Nikhil Rama. Tyrone Winfield/Sunshine Tour Sunshine Tour rookie Travis Procter and the experienced Nikhil Rama share the lead after the first round of the inaugural Rwanda Open following their opening rounds of nine-under par 63 at the Kigali Golf Resort & Villas on Thursday. They are one shot clear of Graham van der Merwe who dropped only one shot in his opening round of 64. Procter made good use of an early start and rolled in seven birdies in nine holes from the fourth thr

Temba Bavuma-led South Africa were right on the mark as they overcame Australia by 67-runs in Durban on Thursday. This was the first meeting between the two sides in the format since the latter had defeated them in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023. South Africa were invited to bat first after Mitchell Marsh won the toss. Josh Hazlewood struck early to give the tourists the advantage, before Nathan Ellis' first-ball special accounted for Quinton de Kock (18) in the eighth

Leaders from Africa’s higher education institutions, the African Union, government ministries, global and regional financial institutions, industry partners and young people gathered this week in Accra, Ghana, for the inaugural Higher Education Transformation Convening hosted by the Mastercard Foundation (http://www.MastercardFdn.org). The Convening also marked the first Africa Higher Education for Transformation (AHEFT) Prize (https://apo-opa.co/4xEFdET) award ceremony, reco

The highly anticipated YesPlay Pro20 Cup is finally here, with 16 domestic cricket teams coming together with one goal: to be crowned the new T20 champions for the 2026/27 season. Last season’s champions, Dafabet Warriors, enjoyed an incredible campaign that culminated in an exciting finale against Dafabet Boland in Paarl. They will have to do it all over again but this time face a new challenge as Division 1 and Division 2 teams come together for one festival of T20 cricket

The Vodacom Bulls have officially locked in their match-day 23 for the opening fixture of the new Vodacom United Rugby Championship (URC) season, turning to a mix of seasoned campaigners and explosive front-line starters as they prepare to take on Italian side Zebre Parma on Saturday. After reaching the final last season following a sluggish start to their campaign, the Pretoria-based franchise faces immediate pressure to hit the ground running. Head coach Johan Ackermann kno

The wait is over. The Hollywoodbets Sharks launch their Vodacom United Rugby Championship campaign at Hollywoodbets Kings Park on Saturday afternoon, marking the first time in the tournament’s history that the Sharks open their campaign on home soil. And as a new season begins, so too does a new chapter for the Hollywoodbets Sharks - One Badge. One Team. With a full pre-season block behind them, the squad has had valuable time to build connection, sharpen their conditioning a

Wing Leolin Zas will play his 100th match for the DHL Stormers in their 26/27 Vodacom United Rugby Championship opener against Connacht in Galway on Friday night. Lock Riley Norton, scrumhalves Andre Warner and Ezekiel Ngobeni and hooker Vernon Paulo are all set to debut for the Stormers at the Dexcom Stadium, with action getting underway at 8.45pm (SAST) on Friday. Zas made his Stormers debut in 2016 and went on to be the team’s top try-scorer that season at the age of 19. H

The 10bet Lions take on Irish giants Leinster in Round 1 of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship at 10bet Ellis Park this weekend in what will be a repeat of their quarter-final meeting back in May in Dublin. The SA Shield holders have, in the off season bolstered their stocks with the likes of Springbok Boan Venter, Boeta Chamberlain and Hyron Adams- all featuring in Ivan van Rooyen’s match 23 for Saturday. Van Rooyen has also included young scrumhalf Zian Cilliers on the b

The Springbok Women squad to face Italy in their second WXV Global Series match show wholesale changes from last week’s tour opener against Wales, with the starting line-up reshuffled significantly, while two players will share the captaincy on Saturday. Unam Tose returns at scrumhalf and will share the captaincy with Sizo Solontsi at the Stadio Omero Tognon in Pordenone, in Italy’s Fontanafredda region, where Lerato Makua and Alichia Arries, who missed the Wales Test due to

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 Jan Alessie to its Advisory Board. Alessie is Co-Founder and Managing Director of the World Football Summit (WFS), which he founded in Madrid in 2016 alongside Marian Otamendi. Now in its

