Benjamin Follett-Smith. Tyrone Winfield/Sunshine Tour Having just returned from the DP World Tour and on his way back home to Zimbabwe, Benjamin Follett-Smith decided to make a detour to Houghton Golf Club for this week’s Fortress Invitational – and he was rewarded with an opening 63 for the lead on Thursday. “I just thought I would come play here on my way home, as I’m going home for two weeks now to build some confidence before I go back for the DP World Tour Qualifying Sch

The 10bet Lions will make the short trip across the Jukskei to take on the Vodacom Bulls in Round 3 of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in the country’s capital on Saturday (1.30pm kick-off). Already two from two in the competition, the Joburgers will be looking to capitalise on their current form, especially at Loftus where they were successful last season; claiming a 43-33 victory over Johan Ackermann’s men. Lions head coach Ivan van Rooyen admitted that despite their

The Hollywoodbets Sharks have opened their Vodacom United Rugby Championship campaign with two bonus-point wins from two, taking the maximum 10 log points from victories over Ospreys (41-24) and Leinster (26-20). The results reward a pre-season spent building a clear game model: Fast, Physical, Relentless and a strong team culture as part of this Next Wave. The opening fortnight showed that model and connection at work. The scrum won all 19 of its feeds, the line-out 24 of 25

Just days after celebrating 70 years of sporting history, the DP World Wanderers Stadium has reached another significant milestone – this time looking firmly towards the future. As part of its ongoing sustainability and infrastructure programme, the iconic Johannesburg venue, home to #ThePrideOfJozi, has commissioned a new borehole in partnership with Borehole Africa, providing an alternative water source to support the stadium’s day-to-day operations and strengthen its resil

The future of KwaZulu-Natal cricket was on show in Eshowe this week as six teams from the Dolphins Hubs space competed in the KZNDSAC Sunfoil Hub U13 Cricket Tournament, held from 29 September to 2 October. The tournament brought together young cricketers from the Dolphins Hubs space, forming six teams, namely: Reservoir Hills/Outer West, KCCD/Mtubatuba, INK/iLembe, Chatsworth/Umlazi, Port Shepstone/Umzinto and KCCD Invitational. More than simply a tournament, the initiative

South Africa will play their first Test on home soil since defeating Australia in the ICC World Test Championship Final at Lord's last year. The two sides currently occupy the top two slots in the WTC standings, with Australia first with an 80% PCT, while the Proteas sit close behind with 75%. South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma is hoping the occasion provides an opportunity to celebrate with the home supporters and have their full backing. “It's our first time playing Test cri

African Collaborations Group (ACG) (www.ACGafrica.com), the leading strategic project origination and collaboration platform focused on the industrialisation of sport in Africa through the origination of bankable sport and entertainment district ecosystems, today announced the appointment of Abiola (Abi) Ijasanmi to its Advisory Board. Ijasanmi is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of African Sports Investor (ASI), an advisory and investment platform focused on building

Johan Ackermann. BBCO America’s Got Talent seems a strange source of inspiration for Vodacom Bulls coach Johan Ackermann. But it’s one of the many avenues he uses for inspiration in his rugby career. “I enjoy inspiring stories from real life and things that people have overcome. It could be a guy who walks onto the stage at America’s Got Talent and the judges have already judged him by his looks and then he has this amazing talent,” he says. It possibly resonates so much wit

As the Springbok Sevens team prepare to carry South Africa’s hopes into a new HSBC SVNS season, they are taking their message of #PoweredbyUnity into the communities that support them. Furthermore, through its brand-new #BlitzNation campaign and the Seven-Minute Blitz challenge, fans are invited to create, complete or transform something in seven minutes to show their support of the Blitzboks, meet players, and participate in the energy of sevens rugby. At Paulus Joubert Seco

Vodacom United Rugby Championship log leaders, the Hollywoodbets Sharks and third-placed 10bet Lions, will have their sights set on continuing their unbeaten start in the competition this weekend and remain in the top four on the standings when they hit the road to face the DHL Stormers and Vodacom Bulls in a thrilling round of South African derbies. They will, however, prepare themselves for challenging outings as the Capetonians will enter the match highly motivated after s

