Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 20 October 12:30 pm

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

# First up, we have rugby: United Rugby Championship action returns this coming weekend after the first round of the Champions Cup and Challenge Cup. The Stormers, the Sharks and the Bulls won their matches, while the Lions and the Cheetahs came off short. The Sharks face Cardiff in Wales in Friday’s URC clash and the Lions play Edinburgh in Scotland. The Bulls host Irish outfit Ulster at Loftus on Saturday, while the Stormers welcome Welsh team Scarlets to Cape Town. The Cheetahs don’t participate in the URC.

# Golf: The Sunshine Tour has announced a strong start to 2027, with four tournaments co-sanctioned with the HotelPlanner Tour set to tee off on South African fairways. The schedule will begin with the SDC Open, followed by the Durban Open in January. In February it will be the CIRCA Cape Town Open and the DATA Pro-Am. Sunshine Tour commissioner Thomas Abt says so many South African professionals have used the opportunity created by the HotelPlanner Tour events in the country to play their way onto the DP World Tour and beyond.

# Soccer: Portugal has suspended Cristiano Ronaldo for 30 days and fined him four-thousand-700-rand for walking out on the national team during last month’s UEFA Nations League campaign. The 41-year-old left the squad ahead of Portugal’s clash with Denmark on September 30th after a dispute with head coach Jorge Jesus, accusing him of breaking promises over his playing time. Ronaldo’s suspension takes effect from the day of the match against Denmark, which means he will be available to play in Portugal’s Nations League matches against Denmark and Wales next month.

More soccer: Sarina Wiegman will stay with England’s women’s team for another three years after extending her contract until the end of 2029’s European Championship. The 56-year-old Dutchwoman took over in 2021 and led the team to its first major trophy in the championship the next year. England retained the title last year. They also reached the World Cup final in Australia and New Zealand in 2023, losing to Spain. England plays Ukraine in next month’s qualifiers for next year’s World Cup.

# And lastly, tennis: Grand Slam champions Juan Martin del Potro, Ashleigh Barty and Svetlana Kuznetsova are among the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s Class of 2027 nominees. Del Potro amassed 22 tour-level titles throughout his standout career, including his 2009 US Open triumph. Barty, a former world number one, won four Grand Slam titles, three in singles and one in doubles. Kuznetsova is on the ballot for the second time. The Russian won 18 WTA Tour singles titles and 16 doubles titles during her 15-year career, including two Grand Slam singles titles.

Stay tuned for more news………….