Indholdsfortegnelse for January 2026 i Rugby World

JONAH LOMU had style. It’s often overlooked how the big man had an eye for expensive threads, what with all his running over Mike Catt and that, but he really did like to look the part off the pitch. White vests tucked into cargo pants, diamond hooped earrings and backwards Kangol flat caps. Anyone else would have been given stick for such a bold look, but Jonah could get away with it because he was that good. It all added to this mystique that surrounded him. Everything he did was so unique and unbelievable, and happened in such a fleeting period of time, that it felt like a work of fiction. Sometimes Jonah feels like a superhero created by Stan Lee. But as we found out in this special issue…

“I HAVE had a commercial and industrial cleaning company since my playing days, with offices in Bristol, Swansea and Cardiff. I’m usually based at the Cardiff or Bristol branch. “When I was at Llanelli Scarlets (from 1998-2003 and 2005-06), Gareth Jenkins always told me to prepare for life after rugby. We didn’t train full-time and when I started the company I could train and work and kept it going. “Everyone thinks rugby is going to last forever but it can be a very short career and if it is, where do you go from there? A lot of players get lost by putting all their eggs in one basket, but you could get an injury or lose your contract at any time. “Without rugby, I don’t think the doors would…

SO THE latest in the regions saga is that the WRU has announced their intention to trim one of the four sides by 2027. Before embarking on the recent consultation process, Dave Reddin, director of rugby and elite performance, thought the optimal solution was to halve the number of regions to two. So is this a climbdown or was it their intention all along to ‘listen’ to the backlash and go to three? They want to go to three but they still don’t really know how to get there. This is what they want but it’s ‘You lot go and sort it out!’ The regions have been poor. They should have looked at how they can survive and work together in a different proposal. Instead, they have gone into self-preservation…

WHEN THE first person I asked, “What is the best thing about Newport?” replied “Leaving”, I feared I may have made a mistake making the pilgrimage to Rodney Parade. To be frank, just arriving at all was a relief after a series of train cancellations at London Paddington left our Friday night jaunt to Wales in serious jeopardy. Once on board, it was smooth sailing. All being well, it should only take you one hour 38. And while it’s easy in theory to get there, people didn’t seem to understand why I was so keen to see Dragons take on Cardiff. Firstly, we didn’t know how long the opportunity would remain as England’s former fitness guru Dave Reddin was keen to chop the number of Welsh regions in half in…

1 PARAGUAY Paraguay (below) fell victim to the laws, qualifying for the Final Qualification Tournament for RWC 2027 only to withdraw after realising they fielded an ineligible player in the play-offs. Paraguay beat Brazil on aggregate, 70-43, but Brazil replaced them in Dubai once the error was discovered. It’s believed the ineligible player was centre Ramiro Amarilla, an Argentinian who had failed to complete the five years’ residency required to play for Paraguay. 2 INDIA India made history by earning promotion to the top tier of the Asia Sevens Trophy for the first time. Led by Prashant Singh, they beat Lebanon 14-10, Afghanistan 26-5, Iran 21-7 and Saudi Arabia 17-0 to reach the final of the Trophy tournament in Muscat, Oman. Although beaten 27-0 at the last hurdle by fellow…

1 HAINEALA LUTUI AGE 19 (8 AUG 2006) //BORN AUCKLAND, NZ //POSITION NO 8 //CLUB LOUGHBOROUGH LIGHTNING //COUNTRY ENGLAND How did you get into rugby? I started when I was 13. At first, I wasn’t interested. I was a bit of a wimp and didn’t like contact, so I played netball. Then a friend invited me to a session at Worcester RFC and after that I never stopped. My dad (ex-Tonga hooker Aleki Lutui) loved it and would take me to the field near our house to do rugby training. Even now when I go home I’ll do some rugby training with him. Why did you choose to play rugby? I used to play netball quite seriously but I just liked rugby more. I liked being able to run with the ball,…

HE FILLED the doorway like an action hero; six foot five of muscle and menace, the number 11 carved into his eyebrow, a black bandana pulled tightly around his head. I’d been hunting Jonah Lomu for days before he agreed to see me… I’d stood at the edge of training pitches and loitered in hotel lobbies. On every occasion I was sent away: Jonah doesn’t do interviews. But, remarkably, my persistence paid off and here he was – striding across the lobby, enormous and unsmiling. When he reached me, the frown softened, the storm cloud broke – and in a voice so small I almost missed it, he said: “Please may I have a milkshake?” I’d flown across the world to try to get the interview with him. He could…

IT’S3:20AM as I tiptoe down the creaky stairs of the Buddha Lodge teahouse in Gorak Shep and push the front door open to an icy blast of alpine air. “Good morning,” says Jonathan Davies, who’s already waiting outside in the dark with two of our Himalayan guides, his headlamp strapped to his head in anticipation of our pre-dawn hike. The celebrated Welsh rugby player and I have been trekking in Nepal for the last eight days with a small group pulled together by his friend and mentor Rhys David, the new CEO of EverTrek, an adventure company that Davies has recently become a brand ambassador for. Yesterday we reached Everest Base Camp, at 17,598ft (5,364m) above sea level, where we hugged, high-fived and clambered giddily up onto a famous boulder…