Momentum Multiply Titans strengthened their position at the top of Pool A in the YesPlay Pro20 Cup with a comprehensive eight-wicket victory over CSA High Performance at SuperSport Park on Wednesday, maintaining their unbeaten record in the competition. CSA High Performance won the toss and elected to bat first but their innings got off to the worst possible start when Sunday’s teenage centurion Adnaan Lagadien was dismissed off the second ball for none. Ombesa Matsha steadie

From left to right: Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu; President of Sierra Leone and immediate past Chair of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, His Excellency Julius Maada Bio; and Chair of Heirs Holdings and Co-Chair of the WAIIS Private Sector Advisory Board, Tony O. Elumelu, CFR, at the meeting in Lagos on 7 October 2026. The President of Sierra Leone and immediate past Chair of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, His Excell

DHL Stormers Director of Rugby John Dobson. Inpho Photography The DHL Stormers will be looking to make amends for the low point of last season when they welcome the table-topping Hollywoodbets Sharks to Cape Town for a “Test match” showdown on Saturday. John Dobson’s team were beaten twice by the Sharks in the URC in the space of seven dark days back in January, losing 30-19 at home and then 36-24 in Durban a week later. So they will be on a revenge mission at a packed DHL St

The Springbok Women will finish a bumper season with a massive challenge when they welcome Ireland to South African shores for the first time for two WXV Global Series Tests in Cape Town later this month, with tickets to the matches at Athlone Stadium available from Ticketmaster. Priced from R50 per person, or R150 for a package of four, tickets will allow fans to see the Bok Women take on the fifth-ranked team in the world on their first visit to South Africa. Both matches a

St David's Marist Inanda matriculant and rain Schools SA20 graduate, Jason Rowles was the standout purchase of the Player Auction as Joburg Super Kings paid R2.9-million to have his services in Season 5. The Betway SA20 Season 5 Player Auction produced a captivating blend of proven international pedigree and exciting young talent as the four remaining franchises finalised their squads on Wednesday evening in Johannesburg. Leading the list of headline signings was former Prot

Dragons RFC's Ben Carter. Huw Evans Picture Agency To get an insight into the qualities which have seen Ben Carter nail down a Wales second row spot, it’s revealing to listen to his Dragons RFC coach Filo Tiatia. Having earned promotion from the bench midway through the Guinness Six Nations, Carter went on to make six successive starts for his country, establishing himself as a key cog in the machine. He has brought a huge defensive work-rate - as illustrated by him winning t

The Springbok Women’s team is joining forces with Project Flamingo this month, supported by Engen SA, to Make Room for Her, a campaign that brings women's sport and women's health together around one simple idea: every woman deserves to be seen, supported and cared for. The Springbok Women are familiar with the fight for room: Room on the field, room in the sporting conversation, room in the media, room in the stadium and room for women’s sport to grow. That has resonance wit

After an exciting weekend of the United Rugby Championship, URC StatMaster has identified the top players from R2 along with the overall top team and player performances from the league so far. Click Below To View URC Player Stats Click Below To View BKT URC Team Stats Top Players From R2 Carries: 21 Davide Ruggeri (Zebre Parma) Defenders Beaten: 9 Keiran Williams (Ospreys) / Rio Dyer (Dragons RFC) Line-outs Won: 8 Francke Horn (10bet Lions) Metres: 99 Anzelo Tuitavuki (Drag

Benjamin Kedochim. This week’s Fortress Invitational is primed for a breakthrough victory by one of several in-form rookies on the Fortress Rookie of the Year standings in what has overall been one of the strongest rookie performances on the Sunshine Tour this season. Since the start of this R2.5-million tournament in 2022, it has showcased the finest current and rising talent on the Sunshine Tour and this year’s field is no exception in a season where the established stars h

The reigning ICC World Test Championship champions are back in action and they have some huge challenges upfront. After conquering India, South Africa face a major test at home when Australia arrive for a crucial series. For Temba Bavuma, the stakes extend beyond the immediate Test series. Over the next 12 months the Proteas have the chance to establish themselves as a force across formats, with the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027 also approaching on home soil. First up is A

