The Springbok Sevens team won the gold medal at the Rugby Sevens event of the Commonwealth Games when they produced a brilliant performance to defeat Fiji 31-7 in a pulsating Final on Sunday evening in Birmingham, where New Zealand claimed bronze.

The SA Women’s Sevens team comfortably beat Sri Lanka by 52-0 to conclude the tournament on a high, finishing in seventh position, which is one spot better than in 2018 in Australia and made Paul Delport (coach) smile as he knew his inexperienced squad were facing a massive task in England.

Meanwhile, the Blitzboks played the final without the dynamic playmaker Ronald Brown, who was injured in the semi-final win over Australia earlier in the day, while regular skipper Siviwe Soyizwapi was also out injured and didn’t play at all on Sunday.

Zain Davids, who took over the captaincy, said: “I have a little bit of mixed emotions at the moment, but mostly I’m happy as we came out here and gave our all, and I think we can be very happy with our performance against a great team like Fiji.

“When ‘Shakes’ got injured, I had to take over the captaincy and I was happy to do that, because I know the guys support me, but I also knew that in this team you don’t really have to be a captain as you have a bunch of guys behind you that’s helping and supporting you.”

The South African men’s side made a great start to the final and scored three well-worked tries in the opening half while keeping the dangerous Fijian runners in check with excellent tackling and great counter-attacking play.

They deservingly led 17-0 at the break in the Coventry Stadium, while in the second half they combined their heroic defensive effort with equally great finishing performances. Muller du Plessis opened the scoring from a pinpoint Selvyn Davids cross-kick, an early sign of things to come.

JC Pretorius scored the second in the same corner after a sustained passage of attacking play, with South Africa looking well after the ball in contact. That put them 12-0 ahead.

Shaun Williams scored the third try as the menacing Pretorius stole another crucial turnover to put the little speedster away, the try handing South Africa a 17-0 half-time advantage.

After the break, Du Plessis then ran in for his second off an excellent cut-out pass from Selvyn Davids. Williams nailed the angled conversion to stretch the lead to 24-0 and left Fiji with a mountain to climb.

Fiji eventually got on the scoreboard when Nacuqu went over for converted try to reduce the deficit to 27-7.

But the Blitzboks were not to be denied. Mfundo Ndhlovu scored the final try with seconds remaining to seal a brilliant gold medal performance, denying Fiji the remaining major title that have escaped them at previous Commonwealth Games.

South Africa also won the gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games staged in Glasgow.

Scorers:

South Africa 31 (17) – Tries: Muller du Plessis (2), JC Pretorius, Shaun Williams, Mfundo Ndhlovu. Conversion: Shaun Williams (2), Dewald Human.

Fiji 7 (0) – Try: Waisea Nacuqu. Conversion: Nacuqu.

The Springbok Sevens team qualified for the gold medal match by defeating Australia 24-12 on Sunday afternoon, with Angelo Davids scoring his third hat-trick of the Commonwealth Games as the South Africans recovered from an early 5-0 deficit to gain a comfortable victory.

The two teams went into the lead locked even at 12-12 after an entertaining first half but South Africa pulled away in the second half to book their spot in the grand finale.

Australia drew first blood when Mark Nawaqanitawase powered through to put the Aussies 5-0 ahead, but Angelo Davids then continued his prolific try-scoring form in Birmingham with his eighth try following a clever grubber from playmaker Selvyn Davids, with Ronald Brown’s conversion putting SA 7-5 ahead.

But the Aussies hit back immediately with a clever attack which saw Matthew Gonzalez go in under the posts to regain the lead at 12-7. However, there was just enough time before halftime for Angeloa Davids to score his second of the half, from a lineout set play, to draw the teams level at the break.

After the restart, Selvyn Davids charged down a kick and collected the loose ball to score in the corner, with a brilliant conversion edging SA ahead by 19-12.

Angelo Davids bagged his third try when the flyer scored out wide from a well-worked move. SA was now in control at 24-12 and all they needed to do was to manage out time until the final whistle.

Scorers:

South Africa 24 (12) – Tries: Angelo Davids (3), Selvyn Davids. Conversions: Ronald Brown, Selvyn Davids.

Australia 12 (12) – Tries: Mark Nawaqanitawase, Matthew Gonzales. Conversion: Dietrich Roache.




[Submitted by Kevin Rademeyer]

Choose the convenience of smaller payments

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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]