WeeklySA_AdminTHE RETURN: Ox raring to charge at Wales
By Sports Reporter
Ox Nche will be fueled by the power of cake when he makes his return for the Springboks in the World Cup warm-up against Wales on Saturday.
Back in South Africa’s matchday-23 after recovering from a pectoral injury suffered in a gym session, Nche was at his jovial best during a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.
The loosehead prop has gathered a large following on social media as the leader of the ‘Ox Kraal’ and a famed hater of salads.
Ready to make his first Test appearance of the year, Nche explained why he decided the lighter side of his character on his social platforms, which often belie the stern-looking destroyer of scrums seen on Saturdays. “People get shocked when they get to see me and realise, I actually have a pretty unique sense of humour,” Nche said.
“They often say I look too serious and, at times, people are afraid to approach me, so I thought, it’s not a bad thing in being a rugby player, that people also get to know a different side of me off the field.” Nche’s famed love of cake has proved a hit on social media and, joined by winger Cheslin Kolbe in the press conference, he affirmed one of his core beliefs.
“Salads do not win scrums. I truly believe that. That’s why Cheslin is on the wing and I’m in the front row,” added Nche, with a chuckle.
“I don’t count calories, I count slices of cake. I enjoy a chocolate caramel. It’s too late now, but I did have a slice during the week, so I should be good to go.” The Springboks will face Wales in Cardiff on Saturday and New Zealand in London the following Friday (25 August), in their last two warm-up games before departing for a week-long training camp in Corsica en route to their tournament base in Toulon.
On Tuesday, the Springboks will name their team to face Wales, while the clash at the Principality Stadium will kick off at 4.15pm (SA time) on Saturday.
The opening World Cup match for South Africa is against Scotland in Marseille on Sunday, September 10. This will be followed by pool matches against Romania in Bordeaux (September 17), Ireland in Paris ( September 23) and Tonga in Marseille (October 1).
“The main difference between the 2019 RWC and this one, is that there is a little more expectation on us now,” said Springboks head coach Jacques Nienaber.
“As a team we’ve built more squad depth over the last few years, but the expectations are not a burden, it’s a privilege. In the last few weeks, we’ve attended a few functions and we’ve heard all the messages from our partners, dignitaries, and the public, so we realise how much support we have. We understand the expectations and we embrace it.
“The beauty of this squad is that we have quite a lot of experience,” Nienaber added. “We have nine players participating in their third Rugby World Cup, and a whole lot in their second. So perhaps only a third of the squad is going into their first World Cup.”
SPAIN ON BRINK OF HISTORY
DEFYING ODDS: From mutiny to Women’s World Cup final
By Sport Reporter
Coach Jorge Vilda was derided by some of his players as a control freak who was not up to the job, but Spain now stands on the brink of making history at the Women’s World Cup.
Spain have defied turmoil off the pitch to make their own history. They had never even won a knockout game at the World Cup before their exploits in Australia and New Zealand.
Now La Roja will face England’s Lionesses in front of a sell-out 75,000 crowd in Sydney in Sunday’s final. Rewind to nearly a year ago and their success over the past four weeks would have been unthinkable.
Their preparations were clouded by a dispute with 15 players who last year said they no longer wanted to be considered for selection. The exact nature of their complaints was never officially made public, but Spanish media had previously reported that they wanted the 42-year-old coach Vilda sacked.
The players later denied that, but they were reported to have a litany of complaints about how things were run on and off the pitch. Reports said the players, many of whom were at Barcelona, accused Vilda of being “dictatorial” and did not approve of his training methods or tactics.
Vilda and his strict personality may have been chief among a litany of complaints, but here they are, missing 12 of the 15 but on the cusp of world domination.
England have not been perfect in reaching the final and needed penalties to see off Nigeria in the last 16, before more convincing displays in defeating Colombia and Australia. Spain have also had their challenges at this tournament. They were thumped 4-0 by Japan in their final group game, the caveat being that both teams had already qualified for the knockout rounds.