Last campaign's runners-up Australia head the standings in the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle with eight wins coming in 10 games. Previous edition winners South Africa are not too far away, in second with 36 points from four games. As the cycle enters a crucial phase, the teams now look to strengthen their case for a top-two finish. South Africa and Australia will go up against each other from 9 October in a three-game series. In recent weeks, the World Test Champi

From left to right: nesti co-founder David Kimani, Pollen Patrollers co-founder Margaret Wanjiku, Vunapay co-founder Koya Matsuno and Kumbatia Seafood co-founder Will Gertler. Six African startups have been selected as winners of the 2026 FINCA (https://FINCA.org/ )Ventures Prize Competition (https://apo-opa.co/4zgFQFQ), receiving a combined $400,000 in catalytic funding to accelerate their impact in key resilience sectors. The competition, a flagship initiative of FINCA’s im

Richard Simanga Ngwenya, Head of Honeybadger Family Office (https://Honeybadger.Africa) and Founder of Nisela Capital, will speak at three industry events in South Africa this October and November: Africa Energy Week (AEW) 2026 and Africa Tech Festival, both at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), and the Connected Banking Summit in Johannesburg. The panels cover different industries but Ngwenya sees the same question running through all of them: whether Afr

Seven Springboks will play their first match for the DHL Stormers this season in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship derby against the Hollywoodbets Sharks at DHL Stadium on Saturday. Scrumhalf Haashim Pead is set to make his Stormers debut off the replacements bench in a match day squad which includes 11 Springboks in total. The Stormers will run out in their new black kit – a throwback to the iconic 1999 Men in Black campaign – for kick-off at 4pm on Saturday. Tickets are

The World Rugby Executive Board has approved a law amendment and a law application guideline confirming that two relatively rare but dangerous tackle techniques, will now be subject to sanction. The “hip drop” tackle, where a tackler uses their bodyweight to pull a player to ground and drops onto the legs of a ball carrier from behind, will be explicitly added to foul play law and will be sanctioned with at least a penalty. The “knee drop” tackle, where a player drops to one

The Hollywoodbets Dolphins will look to build on a strong start to their YesPlay T20 Cup campaign when they take on Eastern Cape Iinyathi at Buffalo Park in East London on Friday. The Dolphins head into the encounter off the back of successive bonus-point victories, having most recently dispatched the Limpopo Impalas last weekend. While the result was another positive step for the Durban-based side, head coach Quinton Friend knows there are still areas he feels they have to a

The fourth Forward Faster Invitational Sevens takes place on 24 and 25 October 2026 at the Paul Roos Markötter Fields in Stellenbosch. Some of the region's top sevens teams will take part, including the South African Sevens side, which has competed in the tournament since its inception in 2023. A unique pillar of this two-day event is that community and local rugby club teams get to test their mettle against the country's best sevens players. The tournament has also featured

George Linde. The YesPlay Cobras secured a convincing nine-wicket victory over WSB Eastern Storm in the YesPlay Pro20 Cup on Tuesday. After restricting Eastern Storm to 130/7, Cobras made light work of the chase, reaching 134/1 in just 15.5 overs to claim their third victory of the 2026/27 Pro20 campaign. George Linde struck twice in the PowerPlay, removing Ronan Hermann for two and Kabelo Sekhukhune for 15 to leave the visitors 18/2. Christopher Britz (38) and Dewan Marais (

The countdown to the 2026/27 EPCR season is well and truly on, as players from all 24 Investec Champions Cup clubs gathered in Lyon on Wednesday (30 September) to celebrate the launch of a new campaign that promises greater jeopardy, more intense competition and more high-stakes rugby from the first whistle to the last. Hosted at Tour APICIL, the headquarters of EPCR partner Groupe APICIL, the Season Launch brought together some of the biggest names in club rugby alongside me

Fintan Gunne scoring Leinster Rugby's second try in pre-season fixture against Zebre Parma in the Laya Arena. Inpho Photography It will be the dawn of a new era for Leinster Rugby this weekend as they play their first URC game at the redeveloped Laya Arena. The league champions will welcome second-placed Cardiff Rugby to their new-look home at the Royal Dublin Society site on Saturday evening, with a bumper crowd expected for the landmark fixture. As a result of the redevelop

