Category Archives: Sports News

Sport24.co.za | SA sport’s wish list | Let’s do Proteas v Springboks again!

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Of South Africa’s three major sporting codes – soccer, rugby and cricket – it is only the latter that can return to play under Level 3 regulations of the country’s national lockdown. 

There are no winners when it comes to the impacts of the coronavirus, but it is safe to say that cricket has been given a unique opportunity during all the uncertainty and chaos. 

All non-contact professional sports in South Africa can return to play from this month, after they have pitched a proposal to government and had it approved. 

Contact sports, like soccer and rugby, can return to training but playing matches is still prohibited leaving the PSL and Super Rugby dead in the water. 

Both SAFA and SA Rugby are continually engaging with government in an effort to find a way back, but over the weekend it was suggested by the department of sport and recreation that contact sports would likely only return to play in Level 1. 

South African golf and tennis, on a professional level at least, are also allowed back, though neither has the pull of cricket from a broadcaster’s perspective in South Africa. 

Cricket South Africa (CSA) has a window now where they can almost be the monopoly in terms of local, live sports content in the country. 

The players are technically on their off-season and a tour to West Indies in July might not happen because of travel restrictions, but the fact that South Africa can host matches again should be capitalised on in an intelligent, attractive and unique way. 

The Proteas host India for three T20s in late August, but that is nearly three months away. 

The Sunshine Tour, South African golf’s professional circuit, should also look to capitalise on this window. 

The fact that social golf is still banned has been a topic of robust conversation in recent weeks and it is placing the industry under massive financial strain. If there are ways to televise events in the weeks to come that could inject funds into the industry, then they should be explored. 

SuperSport, of course, will be central to any of these developments. 

There has been limited live sport on our television screens for the last two months and while the Premier League and New Zealand’s Super Rugby Aotearoa are set to kick off shortly, there is still nothing in the way of South African content. 

With that in mind, here are a few ideas of what SuperSport and the country’s sporting administrators could put together.

There are obviously a range of issues to consider, from logistics to sponsorships to safe practice, but we can dream! 

Proteas v Springboks T20

These games are always a laugh. Who could forget Willie le Roux’s blinding one-handed catch at long-off to dismiss Kagiso Rabada in 2014? The Nelson Mandela Legacy Cup gives the South African sports fan an injection of happiness, and that is needed now more than ever. The charity element would obviously make it a worthwhile exercise, and while it will be strange having a match like this in an empty stadium in front of no spectators, it could still be the perfect way for South African sport to return to SuperSport. The Springboks remain a marketing dream given their success at the 2019 Rugby World Cup. I’d pay to see Kagiso Rabada charging in at Siya Kolisi or Rassie Erasmus.

SA T20 Invitational

With the T20 Cricket World Cup the Proteas’ priority for the year, preparation is key. If the West Indies tour is scrapped, as expected, then the Proteas will lose out on five valuable T20 matches. If that is the case, then why not host something at home? CSA has spoken about the possibility of creating a cricket ‘bio-bubble’ – a sterile environment where teams could be based for weeks at a time. We could have four invitational teams made of players in and around the Proteas set-up, based at the same venue and playing against each other for two weeks, with all of the matches televised. It could serve as preparation for the T20 World Cup as well as trials. 

SA’s ‘The Match’

The recent Tiger Woods (Peyton Manning) v Phil Mickelson (Tom Brady) ‘The Match’ at Medalist Golf Club last weekend was a hit. The event raised $20 million for the USA’s Covid-19 relief fund. There were only the above mentioned four involved in the production, but if South Africa could host some form of charity golf day or weekend with sports stars from all over the country included, then it could be highly successful. The success of something like this depends almost solely on the quality of the broadcast, and that is where SuperSport would have to deliver something special. Golf is also considered the easiest sport to facilitate from a social distancing point of view.

Sport24.co.za | No positives from latest Premier League virus tests

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There have been no positive findings from the latest round of coronavirus testing carried out in the Premier League, the English top-flight announced on Saturday.

The fourth round of screening saw a total of 1,130 players and club staff tested, with the lack of any new cases bolstering the Premier League’s plan to resume the season on June 17.

“The Premier League can today confirm that on Thursday 28 May and Friday 29 May, 1,130 players and club staff were tested for COVID-19,” said a statement.

“Of these, zero have tested positive.”

That means there have been just 12 positive cases from a combined total of 3,882 tests since Premier League players and club staff started being examined earlier this month.

Sport24.co.za | La Liga confirms season will resume on 11 June

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The Spanish league season will resume after a three-month coronavirus lockdown on 11 June with the Seville derby, and the 2020-2021 season will start on 12 September, the Spanish Sports Council confirmed on Friday.

The council released a statement saying that the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and La Liga had agreed the format for the 11 remaining rounds in the top two Spanish divisions.

