Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus had high hopes for the team’s five-week tour to the UK and Europe as he departed for London with a small group of players and management on Sunday ahead of next weekend’s opening Test against Japan. The squad departed for London in different groups in the last few days, with the full group set to assemble in the UK on Monday morning. The Springboks will face Japan at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 1 November, which will be followed by Tests against

The 2025 IFAF Asia-Oceania Flag Football Continental Championships marked a defining moment in the sport’s rapid growth across the region, with the rise of new global contenders, teams making international debuts, emergence of new stars of the game and three days of highly entertaining and competitive action The Fenghua Sports Centre in Ningbo, China hosted 27 teams representing 15 nations from across Asia and Oceania - a 35% increase in entries compared to the 2023 edition h

Gavin Coombes. www.inpho.ie There are now just two unbeaten teams in the United Rugby Championship – the DHL Stormers and Munster Rugby - and they lead the way at the top of the table having both won all five of their matches so far this season. The Stormers from Cape Town completed their three-match tour of Europe by coming from behind to claim a 31-16 victory over Benetton Rugby in Treviso. They trailed 16-8 at the break, with winger Louis Lynagh having scored a sixth leagu

The DHL Stormers, Vodacom Bulls and Lions finished the first block of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in the top eight on the log, while the Hollywoodbets Sharks finally won their first game of the season as the competition takes a break for the November Tests. The Capetonians are still at the top of the standings after a hard-fought 31-16 victory over Benetton in Italy on Saturday, with Jurie Matthee scoring 21 points for the visitors. Earlier in the day, the KwaZulu-N

After clinching second in the MotoGP World Championship on Saturday, Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) backed it up with a commanding Malaysian Grand Prix victory on Sunday. A flawless ride from the #73 saw the Spaniard beat the impressive Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) by 2.6s, while a late issue for Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) handed Joan Mir and Honda HRC Castrol a fantastic P3 at Sepang. Just as he did in the Sprint, Bagnaia nailed the start

Hennie du Plessis with his caddie, Zack Rasego. Carl Fourie/Sunshine Tour Hennie du Plessis claimed a fairytale victory in the Sunshine Tour’s Blu Label Unlimited Challenge at the Gary Player Country Club on Saturday, marking an emotional comeback to the game after 18 months on the sidelines because of injury. Du Plessis won with a total of 49 points, adding eight points on the final day, to claim his third Sunshine Tour title but his first since a team victory with Jean Hugo

Over the past two days, members of the Netball South Africa (NSA) Council convened for a Special Council Meeting (SCM) and the Quadrennial General Meeting (QGM) at the Garden Court Hotel in Kempton Park. These meetings culminated in the election of the federation’s new leadership. Of the 69 Council Members, 62 were present over the weekend, with representatives from the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) in attendance as observers. The newly ele

The Proteas Women went down to Australia by seven wickets in their final ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 round-robin fixture in Indore on Saturday. South Africa were dismissed for 97 all out in their 24 overs, thanks to Alana King’s return of 7/18, before Georgia Voll (38*) and Beth Mooney (42) helped the Aussies to victory with 33.1 overs to spare. Having lost the toss, the Proteas were asked to bat first under overcast conditions at the Holkar Stadium. Captain Laura Wolv

Japan in action against Indonesia. Ernesto Campuzano Japan opened their defense of the IFAF Asia-Oceania flag football crown with a perfect start by beating China and Indonesia in Group A. The region’s top-ranked team, sitting third in the IFAF world rankings, avenged a loss to host China at The World Games in August with a 33-18 victory on the first of three days of competition at the Fenghua Sports Center in Ningbo. “I think we played well,” said Japan wide receiver Yurika

Hennie du Plessis. Carl Fourie/Sunshine Tour Hennie du Plessis’ incredible return to the Sunshine Tour continues as he claimed the lead in the Blu Label Unlimited Challenge heading into Saturday’s final round at the Gary Player Country Club. Du Plessis heads the field on 41 points after adding 18 points at the Gary Player Country Club on Friday. His nearest challenger is Tyrone Ryan on 31 points after he could only manage a further two points. And Yurav Premlall is currently

