Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 19 August 12:30 pm

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

# We start off with rugby: Springbok assistant coach Felix Jones says both the Boks and All Blacks will be equally prepared going into Saturday’s first Test at Ellis Park in Johannesburg. New Zealand have won all three tour games played so far against the Stormers, the Sharks and the Bulls. South Africa has had a full-out international run-up against the Barbarians, England, Scotland, Wales, and Argentina. Jones says the three franchise teams have provided key technical takeaways from their matches against the All Blacks:

Meanwhile, All Blacks defence coach Tana Umaga says they cannot afford to get absorbed by the Springboks’ giant pack and lose sight of their backline threats. Umaga, who has overseen the All Blacks’ defence portfolio for six games now, conceding an average of 23 points per game, says they know what to expect from the Boks:

# Soccer: World champion Spain’s captain, Rodri, will play for Spanish giant Barcelona until 2030 after his transfer from English club Manchester City was confirmed. The 30-year-old reportedly signed a contract worth 1.4-billion-rand. Rodri, who won the World Cup’s golden ball award as the best player, played 196 matches for City since joining from Atlético Madrid in 2019. He earlier played for another Spanish club, Villarreal. Rodri joins other big names such as Lamine Yamal, Pedri and Dani Olmo at Camp Nou.

More soccer: English Premier League CEO Richard Masters has joined calls for FIFA president Gianni Infantino to step down. Infantino has faced major criticism over his now-aborted controversial plan to sell stakes in competitions to private investors. Several federations have withdrawn their support for Infantino, who is scheduled to stand for a fourth term in March. Masters told Sky News FIFA needs a unity candidate to step forward and bring positive change:

# And tennis: World number one Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus needed just 54-minutes to defeat China’s Wang Xinyu and book her place in the Cincinnati Open’s round of 16. 2023 champion Coco Gauff secured her spot in the fourth round with victory over fellow American Ann Li. In the men’s draw, fifth-seeded American Taylor Fritz saw off Spain’s Daniel Merida, while his compatriot, Brandon Nakashima, defeated Russia’s Daniil Medvedev to reach the round of 16.

Stay tuned for more news………….