WeeklySA_AdminEXCITEMENT: The back-to-back world champions will face Australia twice, starting in Brisbane next Saturday
By Sports Reporter
Assistant coach Mzwandile Stick said the Springboks arrived in Australia in high spirits and ready to tackle the Wallabies in their 2024 Rugby Championship opener.
The Boks touched down on Thursday following an overnight flight from Johannesburg and will have the rest of the day off to recover from the long journey before resuming their on-field preparations on Friday.
Rassie Erasmus’ 33-man squad laid a good foundation for the two-Test tour in Johannesburg on Monday and Tuesday before departing for Brisbane via Sydney on Wednesday evening.
The Boks will kick off this year’s edition of the Rugby Championship at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday, 10 August, before making the trip to Perth for their second clash against the Wallabies on Saturday, 17 August at the Optus Stadium. “It’s great to be in Australia and it has certainly added to our excitement for the Tests against the Wallabies and the Rugby Championship as a whole,” said Stick. “We had a smooth journey to Brisbane with an overnight flight to Sydney and then made the short trip to Brisbane soon after, so the players were able to rest well on the long-haul flight.
“They will have additional time tonight to recover from the travel, and then we’ll hit the ground running on the training field on Friday.” Stick added that facing the Wallabies in Australia is always a big challenge: “Having a few extra days to acclimatise and familiarise ourselves with the conditions will be invaluable.
“We started the season well with three victories in our four matches to date (against Wales, Ireland and Portugal), and although we would have loved to win the second Test against Ireland, we have a good base to build from going into the Rugby Championship.
“Playing against the likes of Australia, New Zealand and Argentina will definitely be a different challenge to the teams we have faced so far this season, but we enjoy playing against these teams and we are really looking forward to the competition.” The Boks will return to South Africa on Sunday, 18 August where they will continue the competition against the All Blacks on 31 August in Johannesburg and 7 September in Cape Town. This will be followed by a short trip to Argentina to face Los Pu
Sports: Briefs
DJOKOVIC IN OLYMPIC FINAL
Novak Djokovic will face Carlos Alcaraz in Sunday’s men’s singles gold-medal match, which will be a repeat of last month’s Wimbledon final.
Djokovic, holder of a men’s record 24 Grand Slam titles, beat Italian Lorenzo Musetti 6-4 6-2 on Friday to reach the Olympic final for the first time.
The 37-year-old Serb, who lost in straight sets to Alcaraz at the All England Club last month, has won every major singles title except the Olympics.
He was fourth in Tokyo three years ago and took bronze at Beijing in 2008 – his only previous Olympic medal.
Djokovic’s routine win was in stark contrast to his match on the same court against Musetti at the French Open two months ago, which went to five sets and finished at 03:07 local time.
ITS ALL BECAUSE OF DAD
Tatjana Smith’s father, Rene Schoenmaker, made sacrifices for his daughter that he never imagined would pay off so significantly. Schoenmaker recalls prioritizing his daughter’s dreams above all else, even at the expense of family time, including forgoing vacations for 15 years.
Today, his daughter retires from swimming with an impressive haul of four Olympic medals- two gold and two silver.
Schoemaker and his family are in France to celebrate and support the golden girl of South African swimming.
GAS STATION FOR AMAKHOSI
SABC Sport has established that midfielder Gaston Sirino has completed a medical and is understood to have received his clearance from Mamelodi Sundowns ahead of the anticipated move to Kaizer Chiefs.
The public broadcaster earlier reported that the Uruguayan international, who now holds a South African passport, had been offered to both Chiefs and their bitter rivals Orlando Pirates following his Chloorkop exit.
Amakhosi have taken the plunge and are now officially in talks with Sirino, with coach Nasreddine Nabi confirming interest earlier this week.
The public broadcaster has established that the 33-year-old has gone in for a medical on the back of discussions around personal terms.
GENDER TEST FOR TAIWANESE BOXER
Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting, whose inclusion at the Paris Olympics has sparked controversy after she was reported to have failed a gender test last year, won her first bout of the Games in the women’s division.
Lin – like Algerian Imane Khelif, who progressed on Thursday – was banned by the International Boxing Association (IBA) but has been allowed to compete at the Olympics, which are run by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The 28-year-old entered the arena to cheers, which were followed by some boos, before beating Sitora Turdibekova in the 57kg category.
Turdibekova was in tears after leaving the ring and did not stop to speak to the broadcast media. She and her team quickly left the venue.
FRANCE AND ARGENTINA WAR
France and Argentina players and staff clashed on the pitch at full-time as the hosts edged a bad-tempered match 1-0 in Bordeaux to reach the Olympic semi-finals.
Tempers flared after the final whistle as substitutes and coaching staff spilled on to the pitch amid ugly confrontations.
Jean-Philippe Mateta’s fifth-minute header settled the contest to set up a last-four meeting with Egypt, while France’s Enzo Millot was shown a red card after the final whistle.
The scenes come after Argentina players were filmed singing a derogatory chant about the origins of France’s black players in the wake of their Copa America triumph last month.