Spain then thrashed Switzerland 5-1 and squeezed past the Netherlands and Sweden by identical 2-1 score lines, the victory over the Dutch coming in extra time. Vilda says that the turmoil that once threatened to torpedo their World Cup “made all of us stronger”.
“Now we can file it away and put it behind us and think about the future, and think that we deserve to be where we are,” he said after Olga Carmona’s sumptuous 89th-minute strike propelled them past Sweden in the semi-finals.
It is proof of Spain’s depth of resources that they have hardly missed the players who refused to play under Vilda.
History now beckons for Spain at a Women’s World Cup that has broken records on and off the pitch and which will reach a suitable climax on Sunday with a highly anticipated final.
SPORTS:
Briefs
NO RUSSIA/BELARUS ATHLETES ALLOWED
Russian and Belarusian track and field athletes are “unlikely” to be able to compete at the 2024 Olympics, says World Athletics president Lord Coe. World Athletics has banned competitors from the two countries from its events, including under a neutral flag, because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The International Olympics Committee (IOC) has said athletes should be able to compete as neutrals. However, Lord Coe said World Athletics’ position was “very clear”. He was speaking in Budapest before the World Athletics Championships which start on Saturday, having been re-elected for a third and final term as head of track and field’s governing body alongside a new council.
WHAT’S GOING ON CECILIA?
Netball South Africa president, Cecilia Molokwane, says that she is disappointed at how the Spar Proteas performed at the Netball World Cup and has called for moves to be made in order to professionalise the league. Tournament hosts, South Africa, finished in sixth place, two places lower than the previous World Cup four years ago.
Speaking to broadcaster Robert Marawa on #MSW, Molokwane said they are still going over what went wrong. I am very disappointed at the result of the tournament.
We did everything we could to make them play well. I have questioned everything, even the lineups in some matches, but you can’t interfere.
What makes the difference between us and other countries is that leagues are professional and those playing overseas can’t carry the team all the time in major competitions.
DON’T SNEAK ON SEKHUKHUNE
Sekhukhune United coach Brandon Truter has called for the suspension of match officials after his side lost 2-1 to Moroka Swallows, who were awarded a dubious goal in their DStv Premiership clash on Wednesday night.
Although the rules are clear on goalkeepers not being challenged when they are in control of the ball, referee Siyabonga Nkomo ignored a foul on Sekhukhune keeper Badra Sangare by Swallows striker Gabadinho Mhango.
Truter, as expected, was livid. “It’s poor. We watched a game on Monday night – a European game between Manchester United and Wolves, where officials got it wrong, VAR, the whole panel was suspended after that incident, and here in South Africa we get away with decisions like that,” bemoaned Truter.
CHECKMATE FOR TRANSGENDER FEMALES
The International Chess Federation – also known as FIDE – says players who have transitioned from male to female have “no right to participate” in women’s events until the federation conducts “further analysis” and renders a final decision.
In a meeting earlier this month, FIDE’s council approved the updated policy which will come into effect on August 21.
The policy says that once a player informs FIDE they are changing their gender from male to female, they will be banned from competing in official women’s events.
Players then have to provide what FIDE describes as “sufficient proof or a gender change that complies with their national laws and regulations.”
SINKYING MARUMO GALLANTS
Newly-appointed Marumo Gallants CEO Sinky Mnisi has vowed to guide the club back to the DStv Premiership next season, which he declared is merely a formality.
The vocal and colourful former Royal AM chief executive has himself made a return to football following his appointment by the relegated side, who have also roped in former Richards Bay coach Pitso Dladla as their new mentor.
Mnisi says his mandate is clear. “It is often said that, ‘One man’s poison is another man’s meat’ – I’m here today as a chosen one, with the sole responsibility of delivering the team back in the premier division,” declared Mnisi.
