Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 25 March 12:30 pm

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

# We kick off with rugby: Springbok fullback Willie le Roux has undergone surgery on his shoulder and is expected to be out of action for a month. This is a major blow for Bulls coach Jake White, who already has concerns about the availability of forwards Cameron Hanekom and Johan Grobbelaar, for their United Rugby Championship clash against Zebre in Pretoria on Saturday. Grobbelaar is nursing a shoulder injury while Hanekom suffered a knock in the victory against Leinster. The Bulls are currently third on the URC log.

Sevens rugby: The experienced Blitzboks player Siviwe Soyizwapi says they are well on their way to realise their dream to finish in the top-four of every tournament in the current world series. South Africa is currently fourth in the standings behind Argentina, Spain and Fiji after four rounds, having won in Cape Town and ending second in Vancouver. Soyizwapi says they are well-prepared for this weekend’s tournament in Hong Kong, and determined to succeed. He says they have become contenders in each tournament they play in.

# Cricket: Delhi Capitals vice-captain, Faf du Plessis, says he supports the Indian Premier League’s impact player rule. The rule allows a player, batter or bowler, to be substituted into the starting 11 at any time of the match. Impact player substitute Ashutosh Sharma’s unbeaten 66 off 31 balls helped Delhi clinch a one-wicket victory over Lucknow Super Giants yesterday. Du Plessis says Sharma showed the value of the rule:

# Motorsport: Formula One team Ferrari says there was no intention to gain any advantage after both its drivers were disqualified from Sunday’s Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai. Charles Leclerc ended fifth and Lewis Hamilton sixth, but both were informed afterwards they had technical infringements which made their results null and void. The team says Leclerc’s car was just one kilogram underweight because their one-stop strategy meant his tyre wear was very high, while they misjudged the consumption of Hamilton’s rearward skid. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri won the race.

# And finally, soccer: Former world governing body Fifa president Sepp Blatter and former French great Michel Platini will stand trial in a corruption case in Switzerland from today. Eighty-nine-year-old Blatter is accused of paying 69-year-old Platini over 41-million-rand from Fifa’s coffers in 2011, described as a consultancy fee. Although they were acquitted of corruption by a lower Swiss court in 2022, prosecutors appealed, leading to the new hearing. Both men were suspended by Fifa in 2015, ending Platini’s hopes of succeeding Blatter as Fifa president.

Stay tuned for more news………….