HOW CAN Bath win the European Champions Cup? Well, given their recent success – which includes winning the European Challenge Cup last season – I think they’re in a good position to overturn recent French dominance in Europe’s leading competition. That said, they need to get three major parts of their game right, as well as keeping their star half-backs, Ben Spencer and Finn Russell, healthy. It starts up front… 1 STRIKE POWER When the margins are fine, you need your defence to stand up. It’s about getting up and hitting the opposition – you have to be the aggressors. Make the opposition earn every point. And Bath must be clinical through their maul scoring; chances will be fewer in Europe and they must put them away. If Bath can hold…

What’s the first match you recall going to as a kid? It was the CALCUTTA CUP AT TWICKENHAM during the 2009 Six Nations. Ugo Monye made that unbelievable try-saving tackle in the corner on Thom Evans. Both my parents are Scottish. I told my dad he needed to be neutral when I played against Scotland in the Six Nations… First rugby boots? My first boots were the old-school ADIDAS PREDATORS with the tongue. The type you remember David Beckham and Jonny Wilkinson wearing, so that was pretty cool. I met Jonny for the first time in England camp. I was starstruck but his character means he makes you feel like the most important guy on the planet. He’s the best kicker of all time for me. First senior match? That…

What’s the club called? Old Miltonians Rugby Club. And where is home? Hartsfield Rugby Ground, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Yep, you read that right. Zimbabwe! So how does a team with a name like a Home Counties rugby club end up in southern Africa? Well, the club was established around 1929, manifesting from the Old Miltonians Association which was formed by old boys of Milton High School in Bulawayo – an all-boys secondary school which started in 1910 while Southern Rhodesia, as it was known then, was under British colonial rule. Rugby was one of the main sporting activities of the association. Makes sense. What teams do the club have in 2025? There’s a men’s senior first and second team, plus an U20 side. What level does the first team play at?…

YES ADAM HATHAWAY RUGBY WORLD CONTRIBUTOR “JONAH LOMU holds a special place in rugby fans’ hearts, but there’s one player who came close to his ability on the pitch. Fijian wing Rupeni Caucaunibuca, who was a touch under 6ft and over 17st, had almost all of Lomu’s physical attributes and he shone, albeit too briefly, during and around the 2003 World Cup. “He scored one near length-of-the-field try against France in Fiji’s pool opener in Brisbane, got banned for a bust-up with Olivier Magne, and scored two solo tries when he came back against Scotland. He was unplayable that day in Sydney and pretty close to Lomu. Caucaunibuca was a one-man show in that Fiji side and almost played teams on his own. “Playing for Agen against Gloucester in the…

“PEOPLE THINK that I’m small until they meet me,” Sam Prendergast remarks as we step out of a gazebo and back into the bracing winds swirling about Ticknock. The Leinster and Ireland outhalf is 6ft 4in and stretches beyond most mortals. In rugby terms, though, he can come across slight when the big units are roaming. This is my first time speaking one-on-one with Prendergast. Many of Ireland’s Leinster brigade are pleasant fellows but give little away. They play it safe. “None of them have been north of the River Liffey,” former Leinster flanker Scott Fardy once joked. “They’re all strictly South Dublin. Go to the same places, eat at the same places. Straight on a plane from Dublin to Portugal… that’s why they got James Lowe in – to…

THE KINGS and queens of clutch. Twelve icons who can grab a match by the scruff of the neck and drag it over the line. When it looks like the game is gone, they step up with a moment of inspired brilliance to flip the script and steal the win. Those who through their physical dominance, superior nous or electrifying feet can stand above a pitch of the very best to prove we are not all created equal. We give you a dozen rugby players who, if push comes to shove, could hoist their team on their back and win a game all on their own… MADDISON LEVI Australia Go to a leg of the sevens series and you’ll leave in awe of one woman: Maddison Levi. A walking record-breaker,…

THE STREETS of Lilongwe in Malawi bare little resemblance to South-West London, the home of PREM side Harlequins. But this pre-season had a different look for 11 members of Quins’ senior academy as they travelled to the African nation as part of an initiative between the Harlequins Foundation and Bhubesi Pride Foundation. They swapped the leafy suburbs around the Twickenham Stoop and the club’s Guildford base for a complete change of pace and scenery in Africa. Taking your first steps into a professional environment as a rugby player can be daunting enough, but that challenge was put into perspective by an eye-opening trip to the country affectionately known as the ‘Warm Heart of Africa’. “It was a really good experience,” back-row Tate Williams tells us. “My parents were a bit…

WORST TO LEAVE YOUR DOG WITH? ASHER OPOKU-FORDJOUR. He would try to look after it but would just fall asleep for hours. COACH’S PET? GUS WARR. If the coaches say something none of the lads agree with, he’ll just go along with it. HARDEST HITTER? NATHAN JIBULU hits hard. I was holding a tackle bag for him and he smoked me. MOST LIKELY FUTURE COACH? TOM CURRY. When he was injured, he was great helping out the younger lads. FUTURE MILLIONAIRE? We’ve got a couple already but TADGH McELROY will get there. He’s on top of his stocks & shares. WORST DRESSER? JOE CARPENTER. He’s a brand chaser. He does actually pull it off but I wouldn’t wear what he does. FIRST ON THE DANCE FLOOR? JACQUES VERMEULEN. Even if his moves look bad,…