Fiji's World Cup team arrived in Auckland Monday as excitement around the tournament intensified, but the players' boss was forced to stay as home due to a New Zealand government ban.
Sonny Bill Williams cast doubt on his future with the All Blacks on Monday, saying he would not make a decision on whether to remain in New Zealand until after the World Cup.
England jet off to the World Cup on Monday with Manu Tuilagi tipped to be one of the stars of the tournament.
As I sit in San Diego Airport waiting to catch the plane back to Denver, its a good time to reflect on the weekend's rugby and the progress that is being made in the sevens game.
With just weeks to go and the All Blacks losing the Tri Nations to Australia, the pressure and excitement is mounting across the world. Traditionally it was all about what happened on the field, but these days, the down time between the games brings as many stories and headlines than the games themselves.
St. John's, Nfld: Much to the delight of the rowdy fans at Swiler's Rugby Complex sporting symbols and megaphones, the Atlantic Rock won their final home game of the 2011 Canadian Rugby Championship, narrowly defeating the British Columbia Senior Men's Provincial Team 31-30.
The South African College High School (SACS) finished their season on a massive high with a hard fought 29-26 win over archrivals Wynberg Boys' High. Playing at Wynberg on a glorious winters morning, SACS, as they had done the week before against Bishops, came from behind to win a thrilling encounter.
Leinster have put Brian Mujati's allegations of racism by two of their players down to a misinterpretation and say the matter is now "closed".
Leinster have dismissed claims by Northampton Saints prop Brian Mujati that he was racially abused in a friendly on Friday and put it down to a misinterpretation before declaring the matter closed.
Wallabies coach Robbie Deans hailed his side's tenacity after they held on to beat the All Blacks and claim the Tri-Nations crown, but warned the victory was "irrelevant" to the upcoming World Cup.
Springbok captain John Smit believes that his team's best chance of defending their crown in New Zealand is by making their experience count in the cauldron of World Cup rugby.
Two teams, defending champions EP Kings and the Boland Cavaliers, are now firmly in control in the provincial First Division after convincing victories on Friday.
The history books show that Australia's victory in the Tri-Nations series should count in favour of South Africa and New Zealand, according to former Springbok flyhalf Naas Botha.
Lions coach John Mitchell was understandably pleased after a few experiments paid off as his side retained their place at the top of the Currie Cup standings on Saturday.
Taranaki outplayed Hawke's Bay in an entertaining game in New Plymouth which saw the amber and blacks secure the Ranfurly Shield in the last game of league action this season.
