Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 9 April 12:30 pm

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

# First up, we look at rugby: Stormers lock Salmaan Moerat will leave the club at the end of the season to take up an opportunity in France. He has previously been linked with Top 14 side La Rochelle. Moerat made his Stormers debut against the Highlanders in Dunedin in 2018 and has earned 70 caps. He has led the Stormers as captain for the past two seasons. Stormers director of rugby John Dobson says this is an opportunity for Moerat’s family to achieve financial security that would not be possible in South Africa.

# Roadrunning: South African long-distance ace Bruce Fordyce warned athletes not to be fooled by the slow start to this weekend’s Two Oceans Marathon in Cape Town. He had completed the race over 56 kilometres 32 times and the half-marathon over 21.1 kilometre another five times, while also winning the iconic Comrades Marathon a record nine times. Seventy-year-old Fordyce says runners should start slow over the easy first half and save energy for the tough second half, including Chapman’s Peak and Constantia Nek.

# Golf: Local player Gary Woodland will be allowed private security during the US Masters, which tees off at Augusta in Georgia later today. The 2019 US Open champion underwent surgery to remove a benign brain tumour in September 2023 which was successful, but left him with post-traumatic stress disorder. One of the side effects is hyper-vigilance, making him extremely alert or cautious, especially around groups of people. Woodland secured entry by winning the Houston Open in Texas last month.

# Motorsport: Senior technical figures from Formula One teams and power unit manufacturers are set to meet today to discuss possible changes to the new regulations introduced this season. This will be the first of three meetings. Some drivers have criticised the introduction of new power-unit regulations, which see a 50-percent split between electrical output and internal combustion engine output. The governing International Automobile Federation says any potential adjustments, particularly those related to energy management, require careful simulation and detailed analysis.

# And World Athletics has postponed the Diamond League’s season-opening event in Doha, Qatar, amid the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict. The multi-discipline event originally scheduled for May 8 will now be held on June 19, should conditions allow. World Athletics says this decision has been taken due to concerns for player and spectator safety. This year’s Diamond League series will now begin on in Keqiao, Chinai, on 16 May. The series has 15 stops, including Qatar, China, Morocco, Italy, Sweden, Poland, and Belgium. 

Stay tuned for more news………….