Latest news with #Mbombela
Zawya
3 days ago
- Sport
- Zawya
Committee on Sports Marvels at Successes of South African Teams Across Board
The Portfolio Committee on Sport, Arts and Culture notes with appreciation the success of South African teams in the sporting front particularly the Under 20 who have become champions after 13 years. The Chairperson of the committee, Mr Joe McGluwa, said it was not easy to resist bragging about successes that the South African teams have registered against all odds. 'The Norton and Foote led Baby Boks were a shoe in against New Zealand in Italy. They made their intent very clear from day one. The result was so predictable, and many South Africans knew the boys will be champions,' said Mr McGluwa. He added: 'It seems the Dr Erasmus factor is rubbing off across teams at international platforms and they are representing South Africa very well. I am speaking on behalf of the committee when I say congratulations and May this success last long into the foreseeable future.' South Africa beat New Zealand in the Under 20 Championship 23-15, a feat last achieved in 2012. Baby Boks are landing on Tuesday morning at OR Tambo International. In equal measure Mr McGluwa congratulated Banyana Banyana who are well set in defending their title when they set up a clash with Nigeria at the Africa Women Cup Championship. South Africa won 4-1 on penalties. The Springboks also thumped Georgia in Mbombela on Saturday. 'To these achievements we can only say No DNA just RSA.' Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: The Parliament.
The Herald
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Herald
Boks ready to step it up against Aussies — Kolisi
After crushing Georgia 55-10, the Springboks are ready to move up another gear as they look ahead to their opening match in the Rugby Championship against Australia on August 16, skipper Siya Kolisi says. After experimenting in their games against the Barbarians, Italy and Georgia, the Boks are set to name a more experienced squad to face the Wallabies at Ellis Park. The 36-man squad will be named on Tuesday and is expected to include players suited to the way SA want to play in the Rugby Championship. Kolisi said the Boks were not completely satisfied with their performance at the weekend despite running out comfortable winners in Mbombela after leading 22-10 at halftime. 'It was a tough game. Credit to the Georgians, they came hard in the first half,' he said. 'Physically, they matched us most of the time, and we struggled at the breakdown; they were quite dominant there. 'So we were happy with the way we cleaned up in the second half. 'The problem was we weren't able to produce enough positives one after the other. 'We did something good and then we would make a mistake, so that slowed down our momentum. 'The game was also a bit slow and was very stop-start. 'But hopefully we can fix our problems and make sure that we build on our positives going forward.' The Boks fielded a new-look side against Georgia with props Boan Venter, Neethling Fouche and hooker Marnus van der Merwe all making their debuts. 'I am happy for the debutants and congratulations to them and their families,' Kolisi said. 'The coach is building squad depth while we are winning, and you can see the amount of competition in the group. 'The guys who played last week in Gqeberha set the standard. 'I think in the first half here we didn't live up to that standard and had to pick it up in the second half.' Bok coach Rassie Erasmus said he was satisfied with the win but attributed a stop-start performance to having rotated the squad throughout the four-match series (including the clash against the Barbarians). 'We're fairly happy if you look over the four games,' he said. 'We scored close to 50 points in each match and apart from the first Italy Test, defended pretty well. 'Georgia were physical and disruptive but that's not an excuse for us making so many errors. 'But I guess we must understand that if we chop and change teams like we have as we're building squad depth, you'll lose rhythm. 'We found that again in the last 20 minutes and we can be fairly happy with the scoreline, though one can always do better.' 'We'll name 36 guys on Tuesday for the Australia series and within that squad there'll be one or two guys that we experiment with, but the bulk of that squad will be experienced players who are suited to the way we want to play,' he said. 'The nice thing is that we've got a group of 48 players or so that we've used this year and there are quite a couple that we'd also like to give opportunities to, like Jaden Hendrikse, Jordan Hendrikse, Quan Horn and Renzo du Plessis. 'But this was a series where we wanted to experiment a little bit, so getting the scorelines we did is pretty satisfying. But the Rugby Championship is a step up.' Scorers: SA 55: Tries: Boan Venter, Marnus van der Merwe (2), Canan Moodie, Edwill van der Merwe (2), Damian Willemse, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Handré Pollard. Conversions: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Handré Pollard (4). Georgia 10: Try: Vano Karkadze. Conversion: Luka Matkava. Penalty: Matkava. The Herald
