Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 31 March 12:30 pm

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

# We begin with rugby: Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus says the inaugural Nations Championship Tests will be a thrilling challenge. The Boks start their campaign against England in Johannesburg on 4 July, before facing Scotland in Pretoria on 11 July, and Wales in Durban on 18 July. Erasmus says all three teams will draw inspiration from the fact that they come off a highly competitive Six Nations competition, while the Boks will only be beginning their season. He adds that they will need to hit the ground running to be as competitive as possible.

Meanwhile, fourteen Springboks have been included in the Bulls’ 33-man touring squad for this weekend’s Champions Cup round of 16 fixture against in-form Glasgow Warriors in Scotland. The Boks include Handrè Pollard, Willie le Roux, Kurt-Lee Arendse and Canan Moodie. Young duo Cheswill Jooste and Reinhardt Ludwig are also in the squad following strong performances in recent weeks. Bulls coach Johan Ackermann says facing Glasgow will be a massive challenge:

# Cricket: The head coach of English club Northamptonshire, Darren Lehmann, believes the country’s internationals don’t play enough country cricket while selectors are overlooking domestic talent. The former Australian international reacted to England’s woes in the most recent Ashes Test series against his homeland. Lehmann told England’s managing director, Rob Key, and Test captain Ben Stokes he hadn’t seen an English selector during his first year in charge. Northamptonshire’s batter, Saif Zaib, was overlooked for the England Lions’ tour despite scoring one-thousand-425 runs in the last season.

# Tennis: The international claycourt season kicks off after the Sunshine Double on hard courts in America. Among the men’s tournaments are ATP Masters One-thousand events in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome, while the women will compete in WTA One-thousand tournaments in Madrid and Rome, and other events. The season culminates in the claycourt Grand Slam tournament, the French Open, in Paris from the end of May, with Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and American Coco Gauff the defending champions.

# And Olympics: The ticket sale process for 2028’s Games in Los Angeles in the US will open for the general public next Thursday. It will be preceded by a presale for residents in L-A and Oklahoma City. The organisers say a million of the cheapest tickets will be available at 478-rand, about five-percent of tickets will cost over 17-thousand-rand, and other prices differ from three-thousand 400- to six-thousand-800-rand. A verified resale programme will open next year through official resale platforms.

Stay tuned for more news………….