The DHL Stormers scored two late tries to claim a 29-15 bonus point win in their Vodacom United Rugby Championship opener against Connacht in Galway on Friday night. Debutants Vernon Paolo and Ezekiel Ngobeni last scored in the last five minutes to see the Stormers finish strong and take a full haul of five log points. They had been struck a blow in the build-up to the game, with loose forwards Evan Roos (hamstring) and Marcel Theunissen (calf) both ruled out with injuries pi

Joe Sullivan. Tyrone Winfield/Sunshine Tour Former English Amateur champion Joe Sullivan came close to an historic 59 in the inaugural Rwanda Open as he surged into the lead of this Sunshine Tour event on Friday. Sullivan claimed the lead with a magnificent round of 12-under par 60 at the Kigali Golf Resort and Villas, lifting him to 15-under par overall and one shot clear of Estiaan Conradie. Conradie moved into contention with his round of 64. First-round co-leader Travis P

AUSTRALIA v SOUTH AFRICA @ OPTUS STADIUM, PERTH – KO 5.30PM (11.30 SAST) ON SUNDAY REFEREE NOTES Andrea Piardi (Italy) Test debut: 17 March, 2018 – Switzerland 30-24 Poland Tests as referee: 22 Andrea Piardi will take charge of this fixture for the first time. Australia are yet to taste victory with Piardi in the middle, having lost to Ireland (22-19 in the 2024 Autumn Nations Series), the British & Irish Lions (29-26 in 2025) and New Zealand (33-24 in the 2025 Rugby Cha

Glasgow Warriors head coach Franco Smith. Inpho Photography Franco Smith insists there are no easy games in the United Rugby Championship as his Glasgow Warriors team set out on a mission to make amends for their disappointing end to last season. After topping the table following the regular campaign, they then suffered a heartbreaking 22-21 defeat at home to the Vodacom Bulls in the play-off semi-finals. They will be using that narrow loss as motivation as they embark on ano

Walker Babes of Boland became the toast of South African women’s rugby on Friday when they edged reigning champions, KWARU from Eastern Province by 12-10 (half-time 10-7) in a pulsating Betway Women’s Club Championship Premier Division final at Alberton Rugby Club in Gauteng. In what was a repeat of the inaugural 2025 final between the two sides, following two cliffhanger semi-finals on Wednesday that were separated by a combined one point, it was a case of sweet revenge for

In preparation for an international summer that will feature two women’s Test matches on home soil, Cricket South Africa (CSA) has today named an extended Proteas Women squad for a national red-ball camp from 27-30 September in Tshwane. The national training camp is the first of two focused on preparing the group for the upcoming Test against India from 9-12 December at St George’s Park in Gqeberha, before South Africa take on Australia in Potchefstroom in March next year. Th

They know what is coming and according to co-captains Sizophila Solontsi and Unam Tose, the Springbok Women are ready for the expected Italian onslaught at Stadio Omero Tognon in Pordenone on Saturday. The Bok Women completed their preparations for the match, the second of their WXV Global Series tour, on Friday with their traditional captains run and Solontsi said afterwards that this match will be the perfect opportunity for redemption after they fluffed their lines badly a

After more than a hundred matches as captain of the Proteas Women, Laura Wolvaardt admits it still feels like yesterday that she accepted the role for the national team. Wolvaardt has led her nation in 109 matches across all formats, including two as stand-in captain during an ODI series away to India in 2021 and 107 since taking over the role on an interim basis for the tours against Pakistan and New Zealand in 2023, before being officially appointed in November that year. S

The iconic DP World Wanderers Stadium, home of Lions Cricket and the DP World Lions, is celebrating 70 years of sporting excellence, unforgettable moments and enduring memories – seven decades of setting The Gold Standard. The milestone marks 70 years of one of South Africa’s most significant sporting and entertainment venues, providing an opportunity to celebrate the stadium’s extraordinary heritage, its contribution to Johannesburg and South African cricket, and its evoluti

YesPlay WP Cobras white-ball captain George Linde is relishing the opportunity to lead the side as they begin their Pro20 Cup campaign against Momentum Multiply Titans at SuperSport Park on Friday. The match gets underway at 6pm and will be televised live on SuperSport, with Linde set to lead a squad that combines experienced senior players with exciting young talent. The Cobras captain believes the blend within the squad can provide the team with the hunger and energy requir

