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

Furaha (www.FurahaFinancial.com) has announced that it has supported parents keep 100 000 Ugandan children in school through purpose-driven financing, marking a significant milestone for the technology platform and its approach to expanding access to education financing. That milestone reflects a broader challenge: UNESCO estimates that sub-Saharan Africa accounts for nearly 40% of the world's out-of-school children (https://apo-opa.co/3U7k4Wg). A significant driver remains t

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 Carlos Carrión to its Advisory Board. Carrión is Partner and Director of Sports & Entertainment at Senn Ferrero, one of the world's leading advisory firms in sports and entertainment. He

Michael La Sasso. Rising young American star Michael La Sasso will make his debut in the 10th anniversary edition of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open at Mont Choisy Le Golf from 10-13 December 2026, joining fellow young guns Casey Jarvis and Jayden Schaper in a field set to showcase the best young talent in the global game. The 22-year-old La Sasso made a dream professional debut this year when he became the youngest winner in LIV Golf history with his stunning victory in the

Cardiff Rugby's Tom Bowen. Inpho Photography Try machine Tom Bowen has a simple message for all smaller players in the game: “Back yourself”. At 5ft 7ins and 11st 11lbs, the Cardiff Rugby winger is dwarfed by some of the giants on the circuit but he is standing tall with his performances. He scored a brace of tries in last Friday’s 47-27 bonus point victory over Zebre Parma at the Arms Park, taking his tally to 13 from 21 appearances in all competitions for the club. Wales le

High drama came as standard in the Pick n Pay Gold Cup’s Round of 16, with nail-biting results and large crowds once again epitomising the community spirit of the ‘FA Cup’ of South African club rugby. 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 SA Rugby – is also supported by Northam Platinum, whose commi

The race for places in the SA Rugby U20 Cup semi-finals intensified over the weekend as the Vodacom Bulls, Fidelity ADT Golden Lions and Toyota Cheetahs all secured valuable round eight victories. Playing on Friday, the Bulls produced the most dominant performance of the round, defeating Hollywoodbets Sharks GEN 59-7 in Pretoria to further strengthen their position at the top of the standings. Also on Friday, the Cheetahs collected a crucial bonus-point win in a 14-try thrill

Prenelan Subrayen recorded a five-for as the Hollywoodbets Dolphins shot to the top of Pool B in the YesPlay Pro20 Cup, following a convincing victory over Wenbro Impalas on Sunday afternoon. Impalas won the toss at the Polokwane Cricket Club and chose to bat first but soon found themselves under pressure with both openers Trevor Trenoweth and Ernest Kemm dismissed in just the third over of the match with Subrayen clean bowling the pair. Reynard van Tonder top scored for the

Charlie O'Shea scoring Munster Rugby's third try against the Bulls on Saturday night. Inpho Photography The Hollywoodbets Sharks are the early pacesetters in the URC as the only team with maximum points after the opening two rounds of matches. The Durban-based side missed out on the play-offs last term but they clearly mean business this time time around. They recorded a second successive bonus point victory by beating defending champions Leinster Rugby 26-20 at Kings Park on

Casey Jarvis. Getty The Old Course has a long memory. She’s seen a fair amount since golf was first played here in the 15th Century. She has watched quietly in this corner of Scotland as the Enlightenment came and went, the American and French Revolutions unfolded and World War I and II ravaged humanity. People were playing golf here before they could even photograph it. And she’s seen a few good golfers too. The great Old Tom Morris looked after her for many years. Seve Ball

Kyle Barker. Carl Fourie/Sunshine Tour Kyle Barker overturned a nine-shot deficit and then won a play-off to claim his third Sunshine Tour title in the Limpopo Championship on Sunday. “This is the best moment of my life so far in my golfing career, seeing as I just became a dad three months ago,” a delighted Barker said as he held his first trophy since 2023. It was a roller-coaster final round at the Euphoria Golf & Country Estate, with the lead changing hands a few times. W

Anrich Nortje is eyeing a Test comeback and the South African quick says the groundwork began long before his recall. Nortje, who last played a Test in 2023, is in South Africa's 18-man preliminary squad for the three-match ICC World Test Championship series against Australia, which starts at Kingsmead in Durban on 9 October. "My prep from quite some time back has been red-ball," said Nortje, who has 70 wickets from 19 Tests. "It's been quite a bit of a focus for me to try an

Nicolien Janse van Rensburg and the Garden Route Badgers celebrate during their victory over YesPlay WP Cobras in Cape Town. CSA The Fidelity Titans and the Garden Route Badgers secured important wins, while inclement weather had the final say in the clash between the Warriors and the DP World Lions as the 2026/27 Hollywoodbets Pro20 Series campaign got underway on Sunday. The Titans cruised to an eight-wicket victory over the Hollywoodbets Dolphins in Tshwane, while the Gard

The Springbok Women delivered a solid 20-0 win over Spain in Seville on Sunday and for Franzel September and the rest of the coaching staff, it was a constructive day at the office in their final WXV Global Series tour match. September, who shares the head coaching responsibilities with Laurian Johannes-Haupt, said it was a productive day in many aspects of their play and although they didn’t use all their opportunities, they were pleased with the overall outcomes from the ma

