Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 5 March 12:30 pm

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

# We start with rugby: The Springbok Sevens are through to the quarterfinals in Hong Kong, having won their first two Pool C matches today. The Blitzboks opened with a 22-17 win against Ireland. They scored four tries through Shilton van Wyk, Dewald Human, Quewin Nortjé, and Ryan Oosthuizen, to secure their first win over Ireland in the World Series this season. South Africa then defeated Spain 24-10 in their second match. The Springbok Sevens, who are in seventh place on the log, will face Samoa in their final pool match tomorrow morning.

Meanwhile, it’s do-or-die for the five South African teams in the round of 16 in European competitions this weekend. The Bulls and the Stormers are playing in the Champions Cup, and the Sharks, the Lions and the Cheetahs in the Challenge Cup. The Bulls will host Lyon at Loftus on Saturday and the Stormers will welcome La Rochelle to Cape Town. The Sharks play Zebre Parma at home in Durban. The Lions will meet Benetton in Italy, and the Cheetahs play Clermont in France.

# Tennis: Eleven-time champion, Rafael Nadal, has pulled out of the Monte Carlo Masters as his struggles with an injury continue. The Spaniard made his long-awaited return at the Brisbane International in January, after almost a year out with injury. However, the 37-year-old injured a hip, which ruled him out of the Australian Open and has kept him out of tournaments ever since. Nadal says his body won’t allow him to play the tournament and the only thing he can do is to accept the situation.

More news about the sport is that Saudi Arabia will host the professional women’s season-ending tournament for the next three years. The world’s top eight singles players and doubles teams will participate in the WTA Finals, which will take place in the capital of Riyadh from 2 to 9 November this year. Prize money has been increased by 70-percent to 284-million-rand. WTA chairperson Steve Simon says their partnership with the kingdom should build on the game’s exposure to a market and a region with a rapidly growing impact on the sports industry.

# And, motorsport: Mercedes’s Formula One team CEO says Sebastian Vettel can never be discounted. Toto Wolff reacted to rumours the German might replace Lewis Hamilton when the British driver swops Mercedes for Ferrari at the end of the season. Vettel won four consecutive championships for Red Bull, and also raced for Ferrari and Aston Martin before retiring in 2022. Wolff and Vettel held talks earlier this week. Wolff says the German has a phenomenal track record, but stresses his team hasn’t chosen Hamilton’s successor yet:

Stay tuned for more news………….