Family honor as well as national pride will be on the line when Argentina tackle South Africa for a place in the World Cup final on Sunday.
Argentina, playing in their first semi-final, have never defeated the Springboks. But centers Felipe and Manuel Contepomi, who are twins, as well as Carlos Ignacio Fernandex Lobbe and younger brother Juan Martin, will go all out to change that.
South Africa could also see a pair of brothers in the fray at the Stade de France with tighthead prop Jannie du Plessis, a late replacement for BJ Botha, standing by if CJ van der Linde fails to recover from a knee injury.
PHOTO: AP
Younger brother Bismarck, the team's back-up hooker, is hoping for a place on the bench.
Coincidentally, both Felipe Contepomi and Jannie du Plessis are doctors.
The Contepomi twins were born in Buenos Aires on Aug. 20, 1977.
Felipe, who plays for top Irish side Leinster, has 58 caps.
Manuel has played 36 Tests and is currently part of the Newman team in Buenos Aires, having previously starred for Bristol in England.
Manuel is fiercely protective of his brother, who has been criticized in the past for being unable to cope with big match pressure.
"If you try to pressure Felipe he is one of the players in this team that will handle it without any problems," Manuel said.
The next generation of running talent takes center stage at today’s Berlin Marathon, in the absence of stars including Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and Ethiopian world record holder Tigist Assefa. With most of the major marathon stars skipping the event in the wake of the Paris Olympics just more than a month ago, the field is wide open in the men’s and women’s races. Since 2015, Kipchoge has won five times in Berlin, Kenenisa Bekele has won twice and Guye Adola once — with all three missing today. Kenyan Kibiwott Kandie and Ethiopian Tadese Takele are among the favourites for the men, while
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
Zhang Shuai yesterday said that she nearly quit after losing 24 matches in a row — now the world No. 595 is into the quarter-finals of her home China Open. The 35-year-old is to face Spain’s Paula Badosa as the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage in the history of the tournament after Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula. Zhang went into Beijing on a barren run lasting more than 600 days and her string of singles defeats was the second-longest on the WTA Tour Open era, which
Taiwan’s Tony Wu yesterday beat Mackenzie McDonald of the US to win the Nonthaburi Challenger IV in Thailand, his first challenger victory since 2022. The 26-year-old world No. 315, who won both his qualifiers to advance to the main draw, has been on a hot streak this month, winning his past nine matches, including two that ensured Taiwan’s victory in their Davis Cup World Group I tie. Wu took just more than two hours to top world No. 172 McDonald 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) to win his second challenger tournament since the Tallahassee Tennis Challenger in 2022. Wu’s Tallahassee win followed two years of