With 100 days to go until Season 5 of Betway SA20 gets underway on 17 January, the League's newest recruits are already counting down to their first taste of the action. Fresh from Wednesday's player Auction, some of the latest signings have shared their excitement about joining Betway SA20, with home-ground crowds and the chance to learn alongside world-class players and coaches high on their list. Joburg Super Kings’ latest recruit and Season 5 auction's biggest signing Jas

The Hollywoodbets Dolphins continued their impressive run of form in the YesPlay T20 Cup with a commanding seven-wicket bonus-point victory over the Eastern Cape Iinyathi at Buffalo Park on Friday. Chasing 129 for victory, the Dolphins reached 129/3 in just 15.2 overs, winning with 28 balls to spare as Grant Roelofsen produced a superb innings of 67 off 37 deliveries to put the visitors firmly in control. The result extends the Dolphins' winning run to three matches following

Benjamin Follett-Smith. Tyrone Winfield/Sunshine Tour Zimbabwean Benjamin Follett-Smith had to dig deep on Friday to retain the Fortress Invitational lead and he did so with a one-over-par 72 for a one-shot lead going into the weekend at Houghton Golf Club. Follett-Smith led by three shots going into Friday’s second round following a stunning 63 on day one. But he had a far more challenging second round. After teeing off the 10th, the Zimbabwean professional opened with a bir

Australia’s reshuffled batting line-up struggled against a disciplined South African seam attack on Day 1 of the ICC World Test Championship tussle in Durban. Nic Maddinson was bowled by Marco Jansen, his dismissal leaving Australia reeling early after Pat Cummins won the toss and opted to bat first. The other opener, Travis Head, fell on a successful South African review, before Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne steadied the innings with a 60-run partnership. Smith took the

The Fidelity Titans will be looking to build on their winning start to the Hollywoodbets Pro Series when they welcome Gauteng rivals DP World Lions to SuperSport Park in Centurion for the second round of the 2026/27 campaign this weekend. The two sides will go head-to-head in the Hollywoodbets Pro50 Series encounter on Saturday before returning to action in the Hollywoodbets Pro20 Series competition on Sunday. The Titans head into the weekend full of confidence after securing

Are you a Springbok super-fan? Do you count the days to the next Test match? Are you the water-cooler king with the latest rugby scoop? Or do you just want to get closer to your favourite national team? Well, the change room door has just cracked a little wider with the relaunch of BokSquad, the official home of the South African rugby supporter. BokSquad is a digital community that rewards fans for their passion and gives them access to exclusive rugby content, tickets, uniq

Darcy Graham and Edinburgh Rugby will host RC Toulon on Friday 16 October. The countdown is on. One week from today, the EPCR Challenge Cup returns, with 18 clubs from eight nations set to launch their campaigns from 16 to 18 October and begin the race towards European glory and a place at the 2027 Final in Lyon. From renewed rivalries and knockout rematches to highly anticipated first-time encounters, Round 1 promises a thrilling start to the 2026/27 campaign as clubs from E

Louis Bielle-Biarrey and Union Bordeaux Bègles will take on Gloucester Rugby on Friday 16 October. Just one week remains until the 2026/27 EPCR season kicks off, with the opening round of the Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup set to bring together the best of European and South African club rugby from 16 to 18 October. With 114 matches ahead across the two competitions and a place at the EPCR Finals Weekend in Lyon on 21 and 22 May 2027 the ultimate prize, the rac

Dafabet Boland put to bed last year’s final’s Super Over demons with a win over World Sports Betting Eastern Storm to remain unbeaten in the YesPlay Pro20 Cup on Thursday night, following a tie at 164 runs apiece after each side played their 20 overs. In one of only two matches scheduled for the day, the hosts were put in to bat first at Boland Park after Easterns won the toss. They lost the early wicket of Neil Brand but recovered well with Blayde Capell and Gavin Kaplan com

The Pick n Pay Gold Cup has delivered its fair share of spectacle over the past fortnight and Saturday promises to be no different as the ‘FA Cup’ of South African club rugby reaches the quarter-final stage. The country’s pre-eminent knockout championship for non-university clubs – which is sponsored by the national retail chain for the second time as part of a four-year agreement that includes becoming Tier 1 sponsors of the world-champion Springboks – is also supported by N

