Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 6 October 12:30 pm

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

# We start off with soccer: Argentinian great Lionel Messi will play his final international match in tonight’s international friendly against Benin in Buenos Aires. The 39-year-old superstar scored 125 goals in 207 matches for his country since his debut in 2005 – records for both goals and number of matches for Argentina. A mammoth crowd of 85-thousand is expected to pack the Estadio Monumental in the capital to bid farewell to their captain. Local Messi fans face a late night, with kick-off at 1am South African time tomorrow.

# Rugby: Stormers defence coach Norman Laker is confident the returning Springboks will slot seamlessly back into the team’s system. John Dobson’s side will look to bounce back from their defeat to Edinburgh when they face the Sharks in the United Rugby Championship on Saturday. The Stormers will have an almost full complement of Boks available for the clash, including Deon Fourie, Damian Willemse and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. Laker says the returning players will quickly get the few tweaks made to the system during pre-season.

Meanwhile, exciting young versatile back player Luan Giliomee is expected to join the Bulls from the Sharks today. The 19-year-old, who excelled for the Junior Springboks this year, recently signed a long-term contract to move to Pretoria. He completed his commitments for the Durban team last weekend, when they beat URC defending champion Leinster at home. Bulls coach Johan Ackermann isn’t sure yet when he will pick Giliomee. The team plays the Lions in a Jukskei derby on Saturday.

# Cricket: Regular South Africa A captain Marques Ackerman says he is ready for Test cricket after going through every single part of the pipeline. He is expected to make his debut for the Proteas when the first Test against Australia starts in Durban on Friday. The 30-year-old Dolphins captain played at every level for Gauteng, and represented South Africa Under-19 and the SA Academy team. Ackerman says he worked hard for his first Test call-up, and hopes he can contribute to the team when his chance arrives.

# And tennis: Six-time champion Novak Djokovic advanced to the China Open final after Daniil Medvedev was defaulted from their semifinal clash in Beijing. The Serb was serving for the match at 7-5, 5-3 when a ball bounced off the back wall and the Russian accidentally hit it, sending it into the air and striking a spectator in the eye. Medvedev will lose all points and prize money earned from the event. Djokovic will face Australian Alex de Minaur in today’s championship match.

Stay tuned for more news………….