Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 5 June 12:30 pm

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

# We kick off with rugby: Glasgow Warriors regard the Stormers’ Springbok flyhalf, Manie Libbok, as the danger man in Saturday’s United Rugby Championship quarterfinal. The hosts describe the World Cup winner as a magician which they are looking to target in the Scottish city. Attacking coach Nigel Carolan says Libbok is one of the best flyhalves in the sport, saying the Stormers don’t function as well when he isn’t performing at his best. Kick-off at Scotstoun is at 8.35 Saturday evening.

# Soccer: Almost half of Africa’s World Cup qualifiers will have to be played at neutral venues over the next week because of poor stadiums in host countries. Governing body CAF barred 17 out of the 43 countries from hosting matches because their stadiums are not up to standard. Namibia has to use the Orlando Stadium in Soweto as home venue for its matches against Liberia today and Tunisia on Sunday. Other countries being banned from using their own stadiums include Benin, Congo, Madagascar and Kenia.

# Tennis: Second seed Jannik Sinner will face Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals of the French Open. Sinner continued his pursuit of a second straight Grand Slam title by beating Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov, 6-2, 6-4, 7-6. The Italian is guaranteed to rise to world number one in the rankings on Monday after Novak Djokovic withdrew due to injury ahead of his quarterfinal clash. Alcaraz defeated Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas, 6-3, 7-6, 6-4. Sinner says becoming world number one is special:

Meanwhile, Tunisian star Ons Jabeur slammed the French Open organisers, criticising the lack of women’s matches in the night sessions which results in record-breaking late finishes. All 10 of the night matches at Roland Garros so far this year have been men’s ties, which take much longer than women’s matches. Jabeur’s quarter-final defeat by Coco Gauff started at 11am yesterday, with the early exchanges played in front of largely empty stands on Court Philippe Chatrier.

# And finally, motorsport: Red Bull has extended Sergio Perez’s contract for two years, which will see him race for the Formula One team until the end of the 2026 season. The 34-year-old Mexican joined the world champions from Racing Point, now Aston Martin, back in 2021. Perez finished a career-best second behind teammate Max Verstappen in the drivers’ championship last season, helping Red Bull achieve a maiden one-two result alongside the constructors’ title.

Stay tuned for more news………….