3:10 PM BST Western Province host the Sharks at Newlands in the only Currie Cup fixture this weekend, and the result may well decide which team tops the log. With the two remaining undefeated teams this season – each boasts a 4-0 record -separated at the top of the table only by points difference, KweséESPN

5:15 AM BST The Brumbies are confident they can rejuvenate the career of veteran Wallabies prop James Slipper after signing him on a two-year Super Rugby deal. Slipper leaves Queensland Reds after nine seasons and 104 games, having been on the outer following his admission of cocaine use. The 86-Test prop has also struggled with

2:34 AM BST All Blacks coach Steve Hansen says Sonny Bill Williams has matured from the player who once would sulk over injury setbacks. The big midfield back ends three months of recovery from a shoulder injury when New Zealand face Argentina in Saturday’s Rugby Championship Test in Buenos Aires. New Zealand came in for

5:09 PM BST PORT ELIZABETH — Gio Aplon should probably have a played a lot more Test matches for the Springboks than the 17 next to his name. Aplon was, and still is, a special talent that was overlooked countless times because of the size of his calves and biceps. He was always judged on

1:14 PM BST KweséESPN Staff Cheslin Kolbe and Sikhumbuzo Notshe will make their Springbok starts in the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on Saturday when South Africa take on the Wallabies. Kolbe will start on the right owing and Notshe at number eight as two of Rassie Erasmus’ four changes to the starting

3:12 AM BST Queensland Reds have gone back to proven attack coach Jim McKay as they strive to continue their Super Rugby revival. McKay, who has coached at an elite and international level for 24 years, will return to the Reds in October on a two-year contract, taking him through until the end of their

5:51 PM BST PORT ELIZABETH — The battle of the super-sub props could have a massive bearing on the Rugby Championship clash between the Springboks and the Wallabies at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday. South Africa and Australia possess two of world rugby’s most dynamic props in Steven Kitshoff and Taniela Tupou. Both

8:20 AM BST Referees admit the new “nipple line” is proving difficult to monitor, as World Rugby strives to lower concussion rates. Data collated by the sport’s world governing body from head injury assessments (HIA) in major competitions across both hemispheres between 2013 and 2015, showed 76 per cent of concussions were caused in the

2:54 AM BST Craig Dowd Close Craig Dowd played 60 Tests for New Zealand between 1993 and 2000, including in two World Cups, and he was part of the All Blacks team that won their first series in South Africa in 1996. He played for the Blues and Auckland in New Zealand domestic rugby, and

6:04 PM BST PORT ELIZABETH — Vincent Koch probably revolutionised tighthead-prop play in South Africa before he left for England. Quite a bold statement? Well, he was probably the first player to show that a great scrummager can also make close to 10 carries and tackles in a rugby match. When Koch made his debut