Category Archives: Sports News

Sport24.co.za | ‘Smart’ Rabada has learnt his lesson

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Cape Town – The third Test at Newlands this week has received a massive injection of added spice following the news that Kagiso Rabada’s appeal against a two-Test ban was successful. 

With the ICC lessening his punishment from a Level 2 charge to a Level 1 following his brushing of shoulders with Australian skipper Steve Smith in Port Elizabeth, Rabada copped one demerit point instead of three. 

That took him below the eight-point threshold that had seen him suspended. 

Rabada, though, is not completely in the clear. 

He remains on seven demerit points, meaning that he is now one more infringement away from being suspended for two Tests. 

According to Proteas coach Ottis Gibson, though, there is no need to worry. 

Gibson acknowledged the possibility that the Australians could look to get under Rabada’s skin in Cape Town and force him into making a mistake that could get him into trouble, but the West Indian believes that the 22-year-old has learnt his lesson over the last two weeks. 

“He’s a smart kid and I’m sure he’s learnt his lesson from what happened last week. I don’t think he will make the same mistake again,” Gibson said.

“In all the stuff that he did there was no aggressive intent other than celebrating a wicket. We’ve made him aware of the batsman’s space and where his space needs to be.”

Rabada is the leading wicket-taker in the series so far with 15, thanks largely to his 11/150 in PE. 

He is also the No 1 ranked bowler in Test cricket, and his return means that Morne Morkel is likely to miss out again. 

Morkel has announced that he will be retiring from international cricket at the end of the Australian series, and with only two Tests remaining we may have seen him in Proteas colours for the last time.

“Him (Rabada) being available simplifies a lot of things for us … he’s the best bowler in the world,” Gibson confirmed.

Sport24.co.za | Pieter-Steph gives reminder of No 7 ability

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2018-03-19 21:33

Lloyd Burnard

Cape Town – At the start of the 2018 Super Rugby season, Stormers forwards coach Russell Winter made his position on Pieter-Steph du Toit clear. 

Winter believed that the 25-year-old, despite having been used at No 7 by Springbok coach Allister Coetzee’s last year, was a lock. 

“I see him as a lock who can cover loose forward … predominantly, he will play lock,” Winter explained during this year’s Australasian tour that yielded three straight losses for the Stormers.

On Saturday against the Blues, though, Du Toit played at No 7 and was immense for the Stormers as they powered their way to a 37-20 win at Newlands.

The former Sharks carried the ball eight times in the contest, beating four defenders along the way, while he also made nine tackles. 

Perhaps most significantly, Du Toit won five lineouts as the Stormers got over the demons that had plagued them in that department in Australia and New Zealand. 

With Chris van Zyl and Jan de Klerk putting in solid shifts in the second row and with Eben Etzebeth on the road to recovery, the possibility of Du Toit starting more matches on the side of the scrum is a very real one. 

“What’s great is that he’s obviously a big ball carrier, but he’s also a great lineout option,” Van Zyl said of Du Toit from the Stormers’ Bellville training complex on Monday.

“It gives us really good jumpers in all three positions. I think strength at lineout time is a massive plus.

“This weekend there was a real work ethic to the pack and I think that was credit to the fact that we had three locks on the field. I think that played towards our strength.”

The improvement at lineout time, Van Zyl added, was simply down to hard work.

“We were under a lot of pressure after the tour … that was definitely not up to our standards,” he acknowledged.

“Credit to all the guys and coach Russell (Winter) … we said we wanted to go back to what we’re good at and we put in some extra time last week and stuck to what we feel our strengths are. I think it paid off.

“We just want to keep improving and what we put in this weekend … I think it was 9 from 10 … that’s the standard we set ourselves.”

The Stormers are next in action on Saturday when they host the Reds. Kick-off is at 17:15.

Sport24.co.za | Mitchell happy despite Bulls loss

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2018-03-18 19:41

Hamilton – Bulls coach John Mitchell praised his team in the way they took on the challenge of facing the Chiefs in Hamilton, even though they went down 41-28 after leading 28-14 at halftime.

