Debutant Sanele Nohamba scored a try to seal a 23-15 Super Rugby victory for the Coastal Sharks at home over fellow South Africans the Northern Bulls in Durban on Friday.
The 21-year-old scrumhalf, who starred for his club in the domestic Currie Cup last year, struck in the 79th minute with a scrappy match on a knife-edge.
Substitute Nohamba broke from a scrum and exchanged passes with center Andre Esterhuizen before outpacing several Bulls.
Flyhalf Curwin Bosch slotted an easy conversion to earn the Sharks an eight-point win and deprive the Bulls of a losing bonus point.
“Sanele is an exciting prospect,” said Sharks skipper Lukhanyo Am, who was part of the Springbok Rugby World Cup-winning side in Japan in November last year.
“The result was great, but we made too many errors and need to work on our set pieces. The conditions made the ball slippery, resulting in some poor handling,” he said.
Bulls captain Burger Odendaal said he was “gutted” by the result at Kings Park.
“While we let this one slip from our grasp, there were a lot of positives to take out of the match and it was great to have Morne [Steyn] back at flyhalf,” Odendaal said.
Steyn has returned to the Bulls after seven years with French Top 14 outfit Stade Francais and scored all their points from four penalties and a drop goal.
The Sharks outscored the Bulls by two tries to nil in hot, humid conditions with the first coming from Rugby World Cup squad winger Sibusiso Nkosi just after halftime.
Kept out of the Springboks starting line-up by the brilliance of Cheslin Kolbe, Nkosi struck on 44 minutes to give the hosts the lead after they had trailed 9-6 at halftime.
Bulls winger Rosco Specman reacted slowly to a cross kick from Bosch and Nkosi surged forward to dot down with millimeters to spare.
Bosch converted for a 13-9 lead that he extended with his third penalty before Steyn succeeded twice from three penalty attempts to leave just one point between the sides.
Fred Kerley is competing unaugmented against drug-fuelled athletes at this weekend’s Enhanced Games and still hopes to race in the 2028 Olympics, the suspended former 100m world champion said on Friday. Arguably the biggest name at the divisive event in Las Vegas, where doping is permitted, the US sprinter said he had chosen not to take any of the banned substances including testosterone and steroids that his competitors have been using. “I don’t need it. God gave me fast feet for a reason. And I’m here to showcase my talent,” Kerley said. Kerley last September became the first US competitor and first track
VICTORY ABROAD: The team took home a fistful of medals and secured spots for the autumn’s Asian Games, scheduled for September in Nagoya Taiwan’s women’s team captured the overall title at the Asian Taekwondo Championships in Mongolia on Sunday, finishing with two golds, one silver and one bronze medal. The strong showing, led by gold medalists Wang Chieh-ling and Chang Jui-en secured the full quota of available spots for Taiwan at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, in September. Wang opened Taiwan’s medal run by winning gold in the women’s under-46kg class on Thursday, the first day of competition. Liu Yu-yun later earned a silver in the under-49kg class. On the final day on Sunday, Chang won Taiwan’s second gold medal in the under-62kg event, and
MLB is experiencing an epidemic of guys being dudes. At ballparks all across the US, groups consisting of mostly young men are joining in on the “Tarps Off” trend that is loud, goofy, infectious and new to the baseball world. Joining in on the fun is simple: Go to the section where the party is happening, take off your shirt and start twirling it above your head. Soccer-like chants or singing usually follow — injecting a jolt of energy for a sport that is occasionally chided for its lack of energy inside the stadium. After getting its start in St Louis, Missouri, on
Hull City AFC are to play Middlesbrough for a place in the Premier League after Southampton on Wednesday failed in their appeal against expulsion from the Championship playoff final for spying on opponents. Southampton were thrown out of the final on Tuesday and handed a four-point deduction for next season after they had beaten semi-final opponents Middlesbrough. “The original sanction of expulsion ... remains in place, as does the four-point deduction to be applied to the 2026/27 Championship table and the reprimand in respect of all charges,” the English Football League said in a statement. The final is to be played at Wembley
RSS