Japan

Vern Cotter has named his first Scottish team of the World Cup for what promises to be an enormously interesting game at Kingsholm on Wednesday with giant-killers Japan lined up as opponents. Cotter has taken no chances and named a very strong lineup to face the Brave Blossoms. Grant Gilchrist …

For some teams the second round of Rugby World Cup matches will begin on Wednesday and Thursday while for others these days will mark their first fixtures. Such is the complication of having pools of five teams that one team per pool must begin last. Those to do so on Wednesday …

The Up and Under is a weekly feature on Americas Rugby News which reviews the best and worst from games involving the Americas teams over the previous week. UP Japan A spectacular, brilliant, unforgettable win against all odds by the world’s leading Asian nation over the best from Africa was …

An 84th minute try from Karne Hesketh secured a thrilling 34-32 victory for Japan over South Africa in what will be considered the biggest upset, to date, in Rugby World Cup history. To call the match David vs Goliath may be selling it short. The match could have been considered …

It’s time for predictions! Americas Rugby News is stepping it up for the World Cup, inviting other writers from around the Americas to test their mettle against the ARN editors. Before we get into the goods, here’s who we have this week, joining regulars Paul, Bryan, and Ted: Christian Gómez …

Eddie Jones has left the funny business behind, and selected a team with only minor surprises for the match against the Springboks on Saturday. After toying with Hendrik Tui on the wing against Georgia, he has moved the loose forward back to no8, choosing the more conventional approach with speedsters …

Springboks Head Coach Heyneke Meyer named Jean de Villiers as captain of a vastly experienced lineup to face Japan in his team’s Rugby World Cup opening fixture. In what is to, remarkably, be the first ever test match between the countries de Villiers is to lead a side with a …

Pool B contains sides of relatively even quality outside clear favorites South Africa. Most would expect Scotland to come out as the second place finishers, but they aren’t so far ahead of the others that it’s a guarantee, particularly against experienced spoilers Samoa. Japan could be the surprise package of …

Often the success or failure of an international coach comes down to how his team performed on the grandest stage of them all, the Rugby World Cup. Negative results in previous months or even years are often forgiven in exchange for delivering memorable victories when it matters most. Differing Judgement …

A popular topic of debate heading into the World Cup is that of eligibility, particularly that resulting from the residency method. Americas Rugby News takes an in-depth look at the foreign-born players in each squad, where they were born and how they are eligible. An interesting fact – only Argentina …