Super Rugby Aupiki is back with round one kicking off this weekend in Hamilton as the Chiefs host Matatu. That game will be followed up by the Hurricanes Poua hosting the Blues.
It was the French who caught the eye in round one with six of their eight teams winning, including Stade Rochelais and Toulon away from home.
A perennial problem for Irish rugby is once again rearing its ugly head.
Former Scotland full-back Stuart Hogg will take his first steps back into rugby when he reports for pre-season training with Montpellier next Wednesday after the club confirmed him as a medical joker.
James Topping and Allan Temple-Jones have named their respective men’s and women’s sevens squads for the 2023/24 season which begins in Dubai in December and continues through to the Olympic Games in Paris in July.
Ireland hopeful Joey Carbery has been handed a potentially exciting new role at Munster as the out-half regular has been named to start at full-back for the first time by the Irish province a month into his fifth season at the club.
London Irish Wild Geese, the Regional 2 Thames amateur team attached to the Gallagher Premiership club, have unveiled a big-name cast of coaches for the 2022/23 season which includes ex-Ireland internationals Sean O’Brien and Paddy Jackson.
The Champions Cup is in turmoil as organisers scramble to find a window in the already crowded schedule to stage the seven matches that have been postponed this weekend.
Ireland lifted the spirts of a nation at a rocking Aviva Stadium in Dublin but for the players, there will be no getting carried away, they know making meaningful progress in the 2023 World Cup is a priority