10bet Lions' Siba Mahashe. Inpho Photography It was only eight months ago that Siba Mahashe made his URC debut. But the 22-year-old loose forward is already being seen as one of the brightest young talents in South African rugby. That was illustrated by his inclusion in a Springboks alignment camp in May, while he went on to make his debut for South Africa 'A' against Zimbabwe in Gqeberha the following month. Then, in August, he further enhanced his rising reputation with a P

Benjamin Follett-Smith. Tyrone Winfield/Sunshine Tour Having just returned from the DP World Tour and on his way back home to Zimbabwe, Benjamin Follett-Smith decided to make a detour to Houghton Golf Club for this week’s Fortress Invitational – and he was rewarded with an opening 63 for the lead on Thursday. “I just thought I would come play here on my way home, as I’m going home for two weeks now to build some confidence before I go back for the DP World Tour Qualifying Sch

The 10bet Lions will make the short trip across the Jukskei to take on the Vodacom Bulls in Round 3 of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in the country’s capital on Saturday (1.30pm kick-off). Already two from two in the competition, the Joburgers will be looking to capitalise on their current form, especially at Loftus where they were successful last season; claiming a 43-33 victory over Johan Ackermann’s men. Lions head coach Ivan van Rooyen admitted that despite their

The Hollywoodbets Sharks have opened their Vodacom United Rugby Championship campaign with two bonus-point wins from two, taking the maximum 10 log points from victories over Ospreys (41-24) and Leinster (26-20). The results reward a pre-season spent building a clear game model: Fast, Physical, Relentless and a strong team culture as part of this Next Wave. The opening fortnight showed that model and connection at work. The scrum won all 19 of its feeds, the line-out 24 of 25

Just days after celebrating 70 years of sporting history, the DP World Wanderers Stadium has reached another significant milestone – this time looking firmly towards the future. As part of its ongoing sustainability and infrastructure programme, the iconic Johannesburg venue, home to #ThePrideOfJozi, has commissioned a new borehole in partnership with Borehole Africa, providing an alternative water source to support the stadium’s day-to-day operations and strengthen its resil

The future of KwaZulu-Natal cricket was on show in Eshowe this week as six teams from the Dolphins Hubs space competed in the KZNDSAC Sunfoil Hub U13 Cricket Tournament, held from 29 September to 2 October. The tournament brought together young cricketers from the Dolphins Hubs space, forming six teams, namely: Reservoir Hills/Outer West, KCCD/Mtubatuba, INK/iLembe, Chatsworth/Umlazi, Port Shepstone/Umzinto and KCCD Invitational. More than simply a tournament, the initiative

South Africa will play their first Test on home soil since defeating Australia in the ICC World Test Championship Final at Lord's last year. The two sides currently occupy the top two slots in the WTC standings, with Australia first with an 80% PCT, while the Proteas sit close behind with 75%. South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma is hoping the occasion provides an opportunity to celebrate with the home supporters and have their full backing. “It's our first time playing Test cri

African Collaborations Group (ACG) (www.ACGafrica.com), the leading strategic project origination and collaboration platform focused on the industrialisation of sport in Africa through the origination of bankable sport and entertainment district ecosystems, today announced the appointment of Abiola (Abi) Ijasanmi to its Advisory Board. Ijasanmi is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of African Sports Investor (ASI), an advisory and investment platform focused on building

Johan Ackermann. BBCO America’s Got Talent seems a strange source of inspiration for Vodacom Bulls coach Johan Ackermann. But it’s one of the many avenues he uses for inspiration in his rugby career. “I enjoy inspiring stories from real life and things that people have overcome. It could be a guy who walks onto the stage at America’s Got Talent and the judges have already judged him by his looks and then he has this amazing talent,” he says. It possibly resonates so much wit

As the Springbok Sevens team prepare to carry South Africa’s hopes into a new HSBC SVNS season, they are taking their message of #PoweredbyUnity into the communities that support them. Furthermore, through its brand-new #BlitzNation campaign and the Seven-Minute Blitz challenge, fans are invited to create, complete or transform something in seven minutes to show their support of the Blitzboks, meet players, and participate in the energy of sevens rugby. At Paulus Joubert Seco

