Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 18 June 12:30 pm

Good day, let’s look at the latest sports news and scores:

# First up, rugby: Former Springbok and Bulls lock Victor Matfield believes the Pretoria team could clinch the United Rugby Championship title on Friday night if they play the correct game. The Bulls take on Leinster in Dublin after losing all three finals they’ve reached in the past four years. The hosts will rely on homeground advantage and having an almost full-strength Irish Test side. But Matfield points to the visitors’ quality forwards, saying they should just be a little bit conservative and use their dominance up front and their physicality.

# Cricket: South Africa defeated Pakistan by two wickets in Edgbaston, England, to register their first victory of the Women’s T20 World Cup. Captain Fatima Sana scored an unbeaten 55 as she dragged Pakistan up to 126 for nine. Marizanne Kapp took three wickets. All-rounder Annerie Dercksen’s 52 off 35 balls and Nadine de Klerk’s 37 pushed the Proteas to victory with three overs to spare. South Africa had recovered to third place in Group A after losing to Australia in their opening game.

# Soccer: Tonight’s Group A World Cup match between South Africa and the Czech Republic is a do-or-die encounter after both teams lost their first matches. Bafana Bafana went down 2-nil to co-hosts Mexico in the opening match, while the Czechs lost 2-1 to South Korea. South Africa hopes to advance beyond the group stages for the first time ever, but will be without Yaya Sithole and Themba Zwane tonight after they were both red-carded against Mexico. Kick-off is at six, South African time.

Meanwhile, coach Hugo Broos says he will continue to do things his way and is not interested in trash spoken about him on social media. Broos, who came under heavy criticism after their defeat in the opener, says the team’s only focus is on delivering an improved performance:

# And golf: World number one Scottie Scheffler, who will become the seventh man to complete the career Grand Slam if he wins the US Open this week, says he will not consider it a failure if he does not win. The 29-year-old American is already a four-time major champion after capturing both the PGA Championship and the British Open last season. He already has two Master’s victories. Scheffler insists completing the career Grand Slam has never been a motivating factor:

Stay tuned for more news………….