Mitchell said the big turning point in Friday’s game came when the try of Embrose Papier was disallowed, and took the wind out of the Bulls’ sails.

“I really enjoyed our mentality and I thought we had an outstanding first half. And the second half was punctuated by the big moment on that obstruction try. When you go back to the footage Lood looked like he didn’t even change his line.

“So that was a huge moment because we could have been back to 14 points ahead. And there was one area where we got a bit untidy was in the attacking 22 metres where we were impatient and got no conversion out of the three times that we were in there in the second half.

“And the yellow was from stupidity which you can’t afford to do at this level. Get those things together then you can finish off a match in New Zealand because they are not easy to win.

Mitchell wouldn’t comment on the referee, other than the “double warning was ‘very kind’ to the Chiefs” but said his team would continue to play the way they have been playing under him even though the result didn’t go their way.

“Unfortunately we still got to continue to trust our skill sets but when you are with a new group that is trying to play against one of the best things in the competition you got to be patient with them as well.

“Unfortunately we had an opportunity that we could have nailed but we didn’t nail. Sometimes failure gets in the road of growth so it is important that we recognise that there was actually a really good mindset and an exceptional approach.

“New Zealand is a hard place to play and when you try teach other teams who come here how to play the game and what’s needed to win here, it doesn’t matter how you talk about it you just have to get with the positive of winning. We’ll be back again

“We fell short in the end and that’s my job, it is not about John Mitchell even though I played a part at some stage in rugby here. Ultimately at the end of the day it is about my own team getting better and making sure that they continue to believe and trust their skill sets going forward.”

“Ultimately at the end of the day when things are falling into place you just have to identify what’s working and what we continue to do and where are the next adjustments. We still presented ourselves enough opportunity even though we didn’t convert but I still maintain the obstruction try was still a big call.

Mitchell praised the team’s attack after their poor second half performance against the Reds.

“I guess the important thing is that it wasn’t loose structure, there is actually an element of structure in how we play and we were really disappointed with ourselves with the looseness of our attack and inability to be connected in attack against Queensland Reds. So that’s the reason why we went back to some of our priorities in the attacking structure and we had a good mindset. Clearly we would like to continue that but every team’s defences are different so each week is a different situation.”

Read the story on SuperSport.com

Sport24.co.za | Woeful Sharks crash to Brumbies defeat

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2018-03-17 12:31

Cape Town – The Sharks put in a forgettable performance in crashing to a first tour defeat against the Brumbies in Canberra on Saturday.

As it happened: Brumbies v Sharks

The Brumbies won 24-17 after leading 10-3 at half-time.

The Sharks, touted by friend and foe pre-season as contenders to go deep in this year’s tournament, now face the stark reality of their season unravelling in spectacular fashion.

After four matches the Sharks boast a meagre return of one win – over the lowly ‘every team will beat them’ Sunwolves – and three defeats. 

Furthermore, the Sharks now go on to play the vastly superior Rebels side, before crossing the Tasman Sea to New Zealand to tackle the Blues and Hurricanes.

In their first home match of the season, the Brumbies, a shadow of their predecessors who sipped Super Rugby title champagne in 2001 and 2004, scored two tries through wings Lausii Taliauli and Henry Speight, while flyhalf Wharenui Hawera added a conversion and four penalties.

The Sharks, who on no fewer than two occasions were up against 14 men, scored two tries of their own by prop Thomas du Toit and fullback Curwin Bosch, while flyhalf Robert du Preez landed both conversions and a penalty.

The Brumbies picked up four points for their victory and moved to second in the Australian Conference, while the Sharks left with a single point for losing by seven or fewer points and remained second in the South African Conference.

In next weekend’s Round 6 action, the Brumbies have a bye, while the Sharks travel to Melbourne to take on the Australian Conference leading Rebels (Friday, March 23 at 10:45 SA time).

