As the Springboks and All Blacks prepare for another pivotal chapter in rugby’s greatest rivalry, it feels like the perfect moment to look back at a day that remains very special in the life and career of Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse. The place was Soccer City in Soweto. The date was Saturday, 6 October 2012. The occasion was a Test match between the Springboks and the All Blacks — two giants of world rugby. And standing on that enormous stage, in front of a capacity crowd, was one of Soweto’s own: …
Rugby
Tragedy on Lynnwood Road Following Loftus Spectacle
The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) mourns the tragic incident that occurred on Saturday evening on Lynnwood Road in Pretoria following the Springboks’ match against Scotland at Loftus Versfeld. A rugby spectator, who was apparently making his way back to his vehicle, fell into a deep excavation on the pavement outside the Javet Art Centre and later succumbed to his injuries. The incident occurred as thousands of spectators were leaving the stadium and making their way through the construction area …
“Learning While Winning”
A much-changed Springbok team came through a see-sawing slugfest with Scotland to produce a 42-28 victory (halftime 14-14) in an inaugural Nations Championship match at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday. The Boks prevailed by six tries to four after making 10 changes to the starting XV that had beaten England 45-21 seven days ago. It kept South Africa on top of the Southern Hemisphere conference on points difference from New Zealand. Both teams have a maximum of 10 log points. “It’s much …
Scotland Pose a Massive Challenge
Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick and captain Pieter-Steph du Toit made it clear on Friday that Scotland would provide a stern test when the teams meet in their second Nations Championship encounter on Saturday in Pretoria. They also both hoped to make it a special occasion for Rassie Erasmus, who will break the record as the most capped Springbok head coach of all time in what will mark his 55th Test match at the helm. The match kicks off at 17h40 and will be broadcast live on …
Team Goals Before Personal Ambitions
Yonela Ngxingolo will extend her Springbok Women record as most capped prop to 44 Tests, but for Ngxingolo, it makes no difference if she is doing it off the bench or in the starting team when they take on the USA Eagles at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday. The 28-year-old made her Test match debut way back in 2018 and apart from the odd injury, Ngxingolo has been part of every squad selected for international duty ever since. She has been a regular starter in the early part of her career, but …
Bulls V Leinster
The Vodacom Bulls will return to Dublin for a second successive Vodacom United Rugby Championship Grand Final against Leinster after the two teams won their respective semi-finals in an enthralling weekend of rugby. The URC has confirmed that the fifth Grand Final will take place on Friday, 19 June at Croke Park in Dublin, where Leinster and the Vodacom Bulls will face each other in a rematch of last year’s decider. Kick-off is scheduled for 20h30 and the encounter will be broadcast live on …
Directories – How to Make Yours Stand Out
I remember with fondness the OPD (Open Directory Project) from the early days of the internet. At one stage the ODP was the number one go to place to find new and interesting web sites. Manually created and curated one could say that it was the forerunner of other high manual contribution sites like Wikipedia. The ‘koel deur die kerk’ moment for ODP was the day that they agreed to allow Google (then a fledgling search engine) to scrape and use their data to provide seed sites and …
Mzansi Rugby League Discusses Economic Opportunity Around Its Ten Clubs
Johannesburg: The Mzansi Rugby League (MRL) says the creation of additional professional rugby clubs has the potential to generate economic opportunity far beyond the players who ultimately take the field. According to the league, one of the reasons professional rugby opportunity remains important is because every sustainable professional club creates opportunities throughout an entire ecosystem of people, businesses and communities. The MRL recently outlined its belief that South African rugby …
Mzansi Rugby League Says the Future of South African Rugby Requires Stronger City-Based Professional Clubs
Johannesburg — The Mzansi Rugby League (MRL) says one of the biggest opportunities in South African rugby lies in building stronger city-based professional club ecosystems capable of creating deeper supporter identity, stronger local economies and more sustainable long-term professional rugby structures. According to the league, South Africa possesses one of the strongest rugby cultures in the world, with elite schools, passionate communities, historic amateur clubs and a player pipeline that …
Why South African Rugby Needs More Professional Opportunity
Johannesburg: South Africa is one of the greatest rugby-producing nations in the world. Every year, thousands of talented players emerge from schools, universities, amateur clubs and communities across the country. South African players compete and succeed in the biggest rugby competitions globally, from the United Rugby Championship and Premiership Rugby to France’s Top 14, Japan Rugby League One and Major League Rugby. Yet despite the country’s extraordinary depth of talent, professional …