Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 7 April 12:30 pm

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

# We start off with cricket: Proteas wicket keeper Connor Esterhuizen has been nominated for the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for March, alongside Indian duo Sanju Samson and Jasprit Bumrah. Esterhuizen impressed in the T20 series against New Zealand, scoring 200 runs in five matches. Meanwhile, South Africa’s Ayabonga Khaka is up for the women’s award, with New Zealand captain Melie Kerr and Australia’s Beth Mooney. Khaka was the leading wicket-taker in the T20 series against New Zealand, securing eight wickets. She claimed a career-best six-wicket haul in the first ODI in Christchurch.

# Rugby: Junior Springbok head coach, Kevin Foote, says the objectives of the two-week training camp in Stellenbosch are to step up the players’ fitness levels, physicality, and ball‑in‑play time. Forty-five players are taking part in the camp as preparation for the Under-20 Rugby Championship to be held in Gqeberha. The competition will also feature New Zealand, Australia, and Argentina. Foote says their recent tour of Georgia was a critical part of their preparation, and the camp would further sharpen their readiness.

More rugby news: The North West University-Eagles will face the University of Pretoria-Tuks in the Varsity Cup final at the LC de Villiers Stadium in Pretoria on Monday. The Eagles scored 40 unanswered second-half points to thrash the University of Stellenbosch Maties 50-10 in Potchefstroom. Winger Munashe Dukuswa scored three tries as Tuks, on a quest for a sixth title, defeated the University of Johannesburg 53-34 in Pretoria. Meanwhile, the University of Walter Sisulu will take on the University of Witwatersrand in the Varsity Shield final on Friday.

# Soccer: Kaizer Chiefs have boosted their chances of qualifying for the 2026/27 CAF Confederation Cup following their 3-1 victory over relegation-threatened Orbit College in the Premiership in Gqeberha. Mbulelo Wagaba put Orbit ahead and Wandile Duba equalised before halftime. Second-half goals from Siphesihle Ndlovu and Mduduzi Shabalala secured the victory for AmaKhosi. This moved Chiefs up to third place on the table and a qualification spot for the continental competition, which is the African equivalent of the UEFA Europa League.

# And, tennis: 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka has been knocked out of the Monte-Carlo Masters by wildcard Sebastian Baez of Argentina in the first round. The 41-year-old Swiss will retire at the end of the season. Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo defeated three-time champion Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, while Belgium’s Alexander Blockx battled past Canadian Denis Shapovalov. Russia’s Andrey Rublev, who won his maiden Masters One-thousand title in Monte-Carlo in 2024, secured victory over Portuguese Nuno Borges.

Stay tuned for more news………….