South African Sports News – 18 November

Graeme Smith

South African openers put England to the sword
Graeme Smith (pictured) and Loots Bosman propelled South Africa to a crushing 84-run victory over England in their Standard Bank Pro 20 match at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Sunday. The Proteas amassed 241/6 in their allotted 20 overs, which was their second highest total in international Pro 20-cricket.

In reply, England could only muster 157/8, which was their biggest defeat in this format of the international game. The win helped South Africa square the Pro 20 series 1-1 after they lost to England by one run on Friday at the Wanderers. Continued

South African Sports News – 4 November

Francois Hougaard

Bulls tame Cheetahs to take Currie Cup
It was all smiles for the Loftus Versfeld faithful in Pretoria on Saturday night when their darlings, the mighty Blue Bulls, defeated a stubborn Cheetahs outfit 36-24 to become 2009 Absa Currie Cup Premier Division champions. The Bulls stormed to a 24-0 lead after just 25 minutes courtesy of a try from right wing Francois Hougaard (pictured with ball in hand) and a brace from left wing Bryan Habana, but the Cheetahs, as always, staged a spirited fight back to close the gap to just six points after 48 minutes. Continued

South African Sports News – 28 October

Joseph Henyekane

Arrows shoot down hapless Ajax
Golden Arrows were crowned MTN8 champions in Soweto on Saturday night when they crushed Ajax Cape Town 6-0 in one-sided MTN8 final at the Orlando Stadium. In the process, Arrows won their first major trophy and a record
R8-million winner-takes-all prize.

The match was effectively over as a contest after 20 minutes when the KwaZulu Natal outfit took an unbeatable 2-0 lead courtesy of some positive attacking soccer and some shocking defending from a woeful Ajax outfit. Despite Ajax’s poor display it was an excellent win for Arrows and their 38-year-old coach Manqoba Mngqithi, who is one of a number of promising young coaches in the Premier Soccer League (PSL). Mngqithi deserves applause for his positive tactics of attacking and taking the game to Ajax and, if he keeps up this sort of approach, it will surely not be too long before Arrows win another major tournament. Continued

South African Sports News – 21 October

Jacques-Louis Potgieter

Cheetahs stun Sharks in Durban
Cometh the hour cometh the man and that man was none other than Free State Cheetahs flyhalf Jacques-Louis Potgieter (pictured) who slotted a last minute drop goal against the Sharks at the Absa Stadium in Durban on Saturday, to book his side a place in the 2009 Absa Currie Cup Premier Division Final.

Potgieter’s stroke of genius spelt doom for the Sharks who were leading 19-18 with just one minute to go. However, a solid scrum by the Cheetahs set the platform for Potgieter to deliver the killer blow and ensure an excellent 23-21 win for the visitors. It was a devastating blow for the Sharks and their loyal supporters who had a great season with 12 wins from 14 league outings. Continued

Sharks to face Cheetahs in semis … and other sports news

Stefan Terblanche

Sharks to face Cheetahs in semis
The Sharks managed to overcome a spirited effort by Griquas in their final league match of the season to qualify for the 2009 Absa Currie Cup Premier Division semi-finals when they defeated the diamond miners 45-30 at GWK Park in Kimberley on Saturday afternoon.

The KwaZulu-Natalians outscored their opponents by seven tries to four and deserved their win, but will have to tighten up their defence considerably if they hope to prevail in Saturday’s semi-final against the resurgent Cheetahs at the Absa Stadium in Durban. The Sharks missed 25 tackles against Griquas and conceded some soft tries with some of their defenders showing a distinct lack of commitment. Griquas centre Barry Geel exploited these defensive frailties to grab a hat trick of tries with Sarel Pretorius adding another to ensure a bonus point for the home team … Continued

Sharks scrape home against fiery Lions and other sporting news

Ruan Pienaar

Sharks scrape home against fiery Lions
The Sharks overcame a spirited and determined effort from the Lions to secure a semi-final spot in the Premier Division of the 2009 Absa Currie Cup at the Absa Stadium in Durban on Saturday afternoon. Stefan Terblanche’s men were made to fight every inch of the way to secure victory against the Lions who produced a sterling defensive effort against their more fancied rivals.

In the end however, the KwaZulu-Natalians squeaked home 19-17 against the visitors from Johannesburg, thanks largely to the boot of scrumhalf Ruan Pienaar (pictured), the domination of their Springbok laden forward pack and a gutsy all round performance from the 34-year-old Terblanche, who is currently playing some of the best rugby of his career. Continued

Proteas choke yet again and other sporting news …

Graeme Smith

Proteas choke yet again in major tournament
The Proteas failed to shake off their unpleasant label of chokers with regard to their performances in major International Cricket Council (ICC) tournaments, when they were unceremoniously bundled out of the ICC Champions trophy in Centurion on Sunday.

Graeme Smith’s men were defeated by a resurgent England and fell 23 runs short of a victory target of 324 to finish on 301 for nine wickets in their allotted 50 overs. It was a bitterly disappointing defeat for the Proteas who went into this tournament as clear favourites, but ended it in shame as they lost two out of their opening three games for an early exit … Continued

Bafana end losing streak and more sports news …

Katlego Mphela

Bafana end losing streak with narrow victory: Bafana Bafana broke their run of six consecutive losses when they defeated Madagascar 1-0 in an international friendly played at the GWK Stadium in Kimberley on Saturday afternoon. However, it was by no means an impressive performance by Bafana who seemed to lack ideas and urgency for the majority of the match. Substitute Katlego Mphela (pictured) scored the only goal of the match in the 64th minute when the Mamelodi Sundowns striker collected a well-placed through ball from Man of the Match Richard Henyekane to steer his shot past Madagascar goalkeeper Hector Kandy … Continued

Boks edge All Blacks to win Tri-Nations and other sporting news

Francois Steyn

Boks edge All Blacks to win Tri-Nations
The Springboks silenced their critics and detractors alike when they defeated the All Blacks 32-29 in Hamilton on Saturday to secure victory in the 2009 Tri-Nations and cement their reputation as one of the greatest Springbok teams of all time. The victory was a great achievement by the Boks who recorded their third successive win against the All Blacks for the first time in 60 years, with the bonus of adding the Tri-Nations to their 2007 Rugby World Cup triumph and series victory over the 2009 British Lions.

