Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 16 October 12:30 pm

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

# We start off with rugby: Junior Springbok star Luan Giliomee will start his Bulls’ career in the number 15 jersey in tomorrow’s Champions Cup match against Stade Francais at Loftus. He replaces Bok veteran Willie le Roux, who drops to the bench. Twenty-year-old Giliomee recently relocated to Pretoria after finishing his stint at the Sharks. He forms the back triangle together with wingers Cheswill Jooste and Sebastian de Klerk. Head coach Johan Ackermann made ten changes to the squad from last week’s United Rugby Championship victory over the Lions.

Ackermann believes they have the strength and the depth to get to at least the semifinals provided the players stay fit. He says winning home games are non-negotiable, while admitting Stade Français will provide a stern test:

# Cricket: KwaZulu-Natal Cricket Union CEO Heinrich Strydom says a thorough internal review will be conducted into the low crowd at Kingsmead in Durban for the first Test between South Africa and Australia. A total of just under 20-thousand fans attended across the five days, which was the Proteas’ first home Test since January last eyar. Australia won by 214 runs. Strydom says they need to listen to the supporters, reconnect with communities, and continue to find ways to make Test cricket more accessible, engaging, and appealing.

# Tennis: World number three Carlos Alcaraz will participate in the Vienna Open in Switzerland after Saudi Arabia’s Six Kings Slam had been postponed to December following terrorist attacks. The organisers say they immediately contacted the Spaniard’s management when indications about the postponement emerged. They describe Alcaraz’s commitment as a tremendous honour. Russian Daniil Medvedev, Italian Flavio Cobolli and American Frances Tiafoe are the other world top-ten players already announced for Vienna, starting on the 26th.

And other tennis news: Serbian Stefan Milicevic has received a 24-year ban after an investigation found he fixed six matches and attempted to fix six more between 2022 and 2024. The International Tennis Integrity Agency says the 29-year-old was also charged with recruiting or attempting to recruit multiple professional players as part of a corrupt network, resulting in other players fixing matches. Milicevic, whose highest ATP ranking was one-thousand-338, has been fined over one-million-rand. He will not be able to play competitive tennis again until 2050.

Stay tuned for more news………….