Brazilian Olympic skateboarding star and two-time Olympic medallist Rayssa Leal has been named Global Ambassador for the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games (YOG), the first Olympic sporting event to be held on the African continent. One of the most recognisable young athletes in the world, Leal captured global attention as a teenager before winning Olympic silver on her debut at Tokyo 2020 and adding a bronze medal at Paris 2024. Her journey from young skateboarder to Olympic med

Five years after the launch of the United Rugby Championship, CEO Martin Anayi wants to see league momentum to translate into even greater success for its clubs. With just two days to go until the URC kicks off a new season, five years of sustained growth have set the stage for the league’s teams, players and fans to push the competition to another level. Launched in 2021 as a “Different League”, the URC has grown its audiences on screen, in stadiums and across digital platfo

Springbok prop Zachary Porthen was raring to go for the opportunity to face the Wallabies in Perth on Sunday and said all the players were up for the challenge at the Optus Stadium in what will mark their final Test before the second leg of the Nations Championship in November. Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus made 13 changes to the starting team, which will see Porthen and fellow prop Jan-Hendrik Wessels pack down in the front row with hooker Johan Grobbelaar but the former Ju

Premier Sports’ Simon Zebo. Dan Sheridan/Inpho Photography Ireland great Simon Zebo says the standard of rugby in the URC has increased 10-fold as he makes his predictions for the coming campaign. The multi-nation competition is now into its sixth season and the 35-cap Zebo believes it is going from strength to strength. “How it’s evolved is how attractive it is to watch on the eye,” said the former Munster Rugby wing. “I think the standard of the league across the board and

South African eyes will be on Galway, Johannesburg, Durban, and Parma this weekend as the DHL Stormers, 10bet Lions, Hollywoodbets Sharks and Vodacom Bulls get the new Vodacom United Rugby Championship season underway (before the action moves to the Springboks and Perth on Sunday). It’s still early days but the Grand Final, scheduled for Saturday 19 June 2027, will be on the minds of all 16 teams when they start their challenges this weekend. The Stormers will be the first So

The 2026 Presidents Cup is nearly underway. The matchups are set for the opening session at Medinah Country Club, where the US Team and International Team will square off in five Four-ball matches on Thursday. Captains Brandt Snedeker and Geoff Ogilvy revealed their pairings for the opening session during a joint press conference Wednesday afternoon. Click here for information on live scores, tee times, TV times and a schedule of events for this week outside of Chicago. The U

KWARU and Walker Babes will contest the Betway Women’s Club Championship Cup final for the second year running at Alberton Rugby Club in Gauteng, after two cliffhanger semi-finals on Wednesday that were separated by a combined one point. Defending champions KWARU held on for a dramatic 12-12 draw against home side Pirates in Wednesday’s first Cup semi-final, with the defending champions advancing to Friday’s Cup final having scored the first try of the match. The Eastern Prov

South Africa continued with their dominance at the 2026 Africa Netball Cup when they won their last group match against Namibia on Wednesday afternoon in Kenya. The SPAR Proteas won the match 55-33 against Namibia. Head coach Jenny van Dyk tinkered slightly with her starting seven after her last match against Botswana the previous day. South Africa was very dominant in the first quarter and piled on neighbours Namibia – at the end of the first quarter, it was the SPAR Proteas

The 27th of September marks one year since the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 final, a generational event that reframed the global game. One year on, the tournament's impact continues to build as the WXV Global Series presented by Mitsubishi Electric, breaks new ground with an evolved competition model, greater opportunity for unions and scintillating rugby on the field. The 2025 tournament proved a turning point – captivating new audiences, driving record broadcast figures, an

South Africa’s upcoming three-match ODI series sees the return of plenty of familiar faces in the squad - Aiden Markram, Marco Jansen, Lungi Ngidi, David Miller, Corbin Bosch, Quinton de Kock and captain Temba Bavuma. For Bavuma, whose last ODI outing came in December 2025, it’s a much-awaited return as South Africa gear up to stage next year’s ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup. “There's a strong desire to look after our ODI record of late and ensure that we're putting our best foo

