Australia lock Nathan Sharpe threw down the gauntlet to the in-form Springboks yesterday, saying South Africa were over-confident and the Wallabies would relish playing them on home turf.
Sharpe said he was pleased with Australia's performance during a 22-19 loss to South Africa in the Tri Nations series opener in Cape Town on Saturday, when predictions the Wallabies' pack would crumble proven mistaken.
The second rower said the Australian pack had been fired up by a perceived lack of respect from South Africa and was keen to improve for the return match against the Springboks in Sydney on July 7.
"They like to talk themselves up a little bit and that is always a good incentive for us to play well and that certainly helped us," Sharpe said.
Asked if the Springboks were as good as they suggested, Sharpe replied: "No, I don't think so."
"They are always a different team to play at home and we are very much looking forward to meeting them back in Sydney in a couple of weeks' time," he said.
Sharpe said the Wallabies' performance in Cape Town showed they were on the right track less than three months out from the World Cup.
"Definitely, you don't want to peak too early in a year like this and there's a lot of guys in this coaching environment and structure that are still learning from the coaches we've got," Sharpe said.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care