South Africa kicked off their World Cup build-up in emphatic style when they romped to a 105-13 victory over Namibia at Newlands Stadium on Wednesday.
The Boks ran in 15 tries with full-back Percy Montgomery setting a new South African record for points in a match.
The veteran full-back kicked 12 conversions, two penalties and crossed for a try for a total of 35 points, one better than Jannie de Beer, who scored 34 points against England in the World Cup quarter-final in Wales in 1999.
It was also the Boks' second biggest win after their 134-3 victory over Uruguay in East London in 2005.
Bok captain for the day, Victor Matfield, was naturally a satisfied man afterwards.
"I thought we played well, especially the loose forwards, but we've still got a lot of work ahead of us," Matfield said.
"I wasn't happy with the fact we lost so much ball in the contact situation. But now we go on tour and face Scotland next weekend which will give us a good indication of our readiness," he said.
Jake White's men led 44-7 at the break after first half tries to Jean de Villiers, Juan Smith, JP Pietersen, Schalk Burger and Jaque Fourie. Loose forward Smith ended up with three touchdowns, as did Burger.
A further nine tries were scored by the Boks in the second half as they dominated proceedings throughout the 80 minutes.
Matters, however, did not start well for the home side.
While Montgomery got the Boks on the board with two early penalties, it was the visitors from Namibia who scored the first try.
Winger Bradley Langenhoven intercepted a Butch James pass with the Boks camping on the Namibian 22m line and he ran all of 80m to get his team on the board.
Emile Wessels converted to put his side 7-6 up, but the Namibians wouldn't get a sniff at another try as the home team ran riot.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and