Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 27 October 12:30 pm

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

# We start with rugby: The Springboks could be without fullback Damian Willemse for the upcoming five end-of-year Tests. He suffered a hamstring injury during the Stormers’ 31–16 victory over Benetton in the United Rugby Championship on Saturday. The 27-year-old is in coach Rassie Erasmus’ squad for the November internationals against Japan, France, Italy, Ireland and Wales. The Stormers have not revealed the severity of Willemse’s injury. He is the only recognised fullback in the Boks’ touring squad.

Meanwhile, Erasmus says he has high hopes for their demanding European tour. The first group of players and management departed over the weekend, with the full squad set to assemble in the UK today, ahead of the tour opener against Japan at Wembley on Saturday. Erasmus admits the tour will be challenging given the quality of the opposition they will face.

# Cricket: Australian captain Pat Cummins has been ruled out of the first Ashes Test against England. The 32-year-old, who has been sidelined with a lower back injury, will not be fit enough to play the series opener, which starts in Perth on November 21st. Steve Smith will lead the side in Cummins’ absence, while Scott Boland is the likely replacement in the bowling attack. Coach Andrew McDonald says they are hopeful Cummins will be fit for the second Test in Brisbane, beginning on December 4th:

# Motorsport: McLaren’s Lando Norris converted pole position into a dominant victory at the Mexico City Grand Prix, and now leads the drivers’ championship. The Briton crossed the finish line over 30-seconds ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in third. Haas’ Ollie Bearman finished in a career-best fourth with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri in fifth. Norris, who leads the championship by one point from his teammate Piastri, says he is focused on his own performance with four races to go:

# And tennis: Top seed Jannik Sinner claimed his fourth title of the season and his 22nd career crown by winning the Vienna Open in Austria. The Italian came from a set down to beat Germany’s Alexander Zverev 3-6, 6-3, 7-5. The 24-year-old became the first man to reach eight ATP finals in back-to-back seasons since Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in 2015-2016, when beating Australia’s Alex de Minaur in the semifinals. Sinner says it’s amazing to win another title:

Stay tuned for more news………….