Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 27 October 12:30 pm

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

# We start with soccer: England captain and  Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane is the 2026 Ballon d’Or winner, becoming the first British player to win the prestigious individual accolade since Michael Owen in 2001. France’s Kylian Mbappé and Spain’s Lamine Yamal finished second and third, respectively. Kane, who scored 73 goals for club and country last season, also won the Men’s Striker of the Year award. Spanish midfielder Alexia Putellas won the Women’s Ballon d’Or for a record-equalling third time. Spain’s Luis de la Fuente was named Men’s Coach of the Year.

# Rugby: The Sharks will be without captain André Esterhuizen, prop Phatu Ganyane and centre Jurenzo Julius for their United Rugby Championship clash against Munster in Ireland on Saturday. The players suffered injuries in last week’s bonus-point 36-21 victory over Cardiff. Esterhuizen injured his right ankle, Ganyane sustained a right elbow injury, while Julius is nursing a right hamstring problem. The squad has been bolstered by prop Cameron Dawson, winger Litelihle Bester and outside back Suleiman Hartzenberg, who joined the team on Sunday.

Meanwhile, All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie has named a strong 36-man squad for next month’s Nations Championship Tests in Europe. Codie Taylor will captain the team against Scotland, Wales and England. Highlanders prop Saula Ma’u and Chiefs flyhalf Josh Jacomb are the only uncapped players, while several players, including Jordie Barrett and Richie Mo’unga, are back after missing out on various Tests this year. Rennie is happy with the balance of the squad:

# Golf: Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell is the latest player to announce his departure from LIV Golf. The major champion follows in the footsteps of Jon Rahm, Louis Oosthuizen, Ian Poulter and Tyrrell Hatton. McDowell has not given reasons for his decision or his future plans. LIV filed for bankruptcy protection in the US last month after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund withdrew its financial backing. It has secured possible financing from BC Partners Credit as it looks to relaunch in a new league, dubbed LIV 2.0, next year.

# And tennis: Two-time champion Jannik Sinner plans to play in the rescheduled Six Kings Slam in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in December. The Italian has not played since winning Wimbledon in July due to a right knee injury. Sinner initially withdrew from the Six Kings Slam, which was scheduled for this month, but the postponement to late December due to deadly strikes in Saudi Arabia has opened the door for him to return. The event will also feature the likes of Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.

Stay tuned for more news………….