RéDAN SPORTS BLOGGING

It was a remarkable weekend for South African sports across multiple disciplines. Firstly, the Springboks reaffirmed their status as world champions by defeating the Wallabies for the second consecutive week. In cricket, the Proteas triumphed over the West Indies on their own turf, securing the Sir Vivian Richards Trophy with a 40-run victory in the final match of the two-test series in Guyana. Additionally, Dricus "Stillknocks" du Plessis successfully defended his UFC Middleweight title against fellow African fighter Israel Adesanya. Focusing on the Springboks, Coach Rassie Erasmus made extensive changes to his match day squad for the second and final test, a decision that some Australians perceived as disrespectful towards the Wallabies. However, Erasmus clarified in his post-match press conference that the decision was intended to give all squad members playing time. The Springboks began the match strongly, scoring a penalty and a try within a minute to take an 8-3 lead. J

 In the second match of round one, the All Blacks faced off against Los Pumas at Sky Stadium in Wellington. It was an exciting match to watch as both sides scored some magnificent tries.  New Zealand raced to a 20 - 8 lead, but only for a short while as Argentina came charging back to only trail by 20 - 15 at halftime. Argentina struck back early in the second half as they led 22 - 20 through a try by number 4 lock, Franco Molina with Santiago Carreras adding the extras.  Damian McKenzie slotted a penalty in the 46th minute to regain the lead. It was literally a kicking contest as both sides exchanged penalties before Mark Tele'a changed through a gap to score a try for the All Blacks and extend their lead to five points. After that try, Argentina scored 13 unanswered points to come out with a hard-fought 38 - 30 victory over the men in black.  Los Pumas absolutely deserved this victory in New Zealand as they played their hearts out. It was also visible on their faces that they rea

South Africa too good for Australia The Springboks have kickstarted their Rugby Championship with a bonus-point win over the Wallabies in Brisbane. Honestly, I'm not the only one who expected this from the Boks, especially considering how they played against Ireland in the first test.  Nevertheless, It was a good game to watch. The Boks absolutely refused to give Australia anything. They raced to a 21 - 0 lead at halftime through Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, and Malcom Marx (who came on as a tactical substitute for Bongi Mbunambi). Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu converted all three tries.  Australia, on the other hand, had only one visit to the Springboks' 22-meter area. They really struggled throughout the game. Their only try came in the 75th minute through Hunter Paisami but, by that time it was too little too late. To be very critical and honest, there was no sense of urgency from Australia in the whole game.  South Africa completely dominated them despite having received

Rassie picks an exciting team to face the Wallabies It has been three weeks since the Boks played Os Lobos. With the Boks having flown to Australia week, they had some good preperations for the next two tests. Bok coach Rassie Erasmus named quite a strong, but youthful, squad.  He decided to stick to what he knows but also shook it up a bit with Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu being preferred to Handré Pollard. With Faf de Klerk not being considered due to his injury, Cobus Reinach gets the nod. The other notable change sees Elrigh Louw start at eight to earn his first start. André Esterhuizen was suspended for four matches due to his high tackle in the game agains Portugal, and thus, Damian de Allende gets to start alongside Jesse Kriel.  Dr. Rassie "in your head" Erasmus went for the 6 - 2 split in favour of the forwards with Grant Williams and Handré Polard being the only backline cover on the bench.  The team vs Australia:  1. Ox Nche 2. Bongi Mnbunambi 2. Frans Malherbe 4. Ebe