USL Championship,at Trinity Health Stadium in Hartford, CT, PITTSBURGH RIVERHOUNDS defeat HARTFORD ATHLETIC 2-1'
#28 Conor McGlynn scored for Hartford Athletic
#10 Russell Cicerone and #3 Shane Wiedt for Pittsburgh
[Submitted by Daniel Ferrari]

Members of the 2023 Family will have access to an exclusive pre-sale window of 24 hours from Tuesday, 13 September at 18:00 CEST before general public sales open at 18:00 CEST on Thursday, 15 September.

Demand is expected to be high for this exciting sales phase, which will take place exclusively on the official ticketing platform at tickets.rugbyworldcup.com, on a first come, first served basis.

Ticket prices will be announced on 8 September, to mark “One Year to Go” before the kick-off of Rugby World Cup 2023. With record demand for Rugby World Cup 2023 tickets, fans are being urged to only purchase tickets from official sources to avoid disappointment.

When purchasing tickets, fans will once again have the opportunity to make a donation to Rugby au Cœur, Rugby World Cup 2023’s Official Charity, which works to support meaningful projects using rugby for social development with a focus on education, equal opportunities and working with people with disabilities. More information is available at tickets.rugbyworldcup.com/donation.

KEY DATES
Thursday 8 September 2022: individual match ticket prices announced
Tuesday 13 September 2022 – 12:00 CEST: Deadline for 2023 Family registrations
Tuesday 13 September 2022 – 18:00 CEST: Launch of the 2023 Family pre-sale
Thursday 15 September 2022 – 18:00 CEST: Launch of the general public sale
[Submitted by Kevin Rademeyer]

The full 40-team line-up for Rugby World Cup Sevens 2022 has now been confirmed, following an enthralling weekend of action in Bucharest.

The remaining eight tickets to Cape Town – four men’s and four women’s – were decided at the RWC Sevens 2022 Europe Qualifier, which took place at Stadionul National Arcul de Triumf on Saturday and Sunday.

A pool stage whittled down the 24 hopeful teams that had arrived in Romania to eight men’s and as many women’s sides, who competed in a round of one-off play-off matches.

The winners of those ties secured their place at the showpiece tournament in Cape Town, which is scheduled to be staged between 9-11 September this year.

Spain, England, Poland and Ireland claimed their places in the women’s tournament at RWC Sevens 2022, while Wales, Germany, Portugal and Ireland made sure of their entry into the men’s draw.


With qualification now complete and the full 40-team line-up for RWC Sevens 2022 confirmed, teams will now focus on fine tuning their preparations ahead of the highly anticipated event, which kicks-off in less than two months’ time.

The 24 teams to qualify for the men’s tournament are South Africa, Argentina, England, Fiji, France, New Zealand, Scotland, USA, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Hong Kong, Korea, Australia, Samoa, Tonga, Chile, Uruguay, Canada, Jamaica, Germany, Ireland, Portugal and Wales.

Following the weekend’s action in Bucharest, the 16 teams that will compete in the women’s tournament are South Africa, Australia, France, New Zealand, USA, Madagascar, Japan, China, Fiji, Brazil, Colombia, Canada, England, Ireland, Poland and Spain.

For further information visit www.rwcsevens.com



[Submitted by Kevin Rademeyer]

DURHAM: Stand-in captain Keshav Maharaj says the Proteas will be aiming to improve on their recent One-Day International (ODI) form when they take on England in their series-opener at the Riverside in Durham on Tuesday.

South Africa face the world champions in three 50-over matches as they get the business end of their two-month long tour to the United Kingdom under way.

The tourists mixed an impressive 3-0 series win over India over the past 12 months with defeats to Sri Lanka and Bangladesh either side, but they have also introduced several new players to their squad in that period as they build towards the World Cup in India next year.

“We haven’t done relatively well in the ODI format, but we’ve tried various formats and combinations, so hopefully we’ve found that rhythm to our game now when we can start off on a positive note come this England series,” Maharaj told the media on Monday.

“Obviously England have come off quite a bit of cricket and they’re pretty much a more settled team. But having put in the hard work over the past 12 months, I think it’s about time we see some good results come this series and moving forward.”

South Africa last played an ODI in March when they faced Bangladesh in Centurion. Maharaj, who is leading the Proteas in the absence of injured captain Temba Bavuma, says they are looking ahead to ODI cricket again.

“The boys are really excited, it’s been a while since we’ve played our last ODI game and it’s been a substantial and lengthy build-up to the game, so the boys are ready to get onto the park, so come tomorrow and hit the ball running,” he said.

“Results haven’t really gone our way, but it’s a nice way to build that confidence and filter in towards ODI cricket up until the World Cup next year.”

South Africa enjoyed two productive warm-up games against England Lions ahead of the series, while the home side were beaten by India in their three-match ODI sequence against India.