It said the season should be completed by 19 July, “depending on the evolution of the pandemic.”

Competition will kick off on Thursday, 11 June when Betis play Sevilla. The rest of the league return to action on the weekend of 13 and 14 June.

Earlier on Friday, Javier Tebas, the league president told Marca: “The important thing will be to know the end date of the 2019-20 season. The next one will start on 12 September.”

The Spanish government last week gave La Liga the green light to resume from the week beginning June 8.

“More than 130 people are currently working so that everything can be done in a new format: the travel, the organisation, everything,” said Tebas.

The German Bundesliga has already played three rounds following its restart earlier this month, while the English Premier League and Italy’s Serie A are also set to return in mid-June.

But the top-flight seasons in France, Belgium and the Netherlands have all been ended.

Barcelona led Real Madrid by two points at the top of the table when La Liga was halted in March.

Tebas also said that television viewers would be able to choose whether to watch matches, which will all be played behind closed doors, with virtual sound effects added, an option that has caused debate among fans since the Bundesliga resumed.

He said that he was taking part in a demonstration of the technology on Friday evening and that Javier Guillen, the director of the Tour of Spain, and Carmelo Ezpeleta, the boss of Dorna Sports, promoter of the MotoGP championship had also been invited.

“We want to offer an alternative for the fans – silence, or the virtualisation of the stands. The tests I have seen are interesting, but there will be both options,” said Tebas.

Sport24.co.za | Former Gauteng president backs Smith’s Ganguly endorsement

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  • Outgoing Central Gauteng Lions cricket president Jack Madiseng has firmly backed Graeme Smith’s support for Sourav Ganguly as the next ICC head.
  • Despite Cricket South Africa not endorsing Smith’s views, Madiseng believes Ganguly’s “obsession of commercialising the sport” would prove vital in this time of Covid-19.
  • The cricket boss also raised questions over Cricket South Africa president Chris Nenzani’s ability to serve at ICC board level.

Outgoing Central Gauteng Lions (CGL) cricket president Jack Madiseng backed Cricket South Africa (CSA) director of cricket Graeme Smith’s endorsement of Sourav Ganguly for the International Cricket Council (ICC) chairperson position.

Madiseng was speaking at the CGL’s digitally curated end-year awards ceremony and began his address with an unequivocal message of support for Smith’s stance regarding Ganguly’s fitness to succeed Shashank Manohar.

“I noted Graeme Smith’s comments in support of Sourav Ganguly of India as the next ICC president. I would like to echo Graeme’s words and offer my support for Ganguly,” Madiseng said.

“He’s a great ambassador of the game, who has demonstrated absolutely fantastic leadership capabilities – and not forgetting his obsession of commercialising the sport. [It’s something] we desperately need due to this pandemic, which will impact the international distribution of funds to various countries affiliated to the ICC.”

Last week, Smith said: “I feel Sourav is best positioned for that. I know him well, I played against him a number of times and worked with him. He’s got the credibility and the leadership to take the game forward, especially at an ICC level.”

The comments prompted a swift response from CSA president Chris Nenzani, who tried to pour cold water on the endorsement.

“There have been no candidates nominated as yet and once such nominations have been made, the CSA board will take its decision in terms of its own protocol and give the chairman the mandate to exercise his vote as an ICC board director accordingly,” Nenzani said in a statement a day after Smith’s comments.

Acting CEO Jacques Faul also backed Smith in rooting for the current Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president, Ganguly, to become the new ICC chair. But the split views within South African cricket have highlighted some long-standing divisions among certain administrators.

Madiseng went a step further by casting doubt on Nenzani’s ability to serve at ICC board level, although he did not name the CSA president directly.

Nenzani’s third term in the position is set to expire in September, however, under Madiseng, CGL led attempts to have Nenzani removed from his position prior to the end of term.   

“At the present moment, I do not think we have a leader in the country that is ready for the ICC presidential role,” said Madiseng.

“I’m sure that we will have someone ready in the near future. If I look at the current leadership talent we have, in Northerns Cricket, Kwa-Zulu-Natal, Western Province presidents and our own president, Anne Vilas; they are all capable of leading in the CSA presidency role and eventually the ICC presidency.”

– Compiled by Sibusiso Mjikeliso

Sport24.co.za | ‘It was painful’: Itoje used lockdown to finally watch RWC final loss to Springboks

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England lock Maro Itoje has taken a long time to get over the “painful” Rugby World Cup loss to South Africa in November last year.

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Itoje was speaking on the All Black great Dan Carter’s ‘Kickin It’ video series on Instagram when he revealed he only recently watched the replay of England’s 32-12 defeat in Yokohama.

“The final was extremely disappointing and it took me a long while to be able to watch the final. It was too painful,” Itoje said.