Two million rand will be up for grabs as South Africa’s premier domestic cricket competition welcomes YesPlay as the title sponsor of the newly formed Pro20 Cup. The multi-year partnership will see the YesPlay Pro20 Cup, a refreshed 16-team T20 competition, become one of the most anticipated additions to the South African sporting calendar. As title sponsor, YesPlay will play a central role in shaping the in-stadium experience while introducing a fresh and exciting fan-centri

DHL Stormers Director of Rugby John Dobson. Inpho Photography The DHL Stormers are celebrating the homecoming of a trio of Springboks superstars as they put the pressure on themselves to win the URC title for a second time. They have welcomed back flanker Siya Kolisi, winger Cheslin Kolbe and tighthead prop Wilco Louw following spells with the Hollywoodbets Sharks, Tokyo Sungoliath and the Vodacom Bulls respectively. As captain Ruhan Nel confirms, it’s a real triple boost for

The 2026/27 United Rugby Championship gets underway with defending champions Leinster Rugby travelling to Johannesburg to face 10bet Lions in a rematch of last season’s Quarter-Final. Lions reached the URC Play-Offs for the first time in 2025/26 before losing to Leinster, while the champions went on to retain their title with a record 36-7 Grand Final victory over Vodacom Bulls. Lions lost just once at Ellis Park during last season’s URC campaign, while Leinster have won only

Durban’s Super Giants (DSG) unveiled a bold new identity, marking the beginning of a new chapter for the SA20 franchise. At the centre of the new look is a redesigned DSG logo and a striking red, blue and gold colour palette. Together, they represent a franchise that is ambitious about its future and proud of the city it calls home. Since its debut in the SA20, DSG has set out to build more than a competitive cricket team. It has sought to create a franchise that Durban can c

SA Rugby Mobi-Unit coach Duane Vermeulen said the Wallabies will be well prepared going into Sunday’s Test between the teams in Perth, saying the hosts had ample opportunity to analyse both the Boks and All Blacks during the Castle Double Malt Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry, and that they would certainly take those lessons going into this clash. The Test will be played at the Optus Stadium in Perth, and will kick off at 11.45pm (SAST), with the action being broadcast live on SuperS

Premier Sports' Tom Shanklin. Dan Sheridan Inpho Photography Tom Shanklin has hailed the high profile overseas signings made by the four Welsh teams as a major positive going into the new URC season. A host of imports have arrived over the summer, with Aussies Marika Koroibete, Liam Wright, Lawson Creighton and Lalakai Foketi joining the Ospreys, while 76-cap former Wallaby prop Scott Sio has linked up with Cardiff Rugby, along with Namibian centre Le Roux Malan and Tongan fo

Corey Domachowski celebrates Wales scoring a try in the 2024 Guinness Six Nations against Scotland. Inpho Photography After his struggles of the past couple of years, Corey Domachowski has recaptured his love for the game and is ready for a very special reunion. The Wales prop admits his “head was in the shed” as he was plagued by a series of injuries and he ended up putting on a front to mask his troubles. But now he’s fit again and has regained his spark having embarked on

Tom Kim couldn’t bear to watch, crouched along the edge of Royal Montreal’s 16th green. Some 10 yards to his left, down at the bottom of a steep bank, his partner, Si Woo Kim, was left to clean up Tom Kim’s mess. “I put us in the worst spot possible and I thought, 'I’m going to lose us this match,'” Tom Kim said. What happened next spurred a legend of its own, something that’s become a feature, not a bug, for its central character. Si Woo Kim, needing a miracle just to mainta

Brandt Snedeker remembers the feeling. Medinah’s first tee was lit only by the glow of spectators’ flip phones. The crowd's fervor breathed life into a still-sleepy Chicago. Snedeker was a mess. The skittish American had the gargantuan responsibility of going off first on Friday of the 2012 Ryder Cup as a rookie. He was paired alongside Jim Furyk, and, although Furyk’s days as a top-five player were behind him, Snedeker felt an unnerving worry that he might let his partner, o

The Tuskers have secured a major boost ahead of their 2026 Pro20 campaign with prominent Pietermaritzburg-based business Kaneez Catering stepping up its long-standing support to become the team’s naming-rights partner. The professional team will now be known as the Kaneez Tuskers, marking a significant new chapter in the relationship between one of Pietermaritzburg’s established businesses and the city’s professional cricket team. The partnership is particularly significant a