Vodacom United Rugby Championship log leaders, the Hollywoodbets Sharks and third-placed 10bet Lions, will have their sights set on continuing their unbeaten start in the competition this weekend and remain in the top four on the standings when they hit the road to face the DHL Stormers and Vodacom Bulls in a thrilling round of South African derbies. They will, however, prepare themselves for challenging outings as the Capetonians will enter the match highly motivated after s

Momentum Multiply Titans strengthened their position at the top of Pool A in the YesPlay Pro20 Cup with a comprehensive eight-wicket victory over CSA High Performance at SuperSport Park on Wednesday, maintaining their unbeaten record in the competition. CSA High Performance won the toss and elected to bat first but their innings got off to the worst possible start when Sunday’s teenage centurion Adnaan Lagadien was dismissed off the second ball for none. Ombesa Matsha steadie

From left to right: Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; President of Sierra Leone and immediate past Chair of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, His Excellency Julius Maada Bio; and Chair of Heirs Holdings and Co-Chair of the WAIIS Private Sector Advisory Board, Tony O. Elumelu, CFR, at the meeting in Lagos on 7 October 2026. The President of Sierra Leone and immediate past Chair of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, His Excell

DHL Stormers Director of Rugby John Dobson. Inpho Photography The DHL Stormers will be looking to make amends for the low point of last season when they welcome the table-topping Hollywoodbets Sharks to Cape Town for a “Test match” showdown on Saturday. John Dobson’s team were beaten twice by the Sharks in the URC in the space of seven dark days back in January, losing 30-19 at home and then 36-24 in Durban a week later. So they will be on a revenge mission at a packed DHL St

The Springbok Women will finish a bumper season with a massive challenge when they welcome Ireland to South African shores for the first time for two WXV Global Series Tests in Cape Town later this month, with tickets to the matches at Athlone Stadium available from Ticketmaster. Priced from R50 per person, or R150 for a package of four, tickets will allow fans to see the Bok Women take on the fifth-ranked team in the world on their first visit to South Africa. Both matches a

St David's Marist Inanda matriculant and rain Schools SA20 graduate, Jason Rowles was the standout purchase of the Player Auction as Joburg Super Kings paid R2.9-million to have his services in Season 5. The Betway SA20 Season 5 Player Auction produced a captivating blend of proven international pedigree and exciting young talent as the four remaining franchises finalised their squads on Wednesday evening in Johannesburg. Leading the list of headline signings was former Prot

Dragons RFC's Ben Carter. Huw Evans Picture Agency To get an insight into the qualities which have seen Ben Carter nail down a Wales second row spot, it’s revealing to listen to his Dragons RFC coach Filo Tiatia. Having earned promotion from the bench midway through the Guinness Six Nations, Carter went on to make six successive starts for his country, establishing himself as a key cog in the machine. He has brought a huge defensive work-rate - as illustrated by him winning t

The Springbok Women’s team is joining forces with Project Flamingo this month, supported by Engen SA, to Make Room for Her, a campaign that brings women's sport and women's health together around one simple idea: every woman deserves to be seen, supported and cared for. The Springbok Women are familiar with the fight for room: Room on the field, room in the sporting conversation, room in the media, room in the stadium and room for women’s sport to grow. That has resonance wit

After an exciting weekend of the United Rugby Championship, URC StatMaster has identified the top players from R2 along with the overall top team and player performances from the league so far. Click Below To View URC Player Stats Click Below To View BKT URC Team Stats Top Players From R2 Carries: 21 Davide Ruggeri (Zebre Parma) Defenders Beaten: 9 Keiran Williams (Ospreys) / Rio Dyer (Dragons RFC) Line-outs Won: 8 Francke Horn (10bet Lions) Metres: 99 Anzelo Tuitavuki (Drag

Benjamin Kedochim. This week’s Fortress Invitational is primed for a breakthrough victory by one of several in-form rookies on the Fortress Rookie of the Year standings in what has overall been one of the strongest rookie performances on the Sunshine Tour this season. Since the start of this R2.5-million tournament in 2022, it has showcased the finest current and rising talent on the Sunshine Tour and this year’s field is no exception in a season where the established stars h

