Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 17th October12:30 pm

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

# We start with rugby: Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour between South Africa and New Zealand has been officially confirmed. The alternating quadrennial tour will see the Springboks host the All Blacks in August and September next year. New Zealand is scheduled to play against the Stormers, Sharks, Bulls and Lions, with a four-Test series against the Boks. Three Tests will be played in South Africa, with the fourth at a yet-to-be-named neutral venue. The Springboks will tour New Zealand in 2030 in a similar format.

Meanwhile, SA Rugby is planning an elite, fully professional women’s competition for next year. President Mark Alexander says this follows the Springbok Women’s great achievement at the World Cup in England, where they reached the quarterfinal for the very first time. He says the potential for growth in the women’s game in the country is fantastic, and while the playing base grows, so will excellence at high-performance level. Alexander believe it’s not a question of whether South Africa’s women can win the World Cup, but when.

# And now soccer: Sport, Arts and Culture minister Gayton McKenzie has pledged five-million-rand in bonuses for Bafana Bafana players and staff after they qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 16 years. McKenzie made the announcement in the dressing room following their 3-0 victory over Rwanda, praising their resilience. He also commended coach Hugo Broos for transforming the team, saying the squad has made the nation proud.

# Cricket: The Proteas Women are playing co-hostess Sri Lanka in a World Cup group match in Colombo today. South Africa is currently in third position on the log after consecutive victories over New Zealand, India and Bangladesh following their opening loss to England. England is in top position after three victories and Wednesday’s no-result against Pakistan, followed by defending champions Australia. India is fourth on the log, followed by New Zealand, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

# And finally, motorsport: The International Motoring Federation has declared this weekend’s Formula One United States Grand Prix a heat hazard race amid high temperatures in Austin. Temperatures in central Texas are forecast to be above the 31 degrees Celsius threshold set by the governing body during tomorrow’s sprint and Sunday’s race. This will be the second successive race where drivers will have the option of using cooling vests after the Singapore Grand Prix earlier this month. Cooling vests are scheduled to be a mandatory feature at heat hazard races next year.

Stay tuned for more news………….