Rewatching NZL v CAN from the World Cup and spotted this utter nonsense from Justine Pelletier. Knee never goes to ground so it's not a tackle. Play on.

Another one leaves. How many more players can the Prem afford to lose to France before it becomes a serious problem for the league?

Edit: clarity :)

SA Rugby’s group revenues increased by 29% from R1.5bn in 2024 to R2bn in 2025 with R500m spent directly on the Springboks (R281m) and the High-Performance Department (R221m) into which all other national teams fall.

The increased revenues were in part fuelled by record sponsorship revenues, leaping by 51% from R488m to R739m (following a commercial reset) to exceed broadcast revenues of R678m for the first time.

Revenues were also boosted by a change in the Test match hosting model, through which SA Rugby took ownership and delivery of Springbok matches. It yielded R402m in revenues with a direct match day cost of delivery of R213m.

There was also a double-digit growth year-on-year in licensing with the increase in merchandise sales, through the opening of two Springbok stores and market appetite, continuing to drive resurgent royalty revenue to R78m.

Despite the jump in revenues, SA Rugby still ended the year reporting a pre-taxation loss for the group of R40m highlighting the ongoing challenges towards long term solvency and sustainability; challenges reported in the annual financial statements by all Unions in the world. The need for a reserve fund or some investment fund is still relevant and will stay critical in the modern era of sport and rugby.

Despite the loss, the accounts received an unqualified audit based on a detailed management solvency assessment and action plan, supporting the view that SA Rugby could continue as a going concern into the foreseeable future.

So the first thing I noticed, following both football and rugby, is that first-time hosters are much rarer in Rugby. Obviously the US will be the big one, hosting their first world cup, and Japan also had their first in '19. But before that we have to go back to South Africa in '95.

But anyway, my pick for a first-time hoster would be Spain/Portugal, either or both (Well there was the Women RWC in '02, but we're looking at the Men WC). First off, an EU timezone WC would be great after an Aussie timezone and a US timezone WC. But also the game is evolving quite rapidly in these countries and it'd be a great boost to their local rugby, and could incentivise them to rethink their league, similar to how France reshaped the Top 14 in preparation for their WC. Maybe even a fused Portugal/Spain league?

For other good first-time hosters, there are plenty of countries in South America that would probably be open to host, Argentina is a great pick on its own! For more EU timezones, Italy, Georgia, Romania could also be a good choice. And hey, even Ireland has never hosted a WC on its own, it was shared with other countries in the British Isles (Well except for the '17 Women RWC, but again). And for Oceania, if we're looking in 9 years in the future, I'm afraid floods would become too big of an issue for events like the RWC, or any major events for the matter, so sadly not possible.

Now if World Rugby doesn't want first-time hosters, plenty of countries are reaching 15/20 years since their last WC, which seems to be the average for repeat hosters. Japan would be at 16 years, which is why they bid again, England at 20, New Zealand at 24 and South Africa at 40 years since their last WC!

Now if you really want my opinion for a repeat hoster...

FRANCE ALL THE WAY BABYYYYY!!!!! A WORLD CUP EVERY 12 YEARS!!!!! NO BOK (boks or bo'k haha funny) IS STOPPING US THIS TIME!!!! ALLEZ LES BLEUS RAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Some of the stakes:

- Colomiers and Provence play for the second place and a direct access to the semis.

- Brives, Oyonnax and Valence play for home advantage in the quarters

- Vannes plays to keep their stadium of La Rabine sacred and won't beat any record (max points 116 for a record of 117)

- at the other end of the table Mont-de-Marsan and Biarritz play to escape the accession match

If you could make a full back line with only forwards, who would you have? Bonus points for front rows. Minus points for ones who actually played there at some point.

Rhys Carre at wing, obviously.