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“Australia were just, awful, no Ambition, commitment, or structure, South Africa took their foot off the gas because it had become that easy, they should have won by 40 points.” With social media chatter like that what did the experts make of one of the worst Australia performances in years. Here’s the Telegraphs take on it.

“The Springboks stormed into a 20-3 lead after 20 minutes to kill off any threat from a Wallabies side desperate to finish a forgettable season on a high. But crucially the Springboks failed to find the two extra tries they needed to secure a bonus-point success and make life easier in their do-or-die clash with New Zealand in Johannesburg next weekend.

“I never thought I would be so disappointed to beat Australia by 20 points,” admitted South Africa captain Jean de Villiers.

South Africa had to wait until the 71st minute for their third try Willie le Roux willing himself over, but a fourth was not forthcoming, taking the edge off their Mandela Shield triumph.

Australia at least ended a mostly toothless display with a late try for debutant Chris Feauai-Sautia.”

The Rugby World Cup Limited Board today met Rugby World Cup 2015 Tournament Organisers England Rugby 2015 to discuss tournament planning as part of regularly held Board meetings.

With two and a half years to go until the showcase event kicks off, a key agenda item was progress towards the finalisation of the RWC 2015 daily match schedule and final selection of RWC 2015 match venues.

The Board determined that excellent progress has been made on developing the match schedule and selecting venues which would set a base for an outstanding tournament for players and spectators and a festival that will engage and excite fans the length and breadth of the country and around the world.

All stakeholders are focused on delivering a balanced match schedule that enables every team to perform to the highest level on Rugby’s biggest stage in a blend of iconic Rugby and football stadia and the best possible sporting facilities.

Courtesy of the iRB, Total Rugby TV returns for its first show of 2013. Here’s a taster…

On this week’s show…

MEMORIES OF 1983 – To mark the 30th anniversary since Scotland last beat England at Twickenham, we brought together two of the players from that match in 1983. John Rutherford and Steve Smith recall their memories of that rare Scottish victory on English soil.

SIX NATIONS ANALYSIS – As well as highlights from the opening round of the RBS 6 Nations, former Scotland coach Andy Robinson will be analysing the action.

SEVENS ACTION – We also have highlights from the latest rounds of the HSBC Sevens World Series in Wellington and the IRB Women’s Sevens World Series in Houston.
…and more

England lifted the second IRB Women’s Sevens World Series title in Houston following a dominant display in the final over hosts USA.

England ran out 29-12 winners after an excellent weekend, where they had to beat the champions from Dubai, New Zealand, twice on the way to lifting the title. Jo Watmore scored a hat-trick in the final, in a display of real power and pace, and England, led strongly by captain Alice Richardson and with Heather Fisher in sublime form, fully deserved their title.

USA were in many ways surprise finalists, having failed to reach the quarter-final stages in the first round of the series in Dubai, but inspired by their home fans and their skipper Vanesha McGee and talismanic wide player Nathalie Marchino, they were outstanding over the two days.

Fisher, who was named player of the tournament, expressed her delight afterwards. “That final could have involved any one of the top eight sides because there is very little between everyone. This is a fantastic result for us and a platform us to build on for the next few months heading into the World Cup. It means the world to us.

“It was really tough to have to play New Zealand and Netherlands twice but we treated every game like it was the final and that’s the attitude we took into each one.  We rose to it and we were calm and composed. You have to choose your attitude and we trust each other at all times to do the job.  I am gobsmacked to get an award at the end and I know that it takes 12 players to win a competition like this. We are chuffed.”