“The first time I watched it was during the lockdown and I wanted to take lessons from it. There are always lessons in victory and defeat and allowing my emotions to watch the game will make me a better player. It was still painful to watch, but I’m more optimistic about the future than the past and we have a lot of good years left in us.”

Carter could relate to Itoje, having also suffered World Cup heartache in 2003 and 2007, before the All Blacks claimed back-to-back triumphs in 2011 and 2015.

“In a funny way, I’m glad that Maro is hurting a little bit because my first World Cup in 2003 I got over in four or five days. Then I had a lot of success after that and got to 2007 and wasn’t hurting as much as I should have from 2003,” Carter said.

In 2003, New Zealand lost 22-10 to Australia in the semi-finals, before a shock 20-18 defeat to France in the quarter-finals in 2007.

Carter added: “We got dealt with by the French in the quarter-finals and that one really hurt for a good six months. Through that hurt, you do digest what went wrong as a team and admitted we weren’t a good team when it came to pressure. I’m not saying England were the same as us but there has to be something in there that they will learn from and become stronger.

“We learnt from 2007 and that was the platform for us to be successful in 2011 and 2015. England now have a lot of guys who have experience and know what it took to get all the way to the final but not quite get there and that will hurt. It will feed their hunger come four years’ time.”

– Compiled by Sport24 staff

Sport24.co.za | Mark Alexander: Keeping RWC stars in SA was a big positive

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SA Rugby president Mark Alexander drew massive positives from the retention of Rugby World Cup-winning Springboks Pieter-Steph du Toit and Makazole Mapimpi, who turned down big-money overseas moves despite 43% industry pay cuts.

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Rugby was thrown into a transfer deadline day frenzy two weeks ago as the 21-day opt out period for South African-based players to take up alternative contracts came to a thrilling crescendo on 14 May.

The hive of activity centred around World Rugby player-of-the-year Du Toit, who ended up somehow remaining at the Stormers after initially opting out of his contract on deadline day.

The wolves were out for the talismanic Springbok loose-forward as well as Sharks winger Mapimpi, who received a mouth-watering offer from Japanese club NTT Docomo Red Hurricanes. To Alexander’s relief, both opted to stay in the country, at least for now.

“It’s a very positive thing,” said Alexander.

“I think we will see more players coming back. This Covid-19 pandemic has caused a lot of ripples throughout the world.

“I think you will see lots more players coming back to play here at home. It’s started already with some key players coming back and playing for the Bulls.

Recent reports have also suggested that hooker Malcolm Marx, who opted out of his Lions contract, may return to the Johannesburg-based franchise, which would only serve to please the mother body even more.

SA Rugby instituted an Industry Strategic Plan, which was its way of mitigating an estimated R1 billion loss should rugby not return for the rest of the year. What it inadvertently created were loopholes that allowed players to move between domestic teams, with the parent union or franchise prohibited from making counter offers.

Although a number of promising players such as Tyrone Green, Tyler Paul and Jean-Luc du Plessis were snapped up by overseas clubs, the Springboks, by and large, avoided carnage.

“I understand that a rugby player has a short career span – it could be two or 15 years,” said Alexander.

“They have to make the maximum amount of money in the shortest possible period. From that point of view, I understand it.

“From a selfish point of view, I’d like to keep all the players inside the country. But you have to look at this from an economics point of view.”

Next year’s British and Irish Lions series might have been a major factor in the likes of Mapimpi, Du Toit, Lukhanyo Am and Thomas du Toit remaining in South Africa.

Alexander was banking on the magic of the British and Irish Lions Tests to convince government to allow rugby’s return to the field.

Although outdoor exercise (not in groups) would be permissible any time of the day during Level 3 of the current lockdown, sporting activity was still barred, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Sunday.

“We’ve submitted our presentation to government [addressing] the necessary protocols, so we have to wait for government’s response on it,” Alexander said.

“I think government understands that it’s important for us to get back onto the field. Sports is a major contributor to tourism in this country. Once this pandemic is under control, there will be nothing better to kick-start sports tourism in South Africa than the British and Irish Lions series.

“They understand the economics of how sports work in the country. We have confidence in the [sports] ministry and the government to do the right thing and make sure we are back on the field.”

Sport24.co.za | Sanzaar planning Rugby Championship hub in Australia?

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Rugby Australia’s (RA) new boss says Sanzaar is planning a Rugby Championship series played in an Australian ‘hub’ in October, New Zealand’s Stuff website reports.

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Rob Clarke – who replaced Raelene Castle as Rugby Australia chief executive – said if the Rugby Championship plan did not go ahead, he was confident of a home-and-away Bledisloe Cup series between the All Blacks and the Wallabies.

Clarke told Sydney’s Sunday Telegraph newspaper that there was “absolute commitment” from Sanzaar to a “hub-based TRC (The Rugby Championship)”.

“We can do it in the October-November time frame,” Clarke said.

