Stuff Rugby with Andy Capostagno

The best Six Nations yet, but eventual winners France had 50 points scored against them twice in a row, Andy Capostagno tells Toby Shapshak. Plucky Italy did well to beat England, while Scotland’s victories over England and France were just as memorable. Read more on Stuff.

This has been a triumphant year for the Springboks and coach Rassie Erasmus, who has reinvented the dour kompestamp Bokke into the world’s most exciting attack team, Andy Capostagno tells Toby Shapshak. Read more on Stuff.Would you like Stuff Rugby to do weekly updates on the URC, please let us know.

A third number five lock in two weeks is enough maths for this podcast, as Rassie Erasmus fields his strongest side against Ireland, the one side that has been able to unlock the Springboks, Andy Capostagno tells Toby Shapshak. Read more on Stuff.

Digging deep two weeks in a row, the Springboks proved (again) that they can win with 14 men. If Rassie Erasmus wanted to build experience in pressure situations, these two intense Tests have been a boon, Andy Capostagno tells Toby Shapshak. Finally Ox Nché has been nominated for World Rugby’s player of the year. Will this the year for a front ranker? Read more on Stuff.

Against minnows Italy, coach Rassie Erasmus has given his dirt trackers a run…. Including double World Cup winning flyhalf Handre Pollard, Andy Capostagno tells Toby Shapshak. Read more on Stuff.

Captain courageous Kolisi leads from the front – and the sidelines – as we saw in his 100th Test when Lood de Jager’s red card saw him sacrificed at half time. Along with Andre the Giant, the newest hybrid player, the 14-man Springboks turned Le Grudge match into a triumph for centurion Kolisi, Andy Capostagno tells Toby Shapshak. Read more on Stuff.

Siya Kolisa, the captain of South Africa, is running out for his 100th Test in coach Rassie Erasmus's 50th game in charge. After the extraordinary Springbok win in the 2023 World Cup quarter final (called the best rugby match ever by some) the losing team are calling this a “grudge match”, Andy Capostagno tells Toby Shapshak. Read more on Stuff.

Rassie Erasmus bold selection of 21-year-old tighthead Zachary Porthen has set tongues wagging, even as the coach leaves legends at home. The changing of the guard is fully underway, Andy Capostagno tells Toby Shapshak. Read more on Stuff.

Of course, the Boks won the Rugby Championship against Argentina at Twickenham, with the next World Cup side starting to take shape, Andy Capostagno tells Toby Shapshak. Read more on Stuff.

There is no doubt Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu is a "generational” talent – after his record-setting 37-point individual score in a Test. Poor Argentina, who like both Australia and New Zealand, but had no answer to South Africa’s mercurial 23-year-old prodigy, who scored a hat-trick of tries and 37 points, Andy Capostagno tells Toby Shapshak. Read more on Stuff.

With two injury-enforced changes, the Springboks to face Argentina in Durban have a new look about them. Is this the beginning of the next World Cup defending team, Toby Shapshak asks Andy Capostagno. Read more on Stuff.

After the bitter defeat at Eden Park, a wounded Springboks side blew the All Blacks off the Wellington pitch with a triumphant 43-10 win, the biggest ever defeat for New Zealand at home or away. Ouch. But the real pain, Andy Capostagno tells Toby Shapshak, is that All Blacks legends can see the country just doesn’t have the depth of talent it needs for the modern era. Read more on Stuff.

After a game to forget at Eden Park, Rassie Erasmus wasted no time in announcing his Springbok team on Monday morning. Gone are two former captains, Jesse Kriel and Eben Etzebeth, as well as veterans like Handre Pollard, Willie le Roux and Damian de Allende. This is not the team Rassie planned, and some big names have been omitted Andy Capostagno tells Toby Shapshak. Read more on Stuff.

There will be no bigger Test this year than the Springboks v All Blacks at Fortress Eden Park, where New Zealand haven’t lost for 30 years, Andy Capostagno tells Toby Shapshak. Read more on Stuff.

The usual giant players are joined by a few just as giant youngsters for the first Test against the Wallabies at Ellis Park. Coach Rassie Erasmus named his team on Monday, a world-first Toby Shapshak jokes with Andy Capostagno. Read more on Stuff.

Despite. Stronger showing in the third Test against the British and Irish Lions, the Wallabies are still a work in progress. The Springboks, meanwhile, are the strongest they’ve ever been, Andy Capostagno tells Toby Shapshak. Read more on Stuff.

Rassie Erasmus has effortlessly begun the transition to the next Rugby World Cup cycle by leaving out three double world cup winners for the Rugby Championships; while bringing in a crop of talented youngsters, Andy Capostagno tells Toby Shapshak. Read more on Stuff.

Instead of talking about Willie le Roux’s 100th test, the rugby world is buzzing about Rassie Erasmus’s latest innovations: lineouts in midfield and scrums at kick-off, Andy Capostagno tells Toby Shapshak. Read more on Stuff.

It’s auspicious that season two of Stuff Rugby kicks off on the 30th anniversary of the Springboks glorious first Rugby World Cup win in 1994. Andy Capostagno was in the Ellis Park cauldron for the Boks victorious first appearance in the rugby showpiece. Now, the first game of the year will be against the famous Barbarian invitational side. Along with the two Italy Tests, this is low-key series of matches with lots of permutations from coach Rassie Erasmus, Cappy tells Toby Shapshak. Read more on Stuff.co.za

When you have your own acronym – which is a rebranding of PTSD – then you are a very special player. And Pieter-Steph du Toit, the towering colossus who never stops tackling, is this year’s men’s 15 world rugby player of the year. Even the judges of that competition agreed. #StuffRugby

Jordan Hendrikse will start his second Test alongside his brother Jaden (19 caps), while Cameron Hanekom will come off the bench on debut to become the 12th new Springbok, and the 51st used by coach Rassie Erasmus, this year. What depth of talent. Meanwhile, Handre Pollard is the best flyhalf in the world, Andy Capostagno tells Toby Shapshak, and being on the bench is probably more about managing game time. #StuffRugby

From a Grant Williams snipping break for the first try and a double charge down by Eben Etzebeth and PSDT for the second, to two magnificent tries by Cheslin Kolbe, the Springboks were triumphant at Twickenham. Deservedly all three are finalist for world player of the year, which will probably go to the only non-Saffa, Andy Capostagno tells Toby Shapshak.

The Springboks biggest game of the autumn series is against England at Fortress Twickenham and the Boks are uncharacteristically the favourites. Also, how will the English media cope with the 5-3 bench split? Andy Capostagno tells Toby Shapshak not to worry.

The Springboks biggest game of the autumn series is against England at Fortress Twickenham and the Boks are uncharacteristically the favourites. Also, how will the English media cope with the 5-3 bench split? 

The Springboks won but it wasn't pretty. Andy Capostagno tells me why Springboks beating Scotland by 17 points is nothing to feel crestfallen about. Cappy, as he's universally known, has been talking and writing about South African rugby for more than three decades.

Announced unusually late, the Springbok side to face Scotland is brimming with talent and experience, Andy Capostagno tells Toby Shapshak in this first episode of Stuff Rugby.

Andy Capostagno is one of the greatest rugby writers, commentators and thinkers. He's foolish enough to take my many calls to calm my nerves and become my emotional support person during the 2023 Rugby World Cup. I realised I was being selfish by not sharing his erudite insights with other rugby-loving Springbok fans. I'm sorry it took me so long. Toby