The Golden Lions beat the Sharks emphatically by 42 – 16 at Coca-Cola Park in Johannesburg on Saturday in the final of the 2011 Currie Cup competition. An enormous performance (including a drop goal) by Elton Jantjies saw him walk away with a points tally of 24 points and the man-of-the-match award. The Lions scored three tries to the Sharks’ one.

Point scorers:

Lions - Tries: Michael Killian, Patric Cilliers, Jaco Taute. Conversions: Elton Jantjies(3). Penalties: Jantjies (5), Jaco Taute. Drop goal: Jantjies. (more…)

He may be arrogant and cocky, but surely everyone would agree that Mario Balotelli is a class act after he scored a double in Manchester City‘s humiliating 1 – 6 defeat over Manchester United on Sunday.

‘It was a bad one, I can’t believe it’, said Sir Alex Ferguson after the match. It was the heaviest defeat for Sir Alex in his 25 years at Old Tafford.

‘The red card killed us,’ said Ferguson. Jonny Evans received a red card at the start of the second half which obviously had a huge impact on the game.

Goals for City: Balotelli 22, 60, Aguero 68, Dzeko 90, 90+3, Silva 90+1

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The All Blacks are leading the French 5 – 0 in the 2011 IRB World Cup final at half time. A Tony Woodcock try is the only score separating the teams. Peri Weepu have failed with three kicks to goal.

The Springboks might be out of the Rugby World Cup, but the quarter final against the Wallabies where they were knocked out won’t be forgotten in a hurry. It might be remembered for the performances of Bryce Lawrence and David Pocock, but nobody can take away the massive defensive effort from the Wallabies. Check out this tackle of Radike Samo on Bryan Habana:

Source: rugbydump.com

I’m shocked. Absolutely flabbergasted.

And not in your usual would-you-look-at-the-price-of-beer-and-cigarettes-after-the-annual-budget-speech kind of way, but in a more fundamental (and mildly offended) my-girlfriend-has-become-a-lesbian-and-says-it’s-all-my-fault kind of way.

You see, in the midst of sifting through the mountains of statistics and reading the countless weekly interviews with players and coaches that goes into accurately (or not, as was the case last week again…) producing sportblog.co.za’s weekly Kerrie Beker preview, I came across this gem from Western Province’s embattled coach Allister Coetzee, bemoaning the injury toll on his team so far this season:

“Imagine what’s it like at the start of the week when your biggest concern is whether you’ll have 22 players fully fit for a match in a few days’ time.”

No, really, he said it – just go check for yourselves on SuperSport.com.

OK, I see you don’t share my outrage here. Let me explain: the Western Province Rugby Union has about 10 000 registered senior rugby players. Stellenbosch University alone has 1500 registered players, which is more than one quarter of all the registered players in the whole of Namibia – and they made it to the World Cup! There are about 90 rugby clubs in the Western Cape feeding the provincial team. Granted, not all of them are anywhere near the size of Stellenbosch, but you get the idea. Surely finding a player or 3 to replace the walking wounded missing out of the provincial team’s ranks shouldn’t be that hard, right?

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The controversial (well in most South African rugby supporters’ eyes) Australian referee Stuart Dickinson has retired with immediate effect at 43 years of age.

Since 1997 he refereed for fifteen seasons in a record 47 Test matches, 98 Super Rugby matches and three Rugby World Cups.

“It’s not often people get to turn their hobby into a career and for that I am eternally grateful,” said Dickinson.

“To have been able to travel the world and take the field with some of the best players the game has ever seen has been a huge honour.

“I want to thank my wife Fiona and our three children Michael, Emily and Isabella who have been incredibly supportive, understanding and patient over the course of my career and I look forward to spending more time with my family in the months and years ahead.

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