South Africa have made two changes to their forward pack for the Rugby Championship Test against New Zealand on Saturday, while prop Jannie du Plessis has been given a few more days to prove his fitness ahead of the Dunedin clash.
The Springboks crumbled to a demoralizing 26-19 loss against Australia in Perth last weekend and next face a Herculean task of trying to upset the undefeated All Blacks in their southern stronghold and get their tournament back on track.
Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer, who came close to destroying a walkie-talkie out of frustration during the Perth defeat, called up lock Flip van der Merwe in place of the suspended Eben Etzebeth when he named his squad yesterday.
Etzebeth was banned for two weeks for head-butting Wallabies lock Nathan Sharpe during Saturday’s loss.
Francois Louw has been promoted from the reserves in place of Marcell Coetzee at blindside flanker, a move seemingly aimed at nullifying All Blacks captain Richie McCaw’s ball-poaching at the breakdown.
“The New Zealanders are good on the ground, which is why we decided to go for a specialist openside flanker in Francois,” Meyer said.
Du Plessis has been given until tomorrow to shake off a hamstring injury and will be replaced by Pat Cilliers if he fails to recover in time.
After a home victory over Argentina and an away draw to the same opponents on the return leg, the Springboks faded badly in the second half against the Wallabies, prompting South African media to question fitness levels.
Former Leicester coach Meyer, who succeeded the controversial Peter de Villiers after the Springboks’ quarter-final exit at the World Cup last year, has injected fresh legs onto the bench, with lock Andries Bekker, prop Dean Greyling and versatile back Juan de Jongh all called up as replacements.
HEATED RIVALRY: The pair had met 14 times previously, with Sabalenka winning eight of the encounters and entering the final as the favorite to take the title Elena Rybakina took revenge over world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to win a nail-biting Australian Open final yesterday and clinch her second Grand Slam title. The big-serving Kazakh fifth seed held her nerve to pull through 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne in 2 hours, 18 minutes. It was payback after the Belarusian Sabalenka won the 2023 final between two of the hardest hitters in women’s tennis. The ice-cool Rybakina, 26, who was born in Moscow, adds her Melbourne triumph to her Wimbledon win in 2022. It was more disappointment in a major final for Sabalenka, who won the US Open
GUNNING FOR A WIN: The victory sending Arsenal to the final for the first time in six years was cathartic for a team who had lost their previous four semi-finals Arsenal on Tuesday reached the League Cup final for the first time in eight years as Kai Havertz sealed a 1-0 win against Chelsea in the semi-final second leg. Mikel Arteta’s side had put themselves in pole position in the first leg and Havertz came off the bench to finish the 4-2 aggregate victory in the closing moments at the Emirates Stadium. It was a cathartic triumph for the Gunners, who had lost their previous four semi-finals in last year’s UEFA Champions League and League Cup, the 2022 League Cup and the 2021 UEFA Europa League. In their first final for six years,
Denver superstar Nikola Jokic returned from a 16-game injury absence to post a 31-point, 12-rebound double-double on Friday and propel the Nuggets to a 122-109 NBA victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. Three-time NBA Most Valuable Player Jokic had not played since suffering a bone bruise in the left knee he hyperextended in a game against Miami on Dec. 29 last year. The Serbian big man did not miss a beat. He led all scorers, connecting on eight of 11 shots from the field, and also handed out five assists with three steals while playing just 24 minutes, 32 seconds as the
DEADLINE DAY: Rennes’ Jacquet had been linked with a transfer to Chelsea earlier this month, but was reportedly put off the move due to the Blues’ bloated squad Liverpool on Monday won the race to sign Stade Rennais defender Jeremy Jacquet on the quiet final day of the English Premier League transfer window, while Crystal Palace swooped for Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Jorgen Strand Larsen despite the collapse of Jean-Philippe Mateta’s move to AC Milan. The Reds agreed a reported fee of up to ￡60 million (US$82 million) for the highly rated Jacquet. However, the 20-year-old will not join the Premier League champions until the summer despite Liverpool’s need for defensive reinforcements. Jacquet had been linked with a transfer to Chelsea earlier this month, but was reportedly put off
RSS