Teams:

Brumbies

15 Andrew Muirhead, 14 Henry Speight, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Christian Lealiifano (captain), 11 Lausii Taliauli, 10 Wharenui Hawera, 9 Joe Powell, 8 Isi Naisarani, 7 Tom Cusack, 6 Lachlan McCaffrey, 5 Blake Enever, 4 Rory Arnold, 3 Allan Alaalatoa, 2 Folau Fainga’a, 1 Scott Sio

Substitutes: 16 Connal McInerney, 17 Nic Mayhew, 18 Leslie Leuluaialii-Makin, 19 Richie Arnold, 20 Lolo Fakaosilea, 21 Matt Lucas, 22 James Dargaville, 23 Tom Banks

Sharks

15 Curwin Bosch, 14 Kobus van Wyk, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Robert du Preez, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Tera Mtembu, 7 Jacques Vermeulen, 6 Wian Vosloo, 5 Stephan Lewis, 4 Ruan Botha (captain), 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Akker van der Merwe, 1 Juan Schoeman

Substitutes: 16 Chiliboy Ralepelle, 17 Mzamo Majola, 18 John-Hubert Meyer, 19 Tyler Paul, 20 Jean-Luc du Preez, 21 Cameron Wright, 22 Marius Louw, 23 Lwazi Mvovo

Sport24.co.za | Pollard has the skills to play No 12 – Umaga

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2018-03-16 09:23

Cape Town – Blues coach and former All Black Tana Umaga believes Handre Pollard’s versatility could prove handy for the Springboks in future.

Injuries forced Bulls coach John Mitchell’s hand earlier this month when he moved Pollard to inside centre shortly before their clash against the Lions in Pretoria.

Even though the Bulls lost the game 49-35, Pollard performed adequately in the No 12 jersey which sparked interest about his possible future in the position.

Umaga, a former All Black midfielder, spoke exclusively to Sport24 in Cape Town this week as his side prepared to tackle the Stormers at Newlands on Saturday.

When probed whether he felt Pollard had a future at inside centre, Umaga responded: “I can see the merits behind John Mitchell’s decision to shift Pollard to inside centre. I think he has the skills to play as a second receiver, and it would offer the Springboks two kicking options.”

Umaga added that he felt Pollard had the necessary skills to master the flyhalf and inside centre positions.

“In the modern game, you require midfielders that can carry, distribute and provide a kicking option. It’s pretty tough to come up against centres that are triple threats. South African rugby has always been strong in the midfield department. At the moment, Jesse Kriel and Damian de Allende are probably the two South African centres that come to mind. However, owing to his ability to distribute, carry and kick, Pollard is an interesting option. As a player you have to want to make the shift yourself.”

READ: Tana Umaga’s full Q&A interview with Sport24

Sport24.co.za | Bulls have nothing to lose – Lood

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Brenden Nel – SuperSport

Cape Town – Springbok lock Lood de Jager has sent out a warning to those writing the Bulls off at the moment, saying their sojourn to New Zealand may mean they are underdogs, but that they simply “have nothing to lose” at the moment.

De Jager has been one of the standouts in the team this season and is playing with a freedom that was last seen in 2015 when he burst onto the Springbok scene. The big loping lock even scored a beauty of a try to help his team beat the Hurricanes in Week 1 but has been a bit frustrated with the side’s form since then.

And now facing the Chiefs on Friday, few would give them a smattering of a chance in the game, but that doesn’t bother De Jager, who believes the lack of belief in their chances should be worn as a badge of honour and used as a motivation.

“It definitely doesn’t surprise me at all. People always write you off coming to New Zealand because their franchise rugby is so strong, as is their national side,” De Jager told the supersport.com website.

“Coming here you are always the underdog, but that gives us a bit more freedom to play, we have nothing to lose, we have our backs against the wall a bit and try and get a win on Friday.”

De Jager said coach John Mitchell’s influence had reignited his season and has been the reason why he is currently enjoying his rugby so much.

“A guy like John Mitchell has had a lot to do with that, he said to me at the beginning of the year he just wants me to play and not to think and worry too much about making mistakes, rather just give it my all and express myself,” he said.

“So that has really helped me and has taken a bit of pressure off my shoulders. It’s been good and I’m looking forward to the rest of the season and hopefully I can contribute to the team in more ways than one and help us play some winning rugby.