“If we can fly international teams into a hub like Australia that sits in the middle of our territories, and put together a competition structure that might well be more towards a Rugby World Cup-type structure where there might be midweek games and weekend games, try to condense it as much as possible, we’re looking at that as a potential solution.”

Clarke said if international travel restrictions prevented South Africa and Argentina flying to Australia, RA was “well down the path in discussions with New Zealand, for a three or four Test match Bledisloe series both home and away.”

He said a Bledisloe series would rely on a trans-Tasman bubble to allow travel between the two countries.

“Based on what the governments are saying, it’s a reasonable assumption.”

The Springboks will be keen listeners to what exactly lockdown Level 3 entails. At this stage it appears unlikely that contact sport will be allowed to recommence any time soon.

An October-November Rugby Championship would spell the end of this year’s planned end of year tour to Europe where the Springboks where due to play Italy, Ireland, France and Wales between November 7-28.

– Compiled by Sport24 staff

Sport24.co.za | Scarra admits rugby transfer window was ‘stressful’

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2020-05-23 17:46

Stormers Scarra Ntubeni revealed that the 21-day transfer window was a “stressful” period for players as they weren’t sure who would come and go.

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The window, through the SA Rugby Industry, MyPlayers and the South African Rugby Employers’ Organisation (Sareo), served as part of a broader cost-cutting mission. 

Springbok hooker Malcolm Marx was one of four players to leave the Lions with the Stormers confirming the departures of forward Cobus Wiese and flyhalf Jean-Luc du Plessis.

The Cape-franchise also welcomed Springbok fullback Warrick Gelant from the Bulls, flyhalf Kade Wolhuter and loose forward Keke Morabe.

2019 World Rugby Player of the Year Pieter-Steph du Toit has withdrawn his contract termination and will remain in Cape Town until at least the end of the 2021 British & irish Lions tour.

Speaking in a Stormers’ YouTube video, Ntubeni reflected on the changes made to John Dobson’s squad.

“You didn’t know if one of your best mates or someone that you really enjoy playing with is doing a deal or going overseas,” said Ntubeni.

“It was a bit of a stressful time but guys like Wilco (Louw) and Dillyn (Leyds) it wasn’t something new to us.

“With rugby you build close bonds … it’s going to be sad to see the guys leaving.”

When Super Rugby was halted, the Stormers were seventh on the log standings with four wins from six matches.

–Compiled by Lynn Butler

Sport24.co.za | Springboks’ leadership style paved road to World Cup glory

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The Springboks were blessed with many leaders during last year’s Rugby World Cup campaign, but transparency, honesty and accepting responsibility were vital in their quest to glory.

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This was revealed by new head coach Jacques Nienaber, who served as the defensive coach for the team during the World Cup, in a webinar with the Wits Sports Department WISH.

According to SuperSport.com, Nienaber said the manner in which the team spoke openly, sorting out small things that could become big problems, was a massive boost in the way they handled the challenges that came their way.

“We had a lot of good leaders in our team. If you look at the guys who had already captained the Springboks, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi, Duane Vermeulen, Schalk Brits, Eben Etzebeth. I think there were more. We were together for 19 weeks so we had open and honest conversations about small things. In Afrikaans you say ‘klein jakkalsies vreet die wingerd op’ (Small foxes can eat the entire vineyard). These small things, for example music on the bus, can create big problems.

“We had all the captains sitting there. I think it was probably seven of them and everybody gave input. We had a very transparent environment,” he said.

Nienaber pointed to the fact the Boks had no senior or junior ranking system within the team as one aspect that helped them succeed.

“The first thing Rassie (Erasmus, former head coach) said was that there is no senior or junior players. The way he explained it was like this – if Herschel Jantjies is seen as a junior and Faf (de Klerk) is his senior because there is a five year age difference, who is the senior and junior? Herschel. But when Faf is 30 and Herschel is 25 who is the senior then? Faf, because he is older? Let’s say Herschel has a bigger influence on the team then, when will Herschel ever be the senior guy?

“In our team it was about input and output, it was about ownership. It wasn’t about how old you were or how many Test matches you played for the Boks. It was never about that.”

He added that captain Kolisi’s leadership style encompassed this, and the way Kolisi listened to input and took it on board was a massive part of the success.

“Siya was the captain but there were other leaders. There were physical leaders, there were defensive leaders. The leaders of the scrum and they all had their own roles to play.

“It was a combined thing and I don’t want to take anything away from Siya, but it was a collective effort. But I must say what Siya did well – and that is his personality – he never was a guy who said it was his show. He was open and transparent. He said this is his responsibility but he wants input.

“It was just like we managed the coaching staff. It was always ‘this is your responsibility but we expect the other guys to give input’. So I think in our team we were fortunate that we had a very strong leadership group.”

READ the story on SuperSport.com