The Springbok Women finished their WXV Global Series tour of Europe on a high note with a clean sheet in their 20-0 victory (half-time 10-0) over Spain in hot and humid conditions at the Estadio Olímpico de la Cartuja in Seville on Sunday afternoon. Despite an error count that was higher than it should have been, the Bok Women would have been very happy with their defensive effort as the Spanish pace and ball-in-hand approach thoroughly tested them, but they held firm. There

The master of Motegi for the fourth time. And now, just two points away from the championship lead. The 2026 Motul Grand Prix of Japan delivered a scintillating double victory for Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team), who battled past title rival Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) on Sunday afternoon to chop the standings lead back down to that ultra-slim margin ahead of a trip to Indonesia. It was the 2024 World Champion, Martin, who collected a vital 20 points to hold onto the titl

Max Verstappen converted pole position into victory during Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia, which was impacted by heavy rain, featured an entertaining crossover from intermediate tyres to slicks, and saw overtaking from start to finish – as well as a dramatic late retirement for George Russell. After a delayed start and then a suspended start procedure, as several drivers struggled to maintain speed on the initial formation lap, the race eventually got under way in sl

The Hollywoodbets Sharks and 10bet Lions were victorious in their second round home clashes in the 2026/27 Vodacom United Rugby Championship on Saturday, but unfortunately the travelling DHL Stormers and Vodacom Bulls both came up short in the Northern Hemisphere. The Capetonians lost 17-13 to Edinburgh in Scotland on Friday night, with a misfiring line-out in windy conditions not helping their cause. On Saturday, the Lions beat the Ospreys by 35-19 in Johannesburg, before th

Faye Tunnicliffe raises her bat after scoring a century for the YesPlay WP Cobras against the Garden Route Badgers in the HWB Pro50 in Cape Town. CSA Faye Tunnicliffe, Nadine de Klerk and Laura Wolvaardt all recorded centuries to help guide their teams to opening weekend victories in the Hollywoodbets Pro50 on Saturday. Getting the 2026/27 Hollywoodbets Pro Series campaign underway, the Fidelity Titans marched to an 86-run triumph over the Hollywoodbets Dolphins in Tshwane, w

Cole Stevens. Carl Fourie/Sunshine Tour A new young talent is on the brink of announcing itself on the Sunshine Tour, with 24-year-old Cole Stevens set to take a five-stroke lead into Sunday’s final round of the Limpopo Championship at the Euphoria Golf and Lifestyle Estate. Stevens, currently third on the Fortress Rookie of the Year standings, went into Saturday’s third round with a three-stroke lead and built on that. He signed for a 70 on Saturday to climb to 14-under par.

Casey Jarvis. Getty A year in which Casey Jarvis made his DP World Tour breakthrough and played in his first Masters and Open could become even more memorable, with the young South African chasing an Alfred Dunhill Links Championship title on the most historic course in the game. Jarvis, always a bundle of energy on a golf course, bounded around the humps and hollows of the famous Old Course on Saturday as he signed for a 65 to open up a two-stroke lead on 18-under par. It wa

A strong finish to their European tour is top of the agenda for the Springbok Women when they face Spain Women in the WXV Global Series in Seville on Sunday and according to SA captain Babalwa Latsha, that is exactly what they plan to do. Latsha spoke after the team completed their on-field preparations for the Test at Estadio Olímpico de la Cartuja and said a strong finish is important. “We want to end the European leg of the tour well and tomorrow presents us with that oppo

Warriors Women spin bowler Aphilile Adonisi says that her team intends to compete in the Hollywoodbets Pro Series following their promotion from Division 2 last season, insisting they will not simply be making up the numbers in the 2026/27 campaign. Adonisi was named Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) Women’s Provincial Player of the Year at this year’s CSA Pathway Awards, following a standout season in which she played a key role in helping her side secure promotion to the top div

Momentum Multiply Titans star batter Lhuan-dre Pretorius etched his name into the history books with a record-breaking 188, powering his side to a commanding victory over Flexbrands Knights in the YesPlay Pro20 Cup on Friday. In the final of three fixtures on day eight of the competition, Titans won the toss and elected to bat first at Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein. Pretorius wasted no time getting into his stride, contributing 98 runs in a 112-run opening partnership with Si

SPAIN v SOUTH AFRICA ON SUNDAY, 4 OCTOBER – KO 12PM (SAST) @ ESTADIO LA CARTUJA, SEVILLE The match will be streamed live on RugbyPass TV where no local broadcaster. REFEREE NOTES Bérénice Loubet (France) Bérénice Loubet will make her Test debut as a referee with this fixture. She was an assistant referee for four matches in this year’s Guinness Women’s Six Nations and also refereed the England v Ireland fixture in the U21 Women’s Six Nations Series. HEAD-TO-HEAD 2014-2025

The DHL Stormers came up short in difficult conditions against Edinburgh on Friday night, going down 17-13 in their Vodacom United Rugby Championship Round Two encounter in Scotland. Played in a howling wind which was right behind the home team in the first half, it was a tense and close match throughout, with neither side ever going beyond a converted try in the lead at any point. The first 40 minutes saw just one penalty from Edinburgh, with the Stormers defending admirably