Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 8 October 12:30 pm

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

# We start off with cricket: Joburg Super Kings have secured the services of 18-year-old South African all-rounder Jason Rowles for 2.9-million-rand, the most expensive signing of the auction for SA20’s fifth season. JSK also welcome back former Proteas captain Faf du Plessis, who was bought for 2.7-million-rand, with West Indies veteran all-rounder Kieron Pollard joining him for 1.5-million-rand. Pretoria Capitals secured Proteas captain Temba Bavuma and Rassie van der Dussen for 200-thousand- and 500-thousand-rand, respectively. MI Cape Town signed Proteas all-rounder Wiaan Mulder for 2-6-million-rand.

Staying with cricket, Proteas spinner Simon Harmer says the strong unity within the team will bode well for them in the three-match Test series against Australia. The 37-year-old, who has not featured for South Africa since last November, could join Keshav Mahara as the other spinner when the first Test starts in Durban tomorrow. Traditionally, coastal pitches offer more assistance for spinners. Harmer describes the team as a close-knit group of players willing to fight together:

# Rugby: Former New Zealand captain Scott Barrett returns to the starting line-up for the first time since November 2025, for the opening Bledisloe Cup Test against Australia at Eden Park on Saturday. His brother Beauden replaces the injured Richie Mo’unga. Codie Taylor captains the side, and Shannon Frizell is on the bench and is in line for his first Test since the 2023 Rugby World Cup final. Coach Dave Rennie says they have huge respect for the Wallabies and the way they have been playing:

Meanwhile, World Rugby has designated the ‘hip drop’ and ‘knee drop’ techniques as dangerous and illegal tackles. The hip drop tackle, where tacklers use their body weight to pull a player to ground and drop onto the legs of ball carriers from behind, will be added to the foul play law and sanctioned with a penalty kick. The knee-drop tackle, where a player drops to one or both knees before tackling, is already covered by the law and can be sanctioned with a penalty.

# And soccer: Spanish forward Pedro Rodrigues announced his retirement at the age of 39 after a career of 20-years which yielded 25 major trophies – including the World Cup in 2010. He was a key member of the country’s squad in South Africa 16 years ago and started in the final against the Netherlands. Rodrigues also helped his country to win Euro 2012. Reuters reports him saying he lived his dream and is proud of all the people who supported him to make it a reality.

Stay tuned for more news………….