Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 14 March 12:30 pm

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

# First up, we have rugby: Springbok Sevens assistant coach, Philip Snyman, has been promoted to head coach until July, replacing Sandile Ngcobo. This follows a review following the Blitzboks’ recent disappointing results. Ngcobo has returned to his role of Sevens Academy coach. The Blitzboks, who had finished in the top two in 12 of the previous 16 World Sevens seasons, are currently seventh in the standings. SA Rugby CEO, Rian Oberholzer, says the short-term needs of the team are such that for continuity, Snyman has been tasked with reviving the Blitzboks’ fortunes.

More rugby news: Japan head coach Eddie Jones says he wants to create a new style of play that is adventurous and attacking. The 64-year-old is coaching the Brave Blossoms for the second time, after parting ways with Australia last year when the Wallabies failed to make the World Cup knockout stages for the first time in history. Jones’s first game in charge is in June against England, a team he coached from 2015 to 2022. He says he wants to bring on new Japanese talent:

# Tennis: Fourth seed Daniil Medvedev is through to the Indian Wells quarterfinals for the second consecutive year. The Russian defeated Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-4. Norway’s Casper Ruud ended Frenchman Gael Monfils’ run with a marathon 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 victory in two-hours-27-minutes. In the women’s draw, American Emma Navarro secured the biggest win of her career, defeating world number two Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals. Navarro says beating the reigning Australian Open champion feels surreal:

# Golf: Kylie Henry is the early frontrunner at the start of the second round of the Ladies Open at Royal Cape in Cape Town. She is one of only nine players who completed the first round under par after the infamous Cape winds played havoc with the field. The Scottish player ended on five under par 69 followed by South Africans Shawnelle de Lange and Lora Assad on three under and two under, respectively. Henry says she is happy with her overall game:

# And finally, Olympics: Russia’s Sports minister believes his government shouldn’t boycott the Games in Paris, despite the country’s athletes not being allowed to participate under their own flag. Oleg Matytsin reacted for the first time to the International Olympic Committee’s decision that Russians may only compete as neutrals in individual events due to the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Russian team sports will not be accepted. Matytsin says Russian athletes should be allowed to participate, and Moscow should keep the possibility of dialogue open.

Stay tuned for more news………….