Springbok scrumhalf Herschel Jantjies, who will play in his 26th Test when he lines up next to flyhalf Handre Pollard against Australia at the Optus Stadium in Perth on Sunday, said the “fire was burning in him again” to represent South Africa after making a return to the squad earlier this season following a stint of being in and out of the set-up since the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan. Jantjies fought his way back into coach Rassie Erasmus’ squad this season for the first

South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad is excited about the opportunity to host Australia for a three-match ICC World Test Championship series, with the reigning champions set to face the No 1-ranked Test side, from 9 October. The series brings together the two sides that contested the 2025 WTC Final, where South Africa defeated Australia by five wickets at Lord’s, thanks to Aiden Markram’s 136 and Kagiso Rabada’s nine wickets. With the two sides meeting again in the current W

Cardiff face Scarlets on Saturday to open their URC campaign. Inpho Photography Cardiff Rugby are looking to mark their 150th anniversary by making it the best year in the club’s history. The capital city outfit was founded in 1876, which makes this their sesquicentennial season. To celebrate the milestone, they have produced a special kit which is inspired by the jersey from 150 years ago, with the all-black strip featuring the original skull and crossbones emblem. Then, on

WXV Global Series ITALY v SOUTH AFRICA @ STADIO OMERO TOGNON, PORDENONE – KO 1.30PM (2.30PM SAST) ON SATURDAY The match will be streamed live on RugbyPass TV where no local broadcaster REFEREE NOTES Holly Wood (England) Test debut: 30 September, 2023 – Scotland 36-5 Spain Tests as referee: 10 Holly Wood will take charge of this fixture for the first time. Italy won their only previous encounter with Japan, 24-8 in a WXV 2 warm-up match in Piacenza in September 2024. She

Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii (23) will start on the wing for the Wallabies for the first time against South Africa at Perth’s Optus Stadium on Sunday evening. The versatile Suaalii will join a back three that sees Tom Wright continue at fullback and Max Jorgensen on the right wing, the latter having made his Test debut against the Springboks at the same venue in 2024. Suaalii’s move to the wing will see last year’s John Eales Medallist Len Ikitau shift one position wider to outside

The Hollywoodbets Dolphins will once again rely heavily on the experience of players like Marques Ackerman during their upcoming YesPlay Pro20 Cup which gets underway on Sunday when they face the DP World Lions in their opener at Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Stadium. CSA The Hollywoodbets Dolphins are relishing the opportunity to switch their attention to T20 cricket as they prepare to launch their YesPlay Pro20 Cup campaign against the DP World Lions at Hollywoodbets Kingsmead St

South Africa batter Matthew Breetzke says he won't shy away from the heat of Cricket World Cup action after standing up to Australia in Durban in the first of three ODIs between the teams. As the teams faced off for the first time in the format since the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023, Breetzke breezed to an ultimately match-winning century to help the Proteas post 297/8. A contentious moment came deep into the innings, when Breetzke and partner Marco Jansen ran an overthro

The US Team earned 3 points to the International Team's 2 points in Session 1 Fourball competition, which featured five matches. The US Team captured the first point of the session from the opening match, which teed off at 11.35am, as Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns defeated Min Woo Lee and Sungjae Im. The International Team closed the session with a victory in the final match, as Tom Kim and Si Woo Kim defeated Chris Gotterup and Patrick Cantlay. Hole 13 proved to be a separ

Nikhil Rama. Tyrone Winfield/Sunshine Tour Sunshine Tour rookie Travis Procter and the experienced Nikhil Rama share the lead after the first round of the inaugural Rwanda Open following their opening rounds of nine-under par 63 at the Kigali Golf Resort & Villas on Thursday. They are one shot clear of Graham van der Merwe who dropped only one shot in his opening round of 64. Procter made good use of an early start and rolled in seven birdies in nine holes from the fourth thr

Temba Bavuma-led South Africa were right on the mark as they overcame Australia by 67-runs in Durban on Thursday. This was the first meeting between the two sides in the format since the latter had defeated them in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023. South Africa were invited to bat first after Mitchell Marsh won the toss. Josh Hazlewood struck early to give the tourists the advantage, before Nathan Ellis' first-ball special accounted for Quinton de Kock (18) in the eighth

