Scotland, who seem to draw the South Africans nearly every round, must be sick and tired of the sight of the Blitzboks and face another match of chasing shadows in the Singapore Sevens on Saturday and Sunday.
Scotland, who seem to draw the South Africans nearly every round, must be sick and tired of the sight of the Blitzboks and face another match of chasing shadows in the Singapore Sevens on Saturday and Sunday.
It remains to be seen what effect last weekend’s titanic struggle with New Zealand in Hong Kong has on the Blitzboks, but, even so, the Scots must be looking ahead to another showdown with the likes of Seabela Senatla and Cecil Afrika with a degree of trepidation.
The teams open the Singapore Sevens on Saturday (SS6. 3.50am), with the Blitzboks seeking to get their title bid back on track. Despite excellent consistency, coach Neil Powell’s team are battling to nail down another series win and they will be looking to sort that out this weekend. A bit later on Saturday, they face Russia (SS6, 7.15am) and Kenya (SS6, 11.02am).
The Cup semifinals start at 10.26am on Sunday (SS6), with the final scheduled for 1.36pm.
In another full programme of Super Rugby, the Cheetahs will be aiming to complete a miserable tour of SA by Japan’s Sunwolves on Friday (SS1, 6.30pm). The tourists were outclassed by the Stormers last weekend and also lost to the Southern Kings, but you can expect a better showing in Bloem as they chase their first victory.
A massive South African derby takes place in Johannesburg on Saturday when the Lions attempt to confirm their credentials against the country’s leading Super Rugby side at this stage, the Stormers, (SS1, 7.05pm).
Mamelodi Sundowns will be looking to take a step closer to the Premier Soccer League title against Jomo Cosmos on Saturday (SS4, 5.30pm). Cosmos are at the wrong end of the log, but won’t let that stop them trying make a name for themselves against the logleaders, so there will be no easy pickings for Downs.
Up north, Leicester City will continue their remarkable quest for the top English prize against West Ham United on Sunday (SS3, 1.30pm). Leicester are showing enormous resolve as the heat intensifies and they know there will be no place for the faint-hearted in the final straight.
Tennis’s claycourt season in Europe is under way and Rafa Nadal will be chasing an incredible ninth title at the Monte Carlo Masters. There has never been a better claycourt player than the feisty Spaniard and if he’s fit and on song, he should be contesting the final on Sunday (SS1, 2.20pm), especially with the world’s best player, Novak Djokovic, out of the way.
