Prudence Sekgodiso on the podium again at Eugene Diamond League
Sekgodiso pushed eventual winner Tsige Duguma of Ethiopia all the way to the line, equalling her personal best of 1:57.16 to take the runner-up spot. Duguma narrowly held on to secure victory in 1:57.10, six seconds ahead. African athletes swept the podium as Halimah Nakaayi of Uganda held on to finish third in 1:57.89.
It was Sekgodiso's third podium finish thus far in the 2025 Diamond League series, having taken second place in Rabat and third in Stockholm.
Bayanda Walaza, the only other South African athlete competing in Eugene, took sixth position in the men's 100m race on his Diamond League debut. The 19-year-old sprinter clocked 10.04 seconds in a fast race that saw four men dipping under 10 seconds.
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Daily Maverick
an hour ago
- Daily Maverick
Boks face hard truths in review of first Test against Italy after misfiring second-half display
The Springboks beat Italy 42-24 in the first Test at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, but their performance fell short of expectations. It's a measure of the standards which the Springboks have set in the past seven years that an 18-point winning margin, while scoring six tries, is considered below par. But that's exactly the case after the Springboks beat Italy 42-24 at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday. It's the price of being world champions and the unofficial standard-bearers of the sport. It's a burden the Boks must carry because they are held to a higher standard after consecutive Rugby World Cup successes as well as many other achievements along the way. Coach Rassie Erasmus, in the immediate aftermath of the match in Pretoria, struck a measured tone, although he let slip that the display simply wasn't good enough. The overall performance was probably a little better than average, but a woeful second half took the gloss off what was a strong first half. The Boks scored four tries and led by 28-3 at the break after they forced Italy to make 120 tackles and dominated territory and tempo. Given how much defending Italy were forced to do in the opening stanza, the Boks would normally have landed several more hammer blows in the final quarter and won by a massive margin. That wasn't the case thanks to Italy's magnificent resilience and the Springboks' tepid performance for most of the second half. The much-feted Bomb Squad failed to fire as individual and collective errors mounted in an atypically sloppy display. Erasmus alluded to the stop-start nature of the game, especially in the second half, with several Azzurri players going down injured, which prevented the Boks from gaining momentum. That might have been a mitigating factor, but quite frankly, the Springboks should be better than that. They went into the game with a collective 1,204 Test caps compared to Italy's 388. The South African side had more than enough experience to cope with whatever 'tricks' Italy might have employed. When the Boks review the match they will have much to pick over because many seasoned players were below par. Locks RG Snyman and Franco Mostert didn't meet their usual high standards when they were deployed. Ditto hooker Bongi Mbonambi. Singling out individuals is probably futile because there appeared to be collective apathy for much of the second half. Italy defended well, made the breakdown messy and showed surprising energy and stamina after being pounded for 40 minutes, which is to their credit. But the world champions let them build that head of steam, losing the physical battle. When last could you say that the Boks were outmuscled? The sight of an Italian rolling maul rumbling 20m, leading to a try for replacement hooker Pablo Dimcheff will feature on Azzurri highlight reels for years to come. Complacency? It was a blow to South African egos, possibly exposing something frightening brewing in the Bok camp — complacency. There is no other logical explanation for the display after the break. It looked and felt like this team assumed they only needed to go through the motions to keep the scoreboard rolling. 'I don't think our physicality and intensity was what it should be,' Erasmus acknowledged after the match. 'It was frustrating because we had a lekker week in the build-up to the match; we were into it, things went well, and it was nice and physical. 'Maybe we as coaches made some mistakes by thinking we were ready for the game. Maybe you need to drive the players even more when you start thinking everything is going well. 'It's not the players who are at fault. Maybe we as coaches didn't press the right buttons.' That was as close as the great coach came to admitting complacency might be an issue. Erasmus rightly also praised Italy. It mustn't be forgotten that they went into the match without a swathe of their Six Nations regulars, were rocked back in the first 40 minutes and yet never gave in. 'We must acknowledge Italy's performance too. They were gutsy, and after making 120 first-half tackles you'd think they'd give in [in the second half], but instead they turned up the heat,' said Erasmus. 'In the first 10 minutes of the second half it was stop/start, and we couldn't get intensity into the game, so with the Bomb Squad we wanted to get intensity and speed play up. 