Leaders from Africa’s higher education institutions, the African Union, government ministries, global and regional financial institutions, industry partners and young people gathered this week in Accra, Ghana, for the inaugural Higher Education Transformation Convening hosted by the Mastercard Foundation (http://www.MastercardFdn.org). The Convening also marked the first Africa Higher Education for Transformation (AHEFT) Prize (https://apo-opa.co/4xEFdET) award ceremony, reco

The highly anticipated YesPlay Pro20 Cup is finally here, with 16 domestic cricket teams coming together with one goal: to be crowned the new T20 champions for the 2026/27 season. Last season’s champions, Dafabet Warriors, enjoyed an incredible campaign that culminated in an exciting finale against Dafabet Boland in Paarl. They will have to do it all over again but this time face a new challenge as Division 1 and Division 2 teams come together for one festival of T20 cricket

The Vodacom Bulls have officially locked in their match-day 23 for the opening fixture of the new Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) season, turning to a mix of seasoned campaigners and explosive front-line starters as they prepare to take on Italian side Zebre Parma on Saturday. After reaching the final last season following a sluggish start to their campaign, the Pretoria-based franchise faces immediate pressure to hit the ground running. Head coach Johan Ackermann kno

The wait is over. The Hollywoodbets Sharks launch their Vodacom United Rugby Championship campaign at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on Saturday afternoon, marking the first time in the tournament’s history that the Sharks open their campaign on home soil. And as a new season begins, so too does a new chapter for the Hollywoodbets Sharks - One Badge. One Team. With a full pre-season block behind them, the squad has had valuable time to build connection, sharpen their conditioning a

Wing Leolin Zas will play his 100th match for the DHL Stormers in their 26/27 Vodacom United Rugby Championship opener against Connacht in Galway on Friday night. Lock Riley Norton, scrumhalves Andre Warner and Ezekiel Ngobeni and hooker Vernon Paulo are all set to debut for the Stormers at the Dexcom Stadium, with action getting underway at 8.45pm (SAST) on Friday. Zas made his Stormers debut in 2016 and went on to be the team’s top try-scorer that season at the age of 19. H

The 10bet Lions take on Irish giants Leinster in Round 1 of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship at 10bet Ellis Park this weekend in what will be a repeat of their quarter-final meeting back in May in Dublin. The SA Shield holders have, in the off season bolstered their stocks with the likes of Springbok Boan Venter, Boeta Chamberlain and Hyron Adams- all featuring in Ivan van Rooyen’s match 23 for Saturday. Van Rooyen has also included young scrumhalf Zian Cilliers on the b

The Springbok Women squad to face Italy in their second WXV Global Series match show wholesale changes from last week’s tour opener against Wales, with the starting line-up reshuffled significantly, while two players will share the captaincy on Saturday. Unam Tose returns at scrumhalf and will share the captaincy with Sizo Solontsi at the Stadio Omero Tognon in Pordenone, in Italy’s Fontanafredda region, where Lerato Makua and Alichia Arries, who missed the Wales Test due to

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 Jan Alessie to its Advisory Board. Alessie is Co-Founder and Managing Director of the World Football Summit (WFS), which he founded in Madrid in 2016 alongside Marian Otamendi. Now in its

Brazilian Olympic skateboarding star and two-time Olympic medallist Rayssa Leal has been named Global Ambassador for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG), the first Olympic sporting event to be held on the African continent. One of the most recognisable young athletes in the world, Leal captured global attention as a teenager before winning Olympic silver on her debut at Tokyo 2020 and adding a bronze medal at Paris 2024. Her journey from young skateboarder to Olympic med

Five years after the launch of the United Rugby Championship, CEO Martin Anayi wants to see league momentum to translate into even greater success for its clubs. With just two days to go until the URC kicks off a new season, five years of sustained growth have set the stage for the league’s teams, players and fans to push the competition to another level. Launched in 2021 as a “Different League”, the URC has grown its audiences on screen, in stadiums and across digital platfo