The National Lotteries Commission (NLC) today presented Cricket South Africa (CSA) with R65 645 092.30 to upgrade stadium infrastructure and purchase ground equipment in preparation for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2027 which will be hosted in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. The ceremonial cheque handover took place at Newlands Cricket Ground. The grant will be invested at nine venues across the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and North-West, c

"Going once, going twice, sold!" It is a sound Betway SA20 fans know well, and one they will hear again at the Season 5 Player Auction live on SuperSport on Wednesday, 7 October at 5pm (SAST). A global cricket audience will tune in to watch four franchises spend a maximum of R35.025-million on 19 available slots to complete their squads. Durban's Super Giants and Paarl Royals have already finished their business after the salary cap was increased to R42m for Season 5. Outside

From left: Shehu Dikko, Chairman of Nigeria's National Sports Commission, and Mitchell Obi, Former President of AIPS Africa and author of this op-ed. Nigeria has approximately 26 stadiums. Four belong to the federal government. The rest are scattered across the states. They were built with public money, for public pride, at enormous cost. And only one of them, the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo, meets the FIFA and CAF benchmarks required to host an international football mat

The Transformative African Leadership (TAL) programme has reopened applications for its inaugural 2027 cohort, following strong interest from professionals across Africa. Applications were received from West, East, Central, Southern and North Africa, showing the programme’s broad geographic reach. The 10-month programme begins on 1 February 2027 and will bring together a cohort of 25-30 participants. It combines online learning with two in-person residencies, in Nairobi from

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has revealed the next steps for selecting the host of the 2036 Olympic Games by publishing a handbook for potential hosts who wish to be considered to organise this edition of the Olympic Games. The handbook sets out the full pathway towards the host election and the requirements for Interested Parties to be considered in order to pass through each stage of the selection process. The principles of the process were approved by the IOC

Ospreys Rugby and the Toyota Cheetahs are excited to announce that St Helen’s will host the Toyota Cheetahs’ two home fixtures for their 2026/27 EPCR Challenge Cup campaign. The South African side will make St Helen’s their European home for the 2026/27 pool stage, facing Welsh side Dragons RFC and French Top 14 outfit USAP. The Cheetahs will first take on the Dragons on Sunday 13 December 2026 at 1pm, before returning to St Helen’s to face USAP on Sunday 17 January 2027 at 3

NBA Africa (www.NBA.com) and Quest Water Global, a socially responsible water solutions company, announced a multiyear collaboration to build or renovate 55 full-size and 3-on-3 basketball courts across the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) by 2030 in honor of Dikembe Mutombo, the late four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer who served as the NBA’s first global ambassador following his retirement from the league in 2009. The colla

Saturday’s Vodacom United Rugby Championship derby at DHL Stadium isn’t just a rugby match. It’s a full day out for Cape Town – and the DHL Stormers want every fan through the gates to feel it from the first step onto the concourse to the final whistle and beyond. “Beyond 80 minutes” is exactly what it sounds like: everything that happens around the 80 minutes of rugby. It’s the city’s culture, food and music brought into the stadium precinct; it’s the build-up before kick-of

Michael Lowry on the attack for Ulster Rugby in Affidea Stadium, Belfast. Inpho Photography Ulster Rugby will be looking to get Belfast bouncing again when they head into a “huge” Irish derby against Munster Rugby this weekend. Richie Murphy’s team haven’t won any of their last five home games in the URC. Indeed, you have to go back to January to find their last league victory at the Affidea Stadium. The motivation to halt that barren run in the competition will be driving th

Furaha (www.FurahaFinancial.com) has announced that it has supported parents keep 100 000 Ugandan children in school through purpose-driven financing, marking a significant milestone for the technology platform and its approach to expanding access to education financing. That milestone reflects a broader challenge: UNESCO estimates that sub-Saharan Africa accounts for nearly 40% of the world's out-of-school children (https://apo-opa.co/3U7k4Wg). A significant driver remains t

