Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 17 January 12:30 pm

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

# We start off with motorsport: It was so close and yet so far. Local driver Yazeed al-Rajhi took the lead in the overall car standings at the Dakar rally in Saudi Arabia after finishing third in yesterday’s decisive penultimate stage. This means he replaces South Africa’s Henk Lategan at the top of the overall classification. Rajhi, who trailed Lategan in his Toyota by two-minutes-27-seconds, not only caught his rival but opened up a significant gap. He now leads the South African by six-minutes-11-seconds going into today’s final stage.

# Rugby: Springbok Sevens loose-forward, Zain Davids, will earn his 50th tournament cap in Australia next weekend, the third leg of the 2024-’25 season. Blitzbok coach Philip Snyman made three changes to the squad that won the Cape Town Sevens last month, welcoming back Selvyn Davids, Ronald Brown, and Ryan Oosthuizen. Injuries have sidelined Mfundo Ndhlovu and Tristan Leyds. The Blitzboks will face the USA, Australia, and Argentina in pool play. Snyman has praised Davids’ consistency and leadership as co-captain:

In the 15-men game, former England captain Owen Farrell will make his comeback from injury for Racing 92 in a Champions Cup game against the Stormers in Paris tomorrow. Coach Stuart Lancaster says maybe he will not play the full 80 minutes. Farrell, who won 112 caps for England, has yet to put his stamp on his time in the French capital. He played eight of the opening nine games in the Top 14 before undergoing a groin operation in mid-November.

# Tennis: Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz dropped a set for the first time in this year’s Australian Open, but stil beat Portugal’s Nuno Borges in four sets to make the last 16. The 21-year-old is bidding to become the youngest player to complete the career Grand Slam in men’s singles history. Germany’s Alexander Zverev is back in the fourth round after beating Britain’s Jacob Fearnley 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. Alcaraz admits to trying to play differently to entertain the crowd:

Meanwhile, the defending women’s champion, Aryna Sabalenka, is through to the fourth round, continuing her bid for a third consecutive title at Melbourne Park. The 26-year-old Belarusian recorded a hard-fought victory over 42nd-ranked Clara Tauson of Denmark. Eleventh-seeded Paula Badosa of Spain edged passed Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk. There were also victories for Croatian Donna Vekic and Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. In the men’s draw, American Tommy Paul defeated Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena.

Stay tuned for more news………….