weekend. Boyd, Northampton’s director of rugby, criticised European rugby officials after an injury crisis led Northampton to draft in emergency cover because four of their senior loosehead props are...

Former test referee Glen Jackson hired as Fiji assistant for test rugby’s return in Europe

Fiji have appointed three more Kiwi coaches to assist head coach Vern Cotter for Europe’s Autumn Nations Cup in November and December. Crusaders assistant Jason Ryan and former All Black Daryl Gibson, who was with the Crusaders before his last coaching roles with the Waratahs in Sydney, have joined Cotter with ex-Kiwi test referee Glen...

Shooting at Georgia Rugby Union HQ

The vice-president of the Georgia Rugby Union has reportedly been arrested after a shooting at the union’s headquarters in Tbilisi. Merab Beselia is alleged to have shot Ramaz Kharazishvili, the 32-year-old former captain of the Georgian national 7s team in the left leg. Kharazishvili was rushed to hospital for emergency surgery. “Kharazishvili received injuries to...

Battle of the forwards as scrum a worry for Nadroga in challenge

If there is something the Namosi and Nadroga rugby sides will have to work on before they meet in this weekend’s double header, it’s their front rows and scrum. Namosi will host Nadroga in a repeat of the Farebrother-Sullivan Trophy challenge and Skipper Cup clash this weekend. They faced each other in the first round...

Suva sets benchmark

The Suva rugby team has set its match against Nadroga last weekend as a benchmark to build up to its next game against Yasawa. After its loss to Lautoka in the sixth round, the Capital City side has made some positional changes and a boost in their preparation to prepare them in the second round....

‘Play with pride’

Tui Bua, Ratu Makutu Nagagavoka has reminded the Bua provincial rugby team to never lose sight of God. He said victory came from above. He urged the players to play their best when they take on Ovalau in this weekend’s Vodafone Vanua Championship. He told them to wear their rugby jerseys and “play with pride”...

Call for team’s backing

Nadroga is optimistic of taking the Farebrother Sullivan trophy back to Nakuruvarua after they challenge the holy grail of Fiji rugby from holders Namosi. Confiding all Nadroga supporters, veteran front rower Setefano Somoca said they called all Nadro fans to come and support them on Saturday as they challenge for the trophy. “I urge all...

Time for revenge

The one opportunity for the Nadroga rugby team to avenge its loss against Namosi in the second round of the Skipper Cup and Farebrother-Sullivan Trophy challenge is just around the corner. Expectations, doubts and hopes of the favourite to win the match on Saturday has been a hot topic throughout the week in every household...

Former Wallaby Peter FitzSimons rips Dave Rennie over Bledisloe Cup boycott

Renowned sports columnist Peter FitzSimons has blasted Wallabies coach Dave Rennie for threatening to boycott this year’s Bledisloe Cup due to scheduling complaints. Before Monday’s confirmation that the trans-Tasman series would go ahead next month in New Zealand Rennie said his Wallabies were willing to sit it out unless the scheduling was reconfigured. The Wallabies...

Samoa, Tonga and Niue to feature in league double-header

Samoa, Tonga and Niue are poised to feature in a women’s international rugby league double-header in November pending a drop in Auckland’s Covid-19 alert levels. New Zealand Rugby League announced yesterday the Kiwi Ferns would face Fetū Samoa at Mount Smart Stadium on 7 November as part of the team’s 25th anniversary year, with the...

Dane Coles on board for All Blacks long haul in Australia

The only rugby certainty in sidelined All Black Dane Coles’ mind, for now, is that they’ll play successive Sunday Bledisloe Cup tests in Wellington and Auckland next month. And, ideally, he’ll make his comeback from back and calf injuries in Wellington’s visit to Canterbury on October 3 when they challenge for the Ranfurly Shield – assuming Taranaki...

Rugby’s global debt to Kingsley Jones – the man who kept Lomu in the game

OPINION: The legend of Jonah Lomu would never have materialised without Phil Kingsley Jones. New Zealand Rugby and the All Blacks have a lot to thank the larger-than-life Welshman who passed away this week at the age of 72. So does the rugby world in general. Kingsley Jones saw Lomu’s potential and his faith in the...

Brothers ready – Mocenacagi, Tabu likely for Nadro’s title challenge

Brothers Sevuloni Mocenacagi and Kavekini Tabu are likely to make their first appearance together for Nadroga in a Farebrother Sullivan Trophy challenge when they play holders Namosi on Saturday. Word from the Nadroga camp is that the brothers have proved themselves during training and have pencilled their names in the starting list for the former...

Suva’s five-year deal

The Suva rugby team is on the right track to defend the Skipper Cup after Ram Sami and Sons Ltd boosted them with $30,000 and a five-year partnership. Last month the union secured an agreement with Ram Sami as major sponsor for Suva and yesterday company director, Prashneel Sami Goundar, said he was obliged to...

All Blacks two Bledisloe Cup tests confirmed for Wellington and Auckland

Dates and venues for the All Blacks two Bledisloe Cup test matches against the Wallabies have been confirmed and neither will clash with New Zealand’s election. The first will be played in Wellington on Sunday October 11 with the second test at Eden Park in Auckland, seven days later. With the New Zealand election on Saturday October 17, the Eden Park...

