Rassie to become record-breaking coach at Loftus: ‘The greatest to le…

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus will be involved in a record-breaking 55th Test match as leader of the national rugby team when he sends out the world champions at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria on Saturday. The Boks take on Scotland in a Nations Championship Test.

Erasmus will stand alone at the top of the list of number of Test matches coached, since South Africa’s first Test match in 1891. afsport.lat

Erasmus has reached the total in two spells (2018 and 2019 and 2024 to the present day) to surpass the previous record of 54 Tests established by 2007 Rugby World Cup winning coach Jake White from 2004 to 2007.

‘No superlatives left to describe his impact’

“Rassie understood his mandate from day one and implemented a strategy that truly transformed the way we play, the way we use our diversity as our strength and the way we drive social cohesion by using rugby as a vehicle. He galvanised all South Africans behind our team,” said South African Rugby Union president Mark Alexander on Thursday.

Erasmus also held the title of director of rugby between his head coach roles and was always involved in the team’s preparation with head coach Jacques Nienaber, who was in charge between 2020 and 2023, guiding the side to the 2023 World Cup.

Saturday marks the 94th Springbok match played under Erasmus’ guidance since his return to Saru and SA Rugby in 2018.

“There aren’t any superlatives left to describe the impact Rassie has had not only on Springbok rugby but on the sport and the country over the past eight years,” added Alexander.

“He has not only transformed the team’s results, he has transformed the country’s attitude to rugby. He has turned Springbok matches into an environment where South Africans from every demographic, whether it be sex, age, race, or language can come together to celebrate their South African-ness together.”

Erasmus’s contribution has been recognised at the highest level with the conferring of the Order of Ikhamanga in Gold, one of South Africa’s highest civic honours, for exceptional performance in sport. He was also awarded an honorary doctorate from the North West University in 2024.

Winning percentage

“Rassie Erasmus’s legacy is measured not only in victories but in the unity, hope and pride he has instilled in South Africans,” said Alexander. “His work stands as a testament to the power of rugby to transcend boundaries and bring our nation together.”

The Springboks have achieved a win rate of 75,93% in Erasmus’ 54 matches in charge – 13,5% better than the Springboks’ historical winning record (62,5%) when he assumed control.

In the past two seasons since resuming the head coach title (and including last Saturday’s match against England) the winning average has risen ever higher to 85,7% with only four defeats in 28 matches.

Rian Oberholzer, CEO of SA Rugby, said: “There is no doubt that Rassie is the greatest coach to ever lead the Springboks and he will rank highly in conversations about the greatest coach to ever take charge of a national team from any country.”

Erasmus, who was a Springbok loose forward in his playing days, said: “When players reach milestones we don’t talk about it in the build-up to matches and the same applies this week. It’s a nice thing to know but the most important and only thing this week is performing against a very dangerous Scotland team.”

Top five Springbok coaches by number of Tests:

1. Rassie Erasmus: P54 W41 D1 L12 | PF 1,823 PA 945 TF 234 TA 101 | Win rate 75,93%
2. Jake White: P54 W36 D1 L17 | PF 1,740 PA 1,097 TF 193 TA 110 | Win rate 66,67%
3. Heyneke Meyer: P48 W32 D2 L14 | PF 1,313 PA 841 TF 143 TA 72 | Win rate 66,67%
4. Pieter de Villiers: P48 W30 D0 L18 | PF 1,262 PA 921 TF 126 TA 87 | Win rate 62,50%
5. Jaques Nienaber: P39 W27 D0 L12 | PF 1,108 PA 694 TF 123 TA 63 | Win Rate 69,23%

Oscar Mingueza ouvre un nouveau chapitre de sa carrière. L’ancien défenseur du FC Barcelone s’est officiellement engagé avec Crystal Palace, pensionnaire de la Premier League, où il a signé un contrat de quatre ans.

Libre de tout engagement après son passage au Celta Vigo, le latéral espagnol rejoint les Eagles, à communiqué le club anglais ce jeudi. À 27 ans, il fait ainsi le choix de relever un nouveau défi dans l’un des championnats les plus compétitifs au monde. Formé à la Masia, Mingueza s’était révélé sous les couleurs du FC Barcelone avant de poursuivre sa progression au Celta Vigo. Son arrivée à Crystal Palace marque un tournant dans sa carrière, puisqu’il découvrira pour la première fois la Premier League.

