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 start off with rugby: Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus says the one-off Test against the Wallabies in Australia in September will give him a chance to hand more Test caps in preparation of next year’s World Cup in the country. The Mandela Plate encounter will be played in Perth on 27 September. Erasmus says although this adds to an already full calendar, including the new Nations Championship and the All Blacks’ tour of South Africa, they also plan a warm-up match against the Barbarians before the start of the Test season.

Meanwhile, World Rugby has confirmed the match officials for the 2026 Women’s Six Nations, Pacific Four Series, and the inaugural Under-21 Women’s Six Nations Series, with three South Africans included. Aimee Barrett-Theron and Zoë Naudé will referee in the Six Nations, while Giana Viljoen will feature in the Under-21 series. Barrett-Theron will become only the second female to referee 50 Tests when she takes charge of the Six Nations opener between France and Italy. SA Rugby president Mark Alexander says the three are being rewarded for their hard work.

# Cricket: Australia is dependent on Ireland and Sri Lanka to save them at the T20 World Cup after losing two of its first three matches. The Aussies, long regarded as a heavyweight in the sport, first lost to world number 11, Zimbabwe, before succumbing to co-hosts Sri Lanka in Kandy yesterday. They need Ireland to beat Zimbabwe today, and Sri Lanka to knock out the African team on Thursday, to reach the Super Eight stage. Australia’s final group match is against Oman on Friday.

And, South African-born allrounder JJ Smuts says despite never having been in Italy, he already has some understanding of the Italian psyche. The 37-year-old plays for the European country in the World Cup after representing the Proteas in some white-ball matches between 2017 and 2020. Smuts qualified for Italy through his wife Judi Castignani’s heritage. Italy won their first-ever World Cup match against Nepal last week, but lost to England and Scotland. Their last group match is against the West Indies on Thursday.

# And finally, tennis: World number one, Carlos Alcaraz, returns to action in Doha today in his first tournament since completing the career Grand Slam when he won the Australian Open last month. The 22-year-old Spaniard faces Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech in the round of 32 at the Qatar Open. His fiercest rival, Italian Jannik Sinner, played his first match since Melbourne yesterday when he defeated Czech player Tomas Machac in straight sets. The top-seeded Alcaraz and Sinner are only due to face off in the final should they reach that match.

Stay tuned for more news………….