Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 6 May 12:30 pm

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

# We start with rugby: Springbok and Bulls centre, Jan Serfontein, has decided to retire after a celebrated first-class career spanning 15 years. The 33-year-old played 35 tests for South Africa, along with participating in the 2015 World Cup in England. He spent five seasons with the Bulls before moving to French club Montpellier in 2017, where he made over 140 appearances across eight seasons and won the Top 14 title in 2022. Serfontein’s return to the Bulls last year was cut short by a significant knee injury.

More rugby news: A familiar face awaits the Stormers in Friday night’s United Rugby Championship match against Ulster in Belfast. Former teammate Juarno Augustus now plays for the Irish team, for whom he scored the winning try in last weekend’s match against Exeter Chiefs. Stormers forward coach Rito Hlungwani says they realise the loose-forward, nick-named Trokkie, is a good ball carrier who adds an extra layer to the hosts’ attacking game. The Stormers are currently on top of the log and Ulster eighth.  

# Soccer: FIFA president Gianni Infantino has defended World Cup ticket prices, saying they reflect the demand to watch the tournament in the US, Canada and Mexico. He says they have been obliged to take advantage of US laws that allow tickets to be resold for thousands of dollars above face value. Infantino says FIFA received in excess of 500-million ticket requests, compared with around 50-million combined for the previous two World Cups. He says 25-percent of tickets for the group phase were priced at around four-thousand-900-rand each.

# Tennis: The men’s division of the Italian Open started in Rome this morning after the women got going yesterday. The 32 seeded players have a bye in the first round and will only join the action in the round of 64. Local hero and world number one, Jannik Sinner, is competing in the tournament for the seventh time. He lost to great rival Carlos Alcaraz in last year’s final. The Spaniard isn’t competing this year after suffering a wrist injury. Sinner is expected to play his first match on Friday.  

# And golf: Two-time major champion Jon Rahm will be eligible to play in next year’s Ryder Cup at Ireland’s Adare Manor after reaching an agreement with the DP World Tour. The 31-year-old Spaniard had refused to pay fines for playing LIV Golf events without official permission since he made his debut on the breakaway tour in 2024. The agreement includes Rahm settling all his outstanding fines accrued from 2024 to date, along with participation in agreed DP World Tour tournaments in the remainder of this season.

Stay tuned for more news………….