African Collaborations Group (ACG) (www.ACGafrica.com), the leading strategic project origination and collaboration platform focused on the industrialisation of sport in Africa through the origination of bankable sport and entertainment district ecosystems, today announced the appointment of Carlos Carrión to its Advisory Board. Carrión is Partner and Director of Sports & Entertainment at Senn Ferrero, one of the world's leading advisory firms in sports and entertainment. He

Michael La Sasso. Rising young American star Michael La Sasso will make his debut in the 10th anniversary edition of the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open at Mont Choisy Le Golf from 10-13 December 2026, joining fellow young guns Casey Jarvis and Jayden Schaper in a field set to showcase the best young talent in the global game. The 22-year-old La Sasso made a dream professional debut this year when he became the youngest winner in LIV Golf history with his stunning victory in the

Cardiff Rugby's Tom Bowen. Inpho Photography Try machine Tom Bowen has a simple message for all smaller players in the game: “Back yourself”. At 5ft 7ins and 11st 11lbs, the Cardiff Rugby winger is dwarfed by some of the giants on the circuit but he is standing tall with his performances. He scored a brace of tries in last Friday’s 47-27 bonus point victory over Zebre Parma at the Arms Park, taking his tally to 13 from 21 appearances in all competitions for the club. Wales le

High drama came as standard in the Pick n Pay Gold Cup’s Round of 16, with nail-biting results and large crowds once again epitomising the community spirit of the ‘FA Cup’ of South African club rugby. The country’s pre-eminent knockout championship for non-university clubs – which is sponsored by the national retail chain for the second time as part of a four-year agreement that includes becoming Tier 1 sponsors of SA Rugby – is also supported by Northam Platinum, whose commi

The race for places in the SA Rugby U20 Cup semi-finals intensified over the weekend as the Vodacom Bulls, Fidelity ADT Golden Lions and Toyota Cheetahs all secured valuable round eight victories. Playing on Friday, the Bulls produced the most dominant performance of the round, defeating Hollywoodbets Sharks GEN 59-7 in Pretoria to further strengthen their position at the top of the standings. Also on Friday, the Cheetahs collected a crucial bonus-point win in a 14-try thrill

Prenelan Subrayen recorded a five-for as the Hollywoodbets Dolphins shot to the top of Pool B in the YesPlay Pro20 Cup, following a convincing victory over Wenbro Impalas on Sunday afternoon. Impalas won the toss at the Polokwane Cricket Club and chose to bat first but soon found themselves under pressure with both openers Trevor Trenoweth and Ernest Kemm dismissed in just the third over of the match with Subrayen clean bowling the pair. Reynard van Tonder top scored for the

Charlie O'Shea scoring Munster Rugby's third try against the Bulls on Saturday night. Inpho Photography The Hollywoodbets Sharks are the early pacesetters in the URC as the only team with maximum points after the opening two rounds of matches. The Durban-based side missed out on the play-offs last term but they clearly mean business this time time around. They recorded a second successive bonus point victory by beating defending champions Leinster Rugby 26-20 at Kings Park on

Casey Jarvis. Getty The Old Course has a long memory. She’s seen a fair amount since golf was first played here in the 15th Century. She has watched quietly in this corner of Scotland as the Enlightenment came and went, the American and French Revolutions unfolded and World War I and II ravaged humanity. People were playing golf here before they could even photograph it. And she’s seen a few good golfers too. The great Old Tom Morris looked after her for many years. Seve Ball

Kyle Barker. Carl Fourie/Sunshine Tour Kyle Barker overturned a nine-shot deficit and then won a play-off to claim his third Sunshine Tour title in the Limpopo Championship on Sunday. “This is the best moment of my life so far in my golfing career, seeing as I just became a dad three months ago,” a delighted Barker said as he held his first trophy since 2023. It was a roller-coaster final round at the Euphoria Golf & Country Estate, with the lead changing hands a few times. W

Anrich Nortje is eyeing a Test comeback and the South African quick says the groundwork began long before his recall. Nortje, who last played a Test in 2023, is in South Africa's 18-man preliminary squad for the three-match ICC World Test Championship series against Australia, which starts at Kingsmead in Durban on 9 October. "My prep from quite some time back has been red-ball," said Nortje, who has 70 wickets from 19 Tests. "It's been quite a bit of a focus for me to try an