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Springbok forward Jasper Wiese's headbutt leads to four-match suspension
MBOMBELA, South Africa (AP) — South Africa back-rower Jasper Wiese's headbutt cost him a four-match suspension on Tuesday. Wiese deliberately knocked heads with Italy prop Danilo Fischetti on Saturday and was sent off with nearly an hour remaining. The Springboks still won 45-0. Wiese will miss the Springboks' game against Georgia in Mbombela this Saturday and the first three rounds of the Rugby Championship in August and September. They involve two home games against Australia and a test in New Zealand. At his disciplinary hearing, Wiese accepted he committed foul play but not a red card offense. The panel disagreed. Wiese's first international red card meant he missed a chance to play with his younger brother Cobus, who made his Springboks test debut against Italy in the second half. ___ AP rugby: The Associated Press
The Herald
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Herald
Rassie will ease off on Bok experiments in Rugby Championship
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus said he would revert to a more settled squad for the Rugby Championship after completing the July series with a nine-try romp against Georgia at Mbombela Stadium on Saturday. Erasmus said he was satisfied with the 55-10 result but attributed a stop-start performance to having rotated the squad throughout the four-match series (including the non-Test match against the Barbarians). In the three matches since the opener against the invitational team in Cape Town, the Bok selectors made 10, 15 and 16 personnel changes in successive weeks. 'We're fairly happy if you look over the four games,' Erasmus said. 'We scored close to 50 points in each match and apart from the first Italy Test defended pretty well. 'Georgia were physical and disruptive but that's not an excuse for us making so many errors. But I guess we must understand that if we chop and change teams like we have as we're building squad depth, you'll lose rhythm.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Erasmus has mixed views after nine-try Springboks beat Georgia
South Africa head coach Rassie Erasmus said on Saturday that he had mixed feelings after a nine-try 55-10 victory over Georgia in a one-off Test in Mbombela. "I saw some good things and some poor things, both in terms of the team and individuals," he told a press conference after the Springboks completed a four-match build-up before the Rugby Championship. In earlier matches, South Africa beat the Barbarians 54-7 in a non-cap exhibition match and Italy 42-24 and 45-0 in a two-Test series. The record four-time Rugby World Cup title-holders launch their southern hemisphere championship defence on August 16 against Australia in Johannesburg. "A positive is that we have won all our games and scored around 50 points every time, while the defence has not been too bad, all while using 46 players. "Tonight was a bit stop-start, but we have created enough depth for the next six Tests which will be tough," added Erasmus, referring to two matches each against Australia, New Zealand and Argentina. When South Africa introduced their eight replacements -- all World Cup winners -- in the second half they produced some excellent rugby and added five tries to the four scored in the opening half. Captain and flanker Siya Kolisi, making his first appearance of the season after recovering from a stiff neck and an Achilles tendon "niggle" echoed Erasmus when assessing the performance. "We could have had a better start. Later, we started to get the intensity we wanted, started to put some things together. "We had to really step it up in the second half after Georgia came at us in the first half and matched us physically most of the time. "There was a lot of stop-start stuff, but hopefully we can fix that. The coach is building squad depth while we are winning." Georgia coach and former England hooker Richard Cockerill said the match had been an excellent learning experience for the Lelos, who are ranked 11th in the world. "I think we competed very well and the scoreline was slightly flattering for the Springboks. They are a very good side, but we took them on in the scrums, the lineouts and mauls. "We knew once their bench came on and the game became unstructured that it would be difficult for us because they have amazing talent. "But we have things to build on and we leave South Africa with some pride. We need to play this quality of opposition as often as possible. "We will learn from this experience -- now we know what it feels like to play at that pace and intensity for 80 minutes. "When we were good, we were matching them. We hit them back on the gainline lots of times. We need to get fitter and understand the game better and then we can do that again." str-dl/nr
