South Africa’s director of rugby Rassie Erasmus has backflipped on his plan to challenge the ban incurred for his attack on Australian referee Nic Berry, instead choosing to bring the “highly stressful” saga to an end by apologising.
The World Rugby Council has named Australia as the “preferred candidate” to host the 2027 men’s Rugby World Cup with England set for the 2025 women’s tournament.
Rugby Australia boss Andy Marinos has pledged to not repeat the mistakes of the past, with the governing body already planning an endowment fund to manage the financial windfall that will be generated by hosting the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
Players will now be able to feature for a second country at international level with ex-Wallaby Israel Folau to become eligible for Tonga at the 2023 World Cup.