The Boks went into this match as distinct underdogs after their disappointing 21-6 defeat to the Wallabies in Brisbane the previous weekend, but only needed a single bonus point to secure the championship. However, they ended up taking it in style by standing up to the New Zealanders and matching them blow for blow with no quarter asked or given. Continued

Boks ‘huff and puff’ their way to defeat in Brisbane

Peter de Villiers

Boks ‘huff and puff’ their way to defeat in Brisbane
The Springboks suffered a disappointing 21-6 defeat to the Wallabies at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday and although they remain at the top of the Tri-Nations log and nine points clear of nearest rivals New Zealand, the Boks still need at least a bonus point from their last match against the All Blacks in Hamilton on Saturday, to clinch the championship. Continued

Boks subdue Wallabies and other Sporting News from South Africa

Bryan Habana

Boks subdue Wallabies to inch closer to Tri-Nations glory
The Springbok rugby team are riding the crest of a wave at the moment and it seems at though nothing short of the Apocalypse can stop the Boks from winning this year’s Tri-Nations competition after they defeated the Wallabies 32-25 at the Subaico Oval in Perth, Australia on Saturday. The Boks outscored their opponents by four tries to three with flyhalf Morné Steyn contributing a valuable 10 points with the boot.

The South Africans got stuck into the Australians from the get go and were already 12-0 up after just 10 minutes courtesy of tries from scrumhalf Fourie Du Preez (converted by Steyn) and centre Jaque Fourie. Steyn then added three more points six minutes later when the Wallabies were penalised for an infringement, pushing the score to 15 without reply … Continued

This Week in South African Sports – 26 August 2009

Mbulaeni Mulaudzi

Rich medal haul for South African trio in Berlin
Mbulaeni Mulaudzi had the last laugh at the World Athletics Championships at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin on Sunday when he ran a superb 800m race to clock 1 min, 45.29 secs to secure a gold medal for South Africa. Mulaudzi did not run particularly well in his semi-final heat on Friday, finishing fourth and having to wait to see if he would qualify for the final as the second of two fastest losers, which he did by the smallest of margins.

And so, despite his somewhat tepid performance in the semi-finals, the 29-year-old Mulaudzi found himself in the final against the world’s best 800m runners, including the likes of defending champion Alfred Yego from Kenya and Yusuf Kamel of Bahrain … Continued

This Week in South African Sports

Caster Semenya

South Africa pinning hopes on Caster Semenya in Berlin
The 12th IAAF World Athletics Championships in Berlin are well under way and there have been some phenomenal performances on display with Jamaican sprinting sensation Usain Bolt’s unbelievable 9.58 secs in the 100m final, undoubtedly the pick of the bunch. However, the South African contingent have struggled to achieve their potential in a fiercely competitive environment, with medal hopes LJ van Zyl, Sunnette Viljoen and Ruben Ramolefi failing to produce the goods when it counted most.

Van Zyl was blown away by the competition in the first of Sunday night’s 400m hurdles semi-finals, clocking an ordinary 48.80 secs for sixth position. Continued

Boks down Wallabies to keep unbeaten record – and other sporting news

Victor Matfield

Boks down Wallabies to keep unbeaten record
The Springboks continued their rich vein of form in this year’s Tri-Nations competition when they defeated Australia 29-17 at Newlands in Cape Town on Saturday afternoon. Bok flyhalf Morné Steyn once again had an outstanding game, slotting seven penalties and a drop goal for a personal tally of 24 points. The Bok win was set up by another dominant display by their pack of forwards with the lock pairing of Victor Matfield (pictured left) and Bakkies Botha proving particularly detrimental to the Wallabies. The towering duo dominated the lineouts securing ample possession for their team and starving the Wallabies of this critical commodity in the process …

The Wallabies struck first with a quick fire second minute try from fullback Adam Ashley-Cooper, which was converted by flyhalf Matt Giteau to put the visitors 7-0 in front. However, the Boks remained calm under pressure and responded soon afterwards with a well-taken try from ‘Man of the Match’ Matfield who chased a superb left footed grubber kick Continued

South African Sports Wrap – 5th August

5 August 2009 – This week in South African Sports – Guy Mortimer reports on what’s been happening this past week and what’s coming up!

Caster Semenya

ASA announce crack squad for Berlin
Athletics South Africa (ASA) on Tuesday announced a team of 25 men and six women for the IAAF World Championships in Berlin later this month. The team includes top athletes such as 800m runner Caster Semenya (pictured), LJ van Zyl, who has been sensational in the 400m hurdles this year, 1500m competitor Johan Cronje, 3000m steeplechaser Ruben Ramolefi, javelin thrower Sunette Viljoen, 110m hurdler Lehann Fourie and, of course, Beijing Olympic long jump silver medallist Khotso Mokoena. The team attended a training camp in Potsdam in July and have been sharpening their skills at another venue in Neubrandenburg. All the athletes will be competing today at a meeting in Spandau to determine their fitness levels before the World Champs … Continued