Two Tests, four tries – that impressive statistic from Maria Tshiremba has eased any worries about the 30-year-old’s ability to transition from sevens to fifteens and in her own words, the Springbok Women wing is pleased with her progress in international rugby. Tshiremba made her Test debut in Fiji last month and in spectacular fashion scored a hat-trick of tries to help the Springbok Women close out their Pacific tour with a 2-0 series win. Last weekend, her try early in th

Five seasons into the United Rugby Championship, the competition continues to deliver a compelling mix of speed, variety and contrasting rugby identities. The latest numbers show a league playing with greater attacking ambition than ever: URC 5 (25/26 season) produced an average of 6.9 tries per match, with a try scored every 363.5 seconds - the fastest rate across the five seasons. From Glasgow Warriors’ high-tempo attacking game to the power of the Vodacom Bulls, the set-pi

At 37, David Miller adds invaluable experience to South Africa's side, with 178 ODIs under his belt, 28 of which have come against Australia, their opposition in the upcoming ODI series. Miller would look to add to the number on 24 September, in what would be his first ODI outing since March 2025. The first ODI between the sides will be start of a busy home season, including a number of ICC World Test Championship fixtures, followed with a continued build-up towards the ICC M

As BooYaa grows internationally, some of the ties that keep it close to South African golf date back to the years when the brand was still building its name. One of those is its relationship with Pierre van Vuuren. Van Vuuren was among BooYaa’s early supporters during his time at San Lameer. He is now General Manager of The Club at Steyn City and a PGA professional. Van Vuuren has also recently been recognised by the PGA of South Africa as a National Award Winner in the Manag

South Africa’s second oldest non-university club, Villager, will be looking to cap an historic and highly successful 150th anniversary season thus far when they go in search of an unprecedented “triple” at this year’s Pick n Pay Gold Cup, which kicks off this Saturday, 26 September. The Claremont-based side, established in 1876, reached the Gold Cup Final in 2025, where they lost to Sanlam Naka Bulls at their Brookside stronghold in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to win t

The Investec South African Open will again be the direct pathway into two of the game’s most prestigious Majors – The Open and the Masters Tournament. In another huge boost for South African golf, the Major exemptions have been confirmed by the Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour in partnership with The R&A and Augusta National Golf Club. The road to Major glory will therefore go directly through Stellenbosch Golf Club from 4-7 March 2027 when the 116th edition of Golf’s second-o

Domestic white-ball cricket is set for an exciting new chapter in the 2026/27 season, with the newly rebranded and expanded Pro20 Cup set to bring T20 action to grounds across all nine provinces, as well as fans watching from home. The Pro20 Cup combines the T20 Challenge and T20 Knockout competitions, creating a 16-team tournament that promises more cricket, more opportunities for players and more action for fans across South Africa. Eight Division 1 teams, seven Division 2

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus named a new-look team for their one-off Test against Australia in Perth on Sunday, which will mark significant occasions for No 8 Jasper Wiese as he earns his 50th Test cap off the replacements bench, while hybrid player Andre Esterhuizen will become the 68th player to captain South Africa. Erasmus made 13 changes to his starting team, with only lock Eben Etzebeth and wing Ethan Hooker retaining their places in the run-on team from the side’s 43

The Vodacom Bulls launch their Vodacom United Rugby Championship campaign at the Stadio Sergio Lanfranchi this Saturday but head coach Johan Ackermann is making sure no one in his travelling party is packing a holiday mindset. Opening away against Zebre might look like a gentle runway on paper but Ackermann knows week-one banana peels are real, especially against a host side playing in front of a partisan home crowd with everything to prove. With a brutal itinerary following

NWU Eagles will defend their title against UJ in next week’s Varsity Netball 2026 final (Monday, 28 September). The Eagles beat UP-Tuks in a tightly contested semi-final in Pretoria while UJ were victorious over UFS Kovsies in an equally pulsating semi-final that went into extra time in Bloemfontein. UP-TUKS 50-52 NWU EAGLES Defending champions NWU Eagles had to dig deep to beat UP-Tuks to seal a second consecutive final spot. The opening 15 minutes of the first semi-final at

The development of women’s rugby in South Africa took another big step forward on Monday when the second annual Betway Women’s Club Championship (WCC) kicked off in Gauteng. Defending champions KWARU (EP) will join last year’s beaten finalists, Walker Babes (Boland), Pirates (Lions) and Harlequins (Bulls) in Wednesday’s Premier Division Cup semi-finals, after eight matches and almost 500 minutes of high-quality women’s rugby at the Alberton Rugby Club, south of Johannesburg.