The reigning ICC World Test Championship champions are back in action and they have some huge challenges upfront. After conquering India, South Africa face a major test at home when Australia arrive for a crucial series. For Temba Bavuma, the stakes extend beyond the immediate Test series. Over the next 12 months the Proteas have the chance to establish themselves as a force across formats, with the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027 also approaching on home soil. First up is A

Last campaign's runners-up Australia head the standings in the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle with eight wins coming in 10 games. Previous edition winners South Africa are not too far away, in second with 36 points from four games. As the cycle enters a crucial phase, the teams now look to strengthen their case for a top-two finish. South Africa and Australia will go up against each other from 9 October in a three-game series. In recent weeks, the World Test Champi

From left to right: nesti co-founder David Kimani, Pollen Patrollers co-founder Margaret Wanjiku, Vunapay co-founder Koya Matsuno and Kumbatia Seafood co-founder Will Gertler. Six African startups have been selected as winners of the 2026 FINCA (https://FINCA.org/ )Ventures Prize Competition (https://apo-opa.co/4zgFQFQ), receiving a combined $400,000 in catalytic funding to accelerate their impact in key resilience sectors. The competition, a flagship initiative of FINCA’s im

Richard Simanga Ngwenya, Head of Honeybadger Family Office (https://Honeybadger.Africa) and Founder of Nisela Capital, will speak at three industry events in South Africa this October and November: Africa Energy Week (AEW) 2026 and Africa Tech Festival, both at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), and the Connected Banking Summit in Johannesburg. The panels cover different industries but Ngwenya sees the same question running through all of them: whether Afr

Seven Springboks will play their first match for the DHL Stormers this season in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship derby against the Hollywoodbets Sharks at DHL Stadium on Saturday. Scrumhalf Haashim Pead is set to make his Stormers debut off the replacements bench in a match day squad which includes 11 Springboks in total. The Stormers will run out in their new black kit – a throwback to the iconic 1999 Men in Black campaign – for kick-off at 4pm on Saturday. Tickets are

The World Rugby Executive Board has approved a law amendment and a law application guideline confirming that two relatively rare but dangerous tackle techniques, will now be subject to sanction. The “hip drop” tackle, where a tackler uses their bodyweight to pull a player to ground and drops onto the legs of a ball carrier from behind, will be explicitly added to foul play law and will be sanctioned with at least a penalty. The “knee drop” tackle, where a player drops to one

The Hollywoodbets Dolphins will look to build on a strong start to their YesPlay T20 Cup campaign when they take on Eastern Cape Iinyathi at Buffalo Park in East London on Friday. The Dolphins head into the encounter off the back of successive bonus-point victories, having most recently dispatched the Limpopo Impalas last weekend. While the result was another positive step for the Durban-based side, head coach Quinton Friend knows there are still areas he feels they have to a

The fourth Forward Faster Invitational Sevens takes place on 24 and 25 October 2026 at the Paul Roos Markötter Fields in Stellenbosch. Some of the region's top sevens teams will take part, including the South African Sevens side, which has competed in the tournament since its inception in 2023. A unique pillar of this two-day event is that community and local rugby club teams get to test their mettle against the country's best sevens players. The tournament has also featured

George Linde. The YesPlay Cobras secured a convincing nine-wicket victory over WSB Eastern Storm in the YesPlay Pro20 Cup on Tuesday. After restricting Eastern Storm to 130/7, Cobras made light work of the chase, reaching 134/1 in just 15.5 overs to claim their third victory of the 2026/27 Pro20 campaign. George Linde struck twice in the PowerPlay, removing Ronan Hermann for two and Kabelo Sekhukhune for 15 to leave the visitors 18/2. Christopher Britz (38) and Dewan Marais (

The countdown to the 2026/27 EPCR season is well and truly on, as players from all 24 Investec Champions Cup clubs gathered in Lyon on Wednesday (30 September) to celebrate the launch of a new campaign that promises greater jeopardy, more intense competition and more high-stakes rugby from the first whistle to the last. Hosted at Tour APICIL, the headquarters of EPCR partner Groupe APICIL, the Season Launch brought together some of the biggest names in club rugby alongside me

