A South African rugby writer has demanded New Zealand referee Paul Williams be banned from running elite international matches after his handling of Saturday's Test match between the Wallabies and the Springboks.

The All Blacks have fallen back to No 5 in the World Rugby rankings after their shock 25-18 loss to the Pumas.

The All Blacks Sevens team beat Olympic champions Fiji 28-21 in the final of the Los Angeles rugby sevens tournament on Monday; immediately after Australia clinched its first World Series title, a championship decided in the penultimate match of a season which began nine months ago.

The once-mighty All Blacks have been described as "dumb" by Britain's leading rugby columnist after they crashed to the Pumas in Christchurch.

The Black Ferns World Cup preparation isn't done yet.

The reigning national secondary schools Top Four rugby champion, Hastings Boys' High School, has bowed out of this year's contest after a dramatic and muddy home-ground loss to Napier Boys' High School.

Former All Blacks halfback Tawera Kerr-Barlow wants to play for the Wallabies, five years after last wearing the black jersey.

All Blacks coach Ian Foster is sticking with the same side that beat South Africa at Ellis Park for Saturday's test against Argentina at Orangetheory Stadium in Christchurch.

Ian Foster says the prospect of former All Black Tawera Kerr-Barlow playing for the Wallabies makes him feel a little uneasy.

Steelform Whanganui emerged as a regional inter-island national champion side as well as sharing the early lead in the 2022 Heartland NZ competition with a 43-19 victory over West Coast at Westport on Saturday.

Beauden Barrett is in doubt for this weekend's All Blacks Rugby Championship test against the Pumas in Christchurch after sustaining a knock at training on Tuesday.

Argentina coach Michael Cheika has offered his perspective on Ian Foster's difficult period with the All Blacks ahead of the Pumas' first test of the year in New Zealand on Saturday.

Mid-half water breaks could become commonplace in top level rugby, as the sport's governing body looks to limit outside interruptions to the flow of the game.

The All Blacks will be without the services of midfielder Jack Goodhue for some time yet, with his knee injury not having improved as the team had hoped.

It was far from the perfect performance, but the Black Ferns' 52-5 whomping of the Wallaroos has given former internationals new hope ahead of New Zealand's defence of the Rugby World Cup at home in 47 days' time.

Taranaki have overcome their early-season struggles to topple Canterbury and finally rediscover their NPC form.

Bay of Plenty earned their first win at Eden Park since 2004 with an industrious and defensively dominant performance this afternoon.

The Hawke's Bay Magpies eventually pulled away for their second win of the 2022 NPC, beating the Manawatū Turbos 43-17 in Palmerston North on Sunday evening.

The Hawke's Bay Magpies suffered their first loss of the 2022 NPC season last night , going down 13-18 to Otago in Dunedin.

Former New Zealand Rugby boss David Moffett believes the national body backed themselves into a corner with their handling of the All Blacks coaching situation before ultimately take the "soft option".

Former All Blacks coach John Hart believes Ian Foster failed to listen to feedback from last year's end of year review over his coaching staff, but belated changes have now addressed those issues.

Children were left in tears after the coach of a junior rugby team was allegedly punched in the face by a spectator at a Dunedin ground on Saturday.

Former boss David Moffett has called out New Zealand Rugby for what he considers is a failure to act decisively on the future of Ian Foster, labelling the treatment of the embattled All Blacks coach "absolutely deplorable".

Former international coach Matt Williams has spoken out against the New Zealand public's "vile" reaction towards Ian Foster and the All Blacks following their recent run of poor performances.

The 2022 Waikato Rugby Divisional team has been selected for a four-match campaign commencing on August 27.

The All Blacks have begun their climb back up the world rankings, gaining one spot after their win over the Springboks at Ellis Park.

New Zealand Rugby boss Mark Robinson has refused to endorse Ian Foster's future as All Blacks head coach.

The All Blacks will take on Japan at the National Stadium in Tokyo on Saturday 29 October for the newly created Challenge Cup 2022.

The All Blacks are projecting confidence that Will Jordan's stomach bug will not prevent him playing the second test against the Springboks at Ellis Park this weekend.

Duane Vermeulen is back at No. 8 for his first test this year as South Africa made five changes to its starting lineup today for its second Rugby Championship game against New Zealand

Former All Blacks winger Julian Savea has hit out at what he believes has been an irresponsible and hurtful social media backlash against beleaguered coach Ian Foster

Hawke's Bay can breathe a sigh of relief.

In their first Ranfurly Shield defence of the season, against Counties Manukau on Friday night, it appeared everything was going the home team's way. They started strong, held a 22-point lead at halftime and were on the right side of the penalty count.

As Julian Savea flew through the air, diving to score his second try inside the opening 15 minutes, it appeared Wellington had Bay of Plenty's number.

A leading sports psychologist has sounded the alarm over criticisms being levelled at the All Blacks on social media and by commentators, following the team's biggest loss to the Springboks in 94 years.

Springboks wing Kurt-Lee Arendse has been suspended for four weeks after his red card tackle on All Black Beauden Barrett in the first test on Sunday.

There seems to be precious little for the All Blacks to cling on to as the world's most successful rugby team tries to climb out of its worst slump in 24 years.

Canterbury have made a big statement in the opening game of the National Provincial Championship, dispatching Manawatū 62-15 in Palmerston North.

Springboks coach Jacques Nienaber refused to speculate on his opposite number Ian Foster's position with the All Blacks but says the reality of being a top coach is "you are two poor games away from being fired".

Caleb Clarke will return for the All Blacks this weekend, taking his place on the wing for the first test against the Springboks at Mbombela Stadium.

There is a mixture of excitement and apprehension among the Hawke's Bay Magpies on the eve of a new NPC season.

Experts at Liverugbytickets.co.uk have discovered the rugby stadiums around the world fans are most – and least – satisfied with, including our very own FMG Stadium Waikato, which features in the top 15.

All Blacks great Jeff Wilson says Scott Robertson shouldn't have spoken about his future coaching ambitions while still being on contract with New Zealand Rugby.

The countdown is on to Christchurch's Festival of Rugby in August, with two test matches to be held in the Garden City.

A Springbok great says the All Blacks' best chance of a surprise victory will come in the first of their two tests in South Africa.

New Zealand Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson says Ian Foster is the right man for the All Blacks, for now, and fended off criticisms aimed at his organisation.

The Hawke's Bay Magpies were at their free-flowing best as they retained the Ranfurly Shield with a 95-22 win over Poverty Bay at McLean Park yesterday afternoon .