WeeklySA_AdminPERTH TO ANSWER RASSIE
History beckons for the Springboks Down Under on Saturday, yet Rassie Erasmus is using the occasion to measure rookies’ ability to handle pressure away from home.
Erasmus has overhauled the team that claimed South Africa’s first win in Brisbane since 2013, making no fewer than 10 changes to the starting lineup that beat Australia 33-7 in the 2024 Rugby Championship opener last week.
Salmaan Moerat will captain the Boks, while scrumhalf Morne van den Berg and lock Ruan Nortje make their first starts in the green and gold when the world champions run out at Perth’s Optus Stadium.
Writing for TimesLIVE, Keohane notes that while the 1937, 1956, and 1971 Bok teams won series in Australia, opportunities have been limited in the professional era. He highlights the strength of the current squad, which includes 14 members from the 2023 World Cup-winning team.- SA Rugby Magazine
SABC FOR PREMIER LEAGUE
The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is pleased to announce the acquisition of a free-to-air package of the world’s most-followed football league, The English Premier League, directly through the rights holders, Infront.
Through this partnership, the SABC will broadcast one live Premier League match every Saturday at 15:00.
The Premier League 2024/2025 season kicks off today and the SABC as part of the agreement will begin its broadcast of matches with the 17 August 2024 (Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers) game. In total, 33 live matches will be broadcast to South Africa on S3 and digital platforms, which include sabcsport.com and SABC+.
SABC Sport will be the primary broadcast platform for the live presentation of matches with SABC 3, sabcsport.com and SABC+ also carrying the games live simultaneously.
This is in line with SABC Sport’s strategic objective of making the world’s greatest football league available to all audiences.
LA THE PLACE TO BE
The arrival of the Olympic flag in Southern California this week set the stage for a trilogy in the making as Los Angeles prepares to host the Games for a third time.
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to descend on Los Angeles for the 2028 Summer Games, when the world’s eyes will gaze upon a region accustomed to being in the spotlight.
But the Los Angeles of today is a far different city from what it was in 1984 and certainly in 1932, when it first hosted the Olympics. It’s hotter and more crowded. More people sleep on the streets, in their cars or in shelters than they did four decades ago.
KWENA MAKES THE CALL
Kwena Maphaka and Jason Smith have received their maiden international call-ups after being included in the Proteas squad for the three-match T20 series in West Indies.
The 18-year-old Maphaka was named as the player of the tournament at the U19 World Cup earlier this year where he picked up 21 wickets to help the junior Proteas reach the semifinals.
The left-arm paceman has already played in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with Mumbai Indians and made his professional debut for the Lions last season.
Smith has been selected on the back of some strong performances for the Dolphins in domestic cricket last season.
QUALITY OPPOSITION FOR BANYANA
SAFA CEO Lydia Monyepao has revealed to SABC Sport that the Association is lining up another quality opposition for Banyana Banyana in November – which will be the last match of the year. Monyepao confirmed the team is from outside the continent but would not be drawn into naming it until negotiations were concluded.
This clash will be preceded by an international friendly against England in Coventry in October.
Already this year, the African Champions have played six games – against Nigeria, Tanzania and Senegal – all on home and away basis. The England fixture will be the seventh.
