Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 17 February 12:30 pm

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

# We kick off with rugby: SA Rugby’s president, Mark Alexander, says the new four-year sponsorship deal with Monster Energy will provide additional financial support. A bid from Seattle-based Ackerley Sports Group for a 20-percent stake in the Commercial Rights Company, an entity created by SA Rugby to grow the value of its commercial activities, was rejected by the provincial unions in December. Alexander says not having a reserve fund is a huge problem:

More rugby news: The Stormers’ Springbok flyhalf, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, still believes the team can reach the play-offs of the United Rugby Championship. They are currently in tenth place on the log, with seven rounds remaining, and in touching distance to be among the first eight who will qualify for the next stage. Feinberg-Mngomezulu hopes to be back from injury soon and help the team reach their goal. He says there’s no panic in the squad. The Stormers next play the third-placed Bulls in Pretoria on the first of March.

# Golf: South Africa’s Wilco Nienaber captured his second NTT DATA Pro-Am title when winning by seven strokes at Fancourt in George in the Western Cape. He joins an exclusive list of only four players to have won this title twice in its 30-year history. The others were Nick Price, Darren Fichardt, and Oliver Bekker. Nienaber’s compatriot, Jean-Paul Strydom, finished second on 20-under-par with a closing 66. In the women’s draw, South Africa’s Danielle du Toit won the title in the playoff for her maiden Sunshine Ladies Tour win.

# Tennis: The announcement of world number one Jannik Sinner’s three-month ban is still attracting various opinions in the tennis world. The Italian accepted the ban after twice testing positive for minute traces of a banned substance in March last year. Women’s world number one, Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, says the system scares players too much. Number three, Coco Gauff of America, hopes the measure is more for the protection of the sport and not to catch players. Another American, Jessica Pegula, feels the process is completely broken.

More tennis news is that former champion Belinda Bencic, who is on a six-match winning streak, is through to the second round of the Dubai Championships. She swept past Japanese qualifier Aoi Ito, 6-love, 6-2. Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina defeated Russian Anna Kalinskaya in straight sets, while Britain’s Emma Raducanu claimed a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Greece’s Maria Sakkari. Czech Republic’s Karolina Muchova, American Emma Navarro and Spain’s Paula Badosa are also through to the second round.

Stay tuned for more news………….