Fintan Gunne scoring Leinster Rugby's second try in pre-season fixture against Zebre Parma in the Laya Arena. Inpho Photography It will be the dawn of a new era for Leinster Rugby this weekend as they play their first URC game at the redeveloped Laya Arena. The league champions will welcome second-placed Cardiff Rugby to their new-look home at the Royal Dublin Society site on Saturday evening, with a bumper crowd expected for the landmark fixture. As a result of the redevelop

The National Lotteries Commission (NLC) today presented Cricket South Africa (CSA) with R65 645 092.30 to upgrade stadium infrastructure and purchase ground equipment in preparation for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2027 which will be hosted in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. The ceremonial cheque handover took place at Newlands Cricket Ground. The grant will be invested at nine venues across the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and North-West, c

"Going once, going twice, sold!" It is a sound Betway SA20 fans know well, and one they will hear again at the Season 5 Player Auction live on SuperSport on Wednesday, 7 October at 5pm (SAST). A global cricket audience will tune in to watch four franchises spend a maximum of R35.025-million on 19 available slots to complete their squads. Durban's Super Giants and Paarl Royals have already finished their business after the salary cap was increased to R42m for Season 5. Outside

From left: Shehu Dikko, Chairman of Nigeria's National Sports Commission, and Mitchell Obi, Former President of AIPS Africa and author of this op-ed. Nigeria has approximately 26 stadiums. Four belong to the federal government. The rest are scattered across the states. They were built with public money, for public pride, at enormous cost. And only one of them, the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo, meets the FIFA and CAF benchmarks required to host an international football mat

The Transformative African Leadership (TAL) programme has reopened applications for its inaugural 2027 cohort, following strong interest from professionals across Africa. Applications were received from West, East, Central, Southern and North Africa, showing the programme’s broad geographic reach. The 10-month programme begins on 1 February 2027 and will bring together a cohort of 25-30 participants. It combines online learning with two in-person residencies, in Nairobi from

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has revealed the next steps for selecting the host of the 2036 Olympic Games by publishing a handbook for potential hosts who wish to be considered to organise this edition of the Olympic Games. The handbook sets out the full pathway towards the host election and the requirements for Interested Parties to be considered in order to pass through each stage of the selection process. The principles of the process were approved by the IOC

Ospreys Rugby and the Toyota Cheetahs are excited to announce that St Helen’s will host the Toyota Cheetahs’ two home fixtures for their 2026/27 EPCR Challenge Cup campaign. The South African side will make St Helen’s their European home for the 2026/27 pool stage, facing Welsh side Dragons RFC and French Top 14 outfit USAP. The Cheetahs will first take on the Dragons on Sunday 13 December 2026 at 1pm, before returning to St Helen’s to face USAP on Sunday 17 January 2027 at 3

NBA Africa (www.NBA.com) and Quest Water Global, a socially responsible water solutions company, announced a multiyear collaboration to build or renovate 55 full-size and 3-on-3 basketball courts across the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by 2030 in honor of Dikembe Mutombo, the late four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer who served as the NBA’s first global ambassador following his retirement from the league in 2009. The colla

Saturday’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship derby at DHL Stadium isn’t just a rugby match. It’s a full day out for Cape Town – and the DHL Stormers want every fan through the gates to feel it from the first step onto the concourse to the final whistle and beyond. “Beyond 80 minutes” is exactly what it sounds like: everything that happens around the 80 minutes of rugby. It’s the city’s culture, food and music brought into the stadium precinct; it’s the build-up before kick-of

Michael Lowry on the attack for Ulster Rugby in Affidea Stadium, Belfast. Inpho Photography Ulster Rugby will be looking to get Belfast bouncing again when they head into a “huge” Irish derby against Munster Rugby this weekend. Richie Murphy’s team haven’t won any of their last five home games in the URC. Indeed, you have to go back to January to find their last league victory at the Affidea Stadium. The motivation to halt that barren run in the competition will be driving th