Lanky speedster Marco Jansen is set to step up and lead South Africa's pace attack for the upcoming ODI series against Australia, which begins on September 24, following injuries to key fast bowlers. Jansen acknowledged the challenge of missing senior teammates while embracing the extra responsibility. "Obviously those two (Lungi Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada) not being a part of the squad is a bit of a loss, I'd say," he said. "They are two obviously world-class bowlers and they k

Forty-eight African Nations will continue the long and exciting journey to the Finals of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations (“AFCON”) Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda 2027. On Thursday, 24 September the Group Stages of the Qualifiers will begin and will run until Tuesday, 6 October at the completion of Matchday 2. A total of 24 matches will be played across 12 groups between Thursday and Saturday, 26 September, marking the start of the group stage on the road to the 24-tea

Springbok Women wing Ayanda Malinga can still recall the feeling they experienced by outplaying Italy at the Women’s Rugby World Cup in England just over a year ago and said there is no reason why it cannot be repeated when the two sides face this weekend. The Test against Italy – South Africa’s second in the WXV Global Series – kicks off at 2.30pm (SAST) on Saturday in the Stadio Omero Tognon in Pordenone. South Africa beat Italy by 29-24 in York on 31 August last year which

The postponed SA Rugby U20 Cup fixture between the Fidelity ADT Lions U20 and the Hollywoodbets Sharks GEN, which was rescheduled due to inclement weather a few weeks ago in Johannesburg, produced a dramatic turnaround as the hosts stormed to a 42-22 victory at 10bet Ellis Park last Thursday. The Sharks led 17-15 at the halfway stage but the Lions staged a successful comeback in the second to snatch victory in this exciting encounter. The hosts made the stronger start, with J

Kaspersky's (www.Kaspersky.co.za) Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) has uncovered a sophisticated new multi-stage campaign targeting both individual users and organisations. The campaign relies on a previously unknown malware strain distributed through torrent trackers disguised as popular films, including The Odyssey. One of the popular public archives of torrent files was compromised and was then used to deliver the malicious payload. Several hundred victims have be

Former DAMAC Senior Vice President Paulo J. Cruz Appointed Founding CEO of African Collaboration Group (ACG) to Spearhead Sports and Entertainment District Development Across Africa. African Collaborations Group (ACG) (www.ACGafrica.com), the leading strategic project origination and collaboration platform focused on the industrialisation of sport in Africa through bankable district ecosystems, today announced the appointment of Paulo J. Cruz as its Founding Chief Executive O

Oando PLC (www.OandoPLC.com), Africa’s leading integrated energy solutions provider, on Thursday, 17 September 2026, successfully held its 47th Annual General Meeting (AGM), where shareholders reviewed the Company’s performance, strategic priorities and outlook. All resolutions presented at the meeting were passed. The AGM was characterised by shareholder engagement, with shareholders commending the Board and Management for its approach to corporate governance, strategic dire

Here we pick out some intriguing subplots to keep an eye on as the 2026/27 UEFA Women's Champions League gets under way on Tuesday and runs until 16 December. There are some key themes to keep an eye on as the 18 clubs compete for four direct quarter-final slots and eight more berths in the knockout phase play-offs. All kick-off times CET Barcelona put supremacy to the test Last season, Barcelona topped the new-look league phase table and stormed to an unprecedented sixth con

Protea Warriors (SA Males National Netball team) continued with their winning streak and title defense as they beat Kenya 49-43 on Monday morning. South Africa were high on confidence coming into this match with two wins under their belt while Kenya have only register one win in two matches. It was the hosts that started like a house on fire and immediately putting South Africa on the back foot as soon as the whistle went – Protea Warriors chased the game for the better of th