Le club londonien renforce ainsi son secteur défensif avec un joueur polyvalent, capable d’évoluer aussi bien sur les côtés que dans l’axe de la défense. Les supporters des Eagles espèrent désormais que son expérience et ses qualités permettront à l’équipe de franchir un nouveau cap lors des prochaines saisons.

The post Transfert : Oscar Mingueza fille à Crystal Palace appeared first on AfricaFootUnited.

Sione Tuipulotu admits to a “quiet confidence” in the Scotland camp as he prepares to lead his men against the world champion Springboks in the Republic for the first time.

The Boks have beaten Scotland 25 times in 30 meetings, including a win in the 2023 World Cup pool stage and a 32-15 victory at Murrayfield in 2024. Rassie Erasmus’ troops, too, have an unbeaten record against the Scots in South Africa.

Now, Tuipulotu, capped 39 times for his adoptive country, faces perhaps his toughest assignment yet – Saturday’s Nations Championship Test at Loftus.

“This is why I started playing rugby when I was 12 years old, you know, preparing for the opportunity to play the world champions in their backyard,” the Australian centre said.

“I feel like I’m in a rare space in my career where I’m not going to get this opportunity again, to be coached by this coaching staff, to play with this group of players.

“I’m very grateful to be captaining this side and I want to make full use of the opportunity.”

MORE: Scots brace for ‘hostile’ Loftus

Despite the magnitude of the occasion, Tuipulotu was careful not to overstate Scotland’s chances of an upset in Pretoria.

“There’s no point talking about anything like that before the game, because you’ve got to go out there and play the world champions in their backyard. I’d be stupid as a captain to sit up here and say so,” the 29-year-old added.

PLUS: Gregor to drop his Bomb Squad on Boks

“I’m confident in my group, but I would like to think it’s more of a quiet confidence and we’ll focus on ourselves.

“I think playing any Test team in their backyard, especially the back-to-back world champions is as big as it gets, but we also don’t need to make it any bigger than it already is.

“We’ll just go out there on Saturday and put out our best performance.”

Scotland arrived on the Highveld this week buoyed by a big win over Los Pumas in Argentina, which built on impressive performances against England and France in the 2026 Six Nations.

TEAM: Schoeman starts for Scots as Russell returns

“We’re a much different team now. I would like to think that we’ve kind of evolved into becoming the team that we want to become,” Tuipulotu said.

“We obviously saw bits of that in the Six Nations and I was really proud of the performance last week away from home.

“And yeah, I would like to think the games we’ve played over the last 12 months have shown that we’re a little bit of a different team than we’ve played them [the Boks] last time at Murrayfield.”

Photo: Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

The post Scotland skipper on picking Boks’ pocket appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.

L’OM a officialisé, ce jeudi, le départ de deux joueuses de son équipe d’Arkema Première Ligue. Arrivée du FC Nantes en 2024 et prêtée l’an dernier en première division espagnole à Logrono, l’attaquante internationale U23 Dona Scannapieco quitte les Marseillaises. L’an passé, elle a disputé 4 matchs dans l’élite avant de rallier l’Espagne.

De son côté, l’attaquante haïtienne, Darlina Joseph avait aussi fait l’objet d’un prêt à Toulouse, en Seconde Ligue la saison dernière. Revenue de celui-ci, la joueuse de 22 ans quitte également la Provence.

« Après plusieurs saisons sous les couleurs olympiennes, Dona Scannapieco et Darlina Joseph quittent les Marseillaises. Actrices de la montée en Arkema Première Ligue, elles auront toujours mis leur engagement au service du collectif. L’OM leur souhaite le meilleur pour la suite de leur carrière », écrit l’OM à leur sujet dans un communiqué.

Le même jour, l’ASSE, pensionnaire désormais de Seconde Ligue, a annoncé avoir recruté Dona Scannapieco. « Je suis très heureuse de rejoindre ce club mythique du football français. J’ai hâte de porter ce blason et de faire de belles choses cette saison. J’espère rencontrer très vite le Peuple Vert ! », a confié la nouvelle stéphanoise dans le communiqué du club du Forez.

The post Arkema Première Ligue : l’OM annonce le départ de deux joueuses appeared first on AfricaFootUnited.