Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 13 October 12:30 pm

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

# We start off with rugby: Fourteen Springboks can represent the Bulls in this coming weekend’s Champions Cup opener against French outfit Stade Francais at Loftus. The Pretoria team didn’t impress in the previous four seasons, and didn’t even reached the play-offs in the 2024/25 season. But the Bulls are full of confidence after Saturday’s convincing 57-15 victory over the Lions in a home United Rugby Championship clash. Handré Pollard, Curwin Bosch and new signing Luan Giliomee are all vying for the number ten jersey.

More rugby: English club Saracens have released academy player Totoa Auvaa with immediate effect after an incident in St Albans over the weekend. It says the 21-year-old Samoan forward’s conduct fell short of the standards expected of its players. Auvaa was also involved in a nightclub altercation in June involving England cricketers Ben Stokes and Gus Atkinson in which a member of the team’s security staff was injured. Stokes and Atkinson were later cleared of violent conduct, but received warnings for breaching team rules.

# Soccer: Cristiano Ronaldo scored as Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr beat Uzbekistan’s Neftchi Fergana three-one in the Asian Champions League after a security alert delayed kick-off by an hour. Authorities issued the warning shortly before the match in Riyadh following reports of explosions. The Saudi-led military coalition earlier intercepted and destroyed ballistic missiles launched towards the capital by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Ronaldo scored Al-Nassr’s second goal just before half-time. Neftchi pulled one back after the break, but an own goal sealed the victory for the Saudi side.

# Tennis: Carlos Alcaraz has suffered a shock exit from the Shanghai Masters, losing in straight sets to Belgium’s Zizou Bergs. The unseeded Bergs beat the second-seeded Spaniard 7-5, 7-6 to claim the biggest victory of his career. Meanwhile, Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas fought back to beat American Taylor Fritz and set up a fourth-round clash with Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, who defeated qualifier Dalibor Svrcina in straight sets. Felix Auger-Aliassime, Casper Ruud and Rafael Jodar also went through to the last 16.

# And motorsport: Young Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli has an outside chance of clinching the Formula One drivers’ championship during this month’s Grand Prix in America. The 20-year-old Italian currently leads his British teammate, George Russell, by 102 points after securing the final podium place in Singapore on Sunday. Only six races remain in the current season. Antonelli will secure the title in Texas if he increases his lead by 23 points and Russell and Ferrari’s British driver, Lewis Hamilton, don’t score sufficient points.

Stay tuned for more news………….