Leah Manning

The Blues and Chiefs dominate the lineup with five players each, with the Fijian Drua coming in second with two players, Super Rugby Pacific’s first round is in the books, and what a round it was. Planet Rugby analyzes the standout players from a fantastic rugby weekend following the action from the first round of Super Rugby Pacific. At Orangetheory Stadium in Christchurch, the defending champion Crusaders were shockingly defeated by the Chiefs in front of their home crowd, dropping the game 31-10. The Blues and Hurricanes of New Zealand also scored significant victories, and the Brumbies and Force also won to kick off their campaigns. The dramatic match between Moana Pasifika and Fijian Drua at Auckland’s Mt Smart Stadium is easily the game of the round. The contest had everything, simply. For Super Rugby Pacific season, RugbyPass will select its Team of the Week after each match. Here is the TOTW for the first round. Super Rugby Pacific Team of the Week Chiefs :  Stevenson...

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The USA vs Japan match will take place on February 26, 2023, at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, as part of the Los Angeles 2023 World Rugby Sevens Series competition. During the two-day 2023 HSBC Los Angeles Sevens competition, sunny Southern California didn’t always live up to its moniker, but that didn’t detract from the caliber of rugby played. New Zealand won the competition, defeating Fiji in 2022 to win the title for the second year in a row in Los Angeles. To win the gold medal and all 22 points necessary for automatic qualification to the 2024 Paris Games, the All Blacks defeated Argentina 22–12 in 2023. As the stakes rise, the nations will travel to Vancouver, Canada for the upcoming competition from March 3–5. New Zealand, which won in Sydney the previous time around, will look to make it three gold medals in a row this season. Let’s go back to Southern California in 2023 to see who won and lost before the action moves up north: New Zealand wins the 2...

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On July 15 in New Zealand, the Rugby Championship southern hemisphere tournament will feature a matchup between the Springboks vs All Blacks. During the run-up to the Rugby World Cup in France in 2023, the defending champions South Africa will face their fiercest rivals New Zealand twice. On August 25, the final warm-up for both countries before the World Cup begins in France on September 8 will take place at Twickenham in London. If one of the teams wins a pool and the other finishes second, the teams would play each other in the World Cup quarterfinals. With three each, South Africa and New Zealand have the most World Cup victories, followed by Australia with two and England with one. All Blacks will play South Africa in London on Friday, 25 August (KO 7.30pm) On Friday, August 25, at 7:30 p.m. (KO), the All Blacks will take on South Africa at Twickenham Stadium in London as the final stage of their buildup to the Rugby World Cup (RWC) 2023, which begins just two weeks later i...

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