'Even with the bench, we couldn't do that, which was frustrating.' The Boks conceded three second-half tries, something that has seldom happened since 2018. It's another indication that something was lacking. 'Italy were excellent at legally slowing our ruck ball down and holding us up in the tackle,' said Erasmus. 'I thought we attacked from slow ruck ball, and the tries they scored were from quick ruck ball. 'That's what was frustrating. They seemed to be able to switch on and off after a three-minute injury break better than we were, and conceding four tries was worrying.' Honesty The internal debrief is sure to be uncomfortable because, despite making all the right noises after the game, it's clear something was amiss with the Boks' mentality. Rugby at the highest level is often decided by mentality and intensity over tactical nous. Italy had a better attitude in the second half. It was obvious in the post-match musings that the Boks were critical of referee Hollie Davidson's handling of the breakdown and the staccato nature of the contest without saying as much. Replacement flank Kwagga Smith echoed Erasmus' musings about stoppages and breakdown issues. 'They came hard at the breakdown, threw lots of bodies into rucks and disrupted us. We couldn't get momentum,' said Smith. 'Getting momentum back in a Test is difficult, especially when you can't get continuity, the breakdown is a mess and the ball spits out. It becomes difficult as you're playing scrappy rugby and literally just fixing mistakes all the time. Erasmus reminded the media in the build-up to the clash at Loftus that when the Boks assess their performances in the post-match debrief, the final score is not the most important factor. They look at much more detail, individually and collectively when picking over the bones of the match. 'We want to be the best team in the world, and to continue to do that we have to be honest,' said Smith. 'You know that when you don't play well or to the best of your ability, and win by 18 points, you still have to be honest with yourself because the final score is not the only measure. 'Honesty is one of the best things we have in our environment. We will be honest in the review.' DM
The South African
2 hours ago
- The South African
Lee Miles spotted at Orlando Pirates
Orlando Pirates have added another technical team member. The Betway Premiership club have snapped up Lee Miles. Formerly with Cape Town City FC, Miles served the Citizens as Head of Sport Science and Performance, starting as a junior in June 2018. As reported by iDiski Times last week, Miles has become Orlando Pirates' fitness coach after former coach Jose Riveiro departed with Carlos Nodar Paz. Orlando Pirates haven't announced this midfielder Miles has become the third new technical arrival alongside coach Abdeslam Ouaddou and the biokinetics specialist Dylan Cox. Orlando Pirates transfer news: Teenage winger Head coach: Abdeslam Ouaddou Assistant head coach: Mandla Ncikazi Second assistant head coach: Ryan Jacobs Strength and conditioning coach: Helmi Geldich Goalkeeper coach: Tyron Damons Biokinetics specialist: Dylan Cox Fitness coach: Lee Miles. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
The South African
2 hours ago
- The South African
Orlando Pirates transfer news: Teenage winger
There is no surprise here. Orlando Pirates require talent with continental experience if the Betway Premiership giants have ambitions to win the CAF Champions League (CAFCL) next term. The club known as the Buccaneers is expected to repeat last season's deep run in Africa, which saw them reach the semifinals of the CAFCL. According to reports from West Africa, Orlando Pirates have set their sights on Al Hilal's 19-year-old winger Adama Coulibaly. Orlando Pirates legend sends a message to Sipho Mbule Adama Coulibaly playing for Al Hilal in Sudan. Image: Pan African Football According to AfricaFoot, the Buccaneers and Tunisian giants Esperance have tabled offers to sign the Mali international. Portuguese giants Benfica are also said to be keen. Orlando Pirates coach to face 'new signings' pressure 'Espérance Sportive de Tunis, the Tunisian league leader and a renowned African club, recently made an offer of €650,000, along with certain guarantees, according to the latest information from Africafoot,' the outlet reported. 'Meanwhile, second-placed Orlando Pirates Football Club in the South African league also made an offer of around €600,000, according to our sources.' Coulibaly joined the Sudanese powerhouse in 2024 from AS Bakaridjan in his homeland and is contracted to Hilal until 2029. According to Premier Soccer League (PSL) foreign quota, clubs are permitted to register no more than five internationals. Orlando Pirates' foreign quota status: Olisa Ndah (Nigerian) Karim Kimvuidi (Congolese) Gilberto (Angolan) Abdoulaye Mariko (Malian) Available. *Namibian international Deon Hotto is registered as a local after playing for over five years in Mzansi. It is worth noting that Gilberto is linked with an exit after making just 12 appearances before his January loan move to Petro de Luanda. Additionally, Ndah and Kimvuidi face uncertain futures amid rumours of moving abroad. The Buccaneers are also linked with another Mali international: Sadio Kounate. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