Springbok prop Zachary Porthen was raring to go for the opportunity to face the Wallabies in Perth on Sunday and said all the players were up for the challenge at the Optus Stadium in what will mark their final Test before the second leg of the Nations Championship in November. Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus made 13 changes to the starting team, which will see Porthen and fellow prop Jan-Hendrik Wessels pack down in the front row with hooker Johan Grobbelaar but the former Ju

Premier Sports’ Simon Zebo. Dan Sheridan/Inpho Photography Ireland great Simon Zebo says the standard of rugby in the URC has increased 10-fold as he makes his predictions for the coming campaign. The multi-nation competition is now into its sixth season and the 35-cap Zebo believes it is going from strength to strength. “How it’s evolved is how attractive it is to watch on the eye,” said the former Munster Rugby wing. “I think the standard of the league across the board and

South African eyes will be on Galway, Johannesburg, Durban, and Parma this weekend as the DHL Stormers, 10bet Lions, Hollywoodbets Sharks and Vodacom Bulls get the new Vodacom United Rugby Championship season underway (before the action moves to the Springboks and Perth on Sunday). It’s still early days but the Grand Final, scheduled for Saturday 19 June 2027, will be on the minds of all 16 teams when they start their challenges this weekend. The Stormers will be the first So

The 2026 Presidents Cup is nearly underway. The matchups are set for the opening session at Medinah Country Club, where the US Team and International Team will square off in five Four-ball matches on Thursday. Captains Brandt Snedeker and Geoff Ogilvy revealed their pairings for the opening session during a joint press conference Wednesday afternoon. Click here for information on live scores, tee times, TV times and a schedule of events for this week outside of Chicago. The U

KWARU and Walker Babes will contest the Betway Women’s Club Championship Cup final for the second year running at Alberton Rugby Club in Gauteng, after two cliffhanger semi-finals on Wednesday that were separated by a combined one point. Defending champions KWARU held on for a dramatic 12-12 draw against home side Pirates in Wednesday’s first Cup semi-final, with the defending champions advancing to Friday’s Cup final having scored the first try of the match. The Eastern Prov

South Africa continued with their dominance at the 2026 Africa Netball Cup when they won their last group match against Namibia on Wednesday afternoon in Kenya. The SPAR Proteas won the match 55-33 against Namibia. Head coach Jenny van Dyk tinkered slightly with her starting seven after her last match against Botswana the previous day. South Africa was very dominant in the first quarter and piled on neighbours Namibia – at the end of the first quarter, it was the SPAR Proteas

The 27th of September marks one year since the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 final, a generational event that reframed the global game. One year on, the tournament's impact continues to build as the WXV Global Series presented by Mitsubishi Electric, breaks new ground with an evolved competition model, greater opportunity for unions and scintillating rugby on the field. The 2025 tournament proved a turning point – captivating new audiences, driving record broadcast figures, an

South Africa’s upcoming three-match ODI series sees the return of plenty of familiar faces in the squad - Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen, Lungi Ngidi, David Miller, Corbin Bosch, Quinton de Kock and captain Temba Bavuma. For Bavuma, whose last ODI outing came in December 2025, it’s a much-awaited return as South Africa gear up to stage next year’s ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup. “There's a strong desire to look after our ODI record of late and ensure that we're putting our best foo

Two million rand will be up for grabs as South Africa’s premier domestic cricket competition welcomes YesPlay as the title sponsor of the newly formed Pro20 Cup. The multi-year partnership will see the YesPlay Pro20 Cup, a refreshed 16-team T20 competition, become one of the most anticipated additions to the South African sporting calendar. As title sponsor, YesPlay will play a central role in shaping the in-stadium experience while introducing a fresh and exciting fan-centri

DHL Stormers Director of Rugby John Dobson. Inpho Photography The DHL Stormers are celebrating the homecoming of a trio of Springboks superstars as they put the pressure on themselves to win the URC title for a second time. They have welcomed back flanker Siya Kolisi, winger Cheslin Kolbe and tighthead prop Wilco Louw following spells with the Hollywoodbets Sharks, Tokyo Sungoliath and the Vodacom Bulls respectively. As captain Ruhan Nel confirms, it’s a real triple boost for

