Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 13 March 12:30 pm

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

# We kick off with rugby: Utility Springbok forward Deon Fourie hopes for a triumphant return to the Stormers in tomorrow’s United Rugby Championship match against the Bulls in Pretoria. This follows two years on the sidelines through injury, during which time he seriously considered retirement. The 39-year-old says he is very grateful to be back, and his first objective is to get through the encounter at a packed Loftus Versfeld injury-free. The Stormers will rely on the veteran to help them beat the old foe after a three-game losing streak.

# Cricket: Western Cape Cultural Affairs and Sport MEC, Ricardo Mackenzie, has welcomed the provincial government’s allocation of 15-million-rand towards preparations for the men’s 50-over World Cup next year. The tournament will be hosted in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. Mackenzie says the allocated funds will be shared between Cricket Boland and the Western Province Cricket Association for the upgrading and construction of infrastructure used for the tournament:

More cricket news: Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru will host Sunrisers Hyderabad in the opening match of this season’s Indian Premier League on the 28th of this month. The state of Karnataka recently approved the M Chinnawamy Stadium to host IPL matches after 11 spectators died in a stampede during RCB’s victory celebrations in June last year. However, an expert committee will conduct an inspection today to test the stadium’s readiness. The organisers will release the fixtures of the tournament’s second phase at a later stage.

# Soccer: US president Donald Trump says he doesn’t believe it’s appropriate for Iran to play at the World Cup for their own life and safety amid the conflict in the Middle East. Iran is scheduled to face Belgium, Egypt, and New Zealand in the group stage of the tournament held in the US, Canada, and Mexico from 11 June. Iran says no individual could exclude a country from the World Cup, suggesting the US was unable to provide the necessary security for participating teams.

# And athletics: World and Olympic champion, Mondo Duplantis, has broken the pole vault world record for the 15th time, at the Mondo Classic in Sweden. The 26-year-old US-born Swede cleared 6.31-meters on his first attempt, breaking the record he had previously set at the World Athletics Championship in September last year. Duplantis has increased the world record by the minimum one-centimetre margin on all 15 occasions he has broken it. He will have an opportunity to break the new world record at the World Indoor Championships in Poland next month.

Stay tuned for more news………….