Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 18 November 12:30 pm

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

# We start with rugby: SA Rugby CEO Rian Oberholzer says the newly-established Nations Championship, which will see the 12 best countries in the world compete against each other, will change the game globally. The Springboks will host England, Scotland and Wales in July next year at the start of the new biennial tournament. Oberholzer says the competition will transform the existing international windows in July and November, which means every Test will now count for more than just bragging rights and world ranking points.

Meanwhile, Springbok assistant coach, Mzwandile Stick, has criticised what he says are unfair and inconsistent disciplinary decisions that have gone against them during the year-end tour. On Saturday, against Italy, lock Franco Mostert received a direct red card for an apparent high tackle, a week after Lood de Jager suffered the same fate against France. The Boks are preparing to face Ireland in Dublin on Saturday. Stick says they are growing increasingly disillusioned with the current landscape:

# Cricket: Former Indian batter Cheteshwar Pujara says he won’t accept the current period of transition as an excuse for the loss to South Africa in the first Test in Kolkata – the Proteas’ first victory in the country since 2010. The visitors struggled with the bat, only posting a combined 313 runs in their two innings, but India was bowled out for just 93 while chasing a 124-run winning target. Pujara questioned the batters’ approach on an unpredictable pitch. The final Test starts in Guwahati on Saturday.

# Tennis: France and Belgium face off in the first quarterfinal of the Davis Cup Finals in Bologna, Italy, today. The hosts and twice defending champions will play Austria tomorrow, while the other two quarterfinals will be completed on Thursday. These will see Spain, led by world number one Carlos Alcaraz, facing the Czech Republic, and Argentina coming up against Germany, spearheaded by number three, Alexander Zverev. The semifinals will be played on Friday and Saturday, and the final on Sunday.

# And soccer: Four-time winners Germany has booked its place in next year’s World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico. Julian Nagelsmann’s side thrashed Slovakia 6-0 in the last game of Group A. The Netherlands also qualified for the global showpiece when cruising to a 4-0 victory over Lithuania. Poland and Slovakia secured their places in the play-offs. The playoff draw will take place on Thursday and will include 16 teams competing for four World Cup spots in games played in March next year.

Stay tuned for more news………….