“I want to see myself as an all-round player, I don’t want to see myself as someone who just does one thing well. I want to do other things well as well and want to see myself as an all-round player. I’ve been enjoying the attack this year and there is a shackles-off mentality on attack, we can go out and express ourselves. It has definitely been nice and hopefully we can build on that this season.”

On the set-pieces that have plagued the Bulls in the last two games, De Jager says the players have taken note and believe they have rectified their own problems.

“I think it’s very important, you can’t compete in any competition if your set-piece doesn’t compete, our lineouts, scrums and mauls. Maybe a week ago our mauls cost us against the Lions and this last week our scrums weren’t good and we conceded a couple of penalties there. We will definitely go into the next game hoping to rectify that.

“The scrums on Saturday definitely disappointed. A few of those scrums were definitely 50-50 and they didn’t go our way. In one or two they outsmarted us a bit. We had a look at it already, and we will put in the work in the week and try and rectify it and hopefully get the results on Saturday.”

The Bulls will also face the Crusaders next week (March 23) before heading back to South Africa.

Teams:

Chiefs

15 Damian McKenzie, 14 Sean Wainui, 13 Anton Lienert-Brown, 12 Johnny Fa’auli, 11 Solomon Alaimalo, 10 Tiaan Falcon, 9 Brad Weber, 8 Liam Messam, 7 Sam Cane (captain), 6 Lachlan Boshier, 5 Mitchell Brown, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Angus Ta’avao, 2 Nathan Harris, 1 Aidan Ross

Substitutes: 16 Liam Polwart, 17 Karl Tu’inukuafe, 18 Jeff Thwaites, 19 Michael Allardice, 20 Luke Jacobson, 21 Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi, 22 Marty McKenzie, 23 Declan O’Donnell

Bulls

15 Warrick Gelant, 14 Travis Ismaiel, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Burger Odendaal (captain), 11 Divan Rossouw, 10 Handre Pollard, 9 Andre Warner, 8 Hanro Liebenberg, 7 Thembelani Bholi, 6 Roelof Smit, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 RG Snyman, 3 Trevor Nyakane, 2 Jaco Visagie, 1 Pierre Schoeman

Substitutes: 16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Lizo Gqoboka, 18 Conraad van Vuuren, 19 Jason Jenkins/Tim Agaba, 20 Marco van Staden, 21 Embrose Papier, 22 Manie Libbok, 23 Johnny Kotze

Read the story on SuperSport.com

Sport24.co.za | Lehmann urges batsmen to learn from Elgar, Amla

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Cape Town – Australia coach Darren Lehmann says his team’s batsmen must take lessons from the way Proteas duo, Hashim Amla and Dean Elgar, batted in the first innings of the second Test in Port Elizabeth. 

After the Aussies collapsed from 98/0 to be bowled out for 243, the home team scored 382 in their first innings at the crease to take a significant 139-run lead. 

Although AB de Villiers scored a majestic century, it was Elgar (57 off 197 balls) and Amla (56 off 148 deliveries) that set it up with a stand of 88 for the second wicket, that was not always pretty. 

The pair batted for 46.2 overs to take the sting out of Australia’s pace attack and, according to Lehmann, allowed De Villiers to play freely when he came in. 

Lehman said: “Certainly I thought Elgar and Amla showed our blokes a little bit how to get through that and as we know when your bowlers are starting to bowl 25 overs an innings it is starting to get to be tough work. 

“You make your runs at the back end against quality attacks and that’s what we’ve got to get better at. 

“Not enough runs in the first innings as you saw, at 0 for 98 I thought we were going really well, and then that either-side period of tea we lost 4 for 9 and 8 for 80 in that, and then 10-11 did really well to get us to 243, but still it was 50-75 runs short. 

“If we have those runs … and we’re probably short in the second innings to be fair, short another 50 there. Batting’s got to improve as we know.” 

The Aussies coach praised the way De Villiers came in and took the attack to his bowlers, the batsman striking 126 not out off 146 balls. 

However, while saying that the Proteas number four is a world-class players, Lehmann also said that his bowlers could have been a bit better. 

Lehmann explained: “I don’t think we bowled as well to [de Villiers] as we could’ve, that’s an area we can certainly improve on, but in general I think our bowling was first-rate again. 

