Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 19 June 12:30 pm

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

# We kick off with rugby: World Rugby has announced an expansion of the television match official’s powers for Saturday’s Test between the Springboks and Wales, as well as the upcoming U20 Championship in Cape Town. The governing body confirmed it is operating an initial closed trial of modifications to the TMO at World Rugby competitions in July. In addition, Saturday’s two matches at Twickenham – the Springboks versus Wales and Fiji versus Barbarians – will also operate the trial following requests from the respective unions.

More rugby news is that New Zealand’s most capped player Sam Whitelock will captain the Barbarians in his final game when they play Fiji in London on Saturday. The match will be played after the Springboks faced Wales at the same venue. The 35-year old lock made the last of his 153 All Blacks appearances in October’s Rugby World Cup final loss and then joined French club Pau for the season. Whitelock is joined in the side by players like England stars Jonny May, Ben Youngs, Kyle Sinckler as well as France centre Gael Fickou.

# Cricket: South Africa captain Aiden Markram warned his side against under-estimating the United States ahead of their T20 World Cup showdown, claiming the Americans are not a small team anymore. Co-hosts USA stunned the sport by beating former champions and Asian powerhouse Pakistan in the first-round group stage. South Africa finished their opening group campaign with a perfect four wins in four games but they rode their luck to maintain a 100-percent record. The two teams meet at 4.30 this afternoon.

# Tennis: Carlos Alcaraz saved three set points on his way to beating Francisco Cerundolo 6-1, 7-5 as he launched his title defence at Queen’s Club on Tuesday. Spain’s Alcaraz, who lifted his third Grand Slam at the French Open earlier this month, was not at his best in his first grass-court match of 2024 but recovered from a mid-match dip to triumph. The world number two, who followed up last year’s victory at Queen’s by winning his first Wimbledon, will next face either the Brit Jack Draper or Argentine Mariano Navone.

# And golf: Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry will represent Ireland at the Paris Olympic Games. The 60-player field features players representing 32 countries, with the US the only nation to have more than two qualifiers. World number one Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa will represent the US. The former US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick and Tommy Fleetwood qualified for Great Britain. Each national Olympic committee has until 27 June to officially confirm their athletes to the International Golf Federation.

Stay tuned for more news………….