Coastal teams strengthen playoff prospects   The DHL Stormers and Cell C Sharks strengthened their chances of favourable Vodacom United Rugby Championship playoff fixtures as they defeated the Vodacom Bulls and Emirates Lions respectively in a crucial round of local derbies on Saturday. The DHL Stormers, who remained in second place on the standings thanks to their nail-biting 23-19 victory against the Vodacom Bulls in front of a packed crowed of over 41,000 spectators at Loftus Versfeld, trail unbeaten log-leaders Leinster by 12 points with four rounds of matches remaining. The...

Defending champs Birkett and Mackenzie extend their Dusi reigns A stage with many unknowns couldn’t curtail the respective title charges of K1 defending champions Andy Birkett and Christie Mackenzie, who powered to the men’s and women’s Dusi Canoe Marathon titles on Saturday. Both started the stage with comfortable leads on Saturday morning and had contrasting days as Birkett meticulously negotiated his way home, while Mackenzie’s two swims were blemishes on an otherwise dominant performance in the women’s race. Following another flawless day in the boat, Euro Steel’s Birkett said that...

Boks kick into gear with three-week camp The Springbok coaches, management and a group of 14 players will kick off the 2023 season with a three-week physical and rugby development camp in Cape Town – from Sunday until Friday, 10 March – in the first team activity of the year as the side gear up for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France in September and October. The 14 players who will assemble in the Mother City on Sunday afternoon, are all players of national interest and who have been on a break from the Vodacom United Rugby Championship competition in the last few weeks. The camp...

The South African Football Association (SAFA) has appointed illustrious former referee Victor Gomes chair of SAFA Referees Committee. He takes over from SAFA vice-president Natasha Tsichlas. The appointment of Gomes is in line with world football governing body FIFA’s requirement that the chair of the Referees Committee must be a former elite referee. At a SAFA NEC meeting held at Radisson Hotel in Kempton Park on Friday, 17 February 2023, the NEC mandated CEO Advocate Tebogo Motlanthe to refer media enquiries from Amabhungane to the SAFA Ethics Committee headed by retired Judge Sisi...

BAVUMA NAMED CAPTAIN OF NEW-LOOK TEST TEAM   JOHANNESBURG: Cricket South Africa (CSA) today announced the appointment of Temba Bavuma as Proteas Test captain as part of a restructure within the leadership group of the national team. The 32-year-old will replace Dean Elgar at the helm of the red-ball format and will continue to lead the One-Day International (ODI) side. He has, however, relinquished the T20 International (T20I) captaincy with the new leader of that team to be named as part of the white-ball squad to face the West Indies next month. Bavuma’s first assignment...

Usual suspects to the fore on Dusi day one After a shorter, but more intense, first stage of the 2023 Dusi Canoe Marathon, favourites Andy Birkett and Christie Mackenzie took the stage honours in contrasting races on Thursday. With the adjusted start at Bishopstowe Country Club, paddlers started with a portage where Team MyLife’s Msawenkosi Mtolo took the initiative and raced to an early lead. Birkett put in after that initial portage in fifth place, but the twelve-time champion slowly picked off the field to hit the Geoff’s Road portage alongside Mtolo at the front of the race. The...

  A confident and capable ASA national team departed safely from Johannesburg, on Tuesday night to take on the world's best distance runners at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships taking place in Bathurst, Australia on Saturday, 18 February 2023. South Africa will face 46 other countries at the biennial showpiece, as well as an invited refugee team. And with full squads lining up from East African distance-running giants Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda, as well as other strong teams entering from around the globe, SA athletes will face tough challenges in all five...

  February 16, 2023 Sanele Makhaye THEUNIS DE BRUYN RETIRES FROM INTERNATIONAL CRICKET “I’ve been fortunate to represent my country at the highest level of cricket and that’s been the proudest moment of my career. The bonds I’ve formed, lessons I’ve learnt, skills I’ve developed and my growth as a human being would not have been possible without the experience of playing international cricket. I’ve lived a childhood dream, shared dressing rooms with my hero’s and played cricket at some of the world’s most iconic venues; and I can’t say thank you enough for the...