“If we had the extra 100 runs it would’ve been a rip-snorter of a Test match. From our point of view to AB we’ve got to bowl better to him, he’s a class player.” 

The third Test of the four-match series starts at Newlands on 22 March.

Sport24.co.za | Faf: Test cricket getting too sensitive

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Cape Town – Proteas captain Faf du Plessis believes that Test cricket is getting “too sensitive” after his side’s win against Australian in PE.

The Proteas were clinical as they beat Australia by six wickets in the second Test to level the series at 1-1 with two Tests remaining. 

Kagiso Rabada’s 11/150 stole the show and earned him the man-of-the-match award, but the Proteas speedster was charged on two separate occasions in the Test for over-the-top celebrations. 

As a result, Rabada is expected to be suspended – potentially for the rest of the series – once the ICC have announced their findings. 

Du Plessis was not holding back in his assessment of the situation. 

“For me, if you make it so sensitive then guys will interpret it the wrong way,” he said when discussing the battle for consistency among umpires and match referees.

“I think we’re going on the sensitive side with everything at the moment. Every single incident is on camera … it’s Test cricket.

“As I’ve said, we have no issues with the way the Australian team plays their brand of cricket. It’s good for the game of Test cricket.

“People talk about where Test cricket is going. For me, the small battles are important. It’s about KG (Rabada) running in for 15 overs trying to get someone out and when he does, he has to show some sort of passion.

“The series has been too much about other stuff … it should be about the cricket. There is a lot of off-field stuff that is taking the shine off.”

The third Test starts in cape Town on March 22.

Sport24.co.za | Hoffman wins his 3rd Cape Town Cycle Tour

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Cape Town – Nolan Hoffman has won the Cape Town Cycle Tour, claiming his third victory in the event, crossing the line in a bunched sprint at the finish on Sunday.

Hoffman, riding for BCX. finished third in the national championships earlier this year. 

The women’s race was won by Kimberley Le Court De Billot with Vera Adrian in second and Maroesjka Matthee taking the final podium position. 

More to follow…

Sport24.co.za | Coach promises Simbine will get faster … and faster

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Cape Town – South African champion Akani Simbine has spoiled fans over the last two years with his speedy exploits on home soil, so some might have been slightly surprised by his winning time of 10.05 in the 100m during Thursday night’s Athletics Grand Prix-meeting at Tuks.

But don’t despair.

Werner Prinsloo who coaches the Tuks-athlete is confident that he will run a “real fast time” during next week’s South African Championships.

“I would have been worried if Akani ran 9.92 as I am a firm believer in it not how you start but how you finish. There is still a long season ahead. Because it is his first race of the season I am happy with a time of 10.05. We don’t want to be running sub-10s races now, and by the end of the season when it matters, he battles to do so.

“Last night the focus was on executing his acceleration over the first 60 metres to perfection. During training, we worked quite hard on it as it is crucial. If Akani gets that right, he will race too fast times as his top end speed is always good.

“I am confident that he will run sub-10s in the semi-final or the final of the South African Championships as the conditions for sprinting will be better. Akani tends to race better at championships as he gets faster and faster in the build-up to the final.”

The Tuks-athlete will be competing in the 100m and the 200m at the national championships. Prinsloo admits to it not being their original plan. But in 2016 Simbine was not selected to race the 200m at the Olympic Games because he did not compete in the longer sprint at the national championships.

“Akani has set his mind on competing in both sprints at the African Championships. In light of that, we are not taking any chances. That is why he is racing both sprints. Perhaps it is not bad that he is doing both as it will help Akani to get race-fit before the Commonwealth Games.”

If the weather allows for it, Prinsloo is confident that Simbine might also dip under-20s in the 200m. Clarence Munyai (Tuks) who was second on Thursday night in the 100m running 10.22 has for the moment put racing the short sprint on hold.

“I know I can dip under 10 seconds, but because I am racing the 200 metres at the Commonwealth Games it is important that I now only focus on running the perfect race over the longer sprint,” said Munyai who earlier this season improved his 100m time to 10.10. His best time in the 200m at the moment is 20.10.