The Proteas Women are relishing the challenge of facing defending champions Australia in their final league-phase encounter of the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2025 in Indore on Saturday. The eagerly anticipated clash will be held at the Holkar Stadium, with play scheduled to start at 3pm local time (11.30am SAST). The match will be broadcast live on SuperSport Grandstand (Channel 201). South Africa will be aiming to make history by finishing top of the round-robin standings

Can Liverpool build on their Frankfurt win at Brentford? The hope inside Liverpool is that a 5-1 victory at Eintracht Frankfurt in the Uefa Champions League on Wednesday was the moment Arne Slot’s summer rebuild clicked into gear. Andrew Robertson and Jeremie Frimpong excelled as a partnership, Florian Wirtz got his first assists and Hugo Ekitike worked well with Alexander Isak. Has Slot found the team to get Liverpool back in their groove? Maybe but it’s a bit more complicat

The North West Dragons Women marked their return to the Hollywoodbets Pro Series with a clash against the Fidelity Titans, their first season in the top flight since the professionalisation of the women’s league two years ago. The Dragons suffered a 44-run defeat in the Hollywoodbets Pro50 encounter before rain forced a draw in the Pro20 fixture. Reflecting on the team’s performance and the experience of returning to the top division, captain, Nthabiseng Nini, took pride in t

On Sunday the Toyota Cheetahs and Black Lion will face each other again in the second Toyota Challenge match from 3pm at Toyota Stadium. While Free State Rugby still celebrates 130 years of existence, fans can look forward to an action-packed day starting at 12.30pm with the Cheetah Legends against the Blue Bull Rugby Union Legends. Gates open at 11.30am and both games will be live on SuperSport 211. Each match between the Cheetahs and Black Lion comes with a R250 000 prize f

There are seven changes to the DHL Stormers starting line-up for the Vodacom United Rugby Championship encounter with Benetton in Treviso on Saturday. There is an all-new tight five and a new halfback pairing for the match against the Italian outfit, which kicks off at 6.30pm on Saturday at Stadio Monigo. The Stormers will be looking to end their tour on a high as they target their first-ever win in Treviso, to make it five consecutive victories at the start of the season. Sa

The Lions welcome the high-flying Irish side Ulster this Saturday for Round 5 of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship hosted at Ellis Park. The home side will take momentum into Saturday’s fixture after securing a bonus point victory against Scarlets at the same venue last weekend thus securing their first win of the season. Last week’s hard-fought success however came with one casualty in the form of star poacher JC Pretorius who sustained a knee injury which sees him out o

All club roads lead to the Mother City on Saturday for the biggest match on the South African club rugby calendar, when Villager FC host Naka Bulls in the Pick n Pay Gold Cup Final. This year’s tournament, which signals a bold new era for club rugby on the back of significant post-pandemic and RWC 2023-inspired growth in the community game, is also supported by Northam Platinum, whose commitment to community aligns with the grassroots spirit of the Pick n Pay Gold Cup. Pick n

Brodie Coghlan. www.inpho.ie When Brodie Coghlan answered his phone one evening earlier this week, he initially thought it might be a wind-up. But then, after a few seconds, the penny dropped. It really was Steve Tandy on the other end of the line, telling him he was in the Wales squad. Since then, the uncapped Dragons hooker has been on cloud nine as he prepares for Saturday evening’s United Rugby Championship derby against the Ospreys at Rodney Parade. “I am absolutely buzz

Tyrone Ryan. Carl Fourie/Sunshine Tour Tyrone Ryan held onto his lead in the Blu Label Unlimited Challenge but after a slightly tougher second round in which he added seven points to climb to 29 points overall. Ryan played the Lost City Golf Club on Thursday and had to work harder for his lead than his opening 22 points over the Gary Player Country Club course. “It was a tricky day out there with the wind. I couldn’t come to grips with the wind so that was tough. Between the

The SA Under-19 Academy squad moved straight into high-intensity training when they kicked off their camp on Wednesday for their three-game European tour, which starts in a week’s time. The 36-man squad assembled in Stellenbosch on Wednesday and completed their first day of training in sweltering conditions, with Junior Bok head coach Kevin Foote and his coaching staff putting the young men through their paces in a high-intensity session. Thursday's cloud cover created cooler