Super Rugby coaches could run NZ under-20s as Craig Philpott departs

Craig Philpott’s three-year tenure as head of the New Zealand under-20s program is officially over, and New Zealand Rugby could turn to Super Rugby for next year’s campaign. Philpott, whose contract was up this year, has been released by NZ Rugby after Covid-19 shredded this year’s under-20s program, denying him the chance to improve on...

Oceania Rugby Women’s Champs cancelled

The Oceania Rugby Women’s Championship is the latest sporting event to be cancelled because of the Covid-19 outbreak. The announcement comes a week after the regional men’s and women’s sevens championships were also scrapped. Oceania Rugby General Manager Bruce Cook said the health and well-being of players, officials and public remains to be their top...

Political football: NZ PM intervenes in rugby dispute with Australia

(Reuters) – New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Tuesday she had telephoned Australian counterpart Scott Morrison to defuse tensions over a scheduling dispute between the countries’ rugby teams. Wallabies coach Dave Rennie warned New Zealand Rugby (NZR) on Sunday that his side would refuse to play a test against the All Blacks on...

Team to watch in Marist 7s

The Dominion Brothers rugby 7s team will be a team to watch next weekend in the Marist 7s tournament in Suva. Known for their consecutive reign in various local tournaments in the under-20 division last year, the Dominion Brothers is one club that has cemented its foundation of team work. Team manager Rokolua Manuapa said...

‘Goodbye our unsung hero’

The Fiji rugby family continues to mourn and pour condolences and accolades at one of its best rugby sons who died after a short illness last week. Lemeki Koroi of Serea Village, Naitasiri and a former Nasinu Secondary School student died last Thursday. He scored two tries in the final against South Africa to see...

‘Other factors’ at play in rugby hosting decision: PM Jacinda Ardern

One day out from a Sanzaar announcement expected to hand the Rugby Championship to Australia, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has indicated the Government would not be totally to blame should that happen. A report from across the Tasman on Wednesday said Australia could pinch the Rugby Championship from New Zealand due to superior commercial modelling and...

Savea brothers combine for Wellington for first time in powerful starting XV

Julian Savea made his debut for Wellington in 2010; younger brother Ardie two years later. In the ensuing decade in which both shot to rugby fame from the Oriental-Rongotai club, through to the Hurricanes and All Blacks, they’ve never shared the same Wellington NPC dressing room in a combined 66 matches. That statistic expires in...

‘Goodbye to our unsung hero’

The Fiji rugby family continues to mourn and pour condolences and accolades for one of its best rugby sons who died after a short illness last week. Lemeki Koroi of Serea Village, Naitasiri and a former Nasinu Secondary School student passed away last Thursday. He scored two tries in the final against South Africa to...

Mitre 10 Cup: Southland stun Hawke’s Bay with famous win in the wet

Captain Tony Lamborn couldn’t have asked for a better way to kick off Southland’s Mitre 10 Cup party after his side stunned Hawke’s Bay 16-10 in Invercargill on Sunday afternoon. Having been a member of the resurgent Blues in Super Rugby this year, Lamborn knows how hard graft and determination can pay big dividends and...

Barrett brothers triumph as All Blacks captain Sam Cane’s losing run drags on

The sooner test rugby returns for Sam Cane the better. Because the All Blacks’ captain’s losing run is dragging on, after Bay of Plenty’s 36-29 loss to Beauden and Jordie Barrett’s Taranaki in Inglewood on Sunday. Not since March 6, when the Chiefs beat the Waratahs in Wollongong, has Cane tasted victory, with the Hamilton-based...

Suva survives Nadro wrath

Suva survived Nadroga’s wrath in the final quarter of the second half to win by 32-26 in the eighth round of the Skipper Cup competition at the ANZ Stadium. The Capital City side scored three unanswered tries, converted two and a penalty kick to lead the Stallions 22-0 to the half time break . Suva...

Namosi escapes late attack

Namosi escaped a late effort from Tailevu to win 21-15 during their eighth round clash at Ratu Cakobau Park yesterday. Namosi skipper Kelepi Naimasi said they were happy with the win especially bouncing back after the loss against Ram Sami Suva in the last round. “We knew we needed a win, and that Tailevu would...

All Blacks great Dan Carter claims another milestone in stellar career

On the rugby field of his youth, former All Black Dan Carter claimed another victory – this time with his rural Canterbury home club, Southbridge. In his third game with the club this season, the rugby great helped the team win the final of Canterbury’s Ellesmere senior competition and bring home the Coleman Shield –...

Auckland-based Pasifika bid for Super Rugby unveiled

A group backed by All Black legend Bryan Williams will table a bid to become the sixth Super Rugby franchise for 2021, selling itself as a Pacific bid for Pacific people. Moana Pasifika has been working on its pitch since June, and has a heavyweight group of backers, including the former Attorney-Generals of Samoa and...

Rugby

Skipper Cup: Tailevu leads Lautoka at half time break