Nortje called up for Oz as Boks pick strong 33-man squad

Nortje called up for Oz as Boks pick strong 33-man squad

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi will lead a strong 33-man squad to Australia for the opening two games of the Castle Lager Rugby Championship early next month. While the Boks named a squad that didn’t include scrumhalf Faf de Klerk, who is injured with an unspecified injury, there was good news as World Cup winners Malcolm Marx and Pieter-Steph du Toit were declared fit for the tour. There was also […]

July 24, 2024 9

Sport

Experimental Springboks tackle Portuguese in historic Test

The last time world champions South Africa played in Bloemfontein a team showing 14 changes suffered a shock first home loss to Wales two years ago. They returned to the central city this week to prepare for a historic first, one-off Test against second-tier Portugal on Saturday, and once again the starting side has 14 changes. But the chances of history repeating itself and the Springboks falling to […]

July 19, 2024 29

Sport

South Africa v Ireland teams

Teams for second and final Test between South Africa and Ireland at Kings Park stadium in Durban on Saturday (1505 GMT): Teams (15-1) South Africa Willie le Roux; Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende, Kurt-Lee Arendse; Handre Pollard, Faf de Klerk; Kwagga Smith, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi (capt); Franco Mostert, Eben Etzebeth; Frans Malherbe, Bongi Mbonambi, Ox Nche Replacements: Malcolm Marx, Gerhard Steenekamp, Vincent Koch, Salmaan […]

July 12, 2024 8

Sport

BOKS v IRELAND: The playing field is more level than before

Ireland will be coming to altitude and crossing the equator but the eagerly anticipated two-game series against the world champion Springboks that starts with the first test in Pretoria on Saturday has a much more level playing field than has been the case for past incoming tours. While England and Wales will be starting their respective series against New Zealand and Australia in the Antipodes at the end of […]

July 2, 2024 10

Sport

New kids on the block for World Cup winners South Africa against Wales

Rugby World Cup winners South Africa have included four uncapped players in the matchday 23 for a one-off Test against Wales at Twickenham on Saturday. Winger Edwill van der Merwe and fly-half Jordan Hendrikse, both from the Johannesburg-based Lions, will start the Springboks' first outing since winning the World Cup in October. Utility back Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and flanker Ben-Jason Dixon, teammates at the Stormers in Cape Town, start […]

June 20, 2024 19

Sport

Springboks to score canny former All Black as attack coach

According to reports, the Springboks are set to sign former All Blacks flyhalf Tony Brown as an attack coach – and if they get this right, it will be a huge boost for the South Africans. Another former international player, Jerry Flannery, is also in line to join Rassie Erasmus staff. The former Ireland hooker was a 2009 Six Nations Grand Slam winner — he won 41 Test caps […]

January 30, 2024 4

Sport

And then there were two…

Only two teams remain in the hunt for the 2023 Rugby World Cup...New Zealand and South Africa. While current rankings do not perhaps list them as the best teams in the world, few can dispute that they are currently the form sides, especially having battled through from the “tough” side of the draw. The way in which they found their way to the final was, however, very different. The All […]

October 23, 2023 6

Sport

Rugby World Cup Semi-Final Victory: Message from Rugby Africa President Herbert Mensah to South Africa’s Springboks

Celebrating South Africa’s victory against England in the semi-final of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, Herbert Mensah, the newly elected President of Rugby Africa, (www.RugbyAfrique.com), the continental governing body of rugby across Africa, issues a message of congratulations addressed to Mark Alexander, President of the South Africa Rugby Union (SARU): Dearest Mark, My Brother Congratulations to YOU, Mark. Congratulations to the Springboks. In a tournament that began back in September, […]

October 23, 2023 6