The Proteas have also not historically done very well in limited-overs cricket in England and Maharaj is hopeful of changing that.

“It does present an opportunity to do something special,” he explained. “We’ve come a long way as a team and as a unit. So it is an opportunity to create history, but we’ll take it one ball at a time and hopefully achieve something really big as the ODI unit.”

Looking ahead to the clash against an England side that has become famous for its attacking brand of batting, the skipper added: “It’s all about doing the basics correctly and following our own game plan.

“We just need to make sure we execute our plans right, adapt to conditions on the day and hopefully the rest will take care of itself. It’s one thing we have been good at and hopefully we can replicate much of that in this series and going forward.”

Quinton de Kock, who missed the warm-up matches as an injury precaution, is fit and available for the game.

Proteas ODI squad against England
Keshav Maharaj (captain, Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Quinton de Kock (Momentum Multiply Titans), Reeza Hendricks (Imperial Lions), Marco Jansen (Gbets Warriors), Heinrich Klaasen (Momentum Multiply Titans), Janneman Malan (GbetsRocks), Aiden Markram (Momentum Multiply Titans), David Miller (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Lungi Ngidi (Momentum Multiply Titans), Andile Phehlukwayo (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Dwaine Pretorius (North West Dragons), Anrich Nortje (Gbets Warriors), Tabraiz Shamsi (Momentum Multiply Titans), Rassie van der Dussen (Imperial Lions), Lizaad Williams (Momentum Multiply Titans), Khaya Zondo (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Kyle Verreynne (Six Gun Grill Western Province).

South Africa ODI Tour to England Itinerary

Warm-up matches
Tuesday, 12 July
England Lions beat South Africa by 6 wickets – Coopers Associates County Ground, Taunton

Thursday, 14 July
England Lions lost to South Africa by 107 runs – New Road, Worcester

ODIs
Tuesday, 19 July
England vs South Africa – The Riverside, Durham

Friday, 22 July
England vs South Africa – Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester

Sunday, 24 July
England vs South Africa – Headingley Stadium, Leeds

[Submitted by Kevin Rademeyer]

Third place at FCP EURO NORTHEAST GRAND PRIX July 15-16 #14 GTDPRO J. Hawksworth / B. Barnicoat /Team VasserSullivan Lexus RC F GT3
[Submitted by Daniel Ferrari]

Second place at the FCP EURO NORTHEAST GRAND PRIX July 15-16 2022, Ross Gunn and Alex Riberas (No. 23 The Heart of Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3),
[Submitted by Daniel Ferrari]

Matt Campbell wins FCP Euro Northeast Grand Prix in Lime Rock Park, CONN.
Mathieu Jaminet and Matt Campbell topped off a dominant weekend with a victory Saturday at Lime Rock Park.


[Submitted by Daniel Ferrari]

Plastic waste from the Springboks’ match against Wales at the DHL Stadium on Saturday is going to be recycled into houses in a pilot project to support the global drive to tackle environmental issues and contribute to a healthier and more sustainable society.
Supporters attending the Castle Lager Incoming Series match are being asked to deposit all plastic waste in the green plastic waste bags that will be dotted throughout the stadium. They will be signposted as “The Bag That Builds”.
Uniquely, even “non-recyclable” plastics, like chip packets and polystyrene cups, can be disposed of in the bags, unlike other recycling projects where such plastics still end up in landfill.
The plastic waste will be taken to a special plant where it will be converted into an “eco-aggregate”, called RESIN8. The manufactured RESIN8 is then incorporated into the mix design for the casting of conventional concrete blocks – disposing of 100% of the plastic waste and reducing the need for conventional quarried materials by up to 20 percent.
“Everyone has a responsibility to look after the natural environment for future generations and rugby is not blind to its responsibility,” said Jurie Roux, SA Rugby CEO.
“This is an exciting project that we are trialing to reduce our impact on the environment – the fact that the outcome helps build houses is a double win in our South African environment.
“Please look out for the green collection bags if you are attending the match, every item that is deposited is potentially one less piece of plastic that will end up in landfill or even in our oceans.”
SA Rugby is partnering with The Center for Regenerative Design and Collaboration (CRDC) in the project. They have developed the eco-aggregate, RESIN8, which is made from all types of mixed and “dirty” plastic waste that can be used in a multitude of concrete applications.
The bricks created from RESIN8 are earmarked for use as part of the National Department of Housing’s plan for the development of sustainable human settlements, called Breaking New Ground Homes.
Such housing requires 6 100 bricks per unit; a Springbok test match is forecast to produce 3 tonnes of plastic waste, which can be incorporated into manufacturing 17 000 bricks (or almost three houses).
“The Bag That Builds” have also been placed at the team hotels to collect all plastic waste while the team is in residence.
“Once we have assessed the impact of the pilot project, we will look to incorporate it into more of our events,” said Roux.

[Submitted by Kevin Rademeyer]