The 2026/27 United Rugby Championship gets underway with defending champions Leinster Rugby travelling to Johannesburg to face 10bet Lions in a rematch of last season’s Quarter-Final. Lions reached the URC Play-Offs for the first time in 2025/26 before losing to Leinster, while the champions went on to retain their title with a record 36-7 Grand Final victory over Vodacom Bulls. Lions lost just once at Ellis Park during last season’s URC campaign, while Leinster have won only

Durban’s Super Giants (DSG) unveiled a bold new identity, marking the beginning of a new chapter for the SA20 franchise. At the centre of the new look is a redesigned DSG logo and a striking red, blue and gold colour palette. Together, they represent a franchise that is ambitious about its future and proud of the city it calls home. Since its debut in the SA20, DSG has set out to build more than a competitive cricket team. It has sought to create a franchise that Durban can c

SA Rugby Mobi-Unit coach Duane Vermeulen said the Wallabies will be well prepared going into Sunday’s Test between the teams in Perth, saying the hosts had ample opportunity to analyse both the Boks and All Blacks during the Castle Double Malt Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry, and that they would certainly take those lessons going into this clash. The Test will be played at the Optus Stadium in Perth, and will kick off at 11.45pm (SAST), with the action being broadcast live on SuperS

Premier Sports' Tom Shanklin. Dan Sheridan Inpho Photography Tom Shanklin has hailed the high profile overseas signings made by the four Welsh teams as a major positive going into the new URC season. A host of imports have arrived over the summer, with Aussies Marika Koroibete, Liam Wright, Lawson Creighton and Lalakai Foketi joining the Ospreys, while 76-cap former Wallaby prop Scott Sio has linked up with Cardiff Rugby, along with Namibian centre Le Roux Malan and Tongan fo

Corey Domachowski celebrates Wales scoring a try in the 2024 Guinness Six Nations against Scotland. Inpho Photography After his struggles of the past couple of years, Corey Domachowski has recaptured his love for the game and is ready for a very special reunion. The Wales prop admits his “head was in the shed” as he was plagued by a series of injuries and he ended up putting on a front to mask his troubles. But now he’s fit again and has regained his spark having embarked on

Tom Kim couldn’t bear to watch, crouched along the edge of Royal Montreal’s 16th green. Some 10 yards to his left, down at the bottom of a steep bank, his partner, Si Woo Kim, was left to clean up Tom Kim’s mess. “I put us in the worst spot possible and I thought, 'I’m going to lose us this match,'” Tom Kim said. What happened next spurred a legend of its own, something that’s become a feature, not a bug, for its central character. Si Woo Kim, needing a miracle just to mainta

Brandt Snedeker remembers the feeling. Medinah’s first tee was lit only by the glow of spectators’ flip phones. The crowd's fervor breathed life into a still-sleepy Chicago. Snedeker was a mess. The skittish American had the gargantuan responsibility of going off first on Friday of the 2012 Ryder Cup as a rookie. He was paired alongside Jim Furyk, and, although Furyk’s days as a top-five player were behind him, Snedeker felt an unnerving worry that he might let his partner, o

The Tuskers have secured a major boost ahead of their 2026 Pro20 campaign with prominent Pietermaritzburg-based business Kaneez Catering stepping up its long-standing support to become the team’s naming-rights partner. The professional team will now be known as the Kaneez Tuskers, marking a significant new chapter in the relationship between one of Pietermaritzburg’s established businesses and the city’s professional cricket team. The partnership is particularly significant a

Two Tests, four tries – that impressive statistic from Maria Tshiremba has eased any worries about the 30-year-old’s ability to transition from sevens to fifteens and in her own words, the Springbok Women wing is pleased with her progress in international rugby. Tshiremba made her Test debut in Fiji last month and in spectacular fashion scored a hat-trick of tries to help the Springbok Women close out their Pacific tour with a 2-0 series win. Last weekend, her try early in th

Five seasons into the United Rugby Championship, the competition continues to deliver a compelling mix of speed, variety and contrasting rugby identities. The latest numbers show a league playing with greater attacking ambition than ever: URC 5 (25/26 season) produced an average of 6.9 tries per match, with a try scored every 363.5 seconds - the fastest rate across the five seasons. From Glasgow Warriors’ high-tempo attacking game to the power of the Vodacom Bulls, the set-pi