IDEAL PREPARATION: World champions take on Wales in their first match since last year’s Rugby World Cup final

By Sports Reporter

The back-to-back world champion Springboks will return to the field for the first time since last year’s Rugby World Cup final at the iconic Twickenham Stadium in London when they take on Wales in a blockbuster Test on Saturday June 22.

The match in London for the Qatar Airways Cup will serve as the ideal preparation for the Castle Lager Incoming Series, which starts two weeks later with the first of two Tests against world No 2 Ireland.  The match will mark a repeat of the Boks’ 2015 Rugby World Cup quarter-final at Twickenham, which South Africa won by 23-19.

The last time the Springboks crossed paths with Wales was in a RWC warm-up match in Cardiff in August last year, when they registered a record-breaking 52-16 victory – which surpassed their previous best of 22 points (34-12) against the Welsh outfit recorded in 2007.

It is the second year in a row the Boks will play a Test on neutral territory in London after inflicting their heaviest defeat ever on the All Blacks with their 35-7 victory in front of a passionate 80 827 strong crowd at Twickenham in their final RWC warm-up match in August last year, when they also lifted the Qatar Airways Cup.

The London Test will be followed by a challenging two-match series against Ireland in Pretoria (6 July) and Durban (13 July), and their first Test against Portugal a week later in Bloemfontein in the closing match of the incoming series.

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus – who steered the team to Rugby World Cup glory in Japan in 2019 and the title defence in France last year – was elated about the Welsh match and said it was the perfect launchpad for an exciting 2024 season.

“We are thrilled to return to Twickenham in what will mark our first Test since the Rugby World Cup final in France,” said Erasmus.

“We have very fond memories of the RWC warm-up Test we played against the All Blacks at Twickenham last year. The atmosphere and occasion were truly remarkable, and we are expecting a very similar experience in June.

“Playing against Wales, who we have faced there before in an exhilarating 2015 Rugby World Cup quarter-final, will bring back plenty of other memories as well.

“We may be playing on foreign territory, but we enjoy fantastic support from the expat community in London and its surrounds, as we saw last year where most of the supporters donned green and gold, so we are really looking forward to the match.”

Erasmus said the fact that Wales hit the ground running following their Six Nations campaign by the time the teams meet, added to the significance of the encounter, especially with back-to-back clashes lined up against Ireland soon after.

“The Six Nations is an extremely competitive series, much like the Castle Lager Rugby Championship, and we have seen in the last few years what a force Wales can be,” said Erasmus.

“Most of the matches between the sides dating back to 2008 have been decided by fewer than 10 points and some of those by fewer than five points. They also lost out narrowly against Scotland and England in their opening Six Nations matches, so they’ll come out guns blazing.

“They are currently ranked eighth in the world, and they also progressed to the World Cup quarter-final last year, so this will be the ideal preparation for us to switch into gear for the Castle Lager Incoming Series.”

Erasmus was pleased with the preparation behind the scenes by his new Bok coaching team and said they were raring to go.

“Everyone has been hard at work analysing the opposition for the international season since we finalised the new coaching team and we cannot wait to start the season,” said the former Springbok flanker.

“We have four months to get our structures and systems in place and we will leave no stone unturned as we embark on this new journey to build toward to the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.”

The Test match, which kicks off at 14h00 (15h00 SA time) will be followed by a clash between the Barbarians and Fiji at 17h15 (18h15 SA time).

Confirmed Springbok fixtures for 2024:

Saturday, 22 June: SA vs Wales

(Twickenham, London)

Saturday, 6 July: SA vs Ireland

(Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria)

Saturday, 13 July: SA vs Ireland

(Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban)

IT’S THE BIG ONE!

CARABAO CUP:  Limping Liverpool faces a rejuvenated Chelsea for the first domestic silverware of the season

By Sports Reporter

Manager Jurgen Klopp believes Chelsea are “definitely” favourites for Sunday’s Carabao Cup final but said a depleted Liverpool “will go for it”. The Premier League leaders had nine senior players missing for Wednesday’s 4-1 win against Luton at Anfield.

Alisson, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Diogo Jota, Mohamed Salah, Thiago, Dominik Szoboszlai, Joel Matip, Curtis Jones and Darwin Nunez were unavailable. Liverpool are the most successful side in League Cup history having clinched the trophy on nine occasions – with the last against Sunday’s opponents Chelsea.  The Blues have won it five times, but have lost in their last two finals against Liverpool and Manchester City – both on penalties.

The pair have already met twice this season with the first a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge on the opening day of the season. The most recent visit was just over three weeks ago with Liverpool running out comprehensive 4-1 winners at Anfield.

Things have taken an upward turn for Mauricio Pochettino’s side in recent weeks after successive wins over Aston Villa and Crystal Palace, before a very credible 1-1 draw against Manchester City on the road.

It’s been business as usual for Jurgen Klopp’s side, who lead the Premier League and have won their last three, scoring 11 goals in the process. History suggests we’ll need extra time and perhaps even a penalty shootout to separate these sides this weekend. These two have a habit of cancelling each other out with seven of their last eight meetings ending in a draw – including both of the 2022 FA Cup and Carabao Cup finals.

That streak of draws was broken in their latest clash when Liverpool ran out comprehensive 4-1 winners – but it will be a wildly different starting XI with Liverpool carrying a plethora of injuries.

“We have to see [who will be fit for the final], but I said it before the game [against Luton] as long as we have 11 players we will go for it,” Klopp said. In what is Klopp’s final season in charge, Liverpool remain in contention for four trophies as they look to add to the six they have collected since he arrived in 2015.

Their determination is clear – they have recovered 22 points from losing positions in the Premier League